//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Confusion // Story: Aldred: The Wizard on the Run // by DaringWizard //------------------------------// It was quiet that night, amongst the chirping of crickets, Fluttershy was sleeping soundly in her cottage, unaware of all that had happened to Twilight, dreaming about her childhood, and of exotic animals. But she was shaken awake by a bone-chilling scream, it made the fur on the back of her neck stand straight up. "GYYAAAAAAAAH!!!" She shot up in her bed and looked out the window, multiple zapping sounds could be heard. She saw flashes coming from the Everfree forest. Angel looked up at Fluttershy, he looked extremely nervous and it seemed that he didn't want Fluttershy to leave the house- as it could be seen from him flailing his front legs as if trying to say: 'Don't go! It's too dangerous!', Fluttershy knew what he was thinking. She looked down at him. "Angel, stay here. Don't leave the house." She said, and she ran out of the cottage and into the Everfree forest, but the sounds of monstrous growls in the distance slowed her pace from running to a very slow walk. She almost stopped, then, the monstrous sounds stopped, leaving only a sound of deep breathing and violent coughing in the distance. She picked up the pace and came to a small clearing. Something was laying there... it was a creature that at first, Fluttershy thought was a pony... but upon getting closer, she noticed something very strange. Its front hooves- if hooves were the right word- were divided into five appendages, each with a small scale of an almost plastic-like substance on the end- Claws? No, they weren't sharp enough. It's hind hooves were bent into an L-shape, and they were covered in brown leather shoes. Then, she removed it's hood- and the most incredible looking creature revealed itself to her- almost as if it were the embodiment of awe itself- but her feelings of awe were short lived- for on the side of it's head was a cut- and was bleeding. It wasn't bleeding too badly, but the creature needed medical attention. Fluttershy noticed that the robes it was wearing were somewhat slick and she could probably drag it along the path back to her cottage, without hurting it. It let out a pained groan as she lifted it's head off the ground. She could have sworn she heard a whisper escape the creature's mouth, but she brushed it off. --------------------------------- She set the creature down on the carpet and got out a first-aid kit, very carefully applying a bandage around it's head. The creature was still breathing... she brought out a guide on animals and skimmed the pages, trying to find a description on it... but to no avail. The closest thing to it was an ape- which she was somewhat familiar with- but it would be an over-statement to say it looked just like an ape- much of it's hair was gone save the top of it's head- very different in comparison to the Ape. And it's head was smoother and more flush in color. It had a different forehead shape, along with the nose and mouth... the more she thought about it, the less it actually seemed to look like an ape- especially when she looked at it's face... it looked a lot like a common Equestrian's. She set down the guide. The creature slept soundly, Fluttershy looked over it's clothing. If it were like an ape- surely it wasn't intelligent enough to make clothing, right? She realized it might mean that this was somepony's pet or something to that extent, maybe they dressed it up like this? She didn't know. It's right hand clenched into a fist. "Mrrr...g...ugh..." It groaned, Fluttershy ran to the other room where a bucket of water stood, she lifted some of it into a cup and brought it over to the creature, she carefully lifted it up to it's lips, and poured it into it's mouth. But then, something the creature did put Fluttershy into a state of shock- it's hand grabbed the cup and held it on it's own, and then uttered two words: "...Thank you..." And then, it's eyes opened to reveal two pearl-like spheres. It sat up. "Oh...my...!" Fluttershy said, the creatures eyes fluttered, it didn't seem to be looking at her, just straight ahead. The creature felt it's surroundings as if it couldn't see, then, as it got up, it's eyes changed color to a fiery, ruby like red. It finally noticed Fluttershy. "You saved my life... thank you." Fluttershy looked half amazed and half horrified- what is this thing standing in front of her? It was bipedal and was talking to her! "Uh- I- uhm..." "My eyes? I can only see with them like this, sorry if it's disturbing, miss." He said. "Oh- I- uh, no, uhm... who... no... what are you?" "I'm a... human...?" It said, it looked very confused. "H-human?" Fluttershy said, she quickly ran over to her guide on animals again, the creature just stood there looking at her with a strange look. "M...miss?" He asked, Fluttershy showed him one page from the "mythical" chapter. "You mean this?" HUMANS Humans are a species who's statues as 'mythical' is in debate- "bipedal and intelligent, between 5-6 feet tall. The legs they stand on have 'feet' shaped in a way to allow them to stand upright easily, with 5 small appendages on each, with limited movement. On the other two, they have five appendages as well, but due to their extended length, allow for the ability to grip and turn objects with veritable accuracy- supposedly more accurate then common use of magic. They can run at impressive speeds despite their use of only two of their legs, and are supreme in magic, they are mentally interchangeable as far as thought patterns go, as the average Equestrian, but are technologically advanced due to each human having the hereditarily passed down ability to wield tools, unlike 2/3 of the population of Equestria, which encompasses non-magical users. They are skilled in many arts which Equestrians have yet to understand- the two most prominent being the ability to create creatures from clay, and revive the dead." -ARS EQUESTRIA. "Uh... 'mythical'?" The boy said, Fluttershy just stared. "What do you mean?" She asked, the boy looked out the window of the town- and saw only Equestrians, he seemed very confused at the sight of it. "Good God... he wasn't kidding when he said we were gone that long..." He muttered, he turned to Fluttershy. "I'm sorry miss. I'm one of Celestia's informants--- well, I used to be, anyway. Name's Bradyn." He said, kneeling down to her. "Used to be?" She asked. "Our race has been gone from Equestria for god-knows-how-long... Before we were forced out, I was Celestia's informant..." He said, Fluttershy looked up at him as he touched the bandage wrapped around his head. "My appearance may be a bit... startling, but, I mean you no harm." He said. "Uhm..." "Maybe I should show you." He said, he brought out a crystal ball. Bradyn Said an incantation, and images from the past showed up on the surface. "Oh my-!" Fluttershy let out. ------------------------------------- The wind blew over a field of grass and yellow blossoms. As Aldred approached Celestia, he was blank in expression. He had white robes on and was wearing the elements- with the element of magic on his head, as a crown. "I didn't defect." He started, Celestia's eyes yielded tears, she didn't cry out loud though. "I couldn't defect- they only hate and have no place for me- I am the element of harmony, after all." He continued. "What about you, Celeste? What is it going to be? Loyalty to your people, or loyalty to me? Your subjects or your old friend? Your responsibility as a leader, or your personal feelings? Your duty to your land or that which has existed before even that? The only thing you can believe it with no doubt in your mind... is yourself. Now... tell me. What are you going to do?" Aldred said, Celestia's eyes yielded tear after tear- was this really happening? Did Aldred finally forgive her? She walked towards him, Aldred smiled. He took out his sword. Celestia repelled at it- was he making fun of her? Aldred looked down at the blade. "I never liked fighting anyway." He said, and chucked it off to the side, but then, he began to fade, and then disappeared. She realized she was dreaming, her tears turned from that of joy to sorrow... then, a blue mist appeared in front of her- and Luna stood there. "W-what kind of sick joke is this!? Are you making fun of me!?" Celestia said, but Luna smiled. "Of course not. I'm showing you... what will happen if we continue to regain his trust. I met him tonight- he seems like he is back to his old self." "Not while he's around me. He hates me." Celestia said, and hung her head, Luna looked down at her sister. "Don't be like that, he doesn't hate you. He's blinded by grief and pain- he needs you and me. Only if we regain his trust can we gain his friendship back." Luna said, Celestia looked up. "Maybe he could have felt like that... until that one idiotic guard shot an arrow at him- I specifically said to bring him back alive! He probably thinks that I ordered an attack on him... No wonder he's hiding in the unmapped parts of the Everfree forest- it's the one place no one in their right mind would go unless they felt it safer then any other part in Equestria... I wanted to apologize... and now it's too late..." Celestia said, she hung her head in despair. "If it's too late... then you wouldn't have been able to see that vision you just saw now- that wasn't a mere dream- I cast an oracle spell." "Oracle spell?" "You know- the spells that Aldred's uncle taught us?" Luna said, Celestia's eyes widened, tears stopped flowing. "We need to work quickly. If we don't, that vision will never come true." Celestia stood still and stared at her sister- what she was seeing, could it really come true...? "...Maybe it isn't to late. Thank you sister." Celestia said. "It is not. Now let's not waste any of our time. And- sister?" "Yes?" "Aldred has changed. I don't think he's the same one we knew..." Luna said, Celestia's eyebrow raised. "He's become very powerful... if not more powerful then Twilight- I could feel his aura in the air... it was so strong you could feel it from fifty feet away, I swear it... we need to tread carefully- a human with magic combined with anger... not a good combination." Luna said, Celestia nodded. "My sentiments exactly." She answered, and she woke up to the sound of a... raven? A raven cawing. ------------------------------------------ Fluttershy was enticed by the images being shown to her- she wasn't as in to magic as other ponies, but the powers that humans had, to her, seemed phenomenal. She broke her gaze from the crystal ball, and looked up at Bradyn. "Was... all that real?" She asked, Bradyn smiled, and reached down into his pocket. He pulled out a small bag of clay. "Uhm- what are you doing?" "Watch." He said, he took it out of the bag and shaped it into the shape of a butterfly, and began to whisper something. Fluttershy was spellbound. She watched as the clay cracked, and out of it flew an Ulysses butterfly. "Oh my...!" She said, Bradyn smiled. "Funny. I'm not actually that good at making creatures from clay. What you just saw was the most I could do... if you want something really impressive- you should talk to my friend, Aldred. He practically invented the system himself!" Bradyn remarked, Fluttershy looked anxious. "What's wrong?" He asked, Fluttershy hid half of her face behind her mane. "Uhm... this is just a lot to take in..." She answered. "Really? I thought Princess Twilight would've told you about all this. She seemed like the open kind of person- er... 'Pony'." He said, Fluttershy's ears perked up. "What?" She said, Bradyn nodded. "Uh, yes- we met her a while ago. She was a really polite guest... but... she didn't take all of the information we gave her as well as you did... for that matter, I could've sworn I saw her..." Bradyn stopped, Fluttershy looked up at him. "Well... let's just say she looked rather distraught... never mind." Bradyn finished. "Was she all right?" Fluttershy asked. "Quite. She was fine when I saw her." Bradyn answered. "So... you and your friends have been in hiding for... that long?" Fluttershy said, Bradyn nodded. "Well, actually... most of us were asleep." Fluttershy looked really confused at this. "There's this realm that apparently keeps you from aging when your inside it... I was one of the few who was awake practically the whole time. But sheesh! 1000 years stuck in a realm like the one we were in... it got really, really boring, so... I tried sneaking out a couple of times- only to get attacked by that crazy old-" He stopped. Fluttershy's eyebrows raised, Bradyn looked like he had made a grave mistake. "I shouldn't have told you that." "Crazy old-- what?" Fluttershy asked, Bradyn didn't answer. "Well, let's just say that it was something evil. I'll leave it at that." Bradyn said, he clenched his arm near his shoulder. Fluttershy noticed his arm was quivering- he was in pain. "...What is it?" Fluttershy asked. "What?" Fluttershy poked his arm, and it was obvious she hit a painful spot as Bradyn cringed- and the spot she touched was wet with a small amount of blood. She didn't see it because his robes were the same color. "...Ouch...!" Bradyn strained. "Come on, show it to me. Let me see... does it hurt?" Fluttershy pleaded. Bradyn looked very nervous... but he took his arm down, and rolled up the sleeve. There were distinct claw marks on his arm. Fluttershy gasped. Bradyn let go of his sleeve. "Please tell me... What attacked you?" Fluttershy asked, she grabbed some more bandages and rolled up his sleeve as she wrapped bandage after bandage over his arm. Bradyn looked out the window. "It was... something I thought had been ridden of from this place... no... someone... his name is Byrne." "Byrne?" "It means 'raven'- and fitting too... he's a human with raven's wings." He said, he put his hand on his forehead, he was sweating. "Byrne is... well, used to be, a human like me... then, he turned into a monster... I don't know what happened to him, but the last time I saw him, he was in a state of uncontrollable, seething rage... I later found out he had turned into a... Strigoi." "Strigoi?" "You've never heard of the Strigoi? The Timberwolves? The bluebell phoenix? Any of them?" "I've seen a timberwolf before... but, what do you mean? What's a Strigoi?" Fluttershy asked, Bradyn looked grave. "A strigoi... is a troubled soul or person who comes back from the dead, or is a living being with specific magical powers... a timberwolf, for example, is a troubled soul who encases themselves in the wood of a tree... eventually, they come alive as a creature- normally a wolf. Hence the name 'timberwolf'." Bradyn explained. "As for the bluebell phoenix- a troubled soul that is overcome by sadness takes the form of a fiery blue phoenix... their incredibly rare and can assume their true form if they wish... Byrne, however, was overcome by rage during his life... so much rage that it literally scared death away from him- he's been in this world, in hiding, for the past 1000 years. Only recently has he regained his full strength." "That sounds rather... uhm..." "I know it sounds ridiculous... but, regardless of that, Byrne found me in the Everfree, and attacked me along with a pack of timberwolves... I was scared for my life... his eyes, they weren't human anymore... they seeped madness... he was about to strike a deadly blow to me... but then he heard something- you, coming towards the scene, and he took off." "But I didn't see anything flying..." Fluttershy said. "A living Strigoi can turn invisible for small amounts of time..." "Why did he attack you in the first place?" Fluttershy asked. "...I don't know... but before he noticed me, he kept saying something... some... name, I think." Bradyn remarked. "What did he say?" "Dash." Fluttershy's heart stopped. "Yes, he simply said 'Dash' over and over again... I think he said another name, too... but it was gargled." "D...Dash..." Fluttershy repeated- whatever attacked Bradyn- did it know... Rainbow Dash? "Listen, you've gotta' get me away from the Everfree forest- it's not safe for me there, I need to find my friend, Aldred. Can you take me to Camelo--- I-I mean... Canterlot?" Bradyn asked, Fluttershy blinked. "Uhm... yes... I think there's a midnight train running." Fluttershy answered, suddenly, an angry shout was heard by the two. "CRAAAAAAAAH!!!" "Ah! W-what was that!?" Fluttershy said. "Oh crap. He's found us! We need to get out of here before-" Something crashed into the ground outside. "...Too late... run!" And with that, they ran out the back door, and towards the town. "CYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" --------------------------------------------------- They slowed to a stop as they reached the train station. They gasped for air as they stopped. "...Do you think he's still on our tail?" Bradyn asked, Fluttershy didn't answer. "Miss?" Bradyn then noticed Fluttershy looked horrified. "Forgive me, I shouldn't have involved you." Bradyn said, he stepped toward the train. "We have to get away from this place as fast as possible. It won't be long until he catches up with us. Let's go." He said, Fluttershy finally came back to her senses. She followed him onto the train. They sat down and the door shut behind them, and the train lurched as it began to move. They were alone in their train car. They loosened at relaxed as they got far away from the station. Bradyn let out a sigh of relief. "Miss, pardon me, but I don't believe I've asked you what your name is." Bradyn said, Fluttershy looked towards him from her side of the car. She was unsure if she should answer him or not, but his prying eyes seemed to beg her for an answer. "I... I'm... Fluttershy." She said, Bradyn smiled. "Well, Fluttershy, I believe I owe you my thanks. I would have been dead had you not shown up. Thank you." He remarked, and Fluttershy smiled nervously. Bradyn looked out at the countryside as it rolled by, he felt his heart sink, and it showed. "What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked. "...Nothing's the way I remember. Everything looks different." Bradyn answered, Fluttershy then got up and wrapped a comforting wing around his back. Bradyn looked at the floor in depression. Nothing was the same to him. It all seemed that everything he had built as Celestia's informant was missing from the landscape. But his spirits were raised as they approached Canterlot, and he saw the majestic castle. The train slowed to a stop. The conductor came to their car. "All passengers are to leave this cart, there's been a problem with the engi- woah! What are you!?" Bradyn rolled his eyes and looked over to Fluttershy. "We don't have time for this- let's go!" Bradyn said, Fluttershy nodded and followed him out the cart. "H-hey! You! Wait!' The Conductor called, but they were long gone, for Bradyn had rolled out a magic carpet and was flying next to Fluttershy as they sped towards the city.