The hooded figure stalked through the forest, illuminated only by the moonlight. She snapped twigs and crunched dead grass underhoof as she went along, focused only on her immediate goal. She could feel the cool night draft creep in through her leather cloak and armor, threatening to make her shiver. It mattered not to her, however. The task at hand was much more important than her own health.
 
        She breathed a sigh of relief as the top of the spire poked above the treeline. Her objective was not far. She steeled her resolve and forced onward. Her Excitement caused her speed to grow until she broke into a full trot. By the time she reached the bridge, her breaths came out in ragged pants. She took a moment to rest before continuing on, soon reaching the large double doors.
 
        Her hoof reached almost on its own for the large cast iron door knocker. Three knocks in quick succession rang out, as according to the plan. A few moments passed before the creaking of the hinges alerted her that her call had been answered. As the doors opened, a glimpse of a single stallion grew until the full image of him opening them was revealed.
 
        "A bit late, aren't we?" His voice called out sternly. "I was beginning to think you had bailed," He taunted.
 
        "Yes, well, there /is/ a bit of distance between the ball and here," She replied coldly without looking at him while stepping inside. "Besides, this was my own plan. I wouldn't bail on something of my own."
 
        He continued glaring at her for a few moments before sighing in defeat. "Well, you're here now. I suppose that counts for /something/. Shall we?" He asked after a short pause.
 
        "Let's," She replied, stepping next to him. "We'll brief in your room before putting the plan to action," She thought aloud.
 
        "Sounds fair," He trotted over to the lift. "And maybe while we're alone..."
 
        She turned toward him for the first time since arriving and leaned in. "I recommend that you keep anything you're not fond of losing hidden under your armor," A glimpse of her eyes shone from underneath the cloak, emanating the cold emotion within them.
 
        Dusk started the lift with a bit of grumbling under his breath at the frigid rejection. /Ungrateful wench/.
 
        They soon reached the fourth floor.
 
        He opened the door with a key and showed her around the room as he gathered his armor and weapons and lay them upon the bed. A magical aura surrounded his saddlebags as he dragged out his map of the corridors.
 
        "I believe the princess should still be in her meeting for another half hour at the least," He mumbled while rummaging through the closet where he had placed a few of his items.
 
        "Good. That should give us enough time to prepare," She spoke softer than before. "Are there any witnesses to be worried about?"
 
        "Not as far as I know," He thought for a moment. "Everyone else should be in bed by now, save for everypony at the meeting. Even the staff have turned in for the night."
 
        "Perfect. Seems you are good for something after all," She replied in a voice that Dusk was unable to tell whether she was serious or not.
 
        "I'm so very honored, princess," He mocked.
 
        "Not yet," She tightened a few straps on her armor. "Let's take a closer look at the map."
 
        They took their time shaping the plan from a rough crystal into a shapely and perfect diamond. It became nigh impossible to crack and was free of flaws.
 
        "That should just about cover it. She should be finished with the meeting by now. I'd be willing to bet that she's on the twenty-fifth floor," He drew his sword and admired his reflection in it before re-sheathing it. "Are you ready?"
 
        She took a deep breath and craned her head side to side, popping her neck and working out any kinks. Finally, she turned back to him and spoke.
 
        "Let's knock this bitch off her throne."
 
                                                        *****
 
        Celestia sat at her desk in her temporary room on the twenty-fifth floor, silently humming to herself. She wrote in her journal at an almost feverish pace. Her mind was completely focused on the leather-bound book in front of her. The creaking of the door startled her from her thoughts.
       
        "Oh! I'm sorry, I must've missed your knocking," She apologized, closing the journal and snapping the strap on it closed.
 
        "I've done no knocking," The cloaked figure replied chillingly, slowly stalking towards the desk.
 
        Celestia began to rise, put on alert by this strange pony. She felt something... off about her. Something wasn't right. "Ah, alright then...How may I help you?" She asked, glancing sideways to her guard's post at the backdoor--which was missing a guard, she noticed.
 
        "It's not so much how you can help me," The figure began, standing in front of Celestia's desk. "As how I can help...You!" The cloaked mare pounced upon Celestia upon finishing the final word. The sudden jolt caught her off guard and knocked her to the ground, rendering her stunned.
 
        She lay there in a daze for a moment before regaining her senses at the sight of the mare drawing a weapon. Celestia used her telekinesis to shoot her assailant into a nearby wall. "Dusk!" She called, holding the figure down. Unfortunately, the cloaked figure was able to break free from the magical grasp, shattering the aura into the surrounding air.
 
        Within a fraction of a second, the mare was back upon Celestia, this tine with her daggers drawn. They struggled for a moment before the alicorn's body convulsed from the sudden pain of the edge splitting her skin. This weakness gave the attacker the headway she needed as she sank her second dagger into the goddesses' flesh, tearing much needed tissues and vessels.
 
        "Dusk!" Celestia flipped upright and threw the attacker across the room again. While the assassin was stunned, she rose to her hoofs painfully. The deep wounds in her upper chest and barrel slowed her a bit, dripping blood. She swore that the second blade had separated a few of her ribs.
 
        Celestia lost her temper and telekinetically slung the desk at her enemy, winding her and pinning her to the wall. She held the desk there as she spoke. "I don't know what it is you're after, but the only thing you're going to find is a prison cell if you keep this behavior up,"  
 
        The assassin struggled against the desk with all of her might, but was unable to make it budge. It was only as Celestia's strength wavered from her blood loss that she was able to gain the upper hoof.
 
        In the same instant, the hooded figure jumped into the air and flung several lightweight knives into her target's chest, downing her with a pained gasp. "Dusk!" She yelled a final time, stuggling back to her hooves woozily.
 
        "No need to scream, Celestia. I'm right here," He answered from behind her.
 
        "Help me, then! What are you doing just standing there?!" She questioned, suspicious of his motives but too lightheaded to think much further.
 
        She didn't receive an answer as the assassin's knives once again dug through her meaty shoulder and chest. This time, the blades stayed embedded as she stumbled around and finally collapsed near her rather large scenic window. The two stepped over and loomed over their fallen ruler.  Her head slumped to the ground as consciousness flooded away from her in a river of red.
 
        "Oh no you don't, we're not finished yet," Dusk's sword was unsheathed and subsequently tore through celestia's wing, forcing another gush of blood to pour. The attack had the desired effect, however, with her pathetically attempting to scramble away from the blow so that she could sink into blissful unconsciousness. They backed away from her, allowing her to get to her hooves.
       
        "Et tu, Dusk?" A single tear fell from Celestia's eye as she stared at the traitors. The salty drop ran down her cheek and mingled with the blood to form a pink, swirly solution.
 
        She stumbled in their direction, unable to stand on her own. The assassin would have none of it, however. She twirled around, slicing her twin blades through the air. The bloodied metal caught onto two fleshy bodies, one a goddess and the other a bystander.
 
        Dusk swore as his own stitch-work on his cheek was torn open. He cascaded backwards into a dresser and held onto it tightly for a moment until the initial sting passed. He turned back to the assassin who was inching Celestia closer and closer to the glass panes of the window.
 
        "What the fuck?!" He screamed.
 
        The hooded figure most likely did not hear him, however, as the same moment he screamed was the moment that the glass was shattered, both physically and figuratively. The window shattered, allowing the princess her fall from grace, and in the same moment an intangible window of several thousands years of rule was also destroyed, ripping the crown from the first of two sisters.
 
        Unknown to all who witnessed it, this simple act of murder and treason would be the loose string which would eventually cause the chaotic unraveling of Equestria itself.
 
        In her final moments, the thoughts swirled through the princesses' hazy mind, wonders of what would become of the future, of her sister, of the assassin, of her formerly loyal bodyguard, of the elements of harmony, and many other things that she did not have enough time to think about before her body became one with the ground twenty-five stories below with a sickening bone-shattering splat. Only her cutie-mark remained untouched, until the crimson horizon flowed over her sun and caused it to set for the final time.
 
        Twenty five stories above, the two traitors turned from the remainder of the window, satisfied with their work.
 
        "It is done. The pieces should begin falling into place within the next few months," The hooded figure spoke.
 
        "Yeah, yeah. Glad to help and all," Dusk patted his once again bloodied cheek, smearing the scarlet solution into his coat. "How about watching those damn knives next time?"
 
        She ignored him, however, and stepped over to the area where the desk had been previously located at which the late Celestia had been writing something. Her eyes scanned over the cluttered floor and rested upon a journal. Try as she might, however, she was unable to get it open.
 
        "Magical seal," He clarified, stepping to her side. "As far as I know, there ain't a way to break that unless you're Celestia herself," he looked in the direction of the window, "And she seems to be taking a break."
 
        She gave up on the item, storing it in her saddlebags. Together, they left the room and trotted through the narrow grey hallway. They came upon the lift and set out for the first floor, eager to get away before too much suspicion arose.
 
        "You go ahead and head back to the ball, I'm sure the rest of the elements are wondering where you are," Dusk opened the lift's doors as they reached the lobby. "I'll clean up here and notify a guard that Celestia has been assassinated."
 
        She nodded at this and made her way silently to the front doors. Without a word, she was out of sight again.
 
        Unbeknownst to each of them, however, their treasonous act had been partially observed by somepony hidden.
 
                                                *****
 
        The Royal Guardpony swore as fire burned at the muscles in his legs. His heart pounded like a war drum in his ears as he raced in the direction of the Royal Ball. He knew tonight was a bad idea for delivering a message. Something had told him. He wished he'd have listened. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
 
        It had all started with Princess Luna wanting a letter delivered to Celestia from the ball. She had told him that it was of very little importance and could wait. But of course, as the new recruit, he'd wanted to impress her by delivering it as soon as he possibly could. Now he was bringing back quite the opposite. He was bringing the message that the sun goddess was dead.
 
        His hooves tore over the smooth road as he entered Canterlot and raced toward the Palace.
 
        Finally, his lungs begging him for air, he burst through the doors of the palace, unnoticed by most of the now drunken party-goers. He was forced to stop for a moment and revitalize his lungs with oxygen or risk losing consciousness.
 
        As he stood, a drunken mare stumbled over to him and wrapped her hooves around his neck. "'Ey ther handsum," She caressed his neck, "Why don'tcha come with me and have a lil' fun?"
 
        He pleaded with the mare to get off of him before finally shoving her away and racing toward the backroom where Princess Luna was most likely located. Sure enough, he saw a dark alicorn looking for something as he entered the doorway.
 
        "Princess! I have some urgent news," He nearly choked on the words. "Your sister has been... killed."
 
        The Princess of the night froze and menacingly turned toward the small guardpony. Her eyes wide, she stared for a moment, dumbfounded, before striking him hard across the cheek with her hoof.
 
        "H-How dare you? Why would you say such things? I can smell the alcohol on you, you drunken bastard" She stared angrily into his eyes.
 
        Once he had recovered from the blow, he replied shakily. "P-princess, I w-would never lie about such a thing. She has been assassinated," The poor guard looked as if he was going to burst into tears.
 
        Luna stood still for a moment, examining his face for the signs of a ruse before realizing that his words were spoken with truth. She /did/ feel a strange hollowness within her, as if a part of her had been weakened. She turned away from him to stare at the night sky. "Gather the Elements of Harmony and bring them to me, they need to be aware of this. Otherwise, keep it a secret. The last thing we need is chaos reigning at such an inopportune time," She whispered, completely unlike her usual Royal Canterlot Voice.
 
        The new recruit noticed this, but made no comment on it. "At once, your majesty," He turned and left, beginning his search.
 
        When she was sure he was gone, she stared at the moon, noticing that it looked just a bit duller than usual. It no longer reflected as much light from the sun. Instead, a faint scarlet glow emanated from it.
 
        "H-how could this have happened, sister?" She asked to no one in particular. She had no idea who would want to murder her sister, or for what reason, but she vowed that she would find out. In her mind, memories of her beloved sister doing various things with her swam around. Every memory from the time Celestia taught Luna her first spell to just a few hours ago when they had parted seemed to bubble to the surface. She had not expected their last meeting to be the final one. If only she could have known...
 
        Soon, her emotions overtook her and she began to cry. Slowly at first, her face remained steeled while tears ran down it, but soon her bottom lip began to quiver and the dam burst. She lost all control and openly sobbed, for the loss of her sister, the loss of peace, and the end of thousands of years of unchanged rule coming to an end. Suddenly, the ocean of memories in her mind flowed red.
 
                                                *****
 
        About an hour later, Twilight and her friends all sat at a large rectangular table in the meeting room of the castle. Nopony spoke, but in their minds they all wondered why they had been summoned. Their eyes watched over  the lone standing alicorn in the room. Princess Luna.
 
        Every so often, she would open her mouth, as if to speak, only to turn her head away from her audience and curse. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The stillness in the chilly night air only served to prove this point further. The words that came out of her mouth next, however, were completely unexpected and caught them all off guard.
 
        "She's dead."
 
        Everypony in the room felt a chill wash over them at these words, no matter whether they understood. Twilight was the first to voice the confusion that they all felt. "Um... I'm sorry. Who is 'she', princess?"
 
        Silence fell upon the room once more, the only noise perceivable being the party going on in the ball room. They shifted around uncomfortably in their seats, unsure of how to take this news. Unsure of who exactly the 'she' in question could be.
 
        Finally, the princess spoke again and they froze. "You know I would only summon you all here if it were an emergency, and, it is."
 
        The next few words that came forth from her mouth shocked them to the very core.
 
        "Princess Celestia, my s-sister, is d-dead," She forced. Her voice almost broke several times as she stuttered. It was as if the words had made the death final. True. They marked her sister's death like a tombstone.
 
        The six ponies sat in silence for a moment, wondering if this was some clever prank. The tears flowing down Luna's cheeks proved otherwise. Chaos erupted in the room as they rushed to group hug her.
 
        Applejack was the first to speak. In her drunken state, her question may have seemed harmless. "Buh Celestia's ah alicorn, I thought they nev'r die," She slurred. The princess reacted by sobbing loudly. This was going to be a long night.