“Everypony clear on the plan?” Twilight Sparkle asks as the train nears the pink bubble surrounding the Crystal Empire. The Barrier of Love rises up and up into dark and snow-filled storms, translucent and ephemeral yet unyielding to the elements of cold and hatred that might seek harm for those inside its single spherical wall. She hopes that includes nopony traveling with her or her brother, though she’s not exactly sure what would happen to said pony as they failed to pass through.

“Everypony clear on the plan?” Shining Armor asks at exactly the same time.

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” Soarin and Rainbow Dash chorus back, the mare edging away from Zephyr while trying to stay as close to Soarin as possible. Both teams nod along, though half of them are intermixed and the other half are as far away from each other as the cramped quarters allow.

Twilight scowls; either her brother is actually a changeling in disguise to be able to mimic her every move (a method of infiltration she should have investigated further), or his read on her is so good that he can predict what she is going to do before she does it. She suspects the latter. How else could he have assembled a team that so perfectly mirrors her own?

Or maybe she’s just scowling because, of the ‘sibling rivalries’ going on, only Fluttershy doesn’t have some sort of death glare aimed at her brother or vice versa. Actually, no, she does, but she just hides it better than most, or is afraid of her stare actually melting what little brain must be there: Zephyr hasn’t stopped hitting on Rainbow Dash and if they don’t get some space Twilight will have to step in to save the hapless stallion.

The train rumbles on through the barrier, pink flashing through the window before returning to eternally sunny skies.

Rainbow Dash tries one of the windows, frowning as she fails to jiggle the latch open. “It’s locked,” she claims, low and fast, growling as she tries forcing it.

“That’s against fire safety codes,” Twilight states, her horn flaring. She locates the mechanism easily enough, but some sort of gunk (changeling?) has gummed it up to the point of inoperability. She could blast through, but then their covert egress wouldn’t be as stealthy.

Suddenly, about a quarter of the way to the city itself, the brakes engage and the train comes to a screeching halt. Worried looks flash around as the ponies return to their seats (though some have swapped), wondering what could have caused the delay.

For a minute nothing happens, stony silence reigning. Then the front door slides open. Two Crystal Guards stride inside, their steel sparkling as much as the purple pony underneath. The silver crests on their helmets sweep back and forth as they scan the passengers, their spears nearly scraping the ceiling, the heavy clank of their booted hooves grating as they stomp up to Twilight and Shining Armor.

“Prince Consort,” the burlier of the two announces, the other keeping her chest puffed up as she stands shoulder to shoulder.

“Captain Prince Consort,” Shining Armor interrupts.

The two guards exchange brief looks. “Captain Prince Consort,” he repeats, carefully enunciating the first word. “Your wife sends her fondest regards, as well as a message.” He clears his throat, the tenor of his voice raising to a reasonable facsimile of Cadance. “Dearest, honey, I know you think you’re being clever by doing exactly what I thought you would do.”

Shining Armor’s smirk falls, his quick glance at Twilight not going unnoticed. Hah! Twilight gloats silently.

The guard clears his throat. “Here’s a quick pick-me-up.” He edges forward and gives Shining Armor a brief kiss on the nose, then returns, as stoic as before. Shining Armor crosses his eyes to look at the wet spot. “Look forward to seeing you in the throne room.” He winks, though his stony expression belies any affection.

“Err, thanks,” Shining Armor manages to get out, stunned at the revelation that his wife predicted his moves.

“Princess,” the guard says, turning to Twilight.

“Do I get a kiss, too?” Twilight asks glibly, smiling sweetly.

“You’re under arrest.” Twilight gapes as he turns to regard the other Elements of Harmony. “You’re all under arrest.”

“Buck that!” Rainbow Dash shouts.

The guards twist, spears lowering to intercept, but Rainbow Dash is faster. She launches forward, forelegs outstretched, and barrels into the smaller guard before she can get her spear around. Rainbow Dash grunts at the impact, which lifts the guard off her hooves and smashes her into the wall, while she bursts out the open door and zooms upward.

“Come on, partner,” Applejack drawls with a cock-sure grin, letting her rope spool out. She slowly twirls her lasso around. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

The guard looks at Applejack, glances at his fallen partner, then bolts. He gets about two steps before the rope slips around his neck and a hard tug sends him crashing to the ground. Applejack kicks the spear away as she mounts and twists him around as easily as if he was a foal, the hogtie completed in record time.

“Ah’m glad you chose the easy way,” Applejack remarks with a gentle pat of the trussed-up stallion. “Talkin’ our way outta this’un would’a been way harder.”

The guard growls, struggling against the bonds. Applejack just sits on him, quashing any hope of escape.

“Applejack,” Twilight chides, frowning at the violence.

“What?” Applejack looks around dubiously. “Ya think Sombra’s gonna play nice?” She taps the squirming guard. “Ah’ve got half’a mind ta ask ya to cast some fancy mind control spell on this’un, jus’ ta make it more realistic-like.”

The idea sickens Twilight, though she’s careful not to show that disgust. They’re supposed to be coming at Spike’s forces through any means, but especially those that Sombra might have used. It doesn’t sit well with anypony else on the train, either, judging by their quivering stances and flattened ears.

“Or they could play along!” Pinkie Pie suggests. She pronks up and slaps a glowing green sticker on the guard’s helmet. “You’re one of ours now, silly!”

The guard goes from frantic writhing at the mention of mind control to a sudden cessation of any struggle, limply lying on the ground, having taken Pinkie Pie’s advice.

“Sorry ‘bout that, partner,” Applejack says, stepping off and loosening the rope. She notices the guard keeping careful note of her legs, that he might try to sweep her as soon as she lets him go.

“Before you get any ideas,” Twilight states, keeping the guard pinned with a hoof. “Whatever Emperor Spike told you, your helmets aren’t Mareneto quality. They won’t protect you from Malevolent attacks, except that it’s slightly harder to make eye contact. But a powerful enough unicorn - and King Sombra certainly qualifies - doesn’t need eye contact.” She offers the guard a hoof to help stand, which he reluctantly accepts. “Just a friendly tip. Your friend will be fine, she just got rattled a bit. Now, I think we have a train to get started?”

“Y-yes, Princess,” the cowed crystal guard states with a glance at his partner, whom Pinkie Pie has also affixed a sticker to and is slowly recovering. After a quick explanation they pick up their spears and trot outside.

“Spike couldn’t have actually thought that we would go along with getting arrested,” Twilight asks nopony in particular. She frowns. “Could he?”

“It worked for Tempest Shadow,” Luna remarks with a dark glare at her Sister.

Celestia doesn’t bother looking up, continuing to stare out the window as she works. “Confronting Commander Tempest would have resulted in unnecessary casualties. Including, had things gone poorly, you and I.”

Luna scoffs, though she doesn’t rebut the point.

“That was some blue-ribbon ropin’ ya did there,” Big Mac congratulates, extending the olive branch to Applejack.

“Thanks,” Applejack says appreciably as she replaces the rope under her Stetson. Her smile turns to a grimace and half-hearted glare as she struggles to maintain some semblance of anger. “Ah mean, Ah bet yew jus’ wish yew were the one to put down the varmint.”

Big Mac snorts, pawing at the ground, only for the train to lurch forward and send him sprawling to the floor.

While Twilight stares outside, Shining Armor walks up behind her. “I think,” he starts with a certain reluctance, “we need a change of plan.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Twilight assesses each of her herdmates in turn, her once-cheerful smile turning grimmer and grimmer. “But he knows each of us, our strengths and weaknesses.” She gauges each of Shining’s group, coming to the same conclusion. “How are we supposed to beat that?”

To Twilight’s surprise, a green maned, burgundy coat-clad mare steps in. She has to remind herself that it is Rarity. “Twilight, you’re certainly correct that nopony knows you better than your own brother, and Spike has been as much of a brother as he has been your ward.”

Twilight’s spirits fall. “You’re saying we should just give up?”

Rarity turns to Shining Armor, ignoring Twilight’s question for now. “And Cadance has known you for nearly as long, yes?” His mouth purses to a thin line as he nods. “Then we shall assume the same for her, though I will concede that there are times when my stallion surprises me.”

“No,” Shining Armor says with a slow shake of his head. “She knows me, inside and out.” The thin line curls to a smirk at Twilight. “Much like I know her.”

“I was there,” Twilight says with a low groan. “You don’t need to remind me.”

“Which is precisely why Spike will win. No matter how brilliant your plan is, no matter how many variations you try, it will be something your brother expects. Unless…” Rarity has a knowing edge to her voice. “When the perfect chance comes along, you do something he can’t expect. Then you’ll win.”

“And what’s that?” Shining Armor asks, doubtful.

“Simple.” Rarity tosses back a hideous green curl. “What’s the last thing Spike would expect us to do?”

“Work together,” comes the immediate response from both of them. Shining Armor at least has the decency to look ashamed after saying it.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Rarity pairs off the ponies with their sibling, Pinkie Pie with Cheese Sandwich, grinning as she gets to Prince Blueblood standing all by his lonesome. Luna scowls the worst, followed by a poor attempt by Applejack, and she leaves Soarin at a window to stare at Rainbow Dash’s contrails. “He’s expecting us to stay in a group or to spread out individually. He’s not going to expect us to pair off with the opposing member of the squad.”

“I think he knows you want to work with Lunaris,” Shining Armor objects, though she can see the gears in his mind turning.

“Yes, but we know he knows we know he knows.” Rarity takes a second to let that sink in. “Which is why he will never suspect us actually going through with our original plan.” She points at the crystal guards standing outside as they draw close to the main station. “Why else would he dissuade us from our original plan, where our strengths lie? He must not be able to overcome that advantage.”

“Could be,” Shining Armor answers, guarded.

“So we do what we were going to do. Only now?” Rarity’s grin spreads even wider, quickly joined by Twilight and Shining Armor. “There’s two of us.”

Next Chapter: Ch. 145 - Careful Planning, Part Four Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 5 Minutes