Redemption
Chapter 9: The Discoveries
Following the ordeal, Blueblood returned to his room to finally unpack his belongings.
But no sooner had he arrived at his bedside was when he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in." he called over his shoulder as he went over to his roomy, but empty closet, sliding open the double doors. It was Twilight who entered, Blueblood noticed from a quick over-the-shoulder glance.
"Evening, Twilight. Need anything?" Blueblood asked as he began summoning various sets of clothing with his bright blue magic, whether it be robes, cloaks, tops, or bottoms. Each article of clothing looked like it came from a different place, as some were made from wool, some from cloth, and some even had bits of armor. "Twilight?" Blueblood repeated, ceasing his actions, looking back over to her.
At the second call of her name, Twilight was shaken from her stupor. "O-oh! W-was I staring? Sorry. I was just uh... wondering if you needed any help." she replied, mentally kicking herself at the ridiculousness of that reply.
"Well, if this is about the duel, the point of it is moreso for Trixie's benefit rather than mine. Right now, I'm unpacking my belongings and souvenirs. The only thing I will probably need help with is finding a place for everything in my room. You're welcome to take a look." Blueblood offered as he made his way over to a ponnequin and summoned a set of armor before taking it apart and applying it to the model. The armor itself appeared silver in color, but had a steely gleam to it, and whereas the royal guard armor of the solar or lunar guards only covered vital parts of the body, this set of armor Blueblood had covered every inch of the wearer, even the horn, muzzle, and eyes.
"Where'd you find armor like that? Did the castle make it for you?" Twilight asked, approaching the armor set, analyzing it.
"Believe or not, nopony made it." Blueblood replied, standing next to her. "This armor was made for me by a dragon. A friend, actually." that got Twilight's attention. "Dragons have an affinity for anything associated with fire, or for that matter heat, such as forging, and they're capable of creating some amazing things. They can mold a molten lump of metal like anyone else would clay." he explained as he reached his hoof around the armor's collar and waved it over an encrusted sapphire. Limb guards and bits of the armor began to disappear and retract under the main back plates, and they themselves retracted under the mantle before the piece disappeared entirely, leaving the collar itself as the only piece still on the ponnequin.
To say Twilight was surprised was an understatement. "What was that?"
"Unlike ponies, who specialize in generating and even embodying their unique magic, dragons specialize in enchanting other sources, like amulets and armor. The enchantment placed on my armor allows me to summon or banish the full set at will. I've never used it myself, I got it as a goodbye present. But should I need to combat a threat, I'd probably bring this." Blueblood disclosed.
"What's it made of?" Twilight asked, feeling the cold metal under her hoof.
"It's a metal called titanium. It's said that only a dragon can forge it, given its strength and resistance. It didn't even redden when it stood up to a full fireblast." Blueblood answered. "It's unbelievably strong, but incredibly light." Twilight silently nodded in acknowledgement, fascinated with the armor and its claimed abilities. "But there's still a lot more than just clothing or armor I managed to stumble across in my travels."
"Where do you put it all?" the purple alicorn inquired, looking around for any kind of sac, bag, or container.
"I think it's much more interesting if I show you. If you like, I could give you a tour." Blueblood offered.
"Tour of where?" Twilight asked, brightening at the possibility of learning something new.
In response, Blueblood began charging his horn. "Hold on tight." he warned before they vanished in a bright flash of light.
XXXXX
When they reappeared, the first thing Twilight noticed was the thick bronze flooring. Looking up, she saw Blueblood next to her, rubbing his horn.
"Are you okay?" Blueblood asked, looking over to her.
Twilight nodded. "I'm used to teleportation. What about you? It seemed to take a lot out of you."
"Believe it or not, it doesn't take as much as you think when traveling miles up."
Twilight froze at that. "Miles up? From Canterlot?"
Blueblood nodded. "This place is fairly high in the atmosphere. Come, I'll show you." the pale prince urged as he began proceeding down one of the intersecting hallways, Twilight having no choice but to follow.
Twilight walked with Blueblood, taking in the grand hallways. The bronze that made up most of the hallways made this place look so ancient, yet the design looked so futuristic. It looked like something from a science fiction book. The studious mare was more than compelled to ask questions. "So Blueblood... what is this place?"
"It'd be long and tedious trying to explain it with words. It's much easier to show you. But to answer what I can, I found this place by accident. I was somewhere over the Eastern Seas when I was swept up in a storm. When the situation changed from bad to worsem I thought of teleporting to safety and ended up here. I wandered this place for hours, trying to find out what was it that bought me, but had no such luck. Ever since, I merely referred to it as The Sanctuary." came Blueblood's answer.
"The Sanctuary." Twilight repeated, making a mental note to remember it. "How long have you known this place?" she asked as they went through a section of the hallway lined with stained glass windows, covering the halls in a magnificent array of colors. In the center of each window was a green-eyed, gold alicorn. It looked an awful lot like Blueblood himself, plus some size and wings, but Twilight refrained from asking who it was. She doubted that even Blueblood knew since he didn't rear it any attention while passing it. Perhaps it's something worth asking the princesses about...
"It was around a few years ago that I found this place. It was entirely empty, but as my adventures went on, I've filled it with souvenirs and treasures." Blueblood said as he stepped into a small, dome-shaped room, facing Twilight. The studious mare curiously followed him into the room, looking about for its purpose.
"Brace yourself. Up." Blueblood said before Twilight had time to ask. There was a strong lurch, causing the purple mare to stagger before she managed to regain balance. When she looked up again, she noticed that the platform they were on was moving up at an almost alarming speed. It was obvious enough they were on some type of elevator, scaling one of the main towers of the apparent castle they were in. Looking out of the window, Twilight saw the rest of the island that the castle was built upon. Lush, green areas pocketed the landscape, dotted with colorful plants and flowers. It made Twilight curious as to where this place broke away fromt he ground.
When they finally slowed and eventually stopped, Blueblood walked out of the elevator with Twilight in tow. They walked onto the flat roofing of the castle. Looking around, Twilight saw that they were outside, given the orange, evening sky above. She followed Blueblood to the railed edge of the platform, and when she saw what was over the edge, she gasped, almost falling back from shock.
Under them, was all of Equestria!
Twilight looked around like a filly in a toy store. "We're so high up! This is amazing! Equestria looks so small from up here! I could make maps from this very spot!" she exclaimed as she spotted a nearby viewing scope on the rail. Galloping over to it, she looked through it, pointing it down at the land below.
"We're almost twice as high as Cloudsdale at this altitude. But nothing can see us." the pale prince explained, walking up next to her, resting against the rail.
"So have you used The Sanctuary to travel?" Twilight asked curiously, still immersed in the viewing scope, figuring out how to zoom with it.
"There's no place to pilot it. When I'm on it, it remains stationary. But when I travel, it seems to follow me. It is as if the thing is attached to me." he replied. Twilight finally pulled back from the viewing scope, staring down with a pondering look. In her mind, she already had a hunch that this place had a connection with Blueblood beyond him being its discoverer, if the alicorn in the stain glass windows was anything to go by.
"It reminds me of Princess Celestia with the sun or Princess Luna with the moon." Twilight pointed out.
Blueblood nodded. "Perhaps mine and Cadence's parents were in charge of something else. This very place could be their castle, for all we know. Asking about it would certainly make for an interesting conversation." Blueblood said, turning from the rail, facing one of the tower's elevators. "But I'd like to show you one more thing before we head back to Canterlot. Everypony might get ideas if we're out for too long." Blueblood said before he headed for the elevator they came up in. As soon as Twilight stepped in and prepared to descend, he nodded to himself. "Down." like that, they were descending, almost falling. Twilight had little problem, but Blueblood lowered on his haunches to keep the awkward feeling in his haunches down.
When they made it back into the castle hallways, Blueblood led Twilight into the castle's inner sanctum. Waiting for them was Blueblood's collectively amassed treasures. Piles of gems, piles of gold, exotic trinkets, foreign wares, arcane ingredients, they all were gathered here. The Griffon kingdom, the Land of the Dragons, the Zebra plains, even the horses of Saddle Arabia. It was almost too much for the alicorn princess to take in. Twilight trotted from pile to pile, item to item, analyzing everything in sight, Blueblood right behind her.
It was a rather amusing sight for the prince. "Twilight, I appreciate your interest in my treasures, but you will fall asleep before you're done analyzing everything I've to show you." Blueblood said as he caught up to her.
Twilight pulled her eyes away from a floating sigil, blushing at the fact that she got carried away again. "Sorry." she apologized with a sheepish grin.
Blueblood chuckled. "It's quite alright. We can always come back again when we have time, And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Let's head back." Blueblood said before placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder as he charged a teleportation spell, and they were gone again.
XXXXX
Blueblood and Twilight reappeared in his room, right where they stood when they left.
"That was... amazing." Twilight said, her mind still fresh with what she saw.
"It's not every day you see something you never imagined existing. I've had the same experience several times in my journey." Blueblood said as he returned to unpacking. "But alas, I must finish unpacking. But enjoy your food for thought. Surely something worth mentioning to the other princesses." he said, summoning more sets of clothing to put away in his closet. Nodding and saying her goodnight, Twilight made her way out of Blueblood's room and down his tower.
Twilight was then on her way to the library, just wondering who she should talk to first. Celestia came to mind, but Luna seemed like one more in-tuned with ancient history. Cadence shared the same parents as Blueblood, and she could've been around to see things that Blueblood may have been too young to remember. She carried her thoughts with her all the way to the library, which was dark, only lit by the moon's luminescence and some candle light at the far end corner. Curious, Twilight quietly weaved between the shelves and aisles of the grand library until she heard the quiet conversations of Trixie and Luna. When they came within sight, Twilight noticed that Trixie was up against Luna's side, pulled close by the alicorn's wing. Before them was a closed tome of ancient history, and the two were simply conversing amongst themselves. It was an endearing sight to see, and it'd be almost rude to interrupt.
However, the choice wasn't hers before she heard Luna stop whispering to Trixie and call her name. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle! How very nice of you to join us!" the abrupt shouting made Twilight nearly jump out of her fur before she walked in to join them.
The purple mare approached them with a nervous blush. "S-sorry to interrupt. You two just looked so happy together. I-I just didn't want to interrupt it." Twilight explained, pulling up a cushion, but said cushion was taken away by Luna before she raised a wing for Twilight to lay under, opposite of Trixie. With little choice in the matter, Twilight took refuge under Luna's wing, blushing madly at how it must look.
"Indeed we are." Trixie spoke up, nuzzling Luna's side.
Luna nodded, tenderly rubbing Trixie's side with her wing. "Quite. So Twilight, is there something you wish to discuss?" Luna asked, giving Twilight her attention.
"Well... it occurred to me that Prince Blueblood and Cadence are siblings, and I was curious as to just who the rest of our family are." Luna seemed taken aback by such a question while Trixie seemed genuinely interested.
"As far as I am able to recall, sister and I have only had one other sibling prior to my banishment." the mares at her sides grew googly eyes of interest as they listened in. "I was but a foal when I saw him last, and I was far too young to remember much about him, other than his name. Where as Celestia and I were to control night and day, collectively Heaven, our brother Molaris was to control Equis' surface and all its phenomenon. We were given our duties by our parents, of whom, I cannot remember. But for our brother, as different kingdoms took root, control of the surface world's phenomena began to go to those that live on Equis, ponies included." every word Luna spoke, Twilight and Trixie were blown away even more, each new fact more amazing than the last. "There are few places now that nature is unbridled. Can you guess one place in Equestria?" Luna quizzed, looking between them for an answer.
"The Everfree Forest." the two chorused, Twilight a split second before Trixie.
Luna nodded. "Correct. That is all I can recall of my brother and his involvement in our past, but when I was a foal, Celestia was a filly. If there are facts beyond what I have told you, she would know them. But before you leave, I must ask; what bought about this sudden interest in our past, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked curiously.
"I spoke with Blueblood before I came here, and I just drew up some conclusions with some blanks left empty." Twilght explained.
"Well, Celestia seems like the one that can fill in the rest of them. Perhaps Trixie may join you. She seems as curious as you, not to mention the both of you are in need of some quality bonding. I myself have the night court to run shortly, so I must go prepare. Take care of each other." Luna said before getting up and taking her leave for the night court, leaving Trixie and Twilight to make their way out of the library themselves.
Along the walk, Twilight was the first to open up conversation.
"So uh... Trixie?"
"Hmm?"
"If I may ask... what was your family like? Your real family."
"The only family Trixie had growing up was a mother that always preached that Trixie would become something, but never did anything to make it so." the harshness in Trixie's tone made Twilight cringe, and mentally kick herself for asking. "Trixie finds it difficult to call her Mother, especially after she was never present to see Trixie's accomplishments."
"Did she lead to your career as a showmare?" Twilight felt compelled to ask.
"Partly, yes. Living in Canterlot, she was the stereotypical noblemare, despite my belief otherwise. Trixie... I... was in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns when she left me for Manehattan and took the family fortune with her. Over the following years of being kicked out of the school, I put my magic to use and rebuilt myself as a showmare for another fall from grace at the hooves of you." that last statement made Twilight look down nervously, ribbing the back of her neck.
"Sorry." the purple mare apologized.
Trixie, however, shook her head. "Trixie deserved it, being the mare she was then. And because of you, Trixie is now higher than anything she could have ever dreamed of." Twilight was blown away again at how much Trixie has changed. "But that is Trixie's story. She dares not go into detail, but there you have it. Now come. Trixie is still curious as to who else makes up our royal family."
"... were you ever curious as to where your biological mother is now?" Twilight asked, looking to her hopefully as they climbed Celestia's tower via the spiral staircase.
Trixie refrained from looking back at Twilight before she had a reply. "... if she could throw me away without so much as a goodbye, should I have not done the same? ... I've rarely had somepony say they love me and mean it. This is my family." she said, gesturing broadly "You, the Princesses, Blueblood..." she listed before she gave the door before them a few gentle knocks.
"Come in." came Celestia's voice as they let themselves in.