A/N: This is a one-shot story, completely unrelated to The New World (Or is it?). I had the idea while reading Game of Thrones, when they killed King Robert so that Joffrey could become King.

On a side note, I do not own MLP or any of the characters herein. All I own is the idea (For now).

THE HOUR OF TWILIGHT

Celestia was woken by the sound of her bedroom door opening. As she crawled out of bed, her sister Luna walked in, followed by the newest Princess, her favorite student, Twilight Sparkle. At first, Celestia was glad to see her two favorite ponies, until she saw the glow surrounding Twilight's horn, and the knife hovering around her. Celestia's smile quickly faded, to be replaced by a serious look.

Looking directly at Twilight, Celestia spoke, "I would have expected this from Luna, but not from you, Twilight. Why are you doing this?"

"For too many years, you have frivolously spent the tax bits of our loyal citizens, slowly pulling our nation into a debt that you didn't even notice. My own family suffered from the slowly increasing taxes until you took me on as your personal student. Now, it is time for a new era to begin," Twilight said, contempt filling her words as she spoke to the Solar Princess.

Celestia then turned to Luna, "Surely she jests, my sister. Our subjects have never been happier. I'm always seeing smiles and laughter wherever I go."

Luna turned away from her sister before speaking, "What you see is a facade the people show to keep you happy, sister. They believe you are an idiot who cares about nothing more than her own personal pleasures. But you are their leader, so what can they do? No, it is best that they show you the fake smiles."

Celestia looked incredulously at the pair of Princesses. Never had she noticed any of the things these two said, but then, she had never paid attention to anything beyond what interested her. But this, this coup, was the wrong way to fix the problem. Just as she was about to say this, Luna spoke.

"Don't try to persuade us that this is the wrong way to solve the problem, sister. We do this only as a last resort, because all of our attempts to show you only met with failure. You were too absorbed with your fun and games to pay any attention to what was happening in front of you. Now, do not worry about your death. It will help us recover from this debt you created. Surely you recognize the engraving on the handle of the blade, don't you?"

At that moment, Celestia saw the emblem on the knife. "Gryphonia? Why would you frame Gryphonia? What have they ever done to deserve the war this will bring?"

Twilight moved the knife closer to Celestia's heart. "Oh, dear Celestia, it's not what they did. It's what they have. The natural resources of Gryphonia could solve our debt problem." Celestia was about to say something, but Twilight interrupted her, "And do not fret. We have already discussed our plans with every nation involved in a sort of 'back door' world summit. Legally, Gryphonia has already been annexed into Equestria, but if we just did that, then you'd spend us into another debt and we'd have to annex another country. But, after we presented our plan to all of our neighbors, they all agreed, even my dear, sweet, sister-in-law Cadence, because they know that if Equestria prospers, the world prospers. And we were not the only ones to point out that if you continue to rule, then Equestria most certainly will NOT prosper. Now, Celestia, my favorite teacher, you must die."

With that, Twilight plunged the knife into Celestia's chest, quickly manipulating it to cut out her heart. Luna looked at Twilight and said, "Now, all we have to do is bring the Gryphonian 'Assassin' in so we have someone we can pin this on."

"Not yet Luna. There's still one more thing that needs to be done."

"And what might that be?" Luna asked, right before Twilight sank the knife to the hilt in her chest.

"Why?" Luna managed to mutter before the darkness took her.

Twilight stood over the bodies of the two Princesses as she spoke, "Oh Luna, if you had stayed for the second half of the summit, you would have known this was going to happen. You see, the conditions of the deal were that BOTH of you had to die, otherwise no one would have agreed to it. I truly regret that it had to end this way, but it's the only way Equestria can survive."

THE NEXT DAY

"I regret to inform you that our dear Princesses, Celestia and Luna, were murdered by a Gryphonian assassin last night. But rest assured, the assassin has been captured, and will face punishment. But that is not all I have to tell you today. We found this in the gryphon's possession," Twilight said as she levitated a bunch of paper for the thousands arrayed before her, "These are orders directly from the Gryphonian Reich to carry out this assassination. I assure you, justice will be met. This moment marks the beginning of the end for Gryphonia, and the rise back to power of Equestria. Under my guidance, we will conquer Gryphonia, and expand the Equestrian Empire! THE HOUR OF TWILIGHT BEGINS NOW!" Twilight's speech was met with thunderous applause as she walked off the balcony and back into the palace. Her friends waited there before her.

Rarity was the first to speak, "Twilight, I know this must be difficult for you, seeing as how Celestia was your oldest friend. I just want you to know that I will be here for you if you ever need someone to talk to. We all will." The others nodded their agreement.

Twilight felt tears forming in her eyes as she spoke, "Thank you girls. You have no idea how much this means to me."

After saying this, Twilight walked up to her friends and gathered them all into a hug, her wings wrapping around them as the tears began to flow down her face. While they hugged, she thought to herself, 'I wish I could tell you the truth, but you wouldn't understand why it had to be done. I'm sorry for this, and I hope you never find out the truth, that I killed the mare who was more of a mother to me than my own, and Princess Luna, who had only just returned, not even having a chance to prove her worth as a ruler."

Pinkie Pie spoke then, "Don't worry Twilight. Your secret is safe with me. I Pinkie Promise," she said as she did the motions.