It was a cold and quiet night for those who were asleep across the Crystal Empire. Unbeknownst to anyone, Sunset Shimmer was wide awake. Her indigo cloak blended into the quiet night. Her equine form moved quickly towards the Crystal Castle with relentlessness.
That all came to a close when a lone guard was walking about. His horn alit with light as he patrolled the western portion of the castle. For her, that seemed like the most easy place to get in. Her mind stopped on an instant and she ducked around a lam post. The silence was deafening. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest, as she could hear the rush of her own blood through her veins. At least she thought she could.
The lone guard strode on while Sunset waited in a frozen pose behind the lamp post. The whole affair lasted a mere few seconds, but for her it felt like an eternity. Alas, the guard walked out of sight. Sunset knew she had to create a distraction, there were other guards within the castle. Something was needed to call their attention elsewhere.
Nearby there was a large bush. Some other guards were near it but seemed to be idly loitering around. If Sunset was any other mare, she knew she would be reporting them. With a quick movement she moved behind one of the nearby buildings with the large bush directly in her line of sight. With a devious smile her horn began to glow.
With her mind focused, an ignition spell would flare up on her horn. Two orange helixes quickly formed from the base of her horn and spiraled up from the base to where they converged at the top. Once they converged, a dull orange orb began to glow as it expanded rapidly to about the size of an apple.
Suddenly it fired off from her horn towards the bush as she focused on her target. It would hit the branches of the bush squarely, in the blink of an eye they would light aflame. The bush began to burn. As soon as she saw this she darted away behind another lamp post. Her grin remained fixed on her face. Seeing that flame reminded her of her own passion that burned within her heart.
The guards meanwhile would snap out of their somewhat dazed states at the realization of a fire. They looked each other quickly. Soon, shouting would be heard as the guards would quickly alert the others of the situation. One of the guards ran off quickly towards the guard barracks to inform the other guards. The fire station was on the other side of the city. Of course, Sunset knew this. She had to get inside the castle before the alarm sounded.
Quickly Sunset moved to the base of the castle. For a few moments she glanced upward to take in its impressive size. One could say from this angle it looked like it could poke a hole in the sky. Her gaze turned towards an unattended balcony up ahead. With a teal flash she'd teleport up to the balcony.
Once there she leaned against the exterior of the castle as she looked down below. Her eyes gazed at the situation below with more guards arriving at the scene. Their focus was clearly on preventing the fire from spreading before the fire department could arrive. Her eyes reflected the entire scene within the sublime glow of the Moonlight.
Moving towards the door she would creep along before suddenly putting her face up against the window to peer in. It took a few moments before she noticed that there were no guards wandering around inside of the castle. Sunset knew where Twilight was staying. Of course, all high level dignitaries would stay at the upper levels of the castle so they had the finest view.
Sunset knew this, in part because she had been here prior, to scope out the layout of the castle so she knew exactly where everything was. Like any thief worth their craft - they would case the area for a few nights before making a move. While she looked within, the various scenes of her previous expeditions replayed themselves through her mind in photographic detail.
With a swift hoof movement she opened the door and moved in. There was a bit of a squeak from the hinges and she could swear she heard it echo. Shutting the door quietly, she entered within and leaned up against the wall to make sure no roaming guards were about. There was a singular guard up ahead but he was heading in the opposite direction she wanted to go. Perfect.
Sunset quickly moved down the exterior hall towards the stairwell. It was eerily silent throughout her movement. Her hoof steps were mostly silent due to the careful manner of how she moved. She was careful to put just enough pressure on her hooves with each step so they wouldn't clop on the tiled floor. As she moved she could see the Moonlight illuminating through the windows, casting rays of quiet illumination throughout the hall.
Soon enough she spotted the stairwell up ahead. Unlike the others, this one was far wider than all the rest. It was good because she'd know if anyone was coming down the stairs without alerting them of her presence. She could hear movement down the hall. Evidently a few guards were moving about. Perhaps that was due to a guard shift change.
Sunset began to ascend the stairs. Thankfully for her no guards were using this stairwell. Floor by floor, she slowly went up to floor 13. That was where she expected Twilight and her friends to be staying. Whether it would reign true or not - she was not certain. If her friends were all asleep, perhaps she could do something to them? The thought quickly departed her mind. That would take time, and add more risk to her intended aim for tonight.
Finally reaching the floor of her desire, she would stop at the edge of the stairs and peer out in either direction. Another guard was coming her way. Sunset ducked around the wall as she heard the clip clop of the guard's hooves in the darkness. The guard was clearly a mare, but that didn't make the whole ordeal any better. Her light shined out from her horn in a protecting glow, shimmering across the tiled floor. Her gaze remained forward. Sunset was as still as a stone as the guard walked by, totally oblivious of her presence.
The clip clop of the guard's hooves gradually grew quieter as she turned down the other hall. Out of sight. With a quiet sigh of relief Sunset's gaze would turn towards a pair of double doors at the end of the hall that lay straight ahead. This was it. It was time she'd enter into Twilight's room. The area lay still like a chessboard all laid out to play, would the pawns move in her favor? That wasn't up to her to decide.
Her predatory grin reflected the Moonlight as she quietly marched forward towards the doors. Looking back once or twice she verified that there were no guards patrolling up the stairwell from which she came, nor down the hall. It was at that verification her hoof moved towards one of the knobs and silently gripped the knob. Then she began to turn the knob, soon enough Sunset slipped within the confines of the room.
Instantly she heard a peaceful quiet snore and her eyes gazed upon the bed. Twilight Sparkle's sleeping form was seen in the bed with the rays of Moonlight illuminating her purple form. Sunset's predatory grin softened ever so slightly at this sight. Deep down within Sunset's heart she could feel something out of the ordinary. What was it? That didn't matter, as the thought was quickly washed away as Sunset turned to see where the Element of Magic was.
It lay still and placed upon Twilight's nightstand. Sunset quietly walked towards it like a fish would to a lure. All was just right...until the piercing sound of the alarm rang throughout the city. Twilight's sleeping form jolted awake in her bed. Sunset froze up slightly as she saw Twilight jostle about a bit in the covers before sitting up.
As soon as Sunset locked eyes with the awakened Twilight, her hooves would grab the Element of Magic and stuff it into her pouch. Instantly Twilight snapped to complete awareness and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Intruder! There is an intruder here! She's got my crown!" she shouted.
Sunset smiled devilishly. "Right you are, Twilight Sparkle..." Sunset said succinctly as she broke off into a sprint down the hall. Quickly there were sounds of movement throughout the rooms as Twilight's friends all awakened. The nearest guard down the hall was now charging at a full sprint towards Twilight's room.
Twilight attempted to match Sunset's speed as she sprinted after her. Quickly, Twilight's horn lit up a brilliant shade of purple as her friends gave chase down the hall with varying levels of confusion. Twilight teleported before Sunset but missed the exact position she wanted to make, which allowed Sunset to see her in time so she could make a move.
To counter this, Sunset would teleport ahead of where Twilight was. Twilight managed to catch up to Sunset and bit down on her tail, pulling back harshly. The female guard charged onto the scene and took a second to see what was going on. Sunset broke loose but tripped, falling on her back with the crown still in its pouch. Her teal magic quickly secured the crown but not before Twilight would also grab the crown with her magic.
"You will release my crown this instant, whoever you are!" Twilight growled, her eyes blazed with fury.
Sunset only smirked as her strength was easily strong enough to wrestle Twilight's strength. "Funny you haven't heard of me. Another lie your Precious Princess spews...how pitiful!" she goaded as she rapidly increased her magical hold. Twilight did the same.
"Stop!" Twilight called out. "Get her!" she growled at her friends and the other guard who quickly charged onto the scene. Still Sunset wasn't deterred by this. In fact it only added more fuel to her flame.
"I was once like you. I was young and full of dreams. But then I realized that dreams are meant to be..." a sickening snap was heard throughout the hall as Sunset broke the Element of Magic in half with her magic, with an added twist of the Element of Magic. "Broken..." she said, satisfied with her work.
Sunset didn't intend to break the element of magic but it was far too late to consider an alternative. Twilight's friends quickly pounced onto Sunset to wrestle her to the ground, but still her hooves remained locked around her half of the Element. Her horn quickly lit up a shade of teal as Sunset focused at the end of the hall by another balcony. Within an instant Sunset appeared at the other side of the hall.
Taking advantage of the group's confused shock she threw open the door and teleported down to the floor below the castle. The group didn't see her in time. Quickly Sunset ran to the train station as fast as her legs could carry her. Lights throughout the castle began to light up. Sunset could feel the rush of cold air past her body as she made it to the train, going around the building to avoid being seen by the passengers.
There within the dark her eyes scanned the train's form for an empty train car. The interior illumination gave way to what she wanted within a second. There was an empty car towards the back. Her horn glowed teal once again and she teleported into the car.
Within the car she moved herself underneath one of the seats and stayed still. A few ponies would move their way in but they were busy talking amongst themselves and sat towards the front. The trains weren't too busy this time of night.
Ten minutes later the train would depart the station with a roar of the horn and a sudden jolt. Sunset smiled wildly from underneath the seat as she watched the buildings of the Crystal Empire retreat away. Although it didn't go as planned, that's all that mattered.
"Carpe Diem..." Sunset whispered under her breathe quietly in satisfaction of a job well done.
