The Crystal Castle Conference
Chapter 15
The Crystal Castle Conference
The next day, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle found themselves standing beside each other in front of a large wooden door. After defeating the magically corrupted Gloriosa Daisy the previous evening, they and their friends returned to their homes in Canterlot City, put away their new magical crystal uniforms, and got a good night’s rest, as Kjeld had suggested. They spent the morning getting ready in any way they could for the upcoming meeting, and before they knew it, the scheduled starting time in the afternoon had arrived. Now it was simply a matter of going to the location where the meeting would take place, which wasn’t made official until just hours prior to the meeting. Needless to say, there was a lot of anxiety for what was about to take place.
Sunset turned to Twilight and asked, “You ready?”
Twilight lowered her head as she sighed and muttered, “I don’t know…”
Sunset placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and said, “I know you’re not exactly thrilled with the choice of location, but I’m afraid it’s too late to do anything about that. Everyone else is either on their way or already here, so we’ll just have to put up with it.”
Twilight and Sunset were standing in one of the many hallways of the Crystal Castle, which served as the main LEGO Team Headquarters Building for the Castle Region. It was also home to Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, the leaders of the Castle Region, and close relatives to Twilight, who had not seen her since she originally left the Castle Region to join the Shadowbolts.
Twilight let out another sigh and grumbled, “I bet Cadance volunteered to host the meeting the instant she heard about it, just so she could make sure that I would be forced to see her and my brother for the first time in years.”
Sunset rolled her eyes and smiled as she responded, “I’m pretty sure she had plenty of other reasons than that.” She paused briefly before she added, “Though I guess it wouldn’t surprise me if she had that thought in mind.”
Twilight didn’t even glance over at Sunset as she shook her head in disapproval. After a brief pause, she sadly muttered, “Too bad we can’t let the rest of our friends join us in the meeting.”
“Yeah, especially considering they did just as much as we did to save Lego City,” agreed Sunset. “But I can also see why it probably wouldn’t be such a good idea to have some of them attend such a very important meeting like this.” She then smiled and jokingly added, “I bet they probably just didn’t have enough chairs for all of us.”
Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “A petty reason, if there ever was one,” she remarked.
“By the way,” added Sunset, “are you sure it was a good idea to leave Spike alone at your apartment back in Canterlot City?”
“Don’t worry,” assured Twilight. “He may be a juvenile, but he’s responsible enough to take care of himself. After all, back when I was a Shadowbolt agent, I would always leave him alone back at my home base while I went out on missions.”
“Right, I forgot about that,” noted Sunset.
“Besides,” added Twilight, “he usually spends his time either reading comic books or playing video games, so as long as my parental surveillance system remains functional, I have little reason to be concerned about him.”
Sunset heard a faint tone come from her phone. She pulled it out and saw the notification with the current time displayed. It was now officially time for the meeting to begin. She put away her phone, then turned to Twilight and asked, “Ready?”
Twilight sighed one more time and reluctantly replied, “Not like I have much choice, I suppose…”
Sunset grabbed the door handle, pushed the door open, and stepped into the conference room. Twilight hesitated for a moment, then followed Sunset into the room and closed the door behind her.
Remarkably, there were only two other people in the conference room at the moment — Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor. Shining Armor was wearing his typical golden medieval armor and white cape, while Cadance was wearing her dark turquoise civilian outfit instead of her lavender princess dress. Once they both turned to see who had just entered the room, they froze as their eyes fell on Twilight.
At first, no one said anything. After a moment of absolute silence, Shining Armor slowly walked over to Twilight and, with a smile on his face, embraced her in a hug.
Twilight was initially hesitant, but once her brother embraced her, she quickly returned the hug. Right away, the rare good memories she had while growing up in the Castle Region started flooding back to her. As a child, she could always rely on her older brother to assure her that, no matter how bad things might get at times, everything would be okay.
“It’s been so long, Twily,” whispered Shining Armor.
Right away, Twilight also began to feel immense remorse for the past few years. They had started growing distant in the months leading up to the night she left the Castle Region, and once she did finally leave, she was ashamed to recall that she had cared little about him at that time. She had certainly heard about how desperately her brother had tried to find her — to the point where he practically neglected all of his other duties for a while — and while she did feel a little guilty about it, it was only now that she fully comprehended the emotional distress she had carelessly placed upon him for years. As tears began to fall from her eyes, she whispered, “I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you.”
“It’s okay, Twilight,” assured Cadance as she approached the reunited siblings. “We understand that you’ve been through a lot. The important thing is that we forgive you, and that we finally got this chance to see each other again.”
After over a minute, Twilight and Shining finally separated from their heartwarming hug. “I see you’re wearing glasses now,” noted Shining Armor.
Suddenly reminded that she didn’t need glasses before she joined the Shadowbolts, Twilight dropped her gaze and shamefully replied, “Let’s just say it’s because of a scar from my dark past.”
Cadance nodded in understanding. “Regardless of your past,” she assured her sister-in-law, “I’m just proud that you were able to move past all of that and build a better life for yourself.”
“Cadance and I talked about this,” added Shining Armor. “As much as we’d like to see you again more often, we’ve agreed that if you really do feel happier staying in Canterlot City instead of coming back here… then we’d be completely okay with it.”
Twilight quickly turned her gaze back up and smiled as she said, “Wow… Thank you so much for being so understanding! You’re right, I do feel much happier living in Canterlot City with my new friends. It’s almost like I was meant to be there, all along.” As a thought occurred to her, her smile fell and she hesitantly asked, “Um… do my parents know about…?”
“No, not yet at least,” confessed Shining Armor. “I just haven’t had the heart to tell them what you’ve been up to since you left. As far as they know, you’re still missing without a trace.” He paused and let out a sigh of sadness. “They’ve been living in relative isolation for years now. They actually blame themselves considerably for what happened to you. I just don’t want to even imagine how they might react if I told them about Midnight Sparkle…”
Twilight silently nodded in understanding. She had to admit that she still held some resentment against her parents for how she felt they kept holding her back while she was growing up. The fact that they actually blamed themselves for her supposed disappearance actually gave her a faint glimmer of hope that, one day, perhaps she might be able to see them again.
The door suddenly creaked open and in stepped Gloriosa Daisy. She was only halfway into the conference room when she suddenly stopped upon seeing who was in the room and said with embarrassment, “Oh! Sorry. Am I interrupting?”
“No, not at all,” assured Sunset. “We’re just a little early, that’s all.”
As Gloriosa walked into the room and closed the door, Cadance gestured towards the conference table and said, “Go ahead and have a seat. I imagine the rest of this meeting’s attendees will be here soon.”
The conference table in the middle of the room was a long rectangle. At one end of the table were two large chairs with the Creative Marks of Cadance and Shining Armor printed on them, and the long sides of the table had three unmarked chairs along each of them. While Cadance and Shining Armor took their designated seats at the end of the table, the three girls present decided to sit together along the side of the table that was beside the windows, opposite from the side that was beside the door. Twilight sat on the left end so that she could be close to her brother and sister-in-law, Sunset sat in the middle, and that left Gloriosa to sit on the right end.
As soon as all five of them were seated, the door suddenly opened and in walked Filthy Rich. “Let’s just get this over with,” he grumbled as he shut the door. “I have a lot of important business to deal with.” His bitterness of simply being here was made more evident when he decided to seat himself in the chair that was closest to the door. However, this left him sitting directly across the table from Gloriosa, and while he did not hesitate to immediately glare at her, she looked down and away from him, refusing to look him in the eye.
“So I guess this means we’re just waiting on Kjeld now,” noted Sunset.
“Actually, there’s one more person we invited to attend this meeting,” Shining Armor pointed out.
“Who did you invite?” asked Twilight.
Before either of the meeting’s co-hosts could answer, the door opened and in walked a guy with standard yellow skin, wore a dark grey business suit with a red tie, and had an orange hair piece that was in a rather blocky shape. With a smile on his face and a red coffee mug in his hand, he cheerfully greeted, “Hey! Hi there! How’s it going? Nice to see you all. Let’s get down to business, shall we?” He set down his mug on the table and seated himself in the middle chair, directly across from Sunset.
Gloriosa stared at the new guest with her jaw gaping. “President Business?!” she asked in shock. She frowned as she turned to the meeting’s co-hosts and asked accusingly, “You invited President Business to this meeting?!”
“I understand he may seem like an unorthodox choice,” replied Cadance, “but considering his past, we believe he can provide us with a unique perspective that would benefit all parties involved in this meeting.”
“Fine by me,” said Filthy Rich. “It’ll be nice to have someone on my side here.”
“Hey, I’m not here to take sides with anyone, okay?” emphasized President Business. “They just told me to provide any insight I can whenever it’s needed.” He took a sip from his mug of coffee, then asked, “So when can we get started?”
“As soon as Kjeld gets here, we can begin this meeting,” replied Cadance.
Everyone seated at the conference table waited in silence. Nobody said anything as the seconds ticked by. Sunset crossed her legs to get more comfortable, Cadance tapped her hand against the table a few times, Twilight took a moment to clean her glasses, Gloriosa scratched the back of her head, Shining Armor coughed once into his elbow, and President Business took another sip from his mug.
After over a minute of waiting, Filthy Rich checked his wristwatch, then sighed and grumbled, “What’s taking him so long? I would’ve expected the leader of the entire Lego World to be more punctual than this.”
Finally, the door opened and everyone turned their attention towards it. However, the minifig that stepped through was not Kjeld Playwell, but rather his son Thomas.
“I apologize on my father’s behalf,” stated Thomas as he shut the door and walked over to the last remaining seat. “I’m afraid he will be unable to attend this meeting, as he is too busy overseeing clean-up efforts in Lego City. Instead he has requested that I attend in his place.” Once he was seated between President Buisiness and Cadance, he glanced around at everyone else in the room, then added, “Seeing as everyone else is already accounted for, I believe we may now proceed with this conference.”
“Agreed,” said Shining Armor with a nod.
Cadance took a deep breath and began, “Okay, let’s start by discussing what exactly happened that brought about this latest magical incident.”
“I think we can all agree it’s quite simple,” stated Filthy Rich. “Gloriosa somehow got her hands on some Equestrian magic and it turned her into an evil monster that threatened to destroy the world.”
“I’m afraid you’re missing a lot of key details, Mister Rich,” argued Sunset. “Yes, the Equestrian magic she got did turn her into a monster, but even with that corruption, she did not seek to destroy the world. Instead, she was intending to protect innocent people. Obviously, she went about it in totally all the wrong ways, but the point is that chaos and destruction were never her original intents.”
“How exactly did Gloriosa even obtain this magic in the first place?” asked Shining Armor.
Gloriosa took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and then explained, “About a week into my recent goodwill mission to the Dark Forest subregion, I came across a cave, and within that cave were seven glowing tiny crystals. In a moment of careless curiosity, I ended up with five of them under my control. Those magical geodes gave me the power to grow and manipulate plant material, and I spent the following weeks secretly practicing my new powers, hoping that I could somehow use them to protect poor and helpless people from those who would threaten their livelihoods.” She narrowed her eyes at Filthy Rich as she spoke that last sentence.
Filthy Rich responded by folding his arms and returning a similar glare.
Gloriosa relaxed as she turned back to Cadance and Shining Armor and shamefully finished, “It was only yesterday when I went back to grab the two remaining geodes that I turned into the monster you all saw.”
“And why did you go back to grab those two remaining magical geodes?” asked Cadance. “What made you believe that obtaining more of that power was somehow such a preferable option?”
Gloriosa sighed and answered, “I’ll admit that I wasn’t thinking too clearly at that particular moment. Only minutes earlier, I had gotten into a rather heated argument with Filthy Rich. He bragged so much about how he could just take any property he wanted and get away with it, and considering how little the higher authorities had done anything about it, I became convinced that the only way to stop such a heartless brute… was for me to take matters into my own hands… regardless of the consequences.”
“I find it hard to believe that such vicious hatred could develop overnight,” said Shining Armor doubtfully.
“And you’re absolutely correct,” acknowledged Gloriosa. “My brother and I own a summer camp in the Everfree Forest that’s been in our family for generations. Mister Rich has repeatedly asked to purchase the property, but we always keep telling him no. After his latest attempt got especially annoying, I felt that the goodwill mission to the Dark Forest would help me to relax, but instead I found him attempting to survey the region in hopes of purchasing that land, too. And once I overheard him discussing his full plans for his business, well… that slap in the face I gave him pretty much showed that I had hit a point of no return. I was so convinced that those magical geodes were my only option that not even my brother could talk me out of it.”
Shining Armor leaned back in his seat and sighed. It really hit him that this girl’s brother had apparently tried his best to keep his sister out of serious trouble. In a way, it was not hard for him to imagine that, at a certain time, he and his own sister could’ve easily ended up in a similar situation.
Cadance leaned forward and said, “Then it seems to me that you’ve put up with this… harassment for so long, that the recent events simply pushed you to your breaking point.” She turned to Filthy Rich and asked, “Mister Rich, has it ever occurred to you that your actions were having such a negative psychological impact on people like Gloriosa, and would potentially lead to some severe consequences?”
“I never anticipated that she would have any impact on my enterprise, so I never really saw any reason to care,” replied Filthy Rich with a shrug. “And let’s face it, how could anyone have expected that she would somehow obtain such powerful magic?”
“Just because you don’t see someone as a threat doesn’t mean you can just trample all over them and expect them to do nothing,” argued Sunset. “Believe me, I made that mistake when Princess Twilight of Equestria first came to the Lego World.”
“Same here,” agreed President Business. “The old me was so confident in my absolute total control over everything that I thought taking out a little resistance would be child’s play. Boy, did I get proven wrong when the entire city of Bricksburg decided to rise up into an all-out rebellion.”
“These are all just extreme cases,” said Filthy Rich dismissively.
“I think you’re really missing the point here, Mister Rich,” Twilight spoke up. “On your latest attempt to acquire the Camp Everfree property, Timber Spruce told me that he had to, and I quote, ‘literally build a wall, just to keep the bulldozers out.’”
“You threatened the property owners with bulldozers?!” snapped Shining Armor.
“No, of course not!” Filthy Rich defended himself. “I know very well that destruction of any property that isn’t mine is highly illegal. I simply had them on standby for once it became mine, because I was so sure that I could finally convince them to sell by offering them more than double the property value.”
President Business suddenly did a spit-take onto the table, then exclaimed in shock, “What?! Are you serious?!”
Filthy Rich responded, “I know that sounds like a ridiculous amount to spend, but I can assure you—”
“No, that’s not what’s ridiculous about it!” argued President Business. “What is ridiculous is that you were persistent enough to offer them that much, and they still refused the offer! That to me is a big red flag that says, ‘Not for sale! Go away and never bug us again, or we’ll sue your pants off!’” He took another sip from his mug of coffee, then turned to Gloriosa and added, “Seriously, I’m surprised you haven’t tried filing a lawsuit against this guy by now.”
“Oh, Timber and I certainly considered it,” replied Gloriosa, “but due to Filthy Rich’s reputation for having an army of lawyers, we agreed that it was simply not a practical solution.”
“Then perhaps my father and I should do something about that,” Thomas spoke up. “We could impose a restriction on the number of lawyers any individual is permitted to hire, regardless of their wealth.” He turned to his left to face Rich and Business and firmly stated, “Money should never triumph over justice.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” agreed Sunset. “Also, if refusing to sell should really be seen as a ‘big red flag’, then I’d also like to suggest something that could emphasize that. Maybe we could set up some kind of registry, where all property and items that are listed will send a very clear message to all potentially interested buyers that they shouldn’t even bother.”
“A Not-For-Sale Registry? Brilliant idea!” agreed President Business excitedly. He turned to Thomas and added, “If you’re able to set up such a registry, I’d like to put the Octan Tower on it first. That place is like my personal castle, and I wouldn’t give it up for all the money in the universe.”
Thomas nodded and replied, “I believe my father and I can make that possible.”
“I fail to see why any of this is necessary,” complained Filthy Rich. “As far as I’m concerned, everything is for sale, for the right price. That’s my favorite philosophy in life.”
“Oh really?” asked Sunset slyly with a raised eyebrow. “Then what would be your asking price for, say… your daughter?”
Filthy Rich’s eyes widened in shock at that question.
“I believe her name is Diamond Tiara, correct?” continued Sunset. “Anyway, what would you take for her? A hundred thousand? A million? Ten million?”
“My daughter is not for sale!” snapped Filthy Rich as he aggressively pounded the table.
“But I thought you said everything is for sale,” responded Sunset playfully with a smile. “Are you now suddenly saying that your favorite philosophy in life is completely and totally wrong?”
Filthy Rich tried to respond, but he stuttered as he struggled to find the right words.
President Business burst out laughing loudly, then pointed at Rich and tauntingly exclaimed, “Oh, burn! She got you good with that one!”
Filthy Rich leaned back in his chair and folded his arm as he growled in frustration. After taking a breath to at least somewhat relax himself, he turned to Thomas and asked, “If this registry goes into effect, what would be the penalty for attempting to purchase something listed on it?”
“I believe a standard system of fines should suffice,” replied Thomas.
“Fine by me,” muttered Rich in agreement.
“Actually, Thomas,” Twilight spoke up, “I don’t think that would be enough.”
“What do you mean?” asked Cadance.
Twilight looked towards Filthy Rich as she replied, “People like Filthy Rich are so wealthy that they believe they can get away with minor violations because they can easily pay off any fines without even putting a dent into their finances. I’d like to discourage this practice by proposing a radical new system of fines.”
“What new system are you proposing?” asked Thomas.
“Rather than having all offenders pay a fine of a specific value for every offense,” explained Twilight, “this new system would force them to pay fines that vary on the basis of a percentage, and repeat offenders will need to pay increasingly higher percentages. For a first offense, the offender will need to pay one percent of their entire personal net worth. Second offense, the offender must pay two percent of their personal net worth. Third offense, three percent. Fourth offense, four percent, and so on.”
“Are you implying that for their one hundredth offense, the offender must spend their entire personal net worth on just one fine?” asked Shining Armor.
“In theory, yes,” replied Twilight. “But in practice, I doubt that even the dumbest people in the universe would even reach fifty offenses before they learn their lesson and make sure to never commit such illegal activity ever again.”
“A fair point, indeed,” said Thomas with a nod of agreement.
“Are you really taking this seriously?!” asked Filthy Rich accusingly. “This is pure madness!”
“I understand that this is a highly radical proposal,” assured Thomas. “I have serious doubts about its effectiveness as well, but you know what they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained. I will consult with my father and see if he will agree to try this system for when we establish the Not-For-Sale Registry. All existing fines for other offenses will remain unaltered for the time being.”
“By the way, Mister Rich,” Shining Armor spoke up, “did I hear correctly that you were planning to purchase the Dark Forest subregion?”
Before Filthy Rich could respond, Gloriosa replied, “Along with countless other regions all over the Lego World, just like what President Business once did.” When everyone in the room gave her questioning looks, she simply shrugged and added, “I did say I had overheard him bragging about his full plans for his business.”
When everyone turned to Filthy Rich, he casually said, “I don’t see what the big deal is. President Business was allowed to keep all of the land he acquired, so why can’t I be permitted to build a worldwide enterprise of my own?”
“According to my father,” explained Thomas, “there was some severe oversight when President Business was acquiring his territory. By the time his offenses had been confirmed, he had already learned his lessons the hard way and showed willingness to reform, so he was given the benefit of doubt and permitted to remain as owner of these regions. He has so far done well to prove himself worthy of fair and just leadership over these regions.”
Thomas looked hard at Filthy Rich as he continued, “You, on the other hand, have not yet proven yourself trustworthy enough of such responsibilities. Ruling over a region is not the same as running a business. And considering the struggles these regions had to initially endure under President Business, it shouldn’t be so surprising that many other regions would prefer to not risk going through a similar experience.”
“Take the Castle Region, for example,” continued Shining Armor. “As co-rulers over the entire region, Cadance and I are the ones who ultimately claim ownership to these lands. Back when President Business purchased Middle Zealand, I was in the middle of a desperate search for my sister, and I’ll concede that I was so desperate to find her that I just didn’t care what happened to that subregion, so long as I got the money to continue financing my search. These days, not only is that distraction obviously gone…” He nodded at Twilight sitting to his right. “…but also I’m now completely committed to protecting the entire region from any outside threats.”
“And if I was interested in purchasing certain portions of the Castle Region, what would be your answer?” asked Filthy Rich. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he felt that it would be his best opportunity to get an honest answer on the matter.
“Absolutely not!” Shining Armor sharply responded as he pounded the table. “All territory under my protection will be placed on the Not-For-Sale Registry, once it goes into effect. And if I ever receive word that you’re making surveying efforts anywhere in the Castle Region, I will send in an army to have your workers removed by force. Do you really want your reputation to be blemished by a military intervention?”
“Just try to stick with the City Regions, Mister Rich,” added Cadance calmly. “Trust me, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches.”
Filthy Rich let out a frustrated sigh and grumbled, “Very well.”
President Business took another sip of coffee from his mug before he asked, “So does that cover all the important things for this meeting?”
Shining Armor pulled out a sheet of parchment and glanced over what was written on it. “We have already discussed what caused the incident in Lego City yesterday, and have made some agreements on how we can prevent a similar incident from ever happening again, so now that just leaves us with determining where the blame lies and how the guilty parties should be punished.”
Filthy Rich leaned back in his chair and let out an exasperated sigh before he grumbled with sarcasm, “And here we go with the witch hunt…”
Thomas turned to Filthy Rich and said, “Although you are correct to acknowledge that some of the blame does go to you, I think that everything we’ve already discussed here would serve as punishment enough for you.”
Filthy Rich immediately sat up and looked towards Thomas. “Are you serious?” he asked in astonishment.
“It would be a disservice to my family’s pacifist values if I did not show mercy every now and then,” replied Thomas. “All these policy changes we have proposed here are obviously going to work against your personal interests, so I see no reason to take any further action against you for what you have done.”
Filthy Rich relaxed in his seat and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Ole I never have to fear retribution from a vindictive ruler,” he muttered in satisfaction.
Thomas glanced across everyone at the table as he stated, “And as I’m sure you may have anticipated, that just leaves Gloriosa Daisy.”
As everyone turned to her, Gloriosa sighed sadly and said, “I am very sorry for everything I did. Whatever punishment awaits me, I will accept it without any resistance. I can only hope that everyone will forgive me one day.”
“That is good to hear,” said Thomas with a smile and a nod. “Your willingness to seek forgiveness shows that you are very unlikely to repeat your mistakes, and therefore you do not deserve to be sent to prison.”
Filthy Rich leaned back in his seat and noted, “So it seems this truly is the first time that none of the guilty people will be sent to prison for a major magical incident.” He smiled as he looked towards Twilight and added, “And here I once thought that the Playwell family simply showed favoritism to certain individuals like you.”
Twilight was initially confused, but then Sunset confidently spoke up, “Oh, it’s actually quite simple how Twilight avoided being sent to prison. You see, after Abacus Cinch was arrested and the Shadowbolts were disbanded, Kjeld wanted to prevent any of those former agents from following Cinch’s example, so in order to encourage these former agents to seek better lives and forget any thoughts about vengeance, he granted a full pardon to all former Shadowbolt agents who confessed to all crimes they had committed while serving in that underground organization. Naturally, this pardon also extended to Twilight, and since she was still technically a Shadowbolt agent for the duration of that Midnight Sparkle incident, that meant the only reason she avoided being sent to prison for the incident was because she submitted a full written confession of all the crimes she had committed — including her actions during the Midnight Sparkle incident.” Sunset then smiled and folded her arms as she leaned back in her seat.
“Wow,” remarked President Business in astonishment. “That’s pretty impressive.”
“I always had the feeling I got off way too easy…” mumbled Twilight.
“Technicalities aside,” said Thomas to Twilight, “You and Sunset are real examples of how much more beneficial it is to forgive those who truly regret their crimes than to simply incarcerate them.”
“So what does this mean for me?” asked Gloriosa.
Thomas turned to Gloriosa and replied, “As I said, you will not be going to prison, thanks to how much you now regret those terrible actions you took.” He then frowned. “However, you could have very well chosen not to take those magical geodes that ultimately corrupted you, but you chose to do it anyway, and it is only fair that you face the consequences of your poor decision. I have already consulted with my father and we have come to an agreement.”
Thomas clasped his hands together and rested his arms on the table as he leaned forward and looked firmly at Gloriosa. “Gloriosa Daisy,” he stated, “you are hereby suspended from the LEGO Team for a full year. You will not be sent on any missions, nor will you be permitted access into any LEGO Team facilities for the duration of your suspension.”
Gloriosa kept her gaze downward as she nodded her head and sadly said, “I understand.”
“Look on the bright side,” assured Sunset. “You could use this year off as an opportunity to return to Camp Everfree full-time. I’m sure it would be a great way for you to relax and take your mind off things.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” said Filthy Rich dismissively.
“Why?” asked Sunset in an accusing tone. “You still plan on finding a way to take it away from her?”
“Oh, I’m not the one who will ultimately take Camp Everfree away from her,” Filthy Rich clarified.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight in confusion.
As Filthy Rich looked around the room and saw everyone give him questioning looks — except for Gloriosa, who simply looked downwards in shame — he smirked and said, “You haven’t heard by now? Camp Everfree is practically drowning in debt. In fact, that’s the whole reason why I wanted to purchase the property and turn it into a much more profitable spa resort. I figured Gloriosa would eventually become so desperate to pay off those debts, she would ultimately give in and sell it to me. I wasn’t being evil. I was just simply trying to take advantage of what looked to me like an excellent opportunity.”
Cadance looked to Gloriosa and asked, “Is this true?”
Gloriosa hesitated for a moment before she finally admitted, “Yes…”
“How bad is it?” asked Twilight.
Gloriosa shamefully answered, “I’m barely able to make minimum payments, but that covers little more than just interest.”
“Well, maybe we can help,” offered Sunset.
Gloriosa looked up at Sunset in confusion.
“All of my friends said they once visited your camp when they were younger,” continued Sunset. “I’m sure that once they find out the real threat to it, they’ll do everything they can to raise enough money to cover all of those debts.”
“You would really do that for me?” asked Gloriosa as tears formed in her eyes.
“You’ve already been through a lot,” replied Twilight with a smile. “It’s the least we could do.”
Gloriosa smiled as she sniffed back her tears and said, “Thank you… Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Just doing what we can to help out,” assured Sunset.
Gloriosa then frowned and worriedly said, “I’m afraid you girls will have your work cut out for you. I’ve got a lot of big overdue payments that need to be made in no more than two months, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it this time.”
“Don’t worry, Gloriosa,” assured Twilight. “We’ll figure things out and get to work on fundraising as soon as possible.”
“In other words,” added Sunset with a playful smirk, “we’ve got this.”
Gloriosa couldn’t help but giggle lightly at that use of her catchphrase.
Shining Armor looked over his sheet of parchment again and said, “I believe that covers just about all the important subjects for this meeting.” He looked up at everyone and asked, “Does anyone here wish to discuss anything else?”
Everyone glanced around at one another, but nobody spoke up.
“Then I suppose we can now call this meeting adjourned,” concluded Cadance. She and Shining Armor stood up and she stated, “Dismissed.”
Filthy Rich was the first one out of his chair. As he made his way to the door, he pulled out his phone and began dialing as he grumbled, “Better inform my lawyers that I’ll be giving them an immediate employee evaluation. Once these new laws go into effect, I’ll need these guys properly ranked so I’ll know who to let go.”
As Filthy Rich left the room, President Business finished the last of his coffee, then stood up and contently said, “Well, this has been great. Glad I could help you guys out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my office.” He then turned away and left the room.
While Thomas began speaking with Cadance and Shining Armor, Gloriosa, Sunset, and Twilight all headed out the door and into the hallway. “I think we’d better meet up with the others and wait with them until we’re all ready to get going,” suggested Twilight.
“Sounds good to me,” agreed Gloriosa with a nod as she and Twilight began heading down the hallway to the right.
“You two go on ahead,” said Sunset as she turned to the left to go down the opposite end of the hallway. “I’m just gonna go for a little walk. All the things we just talked about in that conference room… it’s just a lot to take in, you know?”
“I understand,” agreed Twilight. “I kinda wanna talk to our friends about it, anyway.”
“You’ll know where to find us,” added Gloriosa. “Just try not to get lost in these hallways.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch up in a bit,” assured Sunset as she turned away and began walking. Twilight and Gloriosa turned away and began walking down the other end of the hallway.
A short time later, Sunset Shimmer was standing outside on a balcony that overlooked much of the Crystal Castle. She was leaning forward and resting her folded arms on the railing as she gazed out across the spectacular castle landscape and towards the forested hills on the horizon. She was feeling quite relaxed under the clear late afternoon sky and with a light cooling breeze at her face. It almost reminded her of her earlier life back in Equestria.
Creak.
Sunset glanced back and saw the door back into the castle had just been opened, and soon saw that it was Thomas Playwell stepping outside. Sunset smiled, then returned her gaze out towards the amazing view.
Thomas gently shut the door behind him, then walked forward to stand beside Sunset at the balcony’s railing. With his hands clasped behind his back, he didn’t say a word as he also gazed out across the spectacular landscape and smiled.
“Nice day, isn’t it?” remarked Sunset.
“Sure is,” replied Thomas.
“It’s really nice to just relax like this,” said Sunset. “Especially after yet another crazy adventure.”
“You and your team sure have been seeing a lot of action recently, haven’t you?” remarked Thomas.
“I guess you could say it’s becoming a way of life by now,” quipped Sunset.
Sunset and Thomas both chuckled.
As Thomas rested his hands on the railing, Sunset sighed and muttered, “It’s all my fault, really.”
Thomas turned to Sunset and raised an eyebrow. “What is?” he asked.
“All these magical incidents…” explained Sunset shamefully. “None of them would have ever happened if it wasn’t for me. I mean, sure, I was directly responsible for the very first one. But for the three others that followed?” Sunset paused and sighed. “All of them were consequences of my actions during the first incident. I was the one who brought Princess Twilight’s crown — which contained the Magic Element of Harmony — into this world, and since then, Equestrian magic has been spreading throughout the Lego World… a world that was never meant to have such magic…”
As Sunset kept her gaze downward, Thomas took a moment to consider his thoughts as he gazed out across the landscape. He knew that what he had in mind was a sensitive subject, but he felt that it had to be addressed as soon as possible. “Sunset?” he finally spoke up.
Sunset looked over towards Thomas with a questioning look.
“I understand how difficult it must be to live with such guilt,” said Thomas carefully. “I have seen it very clearly with my father for over a decade now.”
Sunset nodded and simply noted, “The old Board of Directors.” When Thomas gave her a confused look, she added, “Kjeld secretly told me about the… less favorable parts of his past.”
Thomas nodded in understanding and turned his attention back out to the landscape. “My father has done his best to move on from all of that,” continued Thomas, “but there are still times when he must face the consequences of his past mistakes. Forest Blackwell and President Business are but the most prominent examples, prior to the introduction of Equestrian magic.”
“And then along comes me to make things even worse,” Sunset dryly remarked.
“Perhaps,” admitted Thomas with a shrug. “But despite his regrets, my father has made a great effort to learn from his past mistakes to ensure they will never be repeated. Part of that effort has been to teach me about all of his mistakes, so that I will know not to make them myself, once it is time for me to take over.”
“A smart decision,” admitted Sunset. “Information like that will really come in handy for any future incidents.”
“Indeed,” agreed Thomas with a nod.
Sunset and Thomas both stared out at the landscape in silence for a moment. Sunset glanced over at Thomas and noticed subtle signs that he was probably feeling a little tense at the moment. “Something’s troubling you, isn’t there?” she asked.
Thomas sighed and lowered his gaze. “I… have a confession to make,” he muttered hesitantly.
Sunset stood up straight, but kept her hands on the railing.
He continued to stare out across the landscape with an uneasy look on his face. “I lied about my father being unable to attend today’s meeting,” he confessed. “He was fully capable of doing so, but I convinced him to instead let me take his place at the meeting.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why would you want something like that?”
“I could simply tell you,” replied Thomas, “but considering the kind of power you now possess…” He slid his left hand along the railing so that it was closer to Sunset.
Sunset glanced down at Thomas’s hand and quickly realized what he was implying. She looked back up at his face and asked, “Would you really be okay with that?”
“My father has already shared with you the secrets of the Dimensions Box,” Thomas pointed out. “I see no reason why I should keep any lesser secrets from you.”
“I guess that’s a fair point,” admitted Sunset.
“And besides,” added Thomas, “if there’s a real possibility for more incidents involving Equestrian magic, chances are we’ll end up collaborating on missions for quite some time. In which case, we’ll need to learn to trust each other very much.” He glanced down at his outstretched hand, then back up to Sunset’s face. “This is my way of showing you that I would like to start building that kind of trust between us.”
Sunset stared down at Thomas’s hand as she considered everything he said. To willing offer himself to have his thoughts and memories exposed by her magical power was certainly a very clear way to express his trust for her. And as much as she didn’t want to think about it, there was a very real possibility there would be more incidents involving Equestrian magic in the future, and chances were probable that the leadership of the Lego World would need to be involved with the aftermath of each incident. She and her team were already on good terms with Kjeld, but there was no denying that due to their generational gap, that relationship wouldn’t last forever. Thomas, on the other hand, was almost the same age as herself and her friends, so if there was anyone in the Playwell family who was worth forging a strong bond of trust with, it was definitely him.
Finally, Sunset simply shrugged and said, “Well, if you insist.” She placed her right hand over Thomas’s left hand, and her body stiffened and her eyes glowed white as she began to witness his memories.
Sunset saw Thomas and Kjeld were in the cafeteria of the LEGO Team Headquarters building of Lego City, most likely sometime earlier in the morning prior to the recent meeting. As Kjeld waited in front of a coffee machine for his cup of coffee, Thomas stood beside him.
“I wish to attend this meeting, father,” requested Thomas.
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” responded Kjeld. “The outcome of this meeting could have a lasting impact on laws and policies throughout the Lego World for years to come, and I do not wish to place such a huge responsibility on someone as inexperienced as yourself.”
“I would hardly consider myself inexperienced by any means,” argued Thomas. “You gave me the best education anyone in the world could ever ask for, I have extensively studied every rulebook on how to properly run every aspect of leadership over every region, and you have even taught me about your past mistakes to ensure I would never make them.”
“Yes, all of that effort was well spent to ensure you would be prepared for the future responsibilities that await you,” acknowledged Kjeld. “But you are still quite young and lacking real world experience.”
“I fail to see how that could even be a legitimate excuse anymore,” argued Thomas. “Have the people who work here not told you about how I was able to step up and take command for the duration of yesterday’s crisis?”
“And you did a very commendable job of that,” acknowledged Kjeld. “But that was an emergency situation, where there was no other alternative. What we’re talking about here is a meeting that I personally had arranged, with the unspoken understanding that I would be the one to make all the final decisions.” After pausing to check the coffee machine, he added, “Besides, someone needs to stay here and oversee rebuilding efforts in the city.”
Thomas turned away and frowned without saying a word.
After be brief moment of silence, Kjeld asked, “Tell me, my son… why are you so adamant to attend this meeting?”
Thomas was initially caught off-guard by such a direct question, but after a brief moment to consider his answer, he sighed and replied, “I am concerned about how I will ultimately be remembered.”
Kjeld gave his son a look of confusion, but said nothing and allowed him to proceed.
Thomas continued, “Your grandfather created this world, your father introduced the Lego brick design still in use to this day, and you not only established all of the differently themed regions but also founded the LEGO Team. But with the Lego World so well established these days, I worry there may not be a lot of ways for me to do anything even nearly as memorable as the great things all of you have done before me.”
“In other words, you wish to leave behind some kind of legacy that future generations will remember you for,” concluded Kjeld.
“Indeed,” confirmed Thomas with a nod.
Kjeld was silent for a moment before he asked, “How do you believe that today’s meeting will allow you to achieve that?”
“Because this will be one of the first such meetings to seriously discuss the consequences of Equestrian magic,” answered Thomas.
Kjeld stared at Thomas and asked, “You find Equestrian magic to be of particular interest?”
“Not for any nefarious purposes, I can assure you,” replied Thomas. “But here’s the thing… This otherworldly magic was only recently introduced into the Lego World, and as far as I can tell, it’s highly unlikely to ever go away. Like it or not, Equestrian magic is becoming as much a part of this world as the Lego brick itself, which means we will need to start getting serious about how we will handle its usage in the future.”
“I believe that team of girls from Canterlot City are already doing a fine job of keeping Equestrian magic under control,” noted Kjeld. “At least, much better than any other group of minifigs could hope to accomplish.”
“Yes, but after each incident, they will still need a higher authority to report to,” Thomas pointed out. “They may have Celestia and sometimes Luna to send them on new assignments, but the final say on the really serious matters must lie with either you or me, and since I happen to be close to the same age as those girls…”
“I see…” muttered Kjeld. He turned back to the coffee machine and saw that his cup of coffee was ready. He took his mug out of the machine and took a sip from his freshly brewed coffee. After a moment of thought, he gestured to one of the nearby tables and said, “Come… sit with me. There is much I have to discuss with you.”
“About what?” asked Thomas.
Kjeld smiled and replied, “The subjects that will be discussed at the meeting.”
Thomas smiled and remarked, “I take it this means I shall accompany you to the meeting?”
“More than that,” explained Kjeld. “I did say one of us had to stay here to oversee rebuilding efforts in the city, and if you really wish to attend this meeting… well, I suppose I’d be content to accept the lesser responsibility, after what I’ve been through.”
Thomas was so delighted that he was momentarily speechless. He eventually managed to gratefully say, “Thank you, father… Thank you for this remarkable opportunity.”
They began walking towards the tables as Kjeld stated, “You still need more real world experience, and since you are very enthusiastic about this meeting in particular, then I suppose this would be an excellent opportunity to prove yourself as a worthy successor.” As they both sat down at a table, Kjeld continued, “But enough with these pleasantries. I’ll need to get you up to speed on all the important points to be discussed at the meeting.”
Thomas nodded in agreement. If he wanted to make a good impression at his first major conference on his own, then he would need to learn as much as he could about the subjects that would be discussed, later that afternoon.
As the vision came to an end, Sunset’s body relaxed and her eyes returned to normal while she kept her attention on Thomas. She took a moment to think about what she had just seen before she finally said, “So that’s what you really want most of all. You wish to do something significant that everyone will remember you for.”
Thomas looked out at the landscape as he explained, “It has been my greatest dream ever since I was a child. My father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather have all done wonderful things that have made the Lego World a much better place, so it was only natural that I would wish to also do something of great benefit to the world.”
“And you believe the presence of Equestrian magic can allow you to achieve that?” asked Sunset.
“I certainly never anticipated the introduction of such power to the Lego World,” continued Thomas. “But I think we can both agree that, at this point, this Equestrian magic is here to stay. And if it is to become such an integral part of this universe, then we will have much work ahead of us.”
“To tell you the truth… I don’t really know much about Equestrian magic in the Lego World,” admitted Sunset. “It just doesn’t behave under the same laws as it does back in Equestria.”
“Then it seems that should be one of our major objectives; learning as much as we can about how this magic works in this new environment,” concluded Thomas. “Once we have a better understanding of Equestrian magic in the Lego World, perhaps we could find ways to safely harness it, and then utilize it in ways that would be of great benefit to societies throughout our universe.”
Sunset countered, “But I think our most important task regarding Equestrian magic should be to try keeping it under control, in order to prevent any future incidents from getting too far out of hand.”
Thomas nodded and replied with mild embarrassment, “Yes, I supposed you are right. Perhaps I am getting a little too ambitious for where we currently stand on the issue.”
“One step at a time, Junior,” Sunset playfully remarked. “One step at a time.”
Sunset and Thomas both stared out at the castle landscape in silence. After about a minute, Thomas spoke up, “There is one thing about your new magic that I’m struggling to comprehend.”
Sunset turned to Thomas and asked, “What is it?”
Thomas turned to Sunset and explained, “According to the official report after the first magical incident, Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria had mentioned there were six of these so-called ‘Elements of Harmony’. She had identified them as Honesty for Applejack, Loyalty for Rainbow Dash, Laughter for Pinkie Pie, Generosity of Rarity, Kindness for Fluttershy, and Magic for herself. She had implied that she and her friends back in Equestria possessed these elements, and it seems that their counterparts here in the Lego World also possess traits that represent their respective elements. In addition, based on what I’ve heard about on the latest incident yesterday, it would seem that our world’s Twilight Sparkle has also embraced the same element as her counterpart in Equestria.” Thomas paused. “But this new magic your team now possesses is shared among seven girls. All six of your friends are already confirmed to be associated with a particular Element, and in fact, it has even been noted that they tend to… ‘pony up’ whenever they express a fine example of the Element they represent. These traits they all share with each other, you also share them, yet I have not once heard of there being a seventh Element of Harmony to permit such a phenomenon.”
Sunset gazed out at the landscape as she replied, “Well, there has been speculation over the centuries, but virtually all of them have been disregarded as complete nonsense. However, if your theory is right in that our new magic is at least partially thanks to our connection to the Elements of Harmony, then it would actually make sense that there’s no such thing as a seventh Element — at least, not in certain universes. You see, I don’t seem to have a counterpart in the Lego World at all, but since I have chosen to live here instead of go back to Equestria, that would theoretically allow a seventh Element to exist only in this world. As for what this hypothetical Element of Harmony might represent…” Sunset paused as she thought back to her recent experiences for any clues. “If my friends can pony up whenever they demonstrate their Element, then the same would apply to me.”
“Come to think of it,” Thomas spoke up, “I actually witnessed that happen yesterday, at the moment you begged Twilight to use her magic to help get through the Jump-Gate.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” confirmed Sunset. “At that moment, I was very worried, not only for my friends trapped inside the city, but also for Twilight. I knew that she had to use her magic, but I also understood why she was so reluctant to go through with it.” Sunset suddenly paused, then began to smile. “I think I’ve got it figured out. My new magic doesn’t just let me see into people’s minds and uncover their secrets. It also helps me to understand how they’re feeling. If I had an Element of Harmony, I think it would be called… Empathy.”
Thomas smiled and remarked, “Perhaps you might want to share this with Princess Twilight in Equestria. I have a feeling she might find this very fascinating.”
Sunset smiled and nodded as she replied, “I’ll definitely consider it.”
As Sunset looked out at the landscape again, Thomas pulled out his phone and checked the time. He then put away his phone and said, “I’d better get going now.” He smiled at Sunset. “It was nice talking with you.”
“Likewise,” responded Sunset with a smile.
Thomas turned away and headed back to the door into the castle.
Sunset watched Thomas depart, then once the door was closed, she returned her gaze once more out towards the beautiful castle landscape. She had no idea what the future would hold for her and her friends, but she was sure of one thing: they would face every challenge together as true friends.
She decided she would head back inside the castle soon to regroup with her friends, but for now, she just wanted to relax and enjoy the view.
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Okay, low-key but still The LEGO Movie levels of creative. You show a great understanding of who these characters are.
Linear fines is intresting, then again, given how quickly offences can be racked up by some people, on a bad day Rich could be bankrupted by the time he got home through traffic violations?
Im somewhat biased in my understanding, but I would say that the next massive change in LEGO after the brick, Power Blocks not counting, is NXT. Or, inteligent machines. Machines that move themselves and react to their enviroment. Magic machines?
Rich is just a bit too much into the Expansion, than the Consolidation and Efficincy?
Careful not to fall on that slippery slope of yours, Mr. Rich.
I really like the moment between Sunset and Thomas. I'm not gonna lie here, but, I Think they could be a nice couple.
8380164 With the amount of time I had spent struggling to write this chapter, I was honestly concerned that the quality of this chapter might have suffered quite a bit. I'm really glad to hear that may not be the case, after all.
8380176 If you payed better attention to the details, you'd understand that Twilight's proposal for a new fining system will apply only to the Not-For-Sale Registry as an experiment, so every other law violation will still the same as it's always been.
8380469 Which is exactly why the Not-For-Sale Registry is being put into effect. And as President Business said, Sunset sure did come up with an awesome argument against that silly philosophy.
8381274 I have no intentions of going down that path, but I'll allow readers to interpret whatever they want.