//------------------------------// // Returning Home // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 17 Returning Home The six friends — Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle — were lying unconscious in the middle of the intersection where they had made their ultimate stand against Sunset Shimmer. Scattered around them were the various Lego pieces of what used to be some of the creations they had made to help them win. Beyond that stood numerous minifigs, recently freed from Sunset’s grip and now looking on in confusion and wonder. Spike, who had been hiding in what remained of the old fire truck, quickly hopped out and ran over to Twilight. He was currently too worried to notice the pony-like changes that had been made to her body as well as those of her friends. He gently shook her until she began to stir. Twilight opened her eyes and looked up to see Spike, who then quickly hugged her in relief. Twilight returned the gesture, then glanced back to see the rest of her friends were also reawakening. “Wow, Rarity. I really like your new look,” complimented Fluttershy. “I agree,” replied Rarity as she grabbed the end of her now much longer hair and held it up in front to get a better look at it. “These hair extensions are simply divine!” “I also like those ears and that horn, too,” added Fluttershy. “They make you look just like a unicorn.” Rarity was surprised by the horn part, so she reached a hand up and felt that there was indeed a horn on the front of her hair piece. “Well I am rather fond of unicorns,” she muttered to herself in slight amusement. She then spoke up to Fluttershy, “Though I wish I had a pair of wings like what you now possess. Those things are just gorgeous!” Fluttershy turned to look at the wings on her back. Realizing those wings were now part of her, she made them flutter a few times. “Oh my!” she said in both shock and excitement. “Look at me! Look at me!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she hopped around excitedly. “I’m a pony girl!” Rainbow Dash immediately took to the skies as she started flapping her new wings. “Awesome! Who needs a jetpack when I’ve got these!?” she shouted enthusiastically. Applejack was almost speechless by the incredible transformations that she and the others had just experienced. “Golly, Twilight!” she finally spoke up. “Ah guess that magic crown of yours really does have some amazin’ powers!” Twilight smiled as she saw how much her Lego friends were appreciating their new magical forms. It actually reminded her of when she and her pony friends became connected to the Elements of Harmony for the very first time, not long after she had just met them. When she turned around to face where Sunset Shimmer had been, that smile faded. In place of where Sunset Shimmer had been last seen was a large crater in the middle of the street. Silence fell across the area as everyone followed her gaze to that site. Cautiously, Twilight walked up to the rim of that crater. The lonely clacking noise of her footsteps was soon joined by those of her friends, and then the surrounding citizens. That noise was no longer the perfect unison of a mind-controlled army, but rather the randomness of many unique individuals. Once Twilight reached the rim of the crater, she looked down at the bottom of it and saw Sunset Shimmer — transformed back into a regular minifig — lying face-down on the ground and covered in scorch marks. As everyone else began to gather around, Twilight spoke firmly to the fallen Sunset Shimmer. “You will never rule Equestria. Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you’ve shown everyone who you really are. You’ve shown them what is in your heart.” Down inside the crater, Sunset began sobbing as she finally raised her head and spoke to everyone, “I-I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I-I didn’t know there was another way…” “The magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria,” explained Twilight with sympathy. “It’s everywhere. You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours.” Before Sunset could give an answer, the approaching noise of police sirens caught everyone’s attention. Within seconds, a few police cruisers drove up to the scene of the incident. The sirens stopped as the cars came to a stop, but the blue and red lights on top of those cars continued to flash on and off. The first police officer to get out of his car was Flash Sentry. With a look of determination on his face, he immediately rushed over to the rim of the crater and looked down. With the sighting of Sunset Shimmer confirmed, Flash sighed as he quickly pulled out a pair of handcuffs and jumped into the crater. “I’ve been waiting five years to say this,” said Flash as he ran over to Sunset, who had remained face-down in the middle of the crater. “Sunset Shimmer, you are under arrest!” Without hesitation, he slapped the handcuffs on Sunset’s wrists, leaving her hands bound behind her back. “Five years?” asked Spike in confusion. “I thought you said you were a rookie.” “She’s the reason I decided to become a cop,” explained Flash as he pulled Sunset up to her feet and began guiding her out of the crater. Twilight was initially shocked to see such drastic measures being taken against the defeated Sunset Shimmer, but then she realized that it shouldn’t really be so surprising, considering how much Sunset had been frustrating the police here and in other cities for the last five years. As Flash and Sunset stepped out of the crater, Twilight ran up to them and pleaded to Flash, “Wait! You don’t have to do this. What if she’s really willing to change her ways?” Flash raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure of that?” he asked skeptically. “Right before you got here, she said she was very sorry, and she seemed quite sincere about it,” explained Twilight. Flash looked suspiciously at Sunset for a moment. She was making no efforts to resist her arrest and even seemed very saddened. It was nothing like how he had imagined the arrest of Sunset Shimmer would ultimately be like. This made him realize that even though she was a wanted criminal, she deserved some sympathy right now. There was no way Flash Sentry was going to just let Sunset go after five years of criminal activities, so he decided to make a proposal and let her decide her own fate. He calmly said to her, “Since you seem willing to face the consequences of your past actions, I’m going to offer you a choice. You can either stay in this world and spend the next few years in jail, or you can return to your home world with Twilight and face whatever punishment they will give you upon arrival. What’ll it be?” Sunset continued to look down silently as she considered her options. Finally, she sighed sadly and replied, “I can’t go back to Equestria… Not after everything I’ve done.” Twilight had been hoping that Sunset would take the option of returning to Equestria, so she was shocked that she went with the other choice. “Are you sure about that?” asked Twilight with concern. “I doubt that whatever punishment you receive will be that bad, and Celestia has been hoping for a long time that you would return some day.” Sunset slowly shook her head and quietly replied, “I… I can’t do that… I’ve already burned too many bridges. And besides… I’ve gotten too used to this world to leave.” She sighed sadly again. “I don’t even care if I have to spend the rest of my life in jail.” “It doesn’t have to be that bad,” Flash Sentry clarified. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll let you out early for good behavior.” “You see, Sunset? The magic of friendship can be rewarding,” assured Twilight. “You just need to have the right kind of friends on your side.” Sunset’s expression of sorrow continued to remain unchanged. “But… but all I’ve ever done since being here is turn against everyone,” she admitted quietly. “I don’t know the first thing about friendship.” Twilight smiled. “I bet they can teach you,” she said while gesturing toward her Lego friends, who had been watching the entire conversation. As Sunset turned to look at them, the five minifigs simply smiled in approval. Sunset Shimmer smiled slightly in response. It was not the grin of an evil mastermind, but a small shy smile that showed that she appreciated the possibility of actually having real friends for the first time in her life. The smile quickly faded as she turned away and allowed officer Flash Sentry to guide her away and into the backseat of his police cruiser. Twilight didn’t show it, but she was rather upset that Sunset Shimmer was going to be spending the next few years in prison in the Lego World. Despite this, a small part of her was proud to see that after everything that had happened, Sunset was at least now open to the idea of friendship. Once the handcuffed Sunset Shimmer was in the back of the police car, Flash Sentry turned to Twilight and said, “I believe this belongs to you,” He then pulled out Twilight Sparkle’s magic crown and Element of Harmony. Before she could ask, he explained, “I found it at the bottom of that crater, next to Sunset.” Twilight smiled at this. She then decided to kneel forward and bow her head down. Flash was initially confused by this gesture, but then he realized that she wanted him to place the crown on her head, as if she was some sort of royalty. He wasn’t aware if that was really who she was in the other world, but he decided to play along anyway. “Okay, uh…” he mumbled to himself. He then held the crown over Twilight’s head as he cleared his throat and spoke, “Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, over the last three days, you have proven to us that you are a very great leader. Unlike those who have failed to stop you and your team, you do not force others to bow before you. Instead, you have inspired others to rise up and stand with you. Your dedication to your friends is unparalleled in the Lego World, and it is a dedication that I hope is no different in Equestria.” He placed the crown on Twilight’s head — the first time she had ever worn it since it was first stolen by Sunset Shimmer back in Equestria — and finished, “We are all proud of everything you have done to help us.” With a smile on her face, Twilight stood back up and simply said, “Thank you.” At this, the dozens of Lego citizens surrounding the scene cheered in excitement. Twilight looked around at them all. Seeing such a wide variety of minifigs in one place actually reminded her of Equestria and how different ponies could get along so easily. It pleased her to see that this world really did share a lot in common with her own world. Once the cheering finally died down, Twilight turned back to Flash and complimented, “That was a nice speech.” “Glad you think so, ‘cause that was entirely improvised,” admitted Flash. “I’m sure Celestia Playwell could’ve thought of something better, but she’s currently too busy assessing damages to personally see you off.” He then glanced down at the watch on his right wrist and suddenly got a look of shock on his face. He quickly turned his attention back to Twilight and added, “Speaking of which, you’d better get going. The interdimensional portal closes in fifteen minutes.” The look of happiness on Twilight’s face was immediately replaced by one of panic. “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” she exclaimed fearfully as she looked around at all of the Lego pieces that remained scattered around the intersection. “Everything we built has been destroyed! How are we gonna get back to City Park in time!?” “No problem!” boasted Rainbow Dash as she flew over to the fire truck cab. “Nothing a little creativity can’t fix!” She then tipped the cab over, causing it to fall apart and adding its pieces to the surrounding pile. She quickly flew around as she started building something new. She was flying so fast that she appeared as nothing more than a rainbow-colored motion blur. Within seconds, she finished building and stopped flying around, revealing an entirely different vehicle. The roofless cab up front was only big enough for one seat, where the driver would be. Between the cab and the rear wheels were six seats, three on each side and facing away from the center on the vehicle. This seating arrangement allowed the vehicle to be long and narrow. In fact, the entire vehicle had very little structure to it, perhaps to reduce weight and allow it to go fast. This thing was clearly built only to get Twilight and her team to City Park as quickly as possible and nothing more after that. Rainbow Dash laughed excitedly as she hovered over the cab and proudly said, “Now that’s what I call speed building!” She dropped down into the driver’s seat, then turned to her friends and gestured to the back of the vehicle. “What are you waiting for? Hop on!” The six other teammates briefly hesitated before deciding to just go for it. Twilight — and Spike, of course — needed to get to City Park right away, and they wanted to be there to see her leave. After only a few steps, Twilight suddenly stopped and turned to Flash Sentry. Flash could easily guess the reason for Twilight’s hesitation. Since he had other police duties to deal with at this site, he would not be able to go with the team of friends to City Park. He walked up to Twilight as he uneasily said, “So, uh… I guess this is goodbye, then.” Twilight nodded sadly. “The gateway between our worlds will remain closed for a long time,” she explained. “As fascinating as this world is, I belong in Equestria. And as much as I enjoyed making new friends here, I just can’t leave behind the ones I have waiting for me back home.” Flash nodded in acceptance and simply replied, “Understood.” After a brief pause, he added, “Well, in any case, I wish you good luck.” “Thank you,” said Twilight quietly. After taking a deep breath, she began to turn away. But then she seemed like she suddenly remembered something as she quickly turned back to Flash and added, “Oh, and one more thing before I leave.” Flash raised an eyebrow, curious to hear what else Twilight had to say. Twilight knew this would almost certainly be the last time she would ever speak to this police officer, so she wanted to say something memorable. A playful smirk appeared on her face as she decided to knock his hat off his head — revealing his spiky blue hair underneath again — and simply say, “Your hat fell off, again.” She then giggled lightly at this little mischievous act. Flash glanced down at his police hat on the ground, then back to Twilight. Quickly realizing it was all in humor, he laughed in response and said, “I definitely won’t forget that one!” He then reached down to pick up his hat. “C’mon, Twilight! Let’s go!” Spike suddenly called over. Twilight turned back to see everyone else was already seated, with Spike impatiently tapping the empty seat next to him. Twilight briefly turned back to Flash with a smile before finally turning away to take her seat on the minimalist vehicle. Although the vehicle immediately began to drive away, Twilight had just enough time to wave goodbye to the rookie police officer. Flash responded by slowly waving his hat around. Eventually, the vehicle turned around a corner and went out of sight. Flash Sentry brought his hat down over his chest. Now that it finally hit him that Twilight was going home and almost certainly not coming back, he let out a sigh. He couldn’t deny that he had grown rather fond of her, and was going to miss her a lot. Eventually, he turned away and put his hat back on as he returned to the scene of the incident. It was time for him to get back to an officer’s duty. At City Park, the crowd of minifigs that had managed to gather within the area had already left. Despite all of the confusion that immediately followed after being freed, the police officers who had been tasked with guarding the interdimensional portal were quick to help escort the citizens away without causing too much trouble. Now, there was nothing left for them to do but await further orders. The sudden arrival of a strange vehicle made the officers tense for a moment, but then they relaxed when they saw that Twilight and her team were on the vehicle. One officer began to approach the gate, but the vehicle — being driven by Rainbow Dash — didn’t even slow down as it arrived and crashed through the gate, drawing groans of frustration from some of the police officers. As soon as the vehicle skidded to a stop near the horse statue, Twilight quickly hopped out of her seat and ran over to the dimensional portal. “Don’t bother fixing that gate,” she spoke up to the officers. “The threat’s over.” She then quickly removed the “Police Line” pieces from the side of the statue that contained the portal and tossed them aside. As everyone else climbed off of the vehicle, Pinkie Pie glanced over at the clock on the vehicle’s dashboard. “Only two minutes left,” she pointed out. “That gives us just enough time for a goodbye hug.” She then held out her arms in anticipation. Twilight looked back at her friends. After a quick glance back at the portal, she decided that she had enough time to give them one final goodbye. She walked back to her friends and quickly found herself in the middle of a large group hug. Once everyone pulled away, Twilight asked, “You’ll look after Sunset Shimmer, won’t you?” “Of course we will,” assured Rarity. She then doubtfully added, “Though I’m afraid it may be some time before she’ll be allowed to leave prison.” “Even so, I’m sure she’s already learned her lesson,” replied Twilight in assurance. Before anything else could be said, Spike spoke up, “We better get going.” Twilight nodded before turning to her Lego friends and spoke her final words to them. “I know we’ve only been friends for a short time, but I’m gonna miss all of you so much.” She let out a sad sigh and began to walk towards the gateway back home to Equestria. Spike walked beside Twilight as he commented, “That crown really does suit you, Princess Twilight.” Twilight smiled as she briefly touched the crown on her head and responded, “You know what, Spike? I am starting to feel a little more comfortable wearing it.” “And the wings?” he added, gesturing at said wings on Twilight’s back. Twilight had a slightly frustrated look on her face as she stopped walking and replied, “I’ve been walking on two legs with a body of detachable parts and picking up things with these!” She held up her hands. She smiled again as she added, “Wings? I’m thrilled that’s all I’ll be dealing with back in Equestria!” Finally, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike stepped forward and passed through the interdimensional gateway, disappearing in a shimmer of light. Just seconds later, as the moon reached its highest point in the sky, the entire surface of the portal briefly flashed brightly. At the same time, the pony-like alterations to the five nearby minifigs suddenly vanished, returning all of them to their original forms. Rainbow Dash, who happened to be hovering slightly above the ground, fell on her rear as soon as her wings vanished. Pinkie Pie had remained very curious about the interdimensional gateway, and couldn’t resist running up to it. She stopped right in front of it and brought both hands up to reach through. Her hands met only a solid barrier. As the rest of her friends gathered around to confirm that the portal was indeed closed, Pinkie moaned in disappointment and muttered, “Bummer.”