The night sky was crisp and clear. Moonlight poured in through the ornate windows and onto the cold marble floors of Canterlot Castle. The air was as silent as the shadows filling the halls. It was eerily peaceful.
"Peaceful and boring," thought the lone unicorn guard as he stared out at the stars. The steady clip-clop of his hooves could be heard echoing through the stone halls as he continued his nightly rounds. It was a sound he had begun to hate ever since he was assigned the late shift.
"It's always the same," he continued to think to himself. "Make a round, check the vault door, make a round, check the vault door. Eight hours every night and hope for a schedule change."
It's not like anypony was going to even make it to the secure vault in the first place. Considering it was at the heart of the castle, a thief would have to bust through dozens of guards just to reach the hall! Besides, if it really were so important, why would they assign only one guard? As he recalled, he hadn't even seen the inside of the vault!
He thought back to how he had joined the royal guard for the prospect of excitement and heroism. Fighting some monsters, protecting the citizens, even saving a beautiful mare or two. None of that had come to pass in his time of service, as most of the guards seem to have little duty other than standing at entrances to empty rooms, roaming the halls, and keeping their armor polished.
"Half a year of training just to walk around an empty hall in the dark," the guard scowled, taking off his helmet to scratch his mane. "Equestria's finest," he snorted. "What a joke."
The candlestick striking him on the back of his head seemed to punctuate his words a little too well.
As the guard slumped to the floor, a cloaked figure trotted past his limp form and onward towards the vault. The stranger looked upon the great steel door that stood before them.
A soft glow began to emanate from under their hood as the lock spun. The great passage opened with the slightest creak to reveal the treasures inside.
Gems, gold, artifacts, gifts from foreign lands all filled the massive chamber, all seeming to glisten under the light of the moon. Enough to buy an entire country, or bring one to it's knees.
The intruder strolled right past all of this and maintained a course straight for a small painting on the wall. Casually tossing it aside with a wisp of magic, a small hide-away in the stone was revealed.
Ever so carefully, a small metal cylinder covered in strange script levitated into the air.
It seemed to speak, as if to tell something of dire importance.
The thief excitedly stored the object in their right saddle bag, then quickly exited the vault, not caring to close the humongous door.
It no longer mattered, nothing mattered.
Everything was about to change.
Years of preparations would all come into play, and they would be one of the most crucial pieces on the board.
It was a thought that made them giddy with anticipation.
"Soon my brothers and sisters," the figure whispered aloud with a hungry grin. "These lands will burn in the holy light that is our great transformation. At last, we will be made whole."