Twilight!
Look at this scroll I just got!
Do you know what this means?
Uh, I don't.
What's so exciting about a toy crown?
This is no "toy crown".
It's 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 — 'til next time.
Guess that explains your love of charts and so much else.
I always wanted to be Sibling Supreme one day.
Meet me at Celestia's castle to decide
who deserves the crown once and for all.
Race you there!
Guess I'll watch the school?
You're wearing it?!
Look, I know you've always held a grudge because I left home with this.
Grudge?
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.
With the return of Sombra,
Princess Luna and I felt it was time to reinforce the castle's defenses.
I said we could do it ourselves,
but some ponies are a bit stubborn.
So I asked our old Captain of the Guard to handle the job.
I've taken the security here to a whole new level.
The only thing I need now is somepony to test it.
You want me to break into Celestia's castle?
If you can get past my defenses, steal the crown,
and get out, you'll be Sibling Supreme forever.
For-ev-er...
But, if you fail, I keep the crown.
Deal!
Wait, are you sure this counts?
Mom and Dad aren't giving us any stars.
I will represent their authority.
And thank you, Twilight.
Your helps will reveal if there are any holes in our security.
And there aren't.
I've designed a multi-tier, impenetrable,
triple-backed-up line of defense.
The castle is surrounded by shards of Queen Chrysalis' throne.
Thanks to Star Swirl, its anti-magic powers
are now tuned to stop anycreature
from using a spell to get inside.
You can't fly in, either.
Giant fans keep anycreature 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 double 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 the floor trap to activate at the slightest touch.
But say you avoid the floor —
still no luck because I've employed nature's alarm system.
Geese?
You can hear their honks all the way in Ponyville.
Plus they bite.
So that's what we're up against.
Whew.
That's a barrel and a half of obstacles.
Plus a bushel and a peck of impenetrability.
And all of this to win some fillyhood competition with your brother?
It's more then that!
Okay, it's exactly that.
And to protect Celestia's castle.
If it means that much to you, Twilight, we're in.
I was already in!
Come on, who doesn't want to hang with geese?!
Of course we'll help, but how?
Shining Armor may have come up with some great security,
but he'll never guess Twilight's plan.
We play to our strengths
and defeat all of the security measures.
That way, if one of us fails,
the others will still have a shot at getting the crown.
Pinkie, you'll distract the guards with a surprise party.
Yes, sir, Twilight, sir!
Applejack, you'll buck your way into the sealed tunnels.
Rainbow Dash, if anypony can outfly those wind turbines, it's you.
Rarity, you'll sew us guard costumes so we can sneak past security.
Then Fluttershy will disable the throne room alarm by charming the geese.
It's from Shining Armor.
Dear Twily, hope your idea isn't just... Tunnels?
He guessed your whole plan!
What?!
Pinkie party, Rarity costumes...
Signed, the future Sibling Supreme?!
Oh, come on!
Twilight, darling, nopony knows you better than your own brother.
So you're saying I should give up?
I'm saying your brother will win.
No matter how brilliant your plan is,
no matter how many variations you try,
it'll be something your brother expects,
and he'll always win!
Unless...
When the perfect chance comes along,
you do something he can't expect.
Then you'll win.
You've been practicing that speech, haven't you?
A little bit.
It felt like I rushed.
Did I rush it?
Absolutely not.
Oh, no.
Yeah, it was fast-ish.
We have to do the opposite of what Shining Armor expects.
Therefore, Twilight cannot mastermind the plan.
But I can!
That's...
definitely unexpected.
Uh, how is you making a break-in plan
the opposite of Twilight doing it?
Because my plan is for each of us
to devise our own unexpected part of it.
Allow me to demonstrate.
We're looking for a pony with information.
We got questions,
and you're gonna serve us up some answers, juice jockey!
Where is the secret entrance
to the passages under Canterlot Castle?
Shining Armor sealed 'em all.
There's no secret entrance.
There's always a secret entrance!
So make like a glass of O.J.
and spill!
I know what I can do!
You're gonna need a lookout,
so I can be your eye in the sky.
Too slow, silly!
Up here!
Oh, Pinkie!
That tickles!
What?
How about somethin' a little more down-to-earth?
Like, I distract the guard ponies
with a farewell performance by my alter ego,
famous country-western superstar Apple Chord!
I didn't know you had an alter ego.
And why would she be giving a farewell performance?
Well, it's a long story.
Back on the farm, playin' music
was about makin' her family smile.
Word of her talent spread, and soon,
Apple Chord was playin' real shows.
The more she played, the bigger those shows got.
But she missed playin' for her family...
So one day, she gave it all up.
Seein' her family smile was all she ever wanted from her music.
Of course, Apple Chord could come out of retirement
for a farewell concert this one time.
Wait, did you just make all that up,
or did that actually happen?
Doesn't matter.
It's perfect.
Fluttershy?
Spike?
Well, I guess the opposite of what I'm good at
is being in small spaces.
I always wanted to be a super-spy.
Is that the opposite of anything?
Special Agent Fluttershy, target detected below.
It's almost too easy.
I guess I'm the only one left that still needs a plan.
Oh, no, darling.
That is the plan.
You shall do nothing.
Shining Armor definitely won't expect that.
Applejack?
What are you doing?
Applejack?
Who's that?
My name's Apple Chord,
and I've got a couple of songs to play for ya.
Clap your hooves if you know 'em!
And a one, and a two, and a...
♫ My love is like a barrel ♫
♫ A barrel full of hay ♫
The Wonderbolts did a fly-by,
and the only way past those giant fans
and into the castle ducts is here.
But there's no room for mistakes!
Just like space travel!
Uh, Pinkie?
We're not actually going into space, right?
No, silly!
I'm dropping you two off as soon as we're close to the fans!
Then I'm going into space!
You're up to something, Twily.
Nope.
Just looking at the flowers.
Right.
Maybe Rarity's plan will work!
Canterlot!
We have a problem!
I know that one's a crowd favorite.
What say we play it one more time?
And a one, and a two, and a—
A distraction's a distraction.
Where's Spike and Fluttershy?
Did they make it into the castle?
They jumped out right before the balloon went
but that's all I could see without being in space,
where I didn't get to go!
Let's hope Rarity and Rainbow Dash had better luck.
What's this? Closed?!
Oh, the seedy juice joint
is always closed around this time.
Then how are we meant to shake down
ne'er-do-wells for information?!
What sort of information do you need?
Um, the location to a secret entrance
to the passages under Canterlot Castle.
You mean that one?
Yes, thank you.
That will do nicely.
Zephyr Breeze?!
Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, darling,
this couldn't be more perfect!
How is this perfect?!
He's the most annoying pony in Equestria,
and he's totally obsessed with me,
and we have to come up with a way to distract—
Oh, no. Oh, no-no, no way!
Wha...?
Rainbow!
I knew you'd come running once you heard I got this job!
The mares love a pony in uniform, am I right?
Not really.
I mean, eh, totally.
Why don't you step into the light so I can see how... ugh...
handsome you look in it?
I told the sarge that gold kinda clashes with my aura,
but apparently, they aren't big on input.
Still, I totally managed to rock the look, don't you think?
Yep.
You're real guard material.
I'm part of the castle team now,
so I'm basically— Whoa! We got a swooner!
It's good you're finally being honest
with your feelings for me, Rainbow.
Blech.
The truth is such a gift. Like,
I had to follow my bliss to see guarding is my calling.
Like, look at me go.
I'm gonna walk over here, and I go whoo! Over there!
And I go, "Yeah!" and sometimes,
I just stand like this and look real cool,
and I go down the hallway and go...
We'll have to glide to the throne.
No flapping.
Sister!
Another false alarm from Shining Armor's guard geese.
We should have heard by now!
Something must have gone wrong!
Probably several somethings.
No lookout, no distraction,
and no word from the ponies inside!
I'm starting to think this whole operation might be a giant flop!
Oh no!
Gee Fluttershy, I thought your whole small spaces thing
was just part of the plan to be unexpected.
Once I got trapped in the Castle of the Two Sisters,
and Angel Bunny and I were separated!
Now whenever I'm in a tiny room, it's all I can think about!
I was so worried he felt alone and forgotten!
I know what that's like.
What do you mean?
I was always excited to be part
of Twilight's and Shining Armor's rivalry,
like I was their little brother!
But they never really thought of me that way.
I know they both have a special place
in their heart for you,
but sibling dynamics are hard, trust me.
Right, Zephyr Breeze.
Honestly, he could learn a lot
from you about being a little brother.
I am sick of being lost in these slimy corridors too,
but you shouldn't pull every lever you come across!
Half of them are traps!
And the other half might open a secret passage to the castle!
It's not worth the risk!
Oh, hello Spike.
Even if we do find our way back to the castle,
we still have all of those guar-- Spike?
Fluttershy?!
Uh, what are you guys doing down here?
We, uh, kind of fell through the floor.
I don't think our plan is working.
We've both hit dead ends.
Perhaps we should return to the surface and re-evaluate.
What are you all doing out here?
In retrospect, our plan might have been too unexpected.
Every part of it failed?!
Oh, now I'll never get the crown!
Maybe we should go back to doing things the Twilight way.
You mean the totally expected way?
It may not be a surprise,
but you have a pretty good record for planning things.
Then I guess it's worth a try.
Thanks, Spike.
What are little brothers for?
Okay!
You all know what to do!
At least one part of our expected plan worked unexpectedly...
To be fair, it was never made specifically clear to me
what 'guarding' actually means, so this is on you.
I'm strong, Twilight, but not even I can buck through solid rock.
That's why I brought a specialist.
Next shift.
You're on break.
You've been flaring so hard!
Who wants a feather massage?
We mapped this out when we got lost down here.
The lever to the secret hallway entrance should be...
here.
I can't believe this worked!
I guess sometimes the best plan is the one you expect!
All I have to do now is fly over and take the crown,
and I'll be sibling supreme forever!
Not exactly.
Oh, come on!
Gotta admit, it was unexpected for you
to do everything exactly how I thought you would,
but you should know by now -
there's no way to beat the true sibling surpreme!
I am sorry, Twilight,
but it looks as though Shining Armor has truly won the crown.
That's the thing about looks - they can be deceiving.
Spike?!
How in Equestria did you do it?!
Come on, you two don't think you have the only sibling rivalry!
I had an inside pony help.
It wasn't hard to miss there were some disagreements
on the whole security thing.
I said we could do it ourselves,
but some ponies are a bit more stubborn.
So while Shining Armor went on and on about
his improved security measures, Luna and I struck a deal.
She put Zephyr in charge of the catacombs,
and helped keep Celestia out of the castle hallways!
Once Luna was on board, I just had to do my part,
and make sure we stuck to Twilight's plan
so we'd all get to the throne room at the same time.
I knew Shining Armor would let it play out
until the last possible second.
Then, while everyone was distracted by his gloating,
all Luna had to do was float the crown over to me.
I, uh, apologize, for not listening to your concerns, sister.
It seems we need to make adjustments to account
for threats inside the castle, as well as out.
If you agree?
If you think it's worth discussing.
So, if Twilight and Shining Armor failed, who gets the crown?
The true sibling supreme.
Spike.
Huh?
The little brother we've always had.
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Transcript: OmegaBowser
Sync: OmegaBowser