LEGO Equestria Girls 3

by Chronicler06


Battle in the Warehouse

Chapter 10
Battle in the Warehouse

As the late afternoon slowly gave way to dusk, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy rode their motorcycles back to the compound where their team’s mission on Dinosaur Island had begun. As they passed through the destroyed gateway of the surrounding fence, they saw the rest of their friends — Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie — were sitting on the steps just outside the main building. The three minifigs on motorcycles came to a stop, shut off the engines, and removed their helmets.

“I figured you would try to meet up with us here,” remarked Sunset with a smile.

“Not like we had much of a choice,” grumbled Applejack. “After we lost the jeep, we had to walk the whole way back.”

“I always knew that a long hike through the jungle would be rough on one’s feet,” noted Rarity, “but at least now you can’t argue that I don’t have the personal experience to back up that claim.”

“How did you lose the jeep?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Rarity explained, “An unusual portal opened up and out came some rather aggressive plants, and although we all safely got out in time, the jeep was crushed by those plants and then dragged off to who knows where.”

“A portal with vicious plants coming out?” asked Sunset. “Did you happen to be following Twilight hanging from a helicopter when that happened?”

“Why most certainly indeed,” replied Rarity.

“Though you gotta admit,” added Pinkie Pie, “it was pretty weird that they allowed Sunny Flare to climb up a rope ladder while they just left Twilight hanging around inside that net.”

Sunset rubbed her chin as she thought aloud, “If these strange portals have been opening around Twilight again, then that could only mean…” She turned her attention toward Applejack.

“Eeyup,” confirmed Applejack bitterly. “Ah ponied up right after Ah saved Twilight from fallin’ into a river of molten lava, then she stole mah Equestrian magic an’ got carried off by the other Shadowbolts.”

“The three of us all saw it happen with our own eyes!” explained Pinkie Pie. “The pendant thingy that Twilight always seems to be carrying around her neck suddenly opened up and sucked in all of that glowing magic energy. She then tried to close it, but then she got snatched up in that net and was carried away by a helicopter that totally came out of nowhere.”

“So Twilight’s been using some weird device to steal our Equestrian magic?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“At least now we know how she’s been able to do that,” mumbled Fluttershy.

“What about you three?” asked Rarity. “How did things go on your side?”

“I gotta admit, that was a pretty awesome chase we gave ‘em,” remarked Rainbow Dash excitedly. “You should’ve seen Fluttershy out there! She practically turned a pack of raptors into a motorcycle gang!”

Fluttershy simply smiled and blushed while gazing off to the side.

“Well, despite the obvious problems with attack plants coming out of those portals,” explained Sunset, “I was able to bring down that helicopter, but the Shadowbolts all got away through that vanishing doorway just as I arrived at the crash site. We still don’t know where they went.” She smiled as she pulled out the index card that Fluttershy had found earlier. “But I think we might finally have a clue to help us solve this mystery.”

“And what have you got there?” asked Rarity.

“All it says is ‘Pick-A-Brick’,” replied Rainbow Dash with a shrug.

“Now how does that help us?” asked Applejack irritably.

“I don’t know,” admitted Sunset. “But at least it’s something. We may have to do some research before we can determine just how useful this might be.”

“Maybe you could ask the Informant,” suggested Pinkie Pie. “If that little card has anything to do with the Shadowbolts, then the Informant must know what it means.”

Sunset turned to Pinkie and smiled. “That’s actually a pretty good idea.” She turned to the others and continued, “Let’s get back inside the spaceship. I’ll send a message to the Informant, then we’ll contact Celestia and Luna and discuss what we should do next.”

The rest of the team agreed with Sunset and they all climbed back inside their spaceship, which they had left parked inside the compound. After everyone changed back into their regular outfits, Sunset sent a message to the Informant asking about the phrase “Pick-A-Brick”, then the six girls gathered in the control room.

Once contact was made with the Playwell sisters and greetings were exchanged, the girls of Canterlot City went on to explain how their latest encounter with the Shadowbolts went. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie left out the parts were certain creatures had been harmed along the way, but other than that, everyone had explained in full detail what had happened.

“I arrived at the crash site just in time to see them all get away through that vanishing doorway again,” finished Sunset. “We may have succeeded in disrupting their plans, but we still failed to catch them or even determine where their secret base is located.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Sunset,” assured Celestia. “You and your friends did the best you could under the given circumstances, and that’s all that matters.”

“For now,” Luna spoke up, “it might be best to review what we do know so we can determine what step we should take next. Have you received any new information from the Informant?”

“Not yet,” replied Sunset. “But I did just send her a message asking for some clarity on a possible clue we might have.” She pulled out the index card and showed it to the display screen so Celestia and Luna could see its content. “Fluttershy found it back at that Arctic base yesterday and none of us have any idea what it means.”

“‘Pick-A-Brick’,” read Celestia. She then nodded and said, “Yes, we are familiar with that.”

“You are?” asked Sunset. She and her friends were now paying very close attention.

Celestia nodded again and explained, “It is the name of a distribution warehouse located just outside of Industrial City in the Steampunk Region.”

Luna continued, “The owners of that building are two businessmen who sell and distribute all kinds of Lego bricks and pieces imaginable. They have been known to offer their services to anyone who is willing to pay up, and if your discovery of one of their business cards is any indication, then it seems that not even the Shadowbolts are an exception.”

“I recall one of Twilight’s teammates stating that all Shadowbolt agents are Master Builders,” Rarity pointed out. “If that is indeed true, then there is little doubt that they would a need a supplier of some sort to ensure they can be ready at any time to build anything they want.”

“Pick-A-Brick is one of the largest commercial suppliers of bricks and parts in the Lego World,” explained Luna. “It could very well be of strategic value to not just Twilight and her team, but quite possibly for every Shadowbolt agent.”

“Then let’s cut off their supply!” declared Rainbow Dash.

“To be honest, Ah doubt it’ll do much to stop ‘em,” argued Applejack. “If they’re all Master Builders, then they’ll know how to make the most of any pile of bricks, an’ Ah reckon they’ve all got plenty of ‘em already stored inside their secret bases.”

“Even so,” stated Sunset, “we could still prevent them from easily obtaining new parts, forcing them to make do with their current inventory. That could still put them at a disadvantage, even if it’s just a small one.”

“I agree,” said Celestia with a nod. “With that information in mind, I shall assign you girls a new mission. You are to go to the Steampunk Region and convince the owners of Pick-A-Brick that it would be in their best interests to cut off all ties to the Shadowbolts.”

“But what if they won’t listen to us?” asked Fluttershy.

“I shall contact the LEGO Team’s branch in Industrial City,” replied Luna. “Since that warehouse falls within their jurisdiction, then they shall have the final say on how to deal with it, should your diplomatic efforts fail.”

“As nice as it is to have a backup plan,” said Rarity, “I can assure you that we will most certainly do our best to complete this mission.”

“I know you will,” acknowledged Celestia with a smile.

Sunset suddenly heard a faint tone come from the messaging tablet she had been holding onto the whole time. She looked at the screen and said, “Hold on a minute. I just got a reply from the Informant.”

“Then let’s find out what she has to say about Pick-A-Brick,” stated Celestia.

Sunset opened the message and read it aloud.

To the Canterlot City branch of the LEGO Team.

Yes, I do know about “Pick-A-Brick”. It is the name of a warehouse that sells all kinds of Lego parts to anyone who is willing to pay up. Twilight has mentioned to us that she always goes shopping there every Friday afternoon starting at 1:00 p.m. sharp. If you wish to set up another ambush to stop Twilight, then you now have a rare second chance to do so. Good luck to all of you.

From, The Informant.

As Sunset put away the messaging tablet, Pinkie Pie spoke up. “Hey, tomorrow happens to be Friday. Do you think we might see Twilight there?”

Sunset chuckled and remarked, “If she’s anything like Princess Twilight from Equestria, then she will definitely stick to her schedule.”

“In that case,” stated Celestia, “you shall be free to take advantage of your next mission as another opportunity to find out more about what Twilight is up to and perhaps even uncover the location of her secret base. It’s possible she may also bring her teammates along with her, so be prepared for another major confrontation.”

“Consider it done,” confirmed Sunset. “We’ll fly over to Industrial City, get some rest tonight, and then we’ll head over to that warehouse first thing in the morning. If all goes well, we should have plenty of time to prepare a new ambush by the time Twilight arrives.”

“Then I wish you all good luck,” responded Celestia. “Farewell.” She then shut off the connection.

With contact now over, the six girls soon took their seats in the control room and buckled up. “Alright, everyone,” Rainbow Dash spoke up as she started up the spaceship’s engines. “Next stop: Industrial City.”


Later that night, Twilight was once again hard at work in her research lab. Although she had collected yet another sample of the strange energies possessed by the Canterlot City girls, she also knew by this point that she had no way to safely analyze these samples. Instead, she decided to try a more theoretical approach. So while her special device was left sitting on the desk, she stood in front of a whiteboard as she worked on some very complex calculations.

“Let’s see…” Twilight quietly mumbled to herself as she wrote on the whiteboard. “I can confirm that these samples are beyond the capabilities of advanced technology, yet the molecular structure of my device seems to be more than capable of containing them.” She continued writing for another minute. She soon finished yet another set of equations by drawing an arrow pointing towards the center of the board. Many other sets of equations already on the board also had arrows pointing toward the center, which was labeled with nothing more than a giant question mark.

Twilight sighed in frustration and rubbed her forehead. “What am I missing?” she grumbled. “It’s like trying to make scientific sense of magic!” She suddenly paused. She thought over what she had just spoken and made a startling realization. “Could it really be magic?”

Magic was not unheard of in the Lego World. In fact, Twilight was originally from the Castle Region, which had plenty of magic that came in many different forms. However, she was not well educated on the subject, since she had preferred to study science and technology over the years, and she doubted she would have the time to learn more about such a huge field of knowledge. Despite her lack of experience on that subject, she had a feeling that she might be dealing with some kind of magic that was unfamiliar even to the Castle Region.

Most notably, Twilight had heard claims that the girls of Canterlot City’s LEGO Team had used these strange powers to defeat their enemies, but only when they were working together as one. At this time, there were six members on that team, and Twilight had so far collected only five samples. That simple statistic led her to a rather startling theory. Is it possible that I might need the complete set to unlock its full potential? she thought to herself in astonishment.

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted when she saw the familiar “Incoming Call” message from Cinch appear on the display screen beside the lab’s door. Twilight growled in frustration and threw the marker she had been holding across the room before storming over to and out the door.

Out in the hallway, Spike was just about to enter the research lab to inform Twilight about the incoming call when the door suddenly slammed open in his face, pinning him against the wall behind it. He soon managed to push the door off himself and, despite being slightly dazed from the sudden impact, saw Twilight enter the communication room and slam that door shut. “Whoa…” he quietly muttered. “Must’ve been some really bad timing to get her that furious.” He then carefully shut the door to the research lab.

Inside the communication room, Twilight activated the soundproof walls and sat down in her chair in front of the main monitor. As she took some calming breaths, she gazed down at the green “Accept” button on the desk in front of her. Normally, she would just hit that button without question whenever Cinch called, but this time, her gazed shifted a little to the right towards the red “Deny” button. The layer of dust atop this button was a testament to her loyalty to Miss Cinch.

But now things had become very complicated. Just hours ago, she and her teammates had just returned from a mission that ended in total failure. Since post-mission reports were always mandatory, Cinch almost certainly knew about it by now, and would no doubt be demanding an explanation on this call.

Twilight kept shifting her gaze back and forth between the two buttons. She was seriously considering something that no sane Shadowbolt agent would even imagine trying, but was uncertain if she could really go through with it.

Then something rather significant occurred to Twilight. She had made sure to omit in her report any and every reference to her personal research project — the one that involved her magic-collecting device. However, the rest of her teammates had also submitted their own reports, and the effects of her device out there had been very hard to ignore. No doubt, at least some of her teammates would be very suspicious of the strange events that had occurred, and that suspicion would inevitably extend to Cinch as well.

Twilight still had hopes that her research project could allow her to finally leave the Shadowbolts for good, and the last thing she wanted was for Cinch to find out about it. That meant she simply couldn’t take the chance to let the leader of the Shadowbolts find out about her true intentions.

Twilight instinctively moved her hand over the green “Accept” button, but didn’t press it. She thought over every reason she had to hit that button, then thought about all the reasons she had to hit the other button. After a few seconds, she understood which option gave her the most to gain or the most to lose, and finally made her decision.

Twilight Sparkle moved her hand over to the red “Deny” button and hit it.

The monitor displayed the message “Call Denied” and then shut off. Twilight slumped in her seat and sighed. She was well aware that she had just done something very significant, and there would definitely be consequences for that.

Cinch was sure to become either very suspicious or very furious at this very moment. In fact, it was quite possible she might try contacting again very soon, but Twilight most certainly didn’t want that. So the Shadowbolt agent reached under the desk and pulled the plug on her primary communication system.

Twilight glanced around the room and saw many other secondary communication systems, intended as redundancies in case if any of the other systems failed. However, Twilight knew that if she wanted to avoid dealing with Miss Cinch over the short term, then she would have to deliberately cut off all possible means of contact with her.

So Twilight quickly went ahead and unplugged every single piece of electronics inside the room. Once every single device and gadget was shut off and powerless, she then shoved them all off the tables with one mighty sweep of her arm. Many of those electronics were smashed to pieces upon hitting the floor.

Twilight was breathing heavily as she stared down at the remains of her communication room with a look of pure contempt on her face. She knew very well there was no turning back from this point. She was now explicitly disobeying Cinch’s orders, which meant it was now only a matter of time before she would have other Shadowbolt agents coming after her with orders to eliminate her. Her hopes of leaving the Shadowbolts were now living on borrowed time, and she would have to do everything within her power to succeed before it was too late.

One way or another, everything is about to change, thought Twilight with determination. I don’t know if things will change for the better or for the worse, but either way, I honestly don’t even care at this point. Regardless of whatever happens, I refuse to spend another day of my life as a Shadowbolt agent.


The following morning, the six girls of Canterlot City’s LEGO Team were walking along the side of a road on the outskirts of Industrial City. The Steampunk Region was a land where all kinds of fanciful steam-powered contraptions made civilized life possible, from automobiles to airships and even computers. Of course, the downside to having so many steam engines all over the place was that the skies were often completely cloudy. A land where sunlight was rare and soot was common would clearly not appeal to everyone, but to the people who called this region home, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was mid-morning by the time the team arrived at a massive warehouse. “Pick-A-Brick” was painted on the upper half of the front wall in big white letters, exactly in the same style as what was printed on the business card. Knowing that they were at the right place, they all entered through the main front door.

If the outside looked massive, then the inside was simply enormous. The interior was filled with hundreds and hundreds of giant tubs, each of which was twice the height of a minifig, a width four times a minifig’s height, and a length eight times a minifig’s height. These tubs were stored on large racks made out of Technic beams and pegs, stacked five units high and covered much of the building’s floor space.

The six girls stayed together and gazed around in awe as they began browsing through the aisles. Each and every one of these tubs seemed to be filled with countless amounts of a specific part in a specific color, and considering just how many of these tubs were stored in this warehouse, it was quite possible that the full inventory really did include every Lego part imaginable.

As the team reached the end of the first of dozens of aisles, two minifigs suddenly came sliding into view on their feet from opposite sides and soon stood before the group. These two guys were almost identical with yellow skin, white pants, a blue and white striped shirt with a black bowtie, and a tan boater hat on top of a red and white smoothed-back hair piece. The only apparent difference between these two was that the one on the right had a red mustache on his face, while the one on the left didn’t.

“Welcome to Flim & Flam’s Pick-A-Brick Distribution Warehouse!” cheerfully greeted Flim, the one without a mustache.

“If you want it, we’ve got it!” added Flam just as cheerfully.

The two guys then began zipping back and forth, swiftly showing off different Lego parts on every return.

“We’ve got much more than just your standard bricks!” explained Flim as he held up a blue 2x4 brick.

“We’ve also got plates and tiles!” continued Flam as he held up a green 2x3 plate and a white 2x2 tile.

“Sloped and diagonal bricks!” Flim held up a black 2x2 sloped brick and a light grey 3x3 plate with a diagonal side that left the part with only six studs

“Round and curved bricks!” Flam held up a light grey 2x2 round brick and a red 1x4 brick with a curve along one of its long sides.

“Doors and windows!” Flim held up a yellow basic door and a red 2x4x2 window frame.

“Hinges and wheels!” Flam held up a pair of light grey 2x2 hinged bricks and a white small wheel with a smooth rubber tire on it.

“Technic bricks and beams!” Flim held up a red 1x6 Technic brick and a yellow 5-length Technic beam.

“Technic pegs and axles!” Flam held up a light grey connector peg and a black 4-length axle.

“Plant and animal parts!” Flim held up a green palm leaf and a white small curved horn.

“Minifigure accessories!” Flam held up a racing helmet and a knight’s shield.

“Even bricks with ball-and-socket connections!” Flim held up a pair of dark grey 2x2 bricks, one with a ball joint on one side, and the other with a socket joint on one side.

“And lastly…” began Flam.

“But certainly not least…” continued Flim.

The two guys then rolled out a large filing cabinet and pulled out one of the absurdly long drawers, revealing that it was stuffed full of pages and booklets.

“Copies of every single instruction page ever published!” finished both Flim and Flam simultaneously.

Throughout the entire presentation, all six girls had stood still and remained completely silent.

As Flam shut the drawer and shoved the filing cabinet away, Flim asked, “So, how can we be of assistance to you fine ladies?”

Sunset Shimmer glanced back at her friends and quietly said, “Allow me to handle this.” She took a few steps forward and spoke up, “We are here on behalf of the LEGO Team’s Canterlot City branch, and we have recently been informed that you had been conducting business with Shadowbolt agents.”

“So what if we are?” asked Flim. “What’s your point?”

“The Shadowbolts are a threat to the Lego World,” explained Sunset, “and we would highly appreciate it if you were to cut off all ties with them right away.”

Flim and Flam both folded their arms and frowned. “Listen here, young lady,” argued Flam. “We are an independent business, which means we should be free to offer our services to anyone who is willing to pay up for them.”

“Our stance in any conflict has been and always will be neutral,” continued Flim. “If both sides come to us with deep pockets, then we will gladly help them both out in any way they want.”

“As long as we get to profit from both sides of the conflict,” added Flam, “we could care less about who wins or loses.”

Sunset sighed and lowered her head. Then she shrugged and said, “Well, I’ve tried to ask nicely, so now I’ll just have to try other methods.”

Flam raised an eyebrow and asked, “What other methods?”

Sunset firmly explained, “The nearest branch of the LEGO Team — the Steampunk Region’s branch — has also been informed of your actions, and they’ve been authorized to take any action necessary should you fail to agree with our request.” Sunset folded her arms and smirked. “Think about it. Do you really wanna risk having your business completely shut down just because you refused to stop helping the bad guys?”

Flim and Flam immediately turned to each other with worried expressions and some sweat visible on their faces. They quickly turned back to Sunset and swiftly gave their answer.

“Well, when you put it like that,” replied Flim, “we would be fools to take a chance like that.”

“Indeed,” added Flam. “We shall agree to terminate all future transactions with any and every Shadowbolt agent that we know of.”

“Though we can’t make any promises to be sure of that,” cautioned Flim. “Although many of them don’t bother hiding their Shadowbolt status from us—”

“Thanks to our customer confidentiality policy,” Flam quickly added.

“There are almost certainly some of our regular customers who may or may not be Shadowbolt agents who would go the extra mile to not tell even us about who they really are,” finished Flim.

“Well, at least what you can promise is good enough for us,” acknowledged Sunset. “Now then, on a more personal matter, do you happen to know a Shadowbolt agent by the name of Twilight Sparkle?”

“Why most certainly,” replied Flam.

“She is arguably one of our most loyal customers,” added Flim, “and quite punctual, too.”

“Every Friday afternoon at one o’clock sharp,” continued Flam, “she always shows up with a list of exactly what she wants, knows exactly where to find it all, and knows precisely how much all of it will cost.”

“In that case, do you mind if we borrow your warehouse for a few hours?” asked Sunset. “My friends and I have being going after her all week, and we do not wish to lose such an excellent opportunity to finally catch her.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” said Flim uneasily as he rubbed the back of his head. “After all, I did say earlier that this business of ours always stands neutral in any conflict.”

“Not to mention that we like to keep things neat and tidy around here,” added Flam. “A conflict between you and the Shadowbolts is sure to leave behind a big mess.”

“What if I could ask Celestia to compensate you for your troubles?” suggested Sunset. “Even though we’ll try our best not to cause too many problems, perhaps we could at least have the assurance of our leader that your business won’t be disrupted too much by the time this is all over.”

Flim and Flam looked at Sunset with uncertainty before turning to each other. “What do you say, dear brother of mine?” asked Flam.

“As much as I would like for us to not get caught in the middle of a conflict,” replied Flim, “it seems that such an event has become practically unavoidable, so we might as well take the option that minimizes any disruptions to our business.”

The two brothers in business turned back to the Canterlot girls. “Very well, then,” answered Flam. “You have our permission for limited use of our facility.”

“Just be sure not to make too much of a mess, if it can be avoided,” added Flim.

“Can’t make any promises there, but we’ll do our best,” said Applejack.

“Does Twilight usually just come through the front door?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No, she always arrives through a, quote-unquote, ‘special entrance’,” replied Flam.

“But we can lure her to any specific location within the building by claiming that we have some new inventory that she might be interested in,” added Flim with a sly smile.

“So I guess this means we can set up another ambush and you two can bring Twilight right into our trap,” stated Sunset.

“Is there any particular location within this facility that you would recommend for this sort of task?” asked Rarity.

“Aisle 36 would be your best bet,” answered Flim.

“Let’s face it,” explained Flam, “if you wanna trap a Master Builder in a warehouse full of all the Lego parts imaginable, then you’ll have to corner her into a section where any available parts within reach are rather worthless in a fight.”

“That should work for us,” said Sunset with a nod. “You two go ahead and tend to your business while my teammates and I make a plan for our trap.”

Flim and Flam silently nodded in agreement and quickly went around the aisle to another part of the warehouse.

Sunset turned back to her friends and explained, “Okay, girls, before we take a look at Aisle 36 and start planning our new ambush, I just wanna make one thing very clear. We know that Twilight has been stealing our Equestian magic — taking our Master Builder creative talents with it — and we now also know that she’s been storing it inside that strange device she always seems to be carrying around. And as of right now, there is only one of us who has not yet lost her Equestrian magic.”

All eyes immediately turned to Rainbow Dash, who then glanced around at everyone in confusion and asked, “What?”

Sunset sighed and continued, “I’d hate to put any pressure on you, Rainbow Dash, but now that you’re the only one of us left who’s still a Master Builder, we’re depending on your help more than ever. And as strange as this might be for someone like you, I must also ask you to be very careful. If Twilight were to steal your Equestrian magic, that would leave our entire team at a huge disadvantage, and that’s something we just can’t afford.”

“Yeah, sure, no pressure at all,” muttered Rainbow Dash uneasily. She then smiled and spoke up, “But still, you’re all my best friends, and you all know that I would never let anything bad happen to any of you. As long as I’m still around, you can totally count on me to help ya out.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping you would say,” said Sunset with a smile. She turned to the rest of her friends and spoke up, “Okay, everyone. Let’s find Aisle 36 and make a plan.”


Just a few hours later in Twilight’s secret base, all five of Twilight’s teammates had gathered in the gateway room, while Twilight herself was busy putting on a different outfit in one of the changing rooms.

“So where are we going this time?” asked Lemon Zest.

“And what’s our next mission?” asked Indigo Zap.

“I haven’t gotten any new orders from Miss Cinch, so there’s no mission for us today,” replied Twilight from within the changing room. “This is just going to be a simple shopping trip to a Lego brick warehouse that I always do once a week.”

“Then why do you insist that we accompany you?” asked Sunny Flare.

“Cinch’s orders — much as I despise those two words — are that the six of us must always travel together whenever we must leave this base, even if it’s just one of us wanting something for personal reasons.”

“Then I guess that just leaves the question of why you’re insisting that we put on our formal uniforms,” said Sugarcoat.

“It’s because I’ve been a loyal customer for years now, but this will possibly be the first time any of you have set foot inside that warehouse,” answered Twilight. “If there’s one piece of advice I have for business interactions, it’s that first impressions are very important, so it is vital that we all display just how serious we are about establishing and maintaining good connections with them. And since we’re Master Builders and they’re a major supplier of Lego parts, this is one connection we cannot afford to jeopardize.”

Twilight finally stepped out of the changing room. She now had dark blue on her lower legs, a dark purple plaid skirt wrapped around her upper legs, pale blue on her arms, and dark purple on her torso with printing on the front showing the pale blue shirt underneath and a black necktie between the two layers. On top of her standard-issued Shadowbolt formal uniform, she also wore her special device around her neck, as she had on nearly every mission over the past week.

Twilight adjusted her necktie and said, “Since a formal uniform is among the standard outfits issued to all Shadowbolt agents, I expect all of you to also have one of your own. We leave at one o’clock sharp, so you all had better get changed now.”

It didn’t take long for the five other girls to grab their respective formal uniforms — each with a slightly different variation, but all with similar basics such as a dark purple skirt and jacket or vest, a light blue undershirt, dark blue shoes and socks, and a tie of some sort. There were a total of five changing rooms available, so they were all able to get changed at the same time.

“I hate these uniforms,” grumbled Sour Sweet’s sour face. “They make me feel like we’re going to some sort of prep school.”

“Not too surprising, considering that Miss Cinch used to be the principal of a successful prep school,” Sugarcoat pointed out.

“Hey, uh, does anyone know how to put on one of these bowties?” asked Indigo Zap. Before anyone could answer, she dismissively added, “Oh, never mind. I’ll just try this and call it good enough.”

“I hope we don’t have to wear these uniforms for very long,” said Lemon Zest irritably. “They’re just so uncool!”

“I don’t think they’re that terrible,” remarked Sunny Flare. “Every uniform has a proper time and place to be used, and I agree with Twilight that we’ll want the formal uniforms for today’s excursion.”

As she waited for the rest of her team to finish changing, Twilight thought about what she would do next after her weekly shopping trip was over. After cutting off all communication links to Miss Cinch the previous night, Twilight knew that her time with the Shadowbolts would soon be coming to an end, leaving only the question of how that would happen. She would need to escape somewhere, and thanks to how often she had kept moving to a new home base, she felt confident in her ability to do just that, once more. Of course, not drawing any attention from her forcefully assigned teammates brought on a new challenge, but she felt she could handle it. And above all else, she knew that if she was ever caught, then the consequences would be nothing short of the loss of her Creation Spark.

One way or another, Twilight Sparkle knew in her heart that today was going to be her last day as a Shadowbolt agent.


It was 12:59 in the afternoon, and Flim and Flam stood patiently in front of the site of Twilight Sparkle’s “special entrance” in a far corner of their warehouse. The two business partners had good reason to feel concerned about what would soon take place, but they were both shrewd enough to hide it behind expressions of confidence.

Finally, right at the stroke of 1:00 on the clock on the wall just above, the solid doors of a Jump-Gate suddenly materialized in front of the empty wall. The doors parted open and out stepped the familiar face of Twilight Sparkle… along with five other Shadowbolt agents.

“Welcome back to Flim & Flam’s Pick-A-Brick Distribution Warehouse!” the two brothers greeted simultaneously.

“We can see that you’ve brought some company along with you this time,” noted Flim.

“Let me guess, Cinch’s orders?” asked Flam.

“Unfortunately, yes,” grumbled Twilight as she rolled her eyes. She then pulled out her shopping list as she cleared her throat and said, “Anyway, I’ve got my list ready, as usual. Although this time it obviously doesn’t account for what the others here might want, so perhaps one of you could show them around while the other assists me with my shopping.”

“I think we can work with that arrangement,” agreed Flam.

“But first,” Flim spoke up, “we would like to show you some new inventory we just received.”

“Right this way, please,” said Flam as he and Flim gestured ahead and began walking away.

“New inventory?” asked Twilight in confusion. But then her expression suddenly brightened as she giddily asked, “Oh! Are they parts from the recently-established Castle subregion of Knighton?”

The two brothers in business simply gave each other a knowing look and silently agreed to play along.

“They most certainly are!” replied Flam.

“A new region is all but guaranteed to come with new molds and recolors,” added Flim, “so it’s really only a matter of time before we start acquiring a healthy supply of these new parts and pieces.”

“Oh, I can’t wait!” said Twilight excitedly. “I’ve heard that the detailing that’s printed on those new shields come in a very wide range of varieties!”

As Flim and Flam guided them through the aisles, the other Shadowbolt agents glanced around at their surroundings. Each of them had to admit that the extensive inventory of this warehouse was quite impressive. With so much to choose from, and the owners having no reservations against assisting members of the Shadowbolts, it seemed like this would be the perfect place to get anything they wanted.

It wasn’t much longer until the business brothers stopped in the middle of a certain aisle and simultaneously declared, “Here we are!”

Twilight glanced around and her smile immediately fell. “But this is the doors and windows aisle,” she said in confusion. “I don’t see anything new here at all. Why did you bring us here?”

“Oh, let’s just say…” began Flim slowly.

“When the authorities arrive and threaten to shut down your business, you’ve gotta obey their demands,” finished Flam quickly.

Twilight raised an eyebrow and asked, “What authorities?”

At both ends of the aisle, a pair of large barriers suddenly rolled into place, blocking off the main escape routes.

These authorities!”

All six Shadowbolts turned their gaze upwards and saw the last group of people they wanted to see. All six members of Canterlot City’s LEGO Team stood atop the tubs on the top shelf, staring down at their enemies from both sides of the aisle

“They’ve caught us in another ambush!” noted Sugarcoat. “Second day in a row!”

“How do they keep following us like this?!” asked Lemon Zest.

As the rest of her teammates glanced around at their surrounding enemies, Twilight turned to the business brothers and said in confusion, “I thought you said your business always maintains a neutral stance in any conflict.”

Flim rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly replied, “Yes, well, we have to make an exception for those who would threaten to shut down our business.”

“And have the power to do it!” added Flam.

The two brothers stood side by side and, with big grins on their faces, simultaneously shrugged and shouted, “Sorry!” And with that, they both immediately fled the scene.

“So much for a relaxing afternoon,” grumbled Sunny Flare. She then glared up at the LEGO Team members and defiantly shouted, “We’re not going down without a fight!” She then immediately began climbing up the rack, her athletic talents allowing her to leap up from one shelf to the next. It wasn’t long before she reached the top and found herself facing off against Rarity.

Rarity smirked as she held up a rapier and quipped, “Shall we resume our little duel from back inside that mine?”

Sunny Flare raised an eyebrow and asked, “And what do you expect me to fight with?”

Rarity simply remarked, “Oh, come now, darling. Since when do you Shadowbolt agents care about playing fair?”

Now it was Sunny’s turn to smirk. “Good point.” She then leaped into the air and swiftly kicked Rarity in the chest, causing her to drop the rapier as she fell backwards into a tub full of green window shutters.

Rarity quickly pulled herself out of the tub and stood on the edge opposite from where Sunny stood. She noticed that the Shadowbolt agent had taken her rapier, but that didn’t bother her too much. “Good thing I came prepared with a spare,” she remarked as she pulled out another rapier.

Sunny Flare leaped and somersaulted over the tub and landed on the same edge as Rarity. And it was there that Rarity and Sunny Flare began their intense fencing duel.

At the same time, Sugarcoat stood still as she stared up at Applejack, who looked down at her with a smug expression from the edge of another tub up on the top shelf.

“You ain’t got much of a chance, Shadowbolt!” taunted Applejack. “Ah’ve got the high ground!”

“Not anymore,” stated Sugarcoat as she pulled out a grapple gun and fired it up at the tub right next to where Applejack stood. The grapple latched onto the edge of that tub, and she quickly winched herself up. She came up so rapidly that when she fully retracted the grappling hook, her momentum carried her further up just enough to land her feet right on the edge of that tub.

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but Sugarcoat quickly cut her off by holding up her grapple gun and stating, “My personal favorite gadget is the grapple gun. I never go anywhere without one.”

Applejack simply smiled and remarked, “That may be quite a fancy toy ya got there, but Ah prefer to keep things old school. All Ah need are some simple hand tools an’ Ah can get any task done.” She reached behind her back and pulled out two tools: a large hammer in her left hand, and a giant pipe wrench in her right hand. “Ah think a wrench an’ a hammer should do just fine right here.”

Sugarcoat suddenly fired her grapple gun, and the grappling hook latched into the hammer. She then retracted the grappling hook, yanking the hammer right out of Applejack’s hand and sending it flying right into Sugarcoat’s free hand. “Another demonstration of the usefulness of a grapple gun,” she stated.

Applejack was initially shocked, but then smirked as she gripped the pipe wrench with both hands and remarked, “Ah’ve still got a good enough tool for the job.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the Shadowbolts immediately took action. As Twilight slipped between two tubs on the floor, Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest immediately rushed down the aisle towards one of the barriers, with Sour Sweet not far behind them. As soon as they reached the barrier, Indigo and Lemon didn’t hesitate to start shoving against it. Despite their best effort, they barely even got it to budge.

However, when Sour Sweet arrived, she just lightly pushed it sideways and the barrier simply rolled out of the way on its wheels. When Indigo and Lemon turned to her, she switched to her sweet face and remarked, “Isn’t it so much easier to do things when you use common sense?”

Indigo just rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Whatever. Let’s just find some good parts and start building!” The three Shadowbolt agents immediately took off in different directions.

Atop the racks, the rest of the Canterlot City LEGO Team ran along the aisle towards the end that was no longer blocked off. “They’re getting away!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Pick someone and go after them!” responded Sunset. “I’ll try to find Twilight.”

Right away, the four Canterlot girls each picked up one of the many basic walkways that Rainbow Dash had assembled earlier and swiftly swung them out so that they spanned the gap between racks. This allowed them to cross from one rack to the next while staying atop them, and since these bridges were simple and light, they hardly slowed down their progress.

Pinkie Pie tried to follow Sour Sweet, but quickly lost sight of her. Rather than continue atop the racks, she instead decided to climb back down to the floor and try her luck running from aisle to aisle.

Rainbow Dash tried to go after Indigo Zap, but also quickly lost sight of her. As the only Master Builder left on the team, she decided to instead focus her efforts on building something more useful to not only find the escaped Shadowbolts, but also to catch them.

Fluttershy did struggle to keep up with Lemon Zest, but it wasn’t long until she found a trail of scattered parts along the aisles. She followed the trail and soon came across the Shadowbolt agent she was after.

Lemon Zest finished attaching the final pieces to a small jetpack when she noticed Fluttershy on the top shelf just above where she was working. The Shadowbolt agent quickly attached the jetpack to her back as she chuckled mischievously and taunted, “So long, sucker!”

Lemon Zest fired up her jetpack and immediately took off into the air, whooping with excitement. However, as she tried to fly up over the racks, she clipped her shoulder against the edge of one of the tubs, sending her spiraling out of control. She struggled to regain control, but ended up banging her head against a pipe along the ceiling, knocking her out.

The jetpack continued to fly around uncontrollably while still attached to Lemon’s limp body. It soon collided into one of the tubs on the middle shelf and finally broke free from the unconscious Shadowbolt agent, who then landed in a tub of corrugated tubes — a rather soft landing due to those parts being made of rubber.

The now pilotless jetpack spiraled around uncontrollably for a few seconds until it finally crashed right into a tub of small black tires. The rockets on that jetpack continued firing, but since it was now trapped at the bottom of that tub, all of that heat and flame had nowhere to go, and the rubber tires soon caught on fire.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Sugarcoat dueled on the top shelf of the same rack they had started on, although by now they had moved to one end of it. Sugarcoat tried to make strategic strikes with the hammer she held, while Applejack kept swinging her giant pipe wrench around in a wide arc, with neither side able to land a blow on their opponent.

The stalemate was finally broken when Applejack’s pipe wrench was able to smack the hammer right out of Sugarcoat’s hand, sending it clattering to the floor far below. Applejack smirked as she held up her pipe wrench and asked, “What’re ya gonna do now, partner?”

Sugarcoat, as stoic as ever, replied, “Simple. I’ll just find another hammer.” She whipped out her grapple gun and fired it up at the rafters on the ceiling. Once the grappling hook was latched onto the ceiling, she swung from the cable across the aisle and onto another rack, beyond Applejack’s reach. Then with a flick of the wrist to loosen the hook, she retracted it back to her grapple gun.

Applejack glared across the aisle at her opponent while keeping a tight grip on her pipe wrench.

“Time to bring down the house!”

That shout suddenly caught Applejack’s attention. She glanced down at another nearby aisle and saw Indigo Zap charging ahead with a jackhammer in her hands. The apple farmer remembered all too well what happened the last time that reckless Shadowbolt had tried to use a jackhammer, and she sure as heck didn’t want a repeat of that incident.

Applejack knew she had to take out Indigo right away, but since she was atop a rack and her target was down on the floor, they were simply too far away. However, as she glanced at the pipe wrench still in her hands, she realized that she had a shot, but she would have to make it count. With a mighty swing of her arm, she hurled the pipe wrench right at the charging Shadowbolt agent.

The giant pipe wrench twirled rapidly through the air until it finally struck Indigo Zap right on the left side of her head, instantly knocking her out. As the reckless Shadowbolt was knocked to the floor, she unintentionally tossed the jackhammer high into the air. That jackhammer deflected off a rack to the left, then collided into a tub to the right, knocking it off the shelf and spilling its contents to the floor. The contents of that tub happened to be dozens of very large tires, which began to bounce and roll down the aisle.

As Pinkie Pie glanced back, her eyes shrank as she realized that she had the misfortune of being right in the path of those rolling and bouncing tires. She immediately started running in terror as she screamed, “Ahh! Runaway wheels!” Despite how remarkably fast she could run, the tires quickly caught up to her, and she soon found herself run over and then sent tumbling around on the outside surface of one of those giant tires a few times before ultimately being flung off and sent hurtling up over the racks.

It wasn’t long until those tires reached the end of the aisle and started bumping into another rack. Sunset Shimmer had the misfortune of standing atop this particular rack as it started to shake and rattle from all of those impacts. She soon lost her balance and fell off, though she did manage to grab onto the edge of one of the tubs on the top shelf. Even though she avoided a long fall to the floor far below, she was now left dangling off a precarious edge and still very much at risk of that long fall.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie came back down and landed, of all places, right onto a moving target. And that moving target happened to be a rather small and speedy hovering vehicle that was built and being operated by Sour Sweet.

Sour Sweet glanced back and as soon as she saw her unwanted passenger, she switched to her sour face and exclaimed, “Hey! Get off!”

“Nope!” responded Pinkie cheerfully as she sat up. “I actually like this ride! I just wish I could be able to build one of my own.” She paused as a thought suddenly occurred to her, then she gave the Shadowbolt a mischievous stare. “Although now that I think about it, I may not be able to build things… but I can still take ‘em apart!”

Pinkie Pie immediately began to swiftly remove pieces from the flying vehicle and tossing them away as she cheerfully exclaimed, “No need for this! Or this! Oh and this must go! Say bye-bye to this!”

Simultaneously, Sour Sweet furiously shouted, “Stop that! Stop it right now!”

“Ooh! This looks important!” remarked Pinkie as she then removed a grey 1x1 brick with a green lightning bolt labeled on the side.

“No! You idiot! That’s the Power Brick!” shouted Sour Sweet as the vehicle suddenly lost all power and began to silently glide through the air.

“Exactly!” remarked Pinkie as she casually tossed the Power Brick away. She then waved her hand and cheerfully said, “Happy landings!” She then jumped off the powerless vehicle and landed in a tub full of red fezzes.

“Gah! You pest!” hollered Sour Sweet furiously as she and her vehicle gradually descended. The vehicle was only halfway down when it suddenly collided into one of the tubs. As the vehicle smashed to pieces and Sour Sweet fell into the tub below, the tub that got hit was knocked off the shelf, spilling its contents onto the floor.

In a rather unbelievable turn of events, the contents of that tub happened to be the flaming tires that had been ignited by Lemon Zest’s jetpack, and the part of the floor they had been dumped on happened to be right under where Sunset Shimmer was hanging on for dear life.

Sunset screamed fearfully and exclaimed, “How does this even happen?!”

Fluttershy was still walking around atop the racks when she had heard Sunset’s scream for help. When she looked over in the direction she thought it came from, she gasped when she saw thick smoke rising up. Although she couldn’t see much due to some other shelves in the way, she was almost certain that Sunset had to be in the same location as that fire.

Fluttershy glanced around and quickly found Rainbow Dash nearby, who was busy assembling some kind of small vehicle. With no time to lose, the shy girl shouted, “Rainbow Dash! Sunset’s in trouble!”

Rainbow Dash immediately stopped building and turned to Fluttershy, then turned to where she was pointing and saw the smoke. Not sparing a moment for any questions, Rainbow began to shove her creation along the top shelf as she rushed to attach the last few pieces. As soon as the final piece was on, she shoved her creation off the rack, hopped into the pilot’s seat, and started up the small flying vehicle. The miniature spacecraft was airborne just before it could hit the floor and soon flew over to the site of the fire.

Meanwhile, Sunset tried to pull herself up into the tub she was still holding onto, but her grip kept slipping. The heat of the flames below and the surrounding smoke were starting to take their toll on her. Eventually, she finally lost her grip entirely and she screamed as she began to fall.

Sunset Shimmer fell towards the pile of burning tires, but halfway down, she suddenly landed inside a small spacecraft piloted by Rainbow Dash. Sunset glanced around, astonished to have landed so perfectly in the seat behind her friend, but also very glad to still be alive. She let out a sigh of relief and said, “Thanks for saving me.”

“No problem!” responded Rainbow confidently. “I wasn’t about to let my friend become toast!” It was right at this moment that she suddenly started to glow as her pony ears, tail, and feathered wings appeared.

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle continued to slowly weave her way between the tubs on the bottom shelves in a desperate effort to avoid being noticed. But as soon as she noticed her device activate and light up, she knew that all bets were suddenly off.

As Rainbow Dash’s spacecraft flew through the aisle right by Twilight, the device instantly lifted off her chest and pulled itself towards its target with so much force that it began to slowly drag her along. “Oh no!” whimpered Twilight. “No no no! Not now of all times!” Finally, the tugging force became so great that Twilight actually lifted off the floor and flew after the spacecraft.

Back inside that speedy spacecraft, a now ponied up Rainbow Dash glanced down and around at the glowing blue energy that surrounded her body, and of course admired her wings again. “Wow!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Now that was really awesome!”

Sunset Shimmer glanced back and her pleasant smile was instantly replaced with a worried frown. “Maybe a little too awesome!” she exclaimed. “Twilight’s after us!”

Rainbow glanced back and was shocked to see Twilight was literally flying right after them, though her constant screams of terror seemed to indicate that she had no control over her flight. With that magic-capturing device following after her like a magnet, Rainbow turned her attention forward again and said with determination, “Then let’s see if she can keep up with a spaceship!” She increased the throttle to the max and expertly weaved her way through the aisles of the warehouse.

As that was going on, Sunny Flare and Rarity continued their rapier duel atop the racks. It wasn’t long until the spacecraft flew by, followed by Twilight Sparkle being dragged along by her now very active device. It was certainly a strange sight, enough so that Rarity and Sunny stopped dueling and watched them fly around.

Sunny Flare had not forgotten what she saw on Dinosaur Island the previous day, and knew for a fact that Twilight’s strange device somehow had the power to weaken the members of this particular LEGO Team. If that device was trying to go after another one, then perhaps she could help out a little.

Sunny Flare smirked at the idea, then somersaulted backwards over yet another tub of parts. “Pardon me for a moment, dearie,” she casually said to Rarity. She pulled out a handheld mirror and, at first, simply looked at her reflection. As she saw that small spacecraft fly by behind her, she then pulled out an ultra-bright flashlight, turned the mirror towards the spacecraft’s pilot, and then shined that flashlight onto the mirror. The incredibly intense light reflected off the mirror and hit Rainbow Dash’s face.

Rainbow’s concentration was suddenly thrown off by a bright light that came out of nowhere and quickly affected her vision. “Where are my sunglasses when I need ‘em?” she grumbled as she was forced to shut her eyes to prevent any further pain.

Unfortunately, this meant that Rainbow Dash could no longer watch where she was going, and in a fast-moving small spacecraft, this was very dangerous. Barely a few seconds passed before Sunset Shimmer suddenly shouted, “Pull up, Rainbow! We’re too low!”

Rainbow opened her eyes and although the bright light was gone and she could see again, she realized that the spacecraft was heading straight into one of the racks. She immediately tried to pull up as much as she could, but couldn’t quite clear the top shelf. As the spacecraft smashed to pieces upon slamming into one of the tubs, Rainbow and Sunset — still followed by Twilight against her will — were sent hurtling over the shelf and across the aisle. The three minifigs fell into a tub full of red 2x4 bricks, hitting it with enough force to push the tub off the rack and down to the floor, tipped over so that those bricks spilled out.

Sunset was the first to pull herself out from within that pile of bricks, soon followed by Rainbow. Twilight didn’t get a chance to pull herself out because she was instead yanked out by her device just before it opened up and immediately began to take away Rainbow Dash’s Equestrian magic. Rainbow grunted as she felt that magic being drained away and soon collapsed backward into Sunset’s arms.

“I’m sorry!” Twilight hastily explained as the last of that glowing blue energy was pulled into the device. “You have to understand, I’m not doing this intentionally! It just started absorbing energy on its own, but I’m not sure how!”

As Twilight spoke, Sunset dragged Rainbow out of the tipped over tub and left her resting her back against the side of it. Once her friend was safely out of the way, Sunset finally confronted Twilight Sparkle of the Lego World. She expressed nothing but pure anger as she exclaimed, “What do you mean you don’t know how?!”

Twilight tried to shut her device with both hands, but then a few sparks of energy suddenly jumped out, once again opening up a series of portals. This time, there were only a few of them, but they also opened up much wider than any of the previous portals. One of them actually opened on the floor right under part of the spilled pile of bricks, causing those Lego bricks to start cascading down through the rift in space.

“It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear!” added Twilight as she was forced to walk backwards atop the ever shrinking pile of bricks to avoid falling in after them. “I don’t know how that works, either!”

“Is there anything you do know?!” asked Sunset furiously as she climbed up the shrinking pile to stand right in Twilight’s face. “Like how to get our magic back?! Or how to fix the portal to Equestria?!”

“Equestria?” asked Twilight in confusion.

“You’re supposed to be so smart,” Sunset shot back, “but did you ever think that you shouldn’t be messing around with things you don’t understand?!” She then gripped the device with both hands over Twilight’s hands and their combined strength was enough force it shut. Right away, all of those rifts sealed shut, including the one on the floor, and the remaining red Lego bricks settled in a stable but much smaller pile.

“But I wanna understand!” Twilight desperately argued.

“But you don’t!” snapped Sunset as she slapped away Twilight’s device. “And worst of all, you’ve done nothing but constantly put the lives of me and my friends in danger!”

Twilight lowered her head and sighed. She turned away and quietly said, “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to learn all I could about the strange energy that first showed up in Canterlot City. I was hoping that my research on it could allow me to finally be completely independent and free to pursue my own interests, without having to answer to a shady organization like the Shadowbolts… But I guess it was all just too much to ask for.” She then began to slowly walk away, not once ever glancing back at the people behind her.

Sunset continued to glare furiously at the one person in the Lego World who had caused so much trouble and misery for her friends. But as Twilight’s parting words began to sink in, Sunset slowly realized that perhaps she had just made a terrible mistake and may have been wrong the whole time. Twilight had not been stealing their magic with no regrets or to aid in some villainous plot. She was simply curious and had wanted to learn more, only for her research project to somehow spiral out of control and ultimately left all six members of Canterlot City’s LEGO Team devoid of their Equestrian magic and Master Builder talents. And now, as Twilight Sparkle of the Lego World walked away in sadness, Sunset Shimmer was forced to face the fact that she had been too aggressive with Twilight for reasons that turned out to be false.

Sunset turned away and sat down beside Rainbow as she shamefully covered face with her hands and muttered, “What have I done?”

Rainbow said nothing and simply placed an assuring hand on Sunset’s shoulder.

Sunset removed her hands from her face and glanced over at Rainbow. She also said nothing, but it was still a friendly gesture that she very much appreciated at a time like this. She then turned her gaze forward and noticed Pinkie Pie was standing not far away and looking in their direction.

Pinkie suddenly asked, “Am I the only one who realizes there’s now suddenly a whole bunch of red 2x4 bricks somewhere in Equestria?”


Not much time had passed when Twilight finally decided to stop walking and stopped between two random tubs on the bottom shelf. Sunset Shimmer’s words had certainly hurt her, and she had no one to blame but herself for allowing these events to happen.

Twilight took a moment to think about everything that had happened over the past week. Everything had changed that fateful Monday when she not only finished creating the device but also collected the first sample — which turned out to be Sunset Shimmer’s magic, and possibly even the interdimensional portal to Equestria as well — and subsequently had her identity exposed to the LEGO Team.

As the week progressed, things just grew more and more beyond her control. First, she was forcefully assigned a team that is still unable to get along. Then they were sent on missions that quickly drew the attention of the Canterlot City LEGO Team, and ended in ever worsening results. And since she had always brought her collection device with her, she only further alienated herself from both sides with each sample she gathered.

Twilight held up her device and gazed down at it. Although it had certainly caused some problems, there was still the possibility that it could provide the salvation she so desperately wanted. After all, she now had samples from all six members of what was apparently the only team in the Lego World to possess such a strange form of magic, and if her latest theories were correct, then perhaps now it wouldn’t take much effort to uncover its true potential.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. Even though things hadn’t gone as she had anticipated, she had successfully completed the data-collecting phase of her latest research project. The next step would be to uncover any secrets she could find in analyzing those samples, and that was a phase she was very much looking forward to.

Of course, there were still a number of issues to deal with. Most immediate of them would be on how to deal with the organization of the Shadowbolts. Cutting off all communications was certainly a very bold move to make, and a recovery from that much loss of trust would not happen overnight. Not that it would matter in the long run, for she still had intentions to leave the Shadowbolts very soon. The LEGO Team would have been an ideal group to turn to for further assistance, but all the troubles she had caused meant that they probably wouldn’t want her to be associated with them in any way.

If no one wanted to be on her side, then so be it. She always did prefer to work alone, anyway.

Twilight let go of her device and pulled out a walkie-talkie. She switched it on and firmly spoke, “Everyone, return to the Jump-Gate site. We’re done here.”