“Ouch!” Twilight exclaimed when she crashed on the ground, immediately followed by the soft thunk of Spike’s hard landing.

“Ekk… Enough with these… pratfalls Twilight, please!” the young dragon bleated, rubbing his butt.

“Spike! Please, spare me your puns!”

“Where are we?” Spike asked, looking around. “Where is the map?”

“I don’t know. But this looks like a…”

They were in a large room, hedged in by stone walls and wide wooden doors.

“…a castle?” Spike finished.

“That’s strange. It’s the first time—” Twilight broke off as one of the door swung open and Rarity walked through. She stopped short when she saw the alicorn.

“Princess Twilight? We weren’t expecting you so soon. You’ve come back just in time to attend the weekly council. Don’t lose a minute!”

“Rarity? But—”

“No time for questions. Come on, it has already begun.”

Twilight hesitated a second. “Could you show me in?” 

“What? Me? Why?” Rarity seemed distressed, but finally caved in. “As you wish. This way.”

She turned and walked across the room to another door. Twilight and Spike followed, exchanging uneasy glances.

---

Twilight gasped as she entered the council room: it was a lofty hall crowned in an exquisite glass roof through which the untamed light of the sun poured down. At its center, a huge mahogany table stood, bearing the map. Celestia and Luna were both standing here, conversing with a military officer Twilight didn’t know. They broke off and turned their head when she stepped in.

“Twilight!” Celestia chirped. “You’ve already returned? Good news! We were discussing tactics with general Hoplites. Please join us! We’ll talk about your mission later.”

Twilight inched forward to the table. It was the map for sure. But what were those coloured pegs scattered all over it?

“What about the robotic army of the FlimFlam brothers?” asked Luna, resuming her conversation.

“They’ve breached into Chrysalis’s native hive territory. But the Changelings are standing their ground,” Hoplites replied. He pointed at a green peg on the map.

“Good!” said Luna. “What about the clandestine convoy of fuel?”

“Successfully delivered. The brothers thank you for helping them.”

Luna sniggered. “And the tankers of hydrochloric acid?”

“They arrived fine too. Chrysalis was thrilled to put her hand on them, her army was in short supply. Through I’ve heard that the brothers are developing an acid-proof armour for a new generation of robots. We might have to adapt.”

Luna turned to Twilight. “Status of the quarrel between Chrysalis and Sombra?” she asked.

Twilight hesitated. “No change,” she ventured.

“So the truce is definitely broken?”

Twilight nodded.

“Excellent!” Luna trumpeted, beaming. “That made-up skirmish worked as a charm! Time to relaunch the production of flamethrowers. They’re nonpareil against the crystal ponies. And to ramp up our production of pesticide.”

Twilight was fascinated. Could it be that those pegs were… “What about Tirek?” she asked.

“Oh, him?” Celestia answered. “He’s still trying to overcome Sombra’s dark magic, I suppose.” She chortled. “He’s powerful but dimwitted. It was a breeze to convince him the elements had been stolen by Sombra…”

”On the other hand, his henchmen are doing a good job destroying the FlimFlam’s mechanisms with their magic,” Hoplites noted.

“Indeed. So Twilight,” Luna said, “what did you discover in the Crystal empire that may be of any use to us?”

Twilight stiffened and backed a step. “Err… I… I…” she faltered. She lowered her head and went silent. The others looked intently at her.

“Wonderful! Princess chatterbox of friendship is in want of words? That’s a first!” Luna scoffed. ”Maybe she’s been washed over by a sudden overwhelming qualm?” She guffawed.

“Tut-tut!” Celestia replied, glaring briefly at her sister. “What is it, Twilight?” she said in a gentle tone.

She came to Twilight and warped a hoof around her mane in a motherly gesture. “I thought you’d gotten over it by now. You know we’ve no choice. We don’t have the might to fight all those villains together, so to keep peace and prosperity here we must secretly fuel war there. It’s horrible for the crystal ponies, our brothers, but Sombra transformed them into mindless puppets. They’re already dead. As for the others, I don’t understand why you hesitate, after what they’ve done to your brother and sister-in-law…”

“I’m sorry princess,” Twilight whispered. “It’s so difficult…”

At that moment, she felt a slight nudge on one of her hind legs. She turned her head. Spike was looking at her, a parchment in hand.