Final Curtain

by Purple Patch

Chapter 10: Epilogue

“Who was it that said ‘Poison is a mare’s weapon?’, do you know?” Cadence found herself asking Shining as they, alongside Colonel Peregrine, made their way through the Royal Gardens of Canterlot, far warmer and livelier than old, secluded Marchion.

Shining shrugged.

“I bet Patch the librarian would know. But from those words I can only assume somepony with very little respect for mares.”

“And stallions.” Peregrine added. The two turned to him with puzzled looks.

“Think about it.” he said “A pony can kill very easily with a sword, a knife, an axe, an arrow, a big stick, even without meaning to. All they need to do is get very cross with something and reach for the nastiest thing they find. Arms of passion, as it were.” His tone darkened. “But poison is patient and calculating. A pony really has to want somepony to die, even if they’re not around to see it, whether its peacefully in their sleep or writhing in agony for hours or rendered helpless and infirm for days on end. Is a stallion really so much meeker and duller than a mare that they are to be denied such a weapon?”

There was a pause.

“I...couldn’t say, sir.” Shining said with a hint of worry in his eyes.

Peregrine chuckled.

“I’m messing with ya’. I’d never touch the stuff. But I’d say neither could most mares I’ve met.”

“I suppose that’s the trouble with ponies who take up poison.” Cadence said sullenly “They never know when to stop. If it worked so beautifully last time, why not the next? What’s to stop them bumping off anypony who gets in their way. I imagine after spending so long as a glorified servant, that power must have felt very inviting.”

She sighed.

“Especially in the case of a mare who pretends to be the most firm and sensible of mothers and yet whose son is in fact the most adored be-all and end-all of her life. She gave up everything for him, her career, her freedom, her name! Even his presence around her when he was sent away as a hostage while her husband died. Reduced to an unpaid housekeeper, tossed around by her family, swept up in her father-in-law’s power game...all so that her son would one day be a prince.”

“Still doesn’t make her innocent.” Peregrine added.

“Well, of course not.” Cadence said as they neared their destination “I can’t imagine what sort of world it would make if it did.”

Shining shook his head and muttered.

“It’s the cat I feel sorry for.”

Blueblood’s new lodgings were an impressive one. The corridor itself could well have housed as many works of art as the royal gallery. Cadence knew them well, she’d grown up here. She’d memorised many of the sights. Priceless Chineise Mang Vases and ceramics, colourful carpets from Saddle Arabia, Haissan and Ashwar, ornamental helms and mails from the Age of Knights when Equestria and Stirrope met and fought as one; there was even a mural of the famous Entry Of Lusaira by the famous Vorpal Blade.

The attention to detail in the face of Princess Lusaira of Erivara as she petitioned Princess Laurelore for aid for the ponies of the Aswan realms against Tirek and his allies, was remarkable. Lusaira’s beauty seemed to overshadow Laurelore’s.

Perhaps none-too-coincidentally, Vorpal Blade and Lusaira would become husband and wife years after Tirek’s defeat.

Whether Blueblood had any real interest in such art remained uncertain but it was highly unlikely he was in the mood for any of it.

Finding his room was fairly easy. One only had to follow the path marked by old Sanguine portraits. The grim, unsmiling visage of King Roth Redstar greeted them just as they turned the corner.

Looking at his stern visage, Shining remembered something Patch had once said about ponies of his time.

‘The Second Age of Magic. A nice name for such a chaotic age.’

Peregrine knocked brusquely on the door.

There came a gruff reply.

“Clear off! I’m not accepting visitors, is that clear?”

“We’re not visiting, Blueblood.” she said then counted down.

3, 2, 1.

The door swung open.

Blueblood had been drinking. His eyes were bloodshot, his mane was ruffled and his breath was stagnant.

Stumbling a bit, he scowled at the ponies before him and growled.

“How dare you show your faces to me after what you’ve done! Haven’t you caused enough grief?”

“I’m just going to assume by that, you mean ‘Please. come in, whatever you have to tell me must be important.’” Peregrine said gruffly.

Blueblood’s eyes blazed as he pointed a hoof at the Colonel.

“Listen, you miserable, thick-skulled...”

“Your highness,” Cadence began, knowing that getting used to addressing this stallion in such a way would not be easy “What we have to say will concern you very dearly. Please may you let us in.”

The prince was quiet, fixing them with a venomous glare.

After perhaps a span of fifteen seconds, he begrudgingly let them in.

Conkers was present in the room, pouring his employer what could only be called ‘one more’ drink. There was no telling how many he’d already poured.

Cadence noticed neither stallion offer them a drink but she paid it no mind.

What she had to say was important and had to be said here and only here.

“You should understand that by all the laws of Marchion, Miss Lapis Lazuli, better known as Gwendoline Aerie Sanguine, is sentenced to death.” Shining said flatly.

Blueblood shook his head, turning away from them.

“What is the matter with you?!” he growled “Do you get some kind of perverse pleasure out of putting my mother through this or did Honeysuckle bewitch you too?”

“This isn’t a joke, Blueblood.”

“Do you see me laughing?!” he squawked “My mother has lived every moment of her life hoping I would get where I am now. Do you think it’s funny that she has to die for it?”

It was here that Peregrine spoke up, fixing Blueblood with a disdainful scowl.

“May I remind ‘your grace’ that his mother, nice as she may have been to your good self, has killed a pony, her own father-in-law, and tried to kill another, his widow, without any regret on her part?”

“Colonel, please....” Cadence interjected.

At Peregrine’s words, Blueblood’s rage dampened under his melancholy. Gloomily sitting down, he held his head in his hooves and struggled to keep composed.

“Why?” he murmured “Why her?”

“My liege, your ability to imagine conspiracies against your family does not befit your new title.” Cadence said flatly “I am truly sorry for your predicament but I cannot apologise for your mother’s. She knew very well what she was doing and what she wanted out of it.”

“But...It’s not fair.”

“Not for you, I agree. But I’m afraid there is no other cause of action for your mother.” she sighed deeply and retrieved a letter from her blue cape of office “However...”

At the word, Blueblood jumped up, eyes wide with a spark of hope.

“Yes?”

“I have been speaking with various authority figures between the city of Canterlot and the Principality of Marchion...And there have been certain...rearrangements.”

“Wh-what rearrangements?! Tell me!” Blueblood was close to screaming, his forehooves shaking.

Cadence opened the letter and summarised its contents.

“As a pony guilty of first-degree murder and attempted-murder, Lapis Lazuli, aka Gwendolyn Aerie Sanguine, would under Marchion code of law be sentenced to hang by the neck until dead. However, we have looked into the act itself and the effects therein. Lapis Lazuli murdered the Prince of Marchion, which officially makes it an affair of the Monarchy of Canterlot where, in times of peace, the death penalty is prohibited. Technically, it would be up to the Prince’s successor to oversee her judging but...” she cast her eye at the Prince “I’m afraid, for obvious reasons, that would not be permissible in this case.”

Blueblood twisted his lips ruefully but said nothing.

“As of this morning, Gwendolyn Aerie Sanguine is now a prisoner held in Canterlot Royal Penitentiary and thus escapes the death sentence. However, the crimes she stood for in Marchion apply here in very much the same light and as such, she would, under regular circumstances, suffer a life sentence.”

There was a pause.

“I see.”

“However, Raven Inkwell informed me that matters of circumstance would also be taken into consideration. Your mother committed murder to attain a goal she has acquired, not necessarily by doing so, and the would-be victim of her attempted murder no longer poses her any form of foreseeable threat. So that if, by any means entirely, she was to be released, your mother would be considered publicly safe and unlikely to reoffend.”

“Of course! Of course she would, I promise!” Blueblood was close to jumping up and down.

Cadence raised a hoof.

“However, that still only marginally mitigates her sentence. The minimum sentence for the crimes she is guilty of is forty-five years without parole.”

Blueblood looked at her with eyes unfamiliar to her.

They were no longer the eyes of a spoiled noble too used to getting his own way.

Looking at her was a foal who’d lost his mother.

And he sounded like one too.

“Is there...is there really no chance of her being released any earlier?”

“Well, Lord Magistrate Nitpick suggested halving the sentence in exchange for a sizable stipend from your funds but Chairstallion Fancy Pants felt it best to...firmly...point out that the word for that is ‘bribery’.”

“I see...” Blueblood said quietly, rubbing at his eyes “But is there still any chance?”

“There is some chance that she could get time off for good behaviour.” Shining Armour said uncertainly “But only five years off at the most. Please, understand, my liege, that what your mother did cannot be overlooked.”

“We understand that she loved you dearly and you loved her in turn. Nopony would fault either of you for that.” Cadence added sincerely “But it doesn’t make any difference to her crime. You do realise that, don’t you”

“...Yes...” he murmured, turning away “I...I realise that. I just...” He turned back to them, the melancholy on his face mixing with fear “Did I do this? Did I...Did I push her to that level?”

“I don’t understand.” Cadence said, blinking, sitting down with the nerve-wracked Blueblood.

“I mean, did I make this happen? Somehow? That damned portrait, the tricks, the fawning over grandfather. I just...” he winced, his body quivering with anxiety “I...I know what happened, I know how. But, did I set everything into place so that...murder really was the only choice left to my mother?”

There was a pause. Cadence gave Blueblood a look, sighed and answered.

“No, you didn’t...because murder wasn’t the only choice. It never is.”

She cleared her throat.

“The Princess and the Royal Council wish to inform you, however, that by your right as prince, you shall be allowed to visit your mother whenever you wish and freely communicate by letter. That we can guarantee.”

Blueblood stared sullenly at her a while and turned away again. He spoke flatly with a slight air of authority.

“I thank you for your kindness. If that is all...”

“It is. Thank you.” Cadence stood and left the room beside the Sergeant and Colonel, quietly and calmly.

The door closed shut.

Shining gave Cadence a look.

“Do you think that was the right thing to do?” he asked.

“I really don’t see any other option.” Cadence said anxiously “I mean...I don’t want to hurt him. Nopony deserves to see their mother taken away like that. But on the other hoof, we can’t ignore what she did or what it would lead to if he ignored it.”

“I suppose.” Shining replied with a shrug “Anyhow...I promised I’d put a good word in for Bayard to join the Royal Guard. I might as well see if it’s possible while I’m back.”

“On that note, I thought I might give poor Babbles a little present.” Cadence piped up “I was thinking a soft toy...A white cat if they have one.”

Shining gave a half-smile.

“I think she’d like that.”

“Well, speak for yourselves but this’ll probably require a buck-ton of paperwork that won’t write itself, pardon my Prench my lady.” Peregrine said gruffly “I’d best see to it. Dismissed.”

And with that, the hardy Colonel took to his wings and flew off.

Shining was set to leave with him before Cadence’s voice rooted him to the spot.

“Shiney?”

“My lady?” he turned and saluted.

“Would Twilight be needing a babysitter tonight?”

The stallion shuffled on his hooves.

“Well, I don’t know if my folks are out tonight and I’ll be back anyway. But, honestly, we’d be happy to have you over for supper in any case. I know Twilight won’t object.”

“Thanks. I...I feel like Twi’s happy smile is just the thing I need to cheer me up after all this.

“Y-yeah, I...understandable.” Shining felt a blush coming “You know...my lady...there’s something I just need to ask.”

“Go ahead?” Cadence gave him that smile of hers.

The one that made him feel just as much like an alicorn as she was.

“When you and me kind of...teamed-up in that spell to break Gwendolyn’s shield...”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“I...do co-operative spells, or whatever they’re called, always feel like that?”

“They’re called Multicast Spells, Shining.” Cadence answered serenely “And, honestly, I wouldn’t know. That was the first time I cast one too.”

“Well, it’s just that...” The unicorn removed his helmet and ruffled his mane, feeling hot on the brow “I don’t think I’ve ever felt stronger or faster or...more sure of myself. During that casting, I felt like I could take on Tirek single-hoofed...”

“Heh, well how about that.” Cadence said serenely, gliding over to him with that mesmerising look on her face.

Her glittery eyes closed a moment as she leaned forward and whispered.

“Me too.”

There was a slight sound beside him that made him jump. Something between the click of a button and the pat of a raindrop.

Then Shining Armour realised that Cadence had kissed him.

With a broad smile and a blush as bright as a rose in bloom, Shining Armour accompanied Lady Mi Amore Cadenza home.

*

Blueblood looked at the crown.

It had come with the suite.

It was a modest thing but it was at least significant.

A ring of silver and gold comets, interlocked by their contrails, joined at the front by the Narcissus Daffodil, Marchion’s most sacred flower, carved out of canary-yellow tourmaline, and at the back by the criss-crossed red and blue star of the eight-pointed star, fashioned from jasper and...

Blueblood looked away from it.

Lapis. Of course it would have to be Lapis.

He wondered how it would look it he had it removed or refashioned.

‘No.’ he thought ‘Her name was Gwendolyn, is Gwendolyn. She’s my mother, I love her and I’m not ashamed of it. Why should I be?’

He looked at the crown again.

He’d seen it on every portrait of his ancestors ever since he could remember. For his third birthday, his father had even made him a foil replica to wear every birthday.

He’d dreamed of wearing the real thing ever since.

‘It will be mine’ he'd kept reminding himself every time he had to fawn and scrape for his mad grandfather ‘One day, after all this, that beautiful crown will be mine and all will know I am the Prince from all the wondrous tales.’

He sighed and finished his cocktail.

“Sir?” Conkers piped up “I believe I’ve exhausted the drinking possibilities for you. Unless you’d be partial to another...”

“No, no...It’s not quite satisfying me.” Blueblood stood up, brushing back his mane “I think the Hanoverian is where I need to be.”

"If I may inquire, will sir be visiting...Madam Gwendolyn at any point today?"

Blueblood turned to him with a look of awe.

He'd called her 'Gwendolyn'.

Perhaps only to please him. But honestly, at such a stage, he'd take it.

"Not...right now." he murmured "But soon. I just need to clear my head."

“Very good, sir.” Conkers bowed as Blueblood looked the crown over once more.

“I will be a good prince’

He put back in its glass casing and threw the purple velvet cloth over it before heading for the door, putting his forehooves into the jacket Conker’s offered him.

His blue eyes were blank, dry and sullen.

‘One day...’

Author's Note:

Well, there we are at last.
Finally, one of the several fics I'm juggling is drawn to a close.
Reference to Game of Thrones History and Lore Poisons at the beginning
Please let me know what you think of the story as a whole. Your comments make it all worthwhile.
Thanks for reading.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Nice ending! things can now get a little easer for you, with only three stories

The door swung open.

Blueblood had been drinking. His eyes were bloodshot, his mane was ruffled and his breath was stagnant.

That reminds me of 2 pictures of TheOwlGoesMoo regarding Blueblood.

[The Great Derpsby]

And to this day, he does not wear it.