Twilight climbed out of the carriage and walked towards Celestia's castle. She wanted to speak to Celestia- she hadn't given her a second chance yet to explain herself, and despite the horrible tales Ivar had told her, she wanted to hear both sides of the story. 'Tyrant' or not.
She opened the large doors to find her standing there, waiting for her. Twilight felt a rush of guilt go up her spine like cold blood. The whole world seemed to fade from her vision, she could only see Celestia's melancholic face. But something else escaped in the Princess's expression- joy?
"Princess Celestia, I- I..." Twilight stuttered; what happened to her in those few moments before she had gotten so veritably angry at her mentor? Her teacher- the one who had been with her since day one... she had betrayed. And now she wanted to apologize.
"It's okay Twilight." She said, bending her neck to come to eye level with her student.
"You had every right to act the way you did, but we have unfinished business to take care of. Let's put what happened behind us- and let's try to find a way to fix what has happened. Come with me." The Princess then took Twilight to her throne room- then pressed the panel in the back of her throne- leading to the hidden hallway and archives.
"Now... let me show you what really happened." She said, and they walked down the hallway to a small room packed with candles, illuminating images of magical symbols- and pictures of Aldred, Celestia, and Luna.
"At a time, this land was not ruled by two, but three monarchs. Aldred was the first. I came second, and, Luna came into this world third. His magic... back then, he had just about as much power as you do, now... but now, his power is greater then that; I spoke of the Magicae Princeps earlier; if you become one of them, you can manipulate the very fabric of reality itself. But, back then, Aldred was just like you and I." She said, she walked over to a small wooden box on the floor, She brought it to Twilight, and opened it to reveal dazzling gold talismans and amulets.
"...These were just a few of the talismans Aldred created. He had a great understanding of how things in this world worked- and why they work. Knowing that, you can accomplish anything. For instance- if I take this Talisman here-" She picked up a gold talisman in the shape of a square with an eye etched onto it- it's pupil being a ruby.
"-and merely utter the word 'sight'-" hardly had the word left her mouth when they found themselves standing 2000 feet in the air above Equestria.
"AH!" Twilight yelped, but Celestia smiled.
"-it will show a vivid vision of a bird's eye view of any place you wish."
"...Huh?" Twilight asked, Celestia smiled.
"We're still in the archives- this is just a vision." She said, her horn glowed and the vision faded.
"And... there's more." The princess said, she walked to the back of the room where a huge door stood, she opened it to reveal a room with something glowing inside of it. A portal?
"Follow me." She said, she walked towards the big spiral of energy.
"Hecate, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades! We have called and request an answer- bestow your grace upon us and we will honor you for eternity." She said, the portal glowed brighter and brighter- it's light engulfed the two. Then, they were gone.
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Aldred woke up the moment they left. He knew they had gone through the portal, even though he was miles away. He could feel it. It was just a sense of knowing something had happened. No question about it. He got up from his bed and walked over to his tome, and began to read the small print. Ackerley walked in.
"...Did it work?" He asked, Aldred looked over to his close friend.
"Yes..." He said, Ackerley gave him an uneasy smile.
"You know, we won't make an enemy of you if you go back to Camelot."
"You mean Canterlot." Aldred corrected.
"Same difference. It's your home. You belong there." He said, Aldred turned to face him.
"...But how could I go back after what I've done?" Aldred asked.
"You haven't done anything." He said.
"I defected... I can never make up for that." He said, but Ackerley smiled.
"You hold the elements for a reason. You of all people know that isn't true." He said, Aldred turned away.
"...I guess your right." He said, he then closed his book.
"Why don't you go visit them? If you want to make up for what's happened, that's the first step. You'll be able to forgive yourself." He said, trying to sound comforting, Aldred looked to him again.
"...Wait a minute... your robes... Aldred...?" Ackerley asked.
"...I want to leave. These guys only hate. I can't stay here." He said, Ackerley smiled, a boy in brown robes with gold rims walked in, along with a girl in blue robes and shiny white rims.
"Then we're coming with you." Two more girls walked in, one wearing white robes and black rims, and the other with black robes and gold rims.
"All of us." The boy with brown robes said, the other teens nodded their heads.
"All of us." They all said, Aldred smiled.
"Thank you, but you don't have to." He said.
"No... we want to." The girl with white robes said, suddenly, Ivar came dashing into the room.
"Aldred-! Cyra... she's out of the pod!" Ivar said in between breaths, the entire group rushed passed him and ran down to the first floor. There, siitting on the floor was a pale, furless filly. She stared up at the group.
"Aldred...?" She asked, Aldred scooped her up.
"Cyra...!" He said.
"I think I'll be all right." She said, smiling at him.
"...Thank goodness." The boy in black robes said, Aldred brought his sister into a light embrace.
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Twilight marveled at the realm presented to her. She walked along a path with diamonds for stone, huge crystals cut into the shape of houses- and they served their purpose. Beautiful hillsides, and endless stars in the night sky.
"Welcome to Arcania. This was Aldred's capital during his reign in Equestria... he built it himself." She said, the town of crystals was very quiet.
"There's no one here..." Twilight whispered.
"The city was abandoned a long time ago... come, I shall show you around."
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They walked towards a fountain of water where they sat down.
"...I have committed many atrocities towards Aldred... I used his magical knowledge against his own kind... the reason I banished so many of them wasn't because I hated them... but I was a coward." She said, looking down at the ground.
"I used on of Aldred's talismans to close the gates to their home... and then another to send them all to White Tartarus... and then, Aldred defected because of what I did... I brought this all upon myself... this is my punishment- to carry the taint of disgrace for as long as I breathe... I went down in human history as a monster that unleashed a catastrophe to an entire species... I don't even know if there are any humans left back on Earth." she said, closing her eyes.
"...Aldred was not the first human I met, either. The first boy was roughly his age now... only off by a few years- he was one of Aldred's cousins." She said.
"The boy's name was Cody. I was at an old castle- with my parents... he walked in. I was scared- I shot a beam at him and yelled that he 'didn't belong here'... I could see he was scared and confused, but... I... I..." The Princess appeared less and less of herself. Her heart was aching and it showed. She felt her chest grow tight and her heartbeat slow to almost a stop.
"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, she had never seen her mentor like this.
"Hmmm? No. I'm all right. I haven't thought about that day for years... it's a very uncomfortable memory... maybe it was a premonition." She said, she looked up at the stars.
"...They're all gone because of me... There. Now I've told you my story. I've kept this a secret for centuries... only now do I feel it's right to reveal it." She said, Twilight stared at her mentor. This was not her. This was someone who Twilight never knew- and because of that, she too, felt sad.
"Princess... everyone makes mistakes once in a while. My mistake wasn't hearing your side of the story. Yours wasn't entirely your fault." She said, trying to comfort her mentor... it felt strange.
"Yes, but, nobody has to carry the guilt of banishing an entire species... even those who were on your side." She said, Twilight scooted closer to her.
"Princess, you were being hunted. You were in the middle of a war... I wouldn't have thought I had any choice if I were in that position... And I have." The Princess looked to Twilight.
"...When Tirek came to get me... I was forced to choose between the last bit of magic in Equestria and saving my friends... it was the hardest decision I've made as a Princess... I know what it's like to be backed into a corner." As she spoke, however, the Princess grew more and more grim.
"No, Twilight you don't understand... that's not all that-"
"I do." She interrupted, the Princess turned to her.
"And I don't judge you." She said, Celestia appeared dead-blank in expression.
"The only person who hasn't forgiven you right now- is you." She said, and smiled, the Princess turned away from her.
"Maybe you're right..." She said, Twilight could tell that her mentor was still upset.
"...But?" She asked.
"But it still doesn't make up for what I've done." She said, Celestia began to walk towards the portal. Twilight followed her.
"Then let's find a way to do just that." They passed through the portal and left Arcania.