May 3rd, 1001 Domina Solaria

“Aaah,” Twilight moans as she relaxes into her office chair as she ticks off the final entry on the day’s checklist. The week is nearly over, and couldn’t have gone smoother: classes are starting to settle into a routine, Rainbow Dash can’t get enough of flying Doug around (and has given her some good tips on managing him), though Rarity’s saddle keeps him strapped in too tightly to allow any airborne amorous activity. The Cutie Map called Applejack and Rarity to Manehattan - they brought Babs Seed with them, who got a manestyling cutie mark after shearing Pomarbo’s mane like she would shear a sheep - and she’s thankful they didn’t need anypony to cover their classes for the multi-day mission. Her vitals are healthy, her foals steadily growing, and life couldn’t be better.

She pulls out Block’s Book of Barricades and Barriers, settling down for a quick refresh on defensive wards she can use to help the repairs at the Castle of the Two Sisters. The work there has been slow, Cadance only available a small portion of the time, though Rarity has remarked on the cold and empty feeling the two times she brought her for measurements and color comparisons.

“What’s this?” Twilight asks her otherwise empty office. The formal envelope that just popped into existence in front of her is markedly different from the other correspondence that piles up on her overly large desk. A golden script far fancier than any official Canterlot text adorns the front of the long, flat package, with very… crystalline characters full of loops and swirls. She sets aside the other pieces of parchment, lesson plans, and checklists-in-progress to give the majestic missive her full attention. She breaks the seal at the top, notes the check of her magical signature, and extracts the ornate paper inside.

Her eyes dart back and forth as she skims through the long list of titles the Vainglorious Spike has taken for himself. She takes longer on the main body, a slight frown forming, until she reaches the end.

Her eyes go wide as a sharp gasp drags the letter to her lips. She disappears a heartbeat later, scattering the papers on her desk.

A rapid series of short and medium range teleports later and Twilight paces back and forth in front of the Cutie Map. Six of her herdmates cluster around, Trixie crammed inside Spike’s small seat while the Elements sit in their chairs. They glance back and forth with looks ranging from bewildered to exasperated to merely bored. While they look around the alicorn sets up two whiteboards, with six markers already starting to jot down notes and ideas for what must be a very special project.

“Excuse me, Twi?” Applejack breaks the awkward silence with an irritated glare, having found herself splayed out across the chair mid-buck. She’s glad she didn’t cave the chair in.

“There’s no time to explain.” Twilight’s focus stays on the whiteboards. Their seven cutie marks are now listed, along with a few quick notes the others have trouble making out. “The sooner we can act, the better.”

“Act?” Rarity demands, haughtily tossing her mane back. “Darling, whatever the rush, surely-”

A letter to the face silences her objections. Rarity peels it off with a dissatisfied grunt, grumbling to herself as she reads the fancy calligraphy. Her eyes grow wider and wider until she reaches the end. “This…” she stammers, hooves shaking, “this explains…”

She lays the paper down with a heavy thunk. A picture of a gray and silver crown, bent and torn in places, sparkles in the dim light of the castle. The others stretch to get a closer look, equally confused and perturbed.

“...Absolutely nothing.”

“Fine,” Twilight explains, a pointer telescoping out to tap the picture. “That is the hard-won Helm of the Sibling Supreme. When Shining Armor and I were small, we competed over everything. To keep it friendly, our parents gave us gold stars every time we did something special. Sharing, getting good grades, even telling a really funny joke. And at the end of each week, we’d add up the stars. The sibling with the most would win the Crown of the Sibling Supreme - and bragging rights - until next time.”

“That explains your love of charts,” Trixie quips, drawing snickers from the others. “And…“ She shudders. “So much else.”

Twilight ignores the jab. “Take a good look at it, as it will be the objective in our mission.”

“...Mission?” Rainbow Dash asks, her dour stare turning to an eager grin.

“With the return of Sombra, Emperor Spike wants the defenses of the Crystal Empire tested. Our objective is to locate and retrieve the Helm.” Twilight quickly sketches a map of the Crystal Empire, the castle prominently displayed in the middle. “It could be hidden anywhere inside the Crystal Empire, but the most likely place is deep inside the castle. I’ve come up with a plan that plays to each of our strengths.”

“Ooh!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, pronking up and down excitedly. “It’s like you’re assembling a team!”

“Precisely.” Twilight shoots her pink partner a wicked smirk. “Pinkie Pie?”

“Yth?” Pinkie Pie says, now entirely encased in a black ninja outfit, her muzzle covered.

“Infiltration.” Twilight’s pointer smacks the castle in the middle of her sketch. “Your job is to scout the castle interior from top to bottom. Sewers, dungeons, anything with no access to the outside. And if you see the crown? Snatch it.”

Pinkie Pie snaps a quick salute. “Yuh goh ih!”

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight focuses on the cerulean pegasus. “Aerial reconnaissance.” Rainbow Dash rubs her hooves together, slow and menacing. “The Crystal Empire loves their windows. I want you to check each and every one of them. That will help narrow down where it’s hidden. And if you see the crown? Snatch it.”

“You got it!” Rainbow Dash returns with a quick salute.

“Ooh, ooh!” Pinkie Pie exclaims, pronking up and down, now wearing a fishbowl on her head. “I can do that too! I can be your eye in the sky!” She hops onto the Cutie Map and waves her hooves around the miniature Empire like a pegasus flying about. “But not up here. Up here!” She stands up, holding her hooves as high as she can. “In space!”

“Woah!”

The ponies stare as the entirety of the projected image zooms out. Equestria now fits inside a single sheet of paper, the rest of the map darkened ocean and shadowed, shifting continents. The lines slowly fill in as color spreads, Zebrica and Horsolulu and far-off Neighpon popping up as tiny blobs. Even familiar landmarks are unrecognizable at this scope.

“Oh,” Pinkie Pie huffs. “That’s not very helpful.” She squats down as the map returns to normal and pouts, filling the fishbowl with saliva.

“Rarity,” Twilight continues as the unicorn experimentally moves her hooves back and forth, trying to replicate the zoom feature, but nothing seems to work, even as she stretches her legs as far as they will go. “Gather information. Juice joints, salt licks, anywhere ponies might hang out. Find out anywhere that ponies used to go but are now restricted.”

“This coincides with the preparations for the Equestria Games,” Rarity remarks, though she looks eager enough. “There are probably a lot of those places.”

“True,” Twilight says, nodding. “Focus on the castle: maids, butlers, guards, anypony with access to the inside. In addition, we’ll need disguises. If Spike realizes we are attempting to enter the Crystal Empire, he’ll have us tailed. We need to be able to steal the crown without being caught. Oh, and if you see the crown? Snatch it.”

“You got it,” Rarity returns, aura grabbing a pencil and quickly working on a few outfits.

“Fluttershy.” Twilight turns to the cowering pegasus.

“Y-yes?” Fluttershy says, quivering in her chair, her mane almost completely covering her face.

Twilight gives her an encouraging smile, which helps perk her up. “Talk to the local wildlife. See what they know. Any areas that have been blocked off, or that they have an aversion to entering. If they’ll scout for us, even better.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy gets up, swiping her hair back. “You mean you don’t want me to go into those dark, confined, scary places?”

“Only if you want to.” Twilight snorts as Fluttershy shrinks down again. “But if you happen to see the crown? Snatch it.”

“You got it,” Fluttershy says, no longer afraid of being involved.

“Applejack.” Twilight turns to face the farmmare.

“Is this gonna take awhile?” Applejack huffs. “Ah can’t exactly lose another week bein’ off the farm.”

Twilight takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “What sort of assistance does the farm need to make up the deficit?”

“Err,” Applejack stammers, looking like she regrets mentioning anything. “That’s okay, Twi, Ah jus-”

“How. Much?”

Applejack sighs. “Plowin’ three new fields. Then plantin’, wheat on two. We were, uh, we were gonna see if’n we could get a new crop’a Zap Apples on the last.”

Twilight scribbles something down. “No, that’s perfect. I wanted to practice clearing the Everfree for a road to the Two Sisters. Just show me where you want plowed.”

“Alright.” Applejack stands up straighter. “What’cha need me for?”

“You probably guessed it. Muscle.” Twilight winks as Applejack chuckles. “Any fortifications they’ve thrown up, I want you testing. Oh, and if you see the crown? Snatch it.”

Applejack cracks her neck one way, then the other. “Ya got it.”

Twilight nods, regarding each of her fellow Elements in turn. “Then we’re agreed. Sparkle’s Six will be the first to retrieve the crown, thus cementing me as Sibling Supreme once and for all! My brother will never know what hit him!”

“Excuse me,” a seraphic voice calls from above. Everypony tenses as they look up to see Princess Celestia descending from the entrance on the ceiling. Her smile sets them at ease. She lands, wings tucking to her sides, looking over the whiteboard and notes Twilight has written down.

“Princess,” Twilight greets, offering a brief dip of her head. The others quickly follow suit.

“Elements,” Celestia returns, nodding at Trixie as well. “Is something the matter?”

Twilight glances over everything, deciding it is too much to attempt to conceal. “With King Sombra’s potential return, Emperor Spike wants us to test the Crystal Empire’s defenses. He has challenged us to use whatever means necessary to break in, to help expose any flaws in their security.”

A red glow gleams behind Celestia’s eyes. “Any means necessary?”

Twilight sighs, managing to not rub at her forehead. “I don’t think they want us to reduce the Empire to ashes.”

Celestia huffs in a most un-princesslike manner, the glow fading from her eyes. “Ah, ponyfeathers. Nopony ever wants me to use Heaven’s Light.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” Rainbow Dash says, everypony nodding along.

“Very well.” Celestia straightens. “What would you have me do?”

“First, a question.” Twilight chews at her lip as Celestia cocks her head to the side. “Are you working for my brother?”

“I am working for neither of your siblings,” Celestia answers succinctly.

“I see.” Twilight checks her charts, then the Princess with her tall stature and flowing mane and general un-hide-ability. “Do you want to help me check their magical defenses?”

“I am at your disposal,” Celestia says, “in any manner you require.”

“Perfect.” Twilight again regards each of them in turn. “Then Sparkle’s Seven will be the first to retrieve the crown, thus cementing me as Sibling Supreme once and for all!

“Seven?” Trixie cuts in as the others cheer, glancing around the room and making a show of counting. “There are eight of us. And you never gave me a job, not that I’m complaining.”

“Exactly.” Twilight turns her focus on Trixie, the showmare uncomfortably shying down while attempting a grin. “They will be looking for each of us. They won’t be expecting you.”

“I see.” Trixie’s grin slowly grows larger. “So you want me to-”

“Ah-ah-ah,” Twilight silences, holding up a hoof. “Don’t tell me. What I don’t know they can’t wriggle out of me.”

“Oh,” Trixie remarks, her smile spreading from ear to ear, “you don’t need to worry about them not noticing.”

Next Chapter: Ch. 143 - Careful Planning, Part Two Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 23 Minutes