It had been almost an hour since Princess Luna had raised the sun. At Donut Joe's, business was in full swing. The active team of Wonderbolts besieged the place. Two tables had been moved together so that the six members could sit down, only for a third to be added when Sunset, Rainbow, Twilight, and Spike joined the breakfast. Dirty secrets flowed, causing a cascade of embarrassed blushing as everypony's secrets were revealed. No one was spared, and every creature was laughing—that is, until a customer opened the door of the shop, allowing a pink and white rocket with a message tied to it to blast past them and finish its flight in Rainbow Dash's oatmeal bowl.

There was mockery over who the recipient of the projectile-based communiqué was. Rainbow Dash untied it and began to read, only for the smile on her face to disappear, and in a sudden gust of wind, she departed the shop and Canterlot with a sonic rainboom, leaving the message behind.

The atmosphere fell flat, and anxiously, Sunset caught the note.

Pinkie.>

She was appalled; all the time that she'd kept an eye on the tracker had been for nothing. This entire time, the human had remained undetected. She turned to Twilight. "Pepper came back. We have to get back to Ponyville now."

"Are you kidding? Even with Rainbow Dash, it would take us twenty minutes to get back to Ponyville, and she just left without us!"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Sunset didn't need to look far for the solution. "The portals—there's one in the armoury of the castle. If we open it in front of Fluttershy’s cottage, we can be there in less than ten minutes."

With those words, Twilight—with Spike on her back—Sunset, and the Wonderbolts stormed out of Donut Joe's shop, heading towards the castle.

"Do you have a plan?" Sunset asked.

"Not really, usually I come up with a plan once I’m on the spot," Twilight admitted.

"If you don't mind, we should start by dismissing all the non-combatants. They would only get in the way—no offence," she explained while looking at the Wonderbolt leader.

Spitfire reacted within a split second. "You heard the royal meanie, go back to the academy. We'll take care of the target."

With a collective nod, the Wonderbolts obeyed the order and slanted toward the sky. It didn't take long for the remaining group to reach the castle armoury.

Sunset opened the gate, letting Twilight through, and then signalled Spitfire to stop while casting a sound barrier spell to conceal the coming conversation. "I have a job for you. Go into the castle and tell the first royal guard you come across that you've passed Bitter Truth and that the oracle just told you that Pepper is about to attack Ponyville."

Spitfire couldn't figure out why, but there wasn't enough time. "I don't know what's on your mind, but I trust you," she said, turning back.

Sunset burst the bubble of silence, passed through the gate, closed it behind her, and teleported to catch up to Twilight.

"Where's Spitfire?" the unicorn asked.

"She doubts she'll be of any use against somepony like Pepper, so she'd rather not get in our way."