The dimly lit hallways of the Sparkle estate were dead quiet, with the only sound being that of a lone earth pony taking a midnight stroll. The pink pony turned a corner and jumped back in fright when she almost ran into a small yellow pegasus.
“Fluttershy! What are you doing up so late, sweetie pie?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking at the young mare with a frown.
“Oh, s-s-sorry mother…” She mumbled weakly, quickly getting up from the stone floor. “I just followed you because I was wondering where you were going, but then I got lost… This house is so big…”
Pinkie Pie grinned and embraced her young daughter in a hug. “Well, don’t worry dear; I was just taking a little walk, that’s all. It’s just… I’ve been having some trouble sleeping lately…”
“Why’s that?” The timid pegasus asked, looking up into her mother’s light blue eyes.
“Nightmares… You see, me and-”
She was cut off by the sound of hoofsteps down the hall. Pinkie quickly let go of her daughter and yelled into the darkness.“Who’s there?!”
“A friend.” A voice replied, and within a moment, Twilight stepped into the light of a nearby flickering torch. She looked somewhat distressed and weary, which brought questions to the earth pony’s mind. A tired looking servant trailed behind her.
A wave of relief washed over Pinkie at the sight of her friend, and she couldn’t help but grin. “You’re still up, Twilight? The Princess already went to bed hours ago, so I imagined you would have too.”
“I’m just having a little trouble sleeping, that’s all…”
“Well I can relate to that, which reminds me. I dreamt about those three fillies last time I slept, and it seems they revealed some truth to you?”
“Bah, I haven’t thought about them at all since we met them.” Twilight quickly lied. “But if you want, we can talk about them later.”
Pinkie nodded. “That’d be great, because I still have an awful feeling about them…” She then turned to Fluttershy. “Let’s get going. It’s time for bed.”
Twilight said goodnight to the both of them before they paced down the hallway, quickly disappearing into darkness. She turned to the servant behind her, who had fallen asleep against the wall. “Go get my wife ready for bed, and tell her to ring a bell when she’s done. When you’re finished, get some rest for yourself.” The servant nodded happily before hurrying down the hallway.
Twilight was just about to go to head off to her bedroom when suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared in front of her. She rubbed her eyes and took a few steps forward, hardly believing what she saw. “Is this a dagger I see before me?”
She asked into the darkness, looking the floating dagger up and down. Its ornate handle was positioned to her hoof, and the shinning blade was coated with fresh blood. She reached out her hoof and tried to grab the blade, but she merely passed through it as if it were air.
“Are you real? Or merely a creation of my sleep-deprived brain?” The blade continued to float in mid air, and Twilight stared at it as if she were in a trance. “Is this a sign for what I have to do? That I have to kill the Princess?”
After another minute of staring at the mysterious blade, she shook her head and turned away from it. “No! It’s just a manifestation of my fears! It’s not real!” She declared firmly to herself.
A bell rang through the halls and it sent shivers down Twilight’s spine. “It’s time…” She mumbled, closing her eyes. “Soon, Princess… you will be in either heaven or hell…”
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Twilight slowly looked from behind the corner, quickly letting out a sigh of relief. She got out from her cover and paced over to the Princess’s door, where two pegasus guards were passed out. The strong stench of alcohol wafted in the air, and their snores echoed down the empty halls.
This is it... There’s no going back now… I have to do this… Despite all the protests of her mind, she very carefully used her magic to unsheathe one of the guard’s daggers. After a minute of standing in silence, Twilight pushed open the unlocked door and entered the Princess’s bedroom.
The enormous, well furnished bed held a single sleeping figure. She quickly closed her eyes, not able to even look at the pony she was about to kill. After some time of just standing there, she took a step closer, then another. Each step sent shivers down her spine, and her heart rate increased to the point where she could hear it rapidly beating at her chest. She eventually reached the side of the sleeping alicorn, and she breathed a long, heavy sigh.
I can’t do this. Her mind told her firmly. I could never kill the Princess! Not after she taught me everything… Another thought sprang to mind however, about all she would have after one simple swipe of the blade.
I’d be Queen, as would Rarity! The entire kingdom would be ours, and the plan is so simple, so easy that it couldn’t possibly fail! All I have to do is move this dagger, and then the deed would be done. Simple as that.
The figure turned in her sleep. Startled, Twilight jumped back. The alicorn grumbled a few times before drifting back into her deep sleep.
Twilight could hear her heart perfectly now; its steady ku-thump repeating over and over again. Rolls of sweat rolled down her forehead, dripping off of her face as they splashed against the carpeted floor. It seemed as if time itself had slowed, as Twilight positioned the blade up in the air. In one swift movement it fell, cutting through the air and towards the sleeping alicorn’s chest.
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Lady Rarity walked down one of the hallways of the estate, smiling as she was sure everything was going perfectly to plan. “Ha! Those guards are idiots! It was so easy to get them drunk; I swear stallions will do anything for a mare…”
“Twilight should be killing the Princess right now. How easy a plan this is! I’m brilliant, really!” She smirked. Suddenly, she jumped in fright after hearing a yell. “What was that? Twilight couldn’t have messed this up, it wouldn’t be possible! I would have killed the damn Princess myself, had she not looked so much like my mother as she slept…”
The lavender unicorn came running down the hall; Rarity smiled upon the sight of her. “Twilight, dear!” She noticed that she looked visibly shaken, as her body was trembling and her eyes darted about. Her hooves were also coated in a large amount of blood, which was dripping onto the stone floor.
“R-Rarity…. It’s done…” Twilight replied, her voice weak and hoarse. She could hardly believe what she had just done, and just wanted to forget about the whole thing.
“Good! I told you it would be simple!” Rarity grinned, now relaxed that the plan had gone perfectly.
“But…” Twilight paused a moment to look deep into her wife’s eyes. “As I k-k-kil…” She stopped, unable to say the word. “I heard a voice. It said, Twilight has murdered sleep, therefore Twilight will sleep no more… Twilight shall sleep no more…”
Rarity let out a chuckle, “Don’t worry, my wife! The deed is done now. Go get some water, and wash this filth from your hands.” She said in a comforting voice, however, she snarled at the sight of the dagger in Twilight’s hoof. “Why did you bring this here?! Idiot! I told you to leave it with the guards! Go back and plant the blade on them!”
Twilight shook her head, fear flashing through her frightened eyes. “N-no… I can’t go back there! I won’t!”
Rarity sighed in frustration. “Fine! Give me that then! I’ll go and do it myself!” She snatched the dagger with her magic and pushed past her wife. “I’d be ashamed if I was as cowardly as you…” The mare quickly disappeared into the darkness of the estate, leaving Twilight alone to ponder what she had done.
A knock echoed around her, and she glanced around with fear. “What’s that? Who’s there? What am I to do when every noise scares me? Will all of the water in the ocean wash this blood from my hooves, or will I remain scarred forevermore?” Her heart was racing as she looked around, and after a few minutes she saw Rarity return.
“Gah, my hooves are covered in blood!” She said in disgust, another knock sounding around them. “It sounds like somepony’s at the south entrance… Quick, let’s go to the bedroom. A little water clears us of this deed, how easy it is then!”
The knock sounded for a third time, and Rarity sighed in annoyance. “Let’s go, before somepony sees us…”
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A knock echoed through the large entrance hall. A purple earth pony known as Berry Punch stumbled through the darkness, grumbling in annoyance as the knocks continued.
“Who’s knocking at this hour?! *Hic* It’s as if I’m the doorpony to the gates of hell! In the name of Nightmare Moon, who’s there?”
The knocking continued, and the drunken pony slowly made her way to the door. “A beggar who has stolen a loaf of bread? Come on in!”
Her vision impaired, she ran into a wall and slumped to the ground. The knocking persisted. “A Canterlot *hic* tailor, who’s stolen a Fillydelphia design? Come in, you’ll find rest here…”
Another knock sounded, and the earth pony made her way to the large wooden doors. “Quiet! What are you? Bah, this place is far too cold for hell! I’m merely the door *hic* pony…”
A final knock sounded before she opened the doors. A cyan pegasus pushed her way in, and was soon followed by golden stallion with a cowpony hat. The pegasus, whose mane was rainbow colored, turned to the drunk pony and snarled. “You sure took your sweet time to answer the door!”
“I apologize, my *hic* lord… I’ve been drinking, ma’am, and alcohol provokes three things…”
“And they are?” Rainbow Dash questioned, very annoyed with the doorpony.
“Red noses, *hic* sleep, and urination!” Berry Punch giggled; unable to stand, she fell to her rear.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in disgust. “Is your mistress awake? I need to speak to her now.”Almost as if on cue, Twilight stumbled out of the darkness and nodded towards the two ponies. “Ah. There she is. The knocking must have woken her.”
“Hey there!” The golden stallion known as Braeburn said, the excitement in his voice clearly audibly.
“Hello to the both of you.” Twilight greeted weakly. She wished nothing more than to return to her bedroom, but this seemed urgent. Rainbow Dash was the leader of the pegasi, so this was most likely something very important.
“Is the Princess awake, advisor?” She questioned, giving Twilight an odd look as she looked her weary body up and down.
“Not yet.”
“She told me to come to here quickly; I need to talk to her.”
“Her bedroom is at the end of the hall, on the left.” Twilight said, nodding toward one of the dark hallways. The pegasus headed off down the hallway and disappeared from sight, leaving Twilight with Braeburn and the passed out Berry Punch.
After a moment of silence, the golden earth pony looked toward Twilight. “Did you hear the storm last night? It blew down at least a dozen houses, and some ponies even said they felt an earthquake! Never in all my years have I seen anything like it!”
“It was a rough night…” She replied simply.
Rainbow Dash suddenly rushed into the room, a horrified look on her face. “O horror, horror, horror! The Princess is dead!”
“What?!” Braeburn roared, and Twilight did her best to sound surprised. “She can’t be!”
“Go and see for yourselves!” She stated, and the two of them quickly hurried down the hallway. “Sound the alarm bell! Murder, murder! The Princess is dead! Pinkie Pie, Luna! Wake up!” Rainbow Dash yelled down the halls, within a moment a bell sounded and the entire estate seemed to awaken.
Lady Rarity entered the entrance hall with a disgruntled expression, obviously upset that she had been woken from her sleep. “What’s with all the noise? What’s going on?”
“Gentle lady, this isn’t news you should be hearing but… The Princess is dead, she’s been murdered!”
“What?!” Rarity yelled out in surprise. “No! How could such a horrible thing happen under my roof?!”
Pinkie Pie rushed into the room, followed by several servants who seemed just as confused as everypony else. “Murder? Here?!” She asked in confusion, hardly believing what was happening.
Twilight, Braeburn and Spike all poured into the room now crowded room. The lavender unicorn was the first to speak. “It’s true… The Princess lies dead. It’s quite obvious somepony has murdered her.”
Just as she said this, Luna paced into the room with the servants quickly making a path for her. “What’s going on?” She immediately questioned, looking across all the grave faces of everypony.
There was a long silence, and the first to break it was Rainbow Dash. Her usual annoyed, angry tone was gone, and instead she had a caring, compassionate voice. “Your sister is dead… Murdered, not long ago.”
A look of pure horror crossed Luna’s face. “Wh-what? By who?!”
Braeburn spoke up at this. “It looks like the guards have done it; their daggers are covered in blood, not to mention their clothes. They shouldn’t have been trusted to guard anypony’s life.”
Rarity, at this point, seem incredible distressed. “Oh, this is all so horrible!” She declared before fainting, her body immediately being swarmed by the servants. Twilight quickly went to her side, and placed her hoof on her wife’s.
Luna watched as they attended to her, and she was growing warier by the second… This is truly terrible… Whoever killed my sister, whether it is the guards or not, will surely come after me…
Rarity was quickly carried away by the servants, leaving the entrance hall much less crowded.
Pinkie Pie turned to Twilight and nodded. “We need to call the other leaders and discuss this further. We need to decide who’s murdered the Princess!”
“Right.” Twilight replied, hurrying out of the room with her friend.
Luna slowly backed out of the room, her eyes scanning the remaining ponies. Canterlot is no longer safe… And neither is Equestria… I’ll go south and leave the country… It’s the only way to insure I’ll be safe…
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While the Sparkle estate was in full uproar, the gardens outside were still quiet. Spike, along with a very old looking pony, walked together, chatting.
“So many weird things have been happening in the past few days… The sun should be up, yet it’s still so dark.” Spike commented, looking at the sky with confusion.
“Yes…” The old pony wheezed. “Very strange things indeed… Such as last Tuesday, when I saw an owl kill a falcon. Something is happening… Something horrible…”
“Look, here comes Rainbow Dash!” Spike said, pointing to the pegasus that was walking towards them. “Have you decided who the murderer is?”
“Yes… We believe it was the guards, but they were obviously paid off by somepony… Not only that, but Luna has gone missing! Some are starting to become suspicious that she did it, but I doubt it… I think there’s something else going on here…”
“But with Luna gone, who will take the throne?” Spike questioned.
“The leaders of all the tribes have decided that Twilight will become Queen. She’s going to be crowded tomorrow, and the Princess’s body will be taken to the royal graveyard.”
“Wow…” Spike mumbled, surprised that Twilight was now to be Queen. “Well, goodbye Rainbow Dash. I’ll go off to see Twilight. She’ll want me there to see her crowned.”
“Well, I need to go back to Cloudsdale and inform everypony there. Goodbye, Spike.”
The pegasus took off into the night air and quickly flew away. Spike waved to the old pony before leaving the tranquil gardens.