Redemption

by Mystic_Knightwolf

Chapter 2: The Return

Redemption

Chapter 2: The Return

The calm silhouette of a pony trotted through the icy blizzard.

Cold, whipping winds were all Blueblood could hear as he trekked through the snow-covered lands of what was known to Equestria as the Frozen North.

The brown cloak worn over him did much to protect against the harshness of this frozen wasteland as he made his way south from the Crystal Mountains. He had been on the move for all of the past month, and he didn't plan on stopping until he was back home. He trudged on, undeterred by the wrath of the elements. One hoof after the other. Every place he traveled, he had came prepared, and given his impeccable sense of direction, worthy of his cutie mark of a compass rose, traveling became easy for him, whether it was trekking through the deserts of Saddle Arabia, the thick jungles where the zebras resided, or the blistering cold, like he's going through now. Every now and then, he would raise his head to assess his surroundings, and it went like this for a good number of hours.

That is, until he saw something.

Off in the distance. Far, far off, he saw what appeared to be a spire, one that was made of pure ice... or could it be crystal? It shone like a glorious beacon of light against the dim darkness of the blizzard, and as the wanderer he became, he was all too compelled to have a look.

Another tireless hour of walking, and he had made it to the Crystal Empire, or so the grand sign read as he neared the entrance. What was a hopeless blizzard became a brilliant blue sky, and the snow that covered the ground relentlessly was now lush, green fields. Blue and purple spires of solid crystal led the way to the entrance to the city with the massive, magnificent shining spire at its center. Blueblood curiously followed the marked, beaten path to the entrance of the city. Surprisingly, there were no guards of any kind to patrol the outside of the kingdom. Disaster? Special event? Or do they just don't care? Where he's been, it could be the latter.

Upon closer inspection, the traveling unicorn discovered that the shorter spires of crystal that he thought blocked off and guarded the city were, in fact, houses. Homes made of solid crystal, just as much as the rest of this kingdom. The spire that was the definite highlight of this kingdom was a grand castle that absolutely towered above the rest, and shone just as brightly up close as it did miles away.

As he walked by what was assumed to be a small merchant shop, he could clearly see his reflection; a cloaked and hooded blue eyed, white unicorn, a golden blonde mane noticeable from the locks that briefly poured out from the hood, and a tail poking out from under the other end of the cloak to match. Without the threat of the freezing cold, Blueblood pulled down his hood, unhooking his horn from the hole that accommodated it via blood blue magic. His mane was long and wavy, going fully down both sides of his head and neck, his coat was thicker and untrimmed, but his eyes were all the same sky blue they always were. With a nod at his reflection, Blueblood faced the door of the shop, which was shown to be open, and headed inside, the familiar sound of a bell ringing as he opened the door.

"Ah, a customer! And a wanderer at that!" came the cheery and upbeat voice of what Blueblood assumed was the salespony as a navy blue unicorn stallion arose from behind the counter.

The very sight of a fellow pony made Blueblood grin as he walked up to the counter to greet. "It's been entirely too long since I saw another pony." Blueblood spoke up in a friendly demeanor as he raised a hoof to shake.

"Isn't it always? The name's Globe Trot." the blue unicorn introduced, heartily accepting the hoofshake.

"Wander. Ever a pleasure." Blueblood replied, breaking the hoofshake. He'd long since came up with that name in his travels, and given his skills and cutie mark, the name fits quite well.

"Wander; simple an' straight to the point. Good name." Globe Trot complimented with a nod. "So what brings a traveler such as yourself here?"

"I simply stumbled into town and I've yet to find anyone." came Blueblood's reply, motioning with a hoof to the entrance. "Is there something I'm missing?"

Globe Trot's smile returned in a friendly laugh. "Oh, that's just the parade. On the other side of the kingdom, at the moment. Just about everypony followed the parade all around the kingdom! I tell ya, these crystal ponies are an excited bunch." that got Blueblood attention.

Blueblood raised an eyebrow of curiosity. "Crystal ponies?" Blueblood's mind ran at that, coming up with a plethora of ideas at what a crystal pony is, but before he could fully wrap his head around it, Globe Trot spoke again.

"Yep! Didn't the kingdom made of crystal tip you off?" he joked with an audible chuckle, motioning about the crystal structure they were currently in. "I could tell you all about them, but I'm just a merchant. It'll be quite the experience if you go see them for yourself."

"True. But speaking of, why aren't you yourself there? Surely, a parade would beget the excitement of anypony?" Blueblood reasoned. Deceptively easy to fall back into habit of saying 'anypony', as opposed to 'anyone'.

"Well, the focus of the parade is more of a crystal pony thing, and I'm not one of them. But you're more than welcome to go and have a look yourself." Globe Trot assured.

"I suppose I will. Perhaps after the parade, we may cross paths again." Blueblood said as he turned tail towards the door. "Until then, Globe Trot."

The pony in question waved him off. "Alright, Wander. Be seein' ya." and with that, Blueblood made his exit and he was outside again.

Minutes of walking later, and Blueblood was beginning to hear the faint sound of distant cheering. Walking through the empty streets, he saw incredible amounts of confetti, streamers, party favors, and the occasional dropped piece of cake. 'A parade, indeed.' A short walk later and Blueblood had found what he was looking for.

There were a number of things that caught Blueblood's attention, other than the deafening cheers, as he rounded the corner of a street to catch the parade. One was the fact that the city's occupants, though resembling earth ponies, all had incredibly shiny, incredibly gradient manes, coats, and tails. The very sight of them almost seemed ethereal.

'Is this an ancient city of spirits?' Blueblood pondered in his mind, digesting the sight of the excited, cheering populace. Luckily for him, he was far enough away from the masses of ponies gathered around the streets to not be in immediate danger of being seen. However, working against him was the fact that he was the only pony colored pure white, and that he had just about the only solid color coat and mane, other than his acquaintance Globe Trot.

The other thing that caught Blueblood's attention was the actual focus of the parade; a large chariot, pulling two distinct figures, one pink and one white, sporting the same shine and radiance as the populace. Blueblood had his suspicions, but he was too far away to be absolutely sure. With wanderer's curiosity, Blueblood began moving in, looking over his back once more to make sure he wasn't seen. The populace must really be focused on the parade if he still hasn't been noticed. He was just shy of the back of the crowd when he raised his head again, and when he saw who the focus of the parade was, it was another shocking discovery, to say the least.

'Cadance... and Shining Armor!? My sister together with such... such trash!?' Blueblood screeched explosively in his mind. Nowadays, Blueblood rarely loses his temper, if at all, but this was a definite exception. Ever since they were foals, Shining Armor and Cadance had it out for each other without a doubt, and Blueblood, being her younger sibling, detested Shining's very existence. However, their rivalry was incredibly one-sided, growing up. Blueblood was just about the only pony in Equestria that never liked the idea of Cadance and Shining Armor as a couple, and as a foal himself, was often reprimanded for his open criticism, whether it be by Celestia or Cadance herself. Shining simply ignored him at first, but as time went on, the ill feelings were inevitably reciprocated. Cadance was never one to pick sides in an argument, so the conflict between Blueblood and Shining Armor remained strong to this day. But getting back to the parade, Blueblood was at a total loss for words. Cadance... with Shining Armor. The two even wore wedding bracelets. Blueblood had long since knew they'd one day be married, but to see it on display, paraded as if it were some sort of worldly achievement was undoubtedly a slap to the face on Blueblood's part. At the prolonged sight of them, he sighed, deflating until his head faced the ground. His good mood was shot down by the one thing he can still say he hated.

'Well, I guess I should've seen this coming. The one true bane of my life, and it's thrown back in my face. Perhaps I should take my leave before I think about raining on their parade. I know I would've done it a long time ago, but not now. Cadance deserves that, at least. There is still work to do, anyway. Wonder what else Equestria has to throw back at me?' Blueblood thought to himself as he turned tail, but when he raised his gaze again to steal one last glance at his dear sister, his eyes widened and his blood ran cold...

... for staring back at him were a pair of light purple eyes.

Author's Note:

So I looked at the feedback from Chapter 1.

You guys must REALLY hate Blueblood trying to make good for himself, as much as he's put down by the general populace, and despite him being a cartoon character.

OR it could be just my novice skill in introductions. Who knows?

I also apologize about the long wait, but there were a great many ways to go about Blueblood returning to Equestria, and I had a lotta trouble finding one to actually pick.

Either way, I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 2, so be sure to add feed back so I can improve, and like so I can continue on, as your likes spur me on.

Oh, and for anyone that can find the brief Yu-Gi-Oh reference, you know your stuff.

Comments

[Frankie2]

Blueblood thought to himself as he turned tail, but when he raised his gaze again to steal one last glance at his dear sister, his eyes widened and his blood ran cold...

... for staring back at him were a pair of light purple eyes.

Whoops! I gather he wasn't intending to make his return made known yet? So, why did he come back, if that's not the case?

[Mystic_Knightwolf]

4728542

Well, context told you he had no idea the empire existed, and he had no plans on being seen before he returned home, as mentioned somewhat in the beginning.

[Frankie2]

4728665

He had been on the move for all of the past month, and he didn't plan on stopping until he was back home.

This sentence had me believe he was heading home to Equestria. Plus, he was heading south.

[Honest Wisdom]

I was starting to think this was dead.

[Mystic_Knightwolf]

4728826

*nods* He was headed to Equestria, and saw the empire. Geographically, I went off that cartooney map of Equestria. The one that mentions the griffons and dragons to the east and southeast.

[the host]

Ah! Hello there... young... princess!?! TWILIGHT?!?

[Snow123]

...
...
... RUN, BLUE!!!!

[NobleValor]

Why would Shining and Cadence have it out for each other as foals (aside from the whole 'yank the pigtails of the one you like' concept).
5 will get you 10 says the purple eyes belong to Cadence. I don't know if she will plan to hug him, yell at him, or a combination of both. Although I have to wonder how Shining will take this (for what it's worth, I hope they can make peace between each other, or at least agree to disagree anyway).