//------------------------------// // List Of Atonements (Edited By BS) // Story: The Humble Prince // by Lighting Ace //------------------------------// After finishing reading Cadence's letter, Luna looked up to regard her sister with neutrality "As alarming as this revelation is, we can at the very least take solace in how it reduces the number of suspects, sister. By a large margin too." "Part of me doesn't want to believe it, but the level of complexity this killer used? To be able to even fool your nightly vigil? I can't help but wonder what this criminal is capable of or how long this assassination was being planned." "A subject for a future conversation, sister. For now, with this, we have almost all the pieces of this puzzle. We know the what, the where, and the when. They killed Blueblood. The only pieces remaining are the how and who. And the list of suspects now grows short." She said with determination. "For now, focus on your duties, sister. Today's royal court is about to begin. We will discuss this further when we start with the interviews. In fact, before we begin those, give me another day. I will take another look at our nephew's chambers for clues. This letter gave me a couple of theories I wish to test before we do anything else." Luna looked to the side, intrigued before taking the letter. Both sisters then bid farewell to one another and went their separate ways. Luna, not noticing how, before leaving, Celestia stopped and held her head in pain briefly. At that moment, in another part of Canterlot. Taking a deep breath, the prince looked up and saw the first stop on his list, a place that, according to what his maids had told him, he had hurt direct and indirectly in the past—Canterlot East Orphanage. Of course, every one of his stops would be tense and not pretty in the slightest, but he knew in his heart that this one, in particular, would be one of, if not the, hardest. "Are you sure you want to start with this one, sir?" Breeze asked in concern while gesturing at the looming building. "I know you want to make amends, but we could start with something smaller, like the shopping district!" She suggested after thinking briefly, "The only thing you did there was buy out their entire stock once a month, making some business owners struggle for a couple of days. I bet just an apology and a storage unit for supplies would be enough." She suggested enthusiastically. "I appreciate the concern, Breezie, and I have to admit, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. But as you said, those are the ponies that I hurt the least. If I want to make things right, I need to be fair, and the Sisters of Mercy are the ones I hurt the most. These are the ponies that suffered the worst of the past me. The least I can do is make them my top priority. I am starting by seeing how they are fairing and will try to find a way to help them as quickly and as much as I can. It the least I can do." He answered, steeling his resolve as the chariot stopped in front of the building in question. At first glance, the orphanage didn't look any different from any other, a simple three-floor building with a playground connected to his right side and a parking lot on his left. It seemed old, some walls were worn from age, and the playground seemed to have some rust on it upon closer inspection, but overall, the place seemed fine. Ok, so it doesn't seem like they are in desperate need of money. That's good. The prince thought he kept feeling a growing shame as the group approached the main entrance where an old earth pony mare stood. She wore a thick pair of bottle glasses, making her eyes look unnaturally large. A whistle linked to a necklace hung from her neck next to a pendant shaped into the form of Celestia's cutie mark. She appeared to be waiting for them and made no effort whatsoever to hide her animosity towards the prince as she kept glaring at him. "Sister Kinship? Thank you for having us." "Blueblood, I was wondering if you would come. You just cost me 50 bits," She replied dryly while intensifying her glare. This statement caused the twins to tense up and start reaching for their weapons. "I understand that you have your reservations about me, sister and I feel horrible for the way I treated you, but I'm ready to make amends and see how I can help you with the orphanage." "The Sisters of Mercy don't need the help of the likes of you. So why don't you go back to that pompous chariot of yours, take your marching band and get out of my pl…" Before she could say anything else, a cyan aura forced her mouth shut. A scream of terror soon followed this as the guard jumped into action and surrounded the prince. Just in time to see a second, younger and slightly chubby unicorn nun with cyan fur and dark blue mane arranged into a bun and held in place by two pencils lept out of the entrance and latched on to Sister Kinship's back and neck in fear. "Ah! Sister Hard Ruler was only joking, your Highness! Hehe, just one big joke, that is all." She replied with a nervous laugh as sister Kinship struggled in vain to escape the unicorn's grasp, causing the group to blink a couple of times in both surprise and confusion. Once the now identified Hard Ruler stops struggling and the new mare calmed down enough, she looked at the group again and smiled with as much as much calm as she could while keeping the older mare in a headlock. "Good day Prince Blueblood. I am the real Sister Kinship, and on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy, we thank you for your time and assistance in our hour of need. RIGHT RULER?" Kinship released the older mare with a smile and a glare. Clenching her teeth, the older mare only huffed and looked away. "Mares these days, not a single one of them have a speak of self-respect. Where the heck went the good old days when a mare had a pair of tits?!" She mumbled before turning around and re-entering the orphanage. "Not one of my fans, I take it?" Blueblood asked with a sigh as he watched the mare leave before looking at Sister Kinship, who let out a long-suffering sigh of her own and nodded gently before looking at him. "Please don't hold it against her, your Highness. Hard Ruler is from a different generation, and she is well past due for retirement. But even if I force the issue, that mare would absolutely refuse to leave. For fear that you…that other ponies might try and demolish this place or turn it into a country club or something like that." She remarked while looking at the building once more. "I understand. I can't blame her, to be honest. That sounds like something the past me would have done, and something tells me I haven't done enough to help with your finances as well?" "What? Oh no, no, no, your Highness, despite some hardships here and there, the orphanage is doing great. The support of the city and the crown has helped it stay afloat, and we couldn't be more grateful for that." "But?" The prince looked at her with a raised eyebrow, thinking that there was more to the story she was telling. The nun tried to play off his concerns. Still, she slowly found herself unable to lie under his concerned gaze, like a force was compelling her to speak the truth under the spotlight, making her feel like a filly trying to hide a lousy grade from her father, as he was patiently waiting for her to do the right thing. Finally cracking, Kinship looked down, "…but you haven't made things any easier either. With your expensive parties, shopping sprees, and constant borrowing from the royal treasury. Things like restoration, food, equipment, and even retirement funds had moved forwards at a snail's pace. The place itself is holding up, thank Celestia, but making improvements or giving our golden employees the retirement and money they deserve has been almost impossible because of that. This is why from time to time, we have tried to appeal to your kindness, wishing for you to recover and return the bits we feel you took." She finally confessed, not entirely sure why she was airing so much information yet. The more she looked at him, the less desire she had to hide anything. Part of her was expecting him to yell or get angry by her indirectly calling him a thief and was preparing for him to lash out. Instead, the prince only placed his hoof onto the shoulder of the nun. "Thank you, Sister Kinship" She looked back at him in surprise, only for that surprise to morph into bewilderment at the sight of the prince smiling calmly at her. "That is exactly what I needed to hear." "Y...your highness?" Kinship inquired, confused at how calmly he was taking the situation. His smile somehow reminded her of Celestia's for some reason. It is as if the Princess is right next to him. "If I'm going to repair the damage I have caused and atone for my mistakes. I first need to know exactly what my past self did, right?" "Ah, I suppose?" "Excellent, in that case, why don't we go to your office and talk about numbers? I can't promise that I can fix all the issues right away, but at the very least, I can make the first step into doing so, no? But for now, let's discuss exactly what needs funding the most." "S-sure, right this way" She stepped aside and invited him over as he walked past her into the building. The nun is still slightly confused about what was going on until Breeze approached her. "I know, it leaves you speechless, right? Don't worry. You get used to it." She chuckled, helping Kinship snap out of her trance, and she quickly followed the prince inside. "Sir, would it be alright if I asked something of Sister Kinship?" Mist asked, approaching the prince and earning his attention. "Sure, go ahead, Mist." Blueblood nodded and stepped aside so the maid could speak up. "Sister Kinship, if I may ask. If things were bad, why didn't you file a complaint or a petition to the mayor? Or even the princesses themselves? They would have listened." In response, the nun only sighed and looked forward. "We tried but honestly. We didn't exactly have a solid hoof on which to stand. The crown is already supporting us way more than necessary. How could we have approached the princesses and kept asking for more bits? Not to mention that the prince kept weaseling his way around to keep getting what he wanted. There was little we could have done back then." The prince remained quiet as he heard this but hung his head low in a mix of shame and anger at the revelation. Was he really that self-absorbed? What else did the original Blueblood do? After they visited the orphanage, the rest of the stops went by without any significant events, much to the relief of the prince as he found out that much of the damage he caused mainly was due to him finding legal ways to embezzle funds from the royal treasury, and getting what he wanted. Much to the displeasure of the ones that needed to work themselves to the bone to meet his ridiculous expectations. "Seriously?! I kept buying ten sets of the same outfit once a week?!" the prince asked a tailor in disbelief as his group made their way to return all the jewelry, clothes, and fancy decorations he has bought over the years. Something that kept baffling him, since, despite all of his shopping sprees, his room seemed oddly minimalist, except for a portrait of himself here and there and some minor decorations, everything looked pretty empty, confusing Blueblood. Where did all his purchases go? This lasted right until Mist revealed that he kept rotating styles in his room, explaining why he kept buying stuff. He had the vast majority of his possessions stored away in a secure storage unit. He was between themes at the moment. All of this done with the excuse of 'My room must say glamorous and reflect high culture in ALL of its forms.' With a sigh, he was fully intended to return what was essentially a hoarder's stash back to the city where hopefully it could all be given to somepony that needed those things more. Yet, as he spoke with his usual tailor, Blueblood realized that things weren't that simple, as the stallion in question nodded a couple of times, "And I only used the finest of fabrics your highness, nothing but the best," The tailor mentioned with a nervous laugh. "Yes, that...that is just impractical. I simply must return all of those copies. Right now, those things are just collecting dust. Keeping them in storage would be an insult to you, your craft, and all the hard work you put into making all of those ensembles." As soon as he said that, the shop went oddly quiet, save for the small chuckle of the tailor, which slowly grew into a full manic cackle before fading into silence. The tailor then began to speak, "For fifteen years, I have been breaking my back to fulfill your ridiculous demands, working all night, risking my health, and almost using all my fabric so that you can have your precious wardrobe. I missed my colts birthdays, my marriage is in the gutter, and I even had ulcers from overwork. All this, and now you came here and demanded that I take my hard work back!!" He yelled, completely livid as he launched himself at the prince only to be tackled and restrained by the guards. "You insufferable piece of dung! You think that you can fix everything by returning what you bought! The mountain of cloth you are tossing me under will overstock me. It will be my ruin!" "Please, sir, calm down. Maybe we could find some sort of alternative arrangement? What if you make a discount offer or alter the sizes so other stallions could purchase it?" The prince offered, trying to de-escalate the situation. "GET OUT!" the tailor demanded, struggling to get free of the clutches of the guards. "You arrogant twit! You're lucky that your toy soldiers are here; if I get my hooves on you, I swear I will…" "THAT will be quite enough!" The prince demanded attention while glaring at the startled tailor catching him off guard by the sudden anger in the prince's eyes. "We are grown adults, aren't we, sir? AREN'T WE?" He questioned, making the stallion flinch and nod rapidly. "I'm sorry that I have been a large contributor to your life's misery until now. You have every right to lash out, but threats are where I draw the line. I hear and understand what you are saying. I'm not going to demand to take your creations back. It is completely your choice, but I will not let a good pony throw his life away in a fit of rage. Now my guards are going to let you go. You are going to take a deep breath, calm down, and will ask for us to leave RESPECTFULLY." He instructed, signaling the guards to release the stallion, who slowly sank to his knees on the floor, still slightly startled as the prince raised an eyebrow, waiting for his reply. "Please, just leave," He whispered dejectedly. "I can't undo what I have already done, but I will do what I can to make things better going forward." The prince promises while offering a slight look of pity before turning around. "Let's go everypony" As they marched, Garra approached the prince. "For what it's worth, that was incredible, sir. I have goosebumps right now. Why didn't you open with that when he started ranting your Highness?" "As I said, they have their right to vent their frustrations. But threatening the crown? That will ruin their image. I will not have anypony known as the one that promised to kill a member of the royal family. I'm not that familiar with the law, but I didn't want to risk him getting a day in jail for lashing at an authority figure." "You have a big heart, sir," Daga complimented. "But I'm with my sister. Maybe it would be better if you do that more often. As a prince, there is an image you need to maintain as well." The prince nodded as they headed to their next stop, as he mentally sighed, fearing that this or the Sisters of Mercy's reaction would keep repeating. This is going to be a long day. I know it will be. Back at the castle As she kept scanning the room with her eyes, the Princess of the night searched for anything that might stand out. Any clue that Shining might have missed, quite literally flipping the room inside out. Come on, give me something, there must be. What is amiss? What am I not seeing here? After giving up searching for any clues in the drawers and the bed before starting to tear into the decorations, she questioned herself until her search drew her to a set of armor in the far left corner of the room. Armor that, after it was moved slightly, emitted the almost imperceptible sound of water sloshing back and forth. So tiny and brief was the sound that any other pony could have easily missed it. Slowly dismantling the set, Luna finally came across what she was looking for. Two small pools of standing water hiding in both of its frontal sabatons. I got you. Using her magic and a beaker, Luna extracted a small sample before teleporting it away. Putting everything back together and taking a step back, the Princess stared intently at the suit of armor. So here is where the weapon was hidden? But how did they make it work at the right time? She hummed in thought before squinting her eyes. She found a dim ray of light striking on the visor of the armor, surprising her immediately. "What the...?" Getting closer, she could trace the straight line of light starting at the armor and traveling until she reached the window, where she found a hole the size of a nail's head in the glass. The opening was so clean it didn't even leave a crack in the pane. It was a perfect shot. Her eyes widened in realization, and her suspicions were soon confirmed after inspecting the helmet's interior. Right in the back of the helm was a dent of the same size as the hole and the dry glue of duct tape on top of it, helping her piece together what had transpired. There is no magic trace, so it wasn't a spell. The shot was precise and clean, aiming straight at the head, leaving no trail after impact, and creating the reaction afterward. Something that hit and then disappeared after use without the aid of magic. The object was carrying the second agent, an ice arrow!  She looked back at the window and replayed the scenario in her head. At 3:30 am, the killer shoots an arrow made of leech tears frozen in water, straight at this room and right into the armor. Said armor had previously been prepped with dust inside it, which burst and spread at the impact. After that, it was only a matter of time until the arrow melted and induced the chemical reaction. Turning the armor into a fog machine and sealing my nephew's fate. Existing in the room, Luna didn't waste time in calling for her guards, who stood to attention when summoned. "Go find out where exactly my nephew purchased that set of armor. Also, please get me a list of every single individual that went into his room a month before his accident. I also want this year's weather schedule for Canterlot." "Yes, ma'am" They saluted and went to fulfill their orders, leaving Luna alone as she headed for her room to continue her investigation until she found her sister and Platinum standing in front of her. The latter with a stoic expression while Celestia, even if calm and collected, looked like she just saw a ghost, giving Luna a pretty good idea of what was happening. "Luna, do you have a moment?" With a nod, Luna approached her sister. "What is the matter, sister? Something on your mind?" She subtlety asked, looking around, wary of any possible listeners "Something like that, yes, I just got a bit nostalgic about years past and wished to talk with you and aunt Platinum about it," Celestia replied, silently confirming Luna's suspicions. "Of course, in fact, that sounds wonderful since I have some things to discuss as well. Recently I have been getting a tad nostalgic myself," Luna commented as the whole group headed to Celestia's chambers to speak in private.