//------------------------------// // Prelude To Atonements (Edited By BS) // Story: The Humble Prince // by Lighting Ace //------------------------------// Bathed in the light of the moon, the sound of wooden swords clashing could be heard in the royal garden. Passing by guards and maids took the occasional glance at Princess Luna and Prince Blueblood as their sparring continued. The latter was trying his hardest to land one single strike on his aunt, who was constantly moving, jumping, and counter-attacking with a multitude of strikes at different angles. No matter what, his aunt always seemed to match each blow with a counter at the ready. At some point, their sparring started to look more akin to a complex dance, and even though it was past midnight, neither of them seemed particularly exhausted and instead seemed to be playing more than training. This is what caught the attention of passersby, and a small audience was slowly forming at the entrance. "That is it, nephew, just keep that pace," Luna instructed as she ducked beneath a swift cut. "Don't let your opponents fool you with bluffs and feints, read my moments, anticipate my next action, exploit my blind spots, keep me unbalanced." She pirouetted to the left and struck out with a downward slash only for her effort to be rebuffed by Blueblood's practiced defense. "Don't stop, maintain your hoofwork, always lead with your sword, make each strike flow the next one" At an unseen cue, both combatants adopted a low guard and started to circle each other counterclockwise, all while maintaining eye contact. In an instant, Luna lept backward as Blueblood spun around and tried to obscure her vision with his tail for a brief moment leaving an opening for a straight thrust. "Don't do what is expected, be unpredictable." She contorted herself out of the way, using her wings to fly higher as Blueblood levitated a piece of the ground into the air and jumped to follow after her. Luna's eyes widened in surprise as he continued his pursuit, using the same chunk to keep jumping until he had caught her and then struck down with a powerful blow forcing her to block and forcing them both to the ground. "Use your opponent's errors to your advantage. Momentum is key!" She casually used her sword to lever his hoof into a joint lock and spun around to send him stumbling backward. Blueblood tried to regain his balance, but Luna did not let up, lashing out with vicious blows from all directions. "Don't grasp the hilt so loosely!" adjusting her grip, Luna caught Blueblood off guard as she hurled her sword forward like a javelin catching him squarely in his chest and punching him back and to a knee as the air left his lungs. The Prince's sword cartwheeled through the air for a moment only to freeze and fly directly into Luna's waiting hoof, who then gently rested the point on her nephew's throat. "Or chain yourself to it," Luna finishes in a neutral tone before smiling and removing the sword, stowing it in the crook of her foreleg. "Excellent work, nephew. That was definitely your best attempt yet." She praised him while helping him stand. "I'm getting closer and closer with each attempt." The Prince chuckled as he grabbed her offered hoof and panted from exhaustion. Luna turned around and went to retrieve two bottles of water and towels held by two maids standing nearby. "I will get that point next time." She can only smirk at the declaration. "Oh, is that so? In that case, I suppose I better stop holding back as well." She chuckled and shook her head the moment she saw the surprised expression on his face. "I jest, I would never strike you that hard. Ego's aside, though, I'm glad to see you in such high spirits, nephew." She passed him a bottle and towel. "It appears that my sister wasn't the only one who enjoyed that little trip you two partook in." "I'll say. It helped us both put things into perspective and cleared the air about some things." Blueblood replied after taking a long drink from his bottle before pointing at her. "Don't worry, auntie, soon you will have your "mommy and me" day as well." "Why? I have all the "me and nephew" time I want right here," She replied, extending her wing around the garden. "And I get to have it three nights a week. So adding a whole day too? Well, I think that would be overkill." She concluded with a wink. "Still, I appreciate the thought, dear." She then took a sip of their water as they marched towards the castle, their audience quickly dispersing before their boss noticed them slacking on the job. "You also have improved with your microexpression readings, dear. There is still room for improvement, but from what I hear, you show a particular aptitude in the application of judging one's character and disposition by their expressions," Luna remarked, looking ahead of them. "I'm glad to hear that. The last thing I want is to dive in unprepared for the meeting next week." Blueblood confessed before taking another sip of his drink. "Nephew, I know you have your reasons, but is there no way that you could change your mind?" Luna looked at him with concern. "You have our full support with this, but facing our allies like this can be overwhelming. Perhaps we could start small first. Like a meeting among the nobles, perhaps?" Blueblood sighed and looked down before looking up at Luna. "I understand your concern, but auntie, this is something I need to do. I caused all of this in the first place. Letting you solve it wouldn't be right. Plus, I need to show you that I can be a prince in more ways than just name. So please have faith in me. I'm telling you, I'm ready." She sighed in defeat and nodded. "I would be the Princess of hypocrisy if I wouldn't let you shine on your own. Now more than ever, with how seriously you have taken to your training, I ask you to exercise caution, and if anything were to happen, know that we are there for you. I'm sure you will do fine." She smiled at him as they approached her chambers. "And until then, have a good rest, nephew" She entered and was about to close the door when Blueblood grabbed the door, stopping it from closing it completely. "Auntie, I don't want to leave you with any worries. Tell you what, this week, I'm planning on cleaning up some of my more minor misdemeanors around Canterlot. Why don't you come and follow me from the shadows? See how I do, watch me put our lessons into practice, and ease any lingering doubts you might have. What do you say? Will that be alright with you?" Luna stopped and considered Bluebloods suggestion for a moment. "And you wouldn't mind not knowing if I am or am not present?" He shook his head. "Not at all." She hummed in thought, "Would you object to wearing a necklace of my choosing?" "As long as it's not too eye-catching, I wouldn't have a problem with it." "That can be easily arranged. Very well, that would certainly put my mind at ease, nephew, and thank you for your consideration. I will make arrangements, so the ballroom is available by the end of the week for one final gathering with the nobles of the city, at night." "A final test to watch me in action?" He inquired with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, an expression she mirrored. "Consider it, a practice meeting." "Fair enough, but until then, goodnight, auntie." "Goodnight, nephew" She closed the door, and the prince left to return to his chambers to prepare for the week ahead. Meanwhile at the Crystal Empire Yawning as she walked, Princess Cadence was headed to bed right after putting her child in hers when she spotted the lights of her and Shinings studio office on, as well as the silhouette of her husband hard at work writing something. Guided by curiosity and slight worry at the idea of him working so late, she stepped inside. Just as she thought, her husband was surrounded by a series of papers behind their opulent oak desk. He continued writing down what appeared to be some mathematical equation, judging by the numbers written on the scrolls and the occasional mumbles Shining let out while unconsciously nibbling on the edge of his quill. A trait that Cadence was well acquainted with from her years of babysitting Twilight. Who, like her brother, frequently indulged in the same nervous habit. "…factor the time of discovery, carry the level of dryness in the bed, discard normal sweating, and that gives me…" He stopped for a moment to crunch a couple of numbers on a nearby calculator "4 hours and 32 minutes." "Is that how long have you been studying that problem, dear?" Cadence asked with a smirk as she couldn't resist playing one small prank on her husband as he eeped and jumped, startled by her sudden presence, eliciting a chuckle from the Princess. "Cadence, hi, sorry I didn't notice you. I was going over some notes Twily sent me and trying to close the time-gap on a case," Shining explained once he recovered and noticed the moon rising through one of the windows in the room. "Huh, I suppose I took longer than I expected. Oh no, did I forget about a meeting? Did I leave you alone with all of my duties?" He worriedly asked. But she dismisses his concern with a shake of her head. "You didn't miss much. It was a slow day, so I mostly spent it with Flurry, so you chose a good moment to tackle this subject." She replied, taking a look at one of the scrolls. "What is all this about anyway?" "…Blueblood's case." The mood in the room suddenly turned somber once Shining spoke. Causing Cadence to lower the scroll. "Oh…I see, anything new?" "As a matter of fact, yes," He replied before levitating the letter Twilight sent. "Based on what Twily sent us, now I know what the murder weapon was, and based on its nature and properties, I have been able to map out when and possibly, how it happened." "Really?" Cadence asked, intrigued by the findings as he nodded. "Now that I know what caused the bleeding, I was able to discard ingested, and injected poisons, as well as a delayed reaction since the effect was nearly instantaneous. This all allowed for me to crunch the numbers and got me closer to the exact time of death, based on how dry his blood was in the bed." He lifted the scroll he was writing on. "According to the reports I have, Blueblood used to have a strict sleeping schedule. Unless there was an event or party, he always went to bed at 10 pm and woke up at 8 am sharp without any exception to maximize his 'beauty sleep.' " He said, making air quotes, "That gives us a 10-hour window, BUT the killer knew his sleeping pattern and waited for the perfect moment to strike as well as work around the problem his weapon of choice had." "You mean the Leech Tear?" Cadence wondered as she took a seat, now more invested in what her husband wanted to say. "Correct. You see, this ointment can bleed a pony to death, but only if the victim is in a near-catatonic state because, if doing so while awake. The sensation of numbness, pain, and fear that produces the substance spikes the heart rate, which pumps more blood to counter the effect. The pharmacy that produces them corroborates this because that is how they design the product. It's to avoid overdose and teach those that abuse it." "So that is why they used the agent to keep him asleep," Cadence theorized. "Exactly, the killer needed to make sure he wouldn't wake up and knew exactly how to strike based on these two factors. The first one is that based on my math, and because the reaction would happen instantly, Blueblood was killed approximately between 3:30 am and 4:10 am, give or take. Additionally, because there weren't any witnesses and no gas found leaking or other staff members in the castle affected, no one entered his room during the time of the attack. The poison struck all on its own and cleanly dealt with him in approximately 30 minutes without any pony noticing, not even the victim himself, fooling even Princess Luna." "So what are you saying? That they planted the poison in his room like some sort of time bomb?" "That was my assumption too. However, I made a sweep of Blueblood's room and didn't find anything, not even particles of any bomb or some type of gadget that could aerosolized the Leech Tear—also factoring that the Leech Tears had a powerful odor on their own. According to Twilight, it will become odorless once fused with the rock, but anypony trying to plant them would have been quickly discovered. No, the substance had to have been created the same night Blueblood was killed." "But how? You said it yourself. Nobody entered, and they didn't use any magic to do it. What if there was a bomb or a machine, and the killer returned and took it before you arrived? A month passed before you started the investigation." "I accounted for that as well, but even it wouldn't matter how much of a perfectionist this pony is. They would have left some form of physical evidence behind. Burn or pressure marks wherever they had placed the machine would have been impossible to erase, especially if they used something to cover the smell. Trust me, having a sister like Twilight makes you good at spotting clues invisible to the naked eye, and not even Twilight would have been able to fool me completely, and she is the master when it comes to those kinds of things." "You mean like hiding your Heart Warming Eve presents?" Cadence poked her husband with a smirk as Shining blushed and looked away, clearing his throat. "A-Anyway, back to what I was saying, the killer must have used a method I haven't considered yet to ensure that they left no trace. No water, no pressure marks, no dampness in or on the walls, no magic, no nothing. I know they used something, but I can't figure out, they put the poison in his room in the middle of the night in a flash without anyone noticing. That is the final question I still don't know how to solve" He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in melancholy, "But I do have enough evidence to pinpoint several prominent suspects." "Shining you are not considering…" "It's the only logical explanation. The killer knew the Prince's sleep pattern, how to create a silent and new type of weapon, and how to cover their tracks flawlessly. They also have a pretty good understanding of the castle staff and the layout of the place. No maid or butler could have performed this by themselves. Not even with training, they would have left sloppy marks. A hired hit-stallion couldn't have known this much of the castle's layout, even with the help of whoever paid them. If they knew this much, it would have been way easier and cleaner for them to reach the target themselves rather than paying someone else to do it. This can only mean one thing, a soldier is our culprit and not an ordinary one either. No, this was the job of a professional, one that knows their craft and plans for every single detail, almost to the same level of Twily." Cadence sighed and looked down. "That reduces the list considerably but also makes this case more dangerous, Shining you don't think a friend of yours did it, right?" "By the stars, I hope not, but with how things are, as much as it hurts me to admit, everyone has its breaking point." Cadence smiled and grabbed his right hoof with her own "We will cross that bridge when we come to it, for now. You have done more than enough, dear." Shining sighed and looked down before nodding a couple of times. "Yeah…yes, you are right. I'm so tired right now. I want to go to bed and not think about this for a while. Thanks, honey." He smiled at her and gave her a small peck on the lips before turning around and started heading to bed. "I will be with you in just a moment," Cadence said as she retrieved a clean piece of parchment and ink and, using one of her feathers, started writing a letter to her aunt. The next day Going over a checklist on a scroll, the Prince waited patiently for a small entourage of soldiers requested by Princess Platinum to escort him throughout the city as he checked things off the list. An idea he wasn't precisely thrilled with since this was supposed to be a mission to make amends. Still, Blueblood couldn't argue with the concept and necessity of projecting an air of royalty while proving his worth. Not to mention the extra help transporting some packages he secured some weeks prior. As the group of 5 guards led by the twin bat ponies started approaching, Blueblood took notice of how in addition to the guards, Mist Night and Clean Breeze were among the group. The latter carried a small wooden box using her magic to levitate it in front of her. "Good morning, everypony" Blueblood greeted the group with a slight bow which they reciprocated. "Your highness," The entourage responded in stereo as the maids took a step forwards toward the Prince. "I have to say, although you are more than welcome, I didn't expect that you two would be accompanying us, ladies." "We are the maids under your care and employ, your highness" Mist was quick to point out, "Our duties were and are to accompany and serve wherever you go. We were re-assigned until you were ready to have us back." "May I add, this is possibly the first time in all my life I'm looking forward to working with you, prince." Clean interjected with a small measure of excitement, making the group regard her for a moment, surprised by her outburst. Mist, in particular, face hoofed from embarrassment alone. The Prince could almost hear her mutter "rookies" under her breath. Clearing her throat and with a light blush on her checks, Breeze spoke once more, "I-in any case, this is for you, your highness." she passed him the wooden box, which upon opening contained a tiny silver chain necklace with what appeared to be Luna's cutie mark on the base of it with a purple gem at its center "Your aunt Luna requested that you wear this during your outing." "Yes, she told me about this, thanks Breezie," He raised his chin and let Breeze clasp the necklace around his throat before stepping back so Blueblood can address the two maids again. "It's good to have you aboard, ladies. Perhaps this trip will be enlightening to you as well" He smiled, causing the two to look at one another, slightly confused by that statement as he went on to address the soldiers. "Alright, everypony, listen up, I'm not going to sugar coat things. This will not be your typical stroll in the park. As ironic as that might be with one of the stops being in a park. No, our mission today is to clean up all the messes I made in the past in Canterlot. I'm going to the places that I affected the most all over the city. It should be clear that I'm not exactly mister popular to the ponies we will see, perhaps excluding Mist Night and Clean Breeze here. These are the ponies that hate me the most and possibly will be the most vocal about it as well." "You have nothing to worry about, sir." Garra, all of a sudden, stepped up with a smirk while puffing her chest out. "Your safety is more than assured. If anypony tries to harm you. We will make sure to make an example out of them." "I appreciate the energy, but maybe tone down the implied use of deadly force," Blueblood replied calmly. "That goes for all of you, so listen up. Tense would be an understatement for the situation we are about to face, these ponies are angry at me, and for good reasons, they have the right to voice their discontent and vent out their built-up frustration. In fact, I'm counting on it so they can let everything out and allow them to finally express what years and years of me being a jerk put them through emotionally, mentally, and maybe even physically. I only ask for you to exercise restraint and do your duty if necessary as you were trained. ONLY and IF the situation escalates and becomes untenable. We are not there to arrest ponies for speaking their mind. Just to make amends, is that clear?" "Sir, yes, sir!" They all replied in stereo "Good," He nodded and looked at the sisters. "You two are going to be my shadows once more, but that doesn't mean I want you to remain mute. If you think I'm crossing a line or have any advice during the conversation, I will gladly listen." He smiled and put his hoof on Garra's shoulder pauldron as she looked down in embarrassment since she jumped the gun. "Don't feel bad, Garra. It was an honest mistake. I'm sure you two are going to do the uniform proud." "Thank you, sir" She nodded, mollified yet still a bit embarrassed for the situation as Blueblood turned to regard his maids. "Are you sure that you will be ok? This is not going to be a picnic, and as part of the list, I'm sure there are things you would like to say to me too." "Well, if you wish to makes amends, maybe a free trip to the spa could help speed…" Breeze started before a purple aura closed her snout as Mist spoke up. "Don't worry about us, your highness, we are fine. We have already left the past behind us," She confirmed with a smile, not letting Breeze speak. The Prince regarded this exchange with a raised eyebrow but ultimately decided to let it go, deciding that it was not his place to press further. "Understood, in that case, everypony let's clean some messes." Without anything else to say, they all left the castle and embarked on a chariot to the city. Celestia watched the group depart with a pinch of worry and anguish from a window above as a newly opened letter rested on her desk.