Starlight Glimmer's excellent plan

Night had fallen upon the town of Poniville. A calm night, peaceful night. Everypony was asleep. Except, probably, for one mare.

Starlight was sneaking through the town's streets, clad in a hooded cloak. Down one street, then another... She wanted to brag she was passing them with ease, but it was very hard to navigate in almost complete darkness -- not even the moon to be on the sky. In case somepony wasn't asleep Starlight durst not light up her horn. So there she was.

The almost complete darkness didn't much like Starlight snooping around the sleeping town, so it caused her to bump into something. Starlight managed not to fall, which, alas, could not be said about the object she had bumped into.

Crash! It was so loud Starlight's ears were ringing! What even was it and what was it doing there on the open streets?

A light was lit in a window nearby. Then another. And another. And yet another. It was as though the entirety of the town had been waked up!

Starlight gulped.

Ponies started to pour outside with lanterns. Starlight couldn't risk anything. She took the time spell out and prepared to activate it.

"Oi! Who is there?" -- somepony's gruff voice barked.

Oh dear! Starlight hurried. White light emanated from the scroll, and she felt dizzy. The entirety of the world was blurred, and when her vision was cleared, she was back on the road outside of town. Back at her choice point.

This time she would be prepared.

It took Starlight some attempts, but finally she learnt the location of something bumpy to the point she could walk the same street without bumping into anything. That was a triumph. She made a note mentally: huge success! It was hard to overstate her satisfaction! She was but prancing in her excitement, suppressing the inappropriate joy. Down the street, then on to another.

The Castle was looming at a distance. Closer and closer Starlight got, until...

"Yow-w-wch!" She yelped, as she'd tripped over something and sprained her ankle. "Ouch, ouch!.." -- she whimpered.

Lights started to light up. Ponies had heard the yelp and were wondering, what kind of a poor soul was suffering outside.

Starlight hissed in pain, then prepared to cast the time spell.

"Excuse me, -- someone called. -- Is something the matter?"

But Starlight didn't respond.

She was back on the road outside of the town. Her sprained ankle didn't hurt any more. That was the beauty of the time spell. Alright! -- she thought. It was time to do over.

She sneaked into the town and proceeded to navigating the streets. Alright... There went the bump. The Castle was looming. Now careful... Mind the trip!

She almost fell again, but this time her ankle didn't suffer. Everything had gone quietly. Success! The Castle was awaiting. Starlight tried to make sure nothing would deter her on her way there...

Yeah... Time and time again Starlight would bump into things, crash into things, cause a ruckus somehow... It went on, and on, and on, and on... She was time-travelling, rewinding and doing over and over... Until finally, when it seemed she'd spent the entire night fumbling about...

The Castle was there. And nopony suspected a thing! Starlight smiled. Yes! She cast the spell to mark the choice point at that moment in time. No more doing over!

Now... How was she to enter?..

She tried the easiest option: she approached the Castle's massive entrance doors and tried to open them. They didn't budge. Of course, the Castle was closed for the night. "Figures".

Hm, so, maybe, there was a window on the first floor she could try?

Starlight walked around. Sure enough, there were windows, but they were all closed. Fortunately, Starlight had foreseen that and come prepared. She brought out a glass-cutter and applied it to the glass.

And it was only after the glass circle was held in her hoof, that she remembered something and cursed herself for not thinking ahead: she didn't want to leave any signs of her having been there!

But at least the window was opened now...

Then Starlight noticed another open window high above the ground. She stared at it for some time. Then her face contorted in anger. She pulled out the time spell and activated it. Rewind and do over.

Starlight approached the Castle, but instead of going to the closed doors she went to the side; there, instead of trying to break into the first-floor window, she pulled out some rope she had prepared specifically for a case like that (she did think ahead many-many steps, after all) and threw it upwards, attaching it to the railing of the balcony with a hook. Tugging at the rope a few times -- it was stuck fast -- she started her ascent.

Alright! She reached the balcony and got over the railing. Perfect! She tiptoed inside.

There was a basket in the room, covered with a blanket, and under the blanket there was dim light. Somepony was reading late at night, no doubt. Starlight held her breath. That was unfortunate. But... if she were quiet, maybe, whoever there was wouldn't be disturbed and would continue reading?

Starlight stepped carefully. Then another step. There had better not be a creaking floorboard! A ginger step. Then another one... She was already halfway across the room, when suddenly the rustling of the blanket was heard.

Starlight froze.

And immediately there was a loud shriek:

"Gah! W-who's that?!"

Starlight bolted back to the window. She noticed, that sitting in the basket was a small purple dragon, staring in shock at her.

"H-hey!"

Darn it, Starlight thought. She slid back down the rope and, once there, prepared to rewind. Meanwhile panic was rising in the Castle. Screams were heard. Lights went on. Windows opened...

And Starlight was rewound.

She stood before the Castle Of Friendship. Darkness reigned inside. Everyone was asleep.

Starlight breathed in. Time to do this again. Alright!.. She went to the side with the balcony and went through the moves, attaching the rope and climbing it. This time, however, she did not enter, waiting patiently...

Her patience paid off, when the dragon got out of his basket and went downstairs. Yes! Starlight smiled and sneaked inside.

Now all she had to do was to find that thrice accursed Twilight Sparkle.

"This... is hopeless", -- Starlight mumbled.

She had been prepared for everything: to sneak through the night, to break into windows, to climb ropes and to fight the princess.

She was not prepared for the Castle Of Friendship being so damn huge.

She was lost. So many chambers, so many hallways, so many staircases!.. And it didn't even seem so big from the outside! What was its deal?

The time spell was of no help. No matter, how many times Starlight did over, she didn't get closer to Twilight Sparkle. Where was she sleeping??! Ugh!..

Defeated, Starlight was about to rewind to the beginning in hopes of succeeding the next time, but, when she was about to cast the spell, she felt something resonating with her magic. She paused curiously.

The source of the disturbance seemed to be in a room next to her. Starlight, breath bated, approached the door and carefully opened it. She poked her head inside. Nopony there.

Her eyes met a big round table, surrounded with six... no, seven chairs. Starlight activated her horn. The table was positively magical.

Very interesting...

Starlight closed the door and created some light with her horn to see better. Small pictures adorned the chairs... oh, wait, no, thrones. Starlight scowled: "My, my, Princess..." One throne was more than enough, but seven? What, for every day of the week? Ha! Starlight scoffed.

Then her mind returned to the pictures on the thrones. They felt familiar. Starlight distinctly remembered seeing them, but she didn't remember where. And then it hit her:

"Their cutie marks!"

The thrones were for each pony of Twilight Sparkle's group. Except for throne number seven: it did not bear a mark.

Starlight felt she'd discovered something very important. Those cutie marks... They did not need to mark each their own throne, did they? No, they clearly...

Starlight focused on one of the thrones, specifically on the cutie mark, then reached out to it with her magic. The mark responded. It was clearly magical, and that meant... That meant, something was going on with the Castle.

"Seven thrones for every pony plus one. Hm... How did they appear?.. They can't be hoof-made..."

The magical table and seven magical thrones...

"Alright, let's figure it out!"

And Starlight focused her magic on the table.

[Excerpted from Starlight's personal diary]

Bad news, everypony: the next step of my plan has failed. Good news: I've discovered something very-very important.

It turns out, Princess Twilight Sparkle has seven magical thrones, but that's nothing! To be proud of. Still the fact she has so many pales in comparison to another one.

She has a magical table that shows her the entirety of Equestria! This is amazing, all because of how it does that!

This magic is mind-blowing! It has connections to every place in Equestria! I would know: I've studied it myself! Spent the entire night, barely fled in time!

Wait...

---

I know, what to do.

I need to sneak to the table and to try to activate the time spell on it. By connecting time and space I will create something even more amazing!

This is how it goes:

• Connect time spell to table;
• Invoke table's interface;
• Travel through space and time;
• Carry out my plan!

By the way, my plan needs corrections. But now everything is better!

Cloudsdale, here I come! Twilight Sparkle, beware!

The next night Starlight visited the Castle again. After much fumbling she found the table and set to re-write the time spell so it would work with the table's magic. The work was huge, and in the early morning Starlight fled unfinished. But she had time. Night after night she visited, preparing the spell to take her and Twilight Sparkle to Cloudsdale. And it had to be perfect.

What will happen, when we both arrive?

---

What, if we don't even arrive?

---

What, if she refuses to time-travel?

Many questions did Starlight ask, and all needed answers. The plan was re-written accordingly, when they were found, over and over to achieve perfection.

What would her next step be? So far she didn't know herself. But she did know it was coming.