Pirates and a Plan
Chapter 12
Pirates and a Plan
Twilight Sparkle and her team of friends stood on the ship’s main deck and watched the surrounding calm sea. They had been sailing with Captain Storm Wave and his crew on the Hurricane for over an hour now. The pirate captain had explained that he would take them to Brickbeard’s Cove, the site of the only LEGO Team Headquarters in the Pirate Region. Once they were in port, the team would disembark and then get some help returning to Canterlot City. Everyone had agreed to this — even Sunset Shimmer, despite being well aware that she would almost certainly be immediately arrested and sent back to prison. The rest of the team had wanted to help Sunset in some way, but she had already resigned herself to her inevitable fate and simply shrugged off any attempt at comforting her.
As the ship began to approach the island where Brickbeard’s Cove was located, Twilight was resting her arms on the starboard railing and leaning forward with a defeated look on her face. As she watched the water splash alongside the ship as it pushed across the sea, she was thinking back to her team’s latest encounter with the Dazzlings in Cloudsdale, wondering about what had gone wrong. She let out a sad sigh and pondered, “It doesn’t make any sense. I should have been able to create the spark that would help us break their spell. That’s how it worked before.”
Sunset Shimmer walked up to the railing beside Twilight and rested her hands on it. She knew that she wouldn’t have much time left to be with this team, so she wanted to make the most of it with any helpful advice she could give. As she stared down at the same patch of water that Twilight was staring at, she speculated, “But to defeat me, you drew magic from the crown I was wearing. The sirens’ magic comes from their music, so maybe you have to use the same kind of magic to defeat them.” She smiled and turned to Twilight, but when she didn’t see an immediate response from her, she turned her gaze back down to the water and sadly added, “Or… maybe not.”
It took a little bit of time for Twilight to figure out what Sunset was trying to say, but once the pieces started to fit together, her eyes widened. She smiled and turned to Sunset as she said, “No, I think you’re on to something.”
“Really?” asked Sunset, quickly turning to Twilight with a smile of her own.
Twilight stepped away from the railing and turned to the rest of the team as she explained, “This might be one of those cases where we need to fight fire with fire. If we can somehow harness the magic of friendship within us into performing a musical counter-spell, it just might be what we need to defeat the sirens.”
“You mean, like a song?” asked a hopeful Fluttershy.
“Sweet!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash excitedly. “We haven’t played any songs since our old rock band back in high school!”
“You girls actually formed a rock band while you were in high school?” asked a mildly surprised Twilight.
“Sure did!” replied Rainbow Dash proudly. “And we were totally awesome!”
“For a lil’ while, at least,” added Applejack with disappointment.
“So what happened?” asked Twilight. “I mean, you did say you haven’t played any songs for a while.”
“I’m afraid our band broke up a long time ago,” replied Rarity sadly, “before we had even graduated from high school. We were simply unable to see past all the differences between us.”
“Ah ain’t gonna name names here,” added Applejack, “but Ah will say that some people were always hoggin’ the spotlight, while others were too busy fussin’ over unimportant things.”
Rarity crossed her arms and quietly muttered, “I would beg to differ.”
“I’m just surprised that the five of you actually once got together for something before I picked all of you to help me,” admitted Twilight. “Now that we all seem to be working together on the LEGO Team, is there any chance you might consider getting your band back together?”
“I don’t think that’ll be possible,” admitted Fluttershy sadly, “even if we really wanted to. After we broke up the band, we all sold our instruments and moved on to other things.”
“Yeah, selling my drum set was one of the saddest days of my life,” admitted Pinkie Pie. “At least it was fun while it lasted.”
Twilight sighed as she returned to leaning over the railing. “That’s too bad,” she said sadly. “I was kind of hoping that we might’ve actually had a good chance at stopping the sirens, but I guess it was just too much to ask for. Not that it would’ve mattered, anyway. Even if we did have a counter-spell ready to go, we would still need to perform it in front of everyone who was affected, and there’s no telling how far the sirens have already spread their dark magic.”
“Avast!” hollered a buccaneer from atop the tallest mast of the ship, catching the sudden attention of everyone aboard. He pointed at the island ahead and shouted, “A mysterious structure rises from Brickbeard’s Cove!”
The team gazed up at the lookout, then turned to each other with confused looks on their faces. “I’d better take a look at this,” muttered Rainbow Dash as she ran over to the nearest rope ladder and began to climb up the rigging.
Rainbow Dash quickly scampered her way up along the ropes. Thanks to her athletic abilities, it didn’t take long before she made it most of the way up the mast. She stopped on the small platform between the highest and second-highest sails and then carefully stepped around so that the sails wouldn’t block her view. She held her hand up over her brow and stared ahead. As the ship slowly sailed passed a small peninsula, she gradually saw more and more of the settlement of Brickbeard’s Cove, which consisted of small brown and grey buildings, sailing ships docked in the harbor, and a small fortress atop a short outcrop of land in the middle of the cove.
After almost a minute of careful observing, Rainbow finally saw it. It was far unlike anything else in the settlement. It was black, narrow, and very tall. She immediately recognized what kind of structure this was, and when she did, she lightly gasped and muttered, “No.”
Rainbow immediately scrambled her way back down the rigging. Since she was in much more of a hurry to get back down than she had been to go up, she was only halfway down when she decided to simply grab a nearby free rope and slid down it all the way back to the deck. Once she got close enough to the deck her friends were on, she let go of the rope, tumbled forward once upon landing, and then quickly stood back up. “It’s a broadcasting tower,” she reported grimly. “Just like the one we tore down in Cloudsdale.”
That statement immediately raised a lot of eyebrows from the team. “A broadcasting tower?” asked Rarity incredulously. “In the Pirate Region?”
“Somethin’ ain’t right about that,” muttered Applejack suspiciously.
Sunset closed her eyes as she thought hard over this very strange discovery. It certainly didn’t make any sense why a pirate settlement would need a broadcasting tower. What would anyone have to gain from erecting such a structure in such a place? But when she considered Rainbow’s comment that it was just like the one in Cloudsdale, her eyes snapped open as all of the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. She immediately turned to Storm Wave and asked, “Captain! Who’s the leader of the Pirate Region?”
Storm Wave, who stood at his post behind the ship’s wheel, answered, “That be Captain Redbeard.”
Sunset suddenly turned back to the team and quickly stated, “He was at the meeting in Cloudsdale, along with all the other regional leaders!” She glanced over in the direction of Brickbeard’s Cove, then let out a defeated sigh and muttered, “So this is what they meant by ‘spreading the message’.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Spike in confusion.
Sunset smacked herself in the face and grunted in frustration. “Am I the only who payed attention to the lyrics of that song the sirens were playing?!” she asked impatiently.
“Hey, cut us some slack!” Rainbow Dash shot back. “We were kinda busy trying to tear down that tower!”
Sunset slowly took a deep breath as she realized that Rainbow was right. Once she was calmed down again — or at least as calm as she could be after a very shocking revelation — she finally replied, “That song they were singing at the meeting in Cloudsdale… I don’t remember the exact lyrics, but… they wanted to convince everyone that they were harmless, that they had no intentions of causing any trouble — which we all know is a total bluff — and that they needed help to spread that message. Those three words, ‘spread the message,’ were repeated quite a lot throughout the song.” By now, the ship had sailed past the peninsula far enough that everyone aboard could now see that ominous black tower. Sunset turned her attention over to that tower as she added, “And it looks like they intend to spread that message to every region with those broadcasting towers.”
Sunset paused for a moment, then continued, “We can’t stop here. All the regional leaders — who have control over every form of authority — are now helping the sirens, but we’re trying to stop them, which means that as far as the whole Lego World is concerned…” She let out a sad sigh, then turned back to the team with a defeated look on her face. “We’re the bad guys.”
With that statement, complete silence had fallen on everyone aboard the ship. It was very disheartening to find out that not only had the sirens already made significant progress towards taking over the world, but also the people in charge of every region were actually helping them. It was tragically ironic that the entire world they were trying to save could now be trying to stop them from doing so.
“What should we do?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
Twilight stared ahead at Brickbeard’s Cove for a moment, unsure of what to say. But when she glanced back at Captain Storm Wave, she realized that, even though the authorities of the Lego World were now working against them, they still had a group of pirates willing to help them. It was at that moment that Twilight realized that her team still had one significant advantage. “Captain!” she called out to Storm Wave. “Take us out to sea. We need to avoid Brickbeard’s Cove at all costs. Right now, the biggest advantage we have is that the Dazzlings have no idea where we are, and I intend to keep it that way.”
“Aye,” complied Storm Wave before quickly spinning the ship’s wheel to the left. It wasn’t long until the Hurricane turned hard to port and sailed out to sea again.
“I suppose you are correct, darling,” commented Rarity. “As long as the sirens remain clueless as to our current whereabouts, then we still have reason to remain hopeful.”
“But that doesn’t help us figure out how to stop ‘em,” Applejack pointed out. “If those towers are goin’ up all over the Lego World, then we sure can’t do what we did to the one in Cloudsdale. There’s just gonna be too gosh darn many of ‘em!”
Applejack’s comment gave Twilight a sudden epiphany. “That’s it!” she exclaimed excitedly. With a smile on her face, she turned to her team and explained, “We can’t be all over the place to deal with these towers, but neither can the sirens!”
“What are you talking about?” asked Rainbow Dash as she raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t you see?” continued Twilight excitedly. “The sirens can’t be everywhere at once. They can only be in one place, and it’s those towers that will allow them to take over the entire Lego World as quickly as possible from just one place. If we can figure out where they are basing their operation, then we can go there and shut it all down, saving the whole world in one sweeping move!”
“By Ole’s name, you are absolutely right!” said a pleasantly surprised Rarity.
“Of course!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie excitedly. “It all makes so much sense!”
“Awesome!” added Rainbow Dash with enthusiasm. “Now we’re getting somewhere!”
“But that still leaves the question of where that ‘one place’ might be,” Applejack pointed out.
“Oh, I’m sure we can figure it out,” answered Twilight contently. “In fact, I know which one of us in particular can figure it out.” She then turned her attention towards Sunset Shimmer, with the rest of the team quickly following her gaze towards their unofficial member.
Sunset Shimmer raised both eyebrows. She quickly glanced around, but saw no one else was close to where she stood. “Me?!” she asked in shock.
Twilight walked up to Sunset and placed an assuring hand on her shoulder as she calmly said, “No offense, Sunset, but, well…” Twilight briefly turned her gaze upwards, then turned back to Sunset and continued, “You’re the only one of us who has real experience in being a bad guy.”
“Don’t remind me,” muttered Sunset sadly as she glanced down and away.
Twilight placed her hand under Sunset’s chin and made sure they were both looking each other in the eye before she calmly continued, “And this time, it’s actually gonna help us.” Twilight took her hands off of Sunset and took a step back. “I understand that this will be hard for you, but I need to you imagine what the old you would’ve done if you were where the sirens are right now. Think, Sunset. If the old you had all the abilities and resources that the Dazzlings now possess, where would you most likely be?”
Sunset Shimmer stared silently at Twilight for a moment. Ever since the moment she had been defeated that night in Canterlot City, she wanted nothing more than to forget about her old self and move on to a better life. What Twilight was asking of her was so counterintuitive: saving the world by going back to her old ways. It gave her a very uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, to say the least. But as she glanced around at all the hopeful looks on the faces of everyone on the team, she realized just how high the stakes really were. She had to commit a lesser evil in order to achieve a greater good.
Sunset let out a sad sigh and turned away. She rested her arms against the starboard railing and stared out across the calm ocean. “If… if the old me had what the sirens now have…” she softly began. “I would have just about any location available to use in any way that I’d want. But I can’t just pick any place. It needs to be a secure facility, to make sure that my enemies would be unable to try and stop me. But since I’d also be trying to convince everyone that I’m not out to cause trouble, I’d also want a place that’s very open to the public, a place that everyone is very familiar with, a place where I could keep a close eye on Kjeld Playwell himself, just to be sure that I’ve still got everyone on my side. With all of that in mind, I can think of only one location in the entire Lego World.” With a depressed look on her face, she turned her head back to the others. “The LEGO Team Headquarters Building in Lego City.”
Twilight smiled. “Then that is where we need to go,” she simply stated.
Twilight’s Lego friends, however, didn’t share in that contentment. Instead, all five of them started to look very apprehensive.
“Uh, you’re kiddin’ right?” asked Applejack skeptically.
“What? I’m serious,” replied Twilight with slight confusion. “If that’s where the Dazzlings will most likely be, then we’ll need to go there to stop them.”
“But this isn’t just any building we’re talking about here,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “This is the LEGO Team Headquarters.”
“I must agree,” added Rarity. “Asking us to infiltrate that particular facility is a very tall order indeed. I may not exactly be familiar with your world, Princess Twilight, but I’m very positive that what you are suggesting can’t be much different from trying to do the same to the capitol building of Equestria.”
That would be Canterlot Castle, thought Twilight, and I guess that analogy would make sense. “I understand, girls,” she spoke up with concern, “but we really don’t have much choice.” She sighed and glanced down at the wooden deck. “Though I certainly won’t deny that it’ll be really hard.”
“Really hard?!” shouted Captain Storm Wave, immediately catching the attention of everyone on the team. As he kept holding the ship’s wheel with his regular hand, he held up his hooked hand and continued, “Wiping ye bum with a hook for a hand is really hard. This be impossible! No one has ever dared to break into that building and live to tell the tale.”
The team was then quickly startled when they heard some light chuckling nearby. They turned to see that it came from a rather smug-looking Sunset Shimmer, much to everyone’s surprise.
“Well, the exception…” said Sunset as she leaned her back against the railing and crossed her arms and one leg over the other. With a smug smile on her face and relaxed eyes, she finished, “…happens to be standing right here.”
The rest of the team stared at Sunset in stunned silence. Twilight eventually managed to ask, “You actually once broke into that building?”
“Remember that fake crown I left behind in Equestria?” explained Sunset as her smile slowly fell from her face. “That didn’t come from just anywhere. That was a custom Lego part that I made myself, once I found out that you had become a princess. Of course, a custom part requires a custom mold, and the only mold making machine in the entire Lego World is located inside LEGO Headquarters in Lego City. Just two days before the interdimensional portal between our worlds opened, I snuck inside the facility, created the mold I needed, quickly cast that custom crown piece, and then destroyed the mold and slipped away.” She smiled again as she finished, “I made such a clean getaway, you girls are actually the first ones to even find out about all of this.”
“But it’s such a big facility,” Rarity pointed out. “How did you know which way to go?”
“I got lucky a few months earlier and managed to find a complete floor plan of the entire building,” answered Sunset. “I had a feeling it would come in handy someday, so I studied that blueprint extensively, over and over.”
“Then I guess your luck is now our luck,” remarked Twilight with a smile. “Do you still have that floor plan?”
Sunset shook her head and sadly replied, “No, not right now at least. I’ve kept it hidden away in some far-off region, and I doubt we’ll have enough time to go all the way out there just to retrieve it.”
Twilight’s smile of optimism quickly turned to a frown of disappointment.
Sunset tapped her chin and glanced away before she turned back to Twilight and added, “Though considering how hard and frequently I had studied it, I just might be able to redraw the whole thing entirely from memory.”
“Really?” asked Twilight with hope as she glanced back up at Sunset.
“Sure,” replied Sunset with a shrug. Her eyes suddenly widened as she finally realized the full implications of what Twilight was asking of her. She sighed sadly and muttered, “Though I’m not sure if I really should do that. That sounds like something the old me would do.”
Twilight once again placed an assuring hand on Sunset’s shoulder and explained, “But it’s like you said, we’re all now seen as the bad guys. As much as I hate that it has to be this way, this situation has been forced upon us. Like it or not, our best chance right now to succeed as the good guys… may be to act like the bad guys.”
Sunset silently considered Twilight’s words. She agreed with Twilight in that she hated being forced into a position like this, but still wasn’t sure if it was worth going back to her old ways. She glanced around at the rest of the team and saw that they were looking to her expectantly. As she glanced back at Twilight, she realized that, for the first time ever in her life, she had true friends who had been willing to help her, and were now expecting the same from her.
Finally, Sunset smiled lightly and said, “Okay. I’ll do it.” She took a moment to appreciate all the friendly smiles she received from the team, then she turned to the captain and stated, “I’m gonna need some parchment and some ink.”
“Aye. Thar be plenty in me quarters,” responded Storm Wave as he gestured toward the wooden door just under the ship’s wheel.
Sunset nodded and walked up the stairway onto the secondary deck. She approached the door and placed her hand on it, but before she opened it, she turned up to Storm Wave and asked, “Do you know the way to Lego City?”
The pirate captain nodded and replied, “Aye, but it be a long voyage. We shall be needing some fresh cargo before we can set sail, and since Brickbeard’s Cove be forbidden, we shall instead dock at Puerto Pieceo.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Puerto Pieceo?” she asked.
“It’s kinda like Cloudsdale, except nautical,” explained Sunset. “It has no designated theme, so they’re always open to any and all kinds of ships and boats. Everything from homemade canoes to five-star cruise ships are free to dock at Puerto Pieceo.”
“Yes, I suppose that may be our best option,” said Rarity, “if we must stop somewhere along the way.”
“We’ll just need to hide below deck while we’re there,” cautioned Applejack. “We don’t know what kind of authority figures might be there, so if we wanna keep our best advantage, then we can’t let anyone know we’re aboard this ship.”
Twilight nodded and said, “Fair enough.” She then turned to Sunset and stated, “As soon as you’re done drawing that floor plan, we’ll get together and try to come up with some ideas on how we can stop the sirens.”
Sunset smiled and nodded, then she opened the door and stepped inside the captain’s quarters. She couldn’t help but find it quite remarkable that her new friends were now counting on her to help them. Despite her personal discomfort at the specific task, she wasn’t going to let them down. She quickly found a large sheet of parchment and brought it over to the table in the middle of the room, then grabbed an inkwell and a few quills. It was time to get to work.
By the middle of the day, the Hurricane had just arrived at the docks of Puerto Pieceo. As the crew of buccaneers loaded larges crates and barrels into the ship’s hold as quickly as they could, the team of Master Builders from Canterlot City waited silently inside an isolated room below deck. The seven city minifigs knew that every minute they remained in port was putting their best advantage at risk, so all of them — even Pinkie Pie — remained as quiet as possible. The only significant noise there was to be heard was the faint squeaking of pulleys outside as the crew continued to load cargo into the ship.
The opening of the only door into this room suddenly caught everyone’s attention, but they were quickly relieved to see that it was just Sunset Shimmer, holding a rolled up sheet of parchment in her hand. She quietly shut the door and then sat down on one of the benches with the rest of the team and whispered, “I expected you girls would be hiding inside the submarine.”
“That’s our emergency escape option,” Twilight whispered back. “We’re not gonna use it unless we absolutely have to.”
“Then let’s hope we won’t need it,” whispered Sunset. She then quickly glanced around at the small room they were all hiding in. Aside from a grate between the ceiling and the deck above, the only window to the outside was a tiny round hole in the wall, just big enough that it could fit a narrow shaft or some part with a pin connection. With virtually nothing else to do, she decided to quietly walk up to the wall and peek through that tiny hole.
Sunset stared through the hole for a few seconds, but then she quietly gasped and whispered, “Redcoats on the dock.”
“What?” asked Spike quietly.
“Imperial guards in red uniforms,” explained Sunset quietly as she turned back to the others. “They serve as the law enforcement for the Pirate Region.”
“There’s law enforcement in the Pirate Region?” Applejack quietly asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I know it sounds like an oxymoron,” responded Sunset quietly, “but that’s just the way things are.” She turned her attention back to the tiny hole and continued to observe the pair of imperial guards. Both of them were each carrying a musket over their shoulders as they slowly walked around on the dock, so she had a bad feeling they weren’t here for just a relaxing stroll.
The two guards carefully eyed each and every ship and boat at the dock. Puerto Pieceo may have been open to anything that can float on water, but that didn’t mean that it was free of any troubles. Most often, they would find illegal cargo being transferred from one ship to another in an attempt to get it across regional boundaries. After many years on the job, they had learned to expect just about anything, no matter how wacky — from spaceship parts on a pirate ship to even an elephant on a yacht. Today had been rather uneventful so far, but they knew that could always change.
As the two guards began to pass by the Hurricane, one of them suddenly tapped his partner on the shoulder and gestured toward the pirate ship. The other guard nodded in agreement and they both began to walk across the plank between the dock and the ship.
Inside the hidden room below deck, Sunset Shimmer suddenly stepped back as her eyes widened and she quickly whispered, “Uh oh, they’re coming aboard.”
As the rest of the team began to glance around with worried expressions, Twilight quickly held up her hands and whispered, “Quiet. Quiet.” All eight minifigs silently looked up towards the deck above, where the two guards set foot on board the ship.
“Excuse me, sir,” requested one of the imperial guards, possibly to a random crewmember. “Could you tell us who is the captain of this ship?”
“That be I!” came the voice of Captain Storm Wave from one of the upper decks at the stern. By the sound of his rather loud voice, he seemed to be rather displeased. “And what reason have ye scoundrels for boarding me ship?!”
“Just a routine inspection, sir,” replied the second guard. “We only wish to search the ship to ensure you are not hauling any contraband. If we find nothing suspicious, then we shall let you be on your way without any further trouble.”
Storm Wave growled in frustration, but gave no further protest. Of all days, they just had to make their “routine inspection” today. He knew how important it was that the team should not be found, but he couldn’t just simply kick the guards off his ship, for that would immediately make them suspicious that he was hiding something. There was little more he could do than watch silently as the pair of imperial guards began inspecting the fresh cargo as it was loaded aboard.
Below deck, the team sat very still and remained absolutely silent. There was little the captain could do about these guards, and there nothing they could do at all. Their chance of successfully saving the Lego World now hinged on how thorough these two guards would be with their inspection. While it was true that the team could still get away in the submarine if the guards found them, it didn’t change the likely possibility that word of their discovery would go up the chain of command and the Dazzlings would eventually find out that they had been here, which would eliminate their best advantage. It was certainly a type of moment where the tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife.
After a few minutes, the pair of imperial guards began searching through the captain’s quarters. One of the guards noticed that an inkwell and a quill had been left on the table. He picked up the quill and noticed that the ink on it was still damp. There wasn’t any paper or parchment set out at the moment, so he began to wonder what someone must have been writing recently.
“Oy!” his partner suddenly called out. “Come take a look at this.”
The first guard set down the quill and walked over to the other guard, who was standing in front of a brown chest. Once he had his partner’s attention, the second guard opened the lid of the chest, revealing the large pile of shiny riches inside.
“I don’t see any markings anywhere on this chest,” noted the second guard. “I believe you know what that means.”
“Indeed I do,” acknowledged the first guard as he closed the lid and grabbed the handle on one side of the chest, while his partner grabbed the other handle. The two imperial guards then lifted the heavy treasure chest and carried it outside.
The pair of guards carried the treasure chest down the set of stairs to the main deck. Standing there was Captain Storm Wave, who quickly furrowed his brow as soon as he saw that chest in their possession.
The guards set down the chest and turned to the pirate captain. “Mind telling us where you got this?” asked the first guard.
“Tis be none of yer business, lads!” spat Storm Wave.
“Ill-gotten pirate treasure, I presume,” stated the second guard.
The first guard opened the lid to take another peek at the treasure inside, then closed it again. He glanced upward as a thought occurred to him, then turned to the pirate captain and said, “For your information, sir, Governor Broadside claims that you still owe him a lot of taxes, and I believe these riches should be enough to cover all of your debts.”
“Indeed, I believe you are quite right,” said the second guard as he nodded at his partner. He turned back to Storm Wave and continued, “Therefore, on behalf of Governor Broadside, we shall now take possession of the contents of this chest and call it even.”
“What?!” shouted Storm Wave furiously. “Tis be unjust! Ye can’t be permitted to do that!”
“We can and we will,” rebuked the first guard as he and his partner picked up the chest again. “After all, we are figures of authority, and we have the right to do whatever we want within the boundaries of the laws.”
“Thank you for your cooperation and have a nice day,” stated the second guard as he and his partner carried the chest along the plank that led them off the ship and onto the dock.
Captain Storm Wave walked up to the railing — standing right on the grate over the room where the team was hiding — and angrily waved his hooked hand around as he threateningly shouted, “Ye shan’t be gettin’ away with this! Tis be highway robbery!”
“Oh, like you would know anything about robbery,” shot back the first guard tauntingly as he and his partner continued to carry the treasure chest away. “You’re a pirate, for goodness sake!”
By now, Storm Wave could do nothing but growl furiously as he watched the two imperial guards walk away with the loot.
Meanwhile, hidden below deck, the team of Master Builders could hardly believe what had just happened. Even though they couldn’t see what was going on outside, the verbal exchange between the pirate captain and the pair of imperial guards had been enough for them to figure it out.
“How ‘bout that,” Applejack quietly remarked. She lightly tapped her hand against Pinkie Pie’s arm and smiled. “Looks like that lil’ treasure hunt of yours just saved our butts.”
“Then let’s not waste this opportunity,” Twilight quietly stated as she stood up and glanced upwards through the grate towards Storm Wave. She quickly tapped her hand against the metallic grate a few times and whispered, “Captain!”
Storm Wave heard the hushed call and turned around to glance down through the grate at the team hiding below deck.
“Let’s get outta here before they come back,” whispered Twilight.
Captain Storm Wave turned his gaze back towards the direction those guards had left. He considered Twilight’s request for a few seconds before finally replying, “Aye.” He then marched across the deck as he barked out his orders to the crew. “Alright, lads! Batten down the hatches! Cast off the lines! Full sail ahead! I want us out of port before I even finish this here bottle of cider!” He quickly snatched up a nearby glass bottle, bit off the cork, spat it out, and then took a big swig from the bottle.
The crew of buccaneers quickly followed their captain’s orders as they finished hauling the last of the cargo aboard. In little more than a minute, with all the rope removed from the dock and all the sails completely unfurled, the Hurricane quickly began to sail out of port.
Inside the room below deck, the team waited quietly and patiently for the ship to sail far enough out to sea before it would be safe for them to go outside. Remarkably, little more than ten minutes had passed before Storm Wave returned to the grate and called down to them, “Alright, lassies. It be safe now.”
“Thank you, Captain,” said Twilight with relief as she stood up and opened the door.
“Whew,” said Spike with a huge sigh of relief as the team walked out of the room. “That was way too close.”
Rarity pointed at the rolled-up parchment in Sunset’s hand and asked, “I take it you have successfully completed sketching the entire floor plan of LEGO Headquarters?”
Sunset nodded and smiled as she replied, “To the best of my ability, yes.”
“Great work, Sunset,” said Twilight with a smile.
“Awesome!” added Rainbow Dash. “Now let’s get to work on that plan.” She then turned to Twilight and asked, “What’s first?”
Twilight kept smiling as she replied, “I think we should leave most of our strategizing to Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset blinked in disbelief. “Wait, are you… asking me to come up with the plan?” she asked.
“Like I said earlier, you’re the only one of us who has real experience in being a bad guy,” replied Twilight. “If any one of us can figure out the best way to use underhanded tactics to achieve our goals, it’s you. Even though what we’re about to do will save the world, it will still be considered wrong, and we’ll need someone like you to pull it off. Can you do it?”
Sunset turned her gaze down at the roll of parchment in her hands as she considered Twilight’s request. Ever since she had refused to join that jailbreak, she had been trying desperately to prove to everyone that she had changed her ways and wanted to help the good guys, only to be met with mixed results, leaving her in no better a position than before. But Twilight’s request made her begin to realize something important. The talents she had accumulated after five years in the Lego World were best suited for criminal activities, always intended for a selfish purpose. But now — quite ironically — she was being asked to use those same talents for an ultimately good and selfless purpose.
Finally, Sunset smiled in determination, then turned her attention back up to the team and said, “If that’s the way it has to be, then you girls can count on me. Meet me in the captain’s quarters in ten seconds.”
Ten seconds later…
Once all eight members of the team had gathered around the table in the captain’s quarters, Sunset Shimmer placed the parchment on the table and quickly unrolled it, revealing about a dozen drawings and dozens of labels sketched around each of them.
“Everyone,” began Sunset, “this is LEGO Headquarters. Each of these sketches are for each floor of the building, from the balcony atop the front tower, all the way down into the sub-basement. I’ve got everything on here: doors, windows, hallways, offices, conference rooms, bathrooms, air ducts, wiring, plumbing, everything. Assuming there haven’t been any updates in the past year, this schematic should still be valid enough to get us anywhere inside.”
“But how will we even get inside in the first place?” asked Applejack. “Ah doubt they’ll just open the front door for us.”
“Yes, we obviously can’t take most of the possible entrances,” answered Sunset. “In total, there’s the main entrance at the front lobby, a monorail station directly above it, some helipads and landing strips on the roof, the retractable roof for spaceships, and finally the docks along the sides of the building for boats. But there’s also an additional dock within the building, which can only be accessed by an underwater vehicle. Since we’re already on a ship with a submarine available, I believe that our best chance of getting inside is through that hidden dock.”
“Okay, so that answers where we’ll enter, but that still leaves the question of how?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Remember when I said that I liked to keep as many doors open as possible?” continued Sunset. “It allows opportunities like this one. You see, there are underwater motion sensors built into the entrance to the harbor of Lego City to keep track of ships going in and out, but it also serves as a warning system that will alert security personnel when an unauthorized vessel crosses into the harbor. What this means is that even if we take the submarine, we will still be detected before we can even reach the building.”
“And I presume you have an idea on how to get around this issue?” asked Rarity.
Sunset smiled and replied, “Oh, you girls are gonna love this. It’s actually quite ingenious. What we’re gonna do is keep the submarine attached to the pirate ship as we enter the harbor. Alarms will go off and a patrol boat will be sent out to investigate. Those sensors can only detect movement, but not shape, so as far as security will be aware, the only thing they’ll see will be a regular pirate ship. But right after we have entered the harbor, we will climb into the sub, separate from the ship, and then move in. So while these pirates keep that patrol boat occupied, we will be able to slip into the interior dock practically undetected.”
“Wow, that is ingenious,” Fluttershy quietly remarked.
“Okay, so now we know how we’ll get inside,” stated Twilight. “But what’s next? How do we stop the sirens?”
“Well, considering that you want me to use my ‘bad guy experience’ to figure out where the sirens might be, I’ve decided to go a step further and try to determine what their full plan might be,” explained Sunset. “Here’s how I think the sirens are planning to take control of the Lego World. There’s a recording studio right here.” She pointed at one particular room on the sketch of one of the upper floors. “I can’t say for sure if they plan to perform their song live or simply make a recording and have it play on repeat, but either way, they will almost certainly broadcast their song from that room. Therefore, our primary objective will be to get into that room.”
“What kind of security systems are we talking about?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I’ve outlined the range of the audio sensors in red and the motion sensors in blue,” answered Sunset. “There is a way through this invisible maze, but as you can see, it’ll be very tricky to navigate. Not to mention, there’s the risk that we might bump into the sirens themselves before we even get to the recording studio, and I’m sure we all know they’re the last people we’d want to encounter during this operation.”
“Eeyup,” agreed Applejack. “No doubt about that.”
“Is there any way at all that we can overcome all of these obstacles?” asked Rarity.
“The good news is, yes, it’s possible to avoid all of these hazards and reach the recording studio with minimal risk,” replied Sunset with a smile. She then frowned as she added, “The bad news is that we can’t do all of this in one big group. We’ll need to split up and have each of us tackle a specific task.”
“But we need to stay together!” Twilight protested. “We’re trying to stop the sirens with the magic of friendship, but we can’t use that if we’re all separated!”
“You think I’d be stupid enough to not realize that?!” snapped Sunset. She paused and took a deep breath before she calmly but firmly continued, “I’m sorry, Twilight, but it’s a delicate balance between risk and reward. The old me may have been selfish and overconfident, but even she knew when certain chances were not worth taking. And for this operation, I’m afraid it’ll be just way too risky if we stay together.”
Twilight glanced down at the parchment and let out a sad sigh. After a moment of tense silence, she finally looked back up at Sunset and said, “I completely trust you, Sunset, and if you really think that our best chance at success is to split up, then so be it.”
Sunset smiled and nodded. “I knew you would understand.”
“Okay, criminal mastermind,” remarked Rainbow Dash with a smile, “how are we gonna pull off this heist?”
Sunset ignored Rainbow’s playful taunt and answered, “First of all, I think we can all agree that this whole thing would be a heck of a lot easier without those security systems. Applejack. Pinkie Pie.” She turned to those two. “Your task will be to get into the master control room and hack into the primary computer to shut off all of the security systems throughout the building.” As she explained, she pointed at the mentioned room on the sketch of the upper basement.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Uh, you sure that’s such a good idea?” she asked uncertainly. “Ah ain’t exactly the best when it comes to computers.”
“I kinda figured that would be the case,” replied Sunset with a shrug. “I think it might be best if you just stand guard at the door while Pinkie Pie does all the hacking.”
“I can do that!” stated Pinkie cheerfully. “I once brought down an entire website after I accidentally posted the wrong link. Who knew a simple typo was all it took to unleash a trojan horse across an entire server system?”
Everyone stared blankly at Pinkie Pie for a moment. “Yeah, I’m not gonna ask how that happened,” said Rainbow Dash uneasily.
“Excuse me, Sunset,” Rarity spoke up, “but according to your schematics, it would appear that the door to the master control room is protected by some kind of security lock for ‘Authorized Personnel Only’.” She pointed at that specific label on the sketch she had just quoted. “How are Pinkie Pie and Applejack supposed to shut off the security systems if they must first get past this one?”
Sunset suddenly slammed a 1x2 tile onto the table. “Fake ID!” she proudly stated as she removed her hand from the tile, revealing the detailing that was printed on its flat surface: various identification information on the right half, and a portrait of Sunset Shimmer on the left half. “It’s how I was able to break into the building the previous time. I can make more for the rest of us, and if we’re lucky, they should be enough to fool the system.”
“My goodness,” remarked Fluttershy in astonishment. “That’s really clever.”
“Glad you think so, because you and Rarity may need them, too,” responded Sunset as she turned to Rarity and Fluttershy. “Your task will be to put on some convincing disguises, find the sirens, and keep them distracted for as long as possible. That should help to eliminate the risk of them discovering any of the rest of us while we perform our respective tasks.”
“Oh my!” exclaimed Fluttershy nervously as eyes widened in shock. She immediately picked up a nearby shovel and held it close to her as she began to shiver. “Y-y-you want us to go right into the lion’s den?!”
As Rarity place a hand of reassurance on Fluttershy’s shoulder, she turned to Sunset and said, “I suppose I can handle the disguises without much trouble, but how are we to distract the sirens for an indefinite length of time?”
Sunset smacked herself on the forehead. “Come on, do I really need to say this to your face?” she asked rhetorically as she stared firmly at Rarity. “You’re Rarity! The fashion designer!”
Rarity’s eyes shifted back and forth as it took her a few seconds to realize what Sunset was trying to imply. “Oh— oh! Oh, yes! Yes! But of course!” She exclaimed, stuttering at first but quickly regaining her composure. “Why, I can already picture the possibilities! There are simply so many options to choose from, and I can easily imagine most — if not all — of them to look so fabulous!” She turned her attention back to Sunset and confidently declared, “You can be rest assured, darling, that without a doubt, I shall be fully capable of keeping the Dazzlings occupied for a very long time, perhaps even an entire day, if necessary.”
“And that is exactly what the rest of us are counting on,” said Sunset, smiling in approval. “Okay, back to the plan!” She turned to Spike and stated, “Spike, you’ll provide lookout to make sure none of us are being followed by any unwanted attention.”
“Scout’s honor,” acknowledged Spike as he gave a quick salute.
Finally, Sunset turned to the last two members of the team who had yet to be given an assignment. “Twilight. Rainbow Dash. You two will have the most important task of all: getting into the recording studio and unleashing that musical counter-spell, using the Dazzlings’ worldwide system of broadcasting towers to free everyone from their power.”
“So we’re gonna use their ultimate weapon against them?” asked Rainbow Dash. She suddenly grinned and exclaimed, “Nice! Now that is an awesome plan!”
“However,” added Sunset, “since we’re all gonna leave the sub at the same time, that means the two of you will have to navigate your way around the security systems until Pinkie Pie can bring them down.”
“How will we know when that happens?” asked Twilight.
Sunset turned to Spike and slyly asked, “Got those walkie-talkies?”
Spike simply grinned as he reached under the table and pulled out a pair of walkie-talkies, one in each hand.
“Perfect!” As Spike began to hand out walkie-talkies to everyone, Sunset continued, “These will be for emergency purposes only. Keep in mind that we don’t want to accidentally give away any of our positions, so use these only if you absolutely have to. You will notice that Spike decided to add a dial to these so that you can specify who you are communicating with.”
As soon as she received her walkie-talkie, Twilight looked closely at that dial and noticed that each setting on it was marked by a picture of the head of each of her teammates. She decided to think ahead and set the dial to Applejack for the upcoming mission, since she didn’t want to risk interrupting Pinkie Pie if she would be busy hacking the computer.
“What about you, Sunset?” asked Applejack as she put away her walkie-talkie. “What’ll you be doing?”
Sunset Shimmer suddenly looked downcast as everyone turned to her. She sighed sadly as she stared down at the parchment and replied, “There’s no denying that, right from the moment we cross into the harbor, there will be a constant risk that we might get caught. If the unthinkable were to happen, then the absolute last thing I’d want is for me to be seen alongside with any of you, considering my reputation. So, for everyone’s own good, I’ll be alone on a seemingly unrelated task.” She pointed at the largest room in the sub-basement. “I’ll return to familiar territory and do an inventory check of the storage room, just to make sure the sirens aren’t plotting any surprises.”
“But what if they are planning a surprise?” asked Pinkie Pie in confusion. “Wouldn’t that mean you would spoil the surprise?”
Sunset simply glared at Pinkie for a moment before she flatly asked, “Pinkie, they’re bad guys. What kind of surprises do you think they might have for us?”
“Um… the painful kind?” asked Pinkie uneasily.
“The painful kind,” Sunset flatly repeated.
Pinkie Pie had nothing else to say.
“So Ah guess that’s a wrap, then,” said Applejack with satisfaction. “We’ve got ourselves a destination an’ a plan. Nothin’ left to do now but to put it into action an’ see how it all turns out.”
“Not quite,” Sunset pointed out. “We still need to be certain of one very crucial detail.” She turned to Twilight and asked, “You said that we need a musical counter-spell to defeat the sirens. Do you know of any?”
That question immediately caught Twilight off guard and made her suddenly realize a serious flaw with what was, after all, her idea. “Uh… actually, no,” she admitted.
The rest of the team stared blankly at Twilight for a moment.
“But I’m sure I could figure out how to write one,” Twilight quickly added.
“Totally!” praised Spike. “Twilight can write a spell like it’s nobody’s business. That’s pretty much how she got to become a princess in Equestria.”
“Technically, I helped finish a spell,” Twilight sheepishly corrected. She then glared at Spike and added, “And there was a little more to it than that, Spike.”
“Yeah, whatever,” muttered Spike dismissively.
“Either way,” Sunset spoke up, “I guess this means we’re all counting on you, Twilight. Without that counter-spell, we might as well not even bother trying to attempt this operation in the first place.” She picked up the parchment with her sketches of LEGO Headquarters and rolled it up. “You’ll find parchment over there, and the ink and quills are right here,” she said as she pointed at opposite sides of the room. As she headed for the door, she added, “Good luck with the counter-spell. Not that you’ll need it. This must be nothing compared with the stuff you’re expected to deal with as a princess in Equestria.”
Twilight smiled uneasily as she watched the rest of the team follow Sunset out the door. Once the door closed and she was alone in the captain’s quarters, she let out a sigh of disappointment. Somewhat reluctantly, she grabbed a sheet of parchment, the inkwell, and a quill. As she set the writing supplies down on the table, she firmly told herself, “Okay, I can do this. I have to be able to do this. I have to.” With that, she picked up the quill — as best as she could, due to her limited experience with hands — and began writing.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team followed Sunset Shimmer as she walked up to Captain Storm Wave at the ship’s wheel. “Captain,” began Sunset, catching the pirate’s attention. “We need you and your crew to play a vital role in our attempt to stop the Dazzlings. Your duty will be to sail this ship into the harbor of Lego City, which will trigger an alarm and result in a patrol boat coming out to investigate. You must then keep that patrol boat occupied so that we can climb into the submarine, separate from the ship, and then sneak into LEGO Headquarters through the interior dock. We should be able to handle the rest on our own, but for that first part, we’ll need you and your ship to serve as a diversion. Can we count on you to do that?”
Storm Wave took a moment to contemplate Sunset’s request before he solemnly answered, “I shan’t lie to ye, if thar be one thing that every pirate in the Pirate Region shares in common, it be eternal hatred of the Dazzlings. If what ye be saying be the best chance we’ve got to stop them forever… then it shall be done.”
Sunset smiled and said, “Thank you, Captain. I’m glad you’re here to help us.”
“And for a former villain as talented as ye, ha harr!” added Storm Wave excitedly. “It be good to have ye on our side!” He slapped Sunset hard on the back.
Sunset stumbled from the rough impact, but quickly regained her balance and stood back upright. “Thank you, Captain,” she responded with a content smile and a slightly strained voice. She turned and began walking away, then winced as she rubbed the sore spot on her back and mumbled, “And thank you for not using your hooked hand.”
With that exchange over, Rainbow Dash turned to the pirate captain and asked, “So, uh, how long is it gonna take for us to get to Lego City?”
“Oh, it be quite the long voyage, I’m afraid,” replied Storm Wave solemnly. “Many days, at the very least.”
“What?!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash in shock. “I don’t think we have anywhere close to that much time to lose! There’s gotta be a way for us to go faster!” Fortunately for Rainbow, it didn’t take more than a second for her to gasp in excitement. “The submarine! Of course! That thing was able to get us across an entire ocean in just one night!” She quickly turned back to Storm Wave and asked, “What if I used the submarine’s engine to help us get to Lego City?”
“It might work,” replied Storm Wave doubtfully, “but methinks it be a rather suspicious sight to see a ship as this to be sailing faster than the wind itself.”
Rainbow Dash quickly sulked as she realized that she hadn’t thought of that. The one thing the team could absolutely not afford to lose right now was their location, and if that was given away, then the entire plan would be pointless. But still, there just had to be some way they could go much faster without revealing anything out of the ordinary.
Rainbow’s expression brightened as she quickly came up with the perfect compromise. “What if I switched on the engine only at night?” she suggested. “We could still go much faster, but the cover of darkness would prevent anyone from seeing us when it happens. And as long as we switch it off before sunrise, no one will ever notice anything weird. Would that be enough to get us there much sooner?”
Storm Wave stroked his green beard as he considered Rainbow Dash’s proposal. Finally, he answered, “Aye, that could work. And if me calculations be correct, we should arrive there by this time tomorrow.”
“Awesome!” shouted Rainbow excitedly as she jumped and pumped a fist in the air. Once she came back down, she leaned forward towards the door to the captain’s quarters and shouted, “Ya hear that, Twilight! We’ll be able to make it there by tomorrow! So keep working on that counter-spell!”
Inside the captain’s quarters, Twilight paled when she heard how little time she now had to work on the musical counter-spell. She then shook her head a few times and chuckled nervously. “No problem,” she desperately told herself. “I can get this done on time.” As she glanced down at the still-blank sheet of parchment, she weakly and unconvincingly added, “I hope.”
At the LEGO Team Headquarters Building in Lego City, it seemed to be just another ordinary afternoon, for most part. The personnel who worked in this world-famous facility proceeded with their various jobs, ensuring that order was kept and systems continued to run smoothly. The only notable thing that had changed recently was Kjeld becoming more reserved since returning from yesterday’s emergency meeting, though most people blamed it on nerves after narrowly escaping from that attack on Cloudsdale.
The LEGO Team Headquarters Building in Lego City — commonly referred to as simply LEGO Headquarters — was built on the end of a large L-shaped peninsula in the middle of the city’s harbor. The peninsula was flat, covered with short green grass, and had a few Lego trees scattered around. Along the middle of this peninsula, there was a two-lane road that led between the city and the building, with an elevated monorail track built directly above it.
The most recognizable feature of LEGO Headquarters was the very tall front tower, the front of which was emblazoned with the LEGO logo — a red square with the word “LEGO” in large rounded letters that were white and outlined in black within yellow. The otherwise featureless light grey tower had a rather short length — no more than 5% of the entire facility — covered the total width of the building at the base and tapered to about half of that at the top, and was easily more than twice as tall as even the highest floor on the rest of the facility — which was only seven stories above ground level. Against the back side of the tower was what appeared to be a huge ramp that almost reached the top, but was actually a massive set of retractable doors that could allow spaceships to access the spacious room underneath. Past those hangar doors towards the rear half of the facility, there were a few short landing strips and helipads on the flat roof, and a series of docks along the sides and back of the building.
A modest helicopter flew towards the building and crossed in front of the massive LEGO logo on the front of the tower before circling around to the back of the building and carefully touching down on the largest helipad. As the main rotor powered down, the large door on the side slid open and the three passengers inside casually stepped out. This facility was practically a symbol of all things good in the Lego World, and this certain trio… was the exact opposite of that. In fact, they weren’t even fazed at all to be here. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk were here for a purpose of their own.
Adagio looked up at the surrounding facility and grinned. “I can’t believe we are now so close to total victory,” she stated smugly.
“I can’t believe we actually got a pilot to take us here without us having to sing to him,” remarked Aria.
Sonata excitedly added, “And I can’t believe that we actually get to meet… um…” She struggled for a moment to say the next word. “… kuh-jell-duh?”
“It’s pronounced ‘kel’.”
The three sirens turned to see Kjeld Playwell walking up to them.
“The j and the d are silent,” finished Kjeld.
“Right! What he said!” said Sonata innocently.
Kjeld reached a hand forward and greeted, “Anyway, it is a pleasure to finally have you all here.”
Adagio shook Kjeld’s hand and smugly responded, “Oh, the pleasure is all ours.”
Kjeld then broke off the handshake and stated, “I am sure that you three are more than ready to get down to business, so if you’ll follow me, please.” He turned away and headed for the nearest door into the building.
The three girls silently smirked to one another before following him inside.
As Kjeld led the Dazzlings through the hallways of LEGO Headquarters, everyone that they happened to pass by couldn’t help but silently gawk at them. These people were well aware that the Dazzlings were regarded as a dangerous threat, so to see them walking freely with the leader of the Lego World was a very strange sight indeed. One minifig — after walking past the Dazzlings — wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and ended up bumping into a water dispenser, tipping it over and spilling water all over the floor.
For a while, the only noise to be heard from this group was the plastic clacking of everyone’s footsteps. Eventually, Adagio asked, “So tell me, Mr. Playwell, how goes progress on the system of broadcasting towers?”
“Some regions are understandably slower than others,” replied Kjeld, “but at the rate things are moving along, I would estimate that they should all be up and ready by this time tomorrow.”
“Good,” said Adagio confidently. “The sooner we get this done, the better. And I’m sure you understand why.”
“Agreed,” acknowledged Kjeld with a nod. “I have yet to receive any word on where Twilight’s team might be, and with Sunset Shimmer on their side, it’s only a matter of time before they try to put a stop to our efforts.” He paused before quietly adding, “Quite a shame, too. Those girls had so much potential.”
“I just have one question,” Sonata suddenly spoke up. “Why are we gonna record our next song? Can’t we just sing it live once all the towers are done?”
“It’s because we simply can’t afford to devote our attention to singing, when the time comes,” answered Adagio. “Those Canterlot City Master Builders could strike at any moment, and we can’t afford to be caught off-guard when that happens.”
“Here we are,” announced Kjeld as he and the trio arrived at the door to the recording studio. They all stepped inside and encountered a minifig with white skin, messy light blue hair, and wore sunglasses, dark blue pants, and a grey shirt with a black musical note on the front and the LEGO logo on the back. “Ladies, this is DJ L3G0, and he will assist you in recording your song.”
DJ L3G0 stared silently at the Dazzlings for a moment and raised an eyebrow. He turned to Kjeld and quietly asked, “Uh, are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, aren’t they…?”
“I can assure you that it was all just a misunderstanding,” replied Kjeld. “The Dazzlings mean us no harm at all, and wish only to share their music with every region of the Lego World.”
“If you say so,” said DJ L3G0 uneasily.
Kjeld turned to the sirens and said, “Well, ladies, I have a lot of work that needs to get done, so I’ll leave you to it.” He then exited the room, closing the door on his way out.
DJ L3G0 sighed before he turned to the Dazzlings and reluctantly said, “Well, head on into the studio and I’ll set things up for ya.”
The three girls smiled as they entered the studio half of the room, which was completely empty except for three microphones that were already set up for them.
As DJ L3G0 began adjusting various equipment in the recording half of the room, he remarked, “I gotta warn you girls, it’ll take a lot to impress me. I’ve heard just about every form of music there is: classical, country, rock, and even that new dubstep that my cousin over in Canterlot City listens to all the time.”
Meanwhile, the three sirens took their places at the row of microphones. Adagio stood in the middle, Aria to her right, and Sonata to her left.
A few seconds later, everything was ready to go. DJ L3G0 stuck his head through the doorway between the two halves of the room and said, “You may begin when the countdown reaches zero.” He then shut the door, took his seat at the DJ booth, and put on a set of headphones.
The Dazzlings looked through the large window that separated the two halves of the room and watched as a small screen displayed the countdown.
5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0
The Dazzlings began their song with some brief vocalizing before moving on to the lyrics. Lead singer Adagio made it no secret what the message behind this song would be: everyone would fall under their spell.
As the sirens recorded their song, work was underway throughout the Lego World to build the system of broadcasting towers. Every single regional leader had been enchanted by the song that was played in Cloudsdale, so every region saw the same series of events unfold. The regional leader presented a group of workers with plans to assemble and erect a broadcasting tower and connect it to the worldwide system. Many workers were skeptical of the idea, but nevertheless trusted their leaders. In some regions — such as City and Space — the towers went together rather quickly. In other regions — such as Castle and the Old West — it took a bit more effort, but they were still able to complete them.
As all of this was happening, the Hurricane continued on its voyage towards Lego City. Onboard that pirate ship, each member of the team felt very anxious for what they were about to do, despite the fact that they already had a carefully thought-out plan. But by far the most concerned member of all was Twilight Sparkle, who continued to struggle to write that musical counter-spell. Even at night, when she was forced to work under the light of a candle, she still got nowhere closer to figuring out the proper counter-spell to use.
The following morning, black broadcasting towers began going up all over the Lego World: from Pharaoh’s Kingdom to Dinosaur Island, from Ninjago City to the planet of Chima, from the Wonderbolts Lunar Headquarters Base to Prince Shining Armor’s castle, and from Canterlot City to Lego City. No region in the entire Lego World was spared from this massive effort, all to ensure that the spell of the sirens would reach every corner of this universe.
Back at the recording studio in LEGO Headquarters, the Dazzlings finished their song. DJ L3G0, whose eyes briefly flashed a sickly green glow from behind his sunglasses, ended the recording process and, with a dull voice, simply said, “Best song ever.”
The three sirens couldn’t help but show a wicked smile. Total victory was now within their grasp.
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That was intense!
A very nice chapter, and nice way of incorporating everything in. And now Twilight's trying to write the musical counter-spell, but has no idea what she's doing.
A pretty good plan, Sunset Shimmer. But dare I ask, do you really think it will go off as planned? No plan ever gets carried out 100% faithfully all the time.
Thank you! I've been trying to figure out how to say Kjeld for this entire story! I'd been trying to say it like Sonata did this whole time.
6175222 My thoughts exactly.
So the real question is not if something will go wrong, but rather which parts won't go exactly as planned, and if they can overcome these setbacks. Just wait until the next chapter to find out.
6177533 I kinda figured a lot of people might've had trouble with that, so I decided to help out by turning it into a little joke, at Sonata's expense. (I learned the correct pronunciation from the Adventures of Clutch Powers, where I obviously got the character Kjeld Playwell from.)
For some reason I can't get the image of Sunset Shimmer in a pirate outfit out of my head.
Why did you make the LEGO version of Vinyl Scratch male?
Oh...shit. That's all I have to say.