Chapter 1
A New Mission
It was the start of another typical day in Canterlot City. Commuters were making their way to work, be it by car, by bus, by train, or simply by walking. Pedestrians walked calmly along the sidewalks while vehicles on the streets were careful to follow all traffic laws. Police officers gave friendly smiles to all citizens passing by, especially for children on their way to school. At a glance, there seemed to be very little that made this place different from any of the other City Regions of the Lego World.
On one seemingly random street, a certain fruit stand had just been set up for another day of selling apples of all kinds. As one minifig with red skin and orange hair finished unloading the last crate of apples, another with orange skin and blonde hair stood behind the stand with a content smile on her face. Applejack was looking forward to another good day in the city.
A faint buzzing noise and vibration alerted Applejack to the phone in her pocket, so she quickly took it out to see who was trying to contact her. The message consisted of nothing more that the LEGO logo — the word “LEGO” in white rounded letters, outlined in black within yellow, all within a red square. A normal person wouldn’t understand the message behind this symbol, but Applejack knew what this meant. She turned her phone around to show her message to her brother.
Big Macintosh was just about to climb into his pickup truck when he looked back and saw the message that his sister had just received. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then lowered it when he remembered what she had explained to him a while ago, regarding this message. With a smile and a nod of approval, he stepped back out of the truck and walked over to the fruit stand.
Applejack smiled in response as she put away her phone and then ran off. Now that she was a member of the LEGO Team, certain priorities had to come before all others. At the very least, she was glad to know that Big Mac was willing to run the stand while she was away on a mission.
In another part of the city, Pinkie Pie was busy handing out baked goods to the patrons of the bakery she worked at — known as Sugar Cube Corner — when she also got the message from the LEGO Team. With an excited grin on her face, she quickly hopped over the counter and rushed out the door. As much as she loved making every customer happy, she loved having the opportunity to spend time with her best friends in the universe even more.
Over at Canterlot Airport, Rainbow Dash had just gotten ready to start her shift at the control tower when she received her message from the LEGO Team. Without even saying a word to her coworker, she grinned as she put away her phone and slid down her emergency escape pole. Once she was on the ground, she hopped on her skateboard and headed downtown.
At the other side of the city, Rarity had just opened the doors to her boutique for another day of business when she also got the alert from the LEGO Team on her phone. She gave a sad smile as she flipped the sign on the door back to “Closed” and proceeded to meet up with the others. As much as she hated disappointing her clients, she knew they would understand the high priority of working for an organization as important as the LEGO Team.
Finally, Fluttershy had just finished feeding all of the animals in her pet shop when she got the alert from the LEGO Team. Knowing that she would eventually be faced with such a possibility now that she was part of the LEGO Team, she had already made preparations for such a call. She sent an automated message to a secondary caretaker who would look after these animals and critters while she was away.
With that taken care of, Fluttershy put away her phone and headed outside. She arrived at the nearby parking lot and looked around. She didn’t have many vehicles, and the few that she did have were rather small with nowhere near enough room to fit all of her friends. If she was going to help her friends get to the local LEGO Team Headquarters, she would need to get creative.
After a few seconds of thinking, Fluttershy smiled as a pair of pony ears, tail-like hair, and feathered wings suddenly appeared on her body. An idea had formed within the mind of a Master Builder! Fluttershy quickly disassembled three of her small vehicles, putting all of the Lego pieces into a single pile. Once that was done, she then rapidly put all of the pieces together into a single vehicle. The finished vehicle had small wheels, lacked a roof, and had three seats arranged single-file. She knew it wasn’t much, but at least a little help was better than no help. With her creation ready, she hopped into the driver’s seat up front and drove off into town.
After driving for just a few blocks, Fluttershy saw Pinkie Pie suddenly run across the street right front of her, forcing her to bring the small vehicle to a screeching halt. The noise made Pinkie stop in her tracks and turn to Fluttershy, who gave a small embarrassed smile. Pinkie responded with a simple shrug and a smile.
Pinkie took a quick look around at the vehicle and, almost a split-second later, pony ears and tail-like hair also suddenly appeared on her body. Another Master Builder had just gotten an idea! Using Lego pieces from a nearby parked car, she quickly made improvements to Fluttershy’s creation, appearing in many places at once as she worked. She removed the third seat in the back and put it and an additional seat right next to the other two so that the seating arrangement was now two-by-two. This made the vehicle wider, so she also made adjustments to the wheel base to account for that. Once the improvements were finished, she carelessly shoved Fluttershy aside to one of the new seats while she got into the driver’s seat and began driving towards their destination.
After zooming past some traffic, Pinkie noticed Applejack running along the sidewalk near a construction site, so she quickly brought the vehicle to a stop and waved to her. Applejack saw the arrival of two of her friends and waved back at them. As much as she liked the idea of getting the team together on their way to the LEGO Team Headquarters, she felt that their vehicle of choice was a little on the wimpy side.
It wasn’t long before a pair of pony ears and tail-like hair appeared on Applejack’s body. Master Builder Applejack had an idea! She ran over to a large construction vehicle nearby and quickly took it apart, along with some various objects along the sidewalk. She then assembled the Lego parts into four large chunks, which she then slammed onto the vehicle. First the left side doors went on, then the right side doors, followed by the rear end with bigger tires, and finally the front end with equally large tires and a more powerful engine. When that last chunk was slammed into place, the resulting bounce flung Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy into the backseats, leaving the driver’s seat free for Applejack to take.
As the now-larger vehicle roared down the streets, Rarity had a hard time not noticing its approach from a distance. The lack of a roof allowed her to see that it was three of her friends who were riding in that hodge-podge of a vehicle — a fact that made it obvious that this creation was the result of more than just one creative mind. With that note in mind, she decided to add her own contribution.
With a quick glance at her surroundings and some careful thought, Rarity soon gained her pony ears, tail-like hair, and unicorn horn. Rarity the Master Builder now had an idea of creativity! She made quick work of a small truckload of windows — including much of the truck itself — and began tossing pieces towards the oncoming vehicle. Each Lego piece soared though the air and landed exactly into its proper place, a feat that was even more remarkable considering that it was on a moving target. Once all was done on her part, there was now a sturdy roof over the four seats of the vehicle.
Applejack waited until the rain of pieces had stopped before she decided to stop the vehicle. Rarity, like the other members of this team, had a unique method of building, and Applejack knew that she had to be nearby. After seeing nothing to the front or to the left, she moved over to the empty passenger seat to look to the right. The sudden noise of a car door being shut made her turn back to the driver’s seat, where Rarity was now seated comfortably. Rarity simply gave a friendly shrug before grabbing the steering wheel and continuing the drive towards their destination.
Finally, Rainbow Dash arrived downtown just in time to see the collective creation of her friends and fellow teammates. She had to admit that it was a little impressive, but she knew that she could make it way better. She immediately began looking around for possible ideas, knowing that whenever she got creative, she could do things that most people could only dream of.
With a quick-thinking mind like hers, it wasn’t long until Rainbow Dash gained her pony ears, tail-like hair, and feathered wings. This Master Builder just got an awesome idea! She quickly took off to the air, appearing as a rainbow-colored motion blur as she zoomed across rooftops and gathered all of the Lego pieces she was going to need. As the vehicle carrying the rest of her friends arrived, she made quick work with her additions. She began with a fifth seat in front of all the others, surrounded that with a bunch of flight controls and a large canopy window, then added a large helicopter rotor on top of the roof, and finished with the necessary tail rotor on the rear. Once her work was done, she swooped around and landed in what was now the pilot’s seat. She then closed the canopy and started up the makeshift helicopter. The rotors began spinning rapidly, and after just a few seconds of powering up to full speed, the collective creation was airborne and on its way towards the LEGO Team Headquarters.
As the custom helicopter flew over the skyline, the five minifigs inside could see their destination. Just outside the city limits, at the top of a tall mountain, was a single large building with the LEGO logo covering a large area of one of the outside walls. As the five friends got closer, they could see more details to the building. There were countless large windows around the upper floors, a large hangar door at the ground floor on one side that led directly out to a small runway, and a helipad on a rooftop that was just a few floors lower than the highest level.
Rainbow Dash smiled as she brought the custom helicopter down to the helipad. Rather than just hover and slowly lower down, she couldn’t help but show off some of her awesomeness by making the helicopter slide sideways as it landed. However, since she had not removed the large wheels during her part of the build, that sliding landing left a pair of skid-marks right across the large “H” on the pad.
Rainbow paid no attention to that mess as she shut off the rotors, once the vehicle had come to a complete stop. She then opened the canopy and hopped out, while everyone else opened the doors next to their respective seats and climbed out. Now that the five Master Builders were done building and using their custom creation, the magical pony additions to their bodies vanished, returning all five of them to regular minifigs.
“Perfect landing!” declared Rainbow Dash proudly as she led the rest of the team towards the nearby double-doors into the building.
“If that’s what ya call leavin’ huge skid-marks across the helipad…” said Applejack doubtfully as she looked back over her shoulder to see the damage she was referring to.
“Wasn’t my idea to put wheels on that thing,” rebuked Rainbow.
As everyone stepped inside the building and began walking down a hallway, Fluttershy pointed out, “But it was your idea to convert the car into a helicopter.”
“Exactly!” responded Rainbow with a smug grin on her face. “That allowed us to take the direct route, without having to go through the winding mountain road.”
“But that road is so much fun!” countered Pinkie Pie with an even bigger smile on her face. “You should try it out sometime.”
“I’d rather not,” said Rarity. “Not when all the other alternative means of arrival are more efficient.” She then narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash and added, “Though that doesn’t mean I’ll accept just any of those alternatives.”
“Hey, I got us here quickly, didn’t I?” argued Rainbow. She quickly and boastfully added, “I’m the team pilot. It’s what I do!”
“Along with crashin’ into things,” muttered Applejack.
Before Rainbow could respond, Fluttershy spoke up. “Um, could we please stop arguing now?” she calmly asked the group. She gestured to the set of doors they had just arrived at and added, “We kind of need to find out why Celestia called us over… if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah, we’ll talk about my awesome pilot skills later,” said Rainbow Dash in agreement before opening the doors.
The team of five friends stepped into a massive room with a very high ceiling, platforms and walkways at various levels above the floor, and huge windows on one side that offered a spectacular view of the city. To the right, there was a platform up against the wall that was about six bricks above the floor. There was a large console with various controls, buttons, and switches on that platform, just below a massive display screen. But the real focus of everyone’s attention was the person currently standing on that platform: Celestia Playwell, leader of the Canterlot City branch of the LEGO Team.
“Welcome back, girls,” greeted Celestia. “Please forgive me for calling you in on such short notice, but I believe it would be best for you to have an early start for your next mission.”
The five minifigs smiled at one another. It had been about six months since they — along with Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria — joined the LEGO Team and were sent on their very first missions, ultimately leading to the defeat and arrest of Sunset Shimmer, number one on LEGO’s Most Wanted at that time. They had not been called on for any new missions since then, but after an accomplishment like that, they were looking forward to what else they could do to help the Lego World.
Seeing that the team was eager to listen, Celestia turned to the console and tapped a few keys as she explained, “For this mission, you will be going to the City Region of Bricklyn.” The display screen began to show various images of that city.
“Hey, Ah got a cousin who lives there!” remarked Applejack with a smile. That smile quickly fell as she then asked with concern, “Is everything okay, over there?”
“I’m afraid not,” answered Celestia solemnly as she brought up more images on the display screen. “Over the past few months, that city has steadily gone silent for reasons that no one has been able to figure out. First, we lost contact with their branch of the LEGO Team. Then entire neighborhoods started going quiet. By now, all forms of communication from the city have been completely cut off. Even stranger, many people have been sent into the city to investigate, but none of them have been heard from again.” She turned around to face the assembled team and finished, “Your mission will be to go into that city and report anything unusual that you find, as we currently have absolutely nothing to explain what’s been going on.”
The teammates looked at one another uneasily. Eventually, Rarity cleared her throat and asked, “Excuse me, Miss Playwell, but did we just hear you correctly? You want us to go into a place where no one has been heard from in a long time, and expect us to somehow solve a mystery where everyone else has gone silent?”
“I was hesitant to send you there as well,” admitted Celestia, “but my uncle, Kjeld, is convinced that you are the best team for the job.” She smiled as she added, “After all, it’s not every day that an entire team discovers that they have become Master Builders.”
The five friends smiled in approval. It had been a few weeks since they discovered that, likely thanks to some residual Equestrian magic from when Princess Twilight had visited, they had become Master Builders — people with an exceptionally wide range of creative talents. It was this that made the team of friends especially excited for whatever their next mission would be, as Master Builders on the LEGO Team were regarded as a force to be reckoned with, and they were more than eager to prove it. The fact that the leader of the entire Lego World was convinced that they were the best team to handle such a mission only enforced their sense of confidence.
“If Kjeld thinks we’ve got what it takes, then I say we go for it!” declared Rainbow Dash. She stuck her hand out and asked, “Who’s with me?”
One by one, the four remaining members of the team placed their hands on top of each other’s. Even Fluttershy, despite being the last to agree, showed little hesitation. With everyone in agreement, they raised their hands and let out a cheer. They were ready for their mission.
“I suppose that now just leaves the question of how we will make our way to the City Region of Bricklyn,” stated Rarity.
Celestia answered, “I have arranged for a charter flight — the plane and its pilot are waiting for you in the hangar — to take you to Manehattan, the other half of the so-called twin cities. You will then board a ferry to take you across the river to Bricklyn. From there, I’m afraid you will be left to your own devices. Should you attempt to leave the city, be aware that all of the bridges leading out have been mysteriously blocked off, and some demolition may be required.”
“Will that be all?” asked Rarity.
“As far as I am aware, yes,” replied Celestia with a nod. “After all, we know very little of what to expect once you arrive, but I am confident that you are capable of solving this mystery.”
“Then what are we waiting for?!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie cheerfully. “Let’s go save the day again!”
As one, the five friends let out a loud cheer and headed out of the room.
Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all boarded the private jet that would take them to Manehattan to begin their new mission. Everyone took their seats and prepared for the fight ahead. Pinkie Pie and Applejack helped themselves to some lunch, while Rarity and Fluttershy shared some casual conversation, and Rainbow Dash simply decided to take a nap.
The interior of the jet had enough seats for up to six minifigs, arranged in three rows of two. The fact that this left one empty seat did not escape anyone’s attention. A brief moment of sadness fell across the team as they reflected on the one who had brought them all together, but could not join them. As much as they would have loved to have Twilight Sparkle of Equestria join them on their mission, they knew that the interdimensional portal between Equestria and the Lego World would remain closed for a very long time. For now, all they had of her were memories of their triumph over Sunset Shimmer, and that was good enough for the team.
Once the plane was ready for take-off, the hangar door opened. The pilot fired up the jet’s engines and slowly brought the plane outside. Once they were clear of the hangar doorway, the pilot increased the throttle, accelerating the plane down the runway until they were finally airborne.
As the small jet took off for Manehattan, no one was aware of the presence in the shadows of the hangar of a mysterious individual who was dressed up in a standard astronaut suit. There was no need for such a suit to provide survival, but it did hide this stranger’s identity, as this person’s face could not be seen through the golden visor on the helmet. Whoever this strange individual was, he or she just stood there, watching and observing…