Chapter 1: An Endless Night

Guards started rushing into the Princess' chambers after they heard Night storm in. Some of them suddenly stopped, shocked and horrified at the sight in front of them. NightStar, one of the Princess' most loyal guards, had murdered her. He held the dagger he used to commit such an atrocity in his right hoof. Celestia's dead body lay on the floor, her head resting on Night's lap. He had murdered the Princess in cold blood.

That's what the guards thought. That's all they saw. A once loyal, honorable guard had murdered the Princess he'd once sworn to serve and protect. But, why would he even do this?

Celestia's sister, Princess Luna, soon entered the room, following the guards. Her eyes widened. She stood in front of her sister's dead body, completely still. She saw the unfortunate stallion who had been caught in the middle of all this. The stallion who murdered her sister, the Princess. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her legs weakened as she burst into tears. She was furious, horrified, and sorrowful. Her sister, Princess Celestia, was murdered in cold blood.

Night looked up at them, dropping the dagger. He knew what they were thinking. They thought he was the murderer. But this wasn't true. He knew this. He opened his mouth, and tried to speak, to explain to them what really happened, that he didn't do this.

"I… I didn't do this… I swear…!"

He started shaking. They were going to blame him for this. There was no way to convince them otherwise. He was the only one there. He was holding the dagger when they came in. There were no signs of anyone else entering the Princess' chambers. All evidence pointed towards him being the murderer. The Princess' murderer. They would not have mercy on him. They were surely going to execute him.

"You… You murdered my sister…!"

Said Princess Luna, tears running down her face. Her sorrow quickly turned into rage. She soon started shouting at the stallion she believed had murdered her sister.

"Traitorous swine! I will have you executed for this! Get him out of here!"

The guards grabbed Night and started dragging him out of the room without a word. Night tried breaking free. He started shouting, trying to prove his innocence.

"I'm innocent, I swear! I would never do such a thing! Please! It wasn't me!"

They dragged him away to a dungeon. They stripped him of his armor and weapons. They puts shackles on his hooves and threw him in a dark dungeon deep underneath the castle. Luna stayed in the room. She slowly walked over to her sister's body. She looked down at it and fell to her knees, crying.

The sun never rose on that day. Celestia was dead, and Luna lacked the strength, both emotionally and physically, to lift the sun and shine light over Equestria. Word had gotten around fairly quickly. The Princess was murdered. The once happy, cheerful land of Equestria was now grim and melancholy. No ponies came out of their houses, for they were all mourning their beloved Princess.

Night sat in the dungeon, still shocked at everything that was happening. He hadn't moved at all since they threw him in there. He knew he was surely going to die. There was no way he could prove his innocence.

He saw a light approaching. He soon noticed two tall, armored guards walking towards him, both carrying torches. They were followed by a tall, dark figure. It was Princess Luna. They stopped a few feet in front of him. One of the guards set his torch on the wall.

"Leave us."

Said Luna firmly, and the guards walked off. She stood still for a moment, staring at Night.

"Why?"

She asked him, as that was all she could think say. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She kept trying to think of a reason for all of this, wondering why anyone would do something like this.

"I didn't do it…"

Said Night nervously. He knew the Princess wouldn't believe him. He could barely see her face, but he noticed the rage in her eyes as she heard his answer.

"Liar! You killed her, and you were probably planning on doing the same with me, so you could claim the throne for yourself!"

She shouted at him, furious. Night was visibly shaken. He thought about his quite possible, fast-approaching death.

"It wasn't me… I swear… I was just walking by the Princess' chambers, and I heard a struggle, and a yelp. I rushed in to see what was going on, but… It was too late…"

The Princess looked at the ground, shaking her head. She tried to control her anger. She started talking. Night could still hear the rage in her voice.

"Lying shall only make it worse. Confess to your crime in front of the ponies of Equestria, and maybe I shall spare your life. But you will live out the rest of your days in exile."

Her horn glowed, and she picked up the torch with her magic. She walked out of the dungeon, leaving Night alone in the darkness.

The guards came for Night later that day. They put a sack over his head. They grabbed him and dragged him out of the dungeon. They threw him on the ground at the top of the stairway to the castle.

The sack was removed from Night's head. He looked down, and saw thousands of ponies at the bottom of the stairway and all over Canterlot. He couldn't recognize any of them in the darkness of this seemingly eternal night, except for a mysterious hooded pony who stood out amongst the massive crowd. They were shouting furiously, all except for that one pony. They demanded the beheading of the stallion who murdered their Princess.

A large stallion stood by a small, wooden base. He was wearing black robes and a black sack over his head. He stood on his hind legs, holding a large axe in his front hooves. Night was forced to rest his head on the wooden base. Luna sat on a throne at the entrance to the castle, overlooking all of Canterlot. She got up, shouting firmly.

"Silence!"

And the furious shouting of the ponies died down. The Princess got up and walked over to Night.

"NightStar the pegasus, you are being accused of treason, for murdering Princess Celestia and plotting against me, Princess Luna, in order to claim the throne. You did so while she was in her chambers, at night, with this dagger."

One of the guards brought the dagger forward and held it out for Night and all the other ponies to see, the Princess' dried up blood still on the blade.

"You have betrayed the Princess that you once swore to serve and protect. What have you got to say about this?"

Night looked around nervously, before focusing on Princess Luna. He could tell, from the look in her eyes, that she wanted him to do as she told him earlier, in the dungeon. He had a lot of time to think about his choice. He could die a quick death, or live out a long, solitary life in exile. He knew it wouldn't be too different from his current life. He was always a solitary stallion, preferring his own company over anypony else's. He took a deep breath, and looked into the Princess' eyes, before starting to speak loudly, so everypony could hear him.

"I… NightStar, the pegasus, admit to having murdered Princess Celestia in cold blood while she was in her chambers, thus betraying not only the Princess I had once sworn to serve and protect, but also the land of Equestria. I am also guilty of plotting against her sister, Princess Luna, in order to claim the throne and rule over Equestria."

The ponies' furious shouting resumed. Luna looked down at Night, visibly satisfied.

"NightStar the pegasus, you are hereby stripped of all lands and titles, and sentenced to exile for the rest of your life. You are never to set hoof in the land of Equestria ever again, and if you do so, you shall be immediately executed."

The guards grabbed Night and started dragging him away. The shouting of the crowd grew louder. The ponies were even more furious than before. They wanted to see Night beheaded. Luna realized this, and turned around, facing the crowd.

"Silence!"

She said, turning to Night and the guards.

"Wait."

She said to the guards, and gave them one more order.

"Off with his wings."