The sound of shouting and jeering was deafening, despite the best efforts of the pony on top of the stage.

“Ponies, please!” he shouted. “We are about to announce the sentence of the jury.”

This seemed to calm the rabble, which began to quiet down in anticipation of the verdict that would decide the fate of their ruler.

Their ruler, a cream colored and azure maned alicorn, stood in the stand next to a group of old unicorns clad in gray robes.

Her frazzled coat was spotted with dark, reddish brown patches all over her, and several patches of fur were missing. Her mane was disheveled, and it didn’t have any of the ethereal quality it showed in her glory days.

She didn’t care, though. She no longer cared. She knew that she deserved the treatment she had gotten, and she knew her beloved had experienced the same before…

She gulped.

One of the unicorns, the eldest of the group, gave a step forward and drew a scroll from underneath his robes. Once the crowd had calmed enough, he unfurled the parchment and addressed the gathered ponies.

“Princess Blue Dreams,” the unicorn read aloud, “for the crimes committed against your kingdom, not fulfilling your royal duties,” he paused as he looked at the alicorn with hatred, “and neglecting the treaty with the dragon kingdom, which incurred the wrath of the one known as Fafnir,” the crowd erupted in hateful screams once the name of the creature was mentioned. Regardless, the unicorn raised his voice and kept speaking, “you are hereby sentenced to death by the council of unicorns.”

The crowd erupted in cruel cheers at the proclamation of the sentence. The elder unicorn rolled up the parchment and looked at the Alicorn, who still kept her eyes closed. “Do you have anything to say in your favor, Princess?” He spat.

The Princess slowly shook her head in denial, as a tear made its way down her cheek.

“Then so be it,” the unicorn said as he nodded to the rest of the unicorns, who then surrounded the Princess.

They all closed their eyes and began channeling magic on their horns; slowly, a deep, dark blue aura formed in the tip of their horns, and it grew gradually as time passed.

The alicorn could feel the cold beginning to envelop her, and a soft gasp escaped her lips.

“Any last words, Blue Dreams?” the unicorn next to her asked in a tone that didn’t betray his calm stance, but the fire in his eyes was enough to let the alicorn know the anger and pain that he hid inside.

“I have failed you,” the alicorn spoke in a manner that evoked the high, regal tone in which she addressed her subjects in times past, “and I accept the punishment you have deemed fit for my actions,” her voice dropped and spoke in a soft whisper that was still audible, “I am so very sorry.”

Silence dawned on the crowd, and nobody dared to move. The unicorns in gray robes shifted nervously as they looked at each other, not knowing how to react. The silence, however, did not last.

“Kill her!” cried a mare from the back of the crowd.

The rabble erupted once again in pained screams. The unicorns closed their eyes and continued with the spell. The Alicorn knew that her time had come.

"I'll see you in the next life, my love," she whispered as she raised her head and looked at the heavens above.

The shouting of the ponies increased, and as Princess Blue Dreams closed her eyes for the last time, she thought of her beloved.

And then the silence enveloped her.