Chapter 5
Trouble in Appleloosa
The Old West Region of the Lego World was a sun-scorched land of cowboys, horse-drawn wagons, steam locomotives, and desert landscapes. There were many frontier towns to be found in this region, each with a different purpose. Some of these towns were home to prospectors and miners, seeking to strike it rich by searching for gold and silver. Other towns housed soldiers who were often in conflict with some of the native tribes.
What made the town of Appleloosa special was, as the name suggested, the extensive apple orchards just outside of town. These orchards were planted on fertile soil that allowed the apple trees to thrive like nowhere else in the entire region. Many of the recent harvests were so abundant that they were able to supply just about every other town in the region with fresh apples. With success like that, it was little wonder why the townsfolk of Appleloosa were among the most content people in the Old West Region.
As the middle of the day approached, a train whistle sounded from the town’s train station. Steam was still hissing from the engine, indicating that the train had just pulled into the station. Among the many passengers who were now starting to disembark were Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer.
Unlike when she was handed over to the team in Canterlot City, Sunset was no longer wearing her orange prison jumpsuit. Instead, she was now back in her typical wardrobe — a black jacket over a magenta shirt with her red and yellow sun symbol on the front, a pair of black boots with some magenta on the front, and an orange skirt with a yellow and magenta diagonal stripe across the front. The last time she had worn these clothes was the day she was arrested, just minutes after she had been defeated by the same team that she was now here to help.
As Sunset Shimmer followed the team and stepped onto the platform of the train station, she said, “Thanks for helping me change back into my usual outfit, Rarity.”
“The pleasure is all mine, darling,” replied Rarity as she and the others continued walking forward. “Just because you have been placed under our watchful eyes doesn’t mean that it has to be an unpleasant experience.” She then lowered her voice as she added, “Besides, I didn’t want to give off the impression that we were harboring a fugitive.”
“I’m pretty sure the handcuffs are an obvious giveaway,” Sunset bitterly remarked as she held up her hands to show the cuffs that still bound her wrists.
“Trust me, dear,” stated Rarity as the six minifigs left the train station, “if keeping those things on were not mandatory, I would have removed them. Your willingness to assist us, along with your humbled attitude, is enough to convince me that you can be forgiven for your past transgressions.”
“Really?” asked Sunset in confusion. “You’re willing to just forgive me like that? After everything I’ve done to you?”
“Sure we are,” replied Applejack with a friendly smile.
“You seem a lot nicer now,” remarked Fluttershy.
“You’re nothing like the grumpy meanie-pants who once turned into a raging she-demon and tried to turn everyone in Canterlot City into a personal army of zombies,” added Pinkie Pie tactlessly.
“And while I don’t completely trust you just yet,” said Rainbow Dash bluntly, but still with a friendly smile, “I’m willing to give you the benefit of doubt.”
“Wow,” said Sunset as a friendly smile of her own formed on her face. “Thanks, girls. That actually means a lot to me.” That smile quickly faded as she uneasily added, “Although I’m so not sure if everyone else in the Lego World is willing to forgive me so easily.”
As the team walked through town, Sunset looked to her right to see a minifig in a cowboy hat polishing his rifle and snarling with bared teeth at her as she passed by. She looked to her left and saw a minifig with a short beard and a threatening look on his face as he spun a revolver in his hand, then spat into a nearby spittoon. She then glanced back to her right and saw a native from the Buffalo Tribe, who wore a feathered headdress and gripped tightly to a tomahawk in his hand as he growled threateningly at her.
Sunset turned her gaze down to the dusty ground and sighed. “Let’s just get this over with,” she muttered sadly. “I would much rather be back in jail than to be out in public like this.”
“You’re the one who knows where to find, uh, whatever it is we’re lookin’ for,” said Applejack. “So lead the way.”
“I was afraid someone would say that,” mumbled Sunset as she reluctantly began to lead the team through town.
Meanwhile, back at the train station, another disembarked passenger had been watching the departure of the Canterlot City Master Builders. Unlike those girls, this one was wearing a western outfit that served as an effective disguise, although not even the ten-gallon hat on her head could completely hide her large mass of orange curly hair. Adagio Dazzle smirked as she tipped back the hat on her head.
Behind Adagio, a few laborers grunted at they rolled a wheeled vehicle off the train. The dingy tan shroud that covered the vehicle prevented them from knowing what it was they were unloading.
“Hey! Easy with that thing!” shouted Aria at the laborers. “If I find even one piece missing, I’ll rip off more than just your heads.”
The laborers took the threat seriously as they very carefully moved the unknown vehicle into a nearby shed and then shut the doors.
Aria, who was also wearing a western disguise of her own, turned to Adagio and grumbled, “What are we even doing here, anyway?”
“Now that phase two is already underway, we need to keep an eye on those special Master Builders,” answered Adagio, never turning her gaze away from the direction in which those girls had walked off. “Keep in mind, they are the ones with Equestrian magic, and once we’re finally powerful enough to absorb it, we’ll need to know exactly where to find them.”
“So we’re just gonna secretly chase them all over the Lego World, if we have to?” asked Aria as she put her hands on her hips.
“We may not have to,” replied Adagio confidently. “If we can capture them, we can keep them in one place, allowing us to devote our attention to more important tasks.” A wicked grin slowly formed on her face as she continued, “As an added bonus, it seems that police officer spoke the truth when he said that Sunset Shimmer was with them. Once we get her under our spell, we can move on to phase three.” After a brief silence, her grin suddenly vanished as she looked around in confusion and asked, “Wait… Where’s Sonata?”
As Aria also began looking around, she began to faintly hear some music playing. As she listened carefully for a moment, she was able to identify it as music from a mariachi band. She responded to this by groaning as she facepalmed. “Not this again,” she grumbled as she began stomping over toward the source of the music.
Aria sneaked her way between buildings as she got closer to the site of the upbeat music. She peered around the corner of one final building and, much as she had wished to have been wrong, found exactly she had expected. Sonata, also wearing her own western disguise, was in the middle of some kind of fiesta and having a good time.
One guy with a bushy moustache and wearing a colorful poncho and red sombrero walked up to Sonata and held up a plate to her. “Taco Tuesday!” he said cheerfully.
“Ooh! My favorite!” said Sonata excitedly as she gladly took one of the tacos offered to her. “Thanks!”
The taco guy winked at her before moving on to the next person to offer his tacos. This turned out to be a very grumpy Aria Blaze. “Taco Tuesday!” he repeated happily, holding up the plateful of tacos.
Without even a glance at the taco guy, Aria flipped the plate up into his face, spilling tacos all over the ground and sending him onto his back, grunting in pain.
Sonata licked her lips in eager anticipation of enjoying her delicious taco. She closed her eyes, opened her mouth wide, and prepared to take a bite. Unfortunately, someone suddenly yanked on her arm and began to drag her away, causing her to drop her taco.
“Quit fooling around,” grumbled Aria as she dragged her companion away from the Taco Tuesday fiesta. “We got work to do.”
Sonata could only moan in disappointment as she stared back at her fallen taco on the dusty ground.
Elsewhere in Appleloosa, Sunset Shimmer continued to lead the team of Master Builders through town. A horse trotted by in front of them, hauling a wagon that rattled as it rolled along the dusty trail. After just a few more steps, Sunset stopped and looked up at the building that was straight ahead. “It’s in there,” she stated.
The team looked up at the large brown and faded-green building with a large sign on it that said “Salt-Lick Saloon”.
“Well, let’s mosey on in, then,” said Applejack as she and the rest of the team walked up to the front steps. She pushed open the shutter doors and stepped inside. One by one, everyone else followed her in, with Sunset Shimmer being the last in line.
The six minifigs took a moment to take in the change in atmosphere inside the saloon. Pinkie Pie happily nodded her head and tapped her foot to the beat of a tune that was being played on the piano. Rarity was nearly overwhelmed by the stench of alcohol and was force to press a hand against her mouth. Fluttershy glanced over at an arm-wrestling match between two burly guys, which ended with the loser’s arm actually coming right off. That sight and the grunt of pain from the loser made Fluttershy cringe. The winner then let go of the detached arm and chuckled as he tapped on the table. The loser grumbled as he placed a coin on the table.
Applejack smiled when she saw a familiar minifig sitting over at the bar on the other side of the room. She casually walked between the tables as she made her way over to the bar. “Howdy, Braeburn,” she greeted.
The yellow minifig with orange hair and wearing a brown vest, chaps, and cowboy hat spun around on his stool and smiled when he saw a familiar face. “Well howdy to you, too, cousin Applejack!” he greeted cheerfully with a tip of the hat. “This is a mighty fine surprise! What brings ya all the way out here?”
“Duty calls for the LEGO Team,” answered Applejack as she gestured behind her to her teammates.
Braeburn leaned over to look at the rest of the team, then leaned back onto his stool and said, “Oh yeah. Congrats on joinin’ up with ‘em, cousin. Oh, an’ on becomin’ a Master Builder, too! Ah always knew it would be a matter of time before we got one in the family.” He took a sip of his cider from the mug he held before continuing. “So what kinda mission brings y’all out here to Appleloosa?”
“Sunset Shimmer says she’s got somethin’ here that can help us,” replied Applejack, her smile never leaving her face.
“Sunset Shimmer?” asked the bartender, who now stopped cleaning the glassware as he quickly turned his attention to the city girls. Sure enough, he saw the girl in question standing among them. “Ah thought she was servin’ time in the big house for her heinous misdeeds.”
Sunset couldn’t help but look down shamefully after yet another reminder of her old self.
“She made parole for refusing to join in on a jailbreak,” explained Rainbow Dash.
The bartender raised an eyebrow and asked, “An’ y’all are willin’ to trust her?”
“We got bigger issues to deal with right now,” replied Applejack as she furrowed her brow at the bartender. “Ah think we can set aside some harsh feelings for a lil’ while.”
“Besides,” added Rainbow Dash as she held up Sunset’s handcuffs, “we’ll make sure she doesn’t try any funny business.”
“Yeah, ‘cause being funny is my business!” added Pinkie Pie with a cheerful grin, which earned the pink party girl some blank stares from everyone around her.
“Anyway,” said Applejack as she turned to Sunset Shimmer. “Where do we need to start searchin’?”
“It should be inside the office upstairs,” replied Sunset.
“Ah seriously doubt that,” said the bartender skeptically. “Ah’ve been usin’ that office for nearly fifteen years now, an’ Ah ain’t never found anythin’ unusual in there.”
“Then clearly you haven’t been looking hard enough,” remarked Sunset, almost tauntingly. She smiled slightly as she turned to the team and added, “Which is good for us, because that means it could still be there.”
Applejack turned to the bartender and asked, “Ya mind if we take a look around in there?”
The bartender sighed. He still had huge doubts about Sunset Shimmer, but she was supposedly now working with members of the LEGO Team, who were here on a mission of some importance. He reluctantly replied, “Go ahead. Just remember to put everythin’ back the way ya found it.”
“Can do,” assured Applejack with a tip of the hat. Without another word, she and the others walked around the bar and towards the stairway.
Up on the second floor, the music from the piano downstairs was much fainter, but still discernable. In addition, the stench of alcohol was nowhere nearly as intense as it was at the bar. After the six minifigs had climbed the stairs and walked down the short hallway, Rarity finally removed her hand from over her mouth and groaned in disgust. “I suppose there is one aspect of the Old West Region that I do not wish to encounter very often,” she grumbled.
Applejack rolled her eyes before she opened the door to the office. Once everyone had stepped inside the room, she said, “Well, here we are.” She turned to Sunset and asked, “So where is it?”
“First, we’ll need to move that desk out of the way,” replied Sunset, pointing at the desk at the other side of the room.
“No problemo,” said Pinkie Pie as she and Applejack walked over to either end of the desk, picked it up, and moved it over to the side.
Sunset walked over to where the desk had been and began to slowly step across the floor as she quietly muttered, “Now if I remember correctly, it should be right…” One of the floorboards creaked under her foot. “Here!” She stomped down on the floorboard, causing the other end of the 1x8 tile to break loose from the floor and fling upwards, nearly striking Rainbow Dash in the face.
“Whoa! Watch it!” shouted Rainbow as she jumped back a little.
“Sorry,” said Sunset sheepishly. She removed the loosened piece, then removed the two 1x6 tiles on either side of the gap. The removal of those three Lego pieces revealed a hidden space that could have been perfectly filled in with a 2x3 brick. Sunset reached down into that secret compartment and removed the item inside: a brown book with her Cutie/Creative Mark of a red and yellow sun printed on the front cover.
“When I was Princess Celestia’s student back in Equestria, she gave me this,” explained Sunset Shimmer as she brushed off the dust on the cover of the book and walked over to the desk to set it down. “Even after I abandoned my studies, I held onto it. Deep down, I guess I knew I was making a big mistake, and I wanted to still have a way to reach out to her.” She opened the book, which, unlike many other things in the Lego World, was not made of plastic, but had instead maintained the physical properties it had in Equestria. Sunset flipped through the paper pages until she found the first blank page. She rested a hand over the paper and smiled. “Maybe it still works.”
“That’s a book, darling,” Rarity pointed out. “What do you mean, ‘maybe it still works’?”
“It used to be that if I wrote something in here, it would appear in the pages of a book back in Princess Celestia’s library,” explained Sunset. “I get a message to her, then she can get a message to Princess Twilight.”
The five Master Builders looked at one another and smiled. Sunset Shimmer had sounded very sincere as she explained how her magic book worked, and if what she claimed was true, then there really was a way for them to contact Princess Twilight of Equestria without the need of the interdimensional portal.
“So what are you waiting for?” said Rainbow Dash excitedly as she pulled a ballpoint pen out of her jacket and held it out to Sunset. “Get to writing!”
Sunset looked over at the pen being offered to her. She glanced up at the smiling faces of Twilight’s Lego friends, then slowly took the pen from Rainbow’s hand. She looked down at the blank page and sighed. Her old self would have never considered doing something like this, but times had changed, and she was now willing to do anything to help the Lego World. “Been a long time since I’ve written these words,” she muttered. Due to the handcuffs, she had to keep both hands close together as she began writing. “‘Dear Princess Celestia…’”
Adagio tapped her foot impatiently as she waited outside the main entrance to the Salt-Lick Saloon. After Aria had stormed off, she had decided to follow after the Master Builders on her own. She saw them enter this building, but dared not to enter alone. She needed her companions by her side before she could proceed any further.
Adagio turned to the clacking noise of footsteps coming up the front steps to the saloon. She saw a grumpy Aria holding a sullen Sonata by the arm as they both walked up to her. “Let me guess. Taco Tuesday?” asked Adagio in a slightly bored tone.
Sonata kept her head down shamefully as she silently nodded.
Aria let go of Sonata and peered over the shutter doors to look inside the saloon. “Is this where they went?” she asked. “I don’t see them anywhere.”
“They’re probably in a different room, but I know they’re in there,” said Adagio. “We’ll just have to step inside and ‘politely’ ask for where they went.”
Aria turned to Adagio and asked, “So we’ll just sing a little song and demand these guys to rat ‘em out?”
“No, I’m afraid we can’t do that,” replied Adagio firmly. “If we start singing, they’ll be able to hear our presence inside this building, regardless of which room they’re in. Besides, our voices aren’t as powerful when the background music isn’t playing in our favor.”
Aria briefly listened to the upbeat piano music coming from inside the saloon, then shut her eyes and sighed in frustration. “So what are we gonna do?” she grumbled. “Just wait out here and ambush them when they eventually come out?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” said Adagio confidently as she stepped over to the shutter doors. “Just follow my lead.” She placed her hands on the doors, but paused and turned to an additional companion and said, “Wait here until I summon you inside.” She then pushed the doors open and strutted inside, followed closely by Aria and Sonata. The trio didn’t even bother to acknowledge their surroundings as they headed straight for the bar at the other side of the room.
As the bartender gave him a refill of apple cider, Braeburn asked, “Ah wonder why they call it ‘high noon’. Ain’t it still just noon?”
Before he could think of an answer, the bartender noticed the arrival of three girls in western clothes. “Howdy, ladies,” he greeted in a friendly manner. “What can Ah get ya?”
Sonata tapped her chin thoughtfully and replied, “I think I’ll have—”
Adagio swiftly placed her hand over Sonata’s mouth without even a sideways glance at her. “We’re not here for drinks,” she said softly to the bartender. She lowered her hand from Sonata’s mouth and continued, “We’re looking for a group of about six girls, all of them wearing city clothes, and one of them is in handcuffs. Could you tell us where to find them?”
The bartender raised an eyebrow in confusion. He glanced over at Braeburn, who furrowed his brow and shook his head. The bartender looked back at the trio and replied, “Sorry, ma’am, but Ah ain’t seen nobody like that ‘round here.”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” said Adagio, her tone getting more serious. “I saw them walk in here, and I’m very sure they haven’t left, which means they must be somewhere in here. Now tell us where they are.”
The bartender sighed uneasily. He had no idea why these three girls were seeking out those five girls from the LEGO Team and that convict, but the way they were immediately asking for information made him suspicious that they were up to no good. Not to mention, he noticed Braeburn repeat his silent request to not tell anything to this trio. “Ah’m afraid Ah can’t help you, ma’am,” he lied again. “Ah ain’t seen no city girls in town today, so y’all are just gonna have to look elsewhere.”
As the piano player reached the end of the tune he was playing, Adagio sighed and rolled her eyes. “Last chance,” she warned as she grabbed a revolver from her belt and slammed it down on the counter, aiming it point-blank right at the bartender. “Where are they?”
The bartender gulped audibly as he stared down at the revolver that was pointed straight at him. He was now suddenly forced to choose between taking a bullet or betraying the good guys. The lack of piano music in the background made it seem like a deathly silence had fallen across the saloon as he pondered this very tough decision. He glanced over at Braeburn, who was now giving the trio a hard stare as he slowly moved his hand toward his belt. Finally, the bartender made his choice and softly confessed, “They’re upstairs in mah office, ma’am.”
As the piano player started another upbeat tune, Adagio grinned and took the revolver off the counter. “Thank you for being so cooperative,” she said smugly.
Braeburn’s jaw was gaping in shock as he watched the trio walk by on their way to the stairs. He quickly turned to the bartender and whispered, “How could ya do that to mah cousin an’ her teammates?!”
“Ah saw ya reachin’ for yer revolver, Braeburn,” replied the bartender in a defeated tone, “an’ the last thing Ah want ‘round here is a gunfight breakin’ out.”
Meanwhile, as the Dazzlings reached the stairway, Aria turned to Adagio with a concerned look on her face and asked, “Is that thing real?”
“Heck no,” Adagio responded sharply as she tossed away the wooden fake, which clattered as it bounced across the counter of the bar. “We’re not here to take away Creation Sparks. We’re here to take control of them. Speaking of which…” She waved her arm through the air once, gesturing for someone to approach.
At the front of the saloon, the Dazzilings’ additional companion pushed open the shutter doors and marched across the room to join them.
Sunset Shimmer struggled to find the right words to use as she finished writing, “‘Your… faithful and humbled… former student, Sunset Shimmer.’” With the message now finished, Sunset gave the pen back to Rainbow Dash and closed the book. “Now all we have to do is wait for a reply,” she said.
“So I guess this means we won’t be putting that book back in its hiding place right away, huh?” said Rainbow Dash as she put away her pen.
“It’s not just that,” said Sunset as she shook her head. “As an extra precaution, now that I’ve removed it from that hidden compartment, I’ll need to find a new place to hide it.”
“You could leave it with us, dear,” suggested Rarity.
“I don’t know,” said Sunset reluctantly as she clutched the book protectively against her chest. “Are you sure you can take care of it?”
“If that thing’s the only way to talk to Twilight, then you can bet an arm an’ a leg that we’ll take very good care of it,” assured Applejack.
Sunset silently looked down at her book for a moment. She then smiled slightly and said, “I guess you’re right. For now, I’ll just hold onto it for safekeeping until we get back to Canterlot City.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Rainbow Dash, smiling in approval.
“Before we leave,” Fluttershy spoke up, “we should put everything in this room back where they belong, like we promised.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. First, Rarity and Fluttershy grabbed the floorboards and stuck them back into the gaps they had been removed from. After that was done, Applejack and Pinkie Pie picked up the desk and hauled it over to where it had originally been, covering the site of the hidden compartment.
The six minifigs smiled at one another. Their mission had been successfully completed, and there was nothing left to do now but return to Canterlot City and tell the good news to Celestia Playwell. However, their good feelings were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Open up! We know you’re in there.”
Rarity gasped and quietly said, “That sounds like one of the Dazzlings! Adagio Dazzle, if I’m not mistaken.”
“How did they find us?!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash in shock.
A much heavier pounding came from the door, followed by the voice of Aria Blaze. “Open this door right now!” The door rattled as she tried to open it from the outside, but it stayed firmly shut.
“Good thing I had the foresight to lock the door,” remarked Rarity. “You never know when a brute might try to barge in unannounced.”
“If you won’t open this door,” said Adagio smugly, “then perhaps you would like to meet an old… acquaintance of yours.”
There was a brief silence before a new voice came from the other side of the door. “Hey, noobs! Remember me?”
“Lightning Dust?!” asked Rainbow Dash in disbelief. “What’s she doing here?!”
“Vengeance, that’s what!” Lightning shouted back. “Now open the door, or I’ll blast it open!”
“We gotta get outta here!” exclaimed Applejack.
“But the only way out is through that door!” Sunset pointed out.
Pinkie Pie quickly looked around the room for any possible means of escape. Her eyes passed over it at least three times before she realized there was a window on one of the walls. “Quick! The window!” she shouted before launching herself straight at that window, only to slam face-first right into it. The glass squeaked as she slowly slid down to the floor.
“Um, maybe we should… open it, first,” Fluttershy quietly suggested.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Lightning Dust — wearing her favorite blue and yellow fight suit — had a bitter look on her face as she held up a bundle of dynamite. “Can’t believe I have to settle with dynamite,” she grumbled as she lit the fuse. She dropped the explosive right in front of the door and ran down the hallway to take cover in a nearby room with the Dazzlings. “I’d much rather use destructa-bricks. At least those things are adjustable and more stable.”
“You mean unlike a certain someone?” remarked Aria under her breath.
Lightning had heard that taunt, so she grabbed Aria by the neck and threateningly shouted, “I’ll show you unstable!”
Before a fight could break out, the dynamite exploded, shaking the entire building and throwing a cloud of dust all over the second floor. Adagio immediately ran down the hallway towards the office. She removed her large hat and waved it around to clear up the dusty air as quickly as possible.
Adagio smiled when she saw that the door was now completely gone, but then frowned when she found no one at all was inside the room. She raised an eyebrow, then lowered it when she saw an open window. She dropped her hat as she ran over to the window and looked outside. Sure enough, she saw six familiar minifigs running away from the building. She growled in frustration and shouted back, “You idiot! They escaped out the window!”
While Aria and Sonata remained standing just outside the destroyed doorway, Lightning Dust rushed into the room and stuck her head out the window. When she saw the fleeing minifigs, she shouted out to them, “Hey! Get back here!” She quickly jumped out the window, landed on the dusty ground, and began to chase after them.
Adagio threw off her western disguise, revealing the same city outfit that she had worn during her recent encounter with those Master Builders. Rather than go for the window, she decided to take the proper exit. “Get to the Dazzlemobile!” she shouted as she ran by her two companions.
Aria and Sonata followed their leader’s example and threw off their western disguises to reveal their respective city clothes, then ran after her down the stairs and out the front door. While Adagio easily charged outside through the shutter doors, Aria and Sonata had tried to leave at the exact same time, causing them to wedge themselves into the door frame. Both of them tried to push through, but with neither of them willing to give up even an inch, they were both stuck.
“Ugh! This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t the worst!” shouted Aria.
“You are!” Sonata shouted back.
Adagio ran back to the saloon and shouted, “We don’t have time for this!” She shoulder-rammed her stuck companions back inside, which was enough to free them. Without another word, she spun around and rushed back outside.
Behind Adagio, Aria shoved Sonata aside so she could go through the front door on her own. Sonata stumbled for a moment, but quickly regained her balance and followed the others outside.
After narrowly escaping, the six girls wasted no time getting as far away from the saloon as possible. They didn’t care where they were actually going, as long as it was away from those four troublemakers. As they were running, Sunset Shimmer held her magic book against her chest, doing her best to keep it absolutely safe.
Rainbow Dash decided to look back and her eyes widened in shock as she saw that not only was Lightning Dust chasing after them, but had also pulled out a bundle of dynamite and was now lighting the fuse. “Look out! Dynamite!” she shouted.
Lightning didn’t hesitate to hurl the bundle of dynamite at the fleeing girls, but Rainbow Dash reacted quickly by shoving all of her friends aside between two buildings. The dynamite bounced along the ground where they had been running and eventually rolled to a stop right next to a support leg for the town’s water tower, where it exploded just one second later. The structure groaned as it slowly toppled over and spilled its contents directly towards Lightning Dust.
“Oh shoot,” muttered Lightning just before she was swept away by the sudden torrent of water.
Meanwhile, the six fleeing girls weaved their way between buildings before coming to a stop in a small open area to catch their breaths. “What are we gonna do?” asked Pinkie.
“We can’t stay in town, that’s for sure,” replied Applejack. “Fluttershy, go round up a couple of horses! Everyone else…” She picked up a spoked wheel that was resting against as nearby fence. “Help me build a wagon!”
As Fluttershy ran off to find some horses, the other Master Builders scattered around the area to begin collecting Lego pieces, leaving Sunset Shimmer to do little more than observe.
When Applejack noticed Sunset’s lack of contribution, she exclaimed, “Don’t just stand there! Help us out!”
“But I don’t have any creative talents, remember?” reminded Sunset. “As much as I’d love to help, I just don’t know how I can do anything useful.”
“There’s nothin’ to it, Sunset,” responded Applejack as she continued to gather more parts and throw them into a large pile. “Just build whatever comes to mind.”
“Absolutely, dear,” said Rarity in agreement as she walked up to the growing pile of Lego parts. “You must visualize your creation, Sunset. The first step to building anything is to see it with your mind.”
“Easy for you to say,” muttered Sunset. “All I can see is a pile of pieces.”
Oblivious to Sunset’s response, Rarity smiled as she turned around and saw some white curved parts. “Oh! Those look wonderful,” she remarked. “I could use these to build a large cover over the wagon.”
“We ain’t got time for fancy add-ons!” Applejack responded sharply as she dropped off even more brown parts onto the pile. “All we need is somethin’ with four wheels that can carry all of us.”
“Come on!” shouted Rainbow Dash desperately as she was busy searching around. “How hard can it be to find even a single power brick?!”
“It’s the Old West Region, ya dummy!” exclaimed Applejack irritably. “We’re buildin’ a wagon ‘cause we ain’t gonna find no power bricks ‘round here! Didn’t any of y’all even hear what Ah said?!”
Pinkie Pie began inspecting some of the parts in the pile as she asked, “How am I supposed to build a party bus out of nothing but shades of brown and grey?”
“That’s it!” snapped Applejack. “Ah’ll just build it mahself!” She immediately began assembling many of the pieces into chunks and slammed those chunks together. She started with the wheels and axles, then the floor of the wagon, and finished it off with some simple railings around the sides and back. “There!” she said with satisfaction. “That’s how ya build a wagon! All we need now are those horses.”
It was right at that moment that a pair of horses neighed loudly as they galloped by, dragging behind them a screaming Fluttershy along the dusty ground.
“Perfect!” said Applejack happily as she ran over to grab those horses by the harnesses attached to their torsos and dug in her heels. Her immense strength brought the horses to a stop, but left Fluttershy to tumble along the ground until she eventually stopped at Pinkie Pie’s feet.
Fluttershy’s body was covered in scratches and dirt stains, while her hair piece was askew in a way that it covered one of her eyes. “Remind me not to do that again,” she said in a very dazed voice.
“Absolutely!” replied Pinkie cheerfully as she lightly patted Fluttershy’s head. “Because I have no idea what you just did!”
Applejack quickly managed to attach the horses’ harnesses to the wagon. She then hopped up into the seat up front and grabbed the reins. “Hop in, y’all!” she shouted to her friends.
Now that their getaway ride was ready, the team didn’t hesitate to climb into the wagon.
Once everyone was seated inside the wagon, Applejack exclaimed, “Now let’s get outta here!” She whipped the reins and shouted, “Hyah!” The horses immediately galloped forward, their hooves thundering against the ground as they pulled the wagon with them as quickly as possible.
The wagon rushed between buildings and eventually arrived at the middle of town, just in time to see the arrival of a certain orange and yellow convertible car that was last seen in a Bricklyn construction zone. The sudden appearance of such a foreign object spooked the horses to a sudden stop, causing the wagon to slide sideways and stop with its left side facing the car.
In the driver’s seat of the car, Adagio smirked before she stomped on the accelerator. The engine roared loudly and the wheels kicked up some dust as the car began zooning ahead, right at the stopped wagon.
“They’re gonna ram us!” shouted Rarity in terror.
“Not if I do this!” remarked Pinkie Pie as she quickly removed much of the surrounding railings and reassembled the pieces into a large flat surface. She attached one side of the surface to the left side of the wagon and let the other side drop to the ground, creating a crude ramp.
Just a split second after that ramp was put into place, the car drove right up it, over the wagon, and soared through the air before crashing into a large building — identified by its sign as a bank. The car slammed into the upper floor of the bank, crashing through the wall and disappearing inside. The impact and damage then caused the entire structure to completely collapse into a massive pile of pieces.
As Pinkie Pie undid her work and rebuilt the railings on the wagon, Rainbow Dash said, “That’ll buy us maybe ten seconds.”
“Then let’s give ourselves a ten second head start,” responded Applejack. “Hyah!” she shouted as she whipped the reins again, causing the two horses to pull the wagon ahead as fast as they could. The six teammates rode their wagon into the nearby apple orchard and out of town.
Just seconds later, the convertible car pushed its way out from under the huge pile of parts that used to be a bank and drove off to the edge of town.
“Hey! Don’t go without me!” shouted Lightning Dust — who was still completely soaked from that incident with the water tower — as she ran alongside the car and hopped into the front passenger seat.
“Ugh!” exclaimed Aria with disgust from the backseat behind Adagio. “You got the seat all wet!”
“You’re worried about a seat?!” Lightning shouted back. “This flight suit is dry clean only!”
“Well, this place is very dry and dusty,” Sonata pointed out from the backseat behind Lightning. “Maybe it’ll dry out more quickly.”
“Stop talking so I can drive!” shouted Adagio, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she drove the car into the apple orchard and after the getaway wagon. The chase was on.