So far, Prince Blueblood has learned a few things about being a villain – having a costume doesn’t make you one, stealing candy from a foal isn’t as easy as it seems, and never intentionally make Fluttershy cry.
With those in mind, he reasoned that perhaps doing easy petty crimes isn’t enough. That perhaps he should step up a level in his quest of becoming the next great villain in Equestria. Something that should declare to the world of his intentions of being bad. Something that would guarantee his spot of being notorious.
A simple robbery of the national treasury should do just nicely.
Tucked nicely and firmly inside the mountain itself, the national treasury has the façade of a classical Pegasi temple complete with all its columns, borderline obscene statues, and the perfectly proportioned cut marble that made it look as if it was all carved out of one piece. The inside of the treasury is a maze of vaults, accountant offices, Celestia’s secret napping place, and all carved out from solid garnet. Although it is lightly guarded, security isn’t an issue as there is a system of locks, doors, combination locks, secret panels, and arcane magic that are so complicated and time consuming for an outsider that the idea of robbing it seems preposterous.
Unless of course, one knew how the security worked inside and out.
For Blueblood, he already knew this stuff since he was fourteen-years-old.
“Explain to me, Your Highness, why we’re out here in the middle of the night in black ski masks?” Maxwell questioned as he and Blueblood approached the treasury from the shadows.
The Prince halted, his back against a wall, staying still as a guard with a lantern walked by. He waited until that guard was out of earshot to make his reply. “Isn’t it obvious? Since doing the simple acts of evil are clearly backfiring on me, I must step up and try out at something that’s truly sinister. We’re going to rob the treasury!”
His butler stared at him. “Did Discord do something to your head when he was twisting your spine?”
A pedicured hoof met his mouth with a hissing prince. “That name is forbidden within my presence.”
Maxwell pushed the hoof away. “It was a rhetorical question, sir. But back to the matter at hoof, how are you going to break into one of the most secure places in Equestria?”
“Simple, we sneak past the guards, I open all the locks, open up a couple of vaults and then make a run for it.”
The butler blinked. “I assume that I’m the one that will be carrying this money, sir?”
“Naturally.”
He sighed.
And so, waiting at the right moment, the two of them crawled in the shadows across the street, up to the white marble steps and up to the locked front doors. For the Prince, this wasn’t much of a problem as he has the keys to get past them and into the building itself. Past the grand foyer and pressing a button near a mirror, it opened up to the vain of the treasury. Once they were inside the maze of hallways, every so often the two of them had to stop in tense silence to listen to where a guard, making their rounds.
Maxwell increasingly doubted about the Prince’s so-called “photographic memory” of the inner bowls of the treasury. Sometimes he would stop in the middle of a hallway to insist on going the other way. Other times Blueblood paused as a secret passageway was bricked up before saying that he knew another way. Eventually, it got the point where Blueblood was randomly pushing buttons next to a locked door that required a number combination.
“Are you absolutely certain you know how to get into the vaults?”
“Shut up, Maxwell…” Blueblood said between his teeth, pressing buttons in hopes that at least something would give way. “I think they’ve changed it since the last time I was here.”
“And when exactly where you here?”
“It was last year, but I’m certain that they didn’t do any changes.”
“Especially on account of how King Sombra successfully invaded Canterlot that I’m sure didn’t have any effect on security measures, sir?”
Blueblood paused; his head slowly turned to face him. Although his face was still covered by the ski mask, he can still hear the intense annoyance and irritation behind the words: “Not… helping.” He then returned his attention to the perplexing buttons that refused to budge the door open.
Maxwell sighed, but his ears perked up as he heard hoofsteps coming from down the hallway. “Your Highness…”
“I almost got it,” Blueblood lied.
The hoofsteps were getting closer with every metallic clop of the guard’s boot.
“We have to go, Your Grace.” The butler whispered loudly.
The button pushing became more frantic as the steps were becoming louder as if doom itself was approaching them. He didn’t try to give up even when the light of a lantern was heading their way.
“Prince Blueblood?” The guard from behind the lantern asked. “What are you doing out here this time of night?”
In a panic, the Prince swiftly turned around, lifting his ski mask. “H-Hello! Fellow guard, I was just uh…” He nudged his butler to say something – anything remotely plausible.
With a sigh, Maxwell took off his mask. “His Majesty was asked to fetch a few things from the vault. Celestia insisted.”
“At three in the morning?” The guard questioned, putting his lantern down. Now that he walked past it, the two of them can see now that it was an orange Pegasus with a blue mane. “That seems rather out of character from her.”
“Auntie’s has come down with a case of… insomnia.” Blueblood replied with a forced smile. “I wasn’t sleeping well either, so she sent me on this little errand.”
“What’s with the ski masks?”
“Because it’s cold.”
The guard took a moment to consider this; he nodded. “Yeah, this place can get pretty chilly at night. The name’s Flash Sentry, by the way, so is there something you’re trying to get out from the vaults?”
Blueblood got an idea. “Actually yes. Auntie was hoping that I’d fetch the contents out of her personal vault and bring them to the palace. Something about bribing the nobles from complaining of how high their taxes are this year. Surely, you understand, right?”
Flash hummed in thought. “Seems legit. So, do you need any help getting in? We’ve changed a couple of things since Sombra took over Canterlot for a day.”
Maxwell immediately caught on to the Prince’s idea. “Would you be so kind in getting us to the vault itself?”
“Sure. Here let me get that for ya.” The guard went over to the button pad by the door and typed out the following combo: 07251974.
Just like that, the door opened.
Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “I don’t recognize that sequence of numbers.”
“Apparently it’s the birthday of the mother to the Princesses.”
“July twenty-fifth, one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-seventy-four?” The butler inquired.
“I don’t get it either,” Flash confessed as he led down the vast hallway with enormous rounded vault doors made out of steel. “But apparently it has sentimental value to the Princesses. Anyway, Celestia’s vault is just over here.”
A moment later they stopped at a particular door that had another pad of buttons. Flash pressed out the sequence of: 39914260 before he turned the wheel of the enormous steel lock open. Flash confessed that he didn’t know the significance of that combo either before he pulled on the round entrance wide open.
In the light of Blueblood’s aura, his eyes opened wide at the contents that were inside. Inside of the vault of the Aunt that raises the sun was a space that looked like it was out of a scene from the Saddle Arabian Nights. Not only were there piles upon piles of gold and silver coins and bars that he’d expected; there were also sacks of jewels, silks, statues, and other works of art. There were objects that were crafted with care and fitted with the largest gems that the Prince had ever seen.
The awed prince turned towards the other two ponies. “Did either of you know what was in here?” Both of them shook their heads.
“So… should I get you a push cart to carry this stuff out?” Flash inquired.
After looking around, Blueblood said, “Yes. Do that. And if you ran into anypony, just tell them that you were getting a few things.”
“Yes sir.”
That morning, headlines were shrieking on the front page that Celestia’s vault in the national treasury has been robbed. Photos showing an empty room and a mugshot of Flash Sentry, along with a story of how this incompetent guard has not only to lead the thieves into the vaults but assisted of carrying out the treasures too.
Blueblood, in his velvet housecoat nibbling on his breakfast, chuckled at the newspapers.
“Those fools never suspected a thing.” He sighed happily, folding the paper onto a tray. Turning to his Prench crapes, he waited for his aunt to come in to tell him of the tragic news that has happened. That she was now penniless.
It didn’t take long for Celestia to come into his private dining room.
“Good morning, auntie.” He greeted her as if nothing had happened.
“Something terrible has happened.” She said, “Have you read the news?”
“I have. They said that apparently somepony had broken into the national treasury and stolen the contents of your personal vault.”
“It’s unbelievable.” Celestia shook her head, worried. “My own personal stash is gone. I can’t believe somepony was able to break in and steal everything that I have been collecting.”
“Surely you’ll send someone to investigate,” Blueblood said before taking a bite of a crape. “Or at least trace the money that was probably in there.”
The Solar princess blinked. “Money?”
“Well, I would assume that if it’s your private vault, then you might have an enormous number of bits that were in there, right?”
Celestia blinked again. “Blueblood, what are you talking about? They didn’t steal my money from that vault.”
Blueblood paused. “They didn’t?” She shook her head. “What did they steal?”
“They took my candy stash, of course.” She explained. “It’s such a shame too, I was saving all that chocolate bits, bars, hard candy, fruit fabric and marzipan statues for Luna’s upcoming birthday.”
The Prince’s eye twitched. “You had a vault filled with candy?”
She nodded. “Well, I didn’t want to be kept in the palace, what if your auntie Luna discovers it? I admit that it’s incredibly frustrating that the palace chiefs would have to start all over again.”
“Huh… That’s… unfortunate.”
“Indeed. But at least nothing major was stolen. Bluey, are you alright?”
His eye continued to twitch involuntarily. “Yes Auntie. Now if you excuse me, I have some matters to attend to.”
The Prince immediately went straight towards his royal apartments and immediately inspected the “treasure” more carefully. The coins had gold and silver foil that wrapped pieces of chocolate. The bars were the same. The jewels were nothing more than hard candy. The elaborate fabrics were made out of fruit. The statues were made out of marzipan that had a soft caramel center.
Blueblood locked himself in his room and cried at the treasure that turned out to be worthless.