//------------------------------// // Act 1 // Story: And the Crown Goes On // by AizakkuHorooee //------------------------------// “The Sibling what?” I exclaim, confused. In the castle throne room, Twilight and Aita are now joined by Spike and Starlight.  There, Spike shows a scroll with a copy the picture of the crown Twilight showed me as the latter explains what the crown means. “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 ’til next time.” “Golly, that sounds like a lot of fun!” I happily shout. Aita nods.  “I agree, Cozy, which is why we all invite you to participate.” “I’ve always wanted to be sibling supreme one day,” Spike says before reading the scroll.  “Meet me at Celestia’s castle to decide who deserves the crown once and for all.” “Race ya there!” Twilight, Aita and Spike shout together, promptly taking off and leaving me alone with Starlight. She and I look at each other before I break the sudden silence. “So, should we gather their friends here?” “Absolutely, Cozy.  Actually, let me make a list.” Twilight, Spike and I race to Canterlot Castle in order to meet Shining Armor.  All three of us stop though when we see the crown on him already, Chrysalis, Celestia and Luna by his side. Twilight gasps.  “You’re wearing it?!?” “Look, I know you’ve always held a grudge because I left home with this.” Shining Armor points to the crown. “Grudge?”  Twilight scoffs.  “What grudge?  Just because you’ve had it for WAY longer than you should have and I never got a chance to win it back.” Celestia approaches the three of us.  “With the return of Stellar Flare; Princess Luna, Queen Chrysalis and I felt it was time to reinforce the castle’s defenses.” “I said we could do it ourselves,” moans Luna.  “but some ponies are… a bit stubborn.” “So the latter two of us asked the old captain of the guard to handle the job,” Celestia finishes. “I’ve taken the security here to a whole new level,” Shining explains as he rests a hoof on Twilight’s chest.  “The only thing I need now is somepony to test it.” Twilight quickly gasps, realizing what this means.  “You want me to break into Celestia’s castle?” Shining takes the crown off with his magic and puts it on Celestia’s throne.  “If you can get past my defenses, steal the crown, and get out, you’ll be Sibling Supreme FOREVER.” With Twilight in awe at Shining’s prospect, I impulsively sniff the air before I see Chrysalis raise her hoof to me, causing me to blush.  “Not in front of your loved ones, Aita.” “But if you fail,” Shining continues. “I keep the crown.” Twilight shakes his hoof with her own.  “Deal!  Wait, are you sure this counts?  Mom and Dad aren’t giving us any stars.” “Celestia and I will represent their authority.  And thanks for your help, Twilight.  You lay the groundwork for the improvement of the princesses’ security.” Luna nickers at Chrysalis joining in on Celestia’s deference. “But you won’t,” Shining replies.  “I’ve designed a multitiered, impenetrable, triple backed up line of defense. “With her say, the castle is surrounded by shards of Queen Chrysalis’ old throne.  Thanks to her, its anti-magic powers are now tuned to stop any creature from using a spell to get inside.  You can’t fly in either.  Giant fans keep any creature from flying too close to the castle.  Plus, the entrances to the tunnels below the castle have been sealed.  So there’s no underground access.  And even if you could get in - which you can’t, I’ve doubled the ranks of security.  Ponies protect every hallway and door, which can only be opened with royal guard medals. “Even if you brought an army, the throne room is the safest spot in Equestria.  I rigged a trap to activate at the slightest touch.”  Shining Armor demonstrates the trap by softly touching the ledge, the floor flapping down and leading to a tunnel.  “But say you avoid the floor.  Still no luck, because I’ve employed nature’s alarm system.” Atop each of the pillars in the throne room, pairs of geese show themselves and start honking. “Geese?” I question. “You can hear their honks all the way in Ponyville.”  Shining Armor removes his foreknee off the crown when a goose behind the crown honks and attempts to bite him.  “Plus they bite.” Back home, Twilight refers to Shining Armor’s presentation to explain how her friends are going to break in.  “So that’s what we’re up against.” Of course, because the throne room’s entirely occupied by Twilight, her friends and Spike, I take my leave back to the library, where the friends I’ve made over the past near two years here alongside Starlight are located.  From left to right at the roundtable are: Trace Light, Sunset Shimmer, Lightning Dust, Firelight, and Cozy Glow. “Alright so… dark stone, power fans, bricks, guards, locks, a trap door and geese.”  I list off every obstacle we’re up against.  “I think I know how we might work around these measures.  Cozy Glow, you can replicate the guard suit while also being our motivator.  Lightning Dust, you can outfly the winds produced by the fans.  Firelight, you can pose as a guard, and I’ll be the key to get into the throne room and will also charm the geese.  Sunset Shimmer, you’re with Firelight; you’re one of Celestia’s old students.  Trace Light, you can distract the guards.  And Starlight, think you can detune the shards?” Everypony nods as I refer to each one of them. “Good, then just as a demonstration of my role…” I turn myself into a goose and honk just like one, flying close to the ceiling, then turn into the medal we need to get in the throne room before finally changing back. “Wow, you really have this figured out, don’t you Aita,” Sunset remarks, to which I nod. “Your confidence is impressive,” compliments Lightning Dust.  “It’s almost matching my own.  Ponies could learn a lot from you.” “That plan’s pretty elaborate,” Starlight admits.  “How were you able to keep track?”  I present her with a list I left on the mirror.  “Oh, so Chrysalis helped you?  Guess I wasn’t the only one taking after Twilight.” “Well, whether or not the plan came from you entirely, I’m behind it all the way, Aita!” declares Trace Light.  “Cutie Mark Crusader Celestial Distractor!” “And the same goes for me,” Firelight announces.  “I know we’ll all do our part.” Cozy Glow rubs her forehooves together in hype.  “Ooh, I love a good motivating!” While Trace Light hides, I stay with her and study the front area of Canterlot Castle so that she has further directive than just distracting the guards. The rest of the group arrives behind me, prompting me to look at them.  Only differences now are that Firelight is in the costume I made with Rarity, Starlight has her harmonics spell, and Lightning Dust is in her stuntpony suit. Firelight chuckles.  “How do I look?” “That’s as close as you’re ever gonna get, Dad,” Starlight replies.  “Now, anypony wanna proofread my spell before I use it?” Aita takes the scroll and starts studying it with her magic.  “It might not be Cincinno Animi, but it might just get the job done.” “Whenever you’re ready, Firelight, Aita, we should head inside,” says Sunset, who Firelight and Aita nod at.  The latter of the two then transforms into the guard medal the former needs to get in, who puts Aita at his chest.  “You can maneuver around the fans, right Lightning Dust?” Lightning Dust scoffs as puts a pair of flight goggles on.  “Fans?  What fans?  I only see spectators as those.” So the four of them - or five since Aita is currently the medal on Firelight’s suit - go their separate ways, except for Sunset, who stays with Firelight, leaving me with Trace Light. “So, how do they get in?” asks Trace Light, getting me to look at the guards again.  They don’t seem to be doing anything right now.  “How do we distract the guards?” “I don’t know, Trace Light.  We’re just pegasus fillies.  At least Aita can use her transformations to slip past.  We have to be creative.” “That’s what I do when I’m having trouble with doing something I want to do, like getting my cutie mark.” I look at Trace Light’s flank from a distance, which is blank as she indicated.  I take one last look, and see a mobile stage blocking a good portion of the view of the entrance. I throw my hooves in the air.  “Great!  A mobile stage!  How am I supposed to distract the guards if I can’t see them to study?” “A stage?  What if we did a talent show?” Looking back, the guards crowd around the stage, now with Applejack on with a guitar, as the pink curtain rolls to the side.