The Next Mission
Chapter 2
The Next Mission
Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of their friends and teammates were all riding in a small passenger jet airplane that was taking them back to their home region of Canterlot City. Although they had a relatively good time being on the LEGO News Show earlier today, they were certainly looking forward to returning home. For now, they simply did whatever they could to pass the time. Sunset and Twilight were looking out the windows near their respective seats, Rainbow Dash was watching a video on her phone, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were playing a card game, Rarity was reading a magazine, Fluttershy was listening to some relaxing music on her phone, and Spike was playing a game on his portable gaming device.
Sunset suddenly felt her phone vibrate, so she pulled it out and took a look at it. She read the text she had just received, then got up out of her seat and walked forward into the cockpit.
Twilight noticed Sunset leave and was curious about it, but decided not to say anything.
A few seconds later, Sunset returned and spoke up, “Okay, everyone, I’ve got an announcement to make.” Once everyone had turned their attention to her, she continued, “I just got a text from Celestia saying that we’ve just been assigned a new mission and she wants us to report to headquarters as soon as possible. I’ve already told the pilot to take us down to the runway just outside that building, rather than landing at Canterlot City Airport, so I’ll let her know that we’re on our way.” She then sat down in her seat and replied to Celestia’s text.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team on the plane had various reactions to the news of their next mission.
“Yay!” cheered Pinkie Pie as she tossed her cards into the air. “We’re going on another mission!”
Applejack set down her cards and grumbled, “Well, so much for gettin’ some time off after our trip to the News Show studio.”
“I concur,” agreed Rarity as she put away her magazine. “I was really hoping I could spend this afternoon catching up on some of my work that I had fallen behind on.” She sighed as she pulled out her phone and began dialing a number. “I’d better call my clients to inform them that their orders will likely have to be postponed.”
“I’m sure Celestia understands that we all have our own lives outside of the LEGO Team,” said Fluttershy. “If she wants us to report to the headquarters building right away, then it must be really important.”
“Well, whatever the mission is, I know it’s gonna be totally awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Especially since this’ll be the first time we’ll have this Twilight joining us on a mission.”
Twilight was momentarily startled before she quickly responded, “Oh! Right, of course! It’ll certainly be an interesting experience. I mean, after working alone for many years, it sure will be nice to see how well I can contribute to this team.”
“You’ll do great, Twilight,” assured Sunset as she put away her phone. “If my experience is anything to go by, then I’m sure that you’ll prove to be an excellent part of the team.”
Twilight silently turned her attention to the window beside her seat and looked outside as the jet was now approaching Canterlot City. Although there was no denying her anxiety for the upcoming mission, she was able to remain relatively calm thanks to how caring and trustworthy her new friends and teammates were proving themselves to be. She could only hope that she would do just as well in returning the favor.
A short time later, the team had arrived at Canterlot City’s LEGO Team Headquarters and entered the massive multipurpose room atop the large mountaintop building. As they all walked into the room, Twilight couldn’t help but glance around in awe, since this was her very first time entering this facility. She was amazed by the high ceiling that permitted spacecraft to be docked above with a set of massive doors on one wall that could part open to allow such vehicles to enter or leave the building. Just as incredible were the massive windows along one side of the room, offering a magnificent view of the entire region of Canterlot City. She was also astonished and impressed by the relatively open environment that many employees were busy working at, which was so unlike what she had been used to as a Shadowbolt agent.
The team arrived at the briefing area at one end of the room and stopped near the elevated platform against the wall, upon which was a large console and massive display screen. And standing on that platform just behind the surrounding railing was Celestia Playwell.
“Welcome back, girls,” greeted Celestia.
“Always a pleasure to meet you, Miss Playwell,” greeted Rarity. “And congratulations on the recent news regarding your relatives in Lego City.”
Sunset turned to Rarity and remarked, “I’m guessing you’re referring to the official announcement by Kjeld that his son Thomas will be his successor.”
“Indeed,” confirmed Rarity with a nod.
“I am glad you all appreciate the announcement,” acknowledged Celestia. “I’ve met my cousin Thomas a few times over the years, and based on the kind of education he has received, I am very confident that he will one day make a great leader of the Lego World.” Celestia then turned away and walked over to the console as she added, “But enough about my family. Let us discuss your next assignment.”
“Yeah, let’s get to it!” agreed Rainbow Dash.
Celestia tapped some buttons on the console until an image came up on the display screen, showing a certain familiar minifig with blue skin, wearing a purple cape and pointed hat over her blue shirt and purple skirt, and holding a staff with a large five-pointed blue star on the end of it. “You all remember the Great and Powerful Trixie, correct?” asked Celestia.
“That arrogant sorceress from the Castle Region who was always so full of herself?” replied Sunset sourly. “Yeah, I remember her alright.”
The rest of the team, with the exception of Twilight and Spike, frowned and nodded in agreement.
“Well, after being in hiding since you defeated the Dazzlings, Trixie is once again on the move,” explained Celestia as she brought up a map of the Castle Region. “This time, she has now joined forces with the evil Jestro from the subregion of Knighton.” As the subregion in question was highlighted on the map, a second image came up that showed a minifig with white skin, yellow eyes, a crazy grin, and wearing a torn red and purple jester suit. “Apparently, they are both seeking a new source of powerful magic and wish to take it for themselves.”
“How do you know that?” asked Spike. “You’ve got a spy there or something?”
“Hardly necessary,” replied Celestia. “They practically told all about their plans to everyone they encountered.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that Jestro has a habit of unintentionally giving away his evil plans,” remarked Sunset. “And with how much Trixie likes to brag about herself, she probably wouldn’t even care if her enemies knew her plans. If anything, she would see it as a way to make sure her enemies don’t fall in a matter of seconds, just so she could get more fun out of the fight.”
“You sure seem to know a lot about Trixie,” noted Fluttershy.
“Keep in mind, I used to be a bad guy, myself,” reminded Sunset. “I would occasionally recruit her and Lightning Dust to help me out on some of my biggest heists.”
“And since you’re now on our side, we’ll totally be able to stay one step ahead of her!” remarked Rainbow Dash with a smile.
“Speaking of Lightning Dust,” Celestia spoke up, “I think you will be pleased to hear that she was captured only a few days ago by none other than Twilight’s old Shadowbolts teammates.”
“Looks like those five girls are getting by just fine,” remarked Spike.
“Indeed they are,” agreed Celestia with a nod. “When they are ready to join us, I believe they will one day make excellent members of the LEGO Team.”
“Well now that we don’t have to worry about Lightning Dust, I guess this means Trixie is now the only one left on LEGO’s Most Wanted,” remarked Pinkie Pie.
“I’m afraid LEGO’s Most Wanted will never be an empty list,” explained Celestia. “There will always be various criminals and villains who wish to cause nothing but trouble. After Trixie, the next one at the top of the list at this time would be Captain Brickbeard the pirate. He’s been on quite a rampage lately, terrorizing just about any coastal settlement he can get to, though each raid of his typically ends with mixed results.”
“Maybe you could send a message to our friend Captain Storm Wave to see if he could track down Brickbeard for us,” suggested Sunset.
“I will consider it,” replied Celestia.
“Well, enough about all that,” said Applejack. She turned to Celestia and asked, “So what’s the mission for us?”
“First of all, I have some good news and some bad news,” stated Celestia. “The good news is that the Nexo Knights were able to catch Jestro before he could escape.” Celestia tapped a button on the console and the image of Jestro vanished from the screen. “The bad news is that Trixie managed to slip away with her army of skeleton warriors. She was last seen going east, which means we assume she is heading for this Castle subregion…” On the map displayed on the screen, a subregion near the middle of the Castle Region was now highlighted. “The Dark Forest.”
“If I’m not mistaken, that is a rather old part of the Castle Region,” noted Rarity. “Why would Trixie suddenly want to go there?”
“We don’t know for sure,” answered Celestia as she turned away from the console. She walked over to the edge of the platform and looked down upon the gathered team and stated, “Your mission will be to go into the Dark Forest Subregion, find and stop Trixie, and if possible, find out exactly what kind of powerful new magic she is after.”
Sunset smiled and said with a nod, “I think we can handle that.”
“Yay!” cheered Pinkie Pie as she jumped with excitement. “Isn’t this great, Twilight? Your very first mission with us!” Her eyes had remained closed, so when she reached over to hug Twilight, she was suddenly surprised to grasp nothing but empty air. She opened her eyes and quickly glanced around in confusion. “Twilight?”
Everyone else quickly noticed that Twilight had completely vanished, so they all looked around in confusion. It wasn’t long until they all spotted her trying to sneak out the door.
“Twilight…” Sunset called out in a scolding tone as she folded her arms.
Twilight had just barely opened the door when she heard Sunset, causing her to suddenly freeze in place and lightly whimper. She nervously glanced back at the others and saw them all staring at her with varying looks of confusion and displeasure.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Sunset.
Twilight immediately shut the door and spun around to face the others as, with an awkward grin, she quickly replied, “Oh, I was just, uh… gonna get some supplies! Y’know, for the mission!” She then laughed nervously.
The facial expressions on everyone remained completely unchanged.
Realizing right away there was little point in continuing the act, she sighed and shamefully answered, “Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m… really not looking forward to this mission.”
“Why not?” asked Fluttershy.
“There’s nothin’ to worry about, sugarcube,” assured Applejack. “Just because it’s your first LEGO Team mission don’t mean—”
“It’s not that this is my first mission,” Twilight interrupted. She sighed again and said, “It’s because this mission will be in the Castle Region.” She paused as she shamefully lowered her gaze down to her feet. “I was really hoping I never had to go back there ever again.”
“Why would you be so reluctant about visiting the Castle Region?” asked Rarity.
“It’s because I don’t wanna risk going back down the same dark path that resulted in Midnight Sparkle,” admitted Twilight, “and that path started with my desire to get away from the Castle Region.”
The rest of the team remained silent for a moment. It wasn’t long before Pinkie Pie spoke up. “Well it’s not like we’re gonna force you to stay there or anything cruel like that,” she remarked with a giggle.
“Yeah, it’s just gonna be a quick visit for the mission,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “We go in there, we take out the villain, then we come back home. Done. End of story.”
“Besides,” added Sunset, “unlike the last time you were there, you’re not working alone anymore. You’re now part of a team, and we’ll be right beside you no matter what happens or wherever we go.”
Twilight smiled as she turned her gaze back to her friends and said, “You’re right… all of you. I guess I’ve just been so paranoid over what happened to me that I failed to rationally understand that I’m now living under a completely different set of circumstances.”
“It’s okay, Twilight,” assured Fluttershy. “We understand that you’ve been through a lot, and if you ever need any help, we’re here for you.”
“Anyway, now that we know we’re all in, let’s get on with the mission,” said Rainbow Dash. She turned to Celestia and asked, “Is the spaceship ready?”
“Actually, you girls won’t be using that spaceship anymore,” replied Celestia. “Instead, thanks to Twilight sharing her inventions with us, you will from now on be using the Jump-Gate to travel to your destination.”
Twilight perked up at the mention of the Jump-Gate and asked, “Oh! You’ve already got that set up?”
“Yeah, just barely finished with it.”
The team glanced back and saw top engineer Rusty Wrench slowly walking by with a very tired expression.
“Assembling that thing was a real nightmare,” grumbled Rusty. “And honestly, Twilight, did you really have to write a six hundred page user’s manual?”
Twilight placed a hand on her hip and stated, “When I said that rocket science is child’s play compared to Jump-Gate technology, I was not kidding.”
“And somehow I believe you,” mumbled Rusty. He then slowly made his way to the door and said, “I think I’m gonna go home early and call it a day. I really need to get some rest.” His eyes were partially closed from exhaustion, so as he tried to head out the door, he failed to notice where exactly the doorframe was and ended up banging his head as he walked right into it. “Ouchy,” he muttered as he rubbed the sore spot on his head, then proceeded out the door.
Celestia walked back to the console and said, “I’ll provide you with a set of coordinates that should take you to a part of the Dark Forest that’s close to where two other LEGO Team members happen to be at this time.” Celestia tapped some buttons and two portraits came up on the display screen. The one on the left was a girl with pink skin, lips in a slightly darker shade of pink, green eyes, and had a long magenta hair piece with a chain of daisies around the top. The one on the right was a boy with medium nougat skin, green eyes, and a short green hair piece with a dark grey beanie hat on top of it.
“Gloriosa Daisy and her brother Timber Spruce have been members of the LEGO Team for a few years now,” explained Celestia. “Whenever they’re not busy running their family’s summer camp in the Everfree Forest just outside of Canterlot City, we typically send them on goodwill missions that are meant to ensure we maintain good relations with every region in the Lego World. They are actually on such a mission right now in the Dark Forest Subregion, so I believe it would be wise for you to find them and ask for their assistance.”
“Are you sure they’ve got what it takes to help us?” asked Sunset.
“Like I said, they’ve been on the team for some time and have proven themselves very capable,” replied Celestia. “In fact, back when Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria first came to this world and needed help retrieving her magic crown, Gloriosa and Timber were among the members I had initially considered for the team that would help her. But as you all know, she insisted on recruiting all of you instead, and although I now concede that she made the better choice, I still firmly believe that these two fellow LEGO Team members can be trusted.”
“Okay, just to be sure I got this right,” Twilight spoke up, “once we arrive at the provided coordinates, we are to find Gloriosa and Timber, explain to them the situation with Trixie, then we’ll need to come up with a plan on how to stop her from going any further.”
“Precisely,” confirmed Celestia with a nod.
Spike suddenly spoke up. “Well, you girls go ahead and have fun. I’ll just stay behind and hold down the fort, like I always do,” he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Rarity raised an eyebrow and asked, “Now why would you automatically presume that we wish to depart without you?”
“Because that’s just the way things always were with Twilight,” answered Spike.
Twilight placed a hand on Spike’s shoulder and explained, “First of all, Spike, that was back when I was very adamant about working alone, which we all know is now no longer true. And secondly, according to what the rest of our new team has told us, when Princess Twilight had visited this world, she also brought her world’s Spike along with her and allowed him to join her and the others on just about every journey they made. He even made key contributions that would have otherwise never made success of certain missions possible. With that in mind…” She smiled. “I think it’s time I finally gave you the chance to assist us on missions.”
“Really?!” asked Spike as he began to grin with hope.
“Definitely,” confirmed Twilight with a nod. “Besides, now that we live in a residential apartment and not some secret hideout, I see no reason to keep you on guard duty.”
“YES!!” shouted Spike as he jumped with excitement. “This is one of the best moments of my life!”
Sunset giggled and remarked, “You really didn’t let him out much, did ya?”
“Let’s just say you’re not the only one who regrets her past actions,” quipped Twilight.
“Touché,” responded Sunset with a smile.
“Regardless,” said Rarity, “now that we know what our assignment is, we should make preparations for it right away. And I believe I know just the right outfits for us to wear.”
“What’s wrong with what we’re already wearing?” asked Rainbow Dash skeptically.
“An’ besides, we’re gonna be out in the woods,” added Applejack. “It’s called the Dark Forest for a reason, ya know.”
“Oh I am very well aware of that, darling,” replied Rarity with a sly smile. “Trust me, once you see what I have in mind, you will understand how talented I am at selecting the appropriate wardrobe for every environment imaginable.”
“Ah gotta admit, this ain’t so bad,” remarked Applejack.
“I knew you would appreciate it,” Rarity smugly said.
The team of eight minifigs had gathered near the newly-completed Jump-Gate that was built into a wall in a cleared out corner of the massive room. They were all now wearing clothes that were more suitable for a hike through the woods. Applejack had white on her torso and upper arms with a green stripe on the collar and sleeves, blue on her upper legs, brown on her feet and lower legs, a red apple on the front of the waist, and her usual cowboy hat on her head. Rainbow Dash had white on her torso, red on her upper arms and feet, blue on her legs, and her usual red-yellow-blue bands around her wrists. Pinkie Pie had white on her torso, pink on her upper arms, light blue on her upper legs, blue on her feet, a pink heart on the front of her waist, and her usual light blue bands around her wrists. Fluttershy had white on her torso, a turquoise skirt wrapped around her upper legs, and pink on her feet. Rarity had light blue on her torso with a frilly pattern along the shoulders and waist, purple on her upper legs with three white diamonds on each side, white with a purple outline on her feet, and her usual gold bands around her wrists. Spike had white on his torso, green on his upper arms, blue on his legs, brown on his feet, and a blue baseball cap instead of his usual red one on his head. Twilight Sparkle had light blue on her torso and upper arms with a blue stripe on the collar and sleeves, violet on her upper legs and feet, and had a magenta six-pointed star on the front of her waist. And Sunset Shimmer had white on her torso, magenta on her arms, dark grey on her upper legs, black on her feet, and her symbol of a red and yellow sun on the front of her waist.
“I almost feel like we’re going to a summer camp instead of the Castle Region,” remarked Rainbow Dash.
“Yes, well, keeping Twilight’s anxiety regarding the Castle Region in mind, it would probably be best for us to not go completely medieval,” explained Rarity. “And besides, since we’ll be recruiting assistance from the co-owners of Camp Everfree, I figured that they would appreciate seeing us wearing a familiar style.”
“Even if Gloriosa and Timber agree to work with us,” Sunset spoke up, “I just hope that they can offer some talents or experience that can help us stop Trixie.”
“They are on a goodwill mission,” noted Fluttershy. “Maybe they could ask the people who live there to help us out.”
While the rest of the team discussed the upcoming mission, Twilight attached a portable Jump-Gate device to her right wrist. She sighed and quietly noted, “I sure did miss having one of these with me.”
“Ah gotta admit,” remarked Applejack as she hefted her backpack onto her shoulders, “Ah’m mighty impressed by just how many fancy inventions you’ve come up with. No doubt, you’ll be bringin’ some of ‘em with ya, right?”
“Definitely,” acknowledged Twilight with a nod and a smile. “For example, here’s one of my favorites.” She reached behind her back and pulled out a black rolled-up object, then she unrolled it to reveal that it held quite an arrangement of glasses. “I call them special spectacles. Each pair of glasses in this travel case has been designed to provide me with a different range of vision that would otherwise need special cameras and equipment to detect. I’ve got night vision, infrared vision, ultraviolet vision, x-ray vision—”
“X-ray glasses?” Pinkie Pie suddenly asked excitedly. “You mean the kind that can see through clothes? Can I try ‘em on?!”
Twilight frowned as she rolled up her set of glasses cases and firmly replied, “No, and for two very good reasons. One, that’s not how x-ray vision works — the fact that hospitals use x-rays to examine a patient’s bones should be obvious proof of that. And two, all of my special specs are specifically calibrated to work with my rather poor eyesight, so the only thing you would ever see through them is a blurry mess.”
“Aww,” moaned Pinkie in disappointment. “Bummer.”
Sunset Shimmer hefted her backpack onto her shoulders, then saw Rainbow Dash and Spike do the same with theirs. “Everyone got everything they need?” she asked.
“I believe I have all the minimal essentials I shall need,” replied Rarity as she gestured toward a large pile of various luggage right behind her, easily more than two dozen suitcases. “Spike, could you be a dear and assist me?”
Spike took one look at the absurdly large amount of luggage and replied, “Yeeeaaahhh— No.”
Rarity immediately froze and her eyes shrank. She had not been expecting such a reaction at all, especially from Spike of all people. “Why not?” she asked, flabbergasted.
“Seriously?” responded Spike incredulously with a raised eyebrow. “I may be just a kid, but even I know overpacking when I see it. If you really wanna bring all that stuff with ya, then carry it yourself.” He then noticed Fluttershy struggling to get her backpack on, so he decided to walk over to her and give her a helping hand.
Rarity simply remained frozen on the spot, her jaw gaping in shock.
“It’s okay, Rarity,” assured Pinkie Pie as she suddenly jumped out from behind the pile of luggage. “I can carry this stuff for ya! I come from a whole family of miners; we’re practically built to carry heavy loads.” She then quickly strapped together all of the pieces of luggage until everything was attached into a single mass, then she grasped two of the straps over her arms and effortlessly lifted the whole pile up onto her back. “Alleyoop!”
Rarity momentarily stared at Pinkie in astonishment, then quietly muttered, “My, Pinkie… your seemingly endless talents will never cease to amaze me.”
Twilight hefted her backpack onto her shoulders, then walked over to the console beside the Jump-Gate and entered the coordinates that Celestia had recently provided. She turned back to her teammates and asked, “Is everyone ready?”
The others all nodded and said varying words of agreement.
“Now let’s see if this one works,” muttered Twilight as she hit the big green “Open” button on the console. The Jump-Gate made the familiar low whooshing noise for a few seconds, then the large doors parted open to the sides. Beyond the now opened gateway was a dirt path in the middle of a dense forest where very little direct sunlight made it through the canopy.
Pinkie Pie cheerfully remarked, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing something as super-cool as that!”
“Yeah,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “As much as I love flying the team’s spaceship, opening an instant doorway to anywhere is just as awesome.”
“Shall we proceed?” suggested Rarity.
The team of minifigs all walked through the gateway into the woodland. After all eight of them had passed through, the Jump-Gate’s doors automatically closed. Some of the team members glanced back and watched those doors close, immediately followed by the gateway completely vanishing from existence.
“Don’t think Ah’ll ever get used to seein’ that,” muttered Applejack.
Spike looked around at the surrounding forest and asked, “So, uh… where to?”
“Celestia said that the coordinates I just entered should have brought us very close to where Gloriosa and Timber have pitched their camp,” answered Twilight as she also glanced around. “I don’t see any sign of them right now, but I’m sure they can’t be too far from here.”
“I guess we’ll just follow the trail and see where it takes us,” suggested Sunset.
Everyone silently agreed and followed Sunset as she began walking down the dirt path through the woods. The team was now on a mission, and the first step was to obtain whatever assistance they could find here in the Dark Forest.
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Figures that Lego Trixie is arrogant she sees nothing wrong with telling her plans to anyone she meets.
Is Trixie being particularly obnoxious this time, or is she just going to play a Game Of Bones with the Lego squad?
Hmm. Twilight seems less depressed and guilt-ridden and more trusting than in the movie. What a relief! Thank you so much.
finally get to see Trixie step up as a main villain :D
7963895 I honestly don't know what you mean by that analogy.
I guess you'll just have to wait and see what happens.
7964037
I'm actually a little confused by why you might think that. I mean, she almost tried to ditch the team right before starting her first mission with them, just because it would be in the Castle Region! I guess maybe Twilight's remarks about letting Spike join the team for the mission or perhaps her pride in some of her inventions might give you the impression that her feelings aren't so bad, but I will say that my intent is to reflect what we saw in the movie without seeming too out of place for the setting of this story.
7976072 In the movie, when Sunset caught her trying to run, she just kept running. Here, she actually lets the team talk her into staying. Although, now that I think about it, what I may have misinterpreted as Twilight being less guilt-ridden might have just been the rest of the team being more understanding and aware of her issues.