Okay, okay, this was it. This was her moment. Misty hadn't screwed this up yet and if she pulled this heist off, Opaline would be so proud. She'd give Misty her cutie mark for sure.

Misty peeked out from her blanket at the other ponies. They were all fast asleep. It was very late, nearly dawn. She'd purposefully taken a spot at the edge of the room so she could sneak out easier. It was now or never.

Letting out a long breath, Misty crept out of her sleeping bag. No pony stirred. She tiphooved across the room, freezing when Sunny stirred slightly. Once the earth pony settled, Misty started moving again.

Don't trip, don't fall, don't sneeze, don't step on a creaky floorboard, don't screw this up, Misty chanted to herself.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief when she got out of the room. Alright, go time. She was a shadow. She was a not-scary ghost. She was a master of stealth. She almost tripped on a crystal somepony had left in the hallway, but didn't. Because she was so stealthy.

First, she retrieved her bag from where she'd stashed it earlier that night. Then it was up the elevator to the Unity Crystals. Thankfully, the elevator was quiet.

Misty approached the floating crystals, heart thumping in her chest. She felt like she was going to be caught at any moment. The sooner she grabbed them, the sooner she could leave.

Even knowing that, Misty did take a few seconds to study the crystals. She'd tried to act not too interested in them when the other ponies had been watching her so she hadn't gotten the best look at them. So this was where Opaline's stolen magic had been all this time. The pony tribes hadn't even been using it right. How stupid was that? Well, now the magic would be back with its rightful owner.

Misty reached out a hoof over the railing to take the crystals, only to jerk back when they suddenly began to glow brightly, and a force knocked her hoof back. She nervously crouched down and backed up; eyes wide. Had anypony seen that? It hadn't made a noise, but would the other ponies sense something was up and come running?

Flustered, Misty fumbled her locket out of her bag and opened it. "Opaline? Opaline, I've found your magic, but there's some kind of… magical barrier thing protecting it. I don't know what to do."

The locket's inner mirror stayed dark. Why wasn't Opaline answering? She knew Misty was on this mission, she wouldn't have gone to bed. Her gaze drifted to the crystals. Maybe they were blocking the magical signal somehow. But she needed to speak to Opaline.

Misty bit her lip, anxiously prancing in place. "Okay, fine," she whispered to herself. "This is fine. You can do this Misty." Taking her camera out of her bag, she snapped a photo of the Unity Crystals, then descended back down the elevator.

She crept into some random room, seemed to be an unused guest bedroom, so she wasn't out in the open, then tried the locket again.

"Opaline?" Still no answer. Why? Oh, wait, this whole building had been made by the crystals, so maybe the whole building was a magical dead zone.

There was a window in this room. Misty pushed it open and leaned out of it with the locket. Please let this work.

"Opaline?"

"Misty." Opaline's face finally appeared. Thank the stars! "Do you have something to report?"

"Yes," Misty nodded eagerly. "I've found where they've been keeping your magic. It's in these things called the Unity Crystals. They have them here at the Brighthouse. But I can't get to them, there's some kind of magical barrier blocking it. What do I do?

Opaline raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, Misty, I must say, you've far exceeded my expectations of you. I thought I'd have to send Sugar Spice to get anything of substance done." The words stung a little, but they weren't wrong. Sugar Spice was way better at this reconnaissance stuff than Misty. Opaline would have sent her instead if she'd been available. "So, these Unity Crystals have my magic?"

"Yes, definitely," Misty confirmed confidentially. Then her ears drooped. "But I can't get to them."

"Hm, unfortunate," Opaline mused. "Do not risk your cover any further with continued attempts. I'm sure you've made enough blunders for some ponies to already be suspicious of you."

Misty's ears drooped further. It was true. Zipp was clearly suspicious of her. Sugar Spice wouldn't have made so many mistakes.

"You… don't want me to try again?" Misty checked timidly.

"Not tonight at least," Opaline confirmed. "You've gained valuable information, Misty. With that, we can formulate a proper plan. Even a single failed attempt will put the ponies on alert. If you managed to get so close to the crystals, they clearly must have almost no security and it would be best that not change."

"They don't," Misty nodded. "No guards, no locks besides the front door. If that stupid barrier wasn't there…"

"A minor hurdle in the grand scheme of things," Opaline assured her. "I've waited a long time, I can wait a little longer to have things done properly."

"So… there's nothing else I can do now?" Misty asked, feeling like a failure.

Opaline pondered the question, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Not necessarily… These ponies you are with, they were the ones to find the crystals, yes? How did they learn of them?"

"Oh, um," Misty stuttered as her brain raced to recall. "I'm not one hundred percent sure. They, er, Sunny's dad had the earth pony crystal, but-"

"Did he now?" Opaline interrupted with a grin. "And where is he?"

"Oh, um, I think he's dead," Misty told her sadly. "I didn't pry about the specifics, I didn't want to make her sad." She felt so bad for Sunny. Misty knew what it was like to lose a parent. She still grieved her mother's death and she'd never even known her father.

"Hm, that might prove better for us anyways," Opaline shrugged. Misty was a bit surprised by the cold response, but Opaline didn't know Sunny's dad and the magic was very important. "See if you can find anything from him," the alicorn ordered. "A diary, a research log, a journal, anything that might seem useful. And be quick about it. The sun is nearly up, and we don't know when we'll have another easy infiltration like this."

"I can do that," Misty agreed, happy to have some clear direction. "Sunny pointed out his study to me earlier. I bet I'll find something in there."

"Excellent," Opaline nodded. "Don't allow yourself to be caught."

"I won't," Misty promised. "Oh, and your locket doesn't work inside the building. Some kind of magical interference. I'm hanging out a window to talk to you right now. So I won't be able to contact you again unless I have a way outside."

"Interesting," Opaline hummed. "Though not entirely surprising. Now stop wasting time and get that information."

"Right," Misty said, then closed the locket and rushed to the study.

When she crept through the door she was greeted with a wall of books. Oh no, she didn't have time to search all of these! Which ones had what she needed?

She scanned the bookshelves, dismissing many by title alone. Unless one seemed promising, she didn't want to move any of the books. Somepony might notice if things were shifted around.

One book in particular finally drew her attention. It was a thick, brown, leather book with no title on the spine at the very end of one of the lower bookshelves. She pulled it out and on the first page she saw hoofwriting- Property of Argyle Starshine: A Collection of Ancient Equestrian Research. Flipping through some of the other pages, she saw more hoofwriting. This was Sunny's dad's research journal!

Misty eagerly began skimming the pages. Even just a quick glance was enough to see that this book was important. Throwing the book in her bag, Misty bolted for the exit.

Once outside though, a realization hit her. She didn't actually need to take the book; she had a camera. If she took pictures of the pages and returned the book, the ponies wouldn't be aware that anything had happened. And with Zipp already suspicious of her…

Misty dove into a ring of bushes in the garden, pushing her way into a hollow area. The sun was starting to rise, plus her camera had a light on it so visibility wasn't a problem. Time was the enemy now. The book was huge and she needed a picture of every page.

She moved quickly, not stopping to read any of the pages, just making sure the image was clear then moving on. That was, until one page caught her eye.

'Alicorn Princesses' was written at the top in bold letters. Misty glanced through some of the articles. Princess Stella, Princess Concordia Glow, Princess Wysteria, Princess Lapis Luster… Yep, all alicorn princesses. The bad guys really shouldn't have access to information on alicorns.

Very carefully, Misty cleanly ripped the alicorn pages out one by one, not leaving any bits of paper behind. She shoved those pages into her bag then continued taking photos of the remaining pages.

The sun was fully up now, but she was so close to being done, just a dozen more…

Finally, finally, she was done. Letting out a sigh of relief, Misty put away the camera and wiggled her way out of the bushes. Now all she had to do was sneak this back inside and return to her sleeping bag.

She was halfway to the entrance when the sound of the front door opening caused Misty to jump and scramble back. Somepony was coming! She still had the book, she was going to be caught!

Panicking, Misty desperately searched for a hiding place. There wasn't one. Not for her. She couldn't make it back to the bushes in time. There were chairs on the patio with pillows on them though. She thrust the book under some pillows and darted back just before Zipp flew around the corner.

"Misty? Why are you out here?" Zipp questioned, eyes narrowed in a way that was very not good for Misty. "Are you already leaving?"

"What? No!" Misty disputed. "Of course not! I'm, um- I wanted to watch the sun rise over the ocean, but I didn't want to wake anypony. Not everypony's an early riser like me."

Zipp didn't look any less suspicious. "Why do you have your bag?"

"Oh, um, I just kinda, grabbed it, out of habit, on the way out," Misty lied. "There's not even really anything in it. Most of my stuff is still inside." That part was true. It was nothing Misty cared about leaving behind if she'd needed to make a run for it, but the stuff was in there. "I should go get it all, actually. If I don't pack now, I'll forget something when I leave." With that, Misty dashed back inside.

Ugh, Zipp was going to be even more suspicious of her now. Still, she'd accomplished her mission. Kind of. It was more than anypony had expected from her, including Misty herself. At this rate, she'd have her cutie mark in no time!