Author's Note

"Blah blah blah" - Spoken words

'Blah blah blah' Silent thoughts

'Blah blah blah' Thoughts said out loud

Chapter I: A Lost Hope (Final edits)

Chapter I: A Lost Hope

I sit in this poorly lit prison cell of Canterlot Castle's dungeon accused of a crime that I did not commit. I hear the door to the prison block open up and turn my head to notice one of the prison guards enter, whose name I learned a few months ago was Honor Trail and had a scar over her right eye. She is fairly tall for a pony having a golden coat with a Strawberry Blonde mane and tail, blue eyes, a horn and a set of four vertical black bars with a police baton beside it for a cutie mark. I take a breath and sigh asking her, "What is on the menu today for lunch Honor Trail?"

She makes her way over towards him, using her magic to levitate a tray of food for today's meal with a scowl on her face as she slides it through the slot on the iron door saying, "Today's meal prisoner, hope you love grits, bread, pretzels and stale cider." She then turns and walks away saying, "Eat fast because you will be going to see the princesses in a half hour in the throne room."

I get up and grab the tray, then return to the bed and reply back, "Yes guard, is there a chance for me to shower before I see them?"

She chuckles and sarcastically calls back, "Sorry about that but they are out of order again, too many prisoners enjoy fighting there and made a big mess." She then looks at the guard on the other side of the window on the second floor overlooking the whole cell block, nodding her head. As he looks at her then nods and opens the door, she steps through and it slams shut behind her.

I sigh and hang my head at the obvious lie and eat my lunch, feeling depressed that I am unable to shower regularly. After eating my food I set the tray back in the slot for the guard to take and go back to reading a book by Star Swirl The Bearded that most ponies refuse to read because of its title, Dark Times. I read a passage that catches my attention that reads, 'I once had a dream that was like a nightmare, I was in Canterlot at the back of a very large angry mob of ponies that were actually wanting somepony to die. It was truly terrifying because execution is something that was banned throughout Equestria many years ago, yet for this one being, they brought it back for his crimes. I tried all I could to get the princesses attention so I could inform them that the being was innocent of the crime that they supposedly committed. It was all in vain because after they said their last words, the blade of the guillotine fell upon his head. That is when the true horror show started, I will never forget how red the moon became right after he died...or what happened after that.'

Just then I hear the door open and see Honor Trail approaching me with a set of chains suspended in her magic as she stops before my door and says, "Walk forward up to the door, prisoner. Don't try anything or I will use force to detain you."

I sigh and get off of the bed, then face the door and stop when I hear her say, "Now place your hands in front of you and stand with your feet close together." I do as she says and a few moments later, I can see and feel the shackles being clamped around my wrists and ankles, watching as the door slides open.

Honor Trail looks with disgust at the prisoner that murdered a pony that everypony across Equus will sorely miss, especially their parents and says, "Now exit the cell and turn right towards the door out of the block."

I shuffle my feet a little at a time, eventually getting in front of the cell and shuffle my feet to face the door out and then stop as I hear her say, "Now walk towards the door out of the cell block."

I begin to make my way forward towards the door at a slow pace until I hear her shout, "Move faster prisoner, we don't have all day!" I then pick my feet up and start jogging slowly towards the door, the noise coming from from the shackles around my hands and ankles connected by a chain that drags on the ground slightly reminding me of a movie I once watched awhile ago back on Earth. The title if I remember it right, was O Brother Where Art Thou.

As the prisoner reaches the spot in front of the door, she calls out, "Stop there prisoner." She then looks to the guard behind the window on the second floor and nods her head, then turns back to the prisoner when the door opens and says, "Now jog forward prisoner, we are falling behind and the princesses are in a foul mood already today."

I continue to jog forward through the prison halls in front of her and pass through the door and hear it slide and then slam shut. As I make my way through the halls of the prison underneath Canterlot Castle I think to myself, 'What did I do to deserve this?'

After about five minutes of jogging down the halls passing maids and royal guards who all scowl at me as some of the maids turn to look at me just to spit in my face and then call me a murderer or butcher and go back to what they were doing.

The guard walks after the prisoner jogging down the halls in front of her, ordering him to turn left or right. Guiding him to the throne room, she thinks to herself, 'I think Carl Knoxx was what he said his name is. The sooner this final meeting is over the faster I can return home to my darling little filly. I hate him for the scar he gave me after I saved him from the other prisoners that ganged up on him in the shower.' She comes out of her thoughts and tells him, "Turn left here."

I try to ignore the glares, the insults, and the few ponies that spit on me and turn to the left to continue jogging down the halls. I look ahead of me and watch where I am going as I make my way towards the princesses.

After jogging for twenty more minutes, I finally arrive at a pair of massive, double doors as I hear Honor Trail say, "Stop here and turn to face the doors." I stop and turn to face the double doors as the two guards demand the identity of who approaches the doors.

Finally arriving at the throne room, she calls out to the two guards, "Honor Trail escorting Carl Knoxx, he has an appointment with the princesses."

The two guards nod and open the doors for them and say,"You may enter, they are expecting you."

She looks back to the prisoner and says, "Jog forward prisoner and stop at the base of the steps, bow to them, then get down on your knees."

I jog forward into the throne room and make my way slowly to the base of the steps and stop, then bow to them and get down onto my knees. I then look up to them and see Princess Luna on the left seat and Princess Celestia on the right seat both are scowling down at me in disdain.

Celestia speaks up first saying, "We have listened to the statements of multiple ponies and discussed your case with each other, we find you guilty of murder in the third degree, Ponyslaughter." She then looks to her sister to continue where she left off.

I stare at her in shock when her sister begins speaking, but I can't understand a single word, because it sounds like she is mumbling. Princess Celestia is looking at her sister as her multicolored ethereal mane is flowing out to the right side over her near pure white coat with her tail sitting next to her rump, wearing golden hoofshoes with a Sun Cutie Mark on her flank and having Magenta eyes.

I then slowly turn to look at Princess Luna who is tapping her right forehoof angrily and says to me, "Did you hear a single thing I said prisoner!?"

I shake my head side to side and respond, "No Your Highness, I was in shock and couldn't understand you. My apologies." I watched her as she grimaces in annoyance, her cyan eyes complimented her dark blue coat and various blue hues in her mane and tail, having a dark purple splotch with a white crescent moon against it on her rump.

She sighs audibly in frustration and returns to glaring at him then says, "I was telling you that we argued over your punishment for the crime and have decided that you shall be executed by the guillotine. It was not easy to come to this decision, but was the only one fitting for the severity of your crime of murdering a pony that every citizen of Equestria knew and loved, and will sorely miss her. You have angered many ponies with your claim that she tried to kill herself, causing many riots and unrest in many cities that we are struggling to get back under control. The death penalty and executions have been forbidden in Equestria for nine hundred years. Even my sister and I shall dearly miss the alicorn that you killed, you shall be executed in two months. You have that time to get your affairs in order, now get out of our sight monster."

I sluggishly shuffle my feet and begin jogging back to the prison I was held in for several years while I went through many trials fighting to prove my innocence, I guess it was all for naught apparently.

Honor Trail moves behind him as he turns around and starts jogging back towards his new home in the prison, Death Row. Oddly, she feels some pity for him to be the first criminal to be executed in nine hundred years since it was forbidden.

I jog through the throne room doors and look at each of the guards' shocked faces as they watch me jog down the halls back the way I came. I pass by several maids who throw food or shit at me, some even spit on my face and call me names like monster, murderer, or even butcher.

She begins yelling to the guards and ponies to stay back from the prisoner, most listened but a few get close and spit on him. She guides him back down the halls the way they came, the minutes tick by slowly until the door to the prison finally comes into sight.

I stop at the first door and wait for it to open. When it finally starts to move, it lets out a screeching noise as a small rock becomes lodged underneath the frame.

Honor Trail looks at the prisoner and loudly says, "I am taking you to your new home in Death Row, when the door fully opens, jog to the end of the block and wait for that door to open as well."

As the noise dies down and the door stops, I turn my head to look to the side and call out to Honor Trail behind me, "Guard, permission to go to my cell and retrieve the book I have been reading?"

She sighs and blinks her eyes slowly saying, "Very well, permission granted. Hurry up though, my shift is over and I want to get home."

I turn my head and look forward once again and respond, "Yes ma'am, I will hurry as fast as I can in these shackles." I then try to jog as fast as I can without tripping and reach my cell within a couple minutes. I enter my cell and grab the book from beside the pillow and start grabbing the bedding next.

She watches the prisoner begin to gather up his bedding and says, "Don't worry about the bedding, you will get new bedding in Death Row."

I let go of the bedding and hold onto the book when the inmates begin talking among themselves loudly at hearing Death Row being mentioned.

A heavyset guard comes in called Heavy Shield, having green eyes, a short red mane and tail on a tan coat with a horn and a cutie mark depicting a shield with a whistle beside it. He holds a baton in his magic and yells out to the prisoners, "Shut up or its solitary for the lot of you!"

Honor Trail says to the prisoner, "You have your book, now get your cup then get moving to the end of the block prisoner, I don't have all day."

I then grab my cup off the sink and exit my cell then jog back down to the main floor of the cell block. Once there, I turn down the long hall away from the exit and start jogging past the cells when I see my girlfriend, Trixie standing by her door with tears running in rivers down her face as she watches me jog slowly past her cell, trying desperately to reach out to touch me with her hoof crying out, "Don't leave me my love, what will I do without you?!"

I then start to tear up and stop for a moment to tell her, "Change your ways for the better dear. If you do not, you will come to call this place home like Flim and Flam. You will be serving a life sentence like them if you do not stay true to your natural talents for entertaining ponies. I must go now, so this is goodbye my love." I then return to jogging down the cell block hall and tune out Trixie's wails for me to come back to her. I stop at the door leading to the guard room that connects the cell block and Death Row, with solitary confinement at the end of Death Row.

She looks back to the guard behind the glass that overlooks the cell block and nods her head, signaling him to open the heavy black iron door.

I wince in pain as the door screeches in protest as it opens, hoping the noise goes away soon. As the noise dies down a couple minutes later, I shake my head to rid it of the ringing in my ears and resume the jog towards Death Row.

She follows after the prisoner, nodding to the guard in the room to open the next door. Thankfully, it opens without a horrid screeching noise. She looks back to the prisoner and tells them, "Third door on the left prisoner, that is where you will spend the rest of your days until your last day on Equestria."

I nod and continue jogging down the alabaster white corridor answering, "Yes guard, at least I will get to have some sort of peace and finally be allowed to shower somewhat regularly."

Honor Trail follows him to the door as he stops in front of the sliding black door to his cell, looking to the guard in the guard room behind the glass and nods her head so he opens it.

I take a breath and watch the black iron door slide open silently, then hits the end and stops. I then jog through the open door and stop, then turn to face the door as it slides closed. I gaze through the glass at Honor Trail, watching as the door hits the end of its path with a soft bang.

She steps forward and removes the shackles around his hands and feet, then pulls them through the slot on the door and drapes them over her back. She then trots back towards the door leading out of Death Row, turning her head to look back at him and loudly says, "If you need anything, just wave your hand out of the slot or bang your cup against the door, since you are the only one in here. Normally you should keep quiet, but since these rooms haven't been used much, this place is pretty much ignored. So make some noise if you want something, you will have to get their attention if they don't check on you regularly. Dinner will be served in five hours, so this is goodbye for today, prisoner. Enjoy your peace and quiet here Carl, time will pass you by before you know it. Your last day will arrive when you least expect it." She then resumes trotting towards the door and nods to the guard to open it, then trots through it towards the main guard room to log out for the day.

As she re-enters the cell block where Trixie is still wailing in her cell on the second floor, and Flim is in his cell on the bottom floor on the left side of the block. She looks to the right and sees Flam is in his cell on the top floor at the front of the cell block so they can't scheme their way out of serving their time here. She arrives at the door at the beginning of the cell block and passes through it, then heads for the main guard room to log out for the day.

I turn around and take a look at what my new home looks like, having a slightly larger barred window at the back of the room with a metal toilet in the left corner with a metal sink to wash my hands, having a mirror above it. A chair sits in the other corner of the room near a desk that is against the wall with a lamp on top of it in reach of the bed on the right side. I make my way to the bed and lay down on it, then let myself cry over how things have turned out for me.

Honor Trail is glad to be going home after a long day of guard duty. She eagerly trots down the halls of Canterlot Castle and thinks to herself as a frown crosses her face, 'I can't believe that the princesses actually brought back the death penalty just for this one criminal, personally I think being banished to Tartarus or the moon for a few hundred years, or even life in prison would be more than suitable as punishment for killing an alicorn.'