Redemption
Chapter 5: The Meeting
Prince Blueblood stepped from the train that took him to Canterlot.
He was but a walk away from home, and he was more than ready to finish this long trip. Looking up, he saw that it was currently twilight, not long before Aunty Celestia would usually end the day court and be in her bedroom or her study, giving him the perfect opportunity to be alone with her for the greeting he's been looking forward to for quite some time. But the setting sun also made him think of his Aunt Luna. In the beginning, the princess of the night had little to no patience for him given his stuck-up and snobbish demeanor added to her high standards, save for after he reinvented himself following the gala, but that was only a small window of three months before he left to infinity and beyond. Blueblood felt a strong sense of disappointment in himself whenever he thought back to his previous life. But that's why he's here; to right his wrongs and to perpetuate the Blueblood he is now.
He thought of slowing down to see how much Canterlot has changed, but he had a one-track mind to get home, almost tunnel vision. Besides, he'd have plenty of time to see Canterlot after he reunites with Aunty Celestia. With that notion in mind, he trotted through the streets with a pep in his step, not paying the condescending looks sent his way any mind. Even before he left, he was well-adept in ignoring opinions. Blueblood, honestly, didn't give two flying parasprites.
XXXXX
Princess Celestia was in her personal study, immersing herself in a small book.
On a large cushion, she rested, and by her side was was an empty salad bowl. She was rested in front of a fireplace, the relaxing crackling of the sparks putting her mind in a state of ease as she read her story.
The book itself was a novel about a redeeming dragon that sought to break away from his monstrous and greedy nature. It was a book that she used to read to Blueblood when he was but a foal at quiet times like this to put him to sleep. Reading the book again filled her thoughts with happy, calming times she shared with Blueblood, long before he became the pony he became.
'He was always a momma's colt.' Celestia thought with a slight giggle. And that was how he always saw her as; a mother. Blueblood would dedicate his free time to her, especially after Cadence and Shining Armor found one another. His way of coping from spending less time with Cadence, she could only guess. The thought of the royal couple also reminded her of Blueblood's open distaste towards Shining, how protective he was over Cadence. But before she could think into it any further, her train of thought was interrupted by a knock at her door.
"Come in." the sun princess called, closing her book and placing it under her wing.
In came Princess Luna, concern written all over her face. "Sister, are you doing well? You departed quite abruptly during lunch, I made the assumption you merely needed time alone." Luna spoke, walking over to her sister.
Celestia simply nodded. "I'm doing fine, sister. Just thinking back on fond memories." Celestia replied, looking back at the fireplace.
Luna nodded in acknowledgement as she walked over to her elder sibling. "Of our nephew Blueblood, I have no doubt. Would you like to talk about him?"
Celestia smiled at her sister. "Luna, I didn't think you were the listening type." she commented.
Her sister gave a look of hurt. "Nonsense! I am a perfect listener, sister!"
That only caused Celestia to giggle. "If you insist, I'll take your word for it." Celestia said before looking out to her balcony. "But the duty of raising the moon still rests on you." she reminded.
"Ah yes, it brings back fond memories of us stargazing as young fillies." Luna said as she made her way to the room's balcony to finish setting the sun and start raising the moon.
XXXXX
By the time Blueblood made it to the entrance of the Canterlot gardens, it was dusk, almost full nightfall, and the moon was rising up into the sky.
Two night guards were posted at the gate entrance, spears in hoof, and as Blueblood stepped up to them, they blocked his path.
"Hold, you!" the one on the right ordered.
"None in this castle has time for the likes of a beggar like you! Now run along, before you waste any more of our time!" came the authoritative voice of the other guard, who, surprisingly enough, was a mare. It made Blueblood think back to his first encounter with Luna's own night guard, how they actually looked scary to him, but having experienced the world outside of Equestria, he doubted they could get a flinch from him.
But getting back to the situation at hoof, Blueblood placed his hoof on his chest in mock apology. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Blueblood said, lowering his head as if to bow. "I just thought that..." he continued as he reached for his hood "... Prince Blueblood of Canterlot might be able to enter the castle without being labeled as a waste of time." Blueblood finished as he pulled back his hood, throwing his head back up, swinging his mane back to expose his features. He was confident that they could still see him in the dim light of dusk, and judging by their eye-widened, limp-jawed looks of surprise, they could.
"P-p-p-prince? P-prince Blueblood?!" the two guards shared that look of pure astonishment before they fumbled for words. Blueblood could practically smell their nervousness as their minds rushed to the repercussions of talking in such a way to a prince, especially that he pointed it out. Something significant must have happened after he left for them to actually heed him respect now. Perhaps Luna raised her already high standards.
But alas, Blueblood soundly cut them off with a raised hoof. "Relax. I've long since gotten over losing my temper over petty things such as this. But I would like to find Auntie Celestia before she knows I've returned. Now may I enter?" almost tripping over themselves, the two guards stepped aside and opened the gate, allowing Blueblood to walk past them. Getting back to the objective at hoof, Blueblood made his way across the Canterlot Gardens, intent on getting to Aunty Celestia, and maybe even Luna, if she rears him any attention.
With the lunar guard patrolling the castle during the night, there were more than a few meetings and shocking revelations as Blueblood made his way through the castle. Knowing enough about Celestia's daily schedule, he knows she often spends her last few hours in her study reading or writing before finally leaving for bed. As a foal, he'd love to simply relax with her in front of the warm, crackling fire, listening to her read him to sleep. If there was another opportunity to enjoy the warmth of her wing draped over him and the sound of her heavenly voice immersed in a story, he'd jump at the chance with the same passion he had as a foal. Fond memories which bought a heartwarming smile to his face. As childish as it seemed, it was something that truly made him feel happy.
XXXXX
It was full on nightfall, and the moon was high in the sky.
"Getting back to our conversation, I have a question about our nephew." Luna said as she walked back in from the balcony.
"Yes?" Celestia asked, moving aside on her large cushion to give Luna space to sit, which she gladly took.
"When I first met our nephew, he was... how should you say, very... condescending. And bratty. Was he always like this?" Luna asked, looking up to her sister.
Celestia stared at the floor for a moment before shaking her head. "He wasn't always like how he was before the gala five years ago. Growing up, he was very kind. And intelligent. Almost to a fault, really."
Luna grinned. "I like the old him already."
Celestia nodded with a renewed smile. "Yes, he had that effect on people. I like to believe that's what resurfaced in him after the gala."
"What do you suppose bought about the unfortunate change?" Luna asked, her smile faltering at the thought of what could've bought about this change in such a pony Celestia herself considers kind and intelligent.
Celestia's own smile faltered at that. "The first time he's ever shown clear distaste towards anypony was Shining Armor. At least, when he and Cadence showed interest in one another. As a colt, he was often so protective over Cadence, and his feelings towards Shining only grew with time. Cadence and I even berated him from time to time, even punishing him for outbursts, but that never stopped Blueblood. I am grateful he never went as far as to do anything drastic, but the fact of the matter is that over time, that bottled up dislike began to change him. And I deeply regret never doing anything about it other than putting him down for it. I feel... I feel as if I betrayed him." saying that, Celestia lowered her head to the floor, her expression full of sorrow as she stared over at the fire.
In an act of sisterly love, Luna draped a wing over her elder sister, placing a tender hoof on her side. "Sister, you know I dislike it when you berate yourself over something. But protectiveness over one's family is something unavoidable in a family member. What do you believe my reasoning is whenever an over-confident dignitary attempts to woo you?" Celestia tittered at that, but it didn't last. "Blueblood was perfectly within reason in his distaste towards Shining Armor. I believe I would have likely done the same were I him and you Cadence, even If Shining would have been considered the perfect spouse. But at the same time, you should not blame yourself for what happened to him. It is all in the past, and so we must focus on the future. And besides, even through the berating on part of his aunt and his sister, he still loved you both. He still loved you and Cadence even when he became what he became, and it was still there when the good in him resurfaced. And there is absolutely no doubt it will still be there when he returns. No matter what kind of Blueblood he becomes, he is still the Blueblood that loves his family. I myself regret not treating him as such in the past, but as said, all I can do is focus on the future. I ask that you do the same, Tia." Celestia shifted somewhat at the use of her nickname, but Luna's words were gentle with a hint of hope, and the sorrow in Celestia's expression seemed to fade. "Until then, goodnight, sister. I love you." and with that, Luna rose up from her spot, nuzzling her sister in the cheek, and making way towards the door. "Just be patient. He will return." and with that, Luna opened the door, closing it gently behind her.
Now alone, Celestia had the opportunity to reflect upon her sister's words. She loved both Blueblood and Shining Armor as sons, that much was certain. But nonetheless, she still couldn't blame either of them for how Blueblood turned out. Shining's love for Cadence was as real as can be, proven on grand occasions, and Blueblood, as simple as the reasons are, loves his family, so much so that it even changed him, for better and for worse on different occasions. Whether or not everypony or nopony was at fault for Blueblood's outcome, Celestia felt like she herself was the culprit, blindly berating Blueblood for his own feelings instead of consoling him about it. Something she thought of as clear betrayal.
'I'm sorry, Blueblood. I wish I could see you again, even if to only right my wrong.' Celestia thought to herself with a sigh before she heard her door slowly opened.
XXXXX
Blueblood, as he traversed the castle halls, remembered remembered the labyrinthian patterns like the back of his hoof.
He suspected it was his impeccable sense of direction as well as the fact that he grew up here, but either way, he was headed straight for Celestia's study. He figured it must've quickly traveled amongst the night guard that he didn't want Celestia to know he was here since any guard that passed him gave him a small nod, which made him confident that Aunty didn't know.
As he made his way to the upper levels of the castle, near the princesses' towers, he ran into Luna, who even in the pale moonlight, was still able to recognize him. No doubt about that, given her title. But needless to say, it was a heartwarming moment.
"Ah, nephew, it is good to see you again!" Luna exclaimed as she used her magic to pull him over to her to hug him, crushing him almost as hard as Cadence did with a bear hug. "We didn't expect to see you so soon!"
"Nor I you, Aunt Luna. I'm glad to see you again." Blueblood replied, hugging back, thought not with the same intensity.
Luna let him go, putting a hoof up in objection. "Nonsense. I ill deserve affection from you after the way I treated you all those years ago."
That got Blueblood confused. "What do mean? I thought I deserved it, what with how I treated everypony. Not to mention I got over it." he reasoned. If Luna was willing to not glare at him on sight, that was more than fine by him.
Luna shook her head in disagreement. "You did not deserve any of it. Not when you were just trying to protect your family. I myself would have thoughtlessly done the same." Luna spoke.
The pale prince grew a bitter sense of realization at her words "So I take it you finally know my story. Well, in that case, we're not so different now, are we?" Blueblood asked with a raised spirit. He saw first-hoof Luna tell off any cocky stallion that attempted to capture his Aunty's ire. Of course, he would have done it himself, but Luna's words carried so much more weight.
Luna shrugged in agreement. "Afraid not. But I will not hold you back any longer. My sister is still in her study, thinking about you. Even after all this time, she still blames herself with how you changed from colthood. Perhaps you can, as you say, cheer her up?" Luna spoke, not giving him a moment to respond before trotting off in the other direction. "I look forward to hearing tales of your adventures outside of Equestria soon, nephew." and with that, she rounded a corner, out of sight.
'Hm. Another wrong righted, I suppose.' Blueblood thought before facing the staircase leading up to Celestia's tower. Taking a deep breath, he made his ascension up to her study. Every step he took bought him closer to Aunty Celestia. He's been waiting for this moment for all of five years from the day he left. He himself could hardly believe it was finally happening. His breathing became audible as soon as he stopped in front of her door, making it to the top of the spiral staircase, and so he took a deep breath to calm himself.
And so lifting a hoof, he slowly opened the door.