Redemption

by Mystic_Knightwolf

Chapter 15: The Arrival Part 2

Author's Note:

Dangit, Frankie!

It was safe to say that Trixie was disappointed.

Emerging from the portal, and encountering no monsters or anyone, the first thing Trixie was beckoned to do was take in the scenery. Before, when she thought of Tartarus, she always imagined a flaming kingdom of inferno guarded by a voracious, three-headed hellhound with one way in and no way out. Though, even after all that studying and storytelling with Luna, she was still bummed that all she got was... whatever this was.

A largely empty expanse of land, covered in patches of odd blue plants and harmless creatures of the night, landmarks and structures few and far between with, and rather than a sun, there rested in the darkened sky a swirling void that gave off a bluish hue.

Disappointment aside, Trixie couldn't help being fascinated with the ecosystem here that called Tartarus home. It was no sun, but Trixie could feel the slight warmth radiating from the singularity. It looked much like an eclipsed sun, being a black emptiness in the sky, outlined by a light trying to escape. The light it cast on the world below was dim at best, giving off slightly more light than a full moon, and it was about as warm as a cloudy autumn day, but the idea of a makeshift sun that's still able to drive life in a supposed kingdom of the dead was impressive, to say the least.

Making it through the field of blue grass, the showmare eventually caught sight of a high ridge, the trail she was currently on leading up to it. On which, there rested three... obelisks? Curious, Trixie went in for a closer look. There stood three bronze monuments, all with stain glass windows with stories to tell, and so she walked up to see what secrets they might hold. The design and the makeup of the structures reminded her of the same art and architecture found in Sanctuary from her many explorations in the floating castle, and looking into one of them, the story in it left her with more questions than answers.

Inside it was a golden... alicorn. That already explained a lot. The thought that this was possibly Molaris' domain for the duration of his absence from his sisters' side got her thinking...

... but she ruled it out when the royal sisters came back to mind. Ugh, stay focused, Trixie! Trixie mentally kicked herself for allowing her thoughts to get side-tracked. This was none of her business! Right now, she had to find the find the princesses and bring them back to Equestria, not look up their family history! Even as interesting and compelling that is. Besides, there'll be plenty of time to come back and snoop around after Tirek is dealt with, if Blueblood accompanies her.

But speaking of, she really wanted to put her fraction of the prince's strength to quality use and slay a demon or something This is Tartarus for crying out loud! but Tartarus was just... empty. As if every supposedly 'wandering' demon or creature here just packed up and left. Her mind drifted back to that one story of Twilight's where she opened the gates of Tartarus by accident, but pushed that out of her mind at the fact that demons running amok wasn't ever a problem until now, with this one centaur. Many would expect the surface to be completely overrun by ghastly creatures and grotesque figures the minute the gates opened, but when such a thing actually happened, surprisingly few consequences followed. The only real problem that befell any part of Equestria was Cerberus running into Ponyville, and that was resolved as quick as it came. Trixie still wondered what kind of magic could have had such an unwanted outcome though...

But on the note of magic, Blueblood's generous donation was certainly doing her well. Even given the awkwardness of channeling magic through her horn that's not her own, Trixie felt no different than before Tirek took her powers. Though it didn't replace her drained pool of magic, it was more than enough to give the mare her strength back, and enough to use an omniscience spell to point her in the right direction. She could only hope that Blueblood didn't offer her too much of it before he went off to hunt down Tirek. From her angle, there was no telling the outcome of that battle, though the prince definitely knew how to hold his own, even against stronger opponents, if his sparring matches with Luna was anything to go by.

XXXXX

Blueblood had prepared every fiber of his being for this battle.

He was about to dive head-first, literally, into battle with a giant, tyrannical centaur, not only drunk off of magic from hundreds of ponies, but also still thirsty for more. If his sister-in-law and her friends had a plan like they always did, then he'd see to it that they see it through by removing their only obstacle.

If it wasn't the fact that he was essentially a blue comet streaking towards the ground that made his stomach do flips, it was definitely how much that was at stake that did. Most of Equestria is drained of their magic, all but maybe one alicorn is missing, the others banished to Tartarus, and he was about to do battle with an ancient evil that was larger, stronger, and wiser than himself.

But there was still a great many things that keeps his spirit strong and high. Besides the obvious fact that he'd crush any anyone who would do harm to his little ponies, Prince Blueblood is no stranger at all when it comes to fighting larger, stronger opponents. Most evils as large and as ancient as Tirek, their arrogance alone gives him the element of surprise, and since he's been imprisoned for at least a thousand years, he's likely not grasped the many, many dynamics of magic-driven combat. Not only that, but centaurs, like unicorns, have a fundamental weakness. One he himself had to be cautious of.

When the tyrant saw the blue projectile headed his way, he immediately prepared and fired a blast, the recoil of the sudden discharge of magical energy enough to shatter the solid earth underneath his hulking form. The blast itself was broad enough to completely engulf someone of even his stature, easily capable of reducing a mountain to rubble in seconds.

Blueblood's vision was quickly engulfed in vivid, chaotic yellow, yet he did not falter. He didn't even flinch. Instead, his already alight horn flashed, and ahead of his path, there opened a portal. Two of them. The first, he flew into at high speed and quickly vanished while the second portal, much wider, accommodated Tirek's attack, engulfing the beam like a fast-flowing river into a tunnel.

"What?! What trickery is this-" Tirek, surprised that his blast garnered no explosion and simply vanished, began to vocalize his confusion, but was soundly cut off as the bright blue object he had initially fired at suddenly reappeared and collided with him, sending his hulking form reeling and bellowing, clutching his head. Blueblood, flying past the centaur, landed on his hind legs as he skidded to an earth-splitting halt.

But the armor-clad prince didn't stop there. With another blue flash of his horn, the exit for the second portal opened up directly under Tirek as he was clutching his head in pain, and before he could fall through the wide trap under him, he was immediately engulfed by the same attack he had fired. Such a blast, against his unprotected underbelly, Blueblood hoped dealt massive damage as he was sent skyward, akin to a cannonball fired fresh out of a cannon, deafening boom and all. The sound of a deep, raspy scream fading into the distance was music to the warrior prince's ears as he formulated another plan.

Once Tirek comes back down, he'll be stark-raving mad at the surprise attack, especially at the effect, but if that smoking, disembodied horn on the ground and Blueblood's somewhat dented heel boots were anything to go by, he was already at a huge advantage. But no reason to slow down now. With a loosening roll of his neck, Blueblood was gone again in a flash of blue.

XXXXX

Rarity's spool of rainbow thread became the Key of Generosity.

Rainbow Dash's golden wonderbolt pin became the Key of Loyalty.

Pinkie Pie's rubber chicken companion became the Key of Laughter.

Fluttershy's blue-petaled flower became the Key of Kindness.

Applejack's single bit earned from Shill became the Key of Honesty.

And now, in their darkest hour, Twilight Sparkle's medallion, once a deception and a lie, then a sign of truthful apology and gratitude, became the Key of Magic.

"Together! We do this together!" Twilight cried in determination as she and her friends wielded their keys and surrounded the box. In one uniform motion, they keys were locked in place and turned.

The box began to rise, and the entire crevasse under the ground was filled with a blinding light.

XXXXX

Pieces flew from Blueblood's armored form as he was sent careening to the ground like a meteor.

He was losing his focus. His magic was drained, his head felt like it was being drilled into by his horn, and his armor was in pieces throughout the battle-scarred fields. But regardless of the aching and the pain, the knightly prince rose to his hooves again to assess the threat.

Tirek's intact horn was covered in burns and was cracked in several places, but still remained whole in the side of the centaur's skull, channeling and casting magic, however unstable it may be. Without both horns, TIrek's magic was erratic and unpredictable, but still just as powerful. That didn't bode well for Blueblood, as it made anticipating and correctly countering nearly impossible, and every hit he took was devastating.

The trembling of the earth from Tirek's gargantuan footsteps shook the prince from his haze as he fired another blast at Tirek's injured horn, only for it to be caught and absorbed into the evil lord's hand and then consumed like a treat. Bad move. Blueblood began to back up.

Tirek's grin was as maniacal as it was self-righteous. "What's the matter, prince of ponies? Out of tricks?"

Blueblood kept a steady backwards pace. "Just thinking."

"What about? Your prayer before you die?"

Blueblood's flank hit a wall. He looked up to see a steep mountain face. In a flash of blue, he was overlooking his former position and an advancing Tirek. He looked off to his right, and his gaze locked onto a crevasse in the earth not too far away. 'If you have a plan Twilight, make it quick.' Closing his eyes and channeling all that he had left, his eyes and his horn was engulfed in a bright blue hue.

XXXXX

"Tis hard to believe Tartarus is so very empty. One would imagine this realm to be alight in flames and rife with monsters. Perhaps it was before Twilight opened the gates." Luna spoke aloud, forelimbs rested against the bars as she overlooked the barren underworld from their cage, perched atop this mountainous peak.

"I imagined we'd at least find our... brother." it took a moment for Celestia to gather the willpower to say that last word. She was on the other side of the cage, slumped on her side, facing away from her niece and her sister, so downcast. "And to think we never even tried to look for him..."

The princess of the night huffed. "Speak for yourself."

"Aunty..." Cadence piped up to try to deescalate the situation before it could start.

Celestia's expression hardened, but she still remained slumped and facing away. "You didn't even know him, Luna."

Luna turned tail, facing her sister with a hardened look of her own. "And I reserve the right to! Stranger or not, he is still my brother as much as he is yours! What have you done for the thousand years I was away?!"

Celestia looked over her shoulder, regarding her younger sibling with a look of exasperation. "I was mourning over what I was forced to do to you! Nightmare Moon took over you!" That fateful night was traumatizing! Was she not paying attention when she told her that she cried for weeks?!

But right now, Luna's thoughts and attention was on their missing brother. "And you didn't even think of him in all that time I was gone?! There's no telling his current fate, however good or bad it may be!" He could be dead, and she'd rather not know at all?!

"I didn't want him to come to Equestria and see what we became! We fought each other! I cast you away, and I regretted it every single day! He'd hate me! He'd hate what we did to each other!" Squabbles between siblings were one thing. But banishing one's own flesh and blood away from the world itself for a thousand years was unforgivable, no matter what bought about such an action. She knew that the moment she did it.

"You don't know that! He's our brother!" Ugh, the selfishness! If there was one thing she's learned since she returned to the world, it was that family stick together. True family forgive each other despite everything. Besides they were diving beings! Fights of such caliber was par for alicorns!

"I know him well enough to know that he wouldn't have wanted us to fight like we did! He'd be disgusted!" Rising to her full height, Celestia's emotions were running as high as her sister's. "Before you were born, he told me to take care of you. To protect you!"

Luna had enough. "And a swell job you did!" she cried, her eyes now reflecting hurt and sadness moreso than anger. "A thousand years, we could have been looking for him! A thousand years, we could have found a way to bring him to us! A thousand years, we could have been a family! So what if he felt cross about our behavior? If he was true family, he'd have helped us undo the damage and resolve it!" Luna indignantly stamped her hoof at that point. But with all the information laid out, a thought occurred to the princess of the night. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

Celestia was at a loss for words. "What?"

"I've searched every corner of the world, from new beginning to bitter end, and there's no sign of him. Then came his daughter and son. The only other place he could ever be was here in this forsaken place, where he would not want them to live any kind of life. But how did he become trapped here in the first place?" Luna bared her teeth, and her face contorted with the rage of unanswered questions created in her train of thought. "Did you banish him too?! In the earth of his own world the same way you banished me to my moon?! Answer me that!" She slowly advanced on her sister, demanding an answer. If she had magic to channel, she'd be bursting at the seems now.

But despite being backed in a corner, Celestia still stood firm. "Luna, this is getting out of hoof!"

"Then tell me the truth!!!" Luna bellowed in what would have been the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Fine!... fine..." Defeated, the princess of the sun returned to her position looking out of the cage, slumped to the ground. "The last thing Molaris ever told me, was to look after you when our parents were gone. He told me not to look for him as well. Not to ever mention him to you." She took e deep breath. "I knew something bad had happened after that last goodbye, but I had no idea where to look. I spent the last few months leading up to you just searching for him. But when you finally came to, I... had to give up. Long story short, our parents were gone, and all that was left... was us. And I never saw him again. I was a filly at the time, so if there was anything going on, I wasn't told." She looked back for a brief moment, catching her sister's thoughtful expression. "I'm... sorry I never told you, Luna. Part of me thought you always knew about him. But you never bought him up."

Luna was now beside herself. "I... am also sorry... about my accusation. I suppose we haven't yet gotten over what happened a thousand years ago. It's... clear something terrible has happened."

"Auntie..."

"There was so much going for us... we controlled the heavens while he controlled the earth..."

"Auntie."

"We could still find him if we can leave this place..."

"Auntie!"

"Cadence, can you not see we're having a pivotal moment in our relationship?!"

"Speaking of leaving this place...!" Cadence pointed a hoof out of the cage, and following its direction, there came a little blue spec walking its way up the path leading to their imprisonment.

"... Trixie?"

XXXXX

Blueblood was unconscious.

His form lays atop the ridge, unmoving, overlooking the shallow crater in the ground below, coming out of it, Tirek, shrouded in the steam and smoke his titanic frame gave off as he endured the last of Blueblood's magic, focused into one final attack. "All of your magic in one final blast. A poor choice, as opposed to fleeing like all the sane would." From the plume of steam came a giant hand, reaching to grab the limp stallion. "But it's far from the worst decision you've made today." But just before Tirek could seize the prince, something caught his attention.

A bright light. Shining out of a crevasse. Out of it came... Twilight! And her friends! Encompassed by magic! Tirek fired, but it had no effect. "How is this possible?! I drained all of you of your magic!"

The girls, carried by the guiding light they're giving off, approached the power-hungry centaur to face him down.

"Wrong, Tirek! I may have given you my Alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!" Twilight, nor did the other elements wait for a reply or a retort before their magic came together as one and engulfed the tyrant with every color of the rainbow.

XXXXX

"Sister! Cadence! Trixie! Look!" Luna called as she looked over Equestria from the peek of Sanctuary.

The mares raced to her side, and what they saw couldn't be described in words.

Light, in all colors of the rainbow, washed over the land, from the scorched earth where the phenomenon began to the many towns, regions, and cities of Equestria. The magical shockwave not only repaired the damage, but also bought color back to all that it touched. When it finally reached them, all four princesses could feel magic coursing throughout their body again. Quick glances backwards let them know their cutie marks have returned, and it was a silent moment of jubilation between the four. That is, until Trixie noticed something. "Blueblood's cutie mark. It didn't change!"

Quickly gaining the attention of the alicorns, Luna was the first to come to a conclusion. "Curious. Blueblood sent you to rescue us before facing Tirek. His magic imbued in you is of his doing, not the tyrant's."

"Then let us return it to him!" All agreed, and with the renewed magic of four, they were gone.

XXXXX

With a stir in a groan, Blueblood had awoke.

"Guys! He's awake!" Blueblood's bedside was quickly joined by six mares as his eyes fluttered open and he took in his surroundings. They were in the hospital. His everything ached. And his forehead still felt like it was being drilled with how own horn.

Seeing the host of familiar faces gathered around him, smiling down at them, all the bed-ridden prince could do was smile back up at them.

Twilight rested a hoof on his bedside. "Blueblood. Are you alright?" He nodded.

Looking at Rainbow, Blueblood was half-convinced she found a new idol. "Man, that was awesome! Facing down Tirek all by yourself? Dude!"

"Yeah! You was all like BOOM! And he was all like BAM! And you was-" Blueblood went ahead and drowned her out. "We gotta start planning for the 'Blueblood fights the MOST EPIC BATTLE' party!"

"I hope that meanie didn't really hurt you too bad. We're prepare to stay by your side until you're all better. It's the least we could do." He wasn't sure if it was the offer or just Fluttershy's voice, but he felt much more relaxed after hearing that.

"Quite right, Fluttershy. No doubt it took a great deal of strength and resolve to do what you did, Blueblood. I myself am beyond words."

"Hon, don't ya ever go an' scare us like that again, ya hear?" Applejack poked his strong chest to emphasize her point. "If a maniacal varmint wants all Equestria's magic, we stoppin' 'em together!"

Blueblood had an honest reply to that. "What good is a prince who doesn't protect his kingdom?"

Before anypony could come up with a retort to that, the doors burst open, and in came four princesses. "Trixie has a reply to that." The former showmare marched up to join her friends at his side. "What good is a prince who doesn't live long enough to see the day saved because he took it upon himself to save it?"

Blueblood pursed his lips. But she had a point. Hunting down Tirek was a bold and reckless move, especially since he went on thinking he could beat him. In reality though, Blueblood was just mad that his kingdom and its residents were threatened. Shouldn't any true leader be? "Alright. I dropped the ball on that one."

"I beg to differ!" Luna spoke up indignantly, coming around to stand behind the ring of ponies. "You did what you believed was necessary for the good of your kingdom! Your subjects were drained, your guards were incapacitated, your fellow royalty were imprisoned in the depths of Hell, and you were reduced to half strength! Yet, you so fearlessly trotted into the face of danger to save those you held dear! That is the true marking of a prince!" Luna's rant was received with the collective nods of the ponies who heard it, most fervently from Celestia and Cadence.

And just like that, Blueblood felt complete.

He rested a hoof on his forehead, almost not believing he had heard what he just heard. "T-thank you, Aunty!" He didn't even know how to receive such praise.

Nurse Redheart popped her head in the door, and quietly reminded Celestia that the prince will need to rest shortly. Nodding in acknowledgement, the princess of the sun cleared her throat, garnering the attention of her little ponies. "Trixie? Isn't there something you needed to return."

"Ah! Apologies..." Charging her horn with blue and purple magic, the blue shot from Trixie's horn and returned to Blueblood, and her cutie mark lost its compass, but retaining the wand and the magic wisp.

As Blueblood's magic flooded back into himself, his mane and coat became visibly more vibrant, and some of his cuts and bruises even disappeared. He exhaled a relaxed sigh, and gave Trixie a thankful nod.

"I'm so proud of you nephew." Celestia whispered as she walked up, leaning in to plant a motherly kiss on her nephew's cheek. His blush was adorable. "Go get some rest." And with that, everyone said their goodbyes and filed out of the room.

But Twilight hung back for a moment. After they were the only two in the room, she threw a forehoof around Blueblood's neck, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "Rest easy, Big Brother." She pulled away with a smile that radiated everything from pride to shear happiness. "We're gonna have quite the party over at the new castle once you're all better."

"I'll be out sooner than you think."

"Good. We've got book to write."

Comments

[Frankie2]

Blueblood vs Tirek. It went about the way I expected it to go. Then again, Blueblood knew he was more than likely a diversionary tactic. I loved this exchange though;

Blueblood had an honest reply to that. "What good is a prince who doesn't protect his kingdom?"

Before anypony could come up with a retort to that, the doors burst open, and in came four princesses. "Trixie has a reply to that." The former showmare marched up to join her friends at his side. "What good is a prince who doesn't live long enough to see the day saved because he took it upon himself to save it?"

Also Luna's statement;

"I beg to differ!" Luna spoke up indignantly, coming around to stand behind the ring of ponies. "You did what you believed was necessary for the good of your kingdom! Your subjects were drained, your guards were incapacitated, your fellow royalty were imprisoned in the depths of Hell, and you were reduced to half strength! Yet, you so fearlessly trotted into the face of danger to save those you held dear! That is the true marking of a prince!" Luna's rant was received with the collective nods of the ponies who heard it, most fervently from Celestia and Cadence.

And just like that, Blueblood felt complete.

After all, wasn't this the reason he left those five or six years ago?