‘Redeemed’ EXCLUSIVE Preview #2 · 2:56am Jun 24th, 2023
Well everypony, we’re almost halfway to the finish line!! After about five days of writing, the first part of Redeemed is officially completed! When I say that this is an emotional rollercoaster of a story, I really mean it. I’m pouring everything into this one, my love for this generation and Misty’s character will be on full display. Now considering that this was written after “Missing The Mark” instead of before like intended, has anything changed about my vision? Not really, per se. I’ve borrowed some dialogue from the episode in a couple places, but beyond that, this is its own original thing. I’m writing this as a sort of definitive finale to the Opaline arc, and I even consider it to be a proper sequel to A New Generation in a couple places as some themes and ideas from the movie are definitely explored again.
Out of all the stories in the Misty Saga after Worthless, I have always wanted to write this one. This is what it has all been building up to and you will see why it took so long to get to this point, as well as why we had to go through so many stories to reach this one. This is in a lot of ways the true definitive sequel to Worthless, even though the other stories are still required reading, otherwise nothing will make sense. I’m definitely toning back a lot of the edginess from The Fall of Opaline as some commenters have complained about it being TOO dark. That means hardly any cursing (if any) and no f-bombs. Now I’m not pulling a “Josstice League” where I completely destroy the dark tone with quips every single scene in order to make a totally incoherent mess in order to please the masses. There’s still the recognizable darkness in here. But it will be Worthless and Forgiven’s levels of dark, something that I think readers can handle. Plus, another reason why the darkness is pulled back in several areas is because this story is a lot more hopeful in tone, which was always the intention. We’ve already gone through the crushing loss and defeat. Now it’s time for epic victory.
So with Part 1 done, does that mean I’m going to release it now? Aw heck no! You see, I have to get Purpose and Part 2 done first before any of this is considered releasable in my eyes. Luckily for me, I’ve officially started writing Part 2! Yeah, I know. I said that I would be writing Purpose first, but I was just too excited to start the next chapter after that absolutely epic final scene. You’ll know what it is once you read it, but let me tell you, it is cathartic on so many levels.
So allow me to give you a glimpse as to the scene that I’ve just finished writing with Part 2. Remember the second chapter of Can I Go, Mom? with the whole “ponies of the prophecy” thing? Well, this’ll only make sense if you read the ending to that story. So before you read on, be sure to give that a read if you haven’t. With that being said, roll it!
The Marestream flew through the stormy skies back in the direction of Maretime Bay at top speed. The engines let out an audible roar and accelerated the ship forward while thunder clapped and boomed all around it. Heavy rain poured down on the roof, soaking the areas near the hatch as it braved the harsh weather to get back.
The skies were not usually this stormy, so it was certainly seen as a dark omen for the confrontation that was about to take place. Nature had its way of foreshadowing future events to come through the weather, so it was not a stretch of the imagination to say that was happening now.
Izzy was driving the Marestream while Misty sat in the back with Queen Skygrace of the Hippogriff Kingdom and talked to her. They were flying back from Mount Aris after recruiting the hippogriff army to their aid and they were all exhausted. While the remaining army flew ahead on their own, the queen chose to ride with the ponies in order to extract more information out of them. Misty agreed, of course. After all, the situation they were in was so complicated that if they were to have any hope of winning against Opaline together, it was better to know who their allies were on a more personal level.
Although she had a general plan of attack figured out, Izzy still had no idea how she was going to explain everything to Skygrace. She knew of the hippogriffs’ existence through her multiversal friends, but she did not want to sound like an idiot in front of one of their only allies by revealing it. The multiverse and time travel were very outlandish concepts that few believed in and she wanted to be taken seriously for once in her life.
She sighed, putting the ship on autopilot and heading to the back cabin in order to speak with her friend. Her mind was at war with itself despite everything that had happened. It should have been a good thing to her that Misty had finally taken her advice and decided that reasoning was the best way to go. But what if she was wrong? Sunny had made it crystal clear that her leniency was a onetime thing and that should they ever come back for her, then she would be forced to condemn them to Opaline’s wrath.
This put her on edge as a result. She questioned whether what she was doing was truly the right decision. Misty was certainly dead set on it now, but was she? Would Sunny really forgive them after they had basically abandoned her when she needed their comfort the most? The thought would not leave her head, and she felt like she was putting all their lives at stake as a result.
She didn’t know what the point of it all was. What exactly was killing her friends going to accomplish? Sunny was her first ever friend in the world and she loved the earth pony more than any of her other friends as a result. Her loyalty was what drove her to be harsh on Misty and push her to go with the reasoning option. But the chances of the mission failing again were astronomically high and this time, they knew that not all of them were getting out alive.
As she found Misty and Skygrace, the latter turned towards her with a skeptical look in her eyes. There was no trust in those piercing green irises, only distrust and suspicion. It was clear that the last thing the hippogriff wanted was to be involved with ponies again after their troubled history and she didn’t blame her.
Izzy couldn’t look at her back as she was trembling all over from that gaze, so she kept her head low and sat besides Misty.
“Did you put the Marestream on autopilot?” Misty asked carefully. “I don’t want us to crash.”
Izzy nodded. “Yeah. I’ll get back behind the wheel soon, I promise. I just need to talk with you and queenie here. I’m sorry, what’s your name again?”
“Skygrace,” she responded with an edge to her voice. “Get it right for once now, please. I don’t see how this is so hard for you to understand.”
Izzy looked down in shame as the words cut right through her heart and stung where it hurt the most. She had always been called dumb and stupid by the unicorns around her for most of her life while growing up in Bridlewood. Most of her peers didn’t like how she treated every situation with such lightheartedness and levity and some even told her to grow up. The phrase ‘hard for you to understand’ was one that she heard so often that she practically memorized every encounter where that phrase was said.
It wasn’t her fault that she wanted to make her town a better place and brighten up everypony’s days…was it? She had no idea, but she didn’t like hearing the same words repeated to her now. It brought back bad memories that she always tried to keep hidden.
Misty noticed her downtrodden expression and hurriedly backed her up. “Your majesty-“ She cleared her throat as she corrected herself. “Um, Skygrace, we’re your friends. You don’t need to be so standoffish.”
Skygrace barked a laugh. “Friends?! Give me a break. My subjects shouldn’t even be involved with Equestria after the stunt you ponies pulled years back. I’m only helping you because my mother would’ve wanted me to.”
Izzy looked back up upon hearing that. “Is…the stunt about how Opaline convinced the other ponies to hurt you all those years ago…?”
Skygrace gave a simple nod in response.
Misty had an expression of deep concern on her face. “We know what went down. Six months ago, we found the Journal of Friendship stored in our bedroom. We know how she really rose to power…and what happened to all of you.”
“You ponies saved us from the Storm King so many moons ago,” Skygrace spoke angrily. “You built a school to indoctrinate our young into your culture. You welcomed us with open hooves…and you chased us out with hate and murder as soon as you didn’t need us anymore.” Her eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked back. “All hippogriffs and seaponies know this story. And yet you come asking for our help in spite of everything you had done to us?!!”
“That’s not what happened!” Izzy protested. “Skygrace, we…that was years ago. And our ancestors were blindsided by fear and distrust. Opaline fed on their disdain for change and she…she made them vulnerable to her influence. But we’re not like that anymore!”
Skygrace said nothing in response, still standing in a defensive pose with an expression of pure hatred.
“Nothing can undo all the harassment you guys received…” Misty told her. “You were promised a better world, and Opaline took that from you. But we want to make it right. Times are different now and…things are changing. We’re open to welcoming you all back. I understand if you’re angry at us. But we are not our ancestors. Just as you’re not your mother…”
The violet hippogriff’s eyes softened a bit, but her voice still conveyed suspicion as she nervously took a few steps closer to them. “Can I ask you something? When your friend got kidnapped, and you needed help…how did you know that we existed? I thought we were considered nothing to you but an old ponies’ tale?”
Izzy’s heart raced as she thought of something to say in response. As she was panicking internally, she felt Misty’s comforting hoof on her shoulder. The touch was warm and it filled her with a sense of self-assurance. It was okay. She could reveal the truth and not be thought of as weird. She would be believed.
She took a shaky breath. “I knew of you through Skystar. She…we met each other once in this strange chaos realm. She told me about her kingdom and where it was. We passed along that message through her mother.”
“You knew my great ancestor…” Skygrace’s voice radiated a childlike sense of amazement and wonder at the news. All that anger was gone now and was replaced by an eagerness to hear more. It was clear that she was fascinated with her family’s history and lineage. “You told her our prophecy?”
Izzy nodded, smiling. “We did. That was the first place we went after Sunny was kidnapped. We knew that we could trust her, and to an extent, we knew that we could trust you as well.”
“But…how?” she asked in bewilderment. “You didn’t even know that I would even exist back then.”
“If you’re anything like her,” Izzy replied. “You’re loyal to your friends no matter what, no matter who or what they are. You’d never leave them behind.”
“We even got to see Mount Aris as it was back then.” Misty added. “Your kingdom is absolutely beautiful, your majesty.”
Skygrace smiled back wistfully. “It sure is. And you haven’t even seen all of it yet. The Harmonizing Heights is still a beautiful place full of boundless opportunity. We are a people of hope, not war.”
“Which means…” Izzy prodded gently.
“Yes,” Skygrace stated firmly. “I will help you fight Opaline. We will take back what was stolen from us all those years ago.”
Both Izzy and Misty whooped and cheered for joy at this news. With this, a new truce between the two races was born, and it was one that they vowed would never be broken.
Yup! We finally get to see the aftermath of the hippogriffs’ recruitment in Can I Go, Mom?. I know a lot of things haven’t been flowing linearly chronological wise, but hey, if Doctor Who can do it with the whole River Song arc, then so can I. If any of you have watched The Flash in theaters, you might recognize the last part of this conversation. I won’t spoil what scene it is pulling from, but bonus points to anyone who can figure it out.
With that being said, I will see you all very soon. Bye!!
OK, so the Marestream’s powered by the lantern, which is magic.
Sunny destroyed the Unity Crystals, ridding everypony besides her and Opaline of magic.
You might notice the questions starting to form here?
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Actually, there’s a section in Part 1 that explains how the Marestream was renovated to have a real engine to replace the lantern’s magic that once powered it. It’s been six months since the last story, so Misty and the remaining Mane 5 had time to account for that. I probably should have mentioned that in the blog itself.
Hope that clears it up.
My only issue with the six-month timeskip is not seeing the full aftermath of the chaos that arose at the end of TFoO. Especially in regards to Zipp and Pipp. As dark as I found it, I wanted to see what happened after they were attacked by the crowd.
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Fortunately, I designed a clever workaround for that. While the direct aftermath isn’t shown, the traumatic ramifications are still explored in great depth, especially when Misty talks to a certain someone who I won’t spoil. So yeah, I wanted the time skip so we could cut to the meat of the plot, but there will be scenes explaining its effects on all three civilizations.
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Okay, good
And after hearing one of the music pieces on LunarMusicVEVO, I might know who that "certain someone" is.
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Oh really? Who do you think it is (Better cover it in the spoiler black line just in case you’re right)?
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Twilight
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Oh shit. Well…okay, the jig’s up on that. She’s in it, but the pony in question that I’m referring to is actually somepony different.