//------------------------------// // From prince to tramp // Story: Batmane, the dark steed // by Guillermo //------------------------------// After a while, they left the Palace of Justice, seeing that there were still journalists outside who had not heard the shot, and seeing them, they first reaction was to go interview them, stopped by the two guards of the alicorn. The two cousins ​​reached Blueblood's carriage, which he could see was one from the palace right behind it, pulled by two pegasus guards. "You can go home gentlestallions, my cousin will come with me" Cadence said, speaking to the two ponies pulling Blueblood's cart. They both looked at the stallion, who nodded, confirming what Cadence had said, leaving the parking lot and walking away. Blueblood followed his cousin to the car, who opened the door and motioned for his cousin to enter. Normally, he would let her go first, but given what had happened that day, he didn't feel like arguing and got into the car, followed quickly by the alicorn. They waited a few moments before the two guards took their seats on the outside of the carriage, one in the back and one in the front, moving out into the streets of Canterlot. The ride was silent for a few more minutes before Cadence got up the courage to speak. "Now I understand why Judge Law insisted that the hearing be public" she said with a sigh. "He was bought by Falcone, so that he might have a chance to kill Horn." "Maybe I should thank him" Blueblood commented as he stared out the window next to his seat, watching the streets go by and the ponies on them living their lives. "You can't be serious" Cadence's voice replied, and when Blueblood looked at her, she saw that she was frowning. "Cadence, that pony killed my parents" he said with a sigh, looking away from his cousin. "My parents deserved justice." "That's not justice, it's revenge." "They're often the same thing," Blueblood replied with a shrug. "They are never the same" Cadence replied sternly. "Justice is harmony, revenge is just personal satisfaction. I thought Aunt Celestia taught you that." "She just taught me how to make your city fall prey to corruption" Blueblood growled as he turned to look at his cousin. "Always telling me that we have a system to do justice, and that system is rotten, is it not going to do anything or what?" Cadence watched her cousin for a few seconds before getting up and going to a small window in the front, and opening it, Blueblood saw the head of the guard sitting outside. After apparently discussing something with the unicorn, the princess of love returned to her seat. "It's true that justice in this city is mostly corrupt" she said, watching Blueblood intently, "and I know you think Celestia isn't doing anything." "It's just that she doesn't do anything" Blueblood replied with a growl, but Cadence kept calm. "Celestia will be the Supreme Princess of Equestria, at least until Luna is ready to take her place at her side, but she's not omnipotent, she's still a mare, and Canterlot isn't the only city under her care, why do you think do we have a mayor? And unlike her, the ponies that help her if they can be corrupted." "She's still Princess Celestia" Blueblood said, "if she wants, she could lock up all the crooks and gangsters in the city." "No evidence?" Cadence replied with a slight smile. "You know what she says, locking up ponies without evidence makes you a..." "A tyrant, I know" Blueblood sighed, looking at the streets through the window again. "Still, I'm still glad Horn Chill is dead." Cadence didn't answer, following their journey in silence. Blueblood focused on the view he had from the window, seeing that the carriage was moving away from the wealthier areas of the city. After a while, they crossed over a bridge that spanned the Platinum River, then turned right and followed its course, though they soon entered its alleyways. Confused, the unicorn turned to his cousin, who was still silent and watching the streets through her window. "Where are we going?" "I just wanted to show you something" Cadence said, not even turning around, "so we took a little detour." Blueblood continued to look at Cadence strangely before turning his eyes to the window. Soon the number of ponies he saw on the street, sleeping or begging for money, increased. "Why are those ponies in the street?" Blueblood asked, looking at Cadence, who gave him a sidelong glance. "Why you ask?" "Cadence, I won't be as supportive as my parents or Aunt Celestia, but I know they built centers for homeless ponies" Blueblood replied with a frown, annoyed by his cousin's attitude. "Why aren't they there?" "Falcone" Cadence replied forcefully, staring at Blueblood. "He may not have killed your parents, but he is destroying everything they and our aunt achieved. He imposes protection payments on those centers, reducing their funding." "Why doesn't Celestia do anything?" Blueblood growled. "Like I told you before, she's a mare in charge of an entire country, she can't keep up with everything, and Falcone knows it." Cadence sighed, looking away from Blueblood. "And anyway, there's not enough evidence to prove it and no one willing to testify. The only centers that have been saved are the ones our aunt personally supervises. The ones that haven't, Falcone takes money from them and uses them to traffic his drugs, creating more Horn Chill every day." Blueblood fell silent, looking out the window again. Increasingly it was more common to see ponies in the streets and alleys, he could see some looking through the garbage. The carriage continued on its way until it stopped in a square, and the unicorn could see what looked like a restaurant right in front of it, guarded by two guards. "If you want to thank him, go ahead," Cadence's voice said behind his, and when he turned around, the alicorn nodded her head towards the restaurant that Blueblood had noticed. "Everypony knows where to find him, but as long as he terrorizes the good and the mighty, as long as he keeps everypony bought, as long as only a few good ponies stand up to him, he's untouchable. What will become of Canterlot if the good ponies do nothing? " Blueblood looked around the restaurant for a few seconds, thinking about Cadence's words. "I'm not a good pony, Cadence" he finally said, looking away from the restaurant, but not daring to look at his cousin. "What do you mean?" "For all these years I've wanted to kill Horn…" Blueblood took a deep breath and used his magic to pull something out of his pocket, a gun he had managed to smuggle. "And today... I almost did..." Blueblood was silent, waiting for Cadence to say something, anything, but receiving no answer, he got worried. Slowly, he raised his head and looked at the alicorn, only for the princess to hit him in the face with a hoof, causing the stallion to look down again. "Your father... would be ashamed of you" Cadence said after a few seconds. Blueblood simply watched his cousin out of the corner of his eye, pocketing the gun and exiting the carriage. As soon as he was out of it, Cadence approached the door, looking at her cousin, seeming to hesitate for a few moments before frowning again and slamming the door shut. A few seconds later, the unicorn in the lead turned towards the window that connected to the interior, then gestured to the stallions pulling the carriage. They both watched the prince before setting off, circling the square and retracing his steps. Blueblood watched them go before focusing on the restaurant, and after a few seconds of deliberation, he began to walk away through the alleys. As labyrinthine as they could be, especially in that area of ​​the city, he knew exactly where he was headed, to the river, since his special talent was orientation. Sometimes he wondered if he really was that good at orienting himself or, on the contrary, his cutie mark gave that ability a plus, since he almost seemed like he had a mental map in his head. During his walk, he could see more and more ponies in the streets, lying on the sidewalks, rummaging through garbage, he even saw a few that were injecting syringes into their paws. Reluctantly, he admitted that Cadence was right, Falcone was tearing this town apart, he remembered how, as a colt, his parents had fought to prevent this sort of thing, and his aunt had tried to help as much as she could, but as his cousin had said in the carriage, she was a mare like everypony else, and she couldn't be everywhere at once. His parents were the ones who inspired the richest society to do something for the most needy, his death put an end to that stage. Despite the fact that Fancy Pants, one of the most important nobles in the city, and also the prosecutor of Canterlot, tried to follow the example of the Bloods, nopony seemed to have much interest in doing anything. Just as Cadence said, Falcone had the other nobles so scared that few dared to act. Blueblood stepped out onto a street that overlooked the river, heading there quickly. His gaze went to the right, being able to see several bridges that crossed the waters and, in the distance, his aunt's castle, illuminated by the last rays of the sun, which was already setting on the horizon. To the left, he could see airships coming and going from almost everywhere in Equestria in the distance, almost at the edge of one of the platforms that supported much of the city. Following the river, and almost entering the forest that surrounded the city, was the immense Ace Wing Chemicals, a gigantic factory built almost a hundred years ago by a group of unicorns who wanted Canterlot to become independent from the Cloudsdale weather factory, although in the end it did not succeed, and ended up serving only as support. Beyond this was a large dam with various water plants to purify the river of various chemicals with powerful spells. Blueblood looked away from all that and focused on the dark waters of the Platinum River, thinking about everything that had happened that day. Even though Horn was dead, the rage he'd felt since he was a foal hadn't gone away, and after his conversation with Cadence, it only intensified even more. That rage, that insane hatred, had accompanied him throughout his foalhood, from the very day his parents died. It was because of that hatred that he isolated himself from everypony around him, and Service, in a last desperate attempt to get him to react, offered to teach him how to fight, to learn the techniques of the royal guard. It was thanks to that, that he learned karate and boxing, and although it served to appease some of his burning hatred, he didn't completely quench it. Almost two years after the tragedy that marked his life, his cousin Cadence taught him several simple basic deduction problems, trying to get the little prince to find a hobby. It didn't take long for Blueblood to discover that he was pretty good at deducing, and when he saw a mystery story, it was quite easy for him to organize the clues in his head, making a mental map of them so he could catalog them and find an optimal result. Many times, he was able to solve the mystery before the big reveal. And when he discovered that this ability also served him to orient himself abroad, he obtained his cutie mark. But even so, his hatred stayed on, and he doubted it would ever turn off. After turning 18, Celestia managed to convince him to go out more of his remote mansion, which he did, but not as his aunt expected. Although at first he was not very convinced, he found in parties, and above all, in alcohol and, very often, pleasant company, a method to escape from the hatred and sadness that accompanied him at every moment of his life. For a few hours, he could escape all of that, even if he earned the disappointment of his aunt, Cadence, or Service. Although the press did not focus much on his misadventures, more out of respect for the princess than for him, the rest of Canterlot did not share that respect, at least not in privacy. Everypony knew of the Prince of Canterlot's reputation, and Celestia had warned him that if he continued like this, being his nephew wouldn't stop the press from spreading his misadventures to the rest of Equestria… but he didn't care. Blueblood was more interested in escaping the sad and hateful life he had led since the death of his parents than in maintaining his reputation. And so it had been until, months earlier, he had learned that Horn Chill was to be paroled. He still vividly remembered the day he confronted his aunt about it, a screaming fight that even Cadence was involved in, which resulted in the unicorn not speaking to them again for a long time, at least until he saw his cousin that day. It was a few weeks before, that Blueblood, on one of his drunken nights, only this time all alone, hatched a plan to assassinate Horn Chill. Betraying everything his aunt, Service, and even his parents, taught him, he bought a smuggled griffon gun. The prince lit his horn and took said weapon out of his jacket and observed it carefully, seeing the resemblance to the one that ended the lives of the Bloods. When he bought it, he saw that resemblance, but he didn't give it importance, in his mind, the same type of weapon that took their lives, would now do them justice. But after his talk with Cadence, he wasn't so sure anymore. All of his life, he had directed his hatred at only one pony... a pony who was the victim of a corrupt society... and the one responsible was an unscrupulous stallion who was doing much more harm to the parents of him destroying his legacy. Horn Chill's death didn't end his hatred, much less did his conversation with Cadence, all it did was redirect him in the right direction...to criminals in general, those who preyed on the weak. With a cry of rage, Blueblood tossed the gun into the dark waters of the river before turning and retracing his steps. When he returned to the plaza, the moon had long since lit up the night sky. Blueblood approached the doors of the restaurant, seeing the same two guards as before, a unicorn and a pegasus, who were talking to each other calmly. When they saw him approaching, they threatened to stop him, at least until they recognized him as the Prince of Canterlot, letting him pass. The stallion entered the building, looking at the different tables arranged around it, and in the background, along one of the walls, was a pony that he easily recognized as Falcone, since he was the only one with a bodyguard nearby. He strode towards his position, and when he was only a few steps away, he was stopped by one of the bodyguards, a unicorn. Falcone lifted his eyes slightly from his newspaper, glancing at him sideways as the pony scanned him with his magic. "You seem shorter in the papers, Mr. Blood," said Falcone. Blueblood didn't reply, fixing his gaze on the pony in front of him. He was an earth pony, with brown fur and a slicked-back gray mane, dressed in a very expensive-looking white suit. The bodyguard who had stopped him stepped back and nodded at Falcone. "Without weapons? I feel insulted." Falcone nodded at the unicorn and went back to his paper as Blueblood was pushed into the seat. The prince grunted and kept his gaze on the mobster, who watched him out of the corner of his eye. "You could have sent a thank you letter," he commented. "Although I admit that I am honored to be visited by you." "I'm not here to thank you for anything" Blueblood spat angrily. "I've come to show you that not all Canterlot ponies fear you." That caused Falcone to snicker, as did two of his bodyguards, setting the paper aside on the table. "Only those who know me, kid" he said, calming his laughter and nodding his head to a table where there were two different ponies, an earth pony and a pegasus. "If you look over there, you'll see two cops out of order" with another gesture, he pointed to another table where there was a unicorn next to two pegasus mares, a unicorn that Blueblood was familiar with, "and a judge." Blueblood focused more on the pony, and found that yes, it was the same judge he had seen that day. When he turned, Falcone had drawn a griffin gun modified for earth ponies and aimed it directly at his head. "I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to blow your brains out right here in front of them. And do you know why? Because none of them would dare to do anything about it, and that power is not held by your precious aunt. That power is not bought or inherited... it is the power of fear." "I'm not afraid of him." "Because you think you have nothing to lose, but you haven't thought it through... What about your cousin?" Blueblood tensed at that, but he tried not to show any signs that it affected him. "She's a princess, and an alicorn, you can't..." "She is a princess without many important positions in the city, a princess without the respect that Celestia has, and even if she is an alicorn... something tells me that she is not at the level of her aunt. Besides, she is not the only one, right? What about your butler? I'm sure you'd mourn his loss, right? Bang!" Blueblood jumped a little in his seat, watching as Falcone laughed and leaned back in his chair, putting the gun away. "Ponies like you... have a lot to lose. You think that because they killed your mom and dad, you know the bitter side of life, but it's not true. You don't know what despair is, you're the fucking Blueblood, the prince of Canterlot! Even if you were a thousand miles away, the ponies would know who you are" Falcone growled and crouched down a bit, regarding the stallion in front of him with a frown. "So don't come here in a rage trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you will never understand, and what is not understood is always feared." Falcone gestured to his two thugs, who forced Blueblood to his hooves. For a second, he thought about resisting, he could fight them, Service made sure of it, but since the mobster had a gun, and those two probably did too, he came to the conclusion that it wasn't a good idea. So he allowed himself to be dragged out of the restaurant, thrown down the stairs and back inside laughing, laughter shared by the two guards outside. Blueblood stood up, glancing at the gates and the guards ahead, who smirked at him with amusement, before starting to walk away. As much as he hated to admit it, Falcone was right, he didn't understand the criminal world, much less utter despair. What the hell was he thinking? What was going to intimidate the biggest mobster in town all by himself? And even if he tried to finish him off, he didn't even know how to do it. He could try to do it the legal way, just like his aunt is doing, but seeing as he had bought most of the judges and lawyers, and that the others were too afraid of him or completely alone, the legal way was not an option. He could try to do like his parents back in their day and throw charity parties, make big donations, well, anything to inspire the richest nobles and ponies in town. But he knew it would be useless, first of all, most nobles were, in his aunt's own words, a bunch of posh ponies who thought of nothing but his reputation and getting richer. Add that to the fact that most likely nopony would want to make a major change for fear of Falcone, and he would be even more useless than he already was. The last option he thought of was trying to cut some of his drug supply by taking over the shelters he was using on his behalf. But he dismiss it immediately, remembering Falcone's threat to Cadence and Service. He was not willing to go through that tragedy again. Blueblood felt frustrated, the only options he could think of that could end Falcone's reign required risking the lives of his loved ones or knowledge of the criminal world that he did not have. After walking for a while, he came out onto a wide street, with a road where several carriages circulated, and although he was not from the richest neighborhoods, he was not from the poorest either, he was in the middle class range. Blueblood walked slowly, trying to get his bearings, which didn't take long. Although that was still a long way off, he was making his way towards the blimp station. The prince stood still for a second, thinking, his gaze in the approximate direction of the station, and remembering Falcone's words. If he wanted to do something against Falcone, he had to know the criminal world, but it wasn't enough to study it in a book, no, he had to understand it and live it. But he couldn't do it in Canterlot, or in Equestria, the mobster was very right about that, he was too well known. If he wanted to do something, he should leave the country. Determined, he began to advance towards the station, hoping to arrive before dawn, he had to catch a train to Trottingham, the farthest city in the country, and from there, go to the rest of the world.