LEGO Equestria Girls 10

Chapters

Prologue
Invasion from Above
Gone into Hiding
Ninjas vs Changelings
An Enemy Turned Friend
The Secret Planet

Prologue

Prologue

The Lego World consisted of much more than just a single world. Beyond the reaches of the home planet — commonly referred to as simply Earth — there was an entire universe full of remote exploration bases and alien realms, where the power of creativity and imagination was just as widespread and essential as it was in any of the regions of the home planet. In fact, with the exception of certain other planets and specific areas, everything that existed beyond the atmosphere of the Lego World was designated as simply the Space Region. Despite its immensely vast area, this region still operated much like any other region, most notably with the presence of a headquarters facility where organizations like the LEGO Team could keep an eye on things and prepare to help out whenever and wherever they were needed. For the Space Region, such a facility came in the form of a massive base that was located on the surface of the Moon, just a short distance from the Lego World itself.

Somewhere between the Earth and the Moon, there was something rather unusual drifting through the empty vacuum of space. To a common observer, it would have appeared as little more than a small cloud — not unlike some kind of space nebula — that glowed and sparkled as it wandered around aimlessly, but this was no ordinary cloud of cosmic gas or dust. This tiny cloud was actually a wisp of magical energy that had seeped through from the alternate universe of Equestria. Stray wisps of Equestrian Magic like this had gotten loose and caused trouble in the Lego World a few times before, but this was the first time that one of them had ever wandered out this far from its point of origin. As it drifted around, this aimless trail of magical energy steadily wandered away from Earth and approached the Moon.

After a very long journey between the two worlds, this wisp of Equestrian Magic made its way down toward the surface of the Moon and continued its journey across the barren alien landscape. Eventually, after flying over countless craters, this wisp of magic arrived at a large collection of interconnected structures built upon the lunar surface, the largest of which stood significantly tall in the center of this facility and was marked on one side by a large red square and in the middle of it was the word “LEGO” in white rounded letters with a black inner outline and a yellow outer outline. This symbol featured so prominently on the outside of the building identified it as the regional headquarters building for the LEGO Team.

The stray wisp of Equestrian Magic circled around the large central structure, then drifted out towards one of the smaller segments near the edge of the base of operations. After passing by a few more structures, the wisp of magical energy finally reached a window, where it was able to pass through into the perfectly sealed facility and ultimately descended into a tablet computer that was resting upon a table. When the magic infused itself into the tablet, that device transformed so that the circuit board patterns that would normally be concealed inside expanded to cover much of the exterior with the exception of the large screen on the front.

The room in which this occurred was currently occupied by two minifigs, who were in the middle of a routine maintenance inspection of the large data storage machines that had been set up within this room. According to the identity tags that were part of their dark blue work uniforms, one of these two guys was named “S. Pace”, and the other guy was named “P. Lane”.

A few minutes after the unnoticed arrival of that stray wisp of Equestrian Magic, Pace walked over to the table and picked up the tablet computer he had left there. He was a little too preoccupied with his job to notice the tablet’s newly enhanced appearance, but as he opened certain digital pages to proceed with his work, he began to realize that something wasn’t quite right with this device.

“Huh… That’s weird…” muttered Pace.

“What is it?” asked Lane as he peered around one of the data storage machines to look at his coworker.

With his attention focused on his tablet, Pace replied with concern, “Either my tablet just got a ridiculously huge automatic upgrade without my knowledge, or something very unnatural is causing its performance to go haywire.” He tapped the screen a few times as he spoke, then turned the tablet around to show the screen to his coworker. “Look, I just hacked into Luna’s personal email account without even trying.”

Lane looked closely at the screen, and while he didn’t say anything in response, the look of astonishment on his face was enough to express his shock and disbelief. He glanced over at the other tablet on the nearby table, then grabbed it and started tapping away on its screen. After a few seconds, he shook his head and frowned as he grumbled, “Well, my tablet doesn’t seem to be capable of doing anything like that. Whatever happened to your tablet, it definitely goes against the strict policies of our jobs.”

“You said it,” agreed Pace as he continued tapping away on the screen, morbidly curious by what other incredible capabilities his tablet now possessed. When one particular page suddenly came up on the screen, he immediately froze and muttered, “Whoa. I’ve never heard of this Dimensions Box before, but from what this thing is showing me right now, I’m really glad Kjeld is keeping its very existence a top secret from practically everyone.”

Lane set aside his ordinary tablet and worriedly stated, “Okay, if that thing is giving away universal secrets that easily, then we’ve gotta be really careful about whoever gets their hands on it. I mean, we’re responsible tech workers who know how to be careful with these sorts of things, but there’s no telling what a less responsible person might be tempted to do with such ridiculous power.”

Pace looked up at his coworker and asked, “So what do you suggest we do with it?”

“It’s obvious this super-powered device is way too dangerous to allow in the hands of just anyone,” responded Lane with a grim expression on his face, “so the ideal outcome we can ask for is to simply destroy it.”

Pace lightly gasped in shock and glanced down at the magically enhanced tablet in his hands as he protested, “But this is a standard issued tablet that’s essential for me to use at work!”

“Not anymore, it isn’t,” argued Lane. “You can always claim it was lost or destroyed in an accident and get a replacement without much hassle. That thing in your hands right now has the capability to destroy worlds! For all we know, its very existence could be a dire threat to the entire universe!”

Pace sighed and muttered, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He stared down at the screen of the unbelievably powerful device in his hands, then stated with grim acceptance, “If we’re gonna have to destroy this device, then we might as well be very thorough with it. We’d better put this thing through the Shredderator.”

“The nuclear-powered super-blender that can practically atomize anything that gets disposed into it?” questioned Lane. Only a moment later, he simply shrugged and acknowledged, “Well, can’t ask for anything more thorough than that.”

“And since it happens to be just on the other side of this base, we might as well put it to good use,” noted Pace, before he turned and began walking towards the doorway out of the room.

“Yeah, this data center can wait,” agreed Lane as he followed after his coworker. “I think preventing a potential end of the world by eliminating a single powerful object would count as something far more important.”

As Mr. Pace and Mr. Lane began to make their way through the corridors of the lunar base, somewhere thousands of miles above the surface of the Moon, a small fleet of spacecraft suddenly appeared as they slowed down from a journey that was done at warp speed — faster than the speed of light. This space fleet consisted of three massive battle cruisers and three immense carrier ships, all of which shared the same color of black and dark grey with glowing bits of green in some places. Now that they had dropped out of warp speed, these enormous spacecrafts began to change course down towards the surface of the Moon below.

Back inside the lunar base, the two data storage maintenance workers identified as S. Pace and P. Lane continued walking through the corridors of the lunar base towards the so-called Shredderator.

“You know, it’s kinda weird to think that we’re about to do something that just might save the universe from total destruction,” remarked Pace.

Lane smirked and responded with a smile, “I guess it’s true when they say that not all superheroes wear capes. Sometimes, they’re just ordinary people simply doing the right thing.”

“Kind of a shame that hardly anyone will ever hear about the heroic act that we’re about to do,” noted Pace with a tone of disappointment.

“Eh, I’m perfectly fine with that,” assured Lane. “The less drama in our lives, the better. Besides, our obscurity will just make completing this task a whole lot easier.”

“Can’t argue with that,” agreed Pace. “Better to get this taken care of before any bad guys ever find out about it and start chasing after us.”

Meanwhile, the recently arrived space fleet had descended down to just a few miles above the lunar surface and were now closing in on the site of the lunar base that served as the Space Region's headquarters facility for the LEGO Team. Once the six massive spacecraft slowed to a stop directly above the facility, large panels opened up on the sides and bottom of the three carrier ships, from which emerged dozens of small fighter spacecraft and hundreds of troop transport ships, all of which began descending down to the lunar base below. At the same time, the three battle cruisers aimed their laser cannons downward and fired precision strikes against most of the base’s defensive turrets and sensor arrays, significantly crippling the entire facility’s defensive capabilities in a matter of seconds.

Inside every room and corridor of the lunar base, a loud alarm started blaring along with flashing red lights. Civilians and common workers quickly panicked and ran for any safe places they could think of, while security forces swiftly scrambled for the nearest armory stockpiles and prepared to face whatever severe threat had just made its presence known. In the midst of all this sudden chaos, S. Pace and P. Lane stood still and glanced around in confusion.

“Uh, remind me again,” Pace spoke up worriedly. “Which alarm is this one supposed to indicate?”

“It’s the invasion alarm,” answered Lane fearfully. “This facility is under attack!”

“By who?” asked Pace in terror. “For what purpose?”

“I don’t know,” replied Lane with concern, “but I can guarantee that if they manage to get their hands on that device, they might as well have obtained the ultimate superweapon.”

“Then why are we just standing here?!” exclaimed Pace. “We gotta get this thing to the Shredderator right away!”

The two tech maintenance workers immediately took off down the hallway as panicked civilians and armed security forces rushed past them in both directions. As they ran, they occasionally felt the structure around them slightly shake from some kind of impact on part of the facility some distance away, but it was hardly enough to make them even slightly stumble.

“Take shelter!” ordered one of the security guards as he ran past the two fleeing maintenance workers. “The invaders have breached the airlocks!”

Upon hearing that urgent news, Pace and Lane slowed to a stop in an intersection in the corridors. They glanced around fearfully until Lane suddenly pointed down one of the corridors and exclaimed, “I think I see them! They’re heading right this way!”

Pace followed his coworker’s gaze and soon found himself watching a squad of at least half a dozen of those invaders running directly towards them. These attacking forces — built in the typical shape of most minifigs — appeared to be some kind of alien soldiers who were entirely covered by armor that was as black as the background of space, with visible dents and scratches all over their arms and legs. From what could be seen on the front, the only distinctive features on these armored alien troops were a pair of long protrusions rising up on either side of the helmet, a third protrusion rising up from the forehead of the helmet, and a seemingly solid bright blue visor that covered the area where one would expect to see the eyes of a face.

Pace knew he needed to start running for his life, but he hesitated to get going, and in that hesitation, he instead ended up turning his attention down to the magically enhanced tablet that he was still holding in his hands.

Lane did manage to start running away from the advancing alien troops, but quickly stopped when he realized he was alone. He turned back to see his coworker was somehow standing still while facing the oncoming threat and staring down at the tablet they were intending to destroy. “What are you doing?!” exclaimed Lane in disbelief.

Pace glanced up briefly to notice the edge of a large doorway at the transition point between the intersection he stood in and the corridor that the alien squadron was charging through, so when he turned his attention back down to his tablet, he decided to tap a few things on the screen. Just seconds later, as the alien troopers rapidly began to close the distance, a massive blast door suddenly rose up from the floor, effectively sealing off access between the assault forces and their intended target.

Pace smiled in satisfaction. When he turned back to see his coworker staring at him in disbelief, he just shrugged and confessed, “Might as well put this thing to good use while we still have it.”

Lane shook his head in disapproval, but didn’t protest any further before he urgently exclaimed, “Come on! This way!” He turned away and resumed running in the direction down the other corridor he had initially started through, prompting his coworker to swiftly follow after him while clutching that super powerful tablet close to his chest.

The two coworkers rushed further down the corridor until a rather nearby impact shook the facility enough to throw them off their feet. They both quickly stood back up, but the noise of several footsteps against the metallic floor caused them to look back, where they saw another squadron of the black armored alien troopers charging towards them.

Pace immediately glanced back down at his special tablet again, then quickly tapped the screen a few times. This resulted in the floor under the alien troopers to suddenly drop away, causing all of them to plummet into the dark abyss.

“Ha!” taunted Pace triumphantly. “Take that!”

But just seconds later, all of those fallen alien troops quickly flew up out of the hole with large insect-like wings that flapped rapidly enough to appear as a blur. Once those alien troops landed upon the solid floor in front of the hole, their translucent blue wings stopped flapping and folded back into a backpack-like part that was draped over their backs and attached by their necks.

“Oh...” muttered Pace defeatedly. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

“Run! Run!” shouted Lane as he and Pace quickly turned away and resumed running down the corridor.

Those alien troopers each swiftly extended a long blade that was mounted to their right arms before they pursued after the fleeing coworkers.

As the two tech maintenance workers continued running, Pace kept his eye out for any other possible doorways that could be closed off. As soon as he finally saw one up ahead, he quickly tapped the screen on his magically enhanced tablet, making sure to time the final command just right so that as soon as he and Lane crossed the threshold, the blast door swiftly rose up out of the floor. With the corridor suddenly blocked, those pursuing alien troopers were unable to avoid colliding face-first into that barrier.

Pace let out a sigh of relief and muttered, “That’ll give us a little breathing room.”

“Then let’s not waste it!” insisted Lane. “Keep running!”

Pace and Lane continued running for their lives along the corridors through the lunar base. They stumbled slightly every time a large impact shook the facility, but were able to stay on their feet for the entire distance as they navigated around security personnel charging into action and civilians fleeing for safety. Finally, after several left and right turns, they arrived at a corridor where several large boxy containers were stored on either side.

“We’re almost there!” Pace eagerly announced as he pointed at a doorway on the right side up ahead. “The Shredderator is just through that doorway!”

The two coworkers were only a few steps away from their ultimate destination when another squadron of alien troopers came around the corner further ahead and raised the laser blasters they wielded to take aim.

“Look out! They got blasters!” shouted Lane as he swiftly dove for cover behind the nearest storage crate on the right side of the corridor.

Pace stumbled a little as he quickly took cover behind the nearest storage crate on the left side of the corridor just before the alien troopers unleashed their barrage of laser bolts upon him and Lane.

Pew! Pew-Pew! Pew! Pew-Pew-Pew! Pew! Pew-Pew!

“Now what do we do?!” exclaimed Lane desperately as the countless laser bolts either whizzed by or struck the containers he and Pace were hiding behind.

Pace took a moment to catch his breath while he thought of a potential plan. He once again glanced down at his tablet, but was unable to think of any particular way he could use it to his advantage. He then flipped it over to see the circuit board pattern that practically emphasized just how immensely powerful this once common device had become only minutes ago. As he flipped it around again to glance at the screen, he let out a sigh of resignation, then shrugged and muttered, “Oh well. It’s gonna get destroyed anyway.”

Pace stood up and ducked his head low, then made a mad dash towards the Shredderator room while holding up his tablet as a shield in front of his body. Despite several laser bolts constantly flying by all around him as he crossed the corridor, he astonishingly managed to not only avoid getting hit, but his tablet also remained unscathed. However, he was just two steps away from making it through that final doorway to safety when he was suddenly struck in the lower left leg by a laser bolt. The sudden searing heat from that impact caused him to immediately cry out in pain and collapse to the floor, dropping his tablet not much further ahead.

“NO!!” cried out Lane in horror as he instinctively jumped out from behind the large crate and rushed towards his fallen coworker. Unfortunately, he had failed to notice that the alien troopers had been slowly advancing while they were shooting their laser blasters, so by this point, one of them was able to rush forward and swiftly punched Lane right in the face, instantly knocking the tech maintenance worker unconscious and sending him down to the floor on his back.

The sounds of everything going on around him was all Pace needed to know that his coworker was suddenly no longer available to help him out. Knowing what was at stake, he fought through the injury to his leg, hissing in pain as he dragged himself forward and reached out to where the magically enhanced tablet had landed. But just before he could even touch that super powerful device, one of the alien troopers deliberately pressed his foot down on Pace’s wrist, resulting in an audible crack that was followed instantly by Pace letting out a loud cry of immense pain.

The alien trooper — whose helmet and torso were dark blue rather than black — looked down at the whimpering fallen worker under his foot, the helmet and visor obscuring whatever facial expression he might have had. His attention then turned to the device that the worker had been trying to reach out for. At first, it seemed like a common tablet computer, but upon closer inspection of what was currently displayed on its screen, the alien trooper began to realize there was something rather peculiar about this specific device.

Pace tried to speak up in protest, but by this point, the pain from his injuries were so great that he was unable to utter any words before he finally passed out.

“Your majesty,” reported the alien trooper through the communicator built into his helmet. “You might want to take a look at this.”

The alien squadron stood their ground as they awaited the arrival of their supreme commander, with little more than the facility’s constantly blaring alarm and flashing red lights to indicate a passage of time. After a few minutes, a single minifig came around the corner behind the squadron’s position and marched towards them, prompting them all to turn and bow respectfully towards their supreme commander. This minifig had similar black armor with dents and scratches all over the arms and legs, with pale green horizontal stripes across the torso and detailing of a narrow waistline that identified her as female. The pack over her back that was similar to what the other alien troopers had was green, suggesting that she also shared their ability to fly via insect-style wings. Perhaps her most distinctive feature was her helmet, which not only had a green visor, but also had long turquoise hair that hung from the top and back of the helmet, and all of it was topped off with a small black crown.

The alien officer — his rank signified by the dark blue color of his helmet and torso armor — who had sent out the message stepped off from the fallen tech maintenance worker, reached down to pick up the device of interest, and held it out to his supreme commander.

The alien supreme commander calmly took the strange tablet computer from the officer. As she inspected that unique device, the portion of her helmet that covered the lower half of her face retracted, exposing her green lips and dark grey skin. She tapped a few seemingly random buttons on the screen, then every alarm in the facility was suddenly shut off. She glanced around in astonishment, looked back down at the peculiar device in her hands, then her exposed mouth turned to a wicked grin.

The alien commander turned to the officer in charge of the squadron and ordered, “Call off the assault. I think we have just what we need to initiate the next phase of our campaign…”

“Yes, your majesty,” acknowledged the alien officer with a quick bow before he turned away to pass the order down to the other troopers.

While the alien forces prepared to return to their space fleet, the supreme commander took a moment to revel in this unexpected victory, retracting the visor on her helmet to expose her green eyes. She had always had rather ambitious goals for universal conquest, but now that she possessed an object of seemingly immense power that she never could have imagined ever getting her hands on, the path to absolute domination was now seemingly within her reach.

As far as Queen Chrysalis was concerned, this day could not have gone any better…

Author's Note

I know that for all of my previous stories, I would always post the first full chapter in addition to the prologue. I decided to do that differently this time because, now that I'm writing original material rather than following some official content, there's no need to rush through the part that everyone might be familiar with, because there is no familiarity with how this story will ultimately play out. Plus, as I'm sure you've noticed by the word count, this prologue has turned out much longer than any other I've previously written, and considering how long the first chapter alone could probably be, I figured it would be better to not overwhelm you with too much initial reading material. (Besides, I've made hardly any progress on writing the first chapter, and I didn't want to leave you all waiting another month for anything. Hopefully, I'll have the first chapter completed within two weeks to keep up with my usual update schedule.)

Invasion from Above

Chapter 1
Invasion from Above

It was the middle of another ordinary day in Canterlot City. The citizens went about their usual routines, whether it was working in their office, attending classes in school, or just simply wandering around and enjoying the clear and sunny weather on this fine spring day. This city may have witnessed some terrible events in the past involving Equestrian Magic, but after how relatively mild the more recent magical incidents had been, there was a sense among these minifigs that the worst they could ever face had long since come and gone.

At the airport on the outskirts of the city, a large passenger jet airplane landed on the runway and slowed to a stop. It then slowly turned and rolled towards the terminal building, where an enclosed walkway extended out to connect with the doorway on the side of the jet. Now that the jet was properly parked, all of the passengers onboard began to disembark and made their way into the main terminal building.

Among the crowd of dozens of recently arrived passengers was Sunset Shimmer. Although she had enjoyed her stay in Ninjago City for the last few weeks, she was happy to finally be back in the city that she and her best friends called home. With one bag of luggage slung over her right shoulder, she made her way to the baggage conveyor and soon retrieved the two other large cases of luggage she had brought with her. With all of her luggage now in her possession, she turned around and looked out across the massive open room with enormous windows facing the runway and several rows of dozens of chairs throughout much of the floor space. She smiled when she saw her friends gathered together not far away, with Pinkie Pie holding up a large sheet of posterboard displaying Sunset’s red and yellow sun Creative Mark.

“There she is!” Rainbow Dash excitedly pointed out. All six girls almost immediately rushed over to Sunset and embraced her in a group hug as they all cheered.

Sunset giggled as she dropped her luggage and tried her best to return the hug. “Easy, girls!” she spoke up with amusement, “I just got here!”

Once the excited group of friends backed off from Sunset and calmed down, Applejack asked, “So how was Ninjago City?”

“It was a nice place,” replied Sunset, “especially since I was lucky enough to be visiting at a time when the city was not under attack by the latest supervillain and his army.”

The girls giggled at that before Rarity playfully remarked, “Don’t we know that sentimentality.”

As Spike walked over to pick up the dropped luggage, Sunset noticed that the red baseball cap on his head had the word “Ninjago” printed on the front in its iconic stylized version in white letters. “I see you finally decided to get that hat of yours customized,” Sunset pointed out.

“How could I not?” responded Spike eagerly. “One of my closest friends actually got to meet the ninjas of the Ninjago Region! How awesome is that?!” He then paused and asked, “Uh, you did actually meet them, right?”

“I sure did,” confirmed Sunset proudly. “They were impressed by what I had been able to learn on my own over the years, but there was a whole lot more they were willing to teach me about how to confront just about any kind of enemy imaginable. You’d be amazed by how many everyday objects can be used as improvised weaponry, but my personal favorite lesson was the Art of the Silent Fist, which involves lots of dodging to the point where your opponent becomes so exhausted that finishing them off becomes simple. All in all, I can now say without any doubt that I know how to fight like a real ninja.”

“Does this mean you know how to do Spinjitsu?” asked Spike.

Sunset laughed and responded, “I wish! But it turns out that you’d have to be an elemental master to have what it takes to pull off such an advanced move.” She touched her geode necklace and added, “Sure, we may have these magical geodes based on the Elements of Harmony in Equestria, but they’re not exactly the kind of ‘elements’ that would give us any special ninja abilities.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed and quipped, “Who needs Spinjitsu when these geodes already give us such awesome magical powers?”

“You said it,” agreed Fluttershy. “Personally, I’ll take communicating with animals over some flashy destructive superpower any day.”

“Sounds like you had a lot of fun with those Ninjago ninjas, Sunset,” remarked Pinkie Pie. “I’d love to hear more about all the amazing things they taught you!”

“What do you say we grab some pizza from our favorite pizzeria in town?” suggested Twilight.

“Sounds good to me,” agreed Sunset as she and her friends began walking towards the exit out of the airport terminal. “After eating nothing but sushi and noodles for the last few weeks, I’m craving something from a different cultural background.”

All seven girls giggled at that remark, while Spike loaded her luggage onto a small cart and followed after them.

The group of friends soon left the terminal building and made their way along the sidewalk over to the nearby bus stop, where a bus was already waiting for passengers. As Spike loaded Sunset’s luggage into the storage compartment within the side of the bus, the seven girls all got in line to board the bus.

“Just so you all know,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “my shift here at the airport starts in just over an hour, so I won’t be able to hang out with you girls after lunch.”

“That’s okay,” assured Applejack as she glanced back while climbing into the bus. “Some of us have our own responsibilities to take care of as well.”

“Indeed,” agreed Rarity as she stood in line behind Rainbow. “I have quite a few commissions that must be delivered by the end of this week, so the sooner I have that completed, the better.”

“There’s also a few things I need to check on in my pet shop, later today,” added Fluttershy from the back of the line. “It’s almost time for me to return Beta back to Dinosaur Island, so I have to make sure he’ll be ready for his ride back home.”

“I still can’t believe you were allowed to bring a raptor into Canterlot City,” muttered Sunset with a smile as she climbed into the bus.

Once the entire group of friends was aboard the bus, the driver closed the door and began accelerating forward. As the bus turned onto the street, Pinkie leaned across the aisle towards Sunset and eagerly asked, “What else did you learn in Ninjago City?”

Sunset relaxed back in her seat and smiled as she replied, “Well, I certainly trained to become a lot more athletic when it comes to free-running, which means I can now swing across poles, leap between walls, and run short distances across and up walls. In other words, my ability to quickly reach high places is no longer limited to SNOT walking.”

While Sunset was speaking, Rainbow Dash heard a faint ping from her phone, so she pulled it out to see what kind of text she had just received. She initially got thrilled when she saw who it was from, but as she read the message, her excitement quickly turned to dismay.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow Dash?” asked Fluttershy, noticing the look of concern on her friend’s face.

“I just got an alert from the Wonderbolts Space Fleet,” explained Rainbow Dash. “I have them in my contacts so I can know right away if they ever have a job opening I’d be interested in. But this alert I just got is saying that the lunar base they share with the LEGO Team was just attacked by some kind of alien invasion.”

Everyone on the bus gasped in shock. “What kind of aliens?” asked Pinkie worriedly.

“I don’t know,” replied Rainbow with concern as she put away her phone. “All I got from the alert is that the base and the people who work there are already recovering from the attack because those aliens pulled out after only a few minutes for some weird reason.”

“I’d better look into this,” noted Twilight as she pulled out her phone and began rapidly tapping away on it. All of her friends watched anxiously as she conducted her quick research over the internet. After about a minute, Twilight stated, “Reports are still coming in as we speak, but what we do know so far is that these invaders wear black armor with blue visors that obscure their faces, and they have the ability to fly using large insect-like wings on their back. That description is enough for me to know exactly who they are.” She looked up from her phone and turned her attention to her friends. “Changelings.”

“Changelings?” asked Sunset in astonishment. “You mean like those love-stealing creatures that Princess Twilight and her friends once fought against to defend Equestria?”

“I can’t say for sure,” acknowledged Twilight as she put away her phone. “But I do know that their specialized armor allows them to shapeshift into just about anything and anyone, making them masters of espionage. They also have specialized sensors built into their helmets that constantly provide them with a heightened awareness of their surroundings. Not to mention, their ruthless queen, Chrysalis, has made it no secret how much she desires to essentially conquer the entire universe.”

“How do you know so much about them?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“As a Shadowbolt agent,” explained Twilight, “I had to know as much as possible about any potential threats to our cause, and the Changelings were certainly among one of the greatest threats for us to be aware of. After all, what’s the point of trying to overthrow the current world order if an army of shapeshifting aliens were to suddenly show up and take everything by force?”

Applejack smirked and remarked with a smile, “Somehow, you’ve just given me the image that had those aliens invaded back when you Shadowbolts were still around, you guys probably would’ve taken advantage of the chaos to lead a resistance, an’ once those aliens were outta the way, y’all would’ve declared yourselves the new supreme rulers of the Lego World.”

“That was a contingency plan we had in place,” admitted Twilight. “Of course, it all depended on whether Queen Chrysalis ever decided to suddenly invade this planet, and we weren’t going to be reckless enough to try utilizing a rogue faction to achieve our ultimate goals.”

“Forgive me for being perceived as paranoid,” Rarity spoke up, “but in light of this recent news of those Changelings committing an assault on a lunar base — practically our cosmological backyard — I must ask what we could expect to witness should they decide to invade our world next.”

“I can’t tell you precisely how such a scenario would unfold,” replied Twilight as she adjusted her glasses. “If past reports from across the galaxy are anything to go by, they will arrive in a fleet of enormous space vessels that are mostly black with bits of green — their official colors. We won’t see them at first, because they will be cloaked upon arrival, but as soon as they drop that camouflage and become visible, that will be the very moment when they launch their initial assault to seize a strategic location with overwhelming force. Once they’ve established a foothold on the planet’s surface, they will then covertly send out infiltrators to blend in with the locals and commit acts of espionage and sabotage, allowing all of the remaining territories to become much easier to conquer by their main forces.”

While Twilight was speaking, Spike was looking out the window and turned his gaze upwards. At first, he saw nothing at all up in the clear blue sky of this beautiful sunny day. But then all of a sudden, over a dozen long black objects faded into view from seemingly out of nowhere, hovering high above the city skyline. Spike pointed out the window and nervously asked, “Uh, you mean giant black spacecraft like that?”

Everyone on the bus moved over to the left side and looked through the windows up into the sky. Sure enough, they all saw what appeared to be a small swarm of large dark shapes hovering over the middle of the city.

Twilight — who happened to be wearing her recently completed “Special Spectacles 2.0” glasses — tapped a button on the right side of her glasses to activate their telescopic view. She rubbed her hand along the right frame of her glasses to zoom in on the dark shapes above. It was difficult for her to study the details of those distant dark structures while riding in a moving bus, but she was able to pick out enough to confirm her worst fears, so she switched off her telescopic view and slumped back in her seat.

“It’s them,” muttered Twilight ominously. “The Changeling invasion has just begun…”

High above Canterlot City, the Changeling invasion fleet slowly moved into position, with the battle cruisers taking defensive positions along the perimeter of the city, while the heavy carriers hovered directly above certain sites within the city. All across the unsuspecting city, civilians gradually stopped whatever they were doing and stared up at the strange objects in the sky, curious and fearful for what such a strange sight would mean for them and their city.

Once all of the massive hovering vessels were in position, large panels opened up on the sides and bottom of the heavy carriers, from which emerged dozens of open-cockpit mini fighters and hundreds of troop transports, all of which began descending down to the defenseless city below. As the alien invaders descended down to the surface, panicked civilians all over the city suddenly began to scream in horror and run around aimlessly.

Among the hundreds of troop transport vessels, a smaller one slowed to a stop beside the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the city, and as the main hatch on the front opened, one Changeling soldier leaped out and landed upon the rooftop. Unlike most of the other Changelings who had bright blue visors over their eyes and a similarly colored wingpack on their backs, this Changeling had a dark purple visor and wingpack, in addition to a short red fin that went from the front protrusion on his forehead and back over the top of his helmet down to his neck. This wasn’t just any Changeling soldier. This Changeling was the General in command of the entire assault force.

“All right, troops!” commanded the General in a gruff voice through his helmet’s built-in communicator. “Cover as much ground as you can and start causing as much mayhem and destruction as possible! Let’s make it clear to the natives that we’re not here to fool around!”

As the troop transports landed and the Changeling soldiers disembarked, they quickly moved out to follow their commands. With panicked civilians screaming and running for their lives, the alien troops made sure to overturn tables and chairs, uproot and toss aside small street fixtures, smash several windows by either tossing various things into them or simply shooting them with their laser blasters, and spill the contents of trashcans out onto the streets, causing several motorists to skid out of control and collide into each other. One Changeling even confronted a helpless child by extending his wrist-mounted blade and using it to pop the balloon that child was holding, then he swiftly moved on, leaving that poor child to cry in sadness.

Amidst all the chaos and carnage, some Changelings stood on various high rooftops and looked out across various parts of the city below. The three protrusions on Changeling helmets — two on the sides and one on the forehead, all three aligned vertically upwards —functioned as highly sensitive sensors, which then transmitted data onto the visors. To a Changeling trooper viewing everything through their blue-tinted visors, their field of vision was constantly full of information, from standard background data off to the sides that listed things like atmospheric conditions and the status of their armor’s functions, to small boxes of information that would briefly pop up for anything that happened to pass by.

One of these rooftop scouts scanned the nearby streets and soon focused on a bus that was moving down the road. Information flashed across his visor that indicated eight passengers aboard that bus, seven of whom seemed to possess energy signatures unlike anything previously encountered. Further analysis of these energy signatures showed some similarities to what the mission objectives anticipated would indicate the presence of the codenamed “Targets” they were assigned to locate.

“I have visual on the Targets!” the Changeling scout urgently reported through his communicator. “They’re inside that bus!”

“Disable the bus, but don’t be too violent with it,” responded the General. “Remember, those Targets must be captured alive.”

“Yes, sir!” responded the Changeling scout as he swiftly pulled out his laser blaster, then opened the insect-style wings from his wingpack and took flight down to the street below. A few other Changeling troopers in the area were provided with an alert via their sensors, so they also dropped what they were doing and took flight in pursuit of that bus.

One of the Changeling troopers who joined the pursuit of that bus followed them for only a few seconds before he suddenly got distracted by the illuminated large sign atop an Octan fuel station. “Ooh… Pretty light…” muttered the mesmerized Changeling as he slowly flew towards that sign and started repeatedly bumping his face against it.

Meanwhile, aboard the bus, the Equestria Girls watched everything outside descend into chaos, but it was only when they saw some of the Changelings starting to fly very closely alongside the bus that they began to really fear for their lives.

Fluttershy immediately dropped to the floor as she screamed in terror and exclaimed, “They’re after us!”

“Take out the wheels!” ordered one of the Changelings flying in pursuit of the bus. Many of the other pursuing Changelings swiftly pulled out their laser blasters and fired upon the bus’s wheels, causing the rubber tires to quickly deflate and shred apart. With the wheels suddenly down to the rims, the driver lost control of the massive vehicle, causing it to swerve left, then sharply to the right so much that the bus toppled over onto its left side and skidded along the road until it eventually slowed to a stop.

One random motorist stopped his car in front of the overturned bus that now blocked the street, then honked his horn twice and impatiently shouted, “Get off the road!”

At the back end of the bus, someone inside tried to push open the emergency exit door. After two failed attempts, someone suddenly kicked the door clean off its hinges. “So much for gettin’ some pizza…” grumbled Applejack as she stepped out of the overturned bus, followed quickly by the rest of her friends.

“Seize the Targets!” ordered one of the Changeling troopers flying overhead before he swiftly dove down at the seven girls.

Rarity screamed in terror and quickly summoned a diamond shield between herself and the diving Changeling, who then immediately slammed face-first into that solid barrier and collapsed to the ground.

Applejack heard the buzzing of massive insect wings and turned back to see another Changeling trooper swooping down towards her. “Ah don’t think so!” she declared defiantly before she jumped aside, grabbed that changeling by the arm as he rushed by, then used his momentum to swing him around and fling him up towards and collide into another approaching Changeling trooper, sending both Changelings crashing to the ground on the other side of the overturned bus.

Three more Changeling troopers tried to grab Rainbow Dash in rapid succession, but she was able to use her super speed to easily dodge all three of them.

Two more Changeling troopers tried to swoop in and reach for Twilight, but she halted them in midair with her telekinesis power, levitated them around to slam their heads together, then dropped the unconscious aliens atop the overturned bus.

“There’s too many of them!” exclaimed Spike fearfully while taking shelter within the overturned bus “They just keep coming!”

“Then we gotta get outta here!” declared Rainbow Dash desperately.

“But how?” asked Pinkie Pie as she tossed a cupcake straight upwards, which then exploded in the face of an incoming Changeling trooper, obscuring his visor and causing him to crash uncontrollably to the street. “These guys are all over the place!”

“For some reason, they seem focused on capturing us in particular,” noted Sunset as she jumped aside to dodge another Changeling trooper as he swooped by. “Let’s try to force them to spread themselves thin. Everyone scatter!”

Desperate to evade those swarming alien invaders right away, the seven girls immediately followed Sunset’s advice and ran off in separate directions, leaving the invading forces with no choice but to follow after them in practically every direction.

“Hey! Don’t leave without me!” exclaimed Spike as he jumped out of the fallen bus and immediately ran after Twilight.

While everyone else quickly left the site, one Changeling trooper reached inside through the broken front window of the toppled bus and pulled out the unfortunate driver, who struggled futilely against his grip. “Aha!” he proudly declared. “I got one of them!”

“That’s not one of the Targets, you dummy!” scolded another Changeling trooper.

“But he was inside the bus,” argued the Changeling who was still holding up that poor bus driver.

“Because he’s the driver!” shot back the other Changeling before he smacked his laser blaster against the first Changeling’s head, causing him to yelp in shock and drop the bus driver, who then immediately fled the scene while flailing his arms wildly and screaming in terror.

Sunset Shimmer very quickly found herself on her own as she ran along the sidewalk. As she glanced back and saw practically a dozen Changeling soldiers running and flying after her, she silently admitted that telling her friends to split up was probably a mistake. But even so, there was no way she was going to let them take her without a fight. She knew it was time to put her recent ninja training to good use.

As she ran, Sunset glanced around for anything she could possibly use to defend herself. She decided to jump and kick over a stop sign as she reached an intersection, then she picked up that fallen sign and swung it around so that the sign end of it smacked the nearest Changeling in the head and sent him sprawling down onto the street.

Three more Changeling troopers landed nearby to surround Sunset, who tightened her grip on her improvised weapon and shifted her fierce glare between the three of them. As the three Changelings lunged at her, she fought back by swinging the stop sign around. She smacked the first attacker across the face with the sign, struck the second attacker in the head with the bottom end, and slammed the sign down onto the head of the third attacker. The three Changeling troops were quick to recover, but she swiftly followed that up by striking the first attacker across his legs with the sign, flipping him onto his back, then jabbed the sign into the second attacker’s chest, shoving him down onto his back. The third attacker extended the blade on his right wrist and swung it towards Sunset. She tried to block the blade, but it easily sliced the sign portion off the pole, so she twirled the pole around and jabbed it right into that attacker’s face.

“Ahh!” exclaimed that Changeling as he stumbled backwards while grasping the front of his helmet. “My visor’s compromised! I can’t see!”

Sunset shoved that Changeling trooper aside and rushed towards a narrow alleyway between two buildings, then leaped back and forth between the two walls to ascend up until she was then able to leap onto a balcony on the front of the left building. Almost immediately upon reaching that balcony, she was forced to duck as a flying Changeling charged at her, ultimately missing her and crashing through the window into the building.

Not wanting to stay out in the open, Sunset decided to follow that Changeling into what appeared to be the living room of someone’s apartment. This turned out to be a mistake, as the Changeling quickly got back up on his feet and pulled out his laser blaster. Sunset yelped and dove behind the nearby sofa just before the Changeling started firing his laser blaster.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

As the sofa blocked all of the laser bolts — with stuffing from that sofa flying all over the place — Sunset began searching her surroundings for anything useful when she noticed someone else was fearfully cowering right beside her behind the sofa. “Is this your apartment?” she asked the unfortunate minifig.

The nervous resident shakily turned to Sunset and nodded.

“Do you have renter’s insurance?” asked Sunset.

The resident nodded again.

“Good, ‘cause you’ll need it by the time I’m done here,” stated Sunset before she reached over to grab the tall lamp beside the sofa, then leaped over the sofa with a forward somersault and swung the lamp around to smack the laser blaster out of the Changeling’s hands.

The Changeling soldier responded by extending the blade on his right wrist and swinging it at Sunset, who tried to block it with the lamp. Although the lamp was easily sliced in half, the impact was able to slow the blade enough that it missed Sunset. She dropped the broken lamp and dove towards the kitchen area as the Changeling made another swing at her with his blade, then charged after her towards the kitchen.

As Sunset landed beside the refrigerator, she turned back to the incoming Changeling and quipped, “I’d better put you on ice.” She grabbed the freezer door on the upper half of the fridge and swung it open, smacking the Changeling in the face and knocking him down onto his back.

It was at this moment that a second Changeling trooper flew in through the broken window. Without any hesitation, Sunset grabbed a pot from atop the stove, charged forward, and swung the pot down onto that Changeling’s head. The pot did little to disrupt the Changeling soldier and ended up pierced by the front protrusion on his helmet. Sunset quickly improvised by yanking the handle on that pot downward, sending the Changeling down to the floor on his face.

As the first Changeling began to recover, Sunset rushed over to the window on the side of the apartment. She opened that window and climbed out into the narrow alleyway, then leaped between the two walls until she was up onto the roof of the building.

Now that she was back out in the open, Sunset looked around and saw some more Changeling soldiers flying in towards the building, so she turned away from them and began running along the rooftops.

A few blocks away, Fluttershy was fortunate enough to reach her pet shop, where she immediately ran inside. Not far behind her, two Changeling troopers in pursuit also quickly entered the building through the main doorway.

Almost as soon as those two intruders burst through the door, nearly all of the animals inside began running around wildly while crying out loudly in their various noises.

“Sheesh!” complained one of the Changeling soldiers. “This place is practically a zoo!”

A parrot suddenly started flying around the heads of the two Changelings as it loudly squawked, “Stranger danger! Stranger danger!”

The other Changeling swatted his arm around at the parrot and irritably exclaimed, “Shoo, bird! Shoo!”

“I’ll get him,” assured his comrade as he raised his laser blaster and fired a couple shots at the parrot, but missed. Suddenly, a rather playful dog leaped in front of him and snatched the laser blaster right out his hands and began running off with it. “Hey!” he shouted. “That’s not a fetching stick!”

The Changeling trooper chased that dog into an aisle between some stocked shelves. As they passed through the aquarium section of the shop, he dove at that pesky canine and tackled it to the floor. The dog dropped the laser blaster and whimpered as it ran off.

The Changeling trooper retrieved his laser blaster and checked his surroundings. He noticed that he was now standing next to a massive water tank that was practically the size of a whole room. As he looked closely into that water tank, he saw a shark quickly swim towards him, causing him to yelp and jump back in panic. As a result, he crashed backwards into a row of shelves and knocked them over, spilling their contents all over the floor.

Behind him, the other Changeling soldier witnessed his startled reaction and almost immediately began laughing at his misfortune.

The fallen Changeling responded by grabbing a can of tuna near his feet and chucked it at his comrade’s head.

“Ow!” exclaimed the other Changeling as he rubbed the part of his helmet that was struck.

The fallen Changeling got back up on his feet and began scanning his surroundings. As he soon noticed a door that seemed to lead to a backroom, some data flashed across his visor to indicate the door was not only locked, but had also just recently been opened. He turned back to his comrade and nodded in acknowledgement, then marched over to that door and promptly kicked it open.

The two Changeling soldiers entered the backroom and began searching around. At the far end of the room was a garage door that was currently closed. To the left was an indoor enclosure not unlike a prison cell — most notably with the surrounding row of bars close together and a gate with a lock on it — within which was apparently a raptor that bared his teeth and snarled aggressively at their presence. To the right were small stacks of various crates and boxes, and when the Changelings used their sensors to detect heat signatures, they quickly found someone hiding behind one of the large crates.

“Nice try, but you can’t hide from us that easily,” taunted one of the Changeling troopers.

Upon realizing she had just been exposed, Fluttershy suddenly flung a key across the room and shouted, “Now, Beta! Now!”

The two Changelings watched that key soar over their heads towards the other side of the backroom, where it was then caught within the claws of the enclosed raptor. The raptor reached between the bars and inserted the key into the gate’s lock, then twisted it to unlock the gate. The raptor then took a step back and used his head to gently push the gate open, then let out a fierce screech as he swiftly came charging out directly towards the two alien intruders.

“Whoa! Look out!” exclaimed one of the two Changelings just before the raptor rammed into both of them and sent them sprawling onto their backs. Before either of them had a chance to recover, the raptor then gripped his jaws around one of their legs and flung him against the wall. The other Changeling tried to get away, but stumbled in his effort to stand up, giving the raptor a chance to chomp onto his leg and hurl him against the wall to join his comrade.

While the Changeling troopers were preoccupied with the raptor, Fluttershy took advantage of the diversion to lift open the garage door, not quite all the way open, but just enough for a creature like a raptor to easily slip through. Once that garage door was partially opened just high enough, she glanced back and called out, “Let’s go, Beta!”

Beta the raptor immediately stopped trampling over the unfortunate Changelings and quickly rushed towards the opened garage door. As he ran by, Fluttershy grabbed onto him and swiftly flung herself up onto his back. Beta crouched low enough so he and his rider could slip under the opened garage door, then began sprinting down the street.

By this point, there were several Changeling scouts flying over the streets of Canterlot City, so it didn’t take long for one of them to identify the unusual sight of someone riding on the back of a dinosaur that was running along the streets. “I found one of the Targets!” reported the Changeling scout flying overhead. “She seems to be riding on the back of a raptor.”

“Dispatch the dinosaur,” ordered the General through his communicator. “We need only the Target alive.”

The airborne Changeling scout pulled out his laser blaster as he began pursuing the raptor. As he began to get closer, he began firing his laser blaster.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Fluttershy whimpered fearfully as she heard the laser bolts whiz right by, while Beta just kept on running at full speed.

“What are you doing?!” scolded another Changeling scout as he flew beside first scout. “We can’t risk striking the Target!”

“But how are we gonna catch her if we can’t stop that raptor?” argued the first Changeling scout.

The second scout considered the dilemma for a moment before he urgently requested through his communicator, “We need a mini fighter over here!”

“On my way,” came a response though the communicator. A few seconds later, one of the mini fighters flying overhead began to follow alongside the two scouts in pursuit of the raptor running down the street. The pilot riding aboard that mini fighter took a moment to carefully adjust his aim, then fired a small missile.

The missile struck the ground just behind the fleeing raptor. It wasn’t a direct hit, but the blast was enough to blow the dinosaur off his feet and send him and his rider down onto the pavement.

Fluttershy groaned from the soreness of tumbling along the pavement as she sat up. She then yelped in terror as a Changeling trooper suddenly landed on his feet not far away, extended his wrist-mounted blade, and began slowly walking towards her.

Splat!

The Changeling was startled by what was apparently some piece of fruit suddenly splattering against the right side of his helmet. He turned to his right and saw an elderly lady with green skin standing on the sidewalk next to a small crate full of apples.

“Darn aliens!” shouted Granny Smith furiously as she grabbed another apple from the crate and chucked it at the Changeling.

The Changeling skewered the apple in midair with his blade, then flicked his blade aside to remove that apple as he began marching towards his new adversary. As he closed in on the defiant elder, he raised his blade and prepared to strike.

Just as the Changeling was about to bring his blade down onto the elderly minifig, Applejack suddenly jumped in between the two of them and held up a streetlight that she had effortlessly ripped out of the sidewalk. The lamppost easily blocked and held back the blade as she glanced back at her grandmother and casually remarked, “Ah’ll take it from here, Granny.”

With her opponent struggling to push her back, Applejack raised a leg and kicked that Changeling in the chest, her super strength causing him to go flying back a short distance. Just seconds later, two more Changeling soldiers landed beside their fallen comrade and extended their wrist-mounted blades. Wielding the streetlight like a giant baseball bat, Applejack swung it left against the right Changeling and then right against the left Changeling, striking both of them in the head and sending them down onto the pavement. The first Changeling began to get back up, but Applejack swung the streetlight down onto his head, slamming him down onto the street and leaving him just as dazed as the other two.

Fluttershy stood up as she watched her friend gather the three fallen Changelings so that they all sat on the ground with their backs to each other. Applejack then used her magically enhanced strength to bend that streetlight until it was wrapped tightly around those alien soldiers.

The entrapped Changelings soon recovered from the impacts and struggled to free themselves, but the bent lamppost was wrapped so tightly that they were unable to even slightly budge themselves around, nor could they try to reach their blades up to attempt cutting through it. “Two of the Targets are at our location!” one of them urgently shouted while apparently looking downward. “We need reinforcements!”

Applejack cursed under her breath, then turned to her friend and stated, “You take care of that raptor, Fluttershy. Ah’ll worry about throwin’ all the punches.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement before she rushed over to kneel down beside the fallen raptor.

At the same time, Applejack turned away and saw three more Changeling troopers land not far away. She grinned as she rolled up her nonexistent sleeves and declared, “Y’all better have gotten a good workout, ‘cause Ah’m just warmin’ up here!”

Further along the street, Rainbow Dash was zooming back and forth as a rainbow motion blur as she evaded the Changeling forces that were swarming after her. She had already found out the hard way that she couldn’t simply punch any of these Changelings because their armor was just too tough for that to have any effect. Instead, she had to rely on her magically enhanced super speed to avoid being captured while she thought of another way she could fight back.

At one of the alleyways along this street, one Changeling rolled out a barrel of oil, then used his wrist-mounted blade to slice off the end that was facing the street, spilling the black fluid all over the road surface.

Rainbow Dash had failed to see that dastardly action, so when she unknowingly sped across that oil slick, she immediately began sliding uncontrollably down the road. “Woah-woah-woah-woah-woah!” she cried out before she tripped over the curb along a sidewalk and was flung into a store’s display window, smashing through the glass and toppling a bunch of the merchandise stored inside.

“Surround the building!” ordered one Changeling as he and several others quickly gathered around that store. “We’ve got her now!”

The squad of Changeling troopers was so focused on taking their positions to hopefully capture their Target that they paid little attention to the sign above this particular shop: “Arnold’s Arms & Armor”

Once everyone in the squad was in position around the building, one of the changelings prepared to move in through the shattered display window. But just as he was about to step into the shop, the main door just left of that window was suddenly blown outward and collided into another Changeling, knocking him off his feet.

With a cocky grin on her face, Rainbow Dash stepped outside through that doorway and smirked. “Thanks for sending me crashing into that shop!” she quipped. “They were nice enough to let me borrow these!” She held up her hands, revealing that she now had what appeared to be a pair of giant metallic fists fitted over her hands.

The surrounding Changelings extended their wrist-mounted blades, but before any of them could make a move, Rainbow swiftly zoomed around as a rainbow motion blur, throwing punches at every Changeling she happened to speed by.

Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang!

“Rainbow smash!” shouted Rainbow Dash excitedly as she paused for a moment, then resumed throwing swift metallic punches against the armored alien soldiers.

Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang!

While the heavy punches may have knocked down the armored troopers, it was enough to only stun them for a moment before they quickly got back up on their feet. The Changelings soon adapted to the new circumstances by extending their insect wings and taking flight.

Rainbow Dash continued to zip around and throw heavy punches against those Changelings, but after a few seconds, she quickly found herself confronted with no more Changelings on the ground. She continued zooming around while jumping up — her motion blur producing shallow arcs of rainbow in the process — but the airborne Changelings were just out of reach from her fists.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Aww, no fair!” complained Rainbow as she finally came to a stop. Although her “ponied up” magical form came with wings, she and her friends were still unable to figure out how to summon those magical forms at practically any time, which just infuriated Rainbow Dash even more under her current circumstances.

“Set your weapons to stun,” ordered one of the hovering Changelings troopers. “Looks like we’ll have to subdue this Target before we can take her in.”

The Changeling soldiers pulled out their laser blasters, made the proper adjustment, then aimed their weapons down at their Target. Even if she attempted to swiftly run away, their airborne state would allow them to quickly catch up to her.

However, right at the last second, a large shimmering barrier suddenly materialized directly between Rainbow Dash and the squad of Changeling troopers. The Changelings immediately opened fire, but due to the angle of that transparent barrier, all of those laser bolts were deflected down towards the pavement in front of that barrier.

Rainbow Dash glanced back and saw her friend Rarity approaching while holding her hands out. Realizing the fashionista had summon that diamond shield with her magical power, Rainbow smiled and said, “Thanks, Rarity.”

“The pleasure is all mine, darling,” assured Rarity with a smile to her friend. She turned her attention back to the squad of hovering Changelings still shooting at them as she scolded, “Now then, perhaps you ruffians should receive a taste of your own treatment.” Rarity summoned two more large diamond barriers above the hovering squad of Changelings — one in front of them and one behind them. She carefully adjusted the angles of those two higher barriers, and once she was confident they were just right, she quickly tilted the angle of the first barrier upwards.

Faster than any of the Changelings could react, their laser bolts were suddenly deflected up, back, and down directly onto their own backs. Those deflected laser bolts blasted the translucent blue wings off their backs and sent the armored troopers plummeting down onto the pavement.

“Darn it! My wingpack is disabled!” exclaimed one Changeling in frustration as he stood up.

“Mine, too!” confirmed another Changeling worriedly as he also got up.

“Looks like we’re grounded for the rest of this operation,” noted another Changeling in a resigned tone as he and the rest of the squad stood together.

“Aw, man!” whined another Changeling. “And I thought I could get away with skipping leg day at the gym.”

“Then you thought wrong,” retorted Rainbow Dash with a smirk. She then slammed her giant metallic fists together — producing a loud clang — and declared, “It’s bashing time!”

Once again, Rainbow swiftly zoom around while punching the Changeling soldiers with her metallic giant fists. This time, with those alien troopers incapable of taking to the air, they were practically defenseless against all of those speedy heavy hits.

Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang! Whoosh-clang!

In less than a full minute, every Changeling in the entire squad had taken enough beatings to end up collapsed onto the pavement. With every opponent down and out, Rainbow zipped back to stand beside her friend and chuckled triumphantly.

Unfortunately, the victory celebration didn’t last long, as the buzzing noise of large insect wings signaled the arrival of another squad of Changelings flying in from behind where the two girls stood.

The two unlikely friends turned around to face their newly arrived adversaries. Rainbow Dash smirked as she turned to Rarity and asked, “Wanna give ‘em more?”

Rarity smiled back and contently replied, “With a friend like you by my side, you can count on it.”

Rainbow posed into a running stance as she raised her big metal fists, while Rarity held up her hands and prepared to summon more diamond shields and barriers. Despite the overwhelming odds, those two girls were not afraid to confront them.

Elsewhere in the city, Twilight Sparkle and Spike ran as fast as they could down a street, but they glanced back and saw a flying squad of Changeling soldiers rapidly closing in on them. Twilight tried telekinetically flinging a trashcan, a bicycle, a manhole cover, and a jackhammer up at the pursuing troopers, but they easily dodged all of those objects without any difficulty.

“We can’t outrun them!” exclaimed Spike in terror. “We need something faster!”

Twilight desperately searched her surroundings as she and the young boy continued running for their lives. Although there were a few vehicles parked along the sides of the road, she doubted she could figure out how to get any of them running urgently enough to avoid being completely swarmed by their pursuers. As much as she typically would rather not break any laws, she knew their best chance of a quick escape was to steal a vehicle from someone who was already driving it.

It wasn’t long before Twilight saw someone driving a convertible car in the opposite direction she was running, so she jumped out in front of the moving vehicle and waved her arms around as she desperately cried out, “Wait! Stop!”

SCREEEEEECH!

The driver of the convertible slammed on the brakes and brought that car to a stop a short distance away from where Twilight stood.

“I’m terribly sorry, but we need to borrow your car!” Twilight explained hastily as she levitated the driver out of his car and gently down onto the sidewalk. She then swiftly climbed into the driver’s seat, while Spike ran around the front of the car and climbed over the door to hop into the passenger seat. With the airborne squad of Changelings rapidly closing in from in front of that car, Twilight immediately stomped on the accelerator.

VRRROOOOOOM!

The convertible rapidly accelerated down the road, passing right under that squad of Changelings, forcing them to stop and turn around to continue following after their Target.

Spike was thrown back into his seat and fearfully shouted, “Woah! Hey! At least wait until I’ve got my seatbelt on!”

“No time for that!” Twilight shot back in a panicked state.

Spike fumbled with the seatbelt for a moment, but soon managed to secure it around himself.

Although the convertible was a rather fast street vehicle, there were quite a few various obstacles — such as abandoned vehicles, chunks of debris from the surrounding buildings, and sidewalk fixtures that had been broken loose — scattered haphazardly all over the road that Twilight had to swerve around, which obviously slowed their actual velocity. But even at that slower speed, the pursuing flying Changeling forces were just not quite fast enough to keep up with the speeding vehicle. Although they still managed to follow closely enough to see where that car was going, they were unable to close the gap to make an attempt to capture their Target.

Fortunately for the Changelings, two other troopers happened to be already flying above the street just up ahead. The information displayed on the inside of their visors quickly identified one of the Targets they were after was in that convertible, so as that speeding car approached their position, they turned away and flew in the same direction it was going to build up relative momentum. When the moment arrived that the vehicle began to pass right beneath them, they retracted their wings and dropped down right onto the back of that car, causing both Spike and Twilight to glance back at them and let out a startled yelp.

The two Changelings steadied their balance atop the moving vehicle and carefully stood up, but then a small explosion suddenly went off beside the Changeling on the left side of the car. It didn’t do any notable damage, but it did throw him off balance just enough for him to fall backwards off the car and tumble along the pavement.

Twilight, Spike, and the other Changeling still standing on the car glanced over to the left of the moving vehicle and saw Pinkie Pie riding a motor scooter alongside them. The party girl also happened to be wearing a backpack that seemed to be practically overflowing with all kinds of various desserts, baked goods, and candy items.

“Now that’s what I call a sugar rush!” remarked Pinkie with a giggle. She turned to Twilight and playfully asked, “Did you really think I was gonna keep all the fun to myself?”

The Changeling soldier still riding atop the convertible decided to go after the other Target, so he leaped off the car and landed upon the rear seat of the motor scooter.

Pinkie turned back to that Changeling standing right behind her atop that scooter and cheerfully remarked, “Oh, you wanna ride this thing? Sure! Go right ahead!” She then stood up from her seat and leaped over onto the convertible car.

With the motor scooter now suddenly driverless, it began to wobble uncontrollably until it finally toppled over, and the hapless Changeling riding atop it was sent tumbling along the pavement. Once that Changeling finally came to a stop, he sat up and rubbed his head as he groaned in pain.

Meanwhile, Pinkie made sure to seat herself comfortably on the convertible. That car didn’t have a backseat, and there wasn’t quite enough room for her to squeeze in between Twilight and Spike, so she simply sat atop the back of the vehicle with her feet resting in the space between the other two people riding in this car.

It wasn’t long before a pair of mini fighters quickly swooped in from opposite sides and joined the aerial pursuit of the convertible. “Disable that car!” ordered one of the Changeling troopers in the squad that was still following that convertible. After taking a few seconds to obtain proper accuracy, the two fighters each fired off a missile towards that speeding vehicle down on the road below.

One missile narrowly missed to the right of the car and instead struck a newspaper stand, sending shredded pieces of paper flying everywhere. The other missile managed to strike the pavement just under the left rear part of the car, and the resulting blast briefly lifted the rear of that car off the ground. When the rear of that convertible slammed back down onto the road, the left rear wheel broke loose from the axle.

“Oh-no! Runaway wheel!” exclaimed Pinkie while pointing at that wheel as it rolled away.

With the loss of that wheel, Twilight quickly lost control of the vehicle. Steering became practically impossible, and with the broken axle now dragging along the pavement, no amount of acceleration was going to overcome the force of drag that was already slowing down the car. Even with all that drag, the car’s momentum was still enough that when it veered right and slammed into a parked van, the sudden stop flung Twilight and Pinkie forward out of their seats. Twilight took the brunt of the impact with her torso against the steering wheel, while Pinkie flipped around and landed with her head against the dashboard and her feet sticking up and towards the back of the vehicle.

Spike, on the other hand, had remained perfectly within his seat, thanks to the seatbelt he was still wearing. He glanced over at Twilight, then smirked and gloated, “And you said we didn’t have time for seatbelts.”

Thunk!

The three passengers inside that wrecked convertible let out started yelps when a Changeling soldier suddenly landed upon the rear of their vehicle and looked down upon them.

“Buzz off!” shouted Pinkie furiously as she pulled in her legs and then thrust them out to kick that Changeling in the chest, which knocked him off the wrecked car and ended up on his back in the middle of the road.

HONK! HONK!

Pinkie, Spike, Twilight, and the fallen Changeling turned to the source of that loud noise and saw a big eighteen-wheeler truck coming down the road. With the speed and momentum behind that massive vehicle, it had no chance of avoiding that Changeling who was down on the pavement. The arrangement of the wheels on that truck meant that the helpless Changeling was quickly run over by a single wheel, then a pair of double wheels, and then another pair of double wheels before that lumbering truck had finally passed by.

Once that huge truck had moved on, the unlucky Changeling who had just been run over not only seemed to have suffered no visible damage, but also managed to get up and stand on his feet. He shook his head a little, smacked the left side of his helmet a few times, and adjusted the sensor on the right side of his helmet so that it was sticking upright once again. Aside from that, the Changeling trooper appeared as if he was just as fit for combat as any other Changeling soldier.

After witnessing that display of resiliency, Pinkie’s jaw dropped and she muttered, “Wow… That’s some pretty tough armor.”

“I shouldn’t be so surprised,” admitted Twilight as she pushed herself off the steering wheel and adjusted her glasses. “Their armor is supposedly robust enough to withstand the vacuum of outer space.”

As that quickly recovered Changeling began walking back to the wrecked convertible, another one suddenly landed where the first one had originally done so.

Pinkie stood up and faced the Changeling soldier who was standing right in front of her on the back of the car, then pulled a vanilla frosted cupcake out from her backpack full of sweets and held it out towards that Changeling as she politely offered, “Want a cupcake?”

The Changeling soldier stared at Pinkie for a moment, then casually replied, “Sure.”

Pinkie then tossed the cupcake over to the Changeling, who easily caught it in his hands. However, with the simple act of tossing the sugary treat, Pinkie had activated her magical power, and just a split second after that cupcake landed in the Changeling’s hands, it exploded.

Boom!

The unsuspecting Changeling was blown away from the wrecked convertible and hit the pavement on his back. He groaned in pain for a moment, then loudly cried out, “THE CUPCAKE WAS A LIE!!!”

“That’s what you get for attacking a city full of defenseless civilians!” Pinkie shot back aggressively.

Unfortunately, Pinkie’s efforts were proving to be rather futile as the entire squad of Changelings that had been chasing after them this whole time had finally arrived and began swarming around the wrecked convertible. But even against such long odds, Pinkie refused to give up, so she started unleashing sugary devastation by flinging items from her backpack full of sweets straight upwards, letting out a ballistic battle cry all the while. Many of the resulting explosions — going off like a fireworks display — didn’t do much against the squad, although a few good hits did manage to knock one or two of them out of the sky.

Spike whimpered fearfully as he hunched down in his seat and defensively held his arms over the back of his head. “Is there nowhere safe for us?!” he screamed in absolute terror.

Twilight also desperately wished for an answer to that question. It seemed that no matter where in the city they went, those Changeling forces would always rapidly close in on their location. As she swiftly glanced around in all directions for any possible ideas, it finally hit her when her gaze fell upon the Jump-Gate return device she had always made sure to constantly wear on her right wrist. She facepalmed and grumbled, “Why do I always seem to forget about this thing at such inconvenient times?” Not wasting another moment, she pulled out her phone and quickly wrote a text message to all of her friends.

We need to escape the city together. Meet me in the alleyway behind the pizzeria.

“There,” declared Twilight as she sent that text and then put away her phone. “Now that I’ve established a rendezvous point, let’s get there right away.” As she opened the car door and stepped out of the wrecked convertible, she turned to Pinkie and stated, “I’ll lead the way. You just focus on blasting more Changelings out of the air.”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” agreed Pinkie as she hopped out of the car and blindly pulled another item from her bag of sweets. “Ooh! Chocolate bar.” She took a bite out of that piece of chocolate, then chucked the rest of it at yet another Changeling soldier flying in towards them, blasting him out of the sky.

Spike removed his seatbelt and immediately climbed out of the wrecked car. Twilight began running towards the destination she had arranged for the rest of their friends to meet up with them, with Pinkie and Spike following close behind her. Although some stragglers from the Changeling squad tried to continue pursuing them, Pinkie swiftly took them out by tossing items from her bag of sweets up at where they flew, causing those sugary treats to explode in their faces and send them plummeting down onto the street.

A few blocks away, Applejack continued to fight off Changeling troopers with little more than her bare hands and magical super strength. She grabbed one Changeling that charged at her and then flung him upwards to collide into a flying Changeling soldier, sending both alien troopers crashing down to the pavement. Another Changeling lunged at her, but she effortlessly tossed him up and over her head so that he just sailed right by. That Changeling ended up slamming into a fire hydrant with enough force to break the hydrant loose, quickly unleashing a large column of water that propelled him up into the air uncontrollably.

While all of that was going on, Fluttershy continued tending to the raptor who was still down on the pavement. As far as she could tell, Beta had suffered only some minor bruises and soreness, so he would hopefully recover relatively soon.

Fluttershy suddenly heard a ping from her phone, so she pulled it out and checked the text she had received. After reading that text, she put her phone away as she turned back to the farmer girl and urgently spoke up, “Applejack! Twilight wants us to meet her behind the pizzeria so we can escape!”

“Ah’d be happy to do that, if only there weren’t so many of these gosh darn alien invaders swarmin’ around!” responded Applejack in frustration as she grabbed another Changeling, twisted one of his arms behind his back, lifted him up off the ground, and then shoved him away to crash into a postal box.

It was at this point that the fallen raptor finally shifted around and pushed himself to stand up on his feet once more, which caught Fluttershy’s attention and caused her to lightly gasp in shock.

Beta the raptor looked to the animal caretaker and spoke with a series of growls and snarls.

Fluttershy listened to what he said and asked with concern, “Are you sure you’re up to the task?”

Beta responded with a nod of his head and a brief growl.

“You’re right,” admitted Fluttershy. “We really don’t have much choice right now.” Without any hesitation, she quickly climbed up onto Beta’s back, then called over to her friend, “Applejack! Hop on so we can get out of here!”

Applejack had picked up another Changeling trooper, flipped him upside down, and slammed his head down onto the pavement when she heard the desperate request from her shy friend. Despite her stubborn confidence that she could keep beating back the Changeling army on her own, she knew it was only a matter of time before their overwhelming numbers would eventually wear her down. As much as she wanted to keep fighting the good fight, she realized the smart thing to do right now was to take that opportunity to escape and resume the fight another day. With a reluctant sigh, she rushed over to the raptor and hopped up onto his back.

“Let’s go, Beta!” declared Fluttershy as she pointed ahead along the street. “Our friends will be waiting for us over there!”

Beta the raptor turned his attention to where Fluttershy was pointing, then swiftly took off running in that direction.

As the dinosaur carried the two girls away to safety, Applejack waved her hat around and excitedly shouted, “Yeehaw! Cowgirl on a raptor! Who would’ve expected that?”

The few Changelings in the area who were still standing tried to follow after them, but by this point, three police cruisers had arrived on the scene and the police officers riding in them jumped out and began to confront the alien forces. They knew it was ultimately a futile effort, but at least it provided enough of a distraction for those two girls and their raptor companion to make their escape.

Not much further down the road, Rarity and Rainbow Dash continued working together to fight back against the seemingly endless onslaught of Changeling troopers. Rarity used her diamond barriers and shields to restrict the Changelings by either blocking their laser bolts or simply knocking them out of the sky, while Rainbow Dash swiftly finished them off on the ground by zooming around and punching them with those huge metallic fists she still wielded.

As soon as Rarity finished with her contribution to the fight for the moment, she heard a ping from her phone, so she pulled it out and read the text message she had just received.

Rainbow finished punching out the last of the current wave of attackers before she noticed the fashionista was looking down at her phone, so she rushed over to her and asked, “What’s up?”

“It seems Twilight intends to provide us with a means of escape,” replied Rarity as she put away her phone. “She has requested that we all meet her behind the pizzeria.”

Rainbow Dash stared out at the surrounding Changeling forces closing in on them. As much as she wanted to keep on fighting, she knew that sticking around for much longer would ultimately leave them with little hope of coming out on top. With a reluctant sigh, she removed her metallic fists and tossed them down onto the road. “C’mon, Rarity,” she declared. “We’re gonna take the quick way out.” Without any hesitation, she grabbed Rarity by the waist and lifted her up onto her shoulder.

Rarity let out a scream of shock and, quickly realizing what Rainbow Dash planned to do, indignantly insisted, “This had better not disrupt my coiffure!”

“No promises,” quipped Rainbow before she zoomed off down the road as a rainbow motion blur, with Rarity’s startled screams following along with her.

Meanwhile, up on the rooftops, Sunset Shimmer had managed to pin one Changeling soldier down onto his knees. As they both struggled to overpower the other, Sunset casually asked, “Do you mind taking off a piece of your armor so I can touch you?”

“As if!” the Changeling shot back. “We know that’s how you’re able to read minds!”

“Yeah, didn’t think it’d be that easy,” admitted Sunset before she made use of the brief distraction to leverage herself against her opponent and slammed his face down against the concrete floor. With that Changeling subdued for the moment, she ran off and leaped over the ledge onto the rooftop of the next building on the block.

It was at this moment when Sunset heard the ping from her phone, so she pulled out it, quickly read the text that Twilight had sent, then put it back in her pocket. With the Changeling forces overwhelming practically every part of the city, she was in desperate need of some way to reach her new destination as quickly as possible.

Sunset looked up at the sky and saw some of the mini fighters being flown around by Changeling pilots in those open cockpits, which gave her an idea. She walked over to the edge of the rooftop overlooking the street and watched for any approaching fighters. As one of them began to fly low along the nearby street, she had no hesitation as she stepped onto the ledge and jumped off the building.

With incredible timing, Sunset managed to land right onto the mini fighter as it flew by, starling the Changeling pilot. “My turn,” she playfully remarked before she kicked the pilot out of his seat and quickly climbed into that seat and grasped the flight controls. With a speedy vehicle now in her possession, Sunset changed course and began heading straight for the pizzeria.

The ejected Changeling pilot plummeted to the street below and crash-landed on his back atop a parked car, crushing the roof and setting off its alarm. He groaned in pain as he turned his head towards the sidewalk to his left, where he saw a police officer standing with a serious look on his face.

The police officer shook his head in disapproval, quickly wrote up a ticket, then stuck that ticket onto the fallen Changeling pilot’s visor.

Just in front of the pizzeria, another police officer found himself confronting one of the Changeling troopers. Using his police-issued beating baton, he tried to strike his opponent, but the Changeling’s wrist-mounted blade easily sliced it in half. With his only means of defense now rendered useless, the police officer screamed in panic and ran away.

The Changeling trooper tried to pursue the fleeing police officer, only for something to suddenly explode right in front of his chest, sending him down on his back onto the street.

“Donut even think about it!” warned Pinkie Pie as she held up a box full of glazed donuts.

Twilight then used her telekinesis to levitate the stunned Changeling off the street and tossed him over into the bed of a pickup truck parked further down the road. “We’re almost there!” she stated as she led Pinkie and Spike into the alleyway to the right of the pizzeria and around the back side of the building.

Practically as soon as those three arrived at the arranged meeting site, a rainbow motion blur followed their trail and stopped right beside them, revealing Rainbow Dash carrying Rarity over her shoulder.

“See?” bragged Rainbow Dash as she set Rarity down on her feet. “Told ya we’d get there without any trouble.”

Rarity readjusted her hair piece as she let out an indignant huff and grumbled, “While I’m sure you might think there’s no such thing as too fast, I personally would beg to differ!”

Only a few seconds later, the group of five were startled when they saw a raptor suddenly run into the alleyway, but quickly relaxed when he stopped and they saw Fluttershy and Applejack riding on his back.

Applejack dismounted from the dinosaur and remarked with a smile, “Hoo-wee! That was one of the wildest rides Ah’ve ever had on the back of a creature, Ah’ll tell ya that much!”

Fluttershy dismounted the raptor and gently patted him as she looked at him with an expression of sadness on her face. “I’m sorry I can’t take you home like I promised,” she admitted shamefully. “As much as I’d really rather not do this, I’m afraid you’ll just have to survive on your own until it’s safe for me to come back.”

Beta the raptor nodded in acceptance.

“You should go south to the Everfree Forest,” suggested Fluttershy. “That’ll be your best chance to stay hidden and find everything you’ll need to survive. As long as you’re careful to stay away from the summer camp in there, I’m sure you’ll be okay.”

Beta nodded again, then turned away and began running off on his own.

Not long after that, one of the Changeling mini fighters flew overhead and quickly landed on the rooftop of the pizzeria. Sunset climbed out of that small vehicle, leaped off the rooftop, then landed beside her friends with a tumble to soften her landing.

“Of course you had to make the most dramatic entrance,” muttered Spike as he rolled his eyes.

“This is not the time to complain about awesomeness,” scolded Sunset as she stood up from where she landed. She turned to Twilight and desperately asked, “How are we gonna escape? You’d better make it fast before the whole Changeling army closes in on us!”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious by now?” replied Twilight smugly as she held up her right arm to bring attention to her Jump-Gate return device. Without bothering to wait for everyone’s reactions, she immediately tapped the device to enter the return code for the LEGO Team Headquarters building not far outside the city, then aimed her arm at the featureless wall made of red bricks at the end of the alleyway and hit the green activate button. A pair of massive steel doors faded into view in front of that brick wall, then those doors parted open to reveal the briefing area of the huge multi-purpose room that was located on one of the highest floors of the LEGO Team Headquarters building — which was located on a mountaintop not far outside the city limits of Canterlot City.

“Good thinking, Twilight,” acknowledged Sunset with a smile. “Now let’s get outta here.”

Just as the Equestria Girls began to make their exit from the citywide chaos, one Changeling soldier landed atop the highest rooftop overlooking the alleyway. He searched the area below and quickly discovered the group of girls and the opened gateway. “I see the Targets!” he reported eagerly. “It looks like they’re escaping through some kind of doorway.”

“Then what are you waiting for, Private?!” responded the General fiercely through the communicator. “Stop them!”

“O-Oh, right! Of course!” muttered the Private as he opened his wingpack and leaped off the rooftop. His wingpack slowed his descent down to the alleyway below, but on his way down, his foot got caught on a clothesline, causing him to yelp as he was suddenly thrown off balance and quickly got tangled up amongst all that hanging laundry. He struggled to free himself, only for the clothesline to snap and send him plummeting down into a second clothesline, where he also quickly got tangled up in the hanging laundry. In his further struggle to free himself, he again caused the line to snap and fell into a third clothesline full of hanging laundry that just further tangled him up. When that third clothesline also snapped, the Private and his surrounding tangled mass of laundry and wires swung across the alleyway and smacked into the wall, the force of which snapped the other end of the remaining cables, sending the whole mess plummeting straight down into an open dumpster. As the Private landed within that dumpster, the force of the impact was enough to cause the dumpster’s lid to fall over and slam shut, leaving all remnants of that whole mess contained inside.

It was hard for the Equestria Girls to not notice that Changeling’s rather pathetic failure to follow after them, once they had safely made it through the opened gateway. Pinkie had even decided to snack on one of the donuts from that box she was still carrying while she watched.

“So much for that loser,” muttered Rainbow Dash dismissively.

Not wanting to risk any more Changelings possibly finding their means of escape, Twilight immediately hit the red “Emergency Close” button on the Jump-Gate's console to the side, causing the massive doors to quickly slam shut.

Not long after that, the huge display screen up on the wall nearby switched on to reveal the face of Celestia Playwell, leader of the Canterlot City branch of the LEGO Team. “Thank goodness you girls are okay,” she stated with relief. “As soon as I received the alert that the Jump-Gate was being used, I was almost certain that it had to be you.”

“Celestia!” Sunset spoke up worriedly. “Are you alright?”

“Don’t worry about me,” assured Celestia. “I safely made it into my personal security bunker. Unfortunately, it’s designed to protect only me and no one else, so I’m afraid you must seek shelter elsewhere.”

“But where can we go?” asked Spike desperately. “Those aliens are practically all over the city!”

“We can’t stay in Canterlot City, that much is certain,” concluded Applejack reluctantly.

“I’m afraid our only option for now is to find a place in another region to lie low until we can think of what to do next,” Twilight solemnly stated.

“So that’s it?!” protested Rainbow Dash. “We’re just gonna run away and hide from them?!”

“We don’t have much choice!” argued Sunset firmly. “Those Changelings wanna capture us for some reason, and until we can figure out what that reason is, we can’t risk giving them any opportunity to do that!”

“As much as I would prefer that we not completely abandon our home to these ruthless extraterrestrials, I suppose it would be most prudent for us to seek a place where we can recuperate from this unanticipated assault,” conceded Rarity.

“They caught us completely by surprise,” Fluttershy pointed out. “We’re really vulnerable right now. Until we have a better idea on how we can resist those Changelings, we can’t afford to take any chances trying to confront them.”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of frustration and grumbled, “Fine, but this will be only until we come up with a new plan on how to fight back.”

“But that still leaves the question of where we’re gonna hide,” noted Pinkie before she stuffed another donut into her mouth.

“I think we should let Twilight figure that out,” suggested Sunset. “After all, she had a reputation as a Shadowbolt agent for frequently moving to new hideouts without ever being discovered.”

Twilight hesitated as all of her friends turned to look at her for advice. She gulped nervously, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and finally explained, “I do have something in mind, but to ensure our best chance of slipping away undetected, I’ll have to refrain from saying anything and just lead you all there myself.” She then used her magical powers to levitate the bag of sweets off Pinkie’s back and the half-full box of donuts out of her hands. “Sorry, Pinkie, but the less evidence we leave along the way to our hideout, the better.”

“Aww…” moaned Pinkie sadly.

“Good luck, girls,” stated Celestia on the big display screen. “Wherever you plan on hiding, please stay safe.” She then tapped a button on the console in front of her and the screen shut off.

Twilight turned to the console beside the Jump-Gate and entered a set of coordinates. “Shadowbolt policy was to destroy the Jump-Gate on our way out,” she explained, “but that won’t be an option for us since this system of travel is now much more widely known. Instead, we’ll head out to some place in the middle of nowhere, use my return device to go from there to another Jump-Gate, and repeat the process a few more times.”

Twilight 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 opened gateway was a conifer forest with a mostly cloudy sky above. No one bothered to speak up as the team of friends followed Twilight into this mystery region.

Once everyone had passed through the gateway, Fluttershy asked, “How many Jump-Gates do we have to jump through?”

“As many as it takes to ensure they can’t track us,” Twilight stated firmly.

The return device did not have an “Emergency Close” button, so the Equestria Girls had to wait for the Jump-Gate doors to automatically close at their standard speed. Once those doors faded away and the group was finally cut off from their home city, Twilight led them all away to a different site in this forest where she would open the next in their series of Jump-Gate escapes.

After a few hours, the invading alien forces of the Changeling army had managed to subdue the vast majority of Canterlot City. Much of the conflict had largely calmed down, with only a few remaining pockets of stubborn resistance to be dealt with. Now that the city was under Changeling occupation, it was time for them to assess their new territory and begin preparations for the next phase of their ultimate conquest of Earth.

Despite the overall success of the invasion, there was one primary objective that had not been accomplished. At one particular city block, the Changeling General and a squad of troopers marched into an alleyway behind a pizzeria.

“This is it, sir,” reported one of the Changeling troopers. “This is where we recorded our last sighting of the Targets.”

“Then how did they escape?” demanded the General as he looked around in the surrounding empty alleyway. With no combat occurring for the moment and no need to utilize communicators within such close proximity, he retracted the lower part of his helmet to expose his mouth, which was currently twisted into a fierce snarl. “Thorax!” he barked furiously. “Where are you?!”

The General heard to his right the creaking noise of the dumpster lid being opened, so he quickly turned to face it, where he saw the Private standing inside the dumpster while covered in bits of laundry and garbage — including a bra and a banana peel draped over his head.

The General let out a sigh of disappointment and grumbled, “Of all the Changelings under my command, why does the most pathetic of them all have to be my own brother?”

Thorax retracted the lower part of his helmet to expose his mouth before he shamefully replied, “Sorry, Pharynx. I just didn’t expect those clotheslines to be such a flying hazard.”

“We’ve all been trained to avoid flying into power lines,” Pharynx pointed out in frustration. “I’m very sure the same principle should apply.”

Thorax brushed the laundry and garbage off himself and attempted to climb out of the dumpster, only to topple over the edge and hit the pavement with a faceplant.

Pharynx began scanning his surroundings as he asked, “Now where’s this doorway you saw the Targets escape through?”

Thorax grunted in pain as he staggered up onto his feet. Once he was standing upright, he turned around to face the direction he had seen the Equestria Girls escape through that gateway, but all he saw now was a seemingly featureless brick wall. “Uh… That’s weird…” he muttered in confusion. “I’m pretty sure I saw it right over there.”

Pharynx scanned the wall his brother was staring at, but the readings that came up on his visor showed nothing of any significance. “My sensors are not detecting anything in that direction that could potentially be utilized as an emergency escape doorway,” he pointed out.

“But I swear it was right there!” insisted Thorax. “I don’t know what happened to it. It’s like it just… completely vanished.”

Pharynx was tempted to dismiss that apparently wild claim, but if what Private Thorax had witnessed was true, then that piece of evidence seemed to match up with something he had heard about regarding the probable level of infrastructure that was established on this particular planet. “Hmm… So the rumors are true…” he muttered to himself as he continued to stare at that featureless wall. “They do possess instant gateways to anywhere…”

General Pharynx knew that revelation was going to complicate the strategic plans for the absolute conquest of planet Earth, especially with their failure to capture those seven special girls in the initial assault. Both the magical girls and the instant gateways were factors the Changeling horde had never been faced with on any of their previous conquests, but he remained confident they would ultimately triumph. The Changelings already possessed a vast intergalactic empire, much of which they had successfully taken by force. After all the other planets that had long since come and gone, why would they expect the outcome to be any different for this one?

Author's Note

Well, it may have been a week later than I had intended, but I finally got this chapter done. Now that I'm no longer trying to reflect any official content, I'm free to start using elements that could work in a Lego setting but not so much with the official Equestria Girls (in this case, introducing the changelings as alien invaders from outer space). Also, one way I'm actually glad I watched Seasons 1-10 of Ninjago last month is that it helped remind me that anything in a proper Lego setting needs to have small bits of humor here and there without being too disruptive to the story, so I made sure to do that for at least this chapter. I don't know how long it'll take me to complete the next chapter, but even though I'm no longer firm on posting them on an exact day (once every two weeks on Mondays), I'll still use it as a target to aim for with each chapter.

Gone into Hiding

Chapter 2
Gone into Hiding

One week had passed since the Changelings invaded Canterlot City. The alien army had struck so swiftly and decisively against the defenseless city that there was practically no notable resistance left by the end of the very first day. With their first foothold on the planet virtually secured, they quickly initiated the next phase of the invasion, which involved using their transforming abilities to easily blend in with the locals of every region and subtly gather information that would prove useful for their main assaults on each region that would come later. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the Lego World, all of the former Shadowbolt agents who lived among them had anticipated this global covert operation, so they sent out warnings to everyone to be very careful of who they trust to limit the risk of unknowingly providing information to the alien forces. As a result of this, almost every region decided to take the most extreme security measures by initiating a full lockdown, where everyone was ordered to stay within their homes and not go anywhere else — except for essential tasks like shopping for food — to minimize the risk of encountering disguised Changelings. Some regions believed such measures went too far and chose not to implement such strict protocols, but the Changeling armies were quick to exploit the relaxed security of these particular regions and were swiftly confident enough to launch invasions to seize total control of those regions, which ultimately justified the lockdown measures utilized by the regions that had yet to be confronted by a Changeling assault.

Although the Changeling forces in Canterlot City did eventually infiltrate the LEGO Team Headquarters building atop the mountain that overlooked the city, the people who worked there had been able to disable and dismantle the Jump-Gate that was located there, rendering it completely useless to the Changelings and thus depriving them of an opportunity to obtain one of the few advantages their opponents had against them. And although the Equestria Girls did manage to safely escape from Canterlot City, none of the general public had seen or heard any sign of them since that fateful day when the invasion began.

Things were starting to get very desperate for the people of Earth, which was why Sunset Shimmer now found herself standing beside the Jump-Gate within the LEGO Team Headquarters of a different city while frequently checking the time on her phone. As she awaited the exact moment to make her move, she thought back to the message she had sent to Princess Twilight Sparkle in Equestria nearly a week ago, and the response she had just received earlier this morning…

Dear Princess Twilight,

Just when I got home from Ninjago City, a major crisis suddenly stuck the Lego World. Canterlot City was invaded by an army of armored space aliens who are apparently this universe’s version of the Changelings. Even worse, they seemed particularly interested in capturing me and my friends for some reason.

We did our best to fight back, (believe me, that advanced ninja training I recently got really came in handy) but in the end, we had no choice but to escape the city. I can’t tell you where we’re hiding, but I can at least assure you that the seven of us are still together and relatively unharmed.

Unfortunately, Canterlot City is now under Changeling occupation, and if the information the former Shadowbolts had gathered on them is true, then all the other regions on the planet will soon be faced with the threat of disguised infiltrators before those armies begin taking more territory.

I don’t know how similar these Changelings are compared to ones you and your friends once fought against, but with how bad things have gotten for us so quickly, we’ll take any help we can get.

Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

That’s horrible! Equestria may have suffered quite a few serious threats as well, but I can definitely say that an alien invasion from outer space was never one of them (and let’s all hope it stays that way). In fact, the main reason I didn’t reply earlier is because we just went through yet another crisis here in Equestria, in which King Sombra returned and enslaved virtually everypony around us. Even though he destroyed the Elements of Harmony (I still have a hard time believing that actually happened), my friends and I were still able to vanquish him, thanks to the magic of friendship.

Although our own crisis here in Equestria has now been resolved, I’m afraid I still won’t be able to offer much assistance. This may shock you, but Princesses Celestia and Luna have just recently announced their plans to soon retire, and they want me to succeed them as ruler over all of Equestria. As I’m sure you can imagine, there is a lot that I must be prepared for before I can reasonably accept such a huge responsibility. As much as I’d love to help all of you in the Lego World, risking my life by walking right into the middle of a sudden war zone is one of the last things I should be doing at a time like this.

Thankfully, Starlight Glimmer happened to be in the room with me when I finally got a chance to read your message, and she has volunteered to return to the Lego World to personally assist you to the best of her ability. She actually played a key role in reforming the changelings of Equestria, so I have absolute confidence that you’ll have the best assistance Equestria can offer to hopefully resolve this crisis.

I understand the interdimensional portal between our worlds is located in Canterlot City, which you’ve mentioned is currently under changeling occupation, so please let us know exactly what must be done to safely get Starlight over to where you’re hiding without putting Equestria at risk and she’ll prepare herself for the journey ahead.

Your friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset had swiftly responded by specifying that the portal should be opened only long enough for Starlight to pass through and that it should be opened at an exact moment — not even a single second early or late would be acceptable — and Sunset herself would take care of the rest of the travel arrangements. Of course, she was quite astonished by the news that the Royal Sisters would soon retire and had chosen Princess Twilight to take their place and rule over all of Equestria, but she decided to set aside her thoughts on that news until after the Changeling threat to the Lego World had been resolved.

Sunset once again checked the time on her phone. The scheduled moment of arrival was now just one minute away, so she stepped over to the Jump-Gate's control panel and entered the coordinates. She held off on pressing the green “Open” button as she stared at her phone, counting down the final seconds. Once the moment finally arrived, she swiftly hit that button.

The Jump-Gate made its typical low whooshing noise for a few seconds — precisely 6.7 seconds, according to Twilight — then the large doors parted open to reveal the side of a statue pedestal within City Park in Canterlot City. Only a couple seconds after the gateway was fully opened, the seemingly solid surface shimmered and a minifig suddenly flung out and stumbled through the gateway and into the room with Sunset. She spared only a second to confirm that the minifig who was now standing awkwardly beside her really was Starlight Glimmer before she immediately hit the red “Emergency Close” button on the console, causing the gateway doors to swiftly slam shut.

Starlight staggered a little as she struggled to avoid falling over, but soon managed to find her balance and remained standing upright. As she glanced back and noticed Sunset Shimmer standing nearby, she smiled and remarked, “At least this time I made sure to come in vertically.”

Sunset responded to her eager friend with only a grim expression. “I wish I could say it’s nice to see you again, but now’s not the time for any friendly activity,” she explained as she turned back to the console and began entering a different set of coordinates. “I had to open the Jump-Gate right in front of the interdimensional portal to make sure the Changeling forces were unlikely to notice your arrival.”

Starlight glanced around at the surrounding empty room and muttered, “I was wondering why I didn’t end up in the park like I did last time.”

Sunset held her hand over the green button as she turned her attention back to Starlight and asked, “Before we leave, are you absolutely sure that Princess Twilight will be keeping the portal shut while you’re here?”

“Yes, she promised she would take care of that right after I went through,” replied Starlight in a slightly annoyed tone as she rolled her eyes.

“Good,” stated Sunset with satisfaction. “The Changelings have already hit us hard with overwhelming force. I don’t even wanna imagine how unstoppable they could become if they somehow got their hands on Equestrian Magic. Not to mention how vulnerable Equestria itself could be to an invasion from an army with such advanced technology as what these Changelings have.”

With that risk seemingly prevented, Sunset turned her attention back to the console and hit the green button. The Jump-Gate again made its distinctive low whooshing noise for a few seconds, then the doors parted open to reveal a narrow dirt trail in the middle of a dense tropical rainforest. Sunset didn’t spare a moment as she walked through the gateway.

Starlight had seen certain magic spells produce a similar result, but to see a machine provide instant passage to practically any location was certainly a marvel of technology in her eyes. What especially fascinated her was when she stepped through the gateway and saw the structure on the other side, which appeared to be just sitting there in the middle of the trail as if it was actually built there. “You know, this world’s Twilight told me all about how she invented this thing,” she noted, “but this is actually the first time I’ve really seen it in action.”

“Good, because you’ll be seeing a lot more demonstrations over the next few minutes,” muttered Sunset as she continued walking away from the gateway.

Starlight looked back and watched in awe as the Jump-Gate doors slowly closed automatically, then the gateway itself faded from view, leaving behind the empty trail as if that gateway was never there. “Wait, what?” she asked in confusion as she suddenly turned her attention back to Sunset, then quickly resumed following after her.

“Twilight insisted that we use the Jump-Gate multiple times before reaching the actual hideout,” explained Sunset as she continued ahead along the trail. “Despite the remote locations we’ll be passing through, the Changelings might detect where we’ve been, so by scattering our trail across several distant places in a short amount of time, our hope is that it will force them to spread their search efforts so widely that it’ll become more difficult for them to actually find our real hideout.”

“How sure are you that it’s worth all that effort?” asked Starlight. “Seems like a lot of pointless hopping around to me.”

Sunset began entering the return code onto her wrist-mounted Jump-Gate return device as she sighed and replied, “Not enough to take the risk of not going through with it.” She then stopped walking, held out her arm towards where the trail continued ahead, and tapped the green activate button on the device.

Another Jump-Gate faded into view on the trail ahead, then those doors parted open to reveal a room that was notably different than the one the two girls had been in only a minute earlier. Sunset led Starlight through the gateway into the large room, then once both of them were within the room, Sunset walked over the to the Jump-Gate's console and hit the red button, which made the gateway doors quickly slam shut.

Starlight was briefly startled by the sudden closing of the Jump-Gate, then relaxed as she watched Sunset enter a new set of coordinates into the console beside the gateway structure. Sunset then hit the green button to activate the Jump-Gate, and a few seconds later, the doors parted open to reveal the interior of a massive cave filled with glowing crystals of all shapes and sizes.

Sunset and Starlight repeated the process several times for the remainder of their journey to the undisclosed hideout. The rooms that contained each Jump-Gate machine they used had slight variations, but Starlight was unable to notice anything to indicate where in the Lego World those rooms were located. The remote locations they passed through between each Jump-Gate were of a vastly wide variety, each more seemingly perilous than the last. After that glowing cave, they next walked along a craggy coastline with rough waves crashing against the surrounding rocks. Following that, they then passed through an arid desert with sand and dust blowing around though the air, followed by a frozen wasteland with snow being swept up in the bitterly frigid winds, and finally a scorching hot volcanic region full of sweltering rivers of lava flowing all around them.

Once the two girls passed through the Jump-Gate to take them out of that volcanic area, Starlight wiped the sweat from her brow as she let out a sigh of exhaustion and grumbled, “I really hope that was the last one…”

Sunset once again hit the red button on the console to quickly close the Jump-Gate, then smiled as she removed the return device from her arm and contently responded, “Then I have good news for you. We made it to the hideout.”

Starlight let out a huge sigh of relief and muttered, “Thank goodness.”

“This way,” stated Sunset as she gestured for Starlight to follow. “I’ll take you to where the others have been staying.”

The room they started in with the Jump-Gate was built out a mix of dark grey and light grey bricks, some of which were specially shaped to resemble the work of masonry. There were also two small windows on either side of the Jump-Gate with their shutters currently closed. As the two girls walked through corridors and hallways built out of similar bricks, Starlight noticed they occasionally passed by either a banner hanging from the wall or a suit of medieval armor displayed to the side. They next climbed up a spiral stairway before walking down another hallway, though now the surrounding walls were built out of bricks that were bright blue and pink. In some ways, as far as Starlight could tell, the surrounding aesthetics began to resemble the royal castle in the Crystal Empire, back in her world.

Finally, Sunset pushed open a pair of doors and led Starlight into a large room, within which were a few sofas and chairs around a couple of short tables in the middle, some bookshelves to the right side, a pool table and ping pong table at the far end, and even a television and video gaming system to the left side. More significant were the people who were currently within this room — Twilight was reading a book while seated on one of the sofas near the bookshelves, Rarity and Applejack were playing a round of billiards on the pool table while Fluttershy watched them from a nearby chair, Rainbow Dash and Spike sat together on a sofa as they played a video game while Pinkie Pie sat behind them in a nearby chair and watched that game as she ate from a bowl of popcorn.

“Hey, everyone,” Sunset spoke up with a smile to everyone in the room. “I’m back, and look who I brought with me.”

Everyone paused what they were doing and turned to Sunset and their new guest. “Starlight Glimmer!” they all cheerfully exclaimed before they all began to gather around her.

“Hi, girls,” greeted Starlight as she exchanged friendly hugs with each and every one of them. “It’s nice to see all of you again.”

“If only it didn’t have to be in the middle of yet another crisis,” remarked Twilight in a bittersweet tone.

“You got that right,” agreed Rainbow Dash.

Starlight glanced around at all of her Lego World friends and noted, “I see you’re all wearing different outfits than the last time I was here.”

“Ah, yes, your previous visit was just prior to when I presented everyone with our new standard wardrobes,” acknowledged Rarity. “I must say, I am quite pleased with myself that everyone has been highly satisfied with the results. After all, those knee-high boots have so gone out of style.”

Everyone giggled at that remark.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding for the last few days?” asked Starlight as she glanced around at the room they were in, most notably that there were three moderately sized windows along the wall at the far side of the room. “When I heard you were all in a secret hideout, I kind of imagined something more like an underground bunker.”

“Yeah, that’s where we all assumed Twilight was gonna take us,” explained Pinkie Pie. “I mean, she knows about so many different hideouts from her Shadowbolt days that the only question would’ve been which one we would like best. But instead, she thought we’d have a much better chance of staying hidden if we went to a place that most people would assume we’d stay away from. Nobody would ever expect us to take shelter anywhere within the Castle Region, because practically everyone knows by now how much Twilight hates going back that area.”

“Right,” noted Starlight in acknowledgement. “Their restrictive policies that drove her to join the Shadowbolts and ultimately led to Midnight Sparkle.”

“At least Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are more than happy to let us take shelter here in their home fortress, the Crystal Castle,” stated Fluttershy.

“And thanks to the local members of the LEGO Team frequently going out on patrols, we’ll have advanced warning to let us know if the Changelings show up and we need to evacuate,” assured Sunset.

“So, Starlight…” Applejack spoke up with a smile. “What ideas have ya got on how we can fight off those Changeling alien invaders?”

As everyone looked to her with eager anticipation, Starlight’s smile fell as she apprehensively glanced around at them. “Uh, well…” she began hesitantly. “I guess it really depends on how similar or different they are from the changelings I’m familiar with in Equestria. To start off, they’re not aliens from outer space like what you’re dealing with, but rather more like a hybrid of ponies with insect features.”

“Those wingpacks they use to fly around sure look like insect wings, so that’s something,” noted Rainbow Dash.

“And as their name suggests,” continued Starlight, “they have the ability to instantly transform themselves into practically anyone or anything.”

“We’re already well aware of that,” stated Sunset. “Almost every region in the Lego World has gone into a full lockdown to minimize encounters with potential disguised Changelings. Those that were stubborn enough to not follow that advice have already been conquered by their armies, so at least that confirms that ability.”

“Is there any way we can tell if someone is actually a disguised Changeling?” asked Rarity.

“Not objectively,” answered Starlight. “Even the changelings themselves have occasionally been fooled by a disguised changeling. The best way to avoid being deceived is to use a secret message shared only with a small group of friends who you know you can trust.”

“Already got that covered with the local LEGO Team,” noted Spike with a confident grin.

“Okay, what else…?” Starlight quietly muttered to herself. After a few seconds of thought, she spoke up, “Before they were reformed, Equestria’s changelings fed on love, and it was when they decided to stop stealing it and start sharing it that they became reformed. Would that apply to these Changelings, too?”

“Not to my knowledge,” replied Twilight as she shook her head. “Besides, how can one possibly quantify something as abstract as love as if it were a consumable source of sustenance?”

“And here I thought the Lego World was full of stuff that made no sense…” grumbled Starlight under her breath.

“Is there anything else we don’t already know about Changelings that’s also not totally useless?” asked Rainbow Dash with a tone of doubt in her voice.

Starlight hesitated as she shifted her gaze around at everyone who had been so hopeful for advice from her. Starting to feel a little desperate, she eventually answered, “Uh… Well, a significant key to the defeat and reformation of Equestria’s changelings was thanks to Thorax, a special changeling who was not interested in participating in any conquest and instead only wanted to have a friend. He was the one who demonstrated to the other changelings that they didn’t have to steal love to survive, so they followed his example and ended up overthrowing Chrysalis. We may have to use different methods, but if we can find Thorax’s counterpart in this universe and convince him to defect to our side, that might give us the leverage we need to defeat this universe’s Queen Chrysalis and possibly even convince the rest of these Changelings that it would be in their best interest to reform their ways.”

Starlight gave a friendly smile to everyone around her, but in the rather lengthy silence that followed, that smile became a nervous grin as she anxiously awaited the response from her Lego friends.

Finally, Applejack scoffed and grumbled, “Yeah, like that’ll ever happen…”

“No disrespect, darling,” assured Rarity politely, “but I’m afraid your suggestion might be a little… impractical.”

“The statistics of the Changeling invasion forces leaves such hope to be almost impossible,” stated Twilight. “It’s estimated there were tens of thousands of Changeling soldiers in the initial assault of Canterlot City alone, and if they realistically believe they can seize total control over the rest of the planet in a short amount of time, then they most likely brought approximately that many more troopers for each and every different region, which quickly adds up to an immense military force that could probably count over a million individual soldiers among their ranks. What are the odds that we could possibly locate and encounter one very specific Changeling in an army as vast and numerous as that?”

“And if Thorax really is as reluctant to fight as you say he is,” Fluttershy pointed out, “then chances are he might not even be among the invading forces at all.”

“Yeah,” agreed Pinkie. “For all we know, he might be serving as guard duty on some other Changeling-occupied planet halfway across the universe in a galaxy far, far away.”

“Not to mention,” added Sunset, “we’ve already mentioned how these Changelings, so far as we know, don’t really feed on love, so even if we hit the lottery and did manage to find Thorax, I doubt that he’ll be any more useful to us than any other Changeling.”

With all of that overwhelming evidence presented against her last hope of confronting the Changeling invasion, Starlight felt absolutely crushed. “So that’s it, then,” she sadly conceded as she sat down on a nearby sofa. “Looks like what you’re dealing with here is beyond anything I’m familiar with.” She let out a sigh of disappointment. “I guess my experience with Equestria’s changelings won’t be of much help in this world, after all.”

“I thought it was a good idea,” Spike spoke up with a smile. He then frowned and awkwardly acknowledged, “Well, until everyone pointed out all the reasons why it’ll never work.”

Starlight responded by flopping over onto the sofa and burying her face into one of the throw pillows.

The rest of the girls glanced at one another shamefully. Starlight had voluntarily taken the effort to return to the Lego World to help them in their struggle to defeat the invading Changeling forces, but all they had done thus far was completely disregard any of her ideas with a brutally blunt reality check. Needless to say, they owed it to her as a friend to at least try to be a little more optimistic about their chances.

“Cheer up, sugarcube,” assured Applejack with a friendly smile. “Ah’m sure we can figure out some other way to get rid of those alien varmints.”

“But what else can I do?!” Starlight exclaimed desperately as she sat up. “Normally, one of my most reliable advantages is my magical talents, but since I’m not a unicorn in this world, I don’t have access to that! The only time when I accomplished something without relying on my magic was that very same event when I helped Thorax reform the changelings, and that’s obviously something we can’t count on this time.” She sighed as she slumped in her seat. “Even worse, the Changeling occupation in Canterlot City means I can’t just simply go back home. Until we can figure out something else to try, I’m gonna be stuck in this world for a while.”

Rainbow Dash placed a hand on Starlight’s shoulder and smiled as she noted, “At least you’ll get to hang out with us while you’re here.”

“Yeah, I suppose it could’ve been worse,” admitted Starlight with a sad smile. “Don’t get me wrong, but as much as I love spending time with all of you again, I’ve got my own responsibilities in Equestria to take care of, so the sooner those Changelings are out of the way, the better.”

“But that still leaves us with the question of why those Changelings are after us and what we can do to stop them,” Sunset pointed out. “Who else can we turn to for advice?”

It was at that moment when everyone in the room began to hear a low humming noise that seemed to come from somewhere outside. They all quickly gathered near the windows and looked out to see a blue and grey spacecraft flying relatively low in the sky as it flew towards the castle and eventually out of sight directly above them.

“Alright!” cheered Rainbow Dash. “They’re back!”

“Who’s back?” asked Starlight.

“The local LEGO Team members are returning from their latest patrol,” answered Sunset with a smile.

“They call themselves the Crystal Girls,” explained Rarity contently. “They’re all former Shadowbolt agents who used to work alongside Twilight.”

“They can be a little dysfunctional at times,” added Twilight, “but thanks to their Shadowbolt training, they’re disciplined enough to accomplish any tasks that have been assigned to them.”

“Ooh! I got an idea!” Pinkie suddenly spoke up excitedly. “We should go meet up with them and introduce them to Starlight Glimmer!”

“Not like we have anythin’ better to do right now,” agreed Applejack with a shrug.

“Didn’t you girls say you were trying to stay hidden?” asked Starlight with concern.

“Don’t worry,” assured Rainbow Dash. “We’re perfectly safe as long as we stay within the castle walls.”

“The Crystal Girls typically do their debriefing with Cadance and Shining Armor inside the Royal Hall,” explained Twilight. “And thanks to my familiarity with this castle, I know which corridors to take to get there.”

Starlight smiled and contently declared, “Well, in that case, lead the way.”

The Equestria Girls left the castle lounge and followed Twilight through the corridors. After a couple minutes of walking through the crystalline passageways, they soon arrived at a massive pair of doors. Twilight gestured at those doors, and Applejack responded by stepping forward and pushing open those doors.

The room beyond those tall doors was absolutely massive. The ceiling was at least three times higher than in a typical room, with an elaborate crystalline chandelier hanging from the middle of it. The higher part of all four walls included several stained-glass windows — many of which Starlight could’ve sworn displayed images of minifigs that bore a striking resemblance to Starswirl the Bearded and his fellow Pillars of Equestria — with more displays of tapestries and crystalline armor along the lower part. Much of the floor space was taken up by a few long tables and several chairs surrounding each of them. Finally, at the far side of the room were two large thrones, both of which currently had a minifig seated upon them — one was a princess with pink skin and wearing a lavender dress, and the other was a prince with white skin and wearing golden armor — with a group of five girls standing nearby.

“Forgive us if we’re intruding,” Twilight spoke up politely as she led her friends across the Royal Hall, “but we were just curious if the Crystal Girls had brought any news from their recent patrol.”

“Oh, no need to apologize,” assured the princess seated upon the throne to the right. “With how restricted you’ve been for your own safety, it’s understandable that you’re desperate for any new information.” She glanced past Twilight and smiled as she noted, “And I see you have someone new among your team.”

“Ah, yes,” responded Sunset. “This is the, um, ‘assistance’ I had asked for from Equestria. Her name is Starlight Glimmer.” She turned to Starlight and added, “Starlight, this is—”

“Princess Cadance and Shining Armor,” finished Starlight. “Yes, I’m familiar with their counterparts in Equestria.”

“Twilight told us about your last visit to this world,” noted the prince seated upon the other throne to the left. “I trust Sunset Shimmer made sure you were not intercepted by any Changelings on your journey here, in which case, I’m eager to hear what advice you have to offer in hopefully defeating this alien menace.”

Starlight sighed dejectedly and confessed, “Well, unfortunately, it turns out these Changelings are a little too different from the changelings I’m familiar with in Equestria, so I’m afraid my experience won’t be of much use.”

“That’s a shame,” muttered Shining Armor in disappointment.

One of the five girls — the one with pale yellow skin and rose hair — crossed her arms as she scoffed and grumbled, “So much for any help from Equestria.”

Starlight turned to those five other girls and noted, “And you must be those Crystal Girls my friends here were talking about.”

“Indeed we are,” confirmed the girl with turquoise skin and light violet hair. “We started going by that title when we decided to make this castle our new home after the Shadowbolts were disbanded.”

“That organization may have brought us together in the first place,” the girl with pale violet skin and white hair stated flatly, “but there’s no question that we’ve all become much better off since it ceased to exist.”

“Yeah, those Shadowbolt regulations were way too restrictive,” agreed the girl with pink skin and green and yellow hair.

“Not to mention, as fun as it was being the bad guys,” added the girl with light nougat skin and blue hair, “fighting for the good guys makes life a whole lot easier for all of us.”

“Anyway, to properly introduce ourselves, my name is Sunny Flare,” greeted the turquoise girl. She then gestured to the violet girl, the nougat girl, the pink girl, and the yellow girl as she respectively introduced, “And this is Sugarcoat, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, and Sour Sweet.”

Sour Sweet’s head suddenly spun around, causing her rather grumpy face to be immediately replaced by an identical face with a pleasant smile as she sweetly greeted, “Nice to meet you, Starlight Glimmer!”

Starlight just stared at Sour Sweet with a startled look on her face.

Sunset leaned close to Starlight and quietly explained, “Two-Face Syndrome. It’s a rare preexisting condition among minifigs.”

Sour Sweet’s head spun around to expose her sour face before she furiously snapped, “I heard that!”

“Anyway,” Twilight spoke up as she stepped forward, “we were wondering if you girls had any news regarding recent events worth sharing with us.”

“I’m afraid the Steampunk Region has been the latest territory to be conquered by the Changeling forces,” reported Sunny Flare. “Word on the grapevine claims some Changeling infiltrators were able to seize control over Flim and Flam’s Pick-A-Brick warehouse by making a business deal with the brothers, only to then capture them and completely disregard the deal once an army of thousands had arrived, and from there the rest of Industrial City and the surrounding region were easy to fall.”

“No surprise there,” grumbled Sour Sweet as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Those greedy con artists really should’ve known better than to try playing both sides against each other. The bad guys always try to exploit people like that.”

“Any word on how things have been in Canterlot City?” asked Applejack.

“Still as overwhelmed with Changelings as it’s been for the past week,” answered Indigo Zap as she shook her head.

“The reserve LEGO Team and the Redeemables have been trying their best to hold things together,” added Sugarcoat, “but there’s not much they can really accomplish in the face of such an overwhelming occupation.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow and asked, “The Redeemables?”

“They’re a team of former adversaries who have since agreed to do what they can to assist the LEGO Team,” explained Rarity. “I know you’re familiar with at least one of them by the name of Juniper Montage.”

“Oh yeah, I remember her,” noted Starlight with a smile. She turned to the Crystal Girls and asked, “Any idea how she’s been lately?”

“If what we’ve heard is true,” replied Sunny Flare, “she actually managed to do something really impressive just yesterday. Long story short, reserve team member Derpy was injured by a few Changelings, and it was Juniper Montage who somehow managed to not only fend off those armored aliens, but also rushed Derpy across town to the hospital so her injuries could be treated.”

“I still can’t believe she was able to drive a garbage truck like that,” remarked Lemon Zest with a smile.

“That does seem impressive,” noted Starlight in astonishment. “When this is all over, I’d like to meet up with her to hear the full story.”

“Is that all for today?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“There is one more piece of information we received,” replied Sugarcoat, “but the messenger insisted that we share it privately only with Twilight.”

Everyone turned to stare at Twilight, who had a bewildered expression on her face. She glanced around at her friends, then shrugged and said with uncertainty, “I guess I’ll just speak with them outside this room and find out what the secret message is about.” She then began walking toward the main doors out of the Royal Hall, with the Crystal Girls following right behind her.

“You go ahead an’ do that,” assured Applejack. “We’ll wait in here for ya.”

“In the meantime, I’d better write a message to Princess Twilight,” stated Sunset. “She deserves to know the full truth of where we stand at this time.”

“I’ll go fetch your journal,” offered Rainbow Dash before she zoomed of in a rainbow motion blur, then returned only a couple seconds later and tossed the magic journal over to Sunset.

Sunset thanked Rainbow Dash, then set the journal down on the nearest table and opened it to the first blank page. As Twilight and the Crystal Girls stepped outside and closed the main doors, Sunset pulled out a pen and began writing her message.

Dear Princess Twilight,

Starlight Glimmer is now safely among us, though I’m sorry to say the effort has been practically worthless. As much as we appreciated her insight to how Equestria’s Changelings were dealt with, I’m afraid the Changelings we’re dealing with here are quite different in many ways. These Changelings wear virtually indestructible armor and fight using highly advanced weaponry — I’m talking things like laser blasters and missile launchers. Not to mention, so far as we can identify, these Changelings don’t seem to feed on love, which means the methods that worked in Equestria to reform the Changelings simply won’t work here.

I’m very sorry that your effort to send help from Equestria has proven futile, and I especially regret the fact that we just can’t send Starlight back to Equestria anytime soon. Simply bringing her to our hideout was risky enough, and I’m not willing to take that risk again right away. Even though she might not be as useful as we had hoped for, I’m afraid it’s probably for the best that we wait until after the Changelings have been dealt with before it’s safe enough to let Starlight return home. As for how we’re going to do that, well… we’re still trying to figure that out…

Sunset was in the middle of writing when the main doors opened again and Twilight and the Crystal Girls stepped back into the Royal Hall.

“Great news, everyone!” declared Twilight with excitement. “We know the location of a secret Changeling base of operations in a region that has not yet been conquered! With the right plan of attack, this could be an opportunity for us to obtain some valuable information!”

With that announcement, Sunset hastily finished her message in the journal.

I’ll get back to you later. Something just came up that might actually help us against the Changelings.

Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset closed her journal and carried it with her as she led the rest of her friends over to where Twilight stood.

“Is it true, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy, trying to stay hopeful. “Did they really find a secret Changeling base?”

“Yeah!” agreed Rainbow Dash eagerly. “Does this mean we can finally go out and actually do something about those Changelings?”

“That’s right!” confirmed Twilight.

All of the Equestria Girls immediately jumped and let out a triumphant cheer.

“We’ll need to use the Jump-Gate to quickly reach our destination,” added Twilight, “and with how promising this lead sounds, I think we can afford to take the direct approach rather than hopping around between Jump-Gates.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!” declared Pinkie Pie excitedly. “Let’s go!”

With everyone quickly in agreement, the large group consisting of the Equestria Girls and the Crystal Girls left the Royal Hall and began walking through the castle corridors. “So where are we going?” asked Starlight.

“I’m afraid I can’t specify that right away,” replied Twilight. “That’s part of the secret. I’ll explain everything after we cross through the Jump-Gate, though I’m sure many of you will probably figure out where that place is as soon as we get there.”

“But once we do get there,” asked Rarity, “the plan is for us to sneak inside the Changeling facility, obtain any useful information we can find, then sneak our way out, correct?”

“Essentially, yes,” confirmed Twilight. “However, considering what we’ll be up against and how vital it is that we succeed with this mission, we simply can’t do this on our own. Fortunately, let’s just say there’s a team of local heroes who’s willing to join forces with us.”

It wasn’t long before the group arrived at the lower chamber where the Jump-Gate was located. “What about the Crystal Girls?” asked Starlight as everyone began to gather around the closed gateway. “Are they gonna be coming along to help us?”

“As much as we’d love to see some action,” replied Indigo Zap, “we need to stay here in our home region.”

“If the Changelings were to see any of us suddenly show up somewhere outside the Castle Region, let alone in the same place as you girls,” explained Sunny Flare, “they’ll quickly figure out that we’re the ones who have been keeping you hidden this whole time.”

Sour Sweet switched from her sweet face to her sour face before she grumbled, “And that’ll defeat the whole purpose of staying inside a secret hideout, now wouldn’t it?”

Starlight rubbed the back of her head and awkwardly responded, “Well, when you put it like that, I guess it really does make a lot of sense.”

Twilight turned to Spike with an apologetic look on her face as she calmly stated, “Spike, I think it would be best if you stayed here and not be involved in this operation. It’s just way too dangerous for a little boy like you to be in a place that will almost certainly become a serious battlefield.”

“No need to explain,” assured Spike with a smile of understanding. “What I saw the day we escaped from Canterlot City was all I needed to know that those Changelings really mean business. I’ll leave the fighting to those who are actually capable of some serious effort.”

Sunset handed her magic journal over to Spike and said, “Here. Hold this for me while we’re away.”

Spike nodded in agreement as he took the journal from Sunset.

As Twilight approached the Jump-Gate, she leaned close to Sugarcoat and whispered, “If Spike tries to follow after us, shut the gateway doors before he makes it through.”

Sugarcoat said nothing and simply nodded in agreement.

With that discreet order given, Twilight entered the coordinates into the console and then hit the green button. The Jump-Gate made its distinctive low whooshing noise for a few seconds, then the doors parted open to reveal a floor of wooden planks, a railing marking the edge of the floor not far ahead, and not much else due to the considerable darkness in that area.

“Why is it so dark over there?” asked Starlight in confusion.

“It's a different time zone,” Twilight pointed out. “It may be afternoon here in the Castle Region, but over there, it’s currently late in the evening.”

“Are you sure it’s such a good idea for us to go there right now?” asked Sunset uneasily. “I can’t help but feel like we’re walking into a trap.”

“The team that will be aiding us insisted that we travel to those specific coordinates,” replied Twilight. “Trust me, once we’re there and I’m free to explain more, you’ll be thrilled to see who we’re teaming up with.”

The rest of the Equestria Girls glanced at one another with uneasy looks on their faces. They weren’t fully convinced by Twilight’s words, but with the promise for an opportunity to strike a major blow against the Changelings, they were willing to give their friend a chance to prove her source to be trustworthy, so they began to follow Twilight to their unknown destination.

Meanwhile, as Spike watched his friends walk through the Jump-Gate, he glanced passed them and began to realize that the area on the other side looked rather similar to a place he had never been to before, yet was very familiar with. “No way…” he muttered in awe. “Could it be?” Against Twilight’s strict order, he began to approach the opened gateway.

However, just as Spike was about to pass through the Jump-Gate, Sugarcoat suddenly hit the red button on the console, causing the gateway doors to slam shut, which he then promptly bumped into and fell down onto his back.

“Sorry, Spike,” stated Sugarcoat in her typical monotone voice. “Twilight’s orders.”

As he remained lying down on his back, Spike groaned loudly in frustration and screamed, “No fair!”

Most of the Equestria Girls were startled when the Jump-Gate suddenly slammed shut, which not only cut off the connection back to the Crystal Castle, but also plunged this mysterious new area into almost total darkness.

“Uh… did anyone remember to bring a flashlight?” asked Rainbow Dash nervously.

“I did,” replied Twilight, “but it’s so dark that I’ll need some time to blindly reach for it.”

“Honestly, dear,” complained Rarity, “is a little extra lighting simply too much to ask for?”

Whoosh!

“Uh, girls?” Pinkie Pie spoke up worriedly. “I think I heard a whoosh.”

The team of eight girls listened closely and soon began to hear a few other faint whoosh noises all around them. The girls quickly began to huddle together with their backs to one another, ready to defend themselves from every possible angle.

“Show yourselves!” Sunset spoke up defiantly. “We’re not afraid of you!”

“I’m definitely afraid,” whimpered Fluttershy quietly as she cowered toward the center of the group.

After a tense moment of silence, the area was suddenly illuminated by a series of lights, revealing the area to be some kind of ship’s main deck, and surrounding the team of girls were six ninjas, all of whom had been in fighting poses, but soon relaxed their stances.

“You must be the Equestria Girls of Canterlot City,” noted the ninja wearing green. He and his five fellow ninjas removed their hoods to expose their faces, all with a friendly smile upon them. “We’re the Ninjas of Ninjago City, and we’re here to help.”

An awkward silence fell as both groups stared at each other. Eventually, Rainbow Dash grinned and excitedly exclaimed, “Awesome! We’ve got ninjas on our side!”

“Oh, so that’s why their message to had to be kept secret,” noted Pinkie with a cheerful smile as she and the rest of her friends also relaxed their stances. “They’re ninjas! Being sneaky and keeping secrets is what they do!”

“Their message wasn’t actually a secret,” Twilight clarified. “That was just a cover story the Crystal Girls came up with to ensure Spike wouldn't know that we would be coming to the Ninjago Region. We all know how much of a huge fan he is of these Ninjas, but with the kind of operation that lies ahead of us tonight, it’s just way too dangerous to let a child like him follow along.”

“Completely understandable, darling,” assured Rarity with a nod of agreement.

“I just hope he’ll understand when we return and explain everything to him,” muttered Fluttershy worriedly. “That poor boy probably feels completely abandoned right now.”

Sunset turned her skeptical gaze towards the surrounding ninjas and cautiously stated, “Forgive me if I still don’t fully trust you, but with all those Changelings trying to take over the world, you can’t be too careful.”

“Perhaps if you were to utilize your magical ability to read one of our minds, it might set you at ease,” suggested the ninja wearing white as he stepped forward and held out his hand. “I volunteer myself for your inspection.”

Sunset stared at the ninja standing in front of her for a moment, then glanced down at his extended hand and quietly muttered, “Well, I’ve always wondered if I could read the mind of an artificial intelligence…” She then reached forward and grasped the ninja’s hand.

As was typical whenever Sunset used her magical power, her body stiffened and her eyes glowed white for a few seconds, then her body relaxed and her eyes returned to normal. She stared at the ninja’s face for a moment, then released her grip on his hand and gave him a friendly smile.

“It’s okay, everyone,” assured Sunset as she glanced back at her friends. “These guys are the real deal.” She turned back to the ninja in white and quietly added, “Plus, it turns out that I can read robot minds.”

“A fascinating discovery,” stated the robotic ninja as he also smiled.

Applejack let out a sigh of relief and remarked, “Glad to have all that misunderstandin’ cleared up.”

Starlight had a confused expression on her face as she turned to Sunset and asked, “Are you familiar with these ninjas?”

“Of course I am,” confirmed Sunset proudly. “After all, they’re the ones who gave me that advanced training I received over the last few months. Here, allow me to introduce you to all of them.” She started by gesturing at the ninja wearing white who also had white hair that stuck upwards and ended in a flat top. “This is Zane, Element of Ice, who also happens to be a robot.”

“Wow,” muttered Starlight in awe. “A real-life automaton.”

“I prefer the term ‘Nindroid’,” specified Zane.

Sunset next pointed at the ninja wearing black with short black hair and a dark brown headband. “That’s Cole,” she continued. “Element of Earth, by far the strongest of these ninjas, with an appetite that could rival Pinkie’s.”

“That reminds me,” Cole spoke up as he turned his attention to the pink party girl among the newly arrived group. “I hope you brought along plenty of cake.”

“Always do,” confirmed Pinkie cheerfully, “but let’s save it for after we beat the bad guys and are ready to celebrate.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” noted Cole with a smile.

“Over there is Jay,” continued Sunset as she next pointed at the ninja wearing blue with messy brown hair. “Element of Lightning, and tends to have quite a sense of humor, whenever he’s not complaining about things.”

“Hey, I don’t complain that much!” argued Jay. “All I do is call attention to things that aren’t working out well.”

“With how often that happens, I bet it’s practically all the time,” quipped Rainbow Dash.

Sunset then gestured towards the ninja wearing red and with brown hair that stuck upwards quite prominently. “There’s Kai,” continued Sunset. “Element of Fire, and as you might guess, he can be quite a hothead at times.”

Kai demonstrated a few ninja strikes and poses before finishing off by thrusting his fist forward and shooting forth a small fireball from seemingly out of nowhere.

Starlight took a step back and muttered in shock, “Whoa… you guys really do have elemental powers.”

“That’s Nya,” continued Sunset as she pointed at the ninja wearing dark grey and dark blue with black hair that was partially tied back. “Element of Water, Kai’s younger sister.” She leaned close to Starlight and whispered, “And also happens to be Jay’s love interest.”

Starlight couldn’t resist a brief giggle at that last fact.

“And finally, that’s Lloyd,” finished Sunset as she gestured at the ninja wearing green and with mostly neat blonde hair. “Element of Energy, de facto leader of the Ninjas, and also a fellow reformed villain.”

“More like I used to be a bratty child,” acknowledged Lloyd, “but I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends to make me the ninja master I am today.”

“Well, it sure is nice to meet all of you,” remarked Starlight contently. “My name is Starlight Glimmer, and just like Princess Twilight Sparkle, I happened to be from the alternate universe known as Equestria.”

“Pleased to meet you, too, Starlight,” responded Kai. “We heard a little bit about what happened the last time you visited, but that’s nothing compared to all the threats your friends here have been faced with over the last few years.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Sunset playfully retorted. “You Ninjas have had your fair share of fighting evil over the last few years as well.”

“The way I see it, your team has had it easy,” argued Cole. “Our enemies often threaten all of Ninjago and sometimes even the whole world, and each one always seems to get even worse than the last, while your most recent opponents have actually been getting less dangerous these days.”

“Oh, but we don’t just beat our enemies,” countered Pinkie Pie. “We’ve also reformed many of them so that now they fight on our side.”

“We managed to reform Garmadon, the original ultimate evil,” Jay pointed out. “That’s gotta count for something.”

“Yeah, and how long did that last?” quipped Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, that was beyond our control!” argued Lloyd. “It was his choice to sacrifice himself in order to save Ninjago, and he was brought back to life without any of the good that once resided in him.”

“And yet, I heard you just recently managed to once more defeat a powerful evil thanks to some assistance from him,” noted Rarity.

“We simply had no other option,” explained Zane. “He knew much more about the Oni than we did, and he was just as determined to stop them from destroying Ninjago. Sometimes, it takes a master of evil to defeat an even greater evil.”

“But while you guys have mostly stayed within the same region for all of your adventures,” noted Twilight, “our team has had the opportunity to visit several different regions. We have well and truly been all over the world, and even beyond.”

“We’ve been to other places, too,” insisted Nya. “We’ve even visited some of the other realms, and I’m pretty sure Lloyd even got to visit all sixteen of them, albeit very briefly for many of them.”

“Well two of us happen to be originally ponies from the alternate world of Equestria,” Fluttershy pointed out. “With most of our threats coming from magic that originated in that alternate universe, you can’t ask for anything better than someone who practically grew up becoming familiar with the entire concept.”

“Ah, but how many of you can say they actually lost their Creation Spark and later came back to life?” retorted Kai with a grin. “Zane was somehow able to completely rebuild himself after his sacrifice, and Cole spent some time as an actual ghost before being restored to normal.”

Applejack shrugged and conceded, “They’ve sure got us on that one.”

“Okay, I am getting so lost in all of this banter,” confessed Starlight. “I feel like I’ve missed out on reading an entire series of books just from all the references that are being thrown around left and right.”

“Alright, enough playing around,” Lloyd spoke up. He turned to the Equestria Girls and asked, “You’re probably wondering why we invited you here, right?”

“Well, first of all, Ah’d like to know where exactly ‘here’ is,” complained Applejack.

“We’re aboard the Destiny’s Bounty,” answered Cole proudly. “Think of it as like our mobile base of operations.”

“We used to have a spaceship that sort of worked like that,” remarked Rainbow Dash, “but we kinda stopped using it once Twilight came along and gave us access to those Jump-Gates.”

“No regrets,” quipped Twilight with a smug smile.

“Are you certain there are no Changelings in the area that might be eavesdropping in on this conversation?” asked Rarity with concern.

“Don’t worry,” assured Jay. “We made sure to park this thing in a secluded place where those alien bugs are unlikely to search for us.”

“Not to mention,” added Nya confidently, “we’ve got plenty of systems that allow us to keep an eye out for any trouble and to fight it off if it ever decides to show up.”

Fluttershy glanced around at the surrounding darkness beyond the ship and nervously asked, “Um, just to be on the safe side, could we at least take this conversation indoors?”

“Sure thing,” replied Kai. “There’s a few things up in the bridge we need to show you girls, anyway.” He and the other Ninjas then began walking towards the main doorway to the interior of the ship. The Equestria Girls followed them inside and then up a stairway.

As everyone reached the room that served as both the ship’s bridge and a control room, the girls noticed someone else standing among the Ninjas. This minifig had skin that was white with purple circuit-board designs, green eyes, silvery hair that was partially tied back, and wore a uniform that was mostly dark blue with bits of white and gold armor.

“And you must be P.I.X.A.L.,” noted Twilight, “which stands for ‘primary interactive external assistant life-form’.”

“Indeed, you are correct,” confirmed the female android.

“Alternatively also known as Samurai X 2.0,” Twilight playfully added.

P.I.X.A.L. paused momentarily before she responded, “I never really thought of it that way, but your assumption is an accurate assessment.”

Sunset leaned close to Starlight and quietly stated playfully, “She also happens to be Zane’s love interest.”

Starlight had a completely bewildered look on her face as she glanced between P.I.X.A.L. and Zane. “Seriously?” she quietly asked in disbelief. “Robot love? How does that make any sense?” She then sighed and facepalmed. “Now I’m really starting to wish I’d stayed in Equestria.”

“Anyway, to get us back on topic…” Lloyd spoke up as he tapped a button on one of the consoles to bring up on the display screen an image of what appeared to be a large warehouse, and displayed alongside it was a city map highlighting the building’s location. “Ninjago City’s surveillance systems have in recent days detected several Changelings entering this abandoned warehouse near the docks and very rarely venturing back out.”

“This leads us to believe they may be establishing a base of operations within that facility in anticipation of launching an invasion of the Ninjago Region,” added Zane.

“And your plan is to sneak inside and take them all down before they have a chance to prepare such an assault, correct?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Not only that,” continued Nya, “but if they really are trying to plan an invasion, then chances are they might possess some valuable information. If we can obtain that information, we might be able to find out what their motive for invading this planet really is.”

“Which could also answer the question of why they are so interested in trying to capture us,” concluded Twilight.

“Okay, so that explains why you’re at least letting us in on this operation,” noted Sunset. “But why go through the trouble to invite us here? Why don’t you just deal with them yourselves like you’ve done against so many other foes?”

“The thing is, we just don’t know how many Changelings we’re gonna be faced with,” confessed Cole. “There’s no guarantee the surveillance systems were able to spot every single one of them that arrived, not to mention they all look practically the same.”

“So to be on the safe side,” continued Jay, “we figured that doubling our numbers by letting your team join in on the fun would improve our chances of success.”

“Of course, we can’t really expect you to just charge into the building alongside us,” acknowledged Kai. “If our combined forces are gonna stand a chance against the Changelings, we’ll need to arm ourselves with some special weapons.”

“You mean like the Golden Weapons you Ninjas used against some of your previous foes?” asked Rarity.

“Something like that,” replied Nya. “Though for the record, we can’t really use those particular weapons. After we used them to defeat the Oni, those Golden Weapons lost their special power, so now they’re no better than any other ordinary weapons.”

“The Changeling forces are armed with laser-based projectile weapons,” noted Lloyd. “If we’re gonna stand a fighting chance against them and their space blasters, we’re gonna need something a little different.”

“Which is why I forged these!” declared Kai as he threw open the doors of a nearby storage cabinet, revealing racks holding all kinds of combat weaponry, such as blades of various shapes and lengths, big and heavy items for blunt attacks, and even some bows and arrows for ranged attacks. “These weapons are made of silver, which means they can easily deflect any lasers fired at you.”

“Isn’t silver vulnerable to explosive attacks?” Twilight pointed out as she adjusted her glasses.

“Well, yes,” acknowledged Kai with a shrug. “But let’s face it. If an attack like that ever heads your way, losing your weapon would be the least of your problems.”

Pinkie Pie turned to Kai and spoke up, “You know, I just realized your voice sounds remarkably similar to a certain police officer we know back in Canterlot City.”

“Not important right now, Pinkie,” grumbled Rainbow Dash.

“With the kind of space laser weapons we’re going up against,” noted Sunset, “we’ll take any advantage we can get.”

“All right, ninjas,” proclaimed Kai as he grabbed a sword from the opened cabinet. “Choose your weapon.”

The Ninjago Ninjas were first to pick their silver weapons. After Kai had taken the flame-shaped sword, Jay went for the nunchucks, Cole grabbed the scythe, Zane retrieved the pair of shurikens, Nya decided on a simple spear, and Lloyd settled with a single katana.

Next, it was time for the Equestria Girls to select their silver weapons. Rainbow Dash immediately reached for the pair of katanas and grabbed them both, wielding one in each hand. She chuckled with confidence as she swung those swords around.

Starlight raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why did you take two of those swords?”

With a cocky smile on her face, Rainbow swung her dual katanas around a few more times, then struck a combat pose and simply replied, “Two hands.”

Rarity was the next one to select her weapon of choice as she grabbed a pair of dagger-like blades with side prongs that curved away from the handle. “Ah, yes,” she noted contently. “This pair of Sai shall be most suitable for my technique.”

Rainbow Dash immediately burst out laughing. “Seriously?!” she asked mockingly. “You’re gonna go with those puny things?!” She continued laughing a little more. “You are so not gonna last long going up against the Changelings.”

“Oh, please, darling,” retorted Rarity dismissively. “It’s not the size of the weapon that matters.” With swift and fluid motions, she used her dual Sai to grab one of Rainbow’s katanas, yank it out of her grip, and fling it upwards, then immediately followed up by using one Sai to push aside the other katana as she pointed the tip of the other Sai directly at Rainbow’s neck. “It’s how you use it.”

To say that Rainbow Dash was caught off-guard would have been an understatement. She then yelped in shock when her disarmed katana fell back down and suddenly impaled itself into the floor right beside where she stood. With an awkward chuckle, she reached over and yanked that sword out from the wooden deck.

With a look of astonishment on her face, Sunset asked, “Where’d you learn how to do that?”

As she stepped away from Rainbow Dash, Rarity simply smirked and playfully replied, “Let’s just say you’re not the only one among our team to have once attended lessons in a training dojo.”

Meanwhile, Applejack selected a large battle hammer, one of the heaviest among the available weapons, yet felt as lightweight as any of the others within her mighty grasp. “Can’t go wrong with some good ol’ smashin’ an’ bashin’,” she remarked with a smile.

Pinkie Pie made her choice next and quickly went for the weapon that consisted of a spiky ball connected by a chain to a short handle. As she began to swing around that mace-and-chain flail, she giggled and cheerfully stated, “This looks like a fun weapon to use.”

Applejack leaned back to avoid a dangerously close swing of that flail and warned, “Just be careful not to swing that thing too close to any of us.”

Fluttershy hesitated a little as she inspected the available weapons to choose from. She never liked the idea of utilizing any form of weaponry at all, as it just wasn’t in her nature to do so. However, she understood the kind of threat she and her friends were up against, so she reluctantly accepted the fact that she would need something that would at least reduce the risk of any harm coming to anyone around her. She eventually settled on a simple bow with a quiver full of arrows. “If I have to hurt someone, I’d rather do it from a distance,” she muttered quietly to herself.

A few seconds later, Twilight made her selection as she grabbed a weapon that consisted of a long shaft with a short blade on one end of it. She took a few steps back and swung that weapon around to get a good feel for it. “A naginata,” she noted contently. “This’ll do nicely.”

Sunset was next to make her choice, and after a quick inspection of what was available, she decided to go with a sword that was shaped similar to a katana, but was notably much longer. “Nice,” she remarked with a smile. “A little extra reach will go a long way.”

“A nodachi,” noted Twilight. “Excellent choice, Sunset.”

Finally, the last one to select their weapon was Starlight. Much of the remaining selection available consisted of some rather oddly shaped blades that she struggled to figure out how they were even supposed to be handled, let alone utilized against an opponent. “I think I’ll go with something a little familiar,” she stated as she reached for a large sword that was straight, long, and had a basic cross guard. She found it to be a little heavier than she had anticipated, but with both of her hands grasping onto the handle, she was able to hold it up without too much effort.

“A longsword?” questioned Zane. “Wouldn’t that type of weapon be more suitable for the Castle Region?”

“That has gotta be one of the most un-ninja weapons I’ve ever heard of,” complained Jay dismissively.

Cole turned to Kai and asked, “Why did you even forge that thing, anyway?”

“I was starting to run low on ideas”, admitted Kai with a shrug.

That commentary from the true Ninjas left Starlight crestfallen as she sighed and lowered her sword.

“It’s okay, Starlight,” assured Fluttershy as she placed a hand on Starlight’s shoulder. “You’re not the only one here who’s completely out of her element. I’d rather not use my weapon at all against the Changelings, not because I don’t want to stop their invasion, but because I personally really don’t like trying to hurt someone on purpose.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about severely harming these Changelings,” Twilight pointed out. “You’d be quite amazed by just how robust and durable their armor can be.”

“Yeah!” agreed Pinkie. “I mean, Twilight and I saw a Changeling get run over by a big truck and brush it off like it was nothing more than a wimpy slap to the face.”

“Not to mention,” added Rainbow Dash, “those guys still wanna capture us for some reason, and if they see us sneaking around with the Ninjas, they’ll stop at nothing to prevent us from getting away with any top-secret info.”

“No doubt about it,” agreed Twilight. “If we’re gonna have a more feasible chance at accomplishing the goals of this operation, then we'll likely need some way to conceal our identities.”

“I think I know just the thing we need for that,” stated Sunset. She turned to the Ninjago Ninjas and asked, “Do you still have them?”

“We sure do!” confirmed Jay.

“Have what?” asked Applejack in confusion.

Sunset turned to Rarity and asked, “Do you remember sending all of those ninja robes you designed to Ninjago City?”

“Yes, of course,” replied Rarity. “I wanted you to have yours, but I also wanted to keep the complete set together in the unlikely event that all of us would have had an opportunity to visit you while you were still undergoing your advanced training.”

“Then it’s a good thing we were unable to ship them back to you before the Changelings invaded,” noted Nya as she threw open another set of large cabinet doors, revealing eight sets of ninja attire in a variety of pastel colors.

“Awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash excitedly. “We’re actually gonna fight like real ninjas!”

“This day just keeps getting better and better!” remarked Pinkie Pie cheerfully.

“Ah don’t know…” Applejack spoke up skeptically. “Ah mean, aren’t ninja clothes supposed to blend in with their surroundin’s? What we got here is not only gonna stick out like a polar bear in the desert, but also is gonna be such an obvious giveaway of who we are!”

Starlight looked closely at the complete series of ninja outfits being provided and realized that all eight of them really did perfectly match the skin colors of herself and her friends. No doubt, anyone familiar with the Equestria Girls would have little difficulty determining who was wearing which outfit.

“Well, yes,” confessed Cole. “Someone who knows how to be observant enough could probably figure it out pretty quickly.”

“But the reason we think it’ll work in this case,” explained Lloyd, “is that the Changelings seem to utilize their built-in sensors to identify anything and everything around them.”

Zane added, “P.I.X.A.L. and I fitted each of these outfits with a hidden electromagnetic system that should disrupt whatever kinds of sensors they use, rendering them unable to identify each of us as anything other than simply a generic ninja.”

“We’re counting on the likelihood those Changelings are so reliant on their sensors,” stated Kai, “that they’ll overlook something obvious enough that anyone with regular eyes could easily figure out.”

“Ah sure hope your hunch about that is right,” muttered Applejack uneasily.

“Of course,” noted Sunset, “if we’re trying to keep our identities a secret, then we can’t refer to each other by name while were out on this mission. Instead, I suggest we refer to each other by the color of our ninja uniforms.”

“For the record,” stated Zane, “I prefer to go by the designation of ‘Titanuim Ninja’, rather than my former title of ‘White Ninja’.”

“Thank you, Zane,” responded Sunset contently. “That’ll help make one of the other selections a little easier.” She turned her attention to the rest of the group and continued, “Anyway, just so we’re all on the same page, Kai is the Red Ninja, Jay is the Blue Ninja, Cole is the Black Ninja, Lloyd is the Green Ninja, and Nya is…” She trailed off as she struggled to figure out which color on Nya’s outfit would be easier to remember.

“Let’s just go with Aqua Ninja,” conceded Nya with a shrug.

“Sure,” agreed Sunset. “That’ll work.” She then turned to her friends and continued, “For the rest of us, I’d like to keep things as simple as possible, so we’ll go with pink for Pinkie Pie, orange for Applejack, yellow for Fluttershy, white for Rarity, cyan for Rainbow Dash, lavender for Twilight, lilac for Starlight, and amber for me.”

“Sounds good to me,” agreed Pinkie Pie.

“Though I’m afraid we can’t call you amber,” Kai pointed out. “We already have an Amber Ninja. Her name is Skylor.”

“Oh, right,” muttered Sunset. “I forgot about her.”

“Are there any similar alternatives we can use?” asked Twilight.

“Oh, there’s plenty of similar options to choose from,” assured Rarity as she pulled out her phone and tapped something on the screen. “According to the color encyclopedia that I often like to reference, among the shades that come close to amber include sunglow, jonquil, marigold, mustard—”

Rainbow Dash snickered and quipped. “Mustard. We should totally go with that.”

“No!” Sunset furiously snapped. “We are not gonna call me mustard! Okay?! The bacon jokes are bad enough!”

That sudden outburst from Sunset caused everyone to stare at her in shock for a moment. After that moment of tense silence, Rarity cleared her throat and continued, “Very well… There’s also mango, citrine, xanthous, saffron—”

“Saffron!” Sunset swiftly declared with a grin. “Perfect! I’ll go with that! Saffron it is!”

With that decision made, Starlight eagerly stated, “Okay, so now we have our mission, our weapons, our outfits, our secret titles… What’s next?”

“One last bit of advice,” noted Twilight. “If we’re going through this much effort to conceal our identities, then it’s essential that we go all the way and forbid ourselves from using any of our magical abilities.”

“What?!” protested Rainbow Dash in shock. “No way! How do you expect us to fight without our magic?!”

“Does this mean we can’t use our elemental powers, too?” asked Jay.

“Not for you guys, no,” Twilight clarified. “Your team has been here for years, so the Changelings likely already know what to expect from you. It’s my team and I that must refrain from using our magic powers. Otherwise, they’ll easily figure out who we really are and thus render our concealment efforts to be worthless.”

“Twilight’s right,” Fluttershy spoke up. “If we can’t do this without our magic, then we might as well forget about using the ninja clothes or the color codenames.”

“Has it occurred to anyone that it might be more dangerous for us to fight the Changelings if they don’t know who we really are?” asked Applejack with concern. “Don’t forget, they want us captured alive.”

“If part of their nefarious scheme involves our live capture,” proclaimed Rarity, “then perhaps our demise, dreadful and unknowingly as might be, may in fact be the preferred outcome of such an undesirable dilemma.”

“She’s right,” agreed Twilight solemnly. “It’s a risk worth taking.”

Rainbow Dash sighed in frustration, then reluctantly declared, “Fine… we’ll avoid using any magic during this mission.”

“On the bright side, that gives us all the more reason to use these weapons we picked out!” remarked Pinkie with a smile as she swung her flail around.

“You girls might want to get suited up right now,” suggested P.I.X.A.L. with her attention focused on one of the display screens in the room. “I have just received the signal that our prearranged diversion down on the surface is now underway, which will provide you with a limited window of opportunity to sneak into the facility without the risk of immediately raising any alarms.”

“You heard her, everyone,” Sunset spoke up with determination. “Get ready to go ninja!”

Pinkie Pie let out an excited cheer, then sang, “Jump up, kick back, whip around, and spiiiiiin!” She twirled around, then suddenly lost her balance and fell over down to the floor. She then giggled as she retrieved the weapon she had dropped and got back up on her feet.

“Wait, before we get changed,” Starlight suddenly spoke up, “I just have one question. How are we gonna get there?”

“Just watch…” replied Nya confidently as she began tapping buttons and flipping switches on the consoles.

Within seconds, the entire ship began to shake a little as everyone began to hear a faint rumble. Sunset immediately looked outside one of the side windows and, with a smile on her face, gestured for Starlight to join her.

Starlight walked over to the window and followed Sunset’s excited gaze downward. Starlight was astonished as she watched some kind of large engine attached to the side of the ship was now apparently ejecting a jet of flames downward. She assumed there was an identical engine doing the exact same thing on the other side, because soon the entire ship began to slowly rise up into the air. Finally, the roaring fiery engines slightly rotated and the airborne ship began to fly forward.

“Bet you don’t have anything like this in Equestria!” quipped Jay smugly.

“Well, we do have airships,” noted Starlight, “but those tend to be rather slow.”

“One thing I’ve always been curious about is how you always seem to have enough fuel to keep such a massive ship airborne for long periods of time,” Twilight spoke up. “Jet fuel doesn’t exactly come cheap, you know.”

“Oh, we have our sources,” replied Nya coyly.

“Girls! We’re wasting time here!” Rainbow Dash urgently spoke up. “We need to be ready to swoop in and move out as soon as we get there!”

The rest of the Equestria Girls all muttered various words of agreement before they all grabbed their respective ninja outfits and brought them downstairs so they could get changed in privacy.

A few minutes later, the Destiny’s Bounty was flying across the ocean towards Ninjago City. Nearly all of the lights on that ship had been switched off to ensure its approach could be as stealthy as possible.

It was now close to midnight in Ninjago City, and although there was still plenty of activity occurring like any other major city, practically everyone who was still out and about didn’t bother glancing upwards at the dark sky, through which the flying ship quietly sailed. It wasn’t long before the airborne ship slowed to a stop high above a large warehouse located along the docks at the outskirts of the city.

“We have arrived at our destination,” stated P.I.X.A.L.

With that announcement, the Ninjas quickly rushed to one side of the ship and began securing four ropes to the railing.

As the Equestria Girls — now fully dressed in their ninja suits except with their hoods currently down — followed them down onto the main deck, Twilight turned to P.I.X.A.L. and asked, “Aren’t you gonna join us?”

P.I.X.A.L. shook her head and replied, “Negative. Someone must stay aboard to navigate the Destiny’s Bounty away from here and back to a safe landing site. When this mission is over, I shall await your arrival at Borg Tower.”

Once the ropes were firmly tied to the railings, the Ninjas tossed the coils over the side and watched as those ropes unwound until they just barely reached the warehouse rooftop down below.

Sunset turned to her friends and firmly insisted, “Remember, girls. No magic.”

The group of eight girls all nodded in agreement before they all flipped up their hoods to obscure the entirety of their heads except for their eyes.

Lloyd and Kai were the first ones to slide down the ropes. As soon as they landed upon the rooftop, they drew their swords and cautiously glanced around. Once they were confident that no one had noticed their presence, they glanced up and signaled for everyone to follow.

The four remaining Ninjago Ninjas — Nya, Jay, Cole, and Zane — were next to slide down the ropes. The Equestria Girls all leaned over the side and watched the Ninjas descend. Once the ropes were clear, the girls nodded to each other and climbed over the railing to begin their descent.

The time to make their first strike against the Changelings was upon them.

Author's Note

I'm very sorry that it took me so long to complete this chapter. I won't bother explaining my excuse, so I'll just admit that I got a little distracted with something else for a short while. As a result, I tried my best to complete this chapter by the end of the month, and I've now decided that my new progress goal is to complete no less than one chapter per month. But as I've said several times before, I just never know how long these chapters will end up being until I actually write them, so hopefully I'll eventually find myself completing a few shorter chapters at some point in this story.

Anyway, yes, the six Ninjas of Ninjago have been introduced, and the next chapter will feature them doing what they do best, along with the Equestria Girls joining in on the action. Even though I mentioned the lockdown reactions to the threat of Changeling infiltrators, I came up with much of this story many years ago, long before anyone could have even imagined the Covid pandemic, so what you might've thought was a reflection of current events is actually just some minor detail I added on relatively recently to a sequence of events I had already settled on for a while. If you're wondering when the events of this story take place (in relation to both FiM and Ninjago), then it's the middle of Season 9 of FiM (as the message from Princess Twilight indicates) and between Seasons 10 and 11 of Ninjago (a rare period of extended peace for them that allowed me to fit in this story's events). Coincidentally, those points in both series had occurred at around the same time (mid 2019), which made it easy for me to settle with that choice. Also, you may notice that the word "Changeling" is sometimes capitalized and sometimes isn't. There is a reason for this, and it will be explained in a later chapter, so just be aware that I'm not making any grammar errors on that detail.

Finally, I'd like to mention that there will be two Side Stories that take place between Chapters 1 and 2 of this story. Had I stuck to my original plan of a new chapter every two weeks, I would've been concerned I wouldn't get around to them until after this story was fully completed. But now that I'm trying to be a bit more flexible, I think it should be possible for me to work on both the next chapter and one of the Side Stories at the same time (by having both documents open simultaneously, I can just switch back and forth between them whenever I come up with new ideas for one or the other, which will be neatly convenient for my new writing style of writing whatever I can initially come up with and then fill in the blanks later). I can't say for sure how soon either the next chapter or the next side story will be finished (not to mention which one I'll be able to complete before the other), but hopefully I can minimize my distractions to get them done before the end of next month.

Ninjas vs Changelings

Chapter 3
Ninjas vs Changelings

On any typical night, Ninjago City would be almost as bustling as it was during the day. However, due to a large majority of civilians taking refuge in their homes to avoid the risk of unknowingly sharing information with Changeling infiltrators, there was hardly anyone walking or driving around the brightly lit downtown streets. For those who were familiar with the typical city activity, the relative emptiness and quietness was certainly a rather eerie thing to experience.

Further out from the city along the shoreline was a seldom used dockyard with a few large warehouses that had seen better days. Most people would prefer to stay clear of such a shady-looking area, so there was very little confirmed activity to assure them they could even feel safe if they happened to be wandering around in such a place.

On this clear and moonless night far from almost any city lights, such plentiful darkness offered excellent cover for illicit activity. And so it was that with a faint squeak, one of the doors into the largest of those abandoned warehouses slowly opened and a pair of scruffy robbers wearing black beanie hats peeked their heads out and glanced around. Once they were certain everything ahead of them was clear, they snickered mischievously as they fully opened the door and rolled out a flatbed trolly upon which was a large safe. They hauled their ill-gotten loot over to a large hole that had been cut through a nearby chainlink fence.

“Hold it right there!”

Just as the two robbers reached that hole in the chainlink fence, that authoritative shout startled them as they immediately stopped and turned back to see three armed and fully armored Changeling guards marching directly towards them. The guards surrounded the robbers and pointed their laser blasters at them.

“State your business!” demanded one of the guards.

“Oh, uh, we’re just… makin’ a withdrawal,” stammered the robber with a grey jacket over his striped prison shirt, speaking with a gravelly gangster voice.

The robber with the sleeves ripped off his striped prison shirt spoke with a deeper dim-witted voice as he awkwardly agreed, “Y-yeah! We really needed the money, so we decided to take the lot.”

“Don’t say it like that, Mugsy!” scolded the first robber. “It’ll make ‘em think we’re stealin’ this loot!”

“Isn’t that what we’re actually doing, Rocky?” asked Mugsy in confusion.

Rocky slapped his partner in crime in the face and furiously shouted, “Darn it, Mugsy! Where’s your sense of deception?!”

“Hey, at least I know how to fight back!” retorted Mugsy before he slapped Rocky in the face.

Rocky growled furiously and tried to slap Mugsy again, only for the attempt to be blocked by an attempted slap from his opponent. They quickly responded to each other with weak blow after weak blow, and before long, they were slapping against each other in a rather pathetic wimp fight.

The three Changeling guards stared at the two bickering robbers, then glanced at one another. Finally, one of them shrugged and dismissively stated, “Eh, let ‘em go. They’re not worth the effort.”

Rocky and Mugsy immediately ceased their fight as they stared at the Changeling guards for a moment, then turned to each other with confused looks on their faces. Seconds later, they both grinned excitedly, then they pushed the safe on a trolley through the hole in the chainlink fence and away from the secret Changeling base.

“Are you sure it’s such a good idea to just let them go?” questioned one of the other two guards.

“Let’s face it,” the first guard responded dismissively, “they’re just a couple of lowlifes who are desperate for some quick cash wherever they go. Besides, the contents of that safe are mere pocket change compared to what we will eventually have access to, once this city is under our control. It’s no different than letting some rats get away with a few table scraps before the real feast has even arrived.”

“Not to mention, I’ve read their criminal records,” added the third guard, “With the kind of antics they’ve been through, those two morons are often more of a threat to themselves than they are to whoever they decide to steal from. If they tried to break into an actual secure facility and not a makeshift outpost like what we have here, they’d probably set off all the alarms in no more than five minutes.”

“But they know where our hideout is in this region,” argued the second guard. “What if they end up revealing that info to someone who could pose a more serious threat?”

“In that scenario, the enemy would have to either torture those goons or pay them a high asking price to get that information,” explained the first guard, “and let’s be realistic here, our enemies on this planet are likely to be too noble to even consider doing either of those things.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” noted the third guard uneasily. “According to what I’ve read, those two robbers have had several run-ins with one of the best groups of heroes on this planet. I can’t help but get a feeling that those heroes might be much closer than we think.”

“C’mon, what are the odds?” remarked the first guard dismissively. “It’s not like they’re just gonna drop down out of the sky behind our backs.”

Little did those guards realize, that was exactly what was happening while they were busy talking, and by the time that final remark had been made, that group of heroes had already snuck into the building through a window near the rooftop.

“What’s going on here?!”

The three guards turned back and saw a Changeling commander was now standing behind them.

“Oh, uh, nothing too serious,” reported the third guard nervously.

“Yeah, just a couple of petty crooks trying to take something of little value to us. No big deal,” assured the first guard.

“Any infiltration is a big deal!” the commander shot back furiously. “I don’t wanna see you nitwits getting side-tracked by whatever gossip catches your fleeting attention! Now get back to your posts!”

“Yes, sir!” acknowledged the three guards with a salute before they began walking away.

“You there!” barked the commander as he pointed at the first guard. “Patch up that hole in the fence! I don’t want any more rats slipping in and taking stuff from us, regardless of how little value it might be!”

“Yes, sir!” acknowledged the first guard with a salute before he turned back and began assessing the damage to that fence.

As the Changeling guards walked away, they failed to notice a figure hiding behind a small pile of crates on the other side of the chainlink fence. The only distinctive feature on this figure that stood out in the darkness was the short and wide conical hat on his head. As he watched the guards return to their posts, he pulled down the dark red mask that covered the lower half of his scruffy face and held a small device close to his mouth. “The diversion has run its course,” he spoke into the device. “Did they make it inside?”

“Affirmative, Ronin,” responded a female voice through the device. “The Ninjas have safely arrived without immediately raising any alarms.”

“Good,” acknowledged Ronin with a smile. “Whatever happens to them next will be entirely on them, which means my work here is done. Pleasure doing business with you, P.I.X.A.L.” He pocketed the device, then chuckled and quietly added, “And now to collect my payment…” He then turned away from the old warehouse and began walking towards where the two incompetent robbers ran off to.

Along the way, he passed by one of the few lights in the area, far enough to avoid detection, but close enough to briefly reveal his full appearance. He had olive green on his legs, sand green on his torso and right arm, orange on his left arm and shoulder, brown gloves on his hands, a dark red conical hat over his auburn hair, and a brown eyepatch over his right eye.

It wasn’t long before Ronin arrived at a secluded alleyway where he found the two incompetent robbers struggling to open that safe they had just stolen.

“C’mon, Rocky!” begged Mugsy impatiently. “Hurry up!”

“Hold your horses, Mugsy!” Rocky shot back as he held a stethoscope up to the combination lock on the safe. “We’ll get the loot inside as soon as I get this part done right.”

“How long is it gonna take?” asked Mugsy.

“As long as it takes for me to figure out the combination to open this thing,” answered Rocky.

“That’s gonna take forever!” whined Mugsy. “Why can’t we just smash it open?”

“We got this stuff for Christmas!” argued Rocky as he held up a sack full of burglary tools by his feet. “The least we could do is actually put it to good use!”

“But we still have our old crowbars!” Mugsy pointed out as he pulled out his red crowbar. “We can just use them to pry open the safe.”

“Ya think we haven’t done that before!” Rocky shot back as he whipped out his own red crowbar. “The last time we tried openin’ a safe with these, all we did was put so many dents into it that it became impossible to open the door!” He then emphasized the stupidity of Mugsy’s suggestion by bonking him on the head with his crowbar.

“Ow!” cried Mugsy in pain as he rubbed the sore spot on his head. He quickly retaliated by using his crowbar to bonk Rocky on the head.

Rocky grunted in pain and rubbed the point of impact on his head, then glared at his partner in crime and used his crowbar to smack the other crowbar out of Mugsy’s hand.

Mugsy swiftly responded by grabbing Rocky’s crowbar, then yanked it out of his hand and flung it away.

Now that both robbers were disarmed, they both glared and growled at each other for a few seconds, then suddenly they began flailing their hands against each other in a pathetic attempt to fight with relentless weak slapping.

“Wow,” muttered Ronin as he witnessed the ridiculous antics of those two crooks and shook his head in disappointment. “You guys really are a couple of brick-heads.” He then walked right by that pathetic wimp fight, turned the combination lock on the safe a few times, and with an audible click, the safe door unlocked and he pulled it open.

The two incompetent robbers immediately stopped slapping each other and turned to Ronin by the now opened safe. “How’d ya do that?!” asked Rocky in disbelief.

Ronin smirked and explained, “While you guys were busy trying to take some common loot, I also snuck into that Changeling outpost and went after something a little more… valuable.” He then pulled out an open box full of floppy disks. “Information.”

“You didn’t tell those ninjas you was gonna do that,” Rocky pointed out.

“Yeah, I thought we were gonna be the ones to break in and steal something,” added Mugsy.

“Of course I didn’t tell them that,” replied Ronin slyly. “This is something I decided to do for myself. Unlike you two nincompoops, I actually know how to pull off a heist and get away with it. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to collect my payment for helping you with a successful burglary. I’m not asking for much — about fifty percent will do.”

“Forget it!” shot back Rocky furiously. “We ain’t forkin’ over that much of our loot!”

“Yeah!” agreed Mugsy. “Go get your own loot!”

That smirk never left Ronin’s face as he retorted, “You really think you have that option?” He placed that boxful of floppy disks into the safe with the stacks of cash inside and shut the door. “Then let’s see what those Changelings think when I return this safe you stole from them and they realize you took something a lot more valuable than just a pile of cash.”

“Hey!” protested Rocky. “You can’t frame us like that!”

“Yeah, they’re never gonna believe that,” added Mugsy.

“Are you sure about that?” asked Ronin smugly. “Who do you think they’re more likely to believe? A couple of common crooks who took this safe in the first place, or the guy they haven’t met before who’s turning in the evidence?”

The two robbers went from glaring at Ronin to giving each other uneasy looks. They were hardly the brightest of criminals, but even they were smart enough to realize Ronin really did have the upper hand in this case. Regardless of whether it was the actual truth, most people would probably never trust them over practically anyone else, which meant Ronin could frame them for just about anything and would absolutely get away with it.

Finally, Rocky growled in frustration and crossed his arms. “Fine,” he grumbled reluctantly as he looked away from Ronin. “Take your payment.”

Ronin grinned and contently stated, “Glad we could come to an agreement.” He then turned back to the safe door and began turning the combination lock again.

“Aww, no fair,” moaned Mugsy in disappointment.

“There’s no such thing as fair when it comes to theft,” retorted Ronin as he unlocked and opened the safe. “You’d think a couple of burglar wannabes would realize that.” He then unfurled a large empty sack, stuffed it with half of the cash within that safe, and topped it off with the box of floppy disks. Finally, he tied up the opening of that sack and hauled it over his shoulder as he began walking away. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Once Ronin had left the area, Rocky and Mugsy both looked at the remaining contents of the safe, then glanced at each other. Desperate to take what little remained of the loot, they both simultaneously rushed to the opened safe, shoved against each other, and ultimately began flailing their hands around to resume their silly wimp fight.

While the diversion was underway, the Equestria Girls — fully dressed in their ninja disguises — followed the Ninjago Ninjas by sliding down a series of ropes from the deck of the Destiny’s Bounty and landing upon the roof of the large warehouse. There were only four ropes available, so Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack went first. As they neared the bottom, the other half of the team — Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer — followed right behind them. Most of them were able to follow the Ninjas’ example by slowing their descent to land gently upon the rooftop without much trouble. A few were a little less fortunate, such as Fluttershy stumbling upon landing and grasping tightly to the rope to keep herself upright, Pinkie getting a little tangled in the rope near the bottom that resulted in her gently landing on her head, and Starlight completely lost her grip partway down and screamed as she fell until she slammed into the rooftop with a hard belly flop.

Starlight groaned as she carefully stood up and regretfully muttered, “Maybe I should’ve sat this one out.”

“Too late to back out now,” noted Applejack ominously as everyone glanced up to watch the flying ship above them rise further up and then turned to begin flying away.

Once the Destiny’s Bounty had gone off into the distance in the night sky, Kai glanced around at their dark and quiet surroundings and stated, “Well, I don’t hear any alarms blaring, so I think we’re still good.”

“Then let’s make sure we keep it that way,” insisted Twilight as the entire group quickly made their way to one side of the flat rooftop. The Ninjas led the girls over the ledge and onto a slightly lower roof that gently sloped away from the wall that consisted of several windows.

Lloyd reached out to grab one of those windows, then paused as he turned to the others and explained, “From this point forward, we need to be very careful to not get caught, so make sure you move quickly and try not to make any noise.”

“Swift and silent,” noted Sunset with determination. “Like a true ninja…”

Lloyd finally pushed the window open and led the way into the old warehouse. Fortunately, there were tall stacks of crates close to those windows, allowing the ninjas and girls to make small descending leaps from one crate to the next. All fourteen members of the infiltrating group of ninjas spread out and moved carefully and swiftly from one site of cover to another, although some of the girls moved around in ways that made obvious their lack of proper ninja training.

Despite some sloppy movements from some of the girls, the group had managed to successfully reach various locations overlooking the dark interior of the warehouse, all without ever alerting any of the Changeling guards that were slowly patrolling the building. To ensure a minimized risk of giving away their positions by speaking up, everyone had small communicators built into the hoods of their ninja outfits, so Lloyd gently pressed the side of his head to activate his communicator and quietly asked, “Titanium Ninja, Lavender Ninja, use your night vision. What do you see?”

Zane adjusted his cybernetic eyes while Twilight tapped the button on her Special Spectacles so that both of them were now observing the area ahead of them in the green-tinted enhanced lighting of night vision. After a few seconds of inspecting their surroundings, Twilight pressed the communicator on the side of her head and quietly reported, “I see a computer terminal down on the floor on the opposite side of the building. If I can reach it, I could hack into it and search through its digital files for any valuable information.”

“I, too, have detected a computer terminal,” reported Zane, “although this one is up on a walkway that covers the perimeter of this facility.”

“Then let’s maximize our odds and go for both of ‘em,” declared Sunset as she spoke quietly through her communicator. “The two of you will go for the terminal that each of you identified, and the rest of us will provide cover in case if either of you get spotted.”

“Sounds good to me, Mustard Ninja,” agreed Jay.

“I thought we agreed to call me the Saffron Ninja,” grumbled Sunset as she turned to follow closely behind Twilight.

Twilight carefully descended to the floor and moved to the right to reach the computer terminal she had sighted, while Zane climbed up onto the ceiling framework and moved to the left to reach the one he had sighted. Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, Kai, Jay, and Starlight followed after Twilight, while Lloyd, Cole, Nya, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy followed after Zane. The two groups diverged and attempted to stealthily cross to the other end of the warehouse on opposite sides.

Despite their best efforts, there was no denying that some of the girls were amateurs at behaving like a ninja, so it was almost inevitable that some clumsy mistakes were bound to happen. The first one to occur was when Starlight failed to watch where she was going and ended up running right into the side of a shipping container. That metallic impact immediately alerted one of the guards, but as he carefully approached to investigate, she managed to go around to hide behind the container.

A few seconds later, the other group was quietly running along the top of some very tall stacks of crates when Fluttershy tripped on the edge of a crate and tumbled uncontrollably atop that crate. The noise of that fall was enough to alert another Changeling guard, so everyone up there quickly took cover behind the crates of various shapes and sizes. The ninjas atop the crates waited in silence for a few seconds before they peeked out from their hiding spots and saw the guard turn away. Pinkie let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back against the smaller crate she had been hiding behind, but she rested too much of her weight against it and ended up accidentally shoving it off from atop the stack, causing that small crate to shatter into splinters as it crashed to the concrete floor.

Smash!

That noise definitely alerted some of the guards. One of those Changeling guards decided to adjust the visual settings on his visor to provide him with improved night vision as he focused his attention on the source of that noise. He quickly found the destroyed remnants of that fallen crate, then turned his gaze upwards to see a few figures with obscured faces standing atop the tall stacks of crates. As soon as he realized what exactly he was seeing, he urgently shouted, “Ninjas! Blast ‘em!”

Almost every guard in the area immediately raised their laser blasters and began to open fire, forcing the girls and ninjas to swiftly leap and duck for cover.

Pew! Pew-pew! Pew! Pew! Pew-pew! Pew!

Lloyd ended up being caught out in the open where the Changelings were easily able to aim directly at him, so with quick reflexes, he swung his silver ninja sword around to deflect each and every laser bolt that was fired towards him.

Pe-ding! Pe-ding! Pe-ding!

“Darn it! They’ve got silver weapons!” exclaimed one of the Changeling guards in frustration. “Somebody find a missile launcher!”

Meanwhile, the other group of ninjas peered around the shipping containers they were hiding behind and watched the Changelings fire upon where their teammates had been forced to take cover.

“We have to help them!” begged Starlight.

“They can handle it just fine,” assured Kai. “We should worry about reaching that computer terminal.”

“And abandon our friends?!” asked Starlight in shock.

“We can’t afford to lose sight of the big picture here!” argued Twilight.

“Ah don’t know,” muttered Applejack uneasily. “Ah’m kinda with Lilac Ninja on this.”

“See?” insisted Starlight in desperation. “She agrees with me! She knows what’s more important!”

“Would keep it down?” Jay spoke up irritably, not bothering to keep his own voice down. “If you keep shouting like that, they’ll know we’re here!”

“Hey!” one of the Changeling guards suddenly alerted. “More ninjas over here!”

Half of the Changelings turned around and began firing upon that other group, forcing those ninjas to take cover behind the shipping containers.

“Told ya!” complained Jay.

Sunset rolled her eyes as she pulled out her silver nodachi sword and quickly declared, “Alright, Lavender Ninja and I will run for the terminal. The rest of you can deal with those guards.”

“Now you’re abandoning us, too?!” asked Starlight in disbelief. “How are we gonna fight off all of those Changelings?!”

“Then you’d better pull out your sword and start swinging it around, ‘cause I’m not here to babysit you!” Sunset sharply responded before she turned away and — along with Twilight as she pulled out her silver naginata — began running towards the computer terminal.

“You heard her, everyone!” Kai spoke up with determination as he pulled out his silver flame-shaped sword and leaped to the top of the nearest shipping container. “Ninja-GO!” With that battle cry, he rushed forward along the top of that container, drawing the fire of those Changeling guards and easily deflecting those laser bolts with his sword.

“Well, maybe if we stick to the shadows, the Changelings won’t know where we are,” suggested Applejack as she began to carefully sneak her way out from behind the shipping container.

Pew! Pew-pew! Pew! Pew! Pew-pew!

That hope was quickly shattered as a bunch of laser bolts were suddenly fired towards Applejack, causing her to immediately yelp and dive back into cover behind the shipping container.

“You can’t hide from us, ninjas!” taunted one of the Changelings. “We have ways of seeing you in the dark.”

The other Changeling guard beside him suddenly smacked him in the back of the head and scolded, “Don’t tell them that, you brick-head!”

With a smirk hidden beneath her ninja mask, Rarity remarked, “Oh, so this midnight environment is insufficient at concealing us from you, is it? In that case…” She then did a cartwheel to swiftly cover a short distance, then used one of her silver Sai daggers to flip a nearby switch, causing all of the ceiling lights to flicker on.

Those lights might not have been immensely bright, but it was enough to illuminate the entire building. Everyone inside the building briefly flinched from the sudden brightness, but their eyes quickly adjusted and they all glanced around to better understand their surroundings. For an abandoned warehouse, there were quite a lot of tall stacks of crates, barrels, containers, stuffed sacks, and other means of storing various stuff, all packed relatively closely together. Scattered all over the building and in between the large piles of random storage were probably dozens of Changeling guards, many of whom were apparently glancing around in confusion as if they hadn't expected everything to suddenly become so visible. Put simply, the lights had revealed this facility was much more of a maze than any of the infiltrating ninjas had anticipated.

Rarity glanced back at the nearby Changeling guards and quipped with a smile, “I’d prefer to do this with the lights on.”

“Well, there goes what little cover we had,” grumbled Jay.

Applejack turned to Jay and raised an eyebrow as she asked, “Do ya always have to complain about everythin’?”

“Only if there’s nothing worth complaining about,” retorted Jay before he leaped up onto another nearby shipping container, whipped out his silver nunchucks and began swinging them around to deflect any laser bolts that flew close by to him.

With everyone else having already run off into action, Starlight turned to Applejack and uneasily asked, “So, uh… now what?”

Applejack pulled out her silver battle hammer and simply answered, “Now we fight like heck!” She then let loose a battle cry as she charged out across the open floor towards the nearest Changeling guards.

Starlight reluctantly pulled out her silver longsword as she sighed and quietly muttered, “I was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to this…”

Back with the other group atop the crates, Rainbow Dash had decided to join Lloyd out in the open and used her dual silver katanas to help deflect many of the laser bolts the Changelings were still firing at them. As she continued swinging those swords around, she groaned in frustration and grumbled, “We’ll never get anywhere if we’re just gonna sit here and let them keep shooting at us!”

“Cyan Ninja’s right!” agreed Lloyd. “Some of us will need to help Titanium Ninja reach the terminal while the rest provide cover!”

“I’ll stick with him,” volunteered Cole as he pulled out his silver scythe. “We’ll move out as soon as you have their attention.”

“Then let’s stop waiting around and get to it!” declared Nya as she pulled out her silver spear, leaped out from where she had been hiding behind a small crate, and began hopping from one crate to the next as she descended down to the floor, all while expertly deflecting the occasional laser bolt with her spear.

“You heard her, ninjas!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she pulled out her silver mace-and-chain flail. “Time for us to ninja-go!” She began wildly swinging that flail around as she also leaped out from her hiding spot and began hopping downward atop the crates to quickly reach the floor.

“Don’t leave me out on all the fun!” Rainbow Dash playfully argued as she also quickly began to make her way down to the floor, with Lloyd following close behind.

Zane pulled out his silver shurikens and gave Cole a nod of acknowledgement, but Cole held up his hand and pointed at the only ninja — one of the Equestria Girls to be exact — who had yet to charge into battle.

“Y-you two go ahead,” insisted Fluttershy nervously as she pulled out her silver bow along with a silver arrow. “I’ll provide cover from back here.”

Cole and Zane glanced at each other for a moment, then they both shrugged before they ran off and leaped atop the tall stacks of crates until they soon reached the upper walkway along the wall and from there reached the platform upon which was one of the computer terminals.

At the same time, Twilight and Sunset arrived at the other computer terminal down on the floor. As Sunset turned away from Twilight and began watching for any incoming Changelings, she pressed the communicator within her ninja hood and reported, “Lavender Ninja and I have reached our target terminal. Titanium Ninja, what’s your status?”

“I, too, have just arrived at my target terminal with assistance from Black Ninja,” responded Zane at the moment he stopped in front of said terminal.

“You just worry about doing your thing, Titanium Ninja,” assured Cole as he stood behind Zane on that upper platform and focused his attention out towards his immediate surroundings. “I’ll keep the Changelings off your back.”

At the computer terminal at the other side of the warehouse, Twilight stuck the blade end of her naginata into a nearby cargo pallet on the floor as she stepped up to that machine and muttered, “Alright, let’s see what we’re dealing with here on the digital front…”

Twilight hit the power button and began typing away on the keyboard. She soon managed to find a link that was labeled “Access Files”, so she selected that. The screen went dark for a couple seconds, then a rather familiar logo showed up on the screen: Hack-Man.

“It seems this terminal wishes for me to play a video game called ‘Hack-Man’,” reported Zane through his communicator.

“Same for this one,” responded Twilight. “Can’t say I’m too surprised. I’ve read that a lot of older computers tended to use this game as a security measure by restricting access to files based on how high your score is from only a single round of this game with only one life available.” Twilight smiled under her ninja mask as she added, “Looks like all those late nights of perfecting my performance with this game are about to pay off.”

“My experience level with this game may not be quite that extensive,” stated Zane, “but I am sufficiently familiar enough that I shall have little difficulty with completing such an unusual task to obtain access to the contents of this terminal.”

“Then you’d better get to it,” warned Cole as he held up his scythe defensively. “Looks like the Changelings are already on to us!” A few laser bolts were fired towards the upper platform, forcing him to swing his silver weapon around to deflect any that got too close.

Pew! Pew! Pe-ding!

Sunset grasped the handle of her long ninja sword with both hands as she saw two Changeling guards extend their wrist-mounted blades and began to charge at her. “Go for it, Lavender Ninja!” she declared. “I can hold them off, but not forever!” It was at this moment that her silver sword began clashing against Changeling blades as she began battling to defend that computer terminal.

With the order given, Twilight started up the game. With vintage video game graphics and sounds, the space background showed up, followed by the playing field of several crisscrossing paths made of square tiles, then came the score tokens along those paths, and finally the player’s astronaut character along with the two enemy MegaBite robot characters. Twilight knew the main objective of this game was to capture all of the Core Processors on the board, but if she wanted to obtain access to what would likely be the most important files on this terminal, then she would need to maximize her score by collecting all of the tokens on the entire board. Of course, with this system offering only one life, she would have to be careful to avoid getting touched by either of those two MegaBites. Once those enemy characters began wandering around, it was game on, so she began using the arrow keys to move her astronaut character along the paths around the board.

Boink-boink-boink-ding-boink-boink-boink-ding-boink-boink-boink…

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie ran rather aimlessly along the floor between the stacks of crates until she practically bumped into one of the Changeling guards, who immediately responded by extending the blade mounted to his right wrist. Pinkie simply smiled under her ninja mask as she began to quickly swing her flail around and quipped, “I call this one the Wiz-Waz Whacker!”

Before the Changeling had a chance to swing his blade even once, Pinkie brought her rapidly spinning flail close to his face, striking him repeatedly in the head so rapidly that the impacts sounded like the pounding noise of a jackhammer. She pulled her flail back after a few seconds, and with that Changeling dazed, she finished him off by swinging her flail back, down, and then up to strike him with an uppercut hard enough to send him flying backwards and finally hit the floor on his back.

With her first opponent defeated, Pinkie giggled and cheerfully remarked, “One down, a whole bunch more to go!”

Not far away, Rainbow Dash had quickly gotten lost between the large stacks of crates as she continued running around. Eventually, she turned to a different path between the crates and quickly stopped when she noticed someone in a red ninja outfit standing out in the open. As that red ninja waved at her, she quickly ducked back behind the huge crate she had just passed by, set aside one of her dual katanas, and pressed the communicator within her ninja hood and asked, “Red Ninja, where’re you at?”

“A little busy deflecting laser blasts right now!” responded Kai from atop a shipping container elsewhere in the warehouse as he kept swinging his sword around and blocking all the laser bolts the Changelings were firing at him.

“Oh, so you’re not standing nearby waving at me?” asked Rainbow Dash as she peered around the massive crate to see that red ninja doing exactly as she described.

“Of course not!” responded Kai in confusion. “Why would I—” He paused as the realization suddenly hit him regarding what Rainbow Dash had actually encountered. “Oh, I get it now… Go ahead and take out that impostor!”

“With pleasure,” acknowledged Rainbow Dash before she raised both of her katanas and came charging out towards the impostor red ninja. “Nice try, Changeling!” she taunted before letting loose a battle cry.

The impostor red ninja suddenly faded into a featureless black shape, the silhouette quickly morphed into a different shape, and the shadow faded back to reveal a Changeling just before he extended his blade and raised it to block the downward strike of Rainbow’s dual katanas.

Rainbow wasn’t going to be deterred that easily, so she began striking her swords against her opponent’s blade, one after the other in rapid succession. The Changeling managed to block each and every strike with his blade, so Rainbow raised the pressure by slightly charging forward with each strike. As their weapons continued to swiftly clash, not only did Rainbow manage to push the Changeling back, but also the two of them began rising up through the air as if they were stunt performers suspended by cables.

The two clashing opponents suddenly froze in midair just before Rainbow muttered, “Wait… Something’s not right…”

Rainbow and the Changeling glanced down to see they were now apparently hovering over a large pile of cardboard boxes, then they glanced back at each other before reality hit and gravity pulled them down to the boxes below. The empty boxes softened their landing, allowing them to quickly get back up, though Rainbow was quicker to react by kicking the Changeling in the chest, knocking him down onto his back for the moment and allowing her to clamber her way off from the pile of cardboard boxes.

Back at the tall stacks of crates at one side of the warehouse, Fluttershy was still hiding behind one of the smaller crates. While it was true that she could be rather cowardly at times, she really wanted to contribute and find a way to help her friends in this battle. However, it seemed that every time she exposed herself to try using her bow, one of the Changeling guards would start shooting his laser blaster at her, forcing her to quickly duck back into cover.

Desperate for anything that could potentially be useful, Fluttershy began looking around. Her gaze soon fell upon a structure that was built into the ceiling framework. It was some kind of platform on a track with a crane hook dangling from the bottom, which made sense considering the size of many of the crates and containers stored within this building. Not only was that platform the highest ground available within the warehouse, but the fact that it was mobile meant that she could evade danger and find new targets without having to do any running around. All she needed was for some way to get that platform to actually move around.

Fluttershy peered over the crate she was hiding behind and soon located what was likely the cab that controlled the crane platform, all the way at the other end of the warehouse. She pressed the communicator within her ninja hood and asked, “Does anyone know how to operate that crane? I’d like to use the high ground offered by that mobile platform.”

A few seconds later, Jay responded, “No problem! I can take care of that!” He then began swiftly leaping upwards among a stack of shipping containers until he reached the ladder that led up to the crane cab.

Inspired by Jay’s agility, Fluttershy quickly inspected her surroundings and soon noticed one nearby stack of crates that was so tall that the highest one seemed to be within reach of the ceiling framework. Moving swiftly to avoid exposing herself to any laser bolts flying around, she jumped out from her hiding place, leaped across one stack of crates and another, and climbed to the top of that tallest stack. Once she stood atop that highest crate, she put away her bow and then jumped up to grab onto the nearest ceiling support strut. She swung her body back and forth a few times to build up momentum, then released her grip on the support strut and reached one hand forward to swiftly grasp onto the next support strut up ahead. Maintaining her momentum, she expertly swung from one support strut to another like a set of monkey bars. Once she reached that last strut before the crane platform, she grasped the strut with both hands, swung her body back and forth to build up even more momentum, and finally flung herself upwards to land upon the platform on her feet.

Fluttershy stood up on that crane platform and contently remarked, “I guess those climbing lessons I once got from that family of monkeys have really come in handy.”

“Yeah!” cheered Jay as he climbed into the crane cab. “You show ‘em, monkey girl!”

Now that she had reached her desired high ground, Fluttershy pulled out her silver bow and began searching for potential targets. She saw one Changeling aiming his laser blaster at Applejack, so she drew her bow, aimed her arrow at that Changeling, and released. As intended, the silver arrow struck the laser blaster, knocking it clean out of his hands and clattering to the floor.

Applejack had turned to that Changeling guard just in time to watch him suddenly get disarmed by that arrow flying down from the ceiling. Recognizing an opportunity, she grinned under her ninja mask before she charged at the Changeling and struck him with a mighty swing of that heavy battle hammer in her hands. The force of that impact sent the helpless Changeling flying high into the air and finally slammed into the side of a shipping container atop a stack of them, causing that container to tip over and begin plummeting down to the concrete floor below.

Sunset noticed the container as it began to topple from atop that stack, so she immediately shouted, “Smash alert!”

Twilight and Zane both instantly responded by pulling their hands away from the keyboard on their respective terminals only a fraction of a second before that container slammed against the floor.

CRASH!!

“Thank you!” responded Twilight as she brought her hands back to the keyboard and resumed her game.

“Yeah, thanks for the heads up, Mustard Ninja,” added Cole as Zane also quickly resumed his game.

“I told you to call me the Saffron Ninja,” reminded Sunset irritability as she blocked another strike from another Changeling’s blade.

Elsewhere in the warehouse, Rarity stealthily made her way along the pathways between the stacks of crates. She pressed her back against one huge crate and peered around the side to see no major obstacles up ahead. She glanced back the way she had come from and was stunned to discover two Changeling guards were standing there with their laser blasters aimed directly at her. She yelped and dove around the side of the crate just before those guards fired their weapons. The pair of laser bolts flew by and blew a hole into the side of a large crate just opposite from where she had taken cover.

Rarity glanced over at the hole in the crate and noticed among its contents were an old music player with some audio cassette tapes. Curious, she approached that crate and quickly read through the labels on some of those tapes, and when one of them in particular caught her attention, she contently remarked, “Oh, how lovely.” She grabbed that cassette and inserted it into the music player, then pressed the play button and turned back to the two Changeling guards as she playfully asked, “Now, then… shall we dance?”

As some tango music began playing from the music player, the two Changelings watched Rarity for a moment as she danced to that music, glanced at each other with confused looks, then shrugged and fired a few shots from their laser blasters at her.

Moving to the rhythm of the tango music, Rarity dodged some lasers and blocked others with her silver Sai blades as she stepped closer towards the Changelings. Once she was close enough to them, she hooked her daggers around one of the laser blasters and yanked it out of the Changeling’s grasp, then swiftly repeated the process with the other Changeling’s laser blaster.

The two Changeling guards were briefly startled, but quickly responded by extending their wrist-mounted blades and prepared to strike their dancing opponent.

Rarity continued dodging with the rhythm of the music, and struck back against them with each beat of the tune. Once both guards were stunned, she grabbed one of them and began hauling him around like an unwilling dance partner. When the other guard had recovered, she flung the first one against the side of a nearby shipping container, then continued moving with the music’s tempo as she dodged and struck back against that second guard. She grabbed that second guard and swung him around as her next unwilling dance partner, then as she saw the first guard recover, she carelessly cast aside the second guard and resumed her playful dance-fight with that first guard. As the tango music continued, she repeated her dance moves, striking and tossing each of the two guards, swapping between one and the other before either of them had a chance to fully recover.

Evidently, one of the Changelings had had enough of that ridiculous dance, so he retrieved his laser blaster from the floor and fired a shot at the music player, blasting it to pieces.

Rarity immediately stopped dancing and glanced over at the destroyed remnants of that music player, then glared at the Changeling guard and placed her hands on her hips as she indignantly stated, “Now that was just uncalled for!”

The Changeling guard ignored Rarity’s complaint and aimed his laser blaster at her, but before he could fire a shot, a silver spear suddenly thrust against the side of his weapon and knocked it out of his grasp. He had barely enough time to glance over at his new opponent before the side of that spear smacked him in the face, then against the back of his head, and that was quickly followed by a kick to the abdomen and finished with a swift punch to the face that sent him sprawling to the floor.

It took Rarity a moment to recognize the spear-wielding ninja as Nya, who then turned to her and quipped, “Hardly my first choice of combat music, but whatever works for you.”

“Everyone marches to the beat of their own drum, so to speak,” Rarity playfully retorted. As the other Changeling guard recovered and lunged to strike her from behind, she used his momentum to fling him forward over her shoulder and sent him slamming into the first guard before he had a chance to push himself off the floor.

Nya glanced down at the two fallen Changelings, then turned back to Rarity and asked, “Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

“After everything my friends and I have been through,” explained Rarity, “I figured it was only a matter of time before we did something like this, so I decided to prepare myself with a few lessons. Not professional like you Ninjago Ninjas have been, but sufficient enough to hold my own.”

“Hey! Over here!” called out a different Changeling guard to somewhere behind him before he turned forward to aim his laser blaster at the two ninjas.

Rarity reacted swiftly by tumbling toward the Changeling and kicking his laser blaster out of his grasp in such a way that it struck him in the chin, then immediately followed that by using her dual daggers to knock his feet out from under him, sending him sprawling down onto his back.

“You’re actually pretty good at this,” remarked Nya. “What do you say we work together to beat these alien invaders?”

Rarity shrugged and replied, “I don’t see why not.”

With their weapons raised, the two ninja girls began running together along the paths between the stacks of crates, eager to take down any Changelings that dared to get in their way.

Not far away, Starlight Glimmer was practically dragging her longsword as she moved around from one hiding place to another. She watched some of the confrontations unfold and listened in on the conversations being shared through the communicators, and she understood not for the first time that she was in way over her head. She let out a sigh of disappointment and muttered to herself, “I am not cut out for this…”

“Tell me about it…”

Starlight suddenly paused and turned to the one who had just spoken. Standing right there beside her was a fully armored Changeling soldier with his back turned to her, seemingly unaware that he was sharing small talk with one of the infiltrators invading this Changeling-occupied facility.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the Changeling soldier turned to see who he was speaking with, and as soon as he noticed the person in a ninja costume who was carrying a sword, he suddenly yelped in shock and quickly extended the blade mounted to his right wrist.

Starlight awkwardly raised her rather heavy sword and grunted as she swung it around in an effort to strike the Changeling soldier, but her opponent easily blocked the attack, though the blade-on-blade impact did cause him to stumble a little. She adjusted her grip on the sword and swung again, but her armored opponent managed to dodge it. The Changeling soldier swung his blade at this opponent, but she dodged it by stepping aside, despite an awkward stumble. The Changeling and the rookie ninja both swung their weapons and clashed again, the impact sending both of them staggering away from each other a few steps.

As she took a moment to catch her breath, Starlight noted, “You’re not very good at this, are you?”

“I could say the same for you,” retorted the Changeling soldier.

“Oh, gimme a break!” Starlight shot back. “I just got here!”

“Don’t even get me started!” argued the Changeling soldier. “It’s bad enough that I tripped on a clothesline and fell into a dumpster! I will not be humiliated again!” He then charged forward and swung his blade at the novice ninja.

Starlight raised her sword to block the attack, then tauntingly remarked, “Then it’s a good thing I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself if it means winning the battle.”

Starlight then shoved the Changeling’s blade aside and swung her sword at him, only for the Changeling soldier to block that and knock it aside with his blade. The Changeling soldier made another swing of his blade at Starlight, but she dodged it by leaning backwards, only to lean too far and fall over down onto her back. The Changeling soldier followed that by swinging his blade down onto the fallen amateur ninja, but Starlight rolled out of the way and held tightly to her sword as she scrambled back up onto her feet. Starlight wobbled a little as she raised the heavy sword, ready to do whatever it took to defeat her opponent.

Meanwhile, Kai continued running and leaping across the top of several shipping containers while using his flame-shaped sword to deflect the occasional laser bolt that was shot towards him. At one point, a trio of Changeling guards spotted him and fired of a barrage of bolts from their laser blasters, forcing him to take cover behind the shipping container at the middle of the stack he was currently on. Once all of those laser bolts stopped flying by to his right, he faintly heard to his left the clacking noise of bricks being assembled, so he turned to the source of that sound to see what was happening.

On a large balcony not far away along the edge of the warehouse, two Changeling soldiers were quickly building something in front of a massive cylindrical fuel tank. Within a few seconds, they fitted the last of those Lego parts into place, completing what appeared to be some kind of large turret on a rotating base.

Kai stared at the completed creation and worriedly asked, “Let me guess… Is that a laser turret?”

“You guessed right, ninja!” taunted one of the Changeling soldiers as he climbed into the seat of said turret. “We even repurposed it to run on a gasoline engine, since there’s plenty to be found on this planet.” With that added statement, the other Changeling soldier yanked a cord on the contraption, causing the engine to sputter and rumble to life. The Changeling standing beside that engine then grabbed a lever and slowly pulled it back to increase the engine’s throttle, which caused the energy cell connected to the turret to charge up. Once the turret was fully charged up, the Changeling seated at its controls took aim towards Kai and finally triggered it to unleash a continuous laser beam.

Kai was just barely quick enough to raise his silver fire sword and deflect that laser beam down towards the floor. Because the laser attack was a constant beam rather than a brief bolt, he had to hold his sword in place, knowing that the moment he even slightly faltered could mean certain doom.

Desperate to find some way to strike back, Kai glanced around and soon discovered that one of the two support beams holding up the turret’s balcony appeared to be made of gold. He grinned under his ninja mask before he began to adjust the angle of his sword so that the deflected laser beam started to move closer towards that support beam.

“I bet you’re wondering why we’re not using our golden weapons this time,” stated Kai confidently as that deflected laser beam began striking that golden support beam. “Well you’re about to find out!”

While the Changeling in the turret continued firing the laser beam in a desperate hope actually hit that ninja, the other Changeling operating the engine was curious by the Ninja’s sudden boldness, so he glanced over the side of the balcony and discovered one of the support beams underneath their position was gradually glowing brighter and brighter as the deflected laser beam continued firing upon it. The Changeling soldier immediately gasped and exclaimed in terror, “No! The beam!”

Boom!

That golden support beam eventually heated up so much from the laser that it suddenly blew apart. With that support beam now completely gone, the balcony tipped over and collapsed, sending the two Changelings, their laser turret, and the fuel tank tumbling to the floor below. Due to the shape of the fuel tank, it ended up rolling across the floor until it hit a pile of progressively larger crates and containers, which acted like a ramp to send it slamming into a huge crate stacked atop another one, causing that upper crate to be shoved off-center from the lower one. That impact took away all of the momentum on the fuel tank, so now gravity pulled it back down the pile of containers and along the floor back towards the fallen balcony.

The two Changelings had just gotten back on their feet when they saw the huge fuel tank rolling back towards them. They screamed in terror and tried to run away, but were quickly run over and ended up flattened against the floor before the fuel tank slammed into the wall of the warehouse and was finally brought to a stop.

Kai rested his flame-shaped sword over his shoulder as he smirked and remarked, “And that’s why lasers and gold don’t mix very well.” He then turned away and continued his run atop the stacks of shipping containers.

Back at the computer terminal on the floor, Twilight had made significant progress on her game of Hack-Man. Utilizing one of her most successful strategies, she had captured two of the three Core Processors in the process of collecting all of the tokens on the board. She was well aware that silver tokens were worth ten points, gold tokens were worth one hundred points, blue tokens were worth one thousand points, and collecting every token on the board would cause a single purple token to appear in the center, which was worth ten thousand points. On this particular board, that final purple token would nearly double her total score, and since a higher score would permit access to more valuable files on this computer, she was determined to not miss that major boost to her final score.

Boink-boink-boink-boink-boink-boink-ding.

Upon collecting that final purple token, Twilight smiled, but remained focused. Her score may now be at the maximum possible, but she still needed to complete the game, and that meant capturing the final Core Processor. She navigated her astronaut character along the now empty pathways towards that last Core Processor while being careful to avoid getting too close to the two MegaBite robots still wandering around on the board.

Boink-boink-boink-boink. Boink-boink. Boink-boink-boink.

Finally, Twilight’s astronaut character safely reached that last Core Processor, so she mashed the attack button a few times to capture it.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap— Bling!

Upon capturing that final Core Processor, the board cleared away and a message of “You Win!” flashed across the screen. Seconds later, the computer screen changed to a list of various files.

With that accomplishment completed, Twilight raised her arms victoriously and triumphantly shouted, “Yes! Success! I now have full access to these files!”

“Then what are you waiting for?” responded Sunset impatiently as she clashed her sword against the wrist-mounted blade of a Changeling guard. “Download them right away!”

Twilight knew she didn’t have much time to spare, so rather than try to search through each of the digital folders for anything that might be particularly useful, she decided to simply download everything on the system and study the contents later. True, this would likely result in obtaining a vast quantity of practically useless data, but with the limited amount of time available get anything done at this location, it was the only way she could be certain they would not miss even a single page of potentially valuable information.

Twilight selected everything on the terminal’s screen and prepared to download all of it. However, her plan hit a major snag when a pop-up window asked for a method of download: “Print” or “Insert Disk”. She had brought along with her some CDs and flash drives, but when she checked the hardware on that computer terminal, she discovered that neither of her prepared means of data storage were compatible with this machine. Instead, it seemed capable of accepting only floppy disks, which she had presumed was an obsolete technology.

“Oh…” muttered Twilight worriedly. She pressed the communicator within her ninja hood and reported, “Uh, slight problem, everyone. It seems this computer system is so archaic that there are only two ways of gathering the information stored within. One is to copy everything onto floppy disks, which I had not anticipated would be necessary for this mission, despite having plenty of blank ones that I could’ve brought with me.”

“No surprise there,” grumbled Rainbow Dash.

“So what’s the other option?” asked Kai.

“We’ll have to print out everything onto sheets of paper,” explained Twilight, “and considering the probable infrastructure of this warehouse, the printer we’ll need to use will almost certainly be within the office room.”

“I have just obtained access to the files on the other computer terminal,” reported Zane though his communicator, “and I am sorry to inform you that I am confronted with a similar dilemma.”

“Then we have no choice but to go with the printer,” concluded Lloyd. “How many pages are we talking about?”

“Easily in the hundreds,” reported Twilight defeatedly, “and that’s just from this terminal.”

“Likewise with this terminal, too,” added Zane.

“Okay, don’t hit that print button just yet,” declared Sunset as she finally beat back that Changeling guard. “First, we need some of us to get to that office and make sure the Changelings don’t destroy the printer. Black, Titanium, and Lavender Ninjas, stay where you are and defend these computer terminals. Everyone else, I need volunteers to defend that printer and make sure the pages that come out are worth taking with us.”

“On our way!” declared Applejack as she began running towards where she believed the office might be located.

“You got it, Mustard Ninja!” acknowledged Rainbow Dash as she saw Applejack running not far away and rushed off to join her.

“IT’S SAFFRON NINJA!!” snapped Sunset furiously as she swung her sword at yet another oncoming Changeling guard, slicing him in half across the waist.

The Changeling’s torso flipped through the air and landed upright on the floor, while his legs wobbled around a little before they began to aimlessly walk away on their own. The Changeling cried out in protest and began chasing after his legs by hopping around on the base of his torso.

As Rainbow Dash and Applejack began running alongside each other, Rainbow turned to her friend and asked, “So where’s this office we’re looking for?”

“Mah guess is that it’s a small room behind a door at the top of a stairway with a large window to the side,” Applejack speculated.

“You mean like that?” asked Rainbow Dash as she pointed ahead towards one corner of the warehouse that had exactly the kind of structure that had just been described.

“Eyup, sure looks like it,” confirmed Applejack. “Let’s move!”

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both yelped and stumbled to a stop as they narrowly avoided getting struck by a few laser bolts. They both glanced up to their left and saw a Changeling soldier standing atop a stack of crates and armed with a laser blaster that was aimed right at them.

The Changeling soldier prepared to fire his weapon, only to suddenly get knocked off his perch by a swift kick from the Red Ninja. “Mind if I tag along?” asked Kai as he rested his flame-shaped sword on his shoulder while standing where that Changeling once stood.

“Don’t see why not,” replied Rainbow Dash with a shrug. “You can never have too much defense.”

While Rainbow spoke, Applejack saw the fallen Changeling soldier starting to get back up, so she rushed over and swiftly struck him with her battle hammer, sending him tumbling along the floor until he came to a stop and remained motionless.

As Rainbow and Applejack resumed running along the floor towards the stairway outside the office, Kai ran and leaped across a few more stacks of crates and shipping containers until he eventually landed directly in front of the door at the top of the stairway. He grabbed the handle and tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge, so he scoffed and grumbled, “Of course that door’s locked.”

“Hang on just a second!” called out Applejack as she began charging up the stairs. “Ah’ll bust it open.”

“I got a better idea,” Rainbow Dash spoke up as she held up her dual silver katanas. The stairway leading up to the door ran along the wall below the large and wide window that exposed much of the office, so she tossed those swords up at that window, shattering the glass. Once that large opening was exposed, she leaped onto the stairway’s railing and from there leaped through the opening and landed within the office.

Rainbow Dash stood up and looked out the missing window to her two fellow ninjas, but as they seemed to be staring at her in confusion, she retorted, “What? We’re gonna be defending this room against Changeling attacks! It was probably gonna get broken, anyway.”

“Whatever works for you, Cyan Ninja,” muttered Applejack as she reached the upper part of the stairway and jumped to grab onto the bottom of the opening where that window used to be.

Kai did a front flip as he leaped over Applejack to land on his feet upon the floor of the office, then he turned back and helped her climb the rest of the way into the room. Once all three of them were within the room, he pressed his hidden communicator and reported, “We’re in the office. Start printing those pages.”

“Copy that,” responded Twilight.

“Acknowledged,” responded Zane.

Only a few seconds later, the large printer in that room hummed to life and soon began spitting out printed sheets of paper, one page at a time.

“How many pages did they say had to be printed out?” asked Applejack.

“They both said hundreds from each terminal,” Kai pointed out.

The three ninjas silently stared at the printer as it continued to expel one printed page after another, after another, after another. Eventually, Rainbow Dash grumbled, “This is gonna take a while…”

As the gathering of information was finally underway, the rest of the team continued to battle against the Changelings throughout the building. Up on the crane platform near the ceiling, Fluttershy continued to carefully select her targets, firing an arrow from her silver bow only at certain Changelings that appeared to be threatening her friends. A few Changelings attempted to fly up to reach her, but a single arrow to one of their blue insect-like wings disabled their wingpacks and sent them plummeting to the floor.

Assisting Fluttershy by keeping that crane platform in motion was Jay inside the cab that was high up against one wall of the warehouse. As he flipped the levers on the control panel and watched where that crane platform was moving, he also made sure to keep an eye out for any potential threats that might come his way. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Jay noticed one Changeling flying towards the crane cab and with a laser blaster aimed right at him.

Jay kept his right hand working the controls while he used his left hand to pull out his silver nunchucks and began rapidly twirling it around just outside the cab. The oncoming Changeling fired his laser blaster at Jay, but every shot either completely missed or was deflected by that spinning weapon.

Pew! Pe-ding! Pe-ding! Pew! Pe-ding!

“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” taunted Jay.

The airborne Changeling responded by putting away his laser blaster, extending his wrist-mounted blade, and then charging directly towards the cab.

Jay was forced to step away from the controls so he could focus on blocking that Changeling from attempting to enter the crane cab. Their weapons clashed, but despite Jay’s advanced ninja training, he knew his flimsy nunchucks were at a disadvantage against the Changeling’s solidly fixed long blade. In an effort to buy himself some time, Jay swung his nunchucks around to smack the Changeling in the face, sending that alien trooper tumbling through the air before he regained his bearings and swiftly flew back towards the cab.

Jay moved quickly to take advantage of whatever he had available to work with. He grabbed a large wrench that had been left within the cab and pulled open a panel on the floor to expose a tangled mess of wires and hoses. Thankfully, Jay was highly skilled at working with machinery, so he was able to almost instantly identify which particular component would be most useful to him. He had just barely enough time to loosen only one bolt holding down one particular cable before the Changeling returned.

The Changeling soldier landed atop the ladder into the cab, grabbed the cab’s external frame with his left hand to hold himself steady, and used the blade on his right arm to strike at the Blue Ninja. Jay used the wrench to block a couple strikes from that blade, but the Changeling managed to hook his blade onto the end of that wrench and was able to fling it out of the cab.

Despite suddenly losing the wrench, Jay was ready. He swiftly pulled out the loosened cable, held it out towards the Changeling, and flipped one of the control levers to send the crane platform moving. With one of the controls activated, a strong electrical current was sent through the cable right at the moment the Changeling attempted to jab it with his metallic blade. As a result, the Changeling was suddenly electrocuted by the current pulsing through his body from one arm to the other.

The Changeling was fiercely jolted continuously for a few seconds until Jay flipped the lever again to stop the crane platform and thus shut off the electric current. The electric shock had caused the Changeling soldier to twitch so uncontrollably that as soon as the current ceased, he ended up flinging himself out of the crane cab and plummeted to the concrete floor.

“Maybe next time you’ll think twice before messing with this bug zapper!” taunted Jay as he looked down upon the fallen Changeling. As he chuckled triumphantly, he reattached the cable to its proper place and put the panel back on the floor of the cab before he sat back down behind the controls and resumed flipping the levers to keep Fluttershy and the crane platform she stood upon on the move.

Elsewhere in the warehouse, another Changeling guard was flying low between the stacks of crates and containers, carrying with him a large weapon that rested over his shoulder. Once he reached the center area of the massive building, he flew up and landed atop a shipping container. “Missile launcher at the ready!” he reported.

“About time!” responded another Changeling guard irritably. “Now blow those ninjas to pieces!”

Pinkie Pie happened to be nearby, and when she overheard those Changeling guards, she immediately gasped in shock. The silver weapons she and her friends had may have been effective at blocking lasers, but they would be useless against the explosive power of a missile. She knew she had to find some way to disable that missile launcher, so she desperately began searching around for anything that might help, whimpering nervously at the thought that any one of her friends could be blown up at any second.

After desperately glancing around for a few seconds, Pinkie smiled behind her ninja mask as she found what she believed would be the perfect tool for the job. It was a simple plunger, no different from one that might be found beside a typical toilet. As she swiftly grabbed that plunger, all she needed now was some way to quickly deliver that tool to the target, and when she noticed the crane platform with Fluttershy passing by overhead, she knew right away that her effort to stop that missile launcher would be successful.

“Yellow Ninja!” shouted Pinkie. “Use this!” Without waiting for a response, she flung the plunger up at the ceiling towards the crane platform.

Fluttershy glanced over the edge of the platform towards Pinkie and saw an object flying towards her. With her left hand holding her silver bow, she reached her right hand out and managed to catch that object. She was pleased that she had actually managed to catch something in midair, but when she looked closely at the object, she was baffled to discover that it was a common plunger. “What?” she asked in confusion.

“Shoot it like an arrow and plug up that missile launcher!” Pinkie urgently explained as she pointed up at the Changeling guard armed with the missile launcher.

Fluttershy looked over to that Changeling guard — who thankfully was not looking up towards her — and immediately recognized the missile launcher he held over his shoulder. For the sake of protecting her friends, she knew she had to take out that missile launcher, but as she glanced back at the plunger in her hand, she couldn’t help but express some serious doubts.

“Trust me!” insisted Pinkie. “It’ll work!”

“I sure hope you’re right…” muttered Fluttershy skeptically as she placed the plunger against her bow and pulled back the string. She took a deep breath to relax and steady herself as she took aim specifically at the muzzle of that missile launcher, then released the string.

Meanwhile, that Changeling guard was aiming his missile launcher towards Sunset and Twilight, who were unaware of his presence as they continued to fight off any Changelings that tried getting too close to the nearby computer terminal. As soon as he locked onto Sunset, he chuckled menacingly and smugly muttered, “Bye-bye, ninjas…”

In just a split second before the Changeling pulled the trigger to fire the missile, a common plunger suddenly stuck itself over the muzzle of the launcher, plugging the barrel.

BOOM!!!

The missile launcher — and all the missiles loaded within it — detonated in a massive explosion that shook the entire warehouse. The weapon had practically vanished, the Changeling was blown to pieces that scattered far across the building, and the large container he had stood upon was torn to shreds. The Changeling’s head — which miraculously survived the explosion — landed atop a pile of crates, then turned to face the site of where he stood only a moment ago as he exclaimed in disbelief, “How was that even possible?!”

“Whoa. Nice shot,” remarked Jay.

“Huh… I didn’t think that would actually work,” muttered Fluttershy in astonishment.

“That’s the Pink Ninja for ya!” Pinkie cheerfully stated as she playfully swung her flail around. “Always unpredictable!” As if to demonstrate that, one Changeling tried to attack Pinkie from behind, only to suddenly get smacked in the face by that flail before he groaned and collapsed unconscious to the floor.

At the computer terminal on the upper platform, Cole and Zane stared in disbelief towards the site of that massive explosion. “Now there’s something you don’t see every day,” remarked Cole.

“I am struggling to find any logical reasoning to explain what we just witnessed,” stated Zane.

Before the two ninjas could dwell any further on the seemingly impossible explosion, a ladder was suddenly propped up against the edge of the platform. “We’ll worry about that later, ‘cause right now, we’ve got some unwanted company,” declared Cole as he looked down and saw a few Changeling guards climbing that ladder.

“Indeed,” agreed Zane before he tossed one of his silver shurikens down at the Changeling highest on that ladder, striking him in the head and causing him to lose his grip on the ladder and plummet to the floor. As that shuriken flew back to Zane, Cole hooked his silver scythe onto the ladder and used his immense strength to yank the ladder aside, sending it toppling over. Every Changeling on that ladder fell with the ladder to the floor, except for the one who was highest up as he had just enough time to open his wingpack and fly up towards the platform.

“Don’t even think about it, Changeling, ‘cause you’re messing with the wrong ninjas!” declared Cole before he hooked his scythe around the hovering Changeling and then swiftly spun around to fling him away from the upper platform. That Changeling ended up smacking into the side of that huge crate that had been knocked aside by that fuel tank earlier, causing it to be shoved further off-center from the other crate it was resting atop of.

Back inside the office, Kai, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack stood guard behind the shattered window, using their weapons to deflect any laser attacks and beat back any Changelings that tried to charge into the room. As they battled, one of them would occasionally glance back towards the printer just to be sure all those pages were still being printed out.

After a few minutes, the whirring noise from the printer suddenly fell quiet, followed by a pair of faint beeps. Kai turned back to the printer and saw that it was no longer printing out anymore pages. “Uh-oh,” he muttered before he pressed the communicator within his ninja hood and reported, “We got a problem here. The printer just stopped working.”

“That’s not good,” responded Twilight. “We still have more than half of the pages left to go, so you’ll need to troubleshoot the printer to get it working again.”

“Ah’ll take care of that,” offered Applejack as she stepped away from the broken window. “You two just worry about keepin’ the Changelings outta here.”

As Rainbow Dash and Kai continued to defend the office, Applejack set aside her battle hammer and walked over to the printer. She inspected the panel of buttons and notice one particular indicator light was on. Upon reading the label beside that light, she pulled open the internal paper tray and discovered that it was completely empty. “Well there’s your problem,” she reported through her communicator. “The printer ran outta paper.”

“Then find some more to refill the printer,” responded Sunset. “We can’t afford any further delays.”

“Already on it,” replied Applejack as she began searching through desk drawers and cabinets. It wasn’t long before she found several packs of blank paper inside one of the cabinets, so she immediately grabbed a couple of those packs and brought them over to the printer.

“Boy, who would’ve thought that dressing up as ninjas and fighting off an army of shapeshifting aliens would involve doing some office work?” grumbled Rainbow Dash.

“Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing my friends and I have done in the middle of a fight,” quipped Kai.

Applejack tore away the wrappers and placed those stacks of blank paper into the printer and closed the tray. With the paper tray now full, the printer began whirring back into activity. “Ah think that’ll do it,” Applejack confidently reported through her communicator.

However, rather than smoothly spitting out the next page, the printer instead produced a noise of crumpling paper, then stopped and made another beeping noise as a different indicator light came on.

“Dagnabbit!” shouted Applejack in frustration. “We got a paper jam in here!”

“You have got to be kidding me!” exclaimed Rainbow in disbelief.

“Stay calm, Applejack,” responded Twilight through the communicator. “I’ve read about how to properly resolve such an issue for every type of printer. First, I need you to—”

“Ah ain’t got time for tech-talk!” interrupted Applejack furiously as she reached into the printer’s output slot. “Ah’m just gonna yank out that stubborn page.”

“No! Don’t do it!” Twilight begged urgently. “You could risk damaging the printer beyond repair!”

Applejack ignored Twilight and grabbed onto the crumpled page that was sticking partially out of the printer. Despite her stubbornness to solve the problem her way, she at least knew better than to carelessly overdo it, so she began tugging on the page lightly and gradually pulled a little harder with each attempt.

Rip!

The stuck page soon yielded as Applejack yanked it free from the printer. With that blockage removed from the output slot, the printer whirred back into activity and resumed printing page after page as intended. “There! Problem solved!” declared Applejack. “The printer’s workin’ just fine now.”

“What about the page that got stuck?” asked Twilight. “Is it still salvageable?”

Applejack glanced at the paper in her hand that was now completely torn to shreds and responded, “‘Fraid not…”

“Could you at least tell me which page number it was?” asked Twilight. “Check the pages that have already printed and see which one is missing from the stack.”

As more pages continued to settle atop the stack of printed paper, Applejack quickly flipped through the sheets with her focus on the numbers at one corner of the pages. She eventually found the missing number in the sequence and replied, “Two hundred seventy-four.”

“Got it,” responded Twilight. “Once all the other pages have finished printing, I’ll make a second attempt to print that specific page. Until then, maintain our defensive positions.”

“Sure thing, Lavender Ninja,” replied Applejack as she retrieved her battle hammer and joined Kai and Rainbow Dash in defending the office against attacks from the Changelings.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Sunset continued their efforts to protect the computer terminal on the floor. Sunset was busy clashing her nodachi sword against the blade of one Changeling guard, while Twilight used the long reach of her naginata to frequently knock another Changeling guard off-balance until she finally managed to strike him down. From the edge of her vision, Twilight noticed another Changeling step out from behind a stack of containers and aim his laser blaster at her. That Changeling fired three laser bolts at her, but she effortlessly used her silver naginata to deflect them, with the third deflected shot striking the side of the torso of the Changeling who was fighting Sunset, sending him collapsing to the floor.

Sunset glanced down at the fallen Changeling guard, then turned to Twilight and remarked, “Nice hit.”

“It’s all in the physics,” stated Twilight proudly as she twirled her naginata. “By anticipating which angle that projectile is coming at you, you can adjust the angle of your weapon to ensure it gets deflected directly at a specific target. If you can get it just right, you can even reflect that projectile.” She then demonstrated that by holding up her naginata to not only block another laser bolt from that distant Changeling guard, but also deflect it directly right back at him, striking him in the shoulder and sending him collapsing to the floor.

“A ninja that obeys the laws of physics?” quipped Sunset. “Now I’ve heard everything.”

Not far away, Lloyd also found himself clashing blades with a Changeling guard. After another successful block, the Green Ninja swiftly followed that with a hard kick to the Changeling’s torso, sending that guard flying back and slamming into the side of the large fuel tank that had fallen earlier. The Green Ninja then turned away and leaped up to reach higher ground.

The Changeling guard had his blade extended when he slammed into that fuel tank, and he ended up hitting it in such a way that the blade pierced the tank. He quickly recovered, yanked his blade out from the side of that fuel tank, then began to pursue the ninja that had beaten him back.

Twilight glanced towards the fuel tank and quickly noticed the fuel stored within was starting to leak out through that narrow hole in the side of it. She turned her gaze upwards and identified a certain array of fixtures in the ceiling. Once she mentally made the connection and considered a probable outcome from a certain scenario, her eyes widened as she fearfully exclaimed, “No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no! If that fuel catches on fire, it could trigger the fire suppression sprinkler system, and all that water could short out these computer terminals before we finish printing out all of the data stored within!”

“Can’t you see we’re a little busy trying to prevent the Changelings from trying to smash this terminal to pieces?!” exclaimed Sunset irritably as she once again found herself clashing blades with yet another Changeling guard.

“Don’t worry about it,” assured Lloyd from atop a nearby shipping container. “You girls keep protecting that terminal. I’ll take care of the fuel leak.” The Changeling guard he had fought only a minute ago now flew up to confront Lloyd, but the Green Ninja somersaulted over him and stabbed his sword into the Changeling’s back, disabling his wingpack and sending him plummeting to the floor.

Close by to where Twilight and Sunset stood, Pinkie Pie suddenly burst out from one of the smaller crates and cheerfully offered, “I’ll help, too! I can shut off the water so that even if the fuel does catch on fire, the sprinkler system won’t be able to spray anything on those computers.”

Twilight and Sunset watched Pinkie run off in a seemingly random direction. They then glanced at each other with confused looks in their eyes, then they both simply shrugged before resuming their defense of the computer terminal.

As soon as Lloyd reached the ruptured fuel tank, he quickly inspected the damage, then began looking around for possible options. The first practical solution he came across was a simple rag that was left atop a small crate. Although stuffing that rag into the opening in the tank would not completely stop the fuel from leaking, it was still a lot better than to just let that fuel continue to gush out. As he rushed over to retrieve that rag, he noticed that the crate it was on was marked with a label that read “Duct Tape”.

“Huh. How convenient,” remarked Lloyd as he grabbed that rag, then used his sword to pry open the crate. He grabbed a roll of duct tape from within that crate, then rushed back to the fuel tank. He quickly shoved the rag into the hole in the tank to suppress the flood of fuel, then he began tearing off strips of duct tape to form a makeshift patch to plug up all the remaining leaks.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie managed to come across a large pipe that ran along the wall at one side of the warehouse. She smiled behind her ninja mask as she found a large wheel connected to the pipe. That had to be the valve that controlled the flow of water through that pipe, and all she had to do was twist it shut and the problem would be taken care of.

However, once she grabbed onto that valve handle, she was surprised by how difficult it was to get that thing turning at all. She grunted with every effort to twist that handle, but it just wouldn’t budge. As she kept struggling with that valve handle, she grumbled under her breath, “C’mon, you piece of—”

Clang!

Pinkie somehow managed to release her grip on the valve handle right at the moment that wheel suddenly burst off from the pipe, unleashing a gushing sideways fountain of water. Behind her, three Changeling guards had the misfortune of trying to charge at her right at the moment of that mishap. One guard was instantly struck in the face by that valve handle as it burst off, sending him collapsing to the floor. Another guard lost traction on the rapidly flooding floor and slipped his feet around uncontrollably until he ultimately landed hard on his back. The remaining guard also began slipping, but because he ended up leaning forward, he was able to open his wingpack and take off from the floor. However, drops of water from the sideways fountain collected on his wings and threw off his balance, ultimately causing him to fall directly into the path of the gushing torrent that then sent him rapidly tumbling across the soaked concrete floor.

Sunset had just beaten back yet another Changeling guard when she heard that flood suddenly unleashed. She glanced towards that incident and stared in disbelief at the burst pipe with her friend Pinkie Pie standing near the source.

Pinkie noticed Sunset staring back at her before she turned her attention to the nearby rupture in the water pipe. When it finally occurred to her what might have caused such a catastrophic failure, the pink party girl giggled nervously as she turned back to her friend and awkwardly explained, “Whoopsie! I think I turned it the wrong way.”

“That’s the Pink Ninja for ya,” grumbled Sunset sourly as she turned away and shook her head. “Always unpredictable…”

Elsewhere in the warehouse, Rarity and Nya once again found themselves battling against a squad of Changeling guards. Rarity kept her distance from two guards who were firing their laser blasters at her, but she used her silver Sai daggers to deflect each bolt. Eventually, she was lucky enough to deflect one of those shots directly at one of the guards, striking him in the hip and sending him collapsing to the floor.

Nya parried her silver spear against one Changeling’s blade, then used the opening to spin around and strike him in the back, sending him slamming into the side of a nearby shipping container. She then charged in another direction and used the flat end of her spear as a pole vault to launch herself into the air and kick another Changeling in the face, fracturing his visor. That Changeling then blindly wandered around until he eventually bumped into an open barrel and fell forward to fall right into it, leaving his legs uselessly flailing around in the air.

Rarity used her dual short blades to parry another Changeling’s longer blade. When she used her dual daggers to grip the longer blade from opposite sides, the Changeling tried to use that leverage to flip Rarity up into the air, but she was able to twist her body around to turn that momentum back against the Changeling, flipping him over and causing him to slam face-down against the concrete floor.

With all of their current adversaries down for the count, Nya turned to Rarity and remarked, “I have to say, for someone without any real ninja training, you’ve been holding up quite well.”

“As well as one can, I suppose,” acknowledged Rarity, who was now lightly gasping for breath. After taking a moment to relax, she turned to Nya and confessed, “I don’t know about you, darling, but I fear I may soon reach my physical limits.”

“We just need to hold out for only a little longer,” assured Nya. “You heard everything through our communicators. The others already got access to the information we need, so now we just have to wait until they can actually collect it, then we can all get outta here.”

As the two ninja girls spoke, the Changeling inside the barrel behind them eventually managed to flip over back onto his feet. However, he was still stuck inside that barrel, so he was left blindly waddling around and ended up frequently bumping into the side of some containers and knocking over some other barrels.

“And what then?” asked Rarity. “Has anyone considered the details of our escape plan?”

“Not really,” confessed Nya. “If there’s one thing you learn as a ninja, it’s that trying to plan too far ahead can be a waste of time.”

“Yes, but don’t you think we are now close enough to such a moment that it would be worth formulating a plan?” Rarity pointed out.

“You’re right,” acknowledged Nya. “As soon as all of those pages are finally done printing, we’ll need to make a quick escape, so let’s try searching for a getaway ride while we still have time to spare.”

“Yes, I suppose that would be the most prudent course of action,” agreed Rarity. “Where shall we search?”

“From what I saw while I was up on the high ground, I think I know just where to look,” replied Nya as she began glancing around the ceiling. Once she identified a structure she recognized, she pointed towards it and declared, “Over there!” She then immediately ran off in that direction, with Rarity following not far behind.

As for the Changeling still stuck inside that barrel, he once again bumped into the side of a container, but this time he lost his balance and fell over onto his side, causing the barrel to start rolling away as he was again left with his legs uselessly flailing around.

Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer and the poorly skilled Changeling soldier continued their amateurish sword fight. Starlight kept swinging her sword at her opponent with all the effort she could manage, but the weight of her weapon made it difficult to land any decisive blows. The Changeling soldier was easily able to use his long blade to block the rather slow strikes from his opponent, but his apparent hesitation on the offense meant that she was also able to easily block any of his strikes.

After several minutes of fighting to a stalemate, both Starlight and the Changeling paused for a moment to catch their breaths. It wasn’t long before Starlight turned to face her opponent and tauntingly asked, “Ready to give up?”

The armored alien soldier moved back into a battle pose and declared with conviction, “Changelings never surrender!”

Starlight raised her silver longsword once more and confidently retorted, “Yeah? Well, neither do I!”

The ninja and the soldier both raised their blades over their right shoulder and then swung forward to clash together in the middle.

Clang!

The simultaneous strike was so fierce that the blade of Starlight’s sword was sheared cleanly off from the handle. The two opponents paused and watched as that broken blade twirled through the air and then clattered to the floor.

There was a moment of silence between the two before the Changeling suddenly pointed at his ninja adversary and cheerfully cried, “Ha! Look at that! I just broke your sword! Boy, I can’t wait to tell Pharynx about this!”

“Pharynx?” asked Starlight quietly. She was initially confused by why a seemingly random Changeling soldier was eager to share such a minor triumph with someone whose name she was familiar with. It didn’t take long before she mentally put the pieces together and realized there was really only one specific Changeling who would be so poor at combat and be so desperate to impress someone named Pharynx. “Is your name Thorax?”

The Changeling soldier immediately froze, then asked in shock, “H-how did you know?!”

“Oh, just a lucky guess,” Starlight coyly replied. She glanced down at the silver sword handle still in her grasp, then tossed it aside as she turned her gaze towards Thorax with a look of determination in her eyes. She began to take a few steps back away from her opponent as she confidently stated, “Seeing as you won that first round, how about we make this a fair fight? You wanna impress your brother, don’t you? Then retract that blade and try to fight me with only your bare hooves— uh, I mean, hands.” She silently hoped Thorax didn’t catch that little slip-up at the end of her challenge declaration.

Thorax turned his gaze down at his wrist-mounted blade as he considered Starlight’s challenge. It was one thing to strike down an opponent he had just disarmed, but it was quite another thing to subdue an opponent in pure hand-to-hand combat. Breaking an enemy’s sword was already impressive, but it would be even better if he managed to finish the job without using his own blade. Not to mention, judging by the lack of combat experience displayed by this particular ninja, he saw no reason to believe he would have any difficulty winning this battle.

With his decision made, Thorax retracted his blade, then turned to the Lilac Ninja and confidently declared, “Even without my blade, I still have many advantages over you. I don’t think I’ll have much trouble taking you down and out.”

Starlight simply smirked and retorted, “That’s what you think…” She then began to charge forward directly at Thorax.

Thorax responded by letting loose a battle cry as he also charged forward directly at his oncoming opponent. He raised his right fist and prepared to strike the ninja with a swift knockout punch.

However, just as the two opponents came close enough for Thorax to start swinging his punch, Starlight suddenly leaped upwards, flipped forward through the air directly over his head, then as she began to fall behind him, she thrust both of her legs out against his back. That powerful double kick launched Thorax straight forward until he slammed face-first into the side of a massive crate, while Starlight landed on her hands and flipped forward once more to finally land upon her feet.

Starlight turned back to the defeated Thorax and proudly stated, “As a friend once told me, never assume anything is impossible.” She took a moment to silently thank Sunset for providing her with those Kung Fu lessons at the dojo during her previous visit to the Lego World.

Thorax groaned as he finally fell from the impact site on the side of that crate and rubbed his head as he stumbled back a few steps.

Creeeeaaaak…

Thorax paused and slowly turned his gaze upwards. Stacked on top of the massive crate he had just slammed into was another massive crate that was now teetering precariously over the edge directly above him.

Halfway across the warehouse, Cole and Zane continued defending the upper computer terminal against any Changeling attacks. At one point, Zane tossed one of his shurikens at one Changeling flying not far from the platform, but the hovering guard managed to dodge the oncoming weapon. As a result of that miss, the shuriken continued to fly forward until it eventually struck the side of the huge upper crate, embedding itself right next to a label that read “Anvils”.

That minor impact was all it took to finally cause that huge upper crate to topple over the edge and come crashing down directly on top of Thorax.

CRASH!!

The huge crate practically exploded into splinters upon impact as the dozens of anvils stored within settled into a huge pile, leaving Thorax completely buried underneath.

Starlight winced as she witnessed the moment of impact. As proud as she was to have struck such a decisive blow against the one particular Changeling she had been hoping to find, she certainly had no intent to overdo it to such an extreme extent. As the scene of devastation fell still and silent, she quietly muttered with concern, “Ooh… That’s gonna leave a mark…”

Back at the office, Kai, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash continued to fight back against any Changelings that attempted to come in through the broken window. Kai and Rainbow used their swords to deflect any laser bolts that were fired at them, while Applejack used her battle hammer to smack any troopers that tried to come through and easily sent them flying away.

After several minutes, the printer once again fell silent and stopped expelling pages. Kai glanced back at the printer, then pressed his communicator and asked, “Is that all of them?”

“All pages from this terminal have successfully printed,” reported Zane.

“Same here,” reported Twilight, “but please wait a second while I re-print the page that was lost in that paper jam.”

A few seconds later, the printer reactivated and expelled one more page, then stopped and fell silent once more.

Kai grabbed that last page and briefly inspected it before he reported, “Page two-seven-four, got it!”

“Good,” responded Twilight. “Now find a way to secure those pages so we don’t lose any while we make our escape.”

“I’ll take care of that!” Rainbow Dash eagerly offered as she turned away from the broken window and began rapidly checking all of the cabinets and desk drawers. When she found and pulled out a ball of twine, she stated, “I used to deliver newspapers when I was a kid, so I know how to tie together stacks of paper.”

While Rainbow Dash began separating the hundreds of pages into stacks small enough to tie together, Kai quickly searched through the office for anything to help carry all of those pages more easily. He eventually managed to find two empty briefcases inside a storage closet, and once Rainbow had finished tying the pages together into four stacks, there was just enough room to fit two of them into each briefcase.

Once all of the pages of valuable information were finally secured within those two briefcases, Rainbow declared, “Got it. Now let’s get outta here!”

It was at that moment that a Changeling guard suddenly burst through the locked door, breaking it off its hinges.

“There’s too many of ‘em!” exclaimed Applejack as she kept swinging her hammer at one Changeling after another as they kept coming through the broken window. “Ah can’t hold ‘em off much longer!”

Kai tossed his briefcase over to Rainbow Dash so that she was now holding both of them, then pulled out his flame-shaped sword and declared, “I don’t think so, Changelings! Ninja-GO!” He then began spinning around rapidly enough to apparently turn into a small red tornado that moved through the doorway and down the stairs to the floor of the warehouse, effortlessly knocking away every Changeling that stood in his way. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped spinning and looked back at the path he had just cleared back to the office.

“Ah guess that’s one way to clear a crowd in a jiffy,” quipped Applejack as she took both briefcases from Rainbow Dash and held them under her left arm while holding her battle hammer in her right hand as she began to head down the stairs, with Rainbow Dash following right behind her after retrieving her two katanas.

“Gotta love Spinjitsu!” Kai proudly remarked.

As she followed after Kai and Applejack, Rainbow Dash pressed her hidden communicator and asked, “Okay, we’re out of the office with the info. Now what?”

In another part of the warehouse, Sunset struck down another Changeling guard before she pressed the communicator hidden within her ninja hood and responded, “The Changelings have us badly outnumbered. There’s no way we’ll be able to clear the whole building, so let’s just take that info and get outta here.”

“Agreed,” added Lloyd as he kicked away yet another Changeling guard. He pressed his hidden communicator and declared, “Everyone, meet up at the center of the warehouse! We got what we came here for.”

With that announcement, all of the Ninjago Ninjas and Equestria Girls quickly finished off whatever opponents they were currently occupied with and began making their way towards the center of the massive building. Jay moved the crane platform back towards the crane cab so that Fluttershy could easily climb down right behind him.

Among the first ones to rendezvous at a small open area near the center of the warehouse were Twilight and Sunset with Cole and Zane, all of whom no longer had to bother defending those computer terminals now that the potentially valuable information had been collected. Lloyd arrived just seconds later, soon followed by Kai, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, who then handed the two briefcases over to Twilight and Sunset. It wasn’t much longer before Nya and Rarity soon arrived, with Jay and Fluttershy not far behind them.

Next to arrive was Pinkie Pie, who casually walked towards the group while waving around a hair dryer as it blew air all over her body. When she noticed everyone giving her questioning looks, she turned off the hair dryer and responded, “What? I got soaked after I accidentally burst a water pipe.”

As Pinkie carelessly tossed aside the hair dryer, Rarity scolded, “Regardless, that is not one of the recommended methods of drying a ninja costume.”

“Is that everyone?” asked Cole.

“I think so,” replied Kai. “Now let’s figure out a plan of escape before the entire garrison swarms in on us.”

“Wait!” Fluttershy urgently spoke up as she glanced around worriedly. “Where’s Lilac Ninja?”

The rest of the group glanced between one another to confirm Starlight’s absence, then began looking around for any sign of their missing teammate.

“Over there!” Twilight suddenly pointed out.

Everyone followed the direction Twilight was pointing at and they saw Starlight struggling to drag a seemingly unresponsive Changeling soldier towards them.

Applejack walked over to Starlight and offered, “Need a hand?”

Starlight dropped the Changeling and hunched over as she gasped for breath, but managed to respond with a nod of acceptance.

As the rest of the group began to gather around Starlight, they noticed the unresponsive Changeling’s armor appeared to be very badly mangled in several places, especially on the helmet with the three protruding sensors twisted out of shape and several fractures to the visor.

“What happened to that guy?” asked Rainbow Dash as she pointed down at the fallen Changeling.

Starlight took a few more breaths before she flatly explained, “A crate full of anvils fell on top of him.”

Everyone in the group winced and recoiled in response to that statement. “Ow,” remarked Jay in sympathy. “That’s gotta hurt.”

“Are you sure he’s even still alive?” asked Lloyd skeptically.

Zane stepped forward and began closely inspecting the fallen Changeling. After a few seconds of high-tech analysis, he concluded, “He is unconscious and his armor is badly damaged, but he will reawaken, albeit likely not for several hours.”

“Well, not my concern,” declared Sunset dismissively with a shrug. “Just leave him here. Right now, we need to focus on making a clean getaway with the info we collected.”

“We have to take him with us!” insisted Starlight desperately as she grabbed the Changeling’s arm and struggled to drag him across the floor again.

“But why?” asked Cole. “What’s so special about this particular Changeling?”

Starlight turned back to the group and stated, “His name is Thorax.”

As soon as Starlight had revealed that, all of the Equestria Girls stared at her and the fallen Changeling in stunned silence.

“Huh…” muttered Applejack in shock. “One in a million… Looks like we did win the lottery…”

“Does this mean we should start buying lottery tickets?” asked Pinkie.

“I still don’t get it,” Kai spoke up in confusion. “What’s so special about this ‘Thorax’ guy?”

“I’ll explain later,” replied Starlight. “For now, let’s just get outta here and reach a safe place where the Changelings won’t find us.”

“Already taken care of,” assured Nya. “White Ninja and I were able to find something that’ll help all of us make a quick escape. This way.” She and Rarity then turned back and ran off in the direction they had arrived from.

The rest of the group quickly followed after Nya and Rarity, with Applejack and Cole delaying only to help Starlight carry Thorax along.

The group soon arrived at a corner of the warehouse that was walled off by a makeshift fence made of cargo pallets that were arranged vertically and crudely tied together with duct tape. Rarity used her dual daggers to effortlessly cut through the duct tape, then Nya pulled aside the cargo pallets that had been cut loose to provide an opening through the fence for everyone to pass through.

On the other side of that fence, there were a few vehicles parked not far from a row of garage doors that were currently closed. Among these vehicles — all of which were black with bits of glowing green in some places — were several small ATVs, a few open-cockpit mini fighters, two larger space fighters, and three massive ground vehicles that each moved on eight wheels. There were a few Changeling guards patrolling around the doors, though none of them seemed to notice the presence of the group of ninjas at the moment.

Moving cautiously to not alert any of the guards, the group made their way towards the nearest of the three large transport vehicles, which happened to have the rear hatch fully opened. They stepped lightly up the ramp and into the vehicle, then gathered together inside and inspected their new surroundings. The larger compartment they entered was illuminated by a single long light along the rather low ceiling, was wide enough to fit a small vehicle, had benches and storage compartments along the sides at the rear half, with the front half consisting of a few swivel seats in front of various display screens, and a narrow doorway at the end that led into the driver’s compartment.

“Not exactly my idea of luxury,” noted Rarity, “but I will give praise for such a spacious interior.”

“By my calculations,” stated Zane, “this vehicle appears capable of carrying a maximum of thirty-two passengers, which should be more than sufficient for our group of fourteen.”

“Plus one hostage,” added Cole as he and Applejack set down the unconscious Thorax onto the floor.

While the rest of the group set aside their weapons and settled down in some of the available seats along the sides of the interior space, Jay and Nya moved forward into the driver’s compartment. Jay immediately sat down in the left seat, but his eagerness to drive this huge vehicle fell when he discovered that rather than a steering wheel and other driving controls, all he found in front of him was a display screen showing various bits of data. He glanced over to Nya in the right seat and was dismayed to discover that all of the driving controls were over there. “Hey, why’s the driver’s seat on that side?!” he whined.

Nya shrugged and replied, “I guess Changelings drive on the other side of the road on their home planet.” She took a moment to inspect the gauges and switches on the dashboard, then spoke up, “Okay, everyone! Buckle up, ‘cause we’re about to make our getaway!”

“Uh, slight problem,” Twilight pointed out worriedly. “None of these seats appear to have any seatbelts.”

“My guess is the Changelings don’t even bother,” responded Rainbow Dash, “considering how tough and durable their armor is.”

“Well, whatever the reason,” stated Sunset, “we’ll just have to hold tight to anything solid we can grab onto.”

With everyone prepared to ride, Nya turned the dial to activate the mighty engine, then flipped the switch to close the rear hatch.

The noise of the ground transport’s engine rumbling to life definitely caught the attention of the nearby guards. One of them focused his attention on the front compartment of that huge vehicle, and the analysis that flashed across his visor revealed that the two individuals seated inside were not Changelings, but rather two of the infiltrating ninjas. “Hey!” he shouted. “Someone’s hijacking one of the troop transports! Seal the exits!”

The rest of the guards quickly obeyed and began securing locks on the garage doors and shoving all kinds of makeshift barricades — things like a bookcase, a toilet, a refrigerator, a telephone booth, a bathtub, and a small cement mixer — in front of those doors.

“They’re blocking off the doors!” exclaimed Jay in panic. “We’ll never make it outta here!”

“Oh, yes we will,” said Nya with determination as she shifted the vehicle into gear and then stomped on the accelerator.

The mighty engine roared loudly as the massive troop transport vehicle suddenly began to accelerate… in reverse. Before the Changelings had a chance to react, the ground transport quickly backed up and punched a clean hole through the corrugated metal wall of the warehouse. Once the massive vehicle was outside the building, Nya sharply turned the vehicle to the left and brought it to a screeching halt.

Inside the ground transport vehicle, most of the ninjas and girls had not anticipated their backwards escape and ended up flung out of their seats and scattered all over the floor. Rarity sat up and adjusted her ninja hood so that it was no longer askew atop her head.

Starlight staggered up onto her feet as she turned to the front compartment and asked in shock, “Did you do that on purpose?!”

“Sure did!” replied Nya proudly. “If the bad guys won’t open the door, just make a new one!”

“Save the gloating for later,” scolded Lloyd. “Just get us outta here!”

Without a word, Nya shifted gears, then turned right as she began to drive the ground transport forward and away from the warehouse.

Back inside the warehouse, the Changeling guards scrambled into action as they swiftly hopped into the two remaining ground troop transports and the two large space fighters. Because the main doors were still blocked, the two hovering fighters turned around and fired a few laser bolts to expand the hole in the wall, then flew outside and up into the sky. The two massive eight-wheeled vehicles backed out through the hole in the wall, then turned and accelerated forward in pursuit of the fleeing infiltrators.

The stolen Changeling ground transport vehicle, carrying the Ninjago Ninjas and the Equestria Girls, sped off through the nighttime darkness along an empty highway. Convinced they were now safe from any further attacks, Jay decided to switch on the vehicle’s headlights so they could actually see where they were going. It wasn’t long, however, before the area immediately surrounding the huge vehicle was suddenly illuminated with much brighter lights.

“Whoa! Hey! I didn’t touch anything!” insisted Jay defensively as he held up his hands.

Further back in the passenger compartment, Pinkie Pie noticed the brighter lights coming in through the front windows, but the lack of windows along the sides of the vehicle made it very difficult to get a better look outside. She noticed a nearby ladder that led up to an escape hatch through the roof, so she decided to climb up that ladder and open the hatch. As soon as she opened that hatch, she was briefly blinded by the bright lights outside, but was then able to use her arm to mostly block the intense glare. Once her sight had recovered, she gasped in shock as she discovered four Changeling vehicles in hot pursuit, two on the road and two in the air. She immediately shut the hatch, dropped back to the floor, and fearfully exclaimed, “They’re after us! Step on it, Aqua Ninja!”

Nya needed only a quick glance at the side mirror before she tightened her grip on the steering wheel and stomped harder on the accelerator.

Even so, the pursuing Changeling vehicles soon managed to close in on the stolen ground transport, then aimed their primary weapons — dual laser blasters on the large fighters and a pair of cannon turrets on the ground transports — at the fleeing vehicle and began firing upon it. Although none of these attacks made any direct hits upon the target vehicle, several of them did strike close enough to cause the huge ground vehicle to shake and slightly swerve around.

“We’re under attack!” screamed Fluttershy in terror as everyone inside the vehicle was rattled around by each nearby impact.

“Which ones are shootin’ at us?” asked Applejack fearfully as she desperately held onto her seat.

Zane turned back to the rear hatch and noticed a narrow opening in the middle that was barely large enough to see through. He walked up to the hatch and observed the pursuing vehicles for a moment before he reported, “All four of them. Two large aerial fighters and two massive ground transports, to be precise.”

“Wait…” muttered Sunset as she stared aimlessly ahead and her eyes widened. Shen then smiled behind her ninja mask and excitedly spoke up, “That’s actually kind of a good thing!” When everyone nearby turned to her with stares of confusion, she clarified, “Don’t you get it? The ground transports they’re using are exactly the same as the one we’re in right now!”

“Which means we should have access to weapon systems that are identical to the ones they’re using against us!” concluded Twilight as she also smiled at that realization.

“At least that gives us some way to fight back,” noted Cole contently.

“Found one!” announced Kai excitedly as he pulled open a hatch on the left side of the passenger compartment and crawled through the opening.

“Hey! Don’t leave me out on all the fun!” retorted Rainbow Dash eagerly as she found and pulled open an identical hatch on the right side before she also crawled through the opening.

The two turrets atop the huge ground transport vehicle were located at the center of each side, between the two pairs of wheels. Kai and Rainbow Dash squeezed into the compact seats within those turrets, then turned the turrets towards the rear of the vehicle, took aim at their pursuers, and began firing. Although the projectiles proved destructive by exploding upon impact, the two operators of those turrets quickly found themselves struggling just as much as their opponents to make any direct hits on their targets.

Kai growled in frustration and grumbled, “These things are impossible to aim!”

With Kai focusing his efforts on the two troop transports following them on the road, Rainbow Dash decided to turn her attention to the two space fighters in the sky above. She completely missed on the first few shots, but soon managed to hit the wing on the fighter to her right. With its right wing suddenly blown off, that fighter swerved to the right and collided into the other fighter, sending both of them plummeting until they splashed down into the harbor not far from the highway.

“Nice shot!” praised Kai.

“I was aiming for the other one,” Rainbow flatly retorted as she turned her aim down towards the two ground vehicles that were still following and began firing upon them.

The pursuing ground troop transports returned fire, with one of those projectiles managing to strike the outer rear wheel on the right side of the fleeing vehicle. The sudden destruction of that wheel violently rocked the transport, sending everyone inside swaying around so much that several of them fell to the floor.

“What just happened?” asked Lloyd as he helped Starlight back onto her feet.

“They just took out a wheel!” replied Rainbow Dash fearfully as she attempted to turn her turret back towards the pursuing vehicles.

“That’s okay,” assured Nya. “We still have seven more wheels on this beast.”

Despite that bit of reassurance, the absence of that wheel caused the vehicle to slightly shake and rattle as it continued speeding along the highway, which certainly left some of the girls and ninjas riding inside feeling quite concerned for their odds of a successful escape.

Kai fired a few more shots at the ground transports and continued struggling to land any decisive hits upon them. Desperate for other options, he glanced around and quickly realized that to his right was a steep and rocky hillside along the side of the highway they were on. As that rough terrain gave him an idea, he shrugged and remarked, “Oh well. If you can’t be precise, go with brute force.”

Kai aimed his turret up towards the top of that rocky slope and fired a few shots. Most of those explosive projectiles struck several large boulders, causing them to start tumbling down the hillside and quickly cascading into a huge landslide. When that landslide reached the road at the bottom, it slammed into the nearest of the pursuing ground transports, smashing it to pieces and sending debris flying all over the place. The other pursuing ground transport was just distant enough to avoid being significantly damaged, though some of the tumbling boulders did strike the left rear part of the vehicle and caused it to swerve uncontrollably for a few seconds until it eventually regained traction.

“Good thinking, Red Ninja,” praised Rainbow Dash. “Just one more left to go and we’re home free.”

“Uh-oh,” Jay spoke up worriedly from the driver’s compartment as he looked down at the display screen on the dashboard in front of him. “We got more incoming!”

Kai and Rainbow Dash ceased fire and looked around. They soon noticed a series of lights up in the dark sky rushing towards them, with a series of distantly faint whooshing and screeching engine noises as they began to swarm around.

Rainbow Dash quickly recognized what those flying objects were. “Mini fighters,” she noted. “There must be at least a dozen of ‘em up there.”

“Those things are tiny at that distance,” observed Kai with concern. “We’ll never be able to blast them all out of the sky!”

“How will we ever get away from these Changelings?” asked Rarity in dismay.

As Nya kept driving at full speed, she began looking around for any alternative paths they could take. She soon spotted a line of railroad tracks beside the highway that led into a tunnel entrance not far up ahead, and that gave her an idea. “We’ll take the one route those fighters can’t possibly follow,” she declared. “Underground!”

Before anyone could question her plan, Nya sharply turned the huge ground vehicle to the left and continued ahead along the railroad tracks and into the tunnel entrance. The mini fighters were too far above to react to the sudden change of course, though the lone pursuing ground vehicle was able to follow after the stolen troop transport into the railroad tunnel.

“Okay, good news is we lost those mini fighters,” stated Jay contently. He then added in a more panicked tone, “Bad news is one of those eight-wheeled tanks is still after us!”

“And to make matters even worse,” added Kai in dismay, “this turret seems to be out of ammo.”

“Same for this one,” grumbled Rainbow Dash in disappointment.

“Though on the bright side,” suggested Cole, “since they have the same vehicle as us, they probably ran out of ammunition as well.”

“Not to mention,” added Pinkie Pie blissfully, “we should consider ourselves lucky we’re not on a collision course with an oncoming train.”

Despite Pinkie being seemingly dismissive of such an idea, everyone else in the passenger compartment silently glanced at one another with varying looks of concern and fear in their eyes, then they all turned their attention forward towards the driver’s compartment and through the front window. Thanks to the vehicle’s headlights, they could see that the tunnel ahead branched off in two directions, and there was some additional light coming from the tunnel that went to the right. To make matters even more foreboding, they also faintly heard the horn of a train from somewhere further ahead through the tunnel.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” exclaimed Starlight in disbelief.

“Actually, this is exactly what I was hoping for,” stated Nya confidently.

Jay turned to Nya and skeptically asked, “You’re joking, right?”

Nya remained focused ahead with a look of determination in her eyes as she replied, “If I can time this just right, we can make it into the other tunnel before that train arrives, but the Changelings chasing after us won’t be so lucky.”

As Nya continued driving ahead through the tunnel, everyone else watched helplessly with increasing fear, tension, and dread. As they got closer to the tunnel intersection, the light from the oncoming train grew brighter and its horn sounded significantly louder.

HOOOOOOOONNNNK!!

“You’re crazy, you’re crazy, you’re CRAZY!!” shrieked Starlight in absolute terror.

As they came within seconds of the moment of truth, most of the group within the huge vehicle began letting out screams of fear and horror, with some of them also covering their eyes and looking away from what they were convinced was certain doom.

Finally, it happened. The fleeing ground transport vehicle turned into the left tunnel as the rapidly oncoming train emerged from the right tunnel. The ground transport and the train passed so close to each other that the train barely scraped through the open space where the missing wheel on the transport used to be. Just one second after the fleeing transport escaped through the other tunnel, the pursuing transport was plowed head-on by the oncoming train. Despite its durable armor, the Changeling ground troop transport vehicle was obliterated by the impact, its debris sent scattering wildly through the tunnel as the train continued ahead with virtually no resistance at all.

It took a few seconds of watching themselves continue ahead and hearing the sound of the train speeding away before all the ninjas and girls inside the last remaining ground transport vehicle were finally able to let out a collective huge sigh of relief.

“That was cutting it way too close,” muttered Sunset.

“Yeah, we could’ve been smashed to pieces by that train!” scolded Jay.

“Could’ve been,” quipped Nya contently, “but we’re not.”

“If this is what you Ninjago Ninjas do all the time, then I’m glad that this was a one-off thing for us,” grumbled Starlight as she turned away from everyone and sat down on the floor beside Thorax, who still remained unconscious.

Fluttershy turned to Starlight with concern and asked, “Are you alright, Lilac Ninja?”

Starlight sighed, then removed her ninja hood and sadly muttered, “I miss Equestria already…”

Everyone else inside the vehicle also removed their ninja hoods and glanced at one another with various uneasy expressions on their faces. The long, awkward silence eventually ended when Rarity cleared her throat as she turned to Nya and asked, “So, ehhh… does this mean our escape was successful?”

“As long as we stay in these tunnels, the Changelings won’t be able to find us again,” assured Nya. “And since I’ve studied the map of Ninjago City’s metro system, I know which way to go to reach the station directly under Borg Tower, where we agreed to meet up with P.I.X.A.L.”

“As long as you don’t put us at risk of colliding with another train, that’s fine by me,” declared Lloyd. He then turned back to the rest of the group and asked, “Do we still have all that information we gathered?”

Twilight and Sunset responded by opening the briefcases they still carried and showed the stacks of printed documents stored within. “We’ll still need to scan all of these pages so we can analyze them more efficiently,” Twilight pointed out.

“Cyrus Borg should have no problem taking care of that, once we get there,” assured Lloyd.

“Good,” acknowledged Sunset with a nod as she and Twilight closed the briefcases. “Hopefully, it won’t be long before we find out what the Changeling army is really up to.”

“What about our Changeling hostage?” asked Cole as he gestured down at Thorax.

“He is definitely in no condition to pose any threat to us,” noted Zane. “Perhaps Doctor Cyrus Borg would welcome the opportunity to try to reverse engineer his armor and sensors. Such an effort could potentially reveal more about the Changelings than even those documents might tell us.”

“I just hope he can recover,” muttered Starlight sadly. “After all the misery he’s been through, it’s the least he deserves.”

As the stolen ground troop transport vehicle continued moving through the train tunnels under the city, the Ninjago Ninjas and the Equestria Girls were all mostly pleased by the success of their covert mission. Not only had they gathered valuable information, but also managed to encounter the one specific Changeling that Starlight had been convinced would be essential to ending the threats of the Changeling armies once and for all. Whether or not capturing Thorax would be worth the effort was something no one could be certain of at the moment. Only time and patience would reveal if a Changeling such as Thorax would be willing to defect against his own kind.

Author's Note

Well, it took me an absurdly long time, but I finally competed this chapter. Not only that, it also turned out to be by far the longest single chapter I've ever written for any story (just editing this chapter before posting it was so time-consuming that I literally stayed up all night to get through the whole thing). As I wrote with slow and gradual progress, I had considered possibly splitting this chapter so that I could post at least some completed progress, but I just couldn't think of any point that would make a good chapter end and beginning in the middle of these events (although it's only now that I can actually see some good options on where to split the chapter, it's already fully completed, so there's no longer any point in trying anyway). In fact, it took me so long to complete this chapter that I actually decided to reread the whole story thus far to help refresh my memory before I did my final editing of this chapter before finally posting it. Anyway, for those of you who might be getting tired of Ninjago, the Equestria Girls will be in the Ninjago Region for the next chapter or two (depending on where I decide to end the upcoming chapter), then they'll move on to witness a concept I've been waiting years to finally include in this series. If you're wondering what Ronin (another character from Ninjago) will do with those floppy disks he stole, that'll be revealed later in a future Side Story. Speaking of which, let's not forget that I still have another Side Story taking place between chapters 1 and 2 that I have yet to complete, so I'll likely work on that before moving on to the next chapter. Again, I'm very sorry it took me so long to finally get this chapter done. Hopefully it was worth the wait, and I really hope the next few chapters (and side stories) will be significantly shorter and thus quicker to complete.

An Enemy Turned Friend

Chapter 4
An Enemy Turned Friend

After narrowly escaping from the Changeling garrison that had been hidden in an old warehouse just outside of Ninjago City, the Ninjago Ninjas and Equestria Girls were able to safely navigate the city’s metro tunnels with their stolen Changeling ground transport vehicle and arrived at the station beneath Borg Tower, located near the center of the city and easily one of the tallest structures in the city. Once they had parked the massive vehicle somewhere out of the way, the group took the elevator up to the top floor, carrying with them two briefcases filled with hundreds of pages of potentially valuable information about the Changeling forces, as well as the battered and unconscious Changeling soldier named Thorax.

When they arrived at the top of the tower, they entered the main office, where they were greeted by their friend P.I.X.A.L. and Cyrus Borg, the brilliant inventor and technician who owned and operated Borg Industries that was based in the tower of his namesake, and whose mobility was limited by a wheelchair. After the two of them began the automatic process of scanning the recovered documents onto the server for later analysis, Cyrus had expressed great delight at being presented with an opportunity to study and reverse engineer the combat armor of a Changeling soldier, despite its severe damage. And with Cyrus’s assurance that Thorax would receive proper medical care after being stripped of his armor, the ninjas and the girls agreed to finally get some rest after their successful mission.

The following morning, with the ninjas and the girls still wearing their ninja uniforms with their hoods down, most of the group had decided to do some additional combat training in a large room a few floors down, just in case if they suddenly found themselves forced to confront some more Changeling troopers. Meanwhile, Twilight, Sunset, and Zane had offered to begin studying some of the documents that had been recovered, so the three of them sat around a small table and stared down at tablets in their hands as they read over the scanned files that appeared on those screens.

Sunset swiped left on her tablet to see the next page, then sighed and grumbled, “Never let it be said that planning a full-scale war doesn’t require tons of logistics.”

“If one wishes to achieve success,” noted Zane as he set down his tablet, “then every contribution matters, even the most mundane of tasks.”

“Doesn’t make this any less boring,” retorted Sunset bitterly before she took a sip from a mug of coffee.

Zane stared blankly at Sunset for a moment, then turned to Twilight and asked, “Have you discovered anything potentially useful, Twilight?”

Twilight sighed in disappointment and replied, “Not in regards to anything we could use to our advantage against the Changelings. Remember when one of the pages got destroyed in a paper jam and had to be reprinted? Turns out that it was nothing more than an inventory list for the contents of a janitor’s closet.”

Sunset swiped left on her tablet again to the next page and attempted to take another sip of coffee, only to discover the mug was now empty. She turned back towards the coffee dispenser and noticed that the pot was also now empty. She turned her attention back to the page being displayed on her tablet for a moment, then let out a sigh of frustration before she suddenly stood up out of her chair and sharply declared, “Who am I kidding? I’ve never had much patience for this kind of studying. Not even trying to save the world from an alien invasion would be worth forcing me to sit down and stare at endless pages of boring documents for hours on end.”

Twilight and Zane stared blankly at Sunset for a moment, then turned to each other. “Perhaps we should take a break,” suggested Twilight.

“I see little reason to consider that unwise,” agreed Zane. “These digital copies of the Changeling documents have been saved onto Cyrus Borg’s personal database, one of the most secure server systems in the entire Lego World. We can come back at any time and all of this information will still be fully accessible for us.”

“Sounds good to me,” accepted Sunset as she shut off her tablet and set it down on the table. “Let’s go see what the others are up to.” She then turned away and began walking towards the door out of the room.

Twilight and Zane also shut off their tablets and set them down on the table before they both got up out of their seats and followed Sunset.

Sunset, Twilight, and Zane stepped out of the elevator and soon arrived at a large room where all kinds of various obstacles had been set up. They quickly noticed Jay, Cole, and Fluttershy sitting on a nearby bench and apparently observing the room full of those obstacles.

As the trio who just arrived walked over to those on the bench, Twilight asked, “What’s going on in here?”

“Stealth training,” answered Cole.

“Think of it as like a game of hide-and-seek,” explained Jay, “except it’s a total free-for-all.”

“I take it you three are here because you are already out?” asked Zane.

“Unfortunately, yes,” replied Jay sadly. “Rarity tricked me into going after a reflection of herself in a mirror so she could get me from behind.”

“And I can’t believe I fell for Pinkie’s spring-loaded boxing glove disguised as a present,” added Cole sourly as he crossed his arms and frowned.

Sunset smirked and remarked, “Wow. I guess our friends are getting pretty good at handling themselves in dangerous situations.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Fluttershy noted with a lack of enthusiasm as she pointed ahead towards the middle of the room full of obstacles.

Not far away, Kai kept himself hidden behind one of the obstacles, which happened to be a small bus. He silently peeked his head over the bus and glanced around, then swiftly dove towards the next nearby obstacle, which was a large crate. He crouched down to remain hidden for a moment, then peeked his head up again to take another quick glance around.

Kai suddenly heard a metallic groan behind him, so he quickly turned around and saw an upright steel girder beginning to topple over directly towards him. “Whoa!” he shouted in shock as he swiftly jumped out of the way before that girder came crashing down on top of the crate he had been hiding behind.

“Ooh! Sorry, mah bad,” Applejack called out apologetically as she stepped out into the open. “Didn't mean to tip that thing over. Guess Ah don’t know mah own strength, sometimes.”

“Eh, it’s okay,” assured Kai as he walked over to where Applejack stood. “That was actually pretty easy for me to dodge, thanks to my extensive ninja training.”

“Considerin’ you guys are the best of the best at this sort of thing, Ah'd expect nothin’ less,” remarked Applejack with a smile.

Meanwhile, not far away from them, Lloyd was also trying to stay hidden as he swiftly moved from one obstacle to another. He eventually took cover behind an empty dumpster, then silently peered around the side to check his surroundings.

“Sneak attack!”

Lloyd quickly spun around and saw Rainbow Dash falling towards him with a cocky grin on her face. Lloyd immediately reacted by swiftly leaping out of the way, then he leaped off the side of a nearby shipping container as Rainbow Dash hit the floor, and finally landed his jump by standing on Rainbow Dash’s back.

“Rule number one of sneak attacks,” stated Lloyd. “Never bring any attention to yourself before you’ve taken down your opponent.”

“Aw, man!” moaned Rainbow Dash in disappointment. “You guys make it look so easy!”

“Only because we’ve had lots of proper ninja training,” taunted Lloyd. He then playfully added, “You should try it sometime. Maybe then, your oversized ego could no longer be such a huge disadvantage.”

“How’s this for a sneak attack?”

Lloyd and Rainbow Dash turned their attention upwards to see Pinkie Pie standing atop a horizontal steel girder that was close to the ceiling. There was also a rope with one end tied to the ceiling where she stood, with the other end anchored to the floor some distance away, resulting in the rope being held taut at a relatively shallow downward angle.

Pinkie pulled out a few streamers from seemingly nowhere behind her back, swung them over the rope and grabbed both ends so that she was now suspended from the rope, then lifted her legs and began to slide down along the rope. “Woohoo!” she cheerfully cried out.

However, those streamers proved to be so weak against the friction of sliding down the rope that they snapped in half after only a few seconds. “Wuh-oh…” muttered Pinkie worriedly as she now found herself falling uncontrollably, and once she neared the floor, she slammed her entire body, front first, against a large gong.

BOOONNNNGGGGG!!

After vibrating along with that gong for a few seconds, Pinkie finally slid free from the gong and gently landed on the floor on her feet. “Ding-dong…” she sang deliriously as she stumbled around. “King Kong play ping pong…” After some more aimless stumbling around, her disorientation finally caught up to her and she collapsed to the floor.

Fluttershy gasped and quickly rushed over to where Pinkie had fallen.

“Time out, everyone!” Cole called out urgently. “Time out!”

With that statement, the rest of the participants stopped what they were doing and joined the others as they gathered near the gong that Pinkie had crashed into, with Rarity and Nya being the only ones who had still been hidden among the obstacles.

“Are you okay, Pinkie?” asked Twilight.

Pinkie’s eyes continued to slowly spin around as she responded with a random babble of complete nonsense.

“Oh dear,” said Fluttershy worriedly before she reached down and tried to help Pinkie back up on her feet. “We should take you to the infirmary and make sure you’re not too badly hurt.”

“Allow me to assist,” offered Zane as he walked over to the other side of Pinkie and helped her up so that she was now supported between Zane and Fluttershy.

“Looks like you’ve got this taken care of,” noted Sunset, “so I guess the rest of us will just wait here for now.”

Without another word, Fluttershy and Zane carefully guided the very dazed Pinkie Pie out of the room.

Once those three were out of sight, Sunset glanced around at the rest of the group, then raised an eyebrow and asked, “Uh, does anyone know where Starlight Glimmer is?”

“She’s in the infirmary, watching over Thorax,” answered Nya.

“She was very insistent on being there for him, once he awakens,” added Rarity.

“Wow,” muttered Sunset as she and the rest of the group began walking towards the benches and tables that were set up at one side of the room. “She really does seem convinced that he might be the key to helping us defeat the Changelings.”

“I understand her reasoning,” noted Twilight, “but just because the other Thorax in Equestria helped to reform the changelings in that world doesn’t mean it’s a sure bet that this Thorax could do the same in this world. I mean, we all saw how differently I turned out compared to my counterpart from Equestria.”

“Either way, let’s just hope he’s willing to talk,” stated Lloyd.

“Not like he has much choice,” added Kai with a shrug, “especially considering that Doctor Borg stripped him of his armor and weapons.”

“And even if we get nothing out of that Changeling, then at least we still have all those documents to look through,” noted Jay as the group arrived at the side of the room with those benches and tables.

“Though, really, that kind of boring research is best left for the Lavender and Mustard Ninjas to deal with,” quipped Rainbow Dash as she gestured at Twilight and Sunset.

Sunset growled in anger and firmly responded, “I told you to stop calling me the Mustard Ninja. You know how much I hate having my appearances compared to certain foods.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist a playful snicker at Sunset’s irritation.

Not wanting to miss out on some further humor, Jay smiled as he turned to Rainbow Dash and slyly asked, “So… have you ever tried mustard on bacon before?”

Sunset practically glared flaming daggers at Jay as she quietly growled, “Oh, you did not just say that…”

Applejack immediately recognized the threatening tone in Sunset’s voice, so she gave Jay a worried look and warned, “Oh boy… You’d better run, partner!”

Jay glanced at Applejack in confusion for a moment. He turned his attention back to Sunset just in time to see her grab a sheathed katana from a nearby weapon rack. Sunset had a look of fierce anger on her face as she turned to Jay and, with one swing of that sword, effortlessly flung the scabbard off the weapon.

Jay’s eyes widened in shock as he now realized how much trouble he was suddenly in for, so he immediately began fleeing as he screamed in terror.

“Get back here, you insensitive troll!” roared Sunset furiously as she swiftly pursued Jay while holding that katana high up over her shoulder.

The rest of the group stared in silence as Jay ran off with Sunset in hot pursuit. After a few seconds, Cole turned to Rainbow Dash and asked with concern, “Should we help him?”

“Nah, he’ll be fine,” replied Rainbow dismissively.

In the infirmary just one floor lower down, there were half a dozen beds laid out and ready to be used in case of any emergencies. At this moment, only one of these medical beds was occupied, and resting in that bed was Thorax, who still remained unconscious after the events from the previous night. He was also now completely stripped of his armor, revealing that he had pale grey skin and the face of a standard minifig. Now dressed in nothing more than a hospital gown and partially covered by the bedsheet, he continued to rest peacefully as some nearby medical equipment continued to monitor his condition.

Starlight Glimmer, still dressed in her Lilac Ninja uniform with the hood down, sat down in a chair beside that bed and silently watched over Thorax. Although she was grateful that they had managed to capture the one specific Changeling she had been hoping she and her friends would encounter, she couldn’t help but feel doubtful it would have much impact on the wider struggle against the Changeling army. Now that she had seen for herself just how differently these Changelings fight compared to how the formerly evil changelings of Equestria used to fight, she felt like she was in way over her head, that this was the kind of enemy that she and her pony friends could never have imagined finding themselves up against.

That was to say nothing about Thorax himself. The way he had attempted to fight against Starlight proved that he was just as inept among his fellow Changelings as his counterpart in Equestria had been, but Starlight didn’t know for sure just yet if this Thorax had intentions that were as pure as those of his Equestrian counterpart. And even if Thorax could be convinced to defect against the Changelings, how much assistance could he really offer? Unlike the changelings of Equestria, these Changelings do not feed on love, and therefore would almost certainly be fighting for a completely different motivation. Starlight honestly didn’t have any clue what that motive might be, and without such a basic understanding of their opponent, coming up with a plan to stop them was going to be very difficult. For now, her only hope was that Thorax would soon wake up and be willing to cooperate, but uncertainty over even that much left her feeling uneasy.

Starlight was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard the plastic clacking of approaching footsteps. She turned her head back towards the open doorway and saw Fluttershy and Zane arrive with a seemingly very dazed Pinkie Pie being supported by their shoulders. Pinkie staggered around aimlessly and occasionally babbled some complete nonsense while the other two struggled to guide her into the room and towards one of the available beds.

Starlight watched that awkward display for a moment before she raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s wrong with Pinkie Pie?”

Fluttershy hesitated before she delicately replied, “Well… there was a bit of a mishap during our ninja training session.”

Zane, on the other hand, expressed no hesitation as he clarified, “She was attempting to ride along a rope, but she lost her grip and ended up slamming into a giant gong.”

Pinkie giggled and cheerfully slurred, “Thingy went dingy!”

By now, Fluttershy and Zane had brought Pinkie next to one of the empty beds. “Okay, Pinkie,” assured Fluttershy softly as she and Zane began to gently guide Pinkie into lying down on the bed. “Let’s just have you lie down in this comfy bed so you can get some much needed rest after that little accident.”

Almost right at the instant Pinkie was lying on her back upon the bed, she stopped swaying around and began to snore rather loudly.

Zane stared at the now sleeping Pinkie Pie in confusion. “Wow,” he noted with astonishment. “I was not expecting that to happen, let alone happen virtually instantaneously.”

Starlight smirked and contently remarked, “That’s the Pink Ninja for ya. Always unpredictable.”

Fluttershy gently pulled the bedsheet up to cover the now sleeping Pinkie Pie, then turned to Starlight and asked, “How’s, um… Thorax doing?”

“Pretty much the same as he’s been ever since we brought him in here,” answered Starlight as she looked down at the Changeling in question. “While I’m at least thankful that he’s still alive, I can’t stop thinking about what we’re gonna do with him once he wakes up. Would he be willing to cooperate with us? Even if he does, would he even be able to offer us anything that could help us stop the Changeling invasion?” After voicing her uncertainty, Starlight let out a sad sigh.

Zane walked over to Starlight and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. When Starlight turned her head to look up at Zane, he smiled and said, “If his intentions turn out to be as pure as you believe them to be, then we need only to express mercy and forgiveness for him to feel welcome among us and our allies.”

“And if he’s not interested in friendship like the other Thorax I know?” asked Starlight uneasily.

“We will not know that for sure until we have a chance to speak with him,” responded Zane. “Have patience, Starlight Glimmer. The answers to your questions will come soon enough.”

Starlight smiled back at Zane, then smirked and remarked, “Of all the creatures who have ever given me friendship advice, I never could’ve imagined that one of them would be a robot. Maybe the Lego World isn’t such a bad place after all.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

Starlight, Zane, and Fluttershy turned to the open doorway and saw that it was Twilight who had just spoken. Standing with her just within the doorway were Applejack, Rarity, Lloyd, Cole, Kai, and Nya. The only members of the extended group not currently present in the infirmary were Sunset, Rainbow, and Jay, though Starlight was not particularly curious about their absence at the moment.

With a friendly smile on her face, Twilight walked over to join Starlight beside Thorax’s bed and continued, “While I certainly don’t blame you for feeling homesick following our recent struggles, we all still appreciate your willingness to help us out where you believe your efforts could benefit us.”

“Indeed,” agreed Rarity with a friendly smile of her own. “I don’t think any of us would have dared to even consider the possibility that we could convince one of these Changelings to turn against his own kind and assist us instead.”

“Ah’ll admit Ah’ve got mah doubts that such a hare-brained idea like this will ever work,” confessed Applejack, “but seein’ as we got probably the best opportunity sittin’ right here in front of us, we might as well go for it. Nothin’ ventured, nothin’ gained.”

“And although our two teams have barely gotten to know each other,” added Lloyd, “as long as you’re here in Ninjago City, you can count on us to help out just as much.”

Kai, Nya, and Cole all smiled and nodded as they said various words of agreement.

“Thanks, everyone,” responded Starlight with a smile of renewed confidence. “Whatever happens next, at least I can be sure that we’ll face it together.”

It was at that moment that Thorax began to slowly shift around. He moaned very faintly, but it was enough to quickly attract the attention of everyone in the room. He gradually began to open his eyes, but then suddenly hissed in pain and quickly reached his hands up to cover his face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Starlight with concern. “Does some part of your body still hurt?”

Thorax shifted his hands around to keep his eyes covered but allow his mouth to be exposed. “Uh, can I have my helmet back, please?” he asked. “Changeling eyes are extremely sensitive when directly exposed to any source of light, and my helmet’s visor helps filter that light so it’s much less intense.”

Starlight hesitated for a moment before she carefully answered, “I’m sorry, Thorax, but we don’t exactly have it here with us at the moment. And even if we did, it did seem to be pretty badly damaged after what happened last night.”

“But don’t worry,” assured Pinkie Pie cheerfully as she suddenly arrived at the other side of Thorax’s bed and handed something to him. “Here, you can try wearing these sunglasses. I always keep a few pairs lying around in case of special emergencies.”

Zane stared in shock for a brief moment at Pinkie’s sudden appearance. He glanced over at the bed where she had been resting just seconds ago and saw Fluttershy seemed just as confused as he was. He then turned back to Pinkie and struggled to get his thoughts in order as he said, “Wait… How did…? But you were just… And now you’re… And where did…? This makes no logical sense!”

Twilight placed her hand on Zane’s shoulder and calmly assured him, “Trust me, Zane, trying to understand Pinkie Pie is like trying to divide by zero. It just can’t be done.”

Zane stared blankly at Twilight for a moment, glanced over at Pinkie, then turned back to Twilight and uneasily responded, “For the sake of my mental integrity, I shall take your word for it.”

Meanwhile, Thorax had blindly reached for the sunglasses that Pinkie had offered to him. Once he got them in his hand, he kept his eyes shut tight as he then placed the sunglasses on his face. With his eyes now obscured, he very carefully tried blinking a few times.

“Well?” asked Starlight hopefully. “Are your eyes feeling better now?”

Thorax’s facial expression slightly cringed before he responded, “It still stings a little, but… at least the lights are now reduced enough that I can actually see.”

Starlight let out a sigh of relief.

As Thorax was finally able to take his first glimpse of his current surroundings, he frowned and noted with dread, “Wait… you’re not just the local ninja team… you’re also working alongside with the Targets we’ve been after.” He then slumped back onto the bed and groaned before he defeatedly stated, “Looks like I’ve been captured by our enemies.” He then held up his arms and stared at his exposed pale grey skin before he added, “And you even decided to take away all of my armor and equipment so I could be left completely at your mercy.”

“To be fair, your armor was in very rough shape when we brought you here,” Kai pointed out, “so it’s not like it would’ve done you much good anyway.”

Thorax let out a sigh of resignation before he sadly muttered, “Well, better just get this over with, so go ahead and start torturing me for whatever information you want.”

“Torture?!” asked Rarity aghast. “Oh, goodness, no! We would never have the heart to subject such abhorrent action against anyone!”

“Especially if the person in question isn’t even putting up much resistance,” noted Lloyd.

“If anything, we’re kinda hoping that you might be willing to help us if we just asked nicely,” added Nya with a shrug.

Thorax raised a faint eyebrow and asked, “Seriously?”

“It was mostly my idea,” Starlight sheepishly confessed. “You see, I’m actually from an alternate universe populated with alternate versions of many of the people in this universe. Not long ago, my friends and I had already fought against the changelings of our world, and successfully defeated them. Now, just a few days after I had received word that this place was being attacked by the Changelings of this universe, I quickly offered to help my friends in this world in hopes that what worked in Equestria might also work for the Lego World.”

Thorax remained apprehensive, though he did start to become intrigued, so he asked, “So how did you defeat the changelings in your universe?”

Starlight hesitantly glanced away before she replied, “Well, it’s a little difficult to explain due to the, uh, biological differences between Equestria’s changelings and the Changelings of this universe. To explain it in a way you might better understand, my friends and I happened to meet one changeling who was not interested in fighting us, but instead wanted to have a friend, so we gave him the chance to prove himself. That chance came when Queen Chrysalis made a second attempt to conquer Equestria, so the friendly changeling used what he had learned from us about friendship to convince the other changelings they would be much better off seeking peace and friendship rather than continue to follow that cruel tyrant. Amazingly, it actually worked! The changelings quickly joined together to overthrow Queen Chrysalis, and once peace was established once and for all between Equestria and the changelings, that first friendly changeling ended up becoming their new leader.”

“Wow,” muttered Thorax in astonishment. “That first friendly changeling must have been very brave to stand up on his own against someone like Queen Chrysalis.”

“Hardly,” responded Starlight with a smirk. “He was actually one of the most cowardly people my friends and I had ever met, to be honest. In fact, I was the one who convinced him in the heat of battle that he could use the magic of friendship to convince the other changelings that there was a better way for them to follow.”

Thorax stared at Starlight in bewilderment for a moment before he awkwardly asked, “So, uh… where exactly are you going with this?”

Starlight gave the bedridden Changeling a knowing smile before she answered, “Remember when I said my universe had alternate versions of people from this universe? Well, the name of that first friendly changeling… is Thorax.”

Thorax gave Starlight a blank stare that lasted for a few seconds before he uneasily asked, “Y-Y-You’re joking, right?”

Starlight kept her smile as she continued, “Not long after Chrysalis was overthrown and the changelings became friendly, I also had an opportunity to meet Thorax’s brother, Pharynx. He’s a very tough and serious individual who initially struggled to fit in with the new more peaceful changeling society, but once we figured out that his greatest desire was keeping his fellow changelings safe, he was able to accept a new role as the head of security for the changelings.”

Thorax was again speechless for a few seconds before he muttered, “Wow… That is incredibly close to what my brother is like, especially his name.”

Starlight shrugged and sheepishly continued, “So, uh, yeah. That’s pretty much why I decided to come here. I figured that what worked for Equestria’s changelings might work for the Lego Changelings too. All I needed to ensure the best possible result was to find one specific Changeling, and surprisingly enough…” She gestured at Thorax. “We found him.”

“So it would seem,” acknowledged Thorax apprehensively. After an awkward moment of silence, he asked, “Well, now that I’m here with you… now what?”

“Now it’s your turn to decide what happens next, Thorax,” replied Starlight as she reached down to gently grasp the vulnerable Changeling’s hand. “Would you be willing to help us stop the threat of the Changeling army under Queen Chrysalis and possibly provide a better future for both the Lego World and your fellow Changelings?”

Thorax took a moment to silently ponder the choice that was being offered to him by one who was supposed to be an enemy of his. The promise of a brighter future sure was very tempting, especially compared to how brutal everyday life had been for him for as long as he could remember. However, to accept such an opportunity would mean essentially betraying his own kind with no guarantees that things would ultimately end well for himself or the other Changelings. To say it was a difficult decision for him to make would be a huge understatement.

Thorax was desperate for any piece of additional information that could help him figure out if the offer was really worth it, so he glanced up at Starlight and asked, “What’s stopping me from saying no?”

Starlight tapped her chin as she pondered the question for a moment, then looked Thorax in the eyes and answered, “Nothing. In fact, if you would rather leave us and go back to fighting alongside with the rest of the Changeling army to destroy us… then we won’t stop you at all.”

That proposal quickly caused the rest of the group gathered around the bed to stare at Starlight.

“Wait, what?” asked Kai in confusion.

“Are you nuts?!” exclaimed Cole.

“Did you seriously just promise to hand him back over to the other Changelings if he refused to help us?!” asked Nya in disbelief.

“Now why in the blazes would ya offer to do somethin’ like that?!” asked Applejack as she placed her hands on her hips. “Ah thought ya said he was the one specific Changeling that we had to capture, an’ now you’re willin’ to just give him right back to our enemies?!”

“I fail to understand what sort of reasoning you might have to make such a radical decision,” added Rarity.

“Actually, it makes perfect sense to me,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“It does?” asked Lloyd as everyone’s attention now shifted towards the shy girl.

“Think about it,” explained Fluttershy. “Thorax is very scared right now, because he suddenly finds himself in an unfamiliar place and surrounded by people he knows hardly anything about.” She then muttered under her breath, “Believe me, I know what that feeling is like.” She then turned her attention to the Changeling in the infirmary bed and asked, “Be honest with us, Thorax… Do you really think you would feel much safer going back to the other Changelings?”

Thorax hesitated for a moment before he uneasily answered, “I… I-I'm not sure.” He took a deep breath and exhaled before he continued, “Life in the Changeling army is all I’ve ever known. I was always told to follow orders or suffer severe consequences. If I return to them after having been taken away by you guys, they will immediately interrogate me thoroughly to figure out if I shared any secrets with you, even if by accident. I’ve seen what those interrogations are like, and I definitely don’t want to ever find myself on the receiving end of such brutal torture.” He then shuddered in terror.

Starlight and Fluttershy glanced at each other and shared a brief smile. It seemed their suspicions about Thorax’s wavering loyalty to the Changelings was rather accurate, and hopefully the rest of their friends were also now starting to understand that as well.

Thorax continued, “All I’ve ever wanted was to see an end to all this pointless fighting and just live the rest of my life in peace. And to be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever see that if I stay with the Changelings.” He looked up and glanced around at the group of heroes around him. “But right here with all of you… I feel like such a dream is not that unrealistic. You’re not interested in proving dominance over others. Your greatest desire is to protect your home without seeking vengeance against the invaders.” He then began to smile. “I actually envy that sort of spirit.”

Hopeful smiles began to appear on the faces of the girls and ninjas gathered around Thorax. “So does this mean you’re willing to help us?” asked Twilight.

Thorax shrugged and replied, “What do I have to lose? The cause you fight for is everything I’ve always wanted. Even if we fail to stop the Changelings and they continue with their intergalactic conquests, then at least when they inevitably take my Creation Spark, I can be at peace that I tried my best to put a stop to their endless wars.” He then pushed the bedsheet off himself and sat up. “So, yes, I will help you.”

“Faithful to the very end,” noted Lloyd with pride. “Now that’s the kind of dedication we could really use.”

“Then on behalf of my friends and perhaps all of the Lego World, we’re glad to have you with us, Thorax,” declared Starlight as she gently grasped Thorax’s hand and shook it.

Thorax smiled as he returned the gesture. The former Changeling soldier was ready and eager to work with the Equestria Girls and Ninjago Ninjas.

With Thorax now fully alert and on friendly terms with the group of heroes, it took only a few minutes to disconnect him from all of that medical equipment so he could leave his bed and follow his new allies to discuss their next course of action. But first, they needed to gather together the rest of the group who had not visited him in the infirmary.

The first room they decided to check was back at the large training area that was full of various obstacles, where most of the heroes had been practicing their stealth prior to Pinkie’s accident. When they came within sight of the side of the room where some benches and tables were set out, they noticed Sunset Shimmer having a conversation with Cyrus Borg, both of whom soon noticed the arrival of the others.

“Ah, Thorax, you’re awake!” greeted Cyrus excitedly as he turned his wheelchair so he could face the approaching group. “And judging by your stance within this group, I take it you have accepted Starlight’s offer to assist us?”

“It seemed like the better option for me,” acknowledged Thorax with a shrug. “One way or another, I just want to stop being part of all that endless combat.”

“And with your cooperation, that day just might come very soon,” stated Cyrus as he adjusted his glasses. “I have just finished analyzing the remnants of your armor and equipment, and while I have made some remarkable discoveries, I do have a few questions that I hope your insight and experience might be able to answer.”

“To be honest,” replied Thorax hesitantly, “my rank in the Changeling army was only as a Private, so I probably won’t know much about any secrets you’re hoping to reveal, but I will try my best to help you understand at least the basics that even a lower ranked soldier like myself was required to know.”

“With how advanced Changeling technology is compared to what we have in this part of the Lego World, we’ll gladly accept any knowledge you’re able to share with us,” stated Cyrus with a friendly smile. He turned his wheelchair to the nearby doorway and began rolling it forward as he added, “As soon as you’re all ready, meet me up in my office so we can begin going over what we have now learned about the Changelings.”

“I’m sure we’re all looking forward to it,” agreed Starlight. Once Cyrus had left the room, Starlight glanced around and noted, “Well, with Sunset here, we’re now only missing Rainbow Dash and Jay.” She turned to Sunset and asked, “Do you know where they are?”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash is keeping an eye on Jay,” Sunset coyly replied with a not so innocent smile. “Let’s just say he’s… hanging around somewhere…”

Jay groaned in both pain and exhaustion as he was left suspended upside down from the ceiling by a large chain that was tied around his ankles.

Down on the floor, Rainbow Dash looked up at him with her hands on her hips. Somewhat amused by what she had witnessed, she smirked and smugly asked, “So… what did you learn today?”

Still dazed from his ordeal, Jay shamefully replied, “Trying to get the last laugh while making fun of others is not always worth it. Especially if they have anger issues.”

“Exactly!” confirmed Rainbow Dash with a nod. She then dropped her smile as she added, “Just be glad she didn’t give you an atomic wedgie.” She subconsciously rubbed her posterior as she quietly muttered, “Believe me, she is brutal with those…”

Less than an hour later, the entire group of the Equestria Girls and Ninjago Ninjas with their new ally Thorax had gathered in Cyrus Borg’s office. Rainbow Dash and Jay had rejoined the group a few minutes earlier when the athletic girl finally decided to show some mercy for the lightning ninja and helped him down from the ceiling. Joining the group was not only Cyrus Borg himself, but also P.I.X.A.L. who continued to analyze the remnants of Thorax’s armor and equipment that was now laid out across a large table in the middle of the room.

“Okay,” declared Cyrus contently, “now that everyone is accounted for, P.I.X.A.L. and I are eager to share with you all the numerous discoveries we made from analyzing Thorax’s Changeling armor and other combat equipment.”

“How about we start with something basic, like the strength of that armor?” suggested Lloyd.

P.I.X.A.L. stopped her scanning of the armor and picked up the segment that fitted over the front of the torso as she turned to the gathered group and explained, “The material this armor is crafted from is unlike any substance I am familiar with. It is very strong while also being remarkably lightweight, almost like a strange blend of metal and carbon fiber. It is also highly resistant to various forms of corrosion, which puts it in a very rare category of—”

“We’re not all eggheads here!” interrupted Rainbow Dash as she rolled her eyes. “Just tell us how much it’ll take to break through that armor.”

P.I.X.A.L. hesitated briefly from being interrupted before she responded, “I am afraid none of your weapons are powerful enough to do that. While not completely indestructible, it would take several tons of force to deform, let alone penetrate, this type of body armor.”

“Yeah, I figured it had to be somewhere between getting run over by an eighteen-wheeler and getting crushed by a hundred anvils,” Pinkie casually remarked. When everyone gave her questioning looks, she shrugged and retorted, “What? Ever heard of scientific observation?”

Twilight reacted to that with a facepalm.

“What about their ability to transform?” asked Sunset as she and the others turned their attention back to P.I.X.A.L. “Is that a technology we can replicate?”

Before P.I.X.A.L. could respond, Thorax answered, “Even if you could, it’ll never work on any of you. I don’t know the details, but basically, it’s a coordination between our unique biology and the technology within the armor that allows us to shapeshift into all kinds of creatures of any shape and size.”

“So, in other words, only people of your species are capable of using that technology to change into other things?” asked Starlight.

Thorax shrugged as he dejectedly replied, “Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“So much for trying to use their special power against them,” muttered Lloyd in disappointment.

“Well, looks like the armor’s a bust,” stated Kai as he crossed his arms and glared down at the floor.

Nya turned to P.I.X.A.L. and asked, “Any luck with the helmet, at least?”

P.I.X.A.L. set down the armor and picked up the slightly mangled helmet before she explained, “Despite the extensive damage, I was able to identify the key components for several features utilized by the helmet, such as the breathing apparatus, the numerous external sensors, and the visual display outputs on the interior of the built-in visor.”

“Does this mean you will be able to replicate the technology utilized in those features?” asked Zane.

“That level of technology is a little beyond what we currently possess here,” replied Cyrus, “but I believe I can reverse engineer these components to develop a system that would come very close to matching the full capabilities of the original.”

“An’ how long would it take to get that done?” asked Applejack skeptically as she raised an eyebrow. “Months? Years?”

Cyrus laughed and answered, “With all the scientific and technological resources available at my disposal, it would not be difficult for me to have a fully functional prototype completed in only a few days at most.”

“Nice!” remarked Jay excitedly. “Can’t wait to see it in action.”

“You know what I’d rather see in action?” retorted Rainbow Dash with a grin. “The thing that allows those Changelings to fly. Now that’s something that could really be awesome!”

“Ah, yes, the wingpack,” acknowledged Cyrus with a smile and a nod.

P.I.X.A.L set down the helmet with the rest of the armor and picked up the large pack piece that fitted over the wearer’s back. “The wingpack truly is a marvel of engineering,” she explained. “The insect style of wings used would on their own be incapable of providing personal powered flight. However, I was able to also detect a component that seems capable of generating a limited anti-gravitational field, though it’s so compact that on its own would not allow the individual to leave the ground. Instead, it seems that it’s these two components working together that make the flight capabilities of this wingpack possible.”

Sunset turned to Cyrus and asked, “Is that something you can also reverse engineer within a few days?”

“Absolutely!” confirmed Cyrus excitedly. “As far as I can see, this is one of those devices where, once you understand the concept of how it works, building a working prototype should theoretically be relatively simple to accomplish.”

“Awesome!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she jumped with excitement.

“Marvelous!” stated Rarity with delight. “It seems that significant progress has been made, after all.”

“Yeah, that’s cool and all,” Kai spoke up, “but I’d really like to know more about that blade. I’ve forged a lot of weapons, but I’ve never heard of something so durable and easily retractable.”

P.I.X.A.L. set the wingpack down on the table and picked up the casing that held the retracted blade. “The retracting mechanism is simple enough that we should have almost no issues trying to replicate it,” she explained. “However, what’s not so easy to duplicate is the material this blade is forged out of.”

“Is it some kind of special and very rare metal?” asked Cole.

“I wouldn’t quite call it rare,” explained Cyrus. “After all, it’s abundant enough to supply one of these to every soldier in the entire Changeling army. What makes this material unusual is how difficult it is to obtain. You see, everyone, this blade is made of protosteel, and the only know source of this metal in the entire universe is within the deliberately isolated galaxy known as the Constraction Zone.”

Twilight turned to Thorax and asked, “You’ve been to the Constraction Zone?”

“The Changelings have been to a lot of different galaxies,” answered Thorax. “Though I will say that the Constraction Zone is one of the very few places that we were never able to fully conquer.” He then shrugged as he added, “Turns out that the so-called Hero Factory they have over there is actually pretty good at what they do.”

“Oh, really?” asked Starlight with a smile. “Do you think we could contact them and ask if they could help us?”

“Don’t count on it,” replied Sunset dismissively. “There’s a good reason why the Constraction Zone was intentionally kept isolated from the rest of the Lego universe. The last thing any of us wanna see is another Galidor incident.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do I even wanna know?”

“It’s a long story,” answered Sunset without elaborating any further.

“Anyway,” Cyrus spoke up, “I believe that covers all of the significant findings we made from studying the remnants of Thorax’s armor. That now leads us to our next course of action, which is to successfully manufacture a fully functional system of Changeling armor.” With a smile of excitement on his face, he turned to Thorax and asked, “Since you specified that certain features of this armor will work only on people of your kind, would you be willing to test out this new armor once it is completed?”

Despite the sunglasses covering his eyes, Thorax’s reluctance was very evident as he rubbed the back of his head and hesitantly replied, “I-I’m not sure…”

“We’re not planning to throw you out into the middle of a raging battlefield,” assured Cyrus. “Our only desire is to at least witness a demonstration of all the significant features of this Changeling armor, which will allow us to better understand the strengths and potential weaknesses of the Changeling army we are up against.”

“Does this mean I’ll be subjected to all kinds of brutally painful tests?” asked Thorax fearfully.

“Not at all!” assured Cyrus with a smile. “I have computer simulations to provide me with such data. All I’m asking for is a simple series of baseline control tests to ensure that what you’ll be provided with shall function just the same as what you previously had.”

“And besides,” added Rarity, “surely you would desire to wear something more substantial than a hospital gown and those garish sunglasses.”

Thorax remained hesitant as he glanced around at everyone in the room. The fact that everyone’s attention was on him did little to calm his nerves.

“We could really use your help, Thorax,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Well, I did agree to help you guys,” acknowledged Thorax. After taking a moment to really think about it, he turned back to Cyrus and stated, “Okay, I’ll do it, Doctor Borg. Just, uh… could you not make it black? I’ll accept any color but black.”

“That can be arranged,” agreed Cyrus Borg. “Unless if you desire visual stealth, the color of this armor should have no effects on its performance.”

“Not a problem for me,” noted Thorax with a nod and a smile. “From personal experience, I would make a terrible ninja.” He then turned to some of the Ninjago Ninjas in the room and sheepishly added, “Uh, no offense.”

“None taken,” assured Lloyd with a smile.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll even let you decide which color shall be applied to your new armor,” added Cyrus.

“I would really appreciate that,” agreed Thorax.

“Okay,” Starlight spoke up, “So, while we wait for Thorax’s new armor to be built, what should we do in the meantime?”

“We continue to keep a low profile,” declared Sunset, “especially now that we have Thorax helping us. If any word gets out that we’re here and that we’re sheltering a defector, you’d better believe the entire Changeling army will be swarming all over us in no time.”

“Right,” muttered Starlight as she rolled her eyes at her own forgetfulness. “You girls are still trying to stay hidden because the Changelings wanna capture you for some reason we still don’t know about.”

“For the record,” Thorax spoke up, “I don’t know what that reason is. As a Private, I was expected to follow orders without any questions, so all I do know is the order I was given to capture the seven ‘Targets’ alive by any means necessary.”

“Not to mention,” added Twilight, “we still need to search through those documents we obtained that may yet provide us with some answers.”

“So basically,” asked Rainbow Dash, “we’re just gonna do exactly the same as what we’ve done for the past week, except now we’ll be here at Borg Tower instead of the Crystal Castle?”

“So it would seem,” replied Rarity with a shrug.

“At least now we’re not just sittin’ around doin’ nothin’,” noted Applejack. “Now that we got some info an’ some extra help, we got somethin’ to look forward to before we make our next move. The only real concern Ah’ve got is if the Changelings end up makin’ the next move before we do.”

“I’m sure you girls have nothing to worry about,” assured Nya. “Thanks to those ninja outfits we gave you last night, they have no idea that it was you who helped us infiltrate their outpost just outside of Ninjago City.”

“And if those Changelings try to make another move in this area, just leave it to us Ninjas to deal with them,” Kai added confidently.

“Besides,” remarked Jay, “It’s not like they have anything that can somehow bypass Doctor Borg’s super encrypted digital security to find out about how we’re planning to stop them.”

While the Changeling army continued to make efforts to seize control of practically every region all over the Lego World, their supreme leader, Queen Chrysalis, was content to remain within her personal quarters aboard the mothership that remained in orbit over the planet. As much as she desired to become the absolute ruler of the entire universe, she understood that an empire that spanned several galaxies was simply impossible to personally micromanage, regardless of how superior she believed herself to be. Instead, she had learned to identify the most loyal and competent of her subjects that she could trust to handle the various responsibilities necessary to keep her mighty empire running smoothly while she focused on the more important objective of overseeing further conquests.

The hierarchy within her armies functioned in a similar manner, and while she had plenty of trustworthy commanders who were fully capable of maintaining control of her numerous conquests, there was only one general who she trusted more than anyone else to lead the main assault and deliver results without any delays or excuses. He had done well thus far to establish firm control over much of the planet, but the ultimate objective had somehow eluded him and his forces, and after more than a week had passed without any progress on that target, she was quickly losing patience.

At this moment, Queen Chrysalis sat on her throne at the center of her mothership. As she waited, she continued to browse through the contents displayed to her on a certain special tablet computer that had inspired her to launch the assault upon the Lego World. While she still couldn’t quite explain what made this specific device so powerful, she understood how beneficial it would be for her efforts, and had already put it to good use. It was thanks to this very special device that she was already considering what her next move would be toward achieving her ultimate goal.

Chrysalis heard a faint digital chirp that signaled someone was just outside her throne room and had just requested entry. “Enter,” she commanded.

The main doors directly in front of Chrysalis parted open, revealing a single Changeling soldier standing outside. As ordered, he stepped forward into the room, then stopped halfway towards the throne before he kneeled and bowed his head. “You requested my presence, your highness?” he asked.

“Indeed,” confirmed Chrysalis. “Rise, General Pharynx.”

Pharynx stood up and gazed upon his supreme leader with that same fiercely determined expression he always seemed to have on his face.

“As I’m sure you understand,” stated Chrysalis, “the worldwide conquest of this planet has been progressing quite well. However, it would seem that the seven Targets I had demanded to be captured alive still remain quite elusive.”

“They cannot hide forever,” assured Pharynx in a firm voice. “They will be found.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” noted Chrysalis with a nod. “Even so, we cannot underestimate their resourcefulness. They have confronted several adversaries in recent years, and even against seemingly hopeless odds, they still managed to find a way to triumph, time and time again.”

“I take it you have made the effort to study our opponents?” asked Pharynx.

“Indeed I have,” confirmed Chrysalis as she began to grin. “Even more so than you might imagine. And it’s all thanks to this special device I obtained from the initial attack on that lunar base.” She then held up the magically enhanced device. “Behold, the perfect blend of magic and technology, and perhaps the one vital key to ultimate victory. I call it my Super Compuper.”

Pharynx briefly hesitated before he asked, “With all due respect, your majesty, but did you intend to say Super Computer?”

“I did not misspeak,” Chrysalis sharply answered. “I am the Queen, so I have the absolute authority to call it whatever I want.”

“Understood, your majesty,” responded Pharynx with a bow of respect.

Chrysalis then smiled as she continued, “You should feel honored to be the first one to whom I have decided to reveal the true power of this secret weapon. With the special magic power contained within this seemingly common device, I can obtain any information I want from anywhere, completely bypassing any security that would otherwise completely block any outside access. It also gives me the capability to manipulate such information, allowing me to completely disrupt whatever top secret plans our enemies might have.”

“Such a mighty weapon for the vital purpose of intelligence,” noted Pharynx with barely concealed awe.

“Indeed,” agreed Chrysalis with a wicked grin. As she began tapping on the touchscreen on that special device, she asked, “Tell me, General… what do you know of what occurred last night in the Ninjago Region?”

Pharynx immediately answered, “According to the official report I read just hours ago, our secret base of operations for that region had been infiltrated by a group of ninjas, though the identities of those ninjas currently remain completely unknown.”

“Excellently concealed identities, as one would expect from a group of ninjas,” added Chrysalis. She then grinned again as she continued, “But not good enough to evade the power of my Super Compuper. Not only did it reveal they had special devices within their outfits that effectively blocked Changeling sensors from identifying them, but I was also able to find out exactly who they all were. Six of them, unsurprisingly, were the Ninjago Ninjas; local heroes with their own record of remarkable successes, but not relevant to our primary objectives. Seven of the other ninja infiltrators, however, are definitely minifigs of interest, for they just so happen to be the Equestria Girls, the very same Targets we are after.”

“So they have been hiding in the Ninjago Region,” concluded Pharynx. “I shall gather all of our spare forces and prepare a massive assault on Ninjago City.”

“That would not be a wise course of action at this time,” argued Chrysalis. “The moment they realize we found them, they will immediately flee to some other hideout, thanks to the one technology they possess that we lack.”

“Their Jump-Gate system,” acknowledged Pharynx bitterly. “Yes, I’m familiar with that.” A thought then occurred to him, so he asked, “Considering the powerful device you possess, your majesty, could you not simply hack that system, or even create one of our own?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes as she retorted, “If you’re willing to read a six hundred page manual consisting of quantum astrophysics and advanced electrical engineering technobabble, then by all means proceed to do as you suggested.”

Pharynx made no response.

“That’s what I thought,” Chrysalis smugly stated before turning her attention back to her special tablet and resumed tapping on its screen.

After a moment of silence, Pharynx spoke up, “The report identified a total of fourteen ninjas among the group of infiltrators. You just stated that your… magic device revealed the identities of thirteen of them. Did it not identify the one remaining ninja?”

“Oh, it was able to identify all of them, including the extra,” answered Chrysalis. She then dismissively added, “It was some outsider named Starlight Glimmer, and based on the report of last night’s infiltration, her combat experience is quite pathetic. I see little reason to believe she will pose much of a threat to us under any circumstances.”

“And yet, they brought her along to participate in their attack on our base,” noted Pharynx. “For whatever reason, they seem to value her presence. Perhaps if we were to somehow capture her, it could lure the Targets out of hiding and give us a better chance at seizing them.”

Chrysalis paused for a moment as she pondered the suggestion from her top general. “Not a bad idea,” she acknowledged. “Now may not be a good time to actively pursue such an objective, but if presented with the right opportunity, such an action just might work in our favor.”

As Chrysalis turned her attention back to her magic tablet, Pharynx asked, “Is there anything more you wish to discuss with me, your majesty?”

“There is,” replied Chrysalis without taking her eyes off the screen on her special device. “What did the report state about the status of the garrison of the base that was infiltrated last night?”

“There were a few casualties,” acknowledged Pharynx, “but after some quick salvage and recovery efforts in the immediate aftermath, all have been accounted for except one: Private Thorax.”

“Your brother, who was reassigned to guard duty after his poor performance during the assault on Canterlot City,” noted Chrysalis.

“Correct,” confirmed Pharynx with a nod.

Chrysalis had to commend Pharynx for not expressing any emotion over the news of his own brother being reported as missing in action, but now she was curious to see how he would react to some new information she had to share.

Chrysalis began focusing her attention on Pharynx as she explained, “And thanks to my Super Compuper, his current status is not a mystery to me. It seems that the infiltrators managed to capture him as they made their escape, and based on what I witnessed from the security feed within the facility they are currently hiding in, they appealed to his soft side and convinced him to assist them in resisting our forces. In other words, my loyal general, your brother has now defected against the Changelings.”

As Chrysalis spoke, Pharynx began to visibly clench his jaw and his fists. Once the Queen of the Changelings finished spelling out the truth of what had occurred, the General firmly declared, “We must take action at once before they can prepare a counterattack! I am willing to obey whatever plan of attack you have in mind, but I want to personally deal with that traitor myself!”

Chrysalis grinned and remarked, “Of that, I have no doubt.” She resumed tapping away on her magical tablet as she continued, “Fortunately, I was able to buy us some time. Although they were able to steal some valuable documents during their infiltration, they foolishly made digital copies and cast aside the paper copies in the belief they would be safe within a highly secure server system. Well, a few swipes and taps on my Super Compuper, and those documents have now been tampered to the point of being completely unreliable.”

“Job well done, your majesty,” said Pharynx respectfully. “Even so, we cannot afford to waste any more time. We must prepare and execute our next plan of attack at once!”

“Indeed,” agreed Chrysalis. “But if we wish to confront them on our terms, then the battlefield we choose must be one of such immense value that they will have no choice but to come out of hiding and face us head-on.” As she eyed the image currently displayed on her magical tablet, she once again grinned wickedly. “And I know the perfect place to ensure that…”

Author's Note

Well, after several distractions and struggling to figure out a writing schedule that can actually work for me, I finally got this chapter completed. I'm not going to bother explaining why it took me more than twice as long to write a chapter that was half as long as the previous chapter, as I'm sure most of you are not really interested in such personal information. What is important is that I'm continuing to make slow and steady progress with writing this story, and that I'm still as determined as ever to eventually get this series completed.

Anyway, I'm just glad to keep this story going, and the next chapter will finally see a transition of setting, as we move on from Ninjago (yes, next chapter will be the last you'll see of the Ninjago characters for this story) and onto a place unlike anything seen before in the entire series. All I'll say about the new setting that'll appear in the next chapter is that I'll finally be able to officially reveal a concept about this Lego World that I've been wanting to include somewhere in this series ever since I was working on the fourth story (which would make it something that's been only within my mind for over six years now).

The Secret Planet

Chapter 5
The Secret Planet

Another day had come and gone in the Lego World, and while many of the regions continued to hold off against the Changeling invasion to the best of their ability, the struggle seemed to have no end in sight. Although there were a few small victories here and there, the overall trend of the conflict was not looking good for the residents of the Lego World. Little did almost anyone know, one of these minor victories — the successful infiltration of a secret Changeling base just outside of Ninjago City — had yielded more than one potential opportunity to strike a decisive blow against the alien invasion. Covert preparations for whatever was likely to be the next move were already underway, so for the heroes who had made it possible, there was little they could do for now aside from continue with their combat training.

After finishing with their morning training sessions, the Equestria Girls and Ninjago Ninjas gathered in the cafeteria of Borg Tower to share a meal together. Spread out across the long table were various eastern foods that were typical for the Ninjago Region, many of which were being served out of the usual takeout boxes.

“Ah gotta say, this grub’s actually pretty good,” complimented Applejack as she helped herself to some sushi.

“Indeed,” agreed Rarity as she used a pair of chopsticks to take small bites from some fried rice. “Asian cuisine comes in such a wide variety that there’s sure to be something appetizing for everyone.”

Across the table from them, Sunset used her chopsticks to grab some spicy noodles as she smirked and quipped, “And to think some of you once disregarded all of this as little more than cheap takeout.”

“It’s just like any other kind of food service,” noted Twilight as she grabbed an egg roll. “If you know how to identify the good restaurants, then any style of food they serve can be quite delicious.”

Pinkie Pie finished slurping up some rice noodles that she had drenched in soy sauce before she cheerfully agreed, “You said it!”

Fluttershy smiled and didn’t say a word as she grabbed a napkin and helped Pinkie wipe off some of the soy sauce that had splattered all over her face.

Meanwhile, seated beside Sunset was Starlight, who grunted in frustration as she struggled to figure out the proper way to handle a pair of chopsticks. “How the hay am I supposed to hold these silly things?” she asked in exasperation.

Rainbow Dash snickered and remarked, “Yeah, those chopsticks can be a little tricky to figure out, even for those of us who are familiar with using hands,”

“You’re not exactly giving me much confidence,” grumbled Starlight under her breath as she continued struggling to get a proper grip on the rather awkward eating utensils. After a few seconds, one of the chopsticks suddenly flung out of her grasp, flew right over Sunset’s head, and clattered to the floor.

That little mishap caught the attention of most of the people seated around the long table.

After a few seconds of staring at the utensil she had dropped, Starlight rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh of frustration and grumbled, “Whatever.” She then used her one remaining chopstick to skewer one of the dumplings on her plate, allowing her to finally take her first bite from her meal.

After a brief silence, Nya awkwardly asked, “So, uh… do most ponies from Equestria struggle this much with table manners?”

“Hardly,” retorted Starlight after she finished the food in her mouth. “I’m just a little too frustrated to care right now.” She then took another bite from her skewered dumpling.

“Don’t take it too personally, ninjas,” assured Thorax in an effort to prevent a possible argument. “I’ve heard of a few alien races whose dining methods are much more awkward than using a pair of sticks with one hand.”

“Oh yeah!” Jay spoke up with a smile. “You guys are from outer space! That means you’ve probably met a whole bunch of other aliens already.”

“What else do you know about some of these other aliens?” asked Cole before he took another bite of his food.

“I, too, am curious to learn more about alien species that many of us likely have never even heard of before,” added Zane.

“Keep in mind that I’ve always been a low ranked soldier in the Changeling army,” Thorax pointed out, “so most of what I know of comes largely from secondhand sources.”

“Even so, I’m sure you’ve at least heard plenty of interesting things about all those other aliens,” noted Lloyd.

“Most of which are not very good,” added Thorax shamefully. “After all, it was usually us Changelings who were attacking them.”

“How bad could it be?” asked Kai.

Thorax let out a sigh of resignation as he set down his chopsticks. He hesitated for a moment before he began, “One example I can think of involved some alien race that I can’t remember what they called themselves. What I do know is what happened when a couple of Changeling diplomats were sent to meet with their leaders.”

“Chrysalis engages in diplomacy?” asked Sunset skeptically as she raised an eyebrow.

“She may not show it much to outsiders, but she understands there’s much more to ruling an intergalactic empire than just slaying her enemies in battle,” explained Thorax. “Do you really think she’d be stupid enough to declare war on someone she knows practically nothing about?”

Everyone else glanced at one another, but no one said anything in response.

“Anyway,” continued Thorax, “the meeting between the diplomats and those alien leaders began just fine, but at some point, things suddenly took a very unfortunate turn. I don’t know the details of what happened, and I’ve heard plenty of rumors about what might’ve happened, but as a consequence of that incident, the alien ruler was highly offended by whatever it was one of the Changeling diplomats had said or done. So much so that just an hour later, that diplomat had ended up skewered on a pole and roasting over an open flame.”

Everyone immediately stopped eating and stared at Thorax, some of them letting out gasps in shock.

“When the other diplomat returned to inform Queen Chrysalis, I’m sure you can imagine she did not take it lightly,” continued Thorax. “Once she knew what she was dealing with and had gathered enough combat forces, she ordered those troops to ‘cleanse the planet’.”

“What did she mean by that?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I’ll spare you the details,” answered Thorax remorsefully, “but when it was all over, that alien race was left completely extinct. Nothing remains of them, not even ruins. If you were to visit their home planet today, the only signs of life you would ever find anywhere would be a few Changeling outposts, mostly to prevent any outsiders from potentially exposing the truth of what happened there.”

Once Thorax had finished speaking, absolute silence fell across the whole room. Many continued to stare at Thorax, while some others stared down at their unfinished meals without touching them any further.

“Whoa…” muttered Jay in shock. “I figured Queen Chrysalis was ruthless, but… dang…”

Fluttershy, now slightly paler, gently pushed away her unfinished plate and quietly mumbled, “I think I just lost my appetite…”

Twilight hesitantly asked, “Uh, that’s not exactly a common sort of thing the Changeling armies have done, right?”

“Thankfully not,” answered Thorax. “Queen Chrysalis has no desire to rule over lifeless wastelands, but if she becomes convinced that someone has humiliated her in any way, she will unleash everything at her disposal to satisfy her demand for absolute vengeance.”

“That’s not foreboding,” muttered Starlight dryly, remembering all too well how her previous encounter with Equestria’s Queen Chrysalis had ended.

The door into the cafeteria automatically opened, and everyone turned to see Cyrus Borg enter the room.

“Ah, there you all are,” Cyrus spoke up contently as he rolled his wheelchair forward. “Once you have finished your meals, I would like for you to meet me up in my office. I am pleased to report that Thorax’s new Changeling armor is complete and ready to begin testing.”

“Yay!” cheered Pinkie Pie as she excitedly jumped out of her seat. “Some good news to help lift our spirits!”

“I, too, am eager to observe this newly manufactured set of Changeling armor,” stated Zane.

“That’s good to hear, Doctor Borg,” acknowledged Thorax with a smile. “I just hope you at least got the visor working properly. While these sunglasses are good enough to let me see, you have no idea how much I’ve had to keep squinting just to ease the pain.”

“If my specifications are accurate, then your visual impairment shall no longer be an issue,” assured Cyrus Borg. He then turned his wheelchair around and began to roll it out the doorway. “I’ll see you soon!”

Once Cyrus had left the room, many of the girls and ninjas resumed their meals while Lloyd contently remarked, “Looks like we’re starting to see some real progress.”

“Yup,” agreed Sunset as she used her chopsticks to grab some more spicy noodles. “Hopefully, it won’t be much longer before we’re ready to really take the fight to the Changelings.”

After everyone had finished their lunch, they all gathered in Cyrus Borg’s office to see the new set of Changeling armor that Thorax would soon be given.

“Before I reveal this new set of armor,” explained Cyrus, “I would like to assure you all that I have already tested its strength and endurance on a series of test dummies, so rest assured, Thorax, that you need not be concerned with being subjected to such tests yourself.”

“That is a huge relief,” said Thorax with a smile.

“So what are we waiting for?” asked Jay eagerly. “Let’s see that new armor already!”

“Very well, then,” agreed Cyrus as he rolled his wheelchair over to a small console on the wall. He then dramatically spoke up, “I now present to you the official first version of friendly Changeling armor!” He then tapped the button on the console.

A large panel on the wall nearby slid aside to allow the containment unit to slide out and reveal its contents to everyone. Displayed inside that white box was the new set of armor intended for Thorax. While it was mostly the same shape as his previous armor, there were two rather glaring aspects of it that immediately stood out to everyone. The first was that it was colored in a rather odd mix of bright green, lime green, bright orange, and bright purple.

Sunset turned to Thorax and asked, “Those are the colors you wanted to go with?”

“I don’t like black,” answered Thorax without hesitation. “I just wanted to wear something brighter for once.”

“So you decided to pick all of the neon colors that were available?” asked Nya as she scratched the side of her head.

“I guess you were right about one thing,” noted Kai as he folded his arms. “You really would make a terrible ninja.”

The second aspect of the new armor that was very obvious was the size of the external sensors attached to the helmet.

“What’s with that oversized pair of antlers on top?” asked Applejack as she pointed at the helmet.

“Although I was successful at creating new sensors that matched all functions of the old ones,” explained Cyrus, “I am afraid that is the smallest I could get them to be with the level of technology I had at my disposal.”

“Looks kinda ridiculous, if you ask me,” muttered Rainbow Dash skeptically.

“After everything I’ve been through,” declared Thorax, “I honestly don’t mind what anyone has to say about my new armor. As long as everything works properly, I shall wear it with pride and dignity.”

“In that case, you may use the restroom over there to get suited up in private,” said Cyrus as he gestured towards an open doorway not far from the entrance to the main room. “Once you are ready, we shall proceed to the training facility to begin testing its features.”

A few minutes later, with Thorax now fully suited up in his new Changeling armor, everyone had now gathered in the training facility just a few floors down.

“Okay, now that we’re here, where do we begin?” asked Lloyd.

“As this room was empty while you were having your lunch break,” explained Cyrus, “I tasked P.I.X.A.L. with hiding various objects throughout the obstacle course.” He then turned to Thorax. “Your first test will be to use your new sensors to try and identify all of those objects as quickly as possible.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult,” responded Thorax with a relaxed smile. Using the same mental command he had used with his previous armor, he brought up the sensor data on the inside of his visor — which was tinted purple rather than the blue from his old one, as one of the color changes he had requested.

Thorax took a moment to scan his surroundings, then spoke up, “There is a file cabinet inside the shed to the left, a trash can inside the minibus, an overturned wheelbarrow inside the empty supply closet, a water cooler behind the dumpster to the right, and a can of soda near the gong at the far end of the room.”

“All of them are correct!” confirmed Cyrus excitedly. He then muttered in confusion, “Except for that can of soda. I have no idea how something like that was left lying around in here.”

Rainbow Dash used her magical super speed to rush over to the gong at the far side of the room and then rushed back to group with the can of soda now in her hand. “I was wondering where I left this thing,” she remarked with a chuckle before she popped open the top and took a sip of that soda.

After that brief interruption, Cyrus turned back to Thorax and continued, “Anyway, let’s proceed with the next few tests. Try to deploy your protosteel blade.”

With a subtle flick of the wrist, Thorax extended the blade that was attached to his right arm. The group of girls and ninjas made various responses in awe at this display, then Thorax retracted the blade.

“So far, so good,” noted Cyrus with a nod of approval. “Now try activating your breathing apparatus.”

With another mental command, the exposed lower portion of Thorax’s face was swiftly covered up by the apparatus built into his helmet. Its purpose was to provide breathing in any unsafe environment from the bottom of the ocean to the vacuum of outer space.

Cyrus pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it, “How about your radio communications? Can you hear me?”

“Yup. Coming through loud and clear,” responded Thorax through the walkie-talkie.

“Excellent!” Cyrus then put away the walkie-talkie and excitedly continued, “Now let’s see your wingpack in action!”

With yet another mental command, Thorax extended the translucent purple wings from his back and began rapidly flapping them, creating gentle buzzing hum as he lifted off from the floor. The group cheered as they watched him fly around in all the basic maneuvers he had been trained to pull off during his time in the Changeling army.

“Well done, Thorax! Well done!” cheered Cyrus as he clapped along with the rest of the group. Once everyone had calmed down, he then continued, “Lastly, let’s see a good example of your transformation power.”

Thorax landed back on the floor in front of the group. He took a moment to focus his mind before his entire body began to glow white. The white form of Thorax then morphed into the shape of some other minifig, and then the glow quickly faded away to reveal an exact duplicate of Kai. He made a ninja pose and declared in Kai’s voice, “Who’s ready to beat some bad guys?”

“Hey, that’s actually pretty good,” remarked Nya with a smile.

The false Kai glowed white as Thorax then transformed into an exact duplicate of Jay, then boasted in Jay’s voice, “Glad you think so, Nya, because we both know I’m the best there is!”

“Hey, I’m not that selfish!” argued Jay with an indignant look on his face.

The false Jay glowed white as Thorax next transformed into an exact duplicate of Zane, then stated in Zane’s voice, “Do not take it so personally, Jay. Some say that mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery.”

“Wow, who knew Changelings could even blend in as a robot?” quipped Cole as he grinned and gave a friendly elbow nudge to the real Zane.

“Very nicely done, Thorax!” praised Cyrus as he clapped once more. “I believe that covers all of the essentials to declare these tests a complete success!”

Thorax transformed back into his real form, then retracted his breathing apparatus and, with his mouth exposed again, he asked, “What about my blade being detachable?”

“Already checked it with all the strength and endurance tests,” explained Cyrus. “That feature is fully functional, as it should be in the event that your blade might get stuck in something so you don’t end up trapped.”

“Good,” declared Thorax as he detached the blade’s casing from his arm, “because I don’t want it.” He then tossed the detached protosteel blade to the floor in front of the group.

“Whoa, wait, what?!” asked Jay in shock.

Rainbow Dash did a spit-take of her soda before she exclaimed in disbelief, “Are you serious?!”

“Don’t you think that would be useful to have with you?” asked Zane in confusion.

“I told you, I don’t like fighting,” explained Thorax passionately. “This may be based on a soldier’s set of armor that I was happy to let you study, and while I’m very proud of this new armor, I’d rather not use any more weapons. I’m done being a soldier! I’m done with intense combat! I’ll still help you stop the Changelings, but I’d much rather do it without needing to hurt anyone.”

Everyone stared at Thorax in silence for a moment. The first one to respond was Starlight, who smiled and proudly remarked, “Now there’s the Thorax I’m familiar with. If you ask me, I’d say you’re making the right choice.”

“I’m not so sure about it, but I’ll respect your wish,” added Sunset hesitantly.

“So, uh, what should we do with the blade?” asked Applejack as she scratched the back of her head.

“I’ll let the Ninjas have it,” replied Thorax. “I’m sure they’ll find a much better use for it.”

“Alright!” cheered Kai excitedly as he swiftly retrieved the discarded protosteel blade.

“Anyway, now that we know Thorax’s new armor is fully functional and presentable, what shall be our next task?” asked Rarity.

“We still have yet to make any significant discoveries from the documents we had seized from the Changeling base,” explained Twilight, “so perhaps we should continue to search through them until we find something useful.”

“A wise plan, though I fear it may have to wait,” an elderly voice spoke up.

Everyone turned to the source of that voice and saw a minifig walking towards them who had a long white beard, wore a white martial arts uniform, a wide conical hat on his head, and held a bamboo staff in his hand.

“Master Wu!” Lloyd spoke up in astonishment. “What brings you here?”

“I have just received a message with the request that it be delivered urgently to the Equestria Girls,” answered Wu as he pulled out a small canister and held it out to Sunset. “I am sure you are familiar with the one member of the Playwell family who prefers to send their secret messages through pneumatic tubes.”

“Celestia,” answered Sunset uneasily as she took the canister from Wu. She removed the lid from the canister, pulled out a small sheet of paper that was contained within, and began reading the message written on it.

“What does it say?” asked Fluttershy.

After a few seconds of silence as Sunset finished reading the message, she replied, “She wants us to immediately travel to Lego City and speak with Kjeld.”

“For what reason?” asked Starlight.

“She’s vague on the details,” answered Sunset. “All it says is that our next task involves something so highly secret that only Kjeld himself must be the one to tell us about it. And it seems our presence there is requested so urgently that she insists we travel directly to LEGO Team Headquarters via the Jump-Gate.”

“What about that whole thing where whenever we have to use the Jump-Gate we must jump around between a whole bunch of different places before reaching our real destination so the Changelings have a much harder time trying to figure out where in the Lego World we might be hiding?” asked Pinkie Pie as she swiftly popped out of several random locations throughout the room to demonstrate what she was talking about.

“This must be very serious if she wants us to forego that extra layer of security for the sake of urgency,” stated Twilight ominously.

“What about the rest of us?” asked Jay.

“There’s no mention of any of you Ninjas, so I guess you guys don’t need to be involved,” answered Sunset.

“Besides,” added Wu, “your place is here in Ninjago City. Against a foe as cunning and mysterious as the Changelings, we cannot afford to leave ourselves unguarded for even a fleeting moment.”

“Then it seems this is where we must part ways,” concluded Lloyd as he turned his attention to Sunset and her friends.

“It was kinda fun to hang out with you guys,” admitted Sunset with a smile as she folded up the message and placed it back inside the canister. “We should get together again sometime when neither of us are busy trying to save the world.”

“I’m already looking forward to it,” agreed Nya.

“So, uh, where does that leave me?” asked Thorax as he awkwardly spoke up. “I mean, I’m still willing to help stop the Changeling invasion, but if this group is now splitting up, which one should I go with?”

“You should accompany us to Lego City,” suggested Rarity. “Whatever urgent matter awaits us there, it will almost certainly involve some sort of threat from the Changelings.”

“Not to mention,” added Twilight as she adjusted her glasses, “I’m sure Kjeld would welcome the opportunity to speak with someone who has personal experience among our enemies and has now agreed to assist us.”

“Besides,” added Rainbow Dash candidly, “it was Starlight’s idea to ask you to join our side, so if nothing else, you should go wherever she goes.”

“Then I guess that’s where I’m going next,” declared Thorax with a friendly smile. “Off to Lego City to find out what’s going on.”

“Well, what are we waitin’ for?” Applejack spoke up excitedly. “Let’s get a move on, y’all!”

“But first, I would recommend that we change back into our standard wardrobe before we depart,” stated Rarity. “Now that our presence among ninjas is at an end, it is no longer essential for us to look the part.”

Sunset smirked and rolled her eyes before she responded, “Fine, I’m sure we’ve got a few minutes to spare.”

Once all eight of the Equestria Girls had changed out of their ninja outfits and back into their regular clothes, everyone gathered on yet another floor of Borg Tower where the Jump-Gate for the Ninjago Region was located. The two teams took a few minutes to exchange various parting words and promises to each other before Sunset finally turned to the console beside the Jump-Gate and entered the coordinates provided on Celestia’s message. As usual, the Jump-Gate made a low whooshing noise for a few seconds before the gateway doors parted open, revealing a mostly empty hallway where Kjeld Playwell was already standing to greet them.

Sunset glanced back with a smile towards the Ninjago Ninjas and said, “Good luck protecting Ninjago City.”

“And good luck with whatever your next mission will be,” responded Lloyd with a smile of his own.

The two teams shared one last friendly look to each other before the Equestria Girls and their new friend Thorax walked through the open gateway. Once all nine of them had passed through, the doors automatically closed and the gateway vanished behind them.

“Welcome back to Lego City,” greeted Kjeld with a rather serious expression on his face and his hands clasped behind his back, “though I wish it did not have to be under such dire circumstances.” He then noticed Thorax among the group and added, “And I see you appear to have a new friend among you.”

“This is Thorax,” explained Sunset with a smile. “He’s grown weary of fighting for the Changeling army, so now he has agreed to help us stop their invasion.”

Thorax grinned awkwardly and slowly waved at Kjeld.

Kjeld stared firmly at Thorax for a moment, then stated, “If there is any team in this organization who has proven themselves capable of turning enemies into friends, it is you girls, so I will trust your decision to let this particular Changeling accompany you.”

“See, Thorax?” assured Starlight calmly as she gave a friendly smile to Thorax. “I told you that people on our side are willing to give you a chance.”

“If you truly are determined to assist us in our struggle against the Changeling forces, then it seems you may have to prove yourself very soon,” stated Kjeld in a serious tone.

“I-I’ll do the best that I can, sir,” responded Thorax with a bow of respect.

“Please, just call me Mr. Playwell, if you must be formal,” insisted Kjeld. “I may be the one in charge around here, but I have no desire to be worshiped like some royalty.”

Twilight stepped forward and spoke up, “Celestia’s message stated there’s something very urgent that you needed to personally inform us about.”

Kjeld nodded in acknowledgement and grimly responded, “It is a very dire matter, indeed. But before I can explain the situation, there is something that I must show you first.” He then turned away and began walking down the hallway. “Follow me, please.”

The rest of the group glanced at one another before they followed after Kjeld.

Kjeld led the group around a couple turns through the system of hallways, then pulled out his keycard and inserted it into a panel beside a set of elevator doors. The panel beeped as a green light blinked, then the elevator doors opened.

As everyone stepped inside the elevator, Rainbow Dash asked, “We’re still inside the LEGO Team Headquarters building, right?”

“One of the lower levels, yes,” confirmed Kjeld as he pressed the only button inside the elevator once everyone had stepped inside. “What I’m about to show you is so essential to everything we know and love that it must be kept hidden much deeper underground.”

Everyone inside the elevator remained silent as it carried them downward. After a few seconds, Fluttershy awkwardly asked, “Um… how much further down is it?”

“Far enough to maintain the highest security possible,” answered Kjeld cryptically.

After a few more seconds of tense silence, the elevator finally slowed to a stop and the door opened. Kjeld gestured for everyone to follow as he led the group down the dimly lit hallway. Finally, they arrived at a door that was locked by another security panel.

As Kjeld entered his keycard into the security panel, he stated, “What you are about to see is something that very few people in the Lego World are ever privileged to witness.” Once the door was unlocked, he opened it and led the group into the much more brightly lit room beyond it.

Thorax and the Equestria Girls followed Kjeld towards the edge of a balcony and were astonished as they gazed down at the enormous facility below. Practically as far as the eye could see, there were several massive machines that consisted of three parts. On top was some kind of furnace that then funneled something down through a series of pipes into the second part, where massive blocks of solid steel quickly slammed together, then pulled apart to release objects that tumbled down into huge trays that funneled the objects onto the third part, a series of conveyor belts that carried those objects away to somewhere beyond what could be seen.

Those objects were freshly molded Lego parts of all kinds of shapes and colors.

“I present to you our primary factory,” explained Kjeld. “As you can see, this is where we manufacture practically all of the Lego parts you can imagine. Everything from basic bricks to Technic connectors, transparent parts, plant elements, and even the parts that make up your own bodies.”

That last one caused everyone to glance down at themselves with mixed expressions of awkwardness and unease.

Kjeld continued, “The process begins with pellets of plastic that have been already dyed to a specific color. Those pellets are heated up until they melt, which is then extruded into the molds. Once the liquid plastic completely fills the void within the molds, it quickly cools enough to maintain its new shape, allowing the molds to separate and allow the newly made parts to be deposited onto the conveyor belts that carry them into the next room for quality control and additional processing.”

Kjeld turned to the left and walked along the balcony — prompting everyone to follow him — as he continued, “We also have additional wings where we manufacture special elements out of other materials such as rubber or textile, but by far the vast majority of what we produce is right here from these plastic molding machines. As I’m sure you can imagine, this process is absolutely vital to providing a constant supply of Lego elements to all regions of the world and every sector in the universe.”

“Which is why you have it located so deep underground,” noted Sunset. “To minimize the possibility of any outside threats that could disrupt the process.”

“Precisely,” confirmed Kjeld. As they began to approach another door, he continued, “But even more crucial to the whole process is the supply of raw material from which plastic as we know it is extracted. Can any of you tell me the specific type of plastic that the vast majority of Lego elements are made of?”

Everyone’s attention immediately turned to Twilight.

Twilight was momentarily stunned as she realized everyone was looking at her. “Oh! Uh…” she hesitated briefly before she adjusted her glasses and answered, “Most Lego elements are made of a terpolymer known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, more commonly referred to as ABS plastic. Each ingredient involves various refining processes, but the vast majority is ultimately derived from crude petroleum, which is typically extracted from a reservoir deep underground.”

“Huh… Ah always wondered how the Octan fuel company became so powerful…” muttered Applejack.

Kjeld used his keycard once more to open the door and led the group into a conference room as he explained, “Under the typical circumstances one might expect, this would suggest that our key suppliers would be anywhere petroleum is extracted, and therefore imply that one could disrupt such a vital supply chain by simply cutting off access to these reservoirs. Others might even accuse us of permitting immense environmental damage as a result of extracting and refining so much petroleum in order to meet the massively constant demand for Lego elements.”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Fluttershy quietly confessed as she shamefully glanced away.

Kjeld shut the door and walked over to a projector as he continued, “Fortunately for us, there is a very special alternative in our universe that conveniently bypasses both of those risks.” He then switched on the projector, which displayed on the screen at the opposite side of the room an image of what appeared to be a very dark planet surrounded by a dull yellow atmosphere.

“What is that?” asked Starlight.

“This is Planet Polymer,” presented Kjeld. “A rogue planet that was discovered many decades ago in the vast emptiness of intergalactic space. Its surface consists entirely of liquid hydrocarbons that extends downward for several hundred miles, with a toxic atmosphere completely devoid of any oxygen. Put simply, it is quite literally an ocean world of petroleum, with absolutely no living environment.”

“Wow,” remarked Pinkie with a smile. “That really is a convenient solution.”

“Too convenient, unfortunately,” continued Kjeld. “We have yet to discover any additional worlds quite like it, so for the time being, it is our only reliable source for all the raw material we need for ABS plastic.”

“Ah, yes,” acknowledged Rarity, “a single exclusive supplier presents a very high risk of having that supply being suddenly terminated by any sort of unforeseen circumstances.” She then muttered under her breath, “In my line of work, I am all too familiar with that sort of pesky disruption.”

“Indeed,” confirmed Kjeld. “To minimize that risk, not only is the location of Planet Polymer kept extremely top secret, but also the very notion that it even exists.”

“Which is why we’ve only just now found out about it,” grumbled Rainbow Dash as she rolled her eyes.

“And if that’s the case,” concluded Sunset, “then this urgent issue we were called here for must be because someone else has also just found out about it — someone with bad intentions regarding this knowledge.”

“You are correct,” confirmed Kjeld gravely. He let out a sad sigh before he continued, “I don’t know how, but Queen Chrysalis has learned of Planet Polymer and its highly classified location. Space patrols have already sighted her mothership with presumably a small army on its way towards that location. She is expected to arrive there in a matter of hours.”

“What kind of defenses do they have on Planet Polymer?” asked Starlight.

“None,” answered Kjeld with a sigh. “Its total secrecy was its key defense. For the sake of worker safety, all of the rigs and refineries floating on the surface are almost entirely automated. Anyone with a desire to disrupt the supply could simply land on those rigs and close the spigots without any resistance.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something Queen Chrysalis would do,” noted Thorax sadly. “She could practically hold the entire planet hostage to force everyone here to surrender.”

“My fears exactly,” confirmed Kjeld as he shut off the projector. He then took a deep breath and spoke up, “We must respond to this threat by immediately sending a team there to intercept and confront the Changeling forces before they have a chance to disrupt our supply.”

“Which team do you plan on sending?” asked Sunset. Before she could give Kjeld a chance to respond, her eyes widened as a rather unsettling realization dawned on her. “Wait… you want us to go there?!” she asked in disbelief.

“I understand why you wish to avoid any direct confrontation with the Changelings,” replied Kjeld firmly as he struggled to maintain his composure. “Unfortunately, the Changeling forces continue to pose a persistent threat to so many other places that literally every other team is currently too preoccupied to be sent on this emergency mission. If I attempted to pull out any one of them right now, I could be putting their lives at risk before they even had a chance to arrive here for the emergency briefing I just gave you.”

“So that’s it then,” concluded Sunset bitterly as she folded her arms. “We’re gonna put ourselves at risk of being captured by the Changelings for whatever reason why they’re after us, just because there’s absolutely no one else available to stand between them and the total surrender of the entire Lego universe.”

Twilight adjusted her glasses as she noted, “The only potentially good news as a result is that it probably won’t leave Queen Chrysalis with many spare troops to bring with her to Planet Polymer, so the invasion force could be quite minimal, especially when you consider the complete lack of any defenses they’ll be expecting.”

“Sounds like good odds to me!” declared Rainbow Dash with a grin as she stepped forward. “I’m in!”

“Ah don’t know ‘bout y’all, but Ah’m gettin’ tired of runnin’ an’ hidin’,” Applejack spoke up as she stepped forward to stand beside her friend. “Count me in, too!”

“I may not be eager for battle,” stated Rarity as she also stepped forward, “but I recognize the consequences of inaction on the matter, so I shall offer whatever support I possibly can.”

“They may have surprised us last time, but this time, we’ll get to surprise them!” quipped Pinkie Pie eagerly as she also stepped forward.

Fluttershy also stepped forward as she firmly noted, “If we lose Planet Polymer, we’ll be forced to go back to extracting petroleum from reservoirs under fragile ecosystems, and I refuse to sit back and allow that to happen.”

Starlight smiled as she placed her hands on her hips and remarked, “If everyone else is ready for battle, then I might as well join in the fun.” She then glanced over at the Changeling defector in the room and asked, “How about you, Thorax?”

Thorax hesitated as he glanced around at each of the eight girls, then uneasily replied, “Well… i-if the rest of you are s-sure about this… th-then I guess I’ll help out, like I promised.”

Sunset glanced around as everyone now looked to her for her decision. After a moment of silence, she lowered her arms as she let out a sigh of irritation and grumbled, “Fine, it’s not like we really have much of a choice anyway.”

“So be it,” declared Kjeld with a nod. “As I mentioned, Queen Chrysalis is expected to arrive there in only a matter of hours, so your only hope of getting to Planet Polymer first will be to use the Jump-Gate.”

“I should point out that there’s a list of certain destinations that are blacklisted from the Jump-Gate system,” Twilight spoke up. “Am I correct to assume that Planet Polymer would be on that list?”

“Without question,” confirmed Kjeld. “However, we must acknowledge that this is one of those rare moments when the best course of action would be to override the blacklist, especially since we have enough authorization within this group to permit that course of action.”

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed before she reluctantly conceded, “Hard to argue with that.”

Kjeld turned to the door out of the conference room and opened it, then turned back to the gathered team and added, “Before I let you depart, we shall first pick up a special delivery that has just arrived from Canterlot City. It consists of supplies that you shall find to be quite useful for your upcoming mission.”

The Equestria Girls glanced at one another with expressions of confusion and curiosity before they followed Kjeld out of the conference room.

As the group returned to the elevator, Starlight took one last glance over the edge of the balcony toward the massive plastic molding machines, the clanging noises of their presses ringing out like some sort of industrial orchestra. Being a pony from Equestria, it was already a significant culture shock to visit a universe where everything and everyone consisted of an assembled assortment of plastic parts. To witness the manufacturing process of those parts and find out about the source of the raw material was just mind boggling beyond all comprehension.

Once everyone was back inside the elevator and began their assent, Applejack asked, “Ya said these supplies we’re ‘bout to pick up were sent over from Canterlot City? Last Ah heard, that place was under heavy Changeling occupation.”

“Still is,” confirmed Kjeld. “I won’t lie to you girls, it is an absolute miracle that these supplies requested by Celestia were successfully delivered here. Thanks to the efforts of some of your friends and colleagues back home, you will be provided with things that are not only familiar to you, but also of admittedly higher quality than the best alternatives I could’ve offered on such short notice.”

“Sounds like I’ll need to throw a big thank you party for everyone involved in this special delivery,” remarked Pinkie cheerfully. “After this whole Changeling invasion crisis is over with, obviously.”

After the secured elevator returned up to the lower floor of the main headquarters building, the group walked down a hallway and took a more common elevator up to one of the upper floors. Once they arrived, Kjeld led the team down another hallway and opened the door to a storage room as he stated, “Here is what you will have to work with for your upcoming mission, as requested by Celestia.”

The team followed him into the storage room and immediately noticed an assortment of supplies spread out in the middle of that room. Among those supplies were a couple open crates, several full sacks, a single backpack, and a clothing rack from which hung eight spacesuits of various colors.

The spacesuits all consisted of some technical detailing on the front, a pair of air tanks over the back that attached around the neck joint, the symbols of their wearer’s respective Creative Marks printed on both shoulders, and a secondary color for a thick stripe around the knees, elbows, waist, and across the top of the helmet from front to back. Sunset’s spacesuit was amber with red stripes, Twilight’s was lavender with magenta stripes, Rainbow Dash’s was cyan with red stripes, Applejack’s was orange with green stripes, Fluttershy’s was yellow with pink stripes, Pinkie’s was pink with blue stripes, Rarity’s was white with violet stripes, and Starlight’s was lilac with aqua stripes.

“Ah, yes, the astronaut suits I had designed for all of us,” noted Rarity contently as she approached the clothing rack and browsed through the spacesuits. “These will most certainly prove essential for our excursion to a distant planet with an inhospitable atmosphere.”

Meanwhile, Starlight decided to look inside one of the sacks and saw it was filled with what appeared to be several 1x1 round tiles with detailing on the top surface that made them seem technologically advanced. “Wow. There sure are a lot of these… whatever they are,” she noted in confusion.

Rainbow Dash pulled one of those objects out from one of the other sacks and asked, “What are these supposed to be? High-tech hockey pucks?”

“Actually, that’s one of my more recent inventions,” Twilight proudly answered. “It’s a portable teleporter. Utilizing similar technology to both the teleporter pads and my Jump-Gate return device, these devices, upon activation, will instantly teleport whoever happens to be in contact with them to a specific anchor device that has been entered into the teleporter as its destination.”

“And I am pleased to inform you all that after some recent field trials by a few other teams, these devices absolutely work,” added Kjeld. “In addition, I’ve also arranged for a group of Martians to establish a large detention facility on their home planet, where one such anchor device has been installed and I have preset as the destination for all of these teleporters.”

“Sweet!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash excitedly as she quickly grabbed a handful of them.

Starlight held up one of those portable teleporters and stared at it from several angles before she asked, “How do we use them?”

“It’s actually quite simple,” explained Twilight as she grabbed another one of those portable teleporters along with some other device in the form of a printed 1x1 square tile. “All you have to do is use the scanner to link this remote activation device to one of the portable teleporters, then simply slap that teleporter onto a Changeling, hit the button on the remote, and off they go to be incarcerated on Mars as prisoners of war.”

“Makes sense to me!” Pinkie cheerfully remarked as she hefted one of those sacks over her shoulder.

“If you say so…” muttered Starlight as she dropped the portable teleporter in her hand back into the sack in front of her.

Applejack peered into one of the open crates, then frowned and furrowed her brow as she spoke up, “When ya said we were gettin’ some supplies to help us fight off a Changeling assault, Ah was kinda hopin’ that would include some decent weapons.” She reached into the crate and pulled out a hammer in one hand and a wrench in the other hand. “Ah don’t know ‘bout y’all, but Ah don’t see how any of this will do us any good against a bunch of laser blasters.”

“I’m afraid our armories are currently depleted as a result of all the other teams busy fighting off the Changeling forces,” explained Kjeld. “And it seems your friends back in Canterlot City didn’t have anything better to offer, so you’ll just have to make do with what’s available.” He then leaned close to Applejack and quietly suggested, “Even if it means salvaging whatever those Changelings might drop in the heat of battle.”

Applejack huffed and grumbled something under her breath as she began grabbing various tools out of the crate and carelessly tossed them aside.

Fluttershy yelped as she was forced to duck and dodge to avoid getting hit by all those tools flying by her.

“You don’t have to curse me out like that, Applejack,” Thorax spoke up in a flat tone. “I understand your frustration, but even if I knew that earlier, I still would’ve given up my blade anyway.”

Applejack froze for a moment, then with a guilty expression on her face, she turned to Thorax and asked, “Ya heard that?”

Thorax tapped the side of his helmet and replied, “These Changeling sensors are very perceptive.”

Applejack chuckled in embarrassment, then turned her attention to the tools inside the other open crate as she mumbled, “Ah’ll, uh… Ah’ll keep that in mind.”

Meanwhile, Sunset picked up the backpack and unzipped it. When she looked inside, she smiled and remarked, “At least one of us will be able to use an awesome weapon.” She then pulled out of the backpack a silver cylindrical object.

“My plasma blade!” Twilight spoke up excitedly. “Timber Spruce must’ve found it and knew I was going to need it.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and asked, “What makes you so sure Timber’s the one who grabbed this thing?”

“He’s the only other person who I’ve given the access codes to my secret laboratory,” answered Twilight with a sheepish grin and a slight blush on her face.

Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes before she walked over to Twilight and handed over the plasma blade handle. When she then looked back into the backpack, her smile fell and she raised an eyebrow as she pulled out a similarly shaped object that was covered in gift wrap. “What’s this?” she asked in confusion.

Twilight perked up and eagerly answered, “Oh, that’s something I was planning to give you after you returned from your training in Ninjago City.” She rubbed the back of her head and glanced away as she awkwardly added, “Of course, we all remember why that day didn’t exactly go as we had hoped.”

“Obviously,” quipped Sunset with a smirk. She stared at the gift for a moment before she asked, “So, uh, do you mind if I open it now?”

“Oh! Sure! Go ahead!” replied Twilight with enthusiasm. “In fact, I think right now would be a perfect time for you to have it.”

Sunset wasted no time tearing away the gift wrap. Once her gift had been revealed, she gasped and her eyes widened. “No… way…” she spoke up as a huge grin widened across her face.

“That’s right!” Twilight proudly confirmed. “I finally finished making a second plasma blade, just for you!”

The rest of the group turned their attention to Sunset as she stared in awe at the seemingly identical silver cylindrical object in her hand.

“Go ahead! Try it out!” encouraged Twilight eagerly. “Just squeeze the handle and give it a little flick of the wrist.”

Sunset gripped the new plasma blade handle in her right hand, held it out, and did as Twilight told her to.

FWISH!

A bright beam of plasma quickly extended from the handle to a length of just over half a minifig’s height. Unlike Twilight’s plasma blade which glowed a lavender color, this second plasma blade glowed in a golden yellow color.

“Whoa…” muttered Thorax in awe with his jaw practically down on the floor.

Starlight couldn’t help but giggle at Thorax’s reaction and playfully remarked, “I guess some traits between alternate universes will always be the same.”

Sunset stared at her plasma blade for a moment, then gently waved it around so everyone could hear the low humming noise it made as it moved through the air.

Vrrr. Vrrr. Vrrr.

“Oh yeah,” said Sunset with a tone of eager satisfaction. “With this awesome weapon, any Changeling who tries to attack will soon find their limbs hacked off before they even knew what hit them.”

Starlight suddenly exclaimed in horror, “Whoa! Hey! Uh, don’t you think that might be a little extreme?”

“Relax, Starlight,” assured Sunset calmly as she deactivated her new plasma blade. “We’re all minifigs in this world, remember? We’re made of detachable parts, which means those parts can actually be replaced if anything ever gets lost or damaged.”

“It’s true,” Fluttershy spoke up with a nod. “Many large hospitals actually have an entire wing dedicated to limb replacement procedures.”

“Which Ah can confirm from experience,” added Applejack uncomfortably. “Once had a li’l accident where Ah rolled mah family’s tractor into a ditch and got mah legs crushed underneath. Had to have both of ‘em replaced after the emergency workers finally got me out from under there.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed before she smiled and bragged, “That’s nothing! I’ve gone through four right legs, three left legs, three right arms, two left arms, and a hip joint!”

Everyone immediately gave blank stares at the cyan athletic girl.

Rainbow didn’t lose her smile as she shrugged and quipped, “What can I say? I live life to the extreme.”

Applejack just slowly shook her head, then turned her attention back to the tools she had gathered as she mumbled, “Some things just ain’t worth competin’ over…”

Sunset kept her blank stare on Rainbow for a moment, then turned back to Starlight and assured her fellow Equestria native, “Look, the important thing is that minifig culture as a whole has accepted the occasional missing or damaged body parts as not much worse than a temporary inconvenience, so it’s not that bad of a loss if any part of your body needs to be replaced for whatever reason.”

“Except for your head,” added Twilight as if stating a common scientific fact. “That’s the one body part that cannot be replaced, as it’s the one piece where a minifig’s identity is generally centered upon.”

Starlight turned her gaze down to the floor as she sighed and muttered, “Moments like these make me wish I had stayed in Equestria…”

Kjeld cleared his throat and spoke up, “I must remind you all that time is of the essence. I strongly advise that you put on your spacesuits at once, gather whatever supplies you can carry with you, and meet me at the Jump-Gate as soon as possible.” Without waiting for a response, he immediately turned back to the doorway and walked out of the room.

“Well, you heard him,” said Sunset as she approached the clothing rack holding the spacesuits. “The sooner we get ready here, the more time we’ll have to prepare to defend that special planet once we’re actually there.”

Everyone silently agreed as they grabbed their respective spacesuits and began to prepare themselves for the battle that would soon be upon them.

Less than an hour later, the team was gathered in front of the Jump-Gate on the briefing floor of the LEGO Team Headquarters building. The eight Equestria Girls were now wearing their spacesuits and had one or two various tools attached to the sides of the air supply tanks on their backs. With the exception of Thorax — who remained insistent on being a pacifist — all of them were also carrying several portable teleporters within whatever pocket space they had to spare. And of course, Twilight and Sunset had their plasma blade handles within easy reach along their belts.

“Before you depart,” Kjeld spoke up, “there is one more thing I should warn you about. For the sake of structural integrity, there are very few Lego elements to be found on the rig and refinery that you’ll be defending, so you won’t be able to rely on your Master Builder talents to help you out.”

“As if this mission wasn’t already impossible enough,” grumbled Applejack.

“At least we’ll be able to use our magic this time,” pointed out Sunset. “Since we’re not disguised as ninjas and these spacesuits make it super obvious who we are—”

“It’s called coordination, darling,” retorted Rarity as she glared at the de facto leader of their team.

Sunset rolled her eyes and continued, “There’s no point in trying to hide what we’re capable of, so we might as well use whatever advantages we have available to us.”

“Just try not to cause too much collateral damage along the way,” cautioned Twilight. “As far as I understand, there’s a lot of complex machinery and pipes full of substances under high pressure. If we get too reckless with our magic, we could end up completely destroying the very infrastructure that we’re supposed to be protecting.”

“Speaking of which,” added Kjeld, “I would strongly recommend that all of you leave your helmets on at all times. The outside atmosphere is very toxic, and in the event of a sudden structural breach, it would be much easier if all you had to do in response is to flip down your visors.”

“Let’s just hope it never has to come to that…” muttered Starlight uneasily.

“I’m just not sure if the nine of us alone will be enough to defend an entire planet against a whole army,” Fluttershy hesitantly spoke up. “We can’t possibly cover every single rig all at once.”

“Queen Chrysalis likes to start with the big targets,” noted Thorax, “and since she won’t be expecting any resistance at all, she’ll probably try concentrating all of her forces on the one place that actually tries to put up a fight so she can get it out of the way as soon as possible. Not to mention she still wants to capture you girls in particular for whatever reason, which will only encourage her to send everything she has towards wherever she happens to find us. With all that in mind, our best hope for success would be to stay in one place and let them all come to us.”

“Your intel is much appreciated, Thorax,” stated Kjeld as he walked over to the control panel beside the Jump-Gate. “Therefore, the exact location I’ll be sending all of you to will be Rig R-One-Nine-Two, one of the largest and most up-to-date facilities on Planet Polymer. If there’s any structure on the planet that the Changelings are likely to target first, it will probably be that one.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Rainbow Dash eagerly. “Open the gate so we can get ready for action!”

“Very well, then,” acknowledged Kjeld with a nod. “Twilight, Sunset, I shall need your assistance for this.”

The two girls both responded with a somber nod of acknowledgement before they stepped forward to stand beside their superior.

Kjeld entered the coordinates into the Jump-Gate's control panel. When he pressed the green activation button, a buzzer sounded and the panel’s display screen turned red. He then lead towards the panel and spoke, “This is Kjeld Playwell, and I wish to override the blacklist.”

The panel buzzed again as the display screen turned orange.

Twilight leaned towards the control panel and spoke, “This is Twilight Sparkle, and I wish to override the blacklist.”

The panel buzzed again as the display screen turned yellow.

Sunset leaned towards the control panel and spoke, “This is Sunset Shimmer, and I wish to override the blacklist.”

The panel buzzed once more as the display screen turned green. Only then did the Jump-Gate make its distinctive low whooshing noise for a few seconds before the gateway doors finally parted open. On the other side of the opened gateway was a dimly lit metal walkway with some large pipes visible both above and below the walkway.

Kjeld turned to the gathered team and spoke, “The potential outcome of our war against the Changelings now rests on your shoulders from this moment onwards. Best of luck to all of you.”

Sunset turned back to her friends and calmly stated, “Well, you heard him, girls. Let’s go save the Lego World.” She then turned her gaze forward and began walking through the open gateway.

Without another word, the teammates all shared assuring glances to one another before they followed Sunset through the gateway and into the strange industrial facility. Once all nine members of the team had passed through, the doors gently closed behind them, then faded out of existence, leaving behind the extension of the metal walkway they now stood upon.

An eerie calm settled over the team as they observed their new surroundings. All around them were walkways, stairways, ladders, pipes, cables, hatches, and other assorted industrial infrastructure, all of it made of various metals with not a single plastic element to be found. There was a gentle humming of machinery both above and below them, along with the faint sloshing of fluids flowing through the large pipes. Despite being breathable, the air had a certain stench that suggested a lot of burning and boiling of many substances took place within the enclosed spaces of this huge refinery. Some walls and a few hatches were labelled “R192” with off-white stenciled lettering.

“Better take it all in while we can,” stated Sunset. “This is practically forbidden territory for minifigures, and it’ll soon be up to us to defend it from evil.”

“Indeed, an experience like no other...” muttered Rarity with a tone of awe.

After a few more seconds of revered silence, Applejack spoke up, “Well, better get to it, y’all. Let’s scout the whole place while everythin’s all calm and peaceful.”

“This facility must be very massive,” noted Twilight as she continued to gaze around, “and there’s no telling how much time we have left before the invasion arrives.” She then turned her attention back to her friends and teammates. “I suggest we split up to cover more ground.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”

“We don’t all have to go our own separate ways,” retorted Rainbow Dash. “We can start with half of us going one way and the other half going the other way.”

“Yes, that’s a good place to start,” agreed Sunset as she turned to her team of friends. “I’ll take Twilight, Starlight, and Thorax with me up this corridor.” She gestured behind herself over her shoulder. “The rest of you can head down that way.” She pointed ahead along the walkway towards the direction they had been facing when they had arrived through the Jump-Gate.

“Fine by me,” agreed Applejack with a shrug. “Let’s get a move on.”

The two groups turned away from each other and began to explore in their separate directions.

Applejack’s group made their way down the walkway, which led down a stairway, along another walkway, down a second stairway, and along yet another walkway. It wasn’t long before they passed by a stenciled off-white label on the wall that said “EXTRACTION”. Beyond that, their surroundings began to consist of many more pipes, several of which were much larger than the ones they had seen before. They also began to faintly hear a new kind of noise that could be best described as something like a water pump or a power generator.

At the back of the group, Pinkie Pie stopped when she noticed a red button on a wall panel of black and yellow diagonal stripes with a label that said, “DO NOT PRESS — EMERGENCY ONLY”.

Naturally, Pinkie blissfully asked, “Ooh, what does this do?” She reached her pink gloved hand out towards the button, only for a white gloved hand to suddenly slap it aside.

“Honestly, Pinkie,” scolded Rarity, “when a button is labelled, ‘Do not press’, it does not mean, ‘press right away’!”

Pinkie responded with a guilty grin and an awkward giggle.

A short distance further down the walkway, Fluttershy glanced nervously all around her as she continued walking slowly forward. A sudden hiss of steam venting from somewhere close by caused her to stop and yelp in terror. Once the noise faded and she had a moment to calm herself back down, she shuddered and fearfully mumbled, “We really shouldn’t be here…”

“Not that we have much choice,” Rainbow Dash grimly stated as she carefully peered around every corner she approached. “The battlefield has been chosen, and the enemy is closing in. It’s time to work with whatever we’ve got and hope we come out on top.”

Fluttershy sighed sadly and muttered under her breath, “The burden of being a hero…”

Meanwhile, Sunset’s group had climbed their way up one stairway and continued along another walkway until they passed by a stenciled off-white label on the wall that said “REFINERY”. As they continued ahead, the walkway began to cross over some large vats below, along with some cable lines and conveyor belts that slowly moved tools and materials around in a manner that would look confusing to anyone unfamiliar with the processes — which was all four members of the group.

It wasn’t long before they reached a walkway that ran along the upper part of a wall. After some distance, they passed by a large glass window to the outside, and while Sunset, Twilight, and Thorax continued on to focus on their scouting task, Starlight decided to stop and stare out at a truly alien landscape.

The sky above was a dull yellow color and appeared to be very hazy. Several hundred feet below from where Starlight stood was the surface of an endless sea of black liquid that seemed to be constantly bubbling all over the place. As far as the eye could see, there were no other features to be found beyond the massive rig that sat upon several huge concrete pillars that extended down into the practically bottomless black fluid that stretched out all the way to the horizon and beyond.

Sunset walked back to stand beside Starlight and gazed out the same window as she solemnly remarked, “Hard to believe this is what we consider the stuff of life, isn’t it?”

“More like a sea of death, if you ask me,” muttered Starlight in disbelief.

Sunset smirked and remarked, “I’m sure a lot of people might think the same if they ever saw a place like this.”

Starlight took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She then turned to Sunset with a distant gaze and asked, “How do you do it, Sunset? How do you… seem so at peace with all the strange things of this universe that would freak out any pony who grew up in Equestria?”

Sunset pondered that question as she continued to gaze out into the endless petroleum ocean of Planet Polymer. Eventually, with a rather neutral expression on her face, she cryptically replied, “Let’s just say… an outside perspective has a way of helping you better appreciate all the things that contribute to the kind of everyday life that you’re familiar with. And I mean… way outside…”

Starlight stared at Sunset for a moment and prepared to ask another question, but was interrupted by a voice speaking up through the radio communicators built into their space helmets.

“Heads up, y’all!” alerted Applejack urgently. “Looks like the Changelings are on their way down!”

Applejack and Rarity were gazing worriedly out through another window as they watched several Changeling dropships descend down onto the landing pads that surrounded the massive floating rig.

At the same time, Sunset and Starlight glanced around out through the window and soon began to see those descending dropships as well. The two Equestria natives then turned to each other and they both shared a nod of determination.

Sunset switched on her radio communicator and firmly announced, “This is it, team! It’s our time down here!”

The wait was over. There was no more time left to make their plans. The time for battle was now upon them.

Author's Note

My minimum goal for 2024 was to get at least one more chapter published, and it seems I have accomplished that with literally only hours to spare. I can only hope that everyone who has previously been following my stories are still around to enjoy seeing it continue ever so slowly. Anyway, now that I've completed the Ninjago portion of this story and moved on to the next act, it's finally here. The one major aspect of this Lego universe I have been planning to introduce ever since I was writing the fourth story back in 2017, and I can finally stop being secretive about it for the sake of spoilers. Yes, it's all about how all those Lego parts are created and where all that plastic comes from, and the entirety of this particular concept was from my own imagination. I've been highly anticipating this big reveal, and now I can only hope that that it is received well by everyone who has been reading my stories for however long you've been around to enjoy them thus far. As for the next update, it'll be one of the Side Stories, focusing on how all those supplies were gathered in Canterlot City and delivered to help the Equestria Girls for the battle that'll take place in the upcoming chapter.