//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Final Curtain 
// by Purple Patch 
//------------------------------//

“Marchion’s not all that bad, really. I’m not gonna’ lie, there are places in the Outskirts where they do things that turn the stomach of decent Equestrians but the old home of the Sanguines is not one of them. Even during the Wars for Unification, Roth Redstar was one of the less morally objectionable foes Laurelore faced.”
Peregrine had always appeared a giant before Shining Armour. And even now, as a grown stallion, Shining still felt small beside him. Master and student had been making their way through Marchion via a small but quiet pathway that took them over the centuries-old city wall. Peregrine was in civilian gear, an ochre tunic and sepia gown with a gilded belt of office slung around one shoulder yet the stallion always had the look of one expecting a fight around the next corner.
He’d trained his recruits the same way.
“So you knew about the drug dealing in Marchion?” Shining asked “This ‘green leaf’?”
“Atropine.” Peregrine answered with a nod “The outskirts are famous for peddling illegal substances. Some states have loopholes one can abuse but when it’s transferred outside of the state, Equestria is permitted to stamp down on the trafficking. Marchion is famous for many things, its heraldry, its theatre, its cosmetics, its wines and its local omelette, very nice that, try it while you’re here. But a less benign produce that the local neer-do-wells take part in is the consumption and distribution of atropine. The plants you can find the drug grow wide around the countryside. You can buy it in small doses on prescription but the neat stuff is what the users crave, where the real money is. It’s toxic in large doses and doesn’t do you much good in medium ones either.”
“I see...” Shining thought of Prince Herod. The arsenic rat poison hadn’t been what killed him.
Could Atropine have done the trick?
“So are you here on business, then?”
“When I am ever not?” the officer chuckled “I’m down here with a few of the boys and girls from your year, you’ll be happy to hear. Right Angle, Kitty Wake and Bubble Bath. And I heard Sunset Shimmer’s paying us a visit with Flash Sentry in tow.”
“Great. It’ll be nice seeing them again.” Shining smiled “Are Angle and Kitty hooked up yet.”
Peregrine snorted.
“Some hope! Those two will be syrupy sweethearts till they’re old and grey!”
“And the First Lieutenant?”
“Bubble Bath is...Bubble Bath.”
Shining groaned.
“I don’t fancy introducing her to Cadence.”
“Ah yes, mustn’t forget you’re entertaining royalty now.” Peregrine chuckled heartily “Once she’s back home with you, come round to have a look at what we’ve found. The garrison’s not far from here.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“No worries, if her ladyship Mi Amore Cadenza is such an enthusiast of love and passion as they say, I’m sure First Lieutenant Bubble Bath would make a good impression.”
“...I suppose she might be her kind of mare.”
“I’ll bet she is.” Shining caught sight of Peregrine’s cheeky grin as his old commanding officer jabbed him coltishly in the shoulder with his elbow “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought of it.”
“Sir...Come on...” Shining whined, fighting laughter.
Peregrine was a down-to-earth soul and kept his personal and professional life separate. In the ranks, he was hard-as-nails and uncompromising, letting no slipup or setback go unnoticed. Outside, however, he was as friendly as the rest of them.
“Well, I’d best be off to let ‘em know you’re in town” he said at last, turning round the corner to the garrison “We’ll be in touch. Let me know if you find anything useful between now and tonight.”


*


“It’s piffle, the lot of it. Pretentious, paranoid piffle and they’re fools for thinking otherwise.” Dr Caraway was grumbling as he and Cadence spoke of the situation on the garden path.
“You’re saying Prince Herod’s death was natural?”
The donkey snorted.
“Natural enough, certainly in his opinion. Prince Herod suffered from ulcers and degeneration of the heart. If you need that repeated to you, my lady, you’re more like him than you realise. Endlessly I warned him of the dangers of the lifestyle he was accustomed to and endlessly he ignored me.” he sighed in frustration “The evening of his death, he had eaten a disastrous meal, drank excessive amounts of champagne and thrown into one of his rages. I diagnosed a gastric attack culminating in cardiac failure. And I hold to that.”
Cadence nodded and turned to him curiously.
“What about the rat poison that’s been found?”
“Piffle.” Caraway answered flatly.
“In Miss Honeysuckle’s room?”
“Double piffle.”
The mare nodded again.
“I’m inclined to agree.”
“The whole family has it in for her. Not without reason, I’ll grant you, but...” he paused in his rant and turned to Cadence “Did you say you agree?”
She gave him a pitying look. Dr Caraway, it seemed, was used to being ignored. No wonder he seemed so crabby.
“The bottle hadn’t even been opened.”
“Tcha!” The donkey actually came close to laughing “Clumsy, that’s what it is. You’ll be off, then?”
“Not necessarily.” Cadence said, noting this sudden elation of his “There could be poison elsewhere at Sanguine Hall.”
“Hmph! Speaks the born pessimist...or do I mean optimist?” Caraway snorted again “With all due respect, my lady, triple piffle.”
“I don’t know if it is quite as ‘piffle’ as all that, Dr Caraway.” Cadence adopted a stern tone “I’d like to know if there’s anything around that could have hastened Prince Herod’s timely death. And I’d like to start with Miss Maeve’s ‘green herb’.”


Caraway’s face fell uncomfortably and he gave a weighty sigh.
“My lady...I must assure you, such a thing, while not by any means smiled upon, is not illegal in Marchion.”
“Nonetheless...” Cadence said plainly as Caraway explained.
“Miss Maeve Sanguine does indeed have an unfortunate habit of abusing the narcotic known as Atropine. Taken in small doses, once the leaves of the necessary plant have been aged for a week, soaked in salt-water, dried and burnt, it creates a relaxant effect in ponies. She picked up the habit in one of her early infatuations a decade ago.” he spoke gruffly “And yes, Prince Herod did know. And no, he did not approve in the slightest. He entrusted me with making sure her doses were moderated, each year would be lessened slightly.”
“So this was all planned out?”
“My lady, immediate deprivation of the drug causes users to undergo dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can be life-threatening. This was the cleanest course of action without getting anypony outside of the family involved. Above all, Prince Herod wished to protect the reputation of the Sanguine Household. A safe and slow ease onto the clean path, that would solve things. I was looking for alternatives but I didn’t want Mr Scathecraw or Mr Runcible twigging on, you understand. And I hope I can count on your silence.”
“As far as I can manage. We will need to look into this but it won’t be brought up outside of this garrison unless related to Prince Herod’s death.”
Caraway humphed again.
“I wonder if you’re not a Sanguine yourself, my lady? You seem eager to spot a conspiracy against the family wherever possible. Piffle, I say once more. If anypony used atropine, I would have noticed. I monitor the containment of the stuff twice daily. I’ll say it once more with clarity, Prince Herod died through his own wilful negligence as many are wont to do when they ignore the advice of doctors.” He turned on his fetlocks “Now if you excuse me, I have patients to attend do, some that are actually above-ground in this damned madhouse.”
Cadence had got it down in her notepad, ignoring her witness’s brusqueness.
“Thank you, Doctor, you’ve been very helpful. On the subject,” she deposited her notepad and spoke earnestly “How goes Miss Babette’s ringworm?”
“On the mend, my lady.” Caraway managed a satisfied smile “It’s slow and it’s stubborn, but thallium does the trick as it always does, give it time. Her mane is falling out nicely.”
“Her mane?!” Cadence asked, stunned.
“A common side-affect. Thallium’s a depilatory. Mane on the head will dry up and fall out in strands. Tail can do the same .”
“Gosh...” Cadence shook her head “No wonder the poor filly’s in such a bad mood.”
A light went off in her head, her ear pricked and she turned to the doctor.
“Thallium...I remember from my alchemy studies at school...Isn’t that also a sedative?”
Caraway’s lips pursed with discomfort.
“You aren’t suggesting...”
“I’ll have to find out what I’m suggesting for myself.” Cadence said “Where do you keep it?”


*


“The flower room.” Ninienne explained as Cadence cast her eyes up to the top shelf where, instead of flowerpots and seed samples, there stood a small wooden container with a couple of glass bottles filled with clear liquid safely stored within.
“It’s an odd place to keep the medicine, I know, but I wanted it out of the reach of little hooves. Dear Babette’s simply into everything, it’s a trait of her father’s.” she chuckled as Cadence gently hovered up to the top shelf.
“You’ll find two bottles. One’s nearly empty and the other hasn’t been opened.” she called up to her
“Thank you. I’ve got them.” Cadence replied, taking the bottles in her magical grasp and floating back down and looking them over “Both marked poison.”
“Naturally, since that is what it is.” Dr Caraway said flatly “The dosage is a minute amount, taken in water.”
“I use an eyedropper.” Ninienne added.
Cadence inspected the unopened bottle.
“The seal seems a bit loose.” she mentioned.
“Yes, that can happen in a moist atmosphere.” Caraway said.
“We did have a couple of rather damp seasons.” Ninienne added.
“Regardless, it hasn’t actually been broken so the medicine is still very much usable and, as you see, as yet unused.” the doctor finished.
“I do see...What I’m curious about is...” Cadence eyed the bottle, shook it a little and turned to the two.
“Miss Hawthorn-Sanguine. Would it be possible for somepony to have removed some of Babette’s medicine, without your knowledge?”
Ninienne gave a look that showed puzzlement perhaps slight unnerve.
“Oh goodness no. We would have noticed. If you’ll look closely, the bottle comes with a measurement on the inside for when it’s full. See.”
“I do see.” Cadence said again, checking to notice the small thin line on the bottle that the liquid within reached up to exactly “So supposing somepony knew this. And after using the medicine, refilled what was left with, say, water, or some other clear liquid?”
Ninienne gave a slightly strangled laugh.
“What a peculiar idea!” she hooted “I wonder if you don’t read too many books, if you don’t mind me saying, my lady.”
“What exactly are you driving at, my lady?” Dr Caraway seemed less amused.
“Me? Nothing, I’m the least suspicious mare in Canterlot, or in the court at any rate.” Cadence said with a smile, holding up the bottle “May I hold onto this? I’ll gladly buy you a new one within the week.”
“My lady...” Dr Caraway said gruffly “With all due respect, this is...”
“Quadruple piffle?” the alicorn butted in “I’m sure it is.”


On her way out, she came across a pair of lovers in the wood just within the borders of the garden.
Bayard and Rowena looked as if they’d seen better days. Rowena had clearly been crying and was close to doing so now. Bayard looked as if he hadn’t slept in quite some time. The two of them were standing face to face in the midst of an argument that, while not aggressive, was definitely not contained.
Subtly, Cadence ducked slowly into the undergrowth and listened.
“Rowena, please, don’t weep. We’ll work it out.” the stallion said slowly and clearly.
“How can we work it out?!” the mare was wailing “They’re going to send us away! Worlds apart! And if she has her way, what next?! She’s going to destroy both of us and it’s all my fault!”
“That’s not true!” Bayard was trying to keep calm and failing quite noticeably. He clasped her lover’s hooves in his own “Look, she’s not going to hurt us, she has no reason to.”
“Yes, she does! I said she was to blame for the way things were! I called her a tart! A gold-digger!”
“Once, Rowena, once. There’s still time to talk it over. I’m sure if she understood you were just under a lot of stress...”
“No! I can’t talk to her! Think about what she may have done!”
“I’ll have a talk then.”
“Why?” Rowena pulled her hooves free, positively hissing and shaking with hysteria “So you can run off with her and everything she’s snatched up for herself?! So you can leave me, Bayard?! You’d leave me?! Your plain, stupid, spiteful, little cousin! You’d leave me for her?!”
“Rowena, stop it!” the stallion clutched her by the shoulders, exasperation turning to sympathy as his wife gasped for breath “Just stop...This isn’t you.”
Steadily, Rowena’s breath slowed, her face a picture of shock and dismay, as she broke down into quiet sobs, falling into Bayard’s embrace.
“I’m sorry...” she whimpered “I didn’t mean it, Bayard, I didn’t...I’m sorry...I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”
Tenderly, the stallion brushed her mane, kissing her on the forehead.
“It’s alright, Rowena...It’ll be alright.” he whispered “I promise.”


With a heavy sigh, clutched by one-part-sympathy and another-part-suspicion, Cadence approached.
“I heard raised voices...” she said calmly as the pair noticed her “Is everything alright?”
“Of course it’s not alright!” Rowena moaned “What sort of stupid question is that?”
“Rowena, come on now, stop...” Bayard sounded almost fatherly “It’s not her fault.” he looked up at Cadence “I’m sorry, my lady, she’s...well, we’re all a bit out of sorts.”
“I understand. I’m sorry about all this.” Cadence said “I wondered if you might be able to help me. I assure you, you’re in no danger.”
Her powers over love and those of others had always been something she’d been both curious and cautious with.
Love was a great phenomenon one could hardly explain through science or fate. It was neither dictated by unseen cosmic entities nor by the structure of a pony’s nerves and neuroses. It was a virtually unknown power that rivalled all others and when she was found by Celestia just over a dozen years ago, her powers had been dormant and the Princess knew that careful nurture and teaching was necessary to prevent disaster.
From the very start, she’s been told to always be mindful of what effect her powers caused. A couple’s spat or a family’s row she was fine in settling through a spell, getting ponies to remember they loved each other and could work things out through sensible compromise.
But deep-rooted problems required something far more complex than a simple spell. She’d learnt that a while ago and nearly paid a terrible price for it. The times she’d disappointed Celestia with her powers were very few but she never forgot them.
In cases such as these, when stress or pressure rapped at a pony’s mind, wise words could accomplish a lot more than magic.


Calmly, she rested upon a gnarled log facing the couple who seated themselves on a bench.
“Bayard Hawthorn, Rowena Buttercup, you both received one of those anonymous letters, correct?”
They nodded.
“And do you believe what it said?”
They looked at the alicorn with unease, then each other and replied.
“Not me.” Rowena said first “I don’t like her, I try not to show it but I don’t. She’s brought us nothing but misery. And I long suspected she was to blame for those pranks everypony said Babette was playing. She’s a sly and greedy creature behind all that glamour...But I don’t think she’s capable of murder.”
“I must reply in kind.” Bayard seconded “I won’t say she’s entirely blameless in all that’s transpired and I do resent her quite a bit for blackening my little sister’s name, a pain in the neck she may be, but I don’t think Honeysuckle’s quite as bad as the rest of us make her out to be. Honestly, if we’d all just given her a chance, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Cadence nodded. Somehow Bayard seemed the most rational all the family.
“I understand you, Miss Rowena, objected to her influence quite loudly at dinner, the night Alma Rose arrived.”
“I’m sorry, my lady, I was in a terrible temper.” Rowena sighed guiltily “After how grandfather reacted to us getting together...in front of everypony...I’d dreamed of this moment and it was all ruined because of him...”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what made you decide to announce it then, specifically?”
The couple gave a collective sigh.
“Well, it seemed a good a place as any for everypony to behave themselves, with a guest around.” Bayard explained “But you see, a few hours after drinks, Gormless and Honeysuckle met with us in their usual preening manner. Honeysuckle wanted to know all about our love-life and then the two of them urged us to announce plans for marriage at dinner, Gormless himself claiming he’d put in a good word for Papa.”
Cadence raised an eyebrow.
“Did he?”
Bayard gave a dismal look.
“I can only assume from how it turned out that it slipped his mind.”
“You hadn’t told your parents?”
“No great deal of point.” Rowena sulked “Mine only just remember I exist when I’m in the room. They stopped having any interest in my affairs when I stopped being a curly-maned little accessory of theirs, the same ways Babbles is now.”
“You were never as bad as her.” Bayard gave a slight chuckle “And I think mine knew but she didn’t see it as any more than a foalhood romance. That’s all I am to her, a foal.”
Cadence gave another nod.
“And one more thing, might not sound important but just to be sure.” she said “I understand, after the incident with the raspberry cushion, Prince Herod questioned your little sister the following morning. Were either of you present?”
“I was...close.” Rowena answered “I was passing by the music room. I heard a conversation inside but it certainly didn’t sound like Papa was raging at the guilty party as he was wont to do.” She paused for thought “I didn’t hear a whole lot but he sounded...not exactly kindly but considerate, a lot calmer than usual. And Babbles certainly didn’t sound bereaved. Papa said something...what was it?”
Cadence had her notebook ready as Rowena recalled.
“What did you see, child? Don’t fail me now. Who do you see enter?”


*


Outside, Cadence gave a fumble at her crystal transceiver and relayed the circumstances with Shining.
“Oh, that’s great. It’ll be lovely to catch up with Peregrine again. And I can’t wait to meet your friends.” she said joyously.
“Y-yeah...great...” Shining seemed less certain “So, seems unlikely the Atropine is what did it. Sounds more like you’re chasing down this medicine stuff...”
“Thallium.” Cadence clarified “Known to the alchemists as Grassy Glare for its bright green spectrum when used in their practices. Alchemy is very popular in Marchion among the middle-class working ponies and depended on for medicine and narcotics. Diluted, it's a prescription medication. But in its raw form, it can be quite toxic. It’s colourless, odourless and tasteless and for centuries has been used as a murder weapon, hence its nickname ‘Inheritance Powder’.”
“Gosh...” Shining said breathlessly “Sounds like a Sanguine’s best friend.”
“It certainly sounds like this would be more subtle. Death by atropine overdose can be signified by varicose veins and abnormally large pupils. And the stuff stinks. Prince Herod would have smelt it in any drink or medicine, especially if he knew one of his family was a user. Still, it might be worth chasing it down. No reason why we can’t do a bit of drug-busting while we’re here.”
“You are having way too much fun, Cadey!” the stallion chuckled before he hung up.
Depositing her transceiver, Cadence prepared to do something she’d been longing to do for a while, something her Aunt Celestia had made look very fun.
Give Blueblood a good talking-to.


“Well...” Blueblood, or Gormless depending on whom one asked, gave a dismal puff on a cigarette as he growled with venom, pacing round the cocktail room, he and Cadence the only ones present.
“Well, that is the end of that, it seems. Curtains down and house-lights up. Goodbye, Miss Honeysuckle...R-I-P.”
“Is that a threat?” Cadence asked, showing him no courtesy he hadn’t earned, which was slim to none.
The stallion sighed and shot her a glare.
“No. I mean, I wash my hooves of Little Miss Third Row of the Chorus. So much for getting through this together, the filthy, little sneak! Never trust a faux-blonde. If they’ll lie about their mane, they’ll lie about anything.”
“Is that what you believe? Miss Honeysuckle seemed to think you were the one who sneaked on her.”
“Well, she would, wouldn’t she?” Blueblood sneered “It’s always everypony else’s fault with her.”
“When Prince Herod raged at her, you never said a word.” Cadence pointed out, fast losing patience with his hypocrisy.
“I didn’t think it would be practical. Papa was uncontrollable in his temper tantrums, my word wouldn’t have made any difference.” he caught sight of his interrogators disdainful expression “Don’t look at me like that! I wasn’t throwing myself into the dragon’s mouth for her or that stinking Babbles! My record was clean.”
“It most certainly was not, Gormless.”
“Do not call me that!” Blueblood snarled, as close to murderous as she’d ever seen him “Not now, not here, not ever. My name...is Blueblood!”


There was a slight pause. The stallion blinked several times and collected himself, giving a snooty sniff.
“And just what do you mean by ‘certainly not’?”
“You know what I mean.” Cadence retorted “You and Honeysuckle conspired together. You wanted your cousin, young Babette, to be cut out of her grandfather’s will. So you perpetrated those jokes. The raspberry cushion, the writing on the mirror, the paint on the banisters and the vandalised painting.”
The unicorn raised one eyebrow.
“So?”
“I imagine it was you, yourself, who went up to your grandfather’s room to plant the writing. It seems most likely Honeysuckle must have kept him occupied elsewhere. You spilt some paint on the banister on your way up, and wrote the words you knew Prince Herod would find most offensive, insulting his talent for acting.”
Blueblood gave a scoff of nonchalance and threw up his hooves and adopted a sing-song voice.
“Oh curse you, Detective, foiled again. You’re too smart for me by far. Send me to the pokey, oh do.” his tone became more disdainful, shooting the alicorn a look of confident smugness “Is that really the best you’ve got? Yes, I wanted her out of the picture. What pony who knew her well wouldn’t?! She would have done it anyway if she had the means. I was acting in her stead. It’s hardly a hanging offence.”
“But Babette wasn’t the only target, was it?” Cadence continued, her voice growing more and more enraged “You wanted her mother to receive the blame as well for letting the filly run amok, making note of this whenever you could. And then, when the moment was right, you convinced Bayard and Rowena to announce their engagement before the family, knowing all too well how your grandfather would react to not being asked permission beforehoof, throwing both the lovers and their mothers under the rails. You knew your uncle Persnickety was not a problem, he preferred Canterlot and Prince Herod knew this. While you sang praises of your homeland whenever you were in your grandfather’s hearing. And you’d probably find some way to get one over on Maeve, knowing her addiction. So when the time came to announce the will, only you and Honeysuckle would be standing in the spotlight. And then, finally, you’d let Honeysuckle take the fall for the games you played, knowing that your family would be behind you all the way, just to see the back of her...Have I got that right?”
Having listened in silence, Blueblood stretched out his hooves and leaned cockily against the bookshelf.
“Just so. I admit, I’m not normally that strategic.” he said nonchalantly “The Sanguine Game. One I set out to win. I didn’t write the letters though. Didn’t need to. Everypony else was already thinking it.”
“So who did?”
He shrugged.
“Someone who felt the need to explain the obvious.” He puffed on his cigarette again.
"Did you kill him?"
"Of course not. Why would I?" Blueblood tossed his mane "I was under the impression you were here to sort out the will and the letters, Detective, but if you're chasing murderers, Honeysuckle should still be in her room."
"You believe she did it?"
"Of course she did it, it's plain as Cousin Rowena features! Means, motive, opportunity, it was all hers. So I suggest you do your damned job and stop wasting my time!"
Cadence held onto her temper, a strenuous task.
"You had the whole thing set up. Getting into your papa's good books and remaining there."
“Quite." The stallion smirked "Rather clever, wouldn’t you say?”
“Not really.” It was Cadence’s turn to smile “For all your schemes, you ignored the obvious. That your grandfather already had somepony feeding him information.”
“What?!” Blueblood’s poise vanished quickly as he stood up “Who?!”
“Little Babbles.” The alicorn replied knowingly. At this, Blueblood scoffed.
“That backwards little scab?! Are you joking?! She can barely do her times-tables!”
“Maybe. But she sees things. She saw you heading up to Room Juliet with a container of cadmium red oil paint with which to slander her.”
Blueblood’s lips twisted over gritted teeth as Cadence cut him down verbally, the sight of his indignation sweet to her eyes.
“Evidently, Prince Herod wasn’t quite as foolish as you hoped he was. He knew the medicine Babbles took was a soporific. Dr Caraway would never use any medicine at Sanguine Hall without his notice. He knew Babbles was sound asleep when the pranks were laid. It couldn’t have been her. It had to be one of the grown-ups. So he had Babbles cast her eye over the Hall.”
She remembered how the filly had materialised from the bushes when first she saw her and disappeared just as quickly, how quietly she’d slunk through the corridors and into her studio.
“Neither seen, nor heard. She was his personal informant, one you were too proud to notice. Prince Herod made you all believe she was out of the picture and waited for the real culprit to reveal themselves. He deceived you, Gormless. He played you at your own game till the very end!”


Blueblood was quiet, hatred burning in his arrogant, blue eyes as he stamped out the cigarette in the ash-tray, grinding it into the glass until it was nothing but a flat, grey stub.
“Bravo, Papa...” he hissed “Very clever indeed...I don’t believe this! After all the crawling I did...”
“Don’t you dare believe you were in the right!” Cadence snapped “You were prepared to set your grandfather against his entire family solely for your own gain! To acquire everything you’d always desired but never earned.”
“You imagine I was the only one?!” Blueblood retorted, teeth bared “Do not stand there and look down on me for my predicament! What do you know of gain? What do you know of earning?! You’re an alicorn lady of Canterlot! Princess Celestia's niece and apprentice! You’ve never had to earn a thing in your entire gods-damned life!”
“Shows what you know.” Cadence interrupted him “And I hope you realise it’s your fault. All of this. Your little game set your grandfather over the edge. Made it impossible for him to separate friend from foe. That was what drove him to sign the second will.”
“And it will be contested.”
Cadence and Blueblood both spun round to where the voice had come from. Gwendolyn Aerie Sanguine stood in the doorway in her stately manner, her face betraying nothing but mild sternness.
“I can assure you of that, my lady. Miss Honeysuckle exercised improper influence over him. The whole household knew it. Though...” her face fell dismally “I wish I could say she did the same for my son, I truly do.”
“Wh...Mother, I...” Instantly, Blueblood’s ardour decomposed under his mother’s gaze “You...you don’t understand...she...”
“Blueblood...This really is more than I can bear.” Gwendolyn sighed flatly “Those appalling jokes? You and that mare? Consorting together? Setting Papa against his own family?”
Cadence watched with, what could only be fascination, as Blueblood changed. Where once a cocky, arrogant noble with few charms and even fewer virtues had once stood smugly before her, there now stood a shaking, shamed colt in a stallion’s body, teary-eyed and blubbering as he cried out.
“What was I supposed to do?!” he wailed “I couldn’t take it anymore! First the brat and now her! I saw how he looked at me, I knew what he thought about me, what we was planning for me! You heard him! He was going to force me into the army! To freeze to death in the Frozen North! And you...He was...” he began weeping “He was going to send you away...Mother, please...I didn’t just do it for myself, you can’t think that! I just...” He hung his head.
“I didn’t want you to go...I didn’t want to leave you...”
Sweeping forward like a breeze, Gwendolyn reached out and cradled her sobbing son, resting his head on her shoulder and shaking her head.
“Blueblood...” she sighed “You know I love you but you can be exceptionally foolish sometimes.”
“I know...I’m sorry...” the stallion whined “I was just so scared...You heard him say...”
“Yes, yes, I saw. But don’t worry...” she whispered in a motherly tone “I told you...It’ll all be worth it in the end. Just be patient and be strong. You are a prince...” She gave him a smile “A prince must be strong. And not just for himself. Sit down here for a moment and I’ll have a word with her ladyship.”
Steadily, she sat Blueblood down on an armchair, patted his head and turned to Cadence as they exited the cocktail room and found a quiet spot in the corridor.
“My lady.” Gwendolyn began “I must ask that you keep this information secret. I promise you, my son and I will settle this out with the family later on. No good can come of any more cause for resentment in Sanguine Hall.”
“I agree with that at least.” Cadence said grimly “If we find out this had nothing to do with the investigation, I’ll leave it to you. If not, we’ll have to press further.”
“I...understand.” Gwendolyn gave a sigh “He’s not a bad colt. He can act very thoughtlessly but it’s something that will pass. I promise”
“Do you think your son means what he said? About you being in danger?”
The mother paused and spoke with discomfort.
“More than you’d initially believe. As the wife of a deceased family member, proper protocol would not grant me anything further from the family. For my son, certainly, but not for me. I am of relatively common stock and it was only by staying on as housekeeper I was guaranteed permanent residence here. I know for certain that...some of my sisters-in-law were less happy about this that they let on. But I am needed here...With my son.”
Her voice was wavering.
“When he was sent to be a hostage in Canterlot I went for whole weeks without sleep. Whenever he came back...it was as if the sun was shining again over Marchion. Prince Herod’s favour or disfavour passing from one family member to the other...It was like an axe floating at the back of one’s throat. I could bear it, I went through similar burdens when Lockhart was courting me, but Blueblood...”
“I understand.” Cadence said, without knowing if she meant it or not “Regardless, I’ll have more to work on tomorrow. Thank you for all your help.”
Gwendolyn gave a bow.
“You’re very welcome, my lady. I wish you luck.”


*


Cadence had returned to the flat to find Shining had the orb on and was about to relate the findings to a tentative Alma Rose.
At the time she arrived, Cadence realised she hadn’t eaten in more than eight hours and there and then she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to have supper or talk to Alma.
She elected to do both. The two of them had a couple of omelettes sent up to their room as she and Shining explained the situation to Alma on the orb who seemed to eating herself.
Finishing a mouthful and dabbing at her lips with a napkin, Cadence began.
“Well, Alma, let me start by just getting it out the way. It is murder.”
“Whoa-Celestia! The plot thickens.” the bubbly pegasus gasped “What tipped you off?”
“This.” Cadence held up the bell-push she’d kept on her “The thread had been cut and a screw had been undone so that it simply fell off the flex when Prince Herod tried to summon help. So not only is it murder but it was premeditated murder, first-degree, cold, cunning and cruel.”
“Damn...” Alma shook her head “So who do you think did it? Where does the evidence lead?”
“Well, at first glance the evidence all pointed to Honeysuckle, which immediately gave us reason to believe she hadn’t done it.” Shining said between mouthfuls of omelette “Always be careful of too much evidence, especially when it’s all rather clumsy.”
“She’s hardly a mental giant but she does have a gift for self-preservation. Think about it. It just doesn’t add up that a mare would risk the noose by murdering an old stallion who, in any case, wouldn’t live all that long anyway.”
Alma nodded.
“As to the arsenic in her bedroom and the anonymous letters, the murderer planted those, obviously. Everypony received a letter except Honeysuckle. If she’d sent them, it would be crazy not to send one to herself, otherwise you’re just asking to be implicated.” Cadence took a breath “And then there was that old book that so conveniently kept popping up, according to which the traditional practice of embalming involves the use of arsenic. So however the old stallion may have died, traces of the poison would be found in his remains if and when the body was dug up. One more strand in the rope that would hang Honeysuckle.”
“Unfortunately for our murderer, the book is several centuries old and the world and the art of the embalmer has moved on.” Shining added “I had a talk with the local funeral directors, who tended to Prince Herod’s body, who told me that nowadays, arsenic is never used, at least by them. Health and safety risks, evidently.”
“Boy, this scheme’s so full of holes you could use it as a colander!” Alma chuckled.
“Yes. It’s a curious one.” Cadence tapped the side of her head “Half parts dead cunning. the other half cack-hoofed haste.”
“Wouldn’t that show they’re still playing?” Shining asked “Trying to keep one step ahead of us?”
“Exactly. All of this was planned out. Before the will was announced, the bell-push had been cut and whatever killed Prince Herod was primed and ready. They just didn’t count on Alma here being such a dutiful citizen and informing us.”
“Hey, what can I say? I set an example.” their friend in the orb chuckled “So what do you think did it? And who?”
“Well, Dr Caraway seems to have the right means at his disposal...but I can’t spot the motive.” Shining said.
“And if the murder was planned before the reading of the will that makes the likelihood of the previous chief suspects, Honeysuckle and Blueblood, far less likely. His death was the last thing they sought. They wanted him alive so they could keep working their charms.”
“We’ll have to go over it. Regardless, I’m working on getting permission to investigate the body.” Shining said “And Cadence will question Maeve about the atropine.”
“Good luck, you two.” Alma laughed “You two make a great couple.”
The two looked at each other.
“I mean just...as working together.” Alma backtracked “You...You know what I mean.
“Yes, Alma...” Cadence sighed “We do.”