//------------------------------// // Hearing // Story: Batmane, the dark steed // by Guillermo //------------------------------// The curtains swung open, letting the sun's rays enter the dark room and strike directly into the face of a peacefully sleeping unicorn. Frowning and growling, the stallion pulled the blanket up over his head and turned away, trying to escape the light. "Up, Mr. Blood" said a voice that the unicorn knew well. "For Celestia…Service, please, close the curtains…" Blueblood growled, still hidden by the blankets. "Sir, it's almost half past ten in the morning, I've already been too benevolent, please get out of bed." Blueblood grunted before throwing back the bed covers and sitting up, looking sleepily at his butler, who despite appearing completely calm, the stallion knew him well enough to tell when he was having fun. "Okay, I'm up now" Blueblood said as he got out of bed, stretching and yawning. "You have your breakfast ready in the dining room, Mr. Blood." "Aha, thanks, Service" the unicorn said as he walked away, stopping at the door and turning to see his butler. "Aren't you thinking about making my bed? I can do that, Service, you have enough work already." "Sir, the last time you made your bed, you made it even messier" Service said with a hint of a smile on his face, making Blueblood roll his eyes. "It only happened once, and that was when I was 13." "Whatever you say, sir, now, please, can you go to breakfast now?" Blueblood shook his head as he left his room, amused by Service's attitude. He walked slowly down the hall, towards the stairs and passing by the main room, the one that in theory, he should occupy, but the unicorn did not dare to sleep in the same bed where his parents once slept. He soon, he went down to the ground floor and arrived at the huge dining room, with a table just as big, and that was only occupied by a solitary tray to which the unicorn approached, sitting on the chair and watching his breakfast. It consisted of a glass of orange juice and a plate of fried eggs and hay. As he lit up his horn and raised the glass at his magic, he remembered what happened the night before as he took a sip of juice. It had been the Grand Galloping Gala, and despite the fact that he had rarely been interested in them, since his aunt always insisted on how boring they were, he couldn't help but go when he found out that the elements of harmony, which saved his newly discovered Aunt Luna, they would go to the party. Just as he set the glass down on the table, he frowned, remembering that if he had met one of the elements, if he wasn't mistaken, it was the one named Rarity, although Blueblood was sure he had seen her a week before the party. It had happened when they transferred Horn Chill, the murderer of his parents, from the maximum security prison, located on the outskirts of Canterlot, to the dungeons of his aunt's castle, since the princess did not trust the prison. Blueblood had seen the one called Rarity in the newspapers the next day, in the photos they took of her from afar, and although her face was not well distinguished, the unicorn did not need it, her white fur and the color of her mane, to despite being combed in a different style, they were very striking, confirming her as the murderer's current partner. That was something that disappointed him deeply, an Equestrian heroine, dating scum like Chill. Seeing her, he had wanted to insult her in front of everypony at the gala, to let them know that that bitch was dating a cold-blooded killer, but he managed to calm down before making a show of it. She may have dated a murderer, but she had saved his aunt Luna after all, so he opted for another option. Seeing that the mare seemed interested in him, he began to treat her in the worst possible way, doing the opposite of what he had been taught since foalhood. It didn't take his long to realize that the shallow mare would hate to be treated the way he was. "Sir, your highness, Princess Celestia, has sent you this letter" Service's voice said, interrupting Blueblood's thoughts, and when he turned to see him, he saw that the old unicorn had a letter in his magic. "I haven't read it, but I have a vague idea of ​​its contents. His attitude last night must have disappointed her." Blueblood shrugged as he took the letter in his magic, then tossed it onto the table before continuing with his breakfast. "She's not the only one who's disappointed" Blueblood said as he focused on his food. Service was silent for a while before speaking. "Sir, regardless of whether he is angry with his aunt or not, his attitude towards Miss Belle is unacceptable and goes against his family's values." "That Miss Belle is the fillyfriend of my parents' killer, Service" Blueblood said with a hint of hate in his voice, staring at his butler. "From my point of view, she doesn't deserve any kind of respect from me." Service held Blueblood's gaze for a long moment before nodding. "Okay, Mr. Blood" he said before starting to walk away, stopping at the door that led to the kitchens. "I take it you won't be home this afternoon, sir?" "No, Service, I'm going out" Blueblood said, going back to his breakfast. "Very good..." Service left the room, leaving Blueblood alone with his breakfast and his thoughts. Blueblood's carriage was making its way down one of the carriage streets at a good speed, pulled by two earth pony stallions. They were on their way to the Palace of Justice, on their way to a specific hearing that the unicorn had been waiting for two months, and they were already arriving. The building was huge, at least three stories high, and in a style that seamlessly blended gothic architecture and the architecture of the Ancient Pegasus Empire to perfection, gargoyles on the corners of the roof and polished white columns supporting the roof, grand staircases leading to the immense wooden doors, and on top of it all, watching all the ponies enter, was the figure of a blindfolded alicorn, carrying scales and a sword in her hooves. In front of the entrance, under the stairs, there was a crowd, made up of onlookers and, for the most part, journalists, apart from members of the royal guard who made sure to keep the crowd under control. The carriage parked and Blueblood stepped outside, dressed in a suit jacket and red tie, eyeing the doors before taking a deep breath and moving forward, immediately being assailed by thousands of photos and questions. "Mr. Blood! What do you think about the release of Horn Chill?!" "Do you agree with the statements of his aunt, Princess Celestia?!" "Does his attitude of his towards the element of generosity, Rarity Belle, have anything to do with today's hearing?!" Blueblood walked down the hall maked by the royal guards, ignoring the questions and moving decisively towards the doors, which were opened by two unicorn guards and closed as soon as he passed them. The unicorn advanced until it reached a large corridor, surrounded by columns, and a large door at the end, he knew that the hearing would be there. The place was already packed with ponies due to attend the hearing, onlookers, a few journalists who got permission, witnesses, and jurors. Blueblood preferred to stay away from them, standing in a corner and watching everything from afar, lifting his right hoof and to feel the inside pocket of his jacket, making sure he still had what he had brought from home. "Hello, Blue" said a voice next to him, prompting Blueblood to immediately lower his hoof and focus on who had spoken to him. "Hello, Cadence," Blueblood snapped back, surveying the crowd again. The pink alicorn raised an eyebrow, then looking at the two guards who accompany and nodding, indicating that they should move away. As soon as they were away, Cadence approached her cousin cautiously. "Is this how you greet your cousin?" "Don't try to play innocent with me" Blueblood said as he looked at his cousin. "You are just as guilty of this as Aunt Celestia." Cadence looked at her cousin for a few seconds before sighing. "Blue, I hate having to do this as much as you do, but…" "I doubt it," Blueblood replied, "that pony didn't kill your parents." Almost as soon as those words left his mouth, Blueblood regretted it, looking at his cousin, who had frowned and had her lips pursed. "Cadence, I didn't mean..." "You're right" Cadence interrupted, "Horn didn't kill my parents... but they were murdered... So I guess I have a right to say that I can get to know how you feel, don't you?" Blueblood looked at his cousin for a while before looking away from her, nodding weakly. "I'm sorry, Cadence, it's just…I'm furious that Celestia wants to let him go." "You know her well enough to know that she has a good reason" Cadence said with a frown. "Horn Chill shared a cell with Falcone, and he has promised to testify in exchange for early parole." "Cadence," Blueblood said with a sigh, "that pony killed my parents, you should know I can't pretend it doesn't affect me." "I know..." They both stood in silence, watching the crowd, waiting for Horn to arrive to start the hearing. "I heard what you did last night" Cadence said after a while. "News flies, huh?" "Aunt Celestia was a bit disappointed in your attitude, and Aunt Luna… well, she wasn't any better." "It's normal" Blueblood said with a shrug. "Those six saved her, I understand that she resents my attitude towards one of them." "But I don't understand, why did you treat her like that?" Cadence said curiously. "She had never seen you treat anypony like that." Blueblood turned to look at his cousin in surprise. "Do I really have to explain it to you? She's the fillyfriend of my parents' murderer, I wasn't going to treat her exactly right for that." Cadence's eyes widened, looking at Blueblood with her mouth open, while he just ignored her, looking again at the crowd. "Blueblood... Can you tell me why you think Rarity is Horn Chill's special pony?" Cadence asked cautiously, causing Blueblood to roll his eyes. "And you're supposed to be the princess of love? I saw it in the papers." Cadence watched her cousin for a while before speaking. "Are you absolutely sure it was her?" "Yes." Cadence was silent for a while, at least until a smile spread across her face. "Blueblood, Horn's mate is called Cream Cloud, and she's a pegasus." Blueblood refocused on his cousin, his eyes wide with surprise. "What?" "What you hear, you have the wrong mare" Cadence said, unable to contain her smile. "Cadence, if this is a joke, it's not funny" Blueblood said, causing Cadence to frown and speak in a stern voice. "Do you really think I would joke about something like that? You don't seem to know me." Blueblood growled, looking down and bringing a hoof to his forehead. "Great, now I'll have to apologize to Aunt Celestia, Miss Belle, and her friend." "Wait, her friend?" Cadence asked doubtfully, causing Blueblood to growl even more as he massaged his forehead. "If I remember correctly, she took me to a food stall that one of her friends had." "Must have been Applejack" Cadence said with a nod. "Aunt Celestia told me she brought a booth to the Gala, why would you have to apologize to her?" "I said her food was carnival food" Blueblood muttered. "Oh." "In my defense I will say that I thought she was a friend of that assassin" commented the unicorn with a sigh, lowering his helmet to the ground. "That's what I get for not asking him sooner." "Don't worry" Cadence said with a small laugh as she rested her hoof on her cousin's withers. "I'm sure they forgive you, and if you explain it to Aunt Celestia, both she and I will help you talk to them." "Thank you, Cadence" Blueblood said, watching the alicorn with a smile. Cadence smiled back and was about to say something, but she was interrupted by the sound of the ponies starting to speak loudly. The reason was that, advancing towards the door, there was a group of four royal guards, two pegasi and two unicorns, together with a group of Canterlot police, escorting a single pony that Blueblood recognized. With a frown, the unicorn watched as the small group advanced, holding off the crowd that had approached, made up of the journalists who were there. The prisoner being escorted by the guards was Horn Chill, an inhibitor ring on his horn and hoofcuffs on his four hooves, dressed in a simple suit. Near the group was the unicorn's true bride, further highlighting Blueblood's mistake, but at the moment, he was more busy observing the murderer of his parents. Two of the police officers approached the doors that led to the room where the hearing would take place and opened them for the group, who were the first to enter. Cadence observed everything about her with her cousin, at least until the two guards who had accompanied her approached. "Your Highness, her presence is required among the jury." "I'm coming" Cadence said, looking at Blueblood, who was still staring at the group. "I'll see you later, Blue." "I thought Aunt Celestia was the one who should be on the jury" he said, not looking away. "Originally yes" Cadence answered with a sigh, "but Aunt Luna is having a much harder time adjusting to this time than expected, and between that and her duties as ruler, she doesn't have time, so I'm here to represent her. " "Of course." Cadence bit her lip as she watched her cousin, but one of her guards approached her and remarked once more that they had to go. With a sigh, she began to walk. "If you take my advice, you should learn to forgive him... or walk away, otherwise it will only hurt more." "Would you forgive the murderer of your parents?" Blueblood asked with some disdain in his voice. "I'm the princess of love," Cadence replied with a shrug, "forgiveness is part of love. See you later, Blue." Blueblood nodded to her cousin, seeing how she advanced and entered the room, quickly followed by the rest of the jury and witnesses, and once they entered, the rest were allowed to pass. Lifting his hoof to feel the contents of his inner pocket, the stallion stepped forward and entered with the rest of the ponies, taking a seat on one of the rows of arranged benches. Ahead, facing the podium where the judge would sit, he could see two tables, with only one of them occupied by two ponies, one of them being Horn Chill, and the other being an earth pony that Blueblood deduced was his lawyer. To the right, some bleachers were placed where the jury sat, but it was Cadence who stood out the most, her gaze fixed on the prisoner. The two unicorns of the royal guard took up positions on either side of the table where Horn sat, and the other two pegasi took their places by the doors. The group of police positioned themselves around the room, one of them by the podium, waiting. At one point, a police officer emerged from a door on the far left of the room and approached the one in front of the podium, whispering something before leaving. "All rise" the policepony said as soon as his partner walked away again, "the honorable Judge Hammer Law presides." Everypony in the room stood up, watching as a unicorn clad in the classic black judges robes entered and took a seat behind the podium. Almost immediately, a pegasus came over and handed Judge Law a folder as everypony else sat down. Reviewing the papers, Hammer looked up and nodded. "Okay, we can start" he said as he gestured to Horn's supposed lawyer, who stood up. "Thank you, his honor" he said with a respectful nod. "Before we begin, I would like to remind you that although Mr. Chill's crime was heinous, he acted more out of desperation than greed. We must remember that Canterlot was going through a time of economic crisis, which at the time was much harder on lower and middle class ponies like Mr. Chill. Based on the 14 years already served, and his cooperation in the largest case the prosecution is handling right now, we strongly support giving him parole." Blueblood felt his blood boil upon hearing those words, he had to use all his will power not to scream in rage. Was he trying to justify his acts of victimizing him? Judge Law nodded, glancing at his papers for a bit before focusing on Horn. "Would the defendant like to say something?" Horn seemed silent for a while before getting up, and Blueblood fixed his eyes on him. "Your Honor... There hasn't been a single day that I haven't regretted what I did... I... I was desperate... like many others back then... but that will never justify my actions... .and I will live with it for the rest of my life." Despite Horn's apologetic tone, Blueblood was unmoved. The murderer of his parents, why the hell should he forgive him? Even if he really regretted it, it was too late. "I have been informed that a member of the Blood family is present" the judge said, scabdling Blueblood from his thoughts. "Do you have something to say?" Blueblood stared at Horn, rising from his seat ignoring the murmurs around him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Cadence, who seemed to be begging him not to do anything. After a long, tense minute, the unicorn turned away and left the room, unable to see any more of this charade. Blueblood had been pacing back and forth for nearly half an hour, nervously glancing at the doors that led to the room where the hearing was taking place. He occasionally stopped and patted his pocket with his hoof, trying to steel himself for what he had been planning for weeks. Finally, the doors began to open and he could see the group of royal guards escorting Horn, the unicorns at their sides and the pegasi controlling the crowd, full of journalists trying to extract some statement from the accused. Blueblood watched him carefully, seeing how they approached, the police helping the guards and creating an empty space in front. He took a deep breath and started walking towards Horn, psyching himself up to use his magic and grab the contents of his pocket as quickly as possible. When he was halfway there, he saw out of the corner of his eye a figure that sped forward, and with a jump, he took flight, revealing that he was a pegasus. "Hey Horn!" she screamed, revealing that she was a mare. "Falcone salutes you!" Right after she said it, she pulled out a gun, and before the guards could act, she fired. Blueblood stood motionless, watching as Horn fell to the ground, critically injured, as the two pegasus guards lunged at the mare she had shot, leaving her on the ground, while the unicorns positioned themselves around Chill, trying to save him in vain. The police made sure that the journalists did not get too close. Out of the corner of his eye, the stallion could see that Cadence was skirting the crowd and closing on him quickly. "Come on, Blue, we don't have to watch this." "I do" Blueblood replied, still watching as Horn seemed to be dying. He felt a hoof on his shoulder, and turning, he saw that Cadence was pleading with her eyes. With a growl, Blueblood allowed his cousin to guide his away from Horn Chill, though he couldn't help but give him one last glance.