Chapter 4: Lies
SPLASH! Celestia shot up to find herself suspended by her front legs, hanging from a chain. She knew she was dreaming, despite it feeling real. She looked around the room and found herself in an large room. Candles floated in the air, but she couldn't see the walls as the light from the candles couldn't reach them. She was surrounded by darkness.
"Rise and shine." A familiar voice said- Aldred.
"Your greed does not concern me. I am interested in but one thing- the truth." Aldred said, he raised a doll in the shape of Celestia and pulled out a pin.
"I am a magician- and a scientist. I am a spirit-worker, but not a spirit myself. Do you understand me? I am a scientist, and as a scientist, I find this distasteful. Understand? As a scientist, I expect answers that make sense." He raised the pin to his forehead, and it sparked with a purple-black energy.
"ANSWER ME! Were my parents spies or not!?" As he asked, Celestia breathed heavily.
"...They betrayed Equestria... Your Mother sold me and Luna out... I had to do something before she destroyed the elements with the... dagger..." Aldred Stepped forward.
"Liar! I want to know the truth! What really happened? What are you keeping from me!?" Aldred demanded.
"Your father used a black magic artifact to try and kill off all of the plants in Equestria... had that happened, the entire food chain here would have collapsed... Equestria would have been doomed... And your Mother... tried to do the same when he fell to his grave."
"Then how do you explain the Alicorn amulet!? It could have only been made by HER! It appeared long after her death! What really happened between you two? How did you get a hold of it!? The aura it gives off is the same as hers!"
"Proof enough... that your parents betrayed us... whoever touches that thing... goes insane..." Celestia said.
"Then what about that so-called Cutie Mark? Don't tell me it's the same design as my mother's Sorcerers' Mark by sheer coincidence!" Aldred moved forward and held out his arm.
"D-don't touch me!" Celestia said, she tried to wake herself up, but couldn't.
"Defiling your old cutie mark to decorate yourself with her memory... either you were jealous or just obsessed." Aldred said.
"Ugh..." Celestia said.
"ANSWER ME!" Aldred shouted, he took the pin and stuck it into the neck of the doll of Celestia.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAH!" She shot up in her bed, looked around, and heard guards running toward her.
"Your highness!?" The first called, they ran up to her bed. Celestia sat there, shaking.
"Are you all right?" Another asked.
"I had a nightmare...." Celestia said, the guards exchanged glances.
"...About Aldred.... it's the same one." She said, a guard ran in carrying a bottle with his magic.
"N-no... that... I can't have anymore sleeping drafts... I... won't sleep for the rest of the night." She said, and she got out of bed and began to walk away from her room, the two guards exchanged nervous glances.
"Your highness?" One asked.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Yes... my neck hurts... really bad... could you please get me one of those hot towels?" She asked.
"Yes, of course." The guard answered, and he ran off.
---------------------------------------------------------
The wind blew over a field of grass and yellow blossoms. As Aldred approached Celestia, his rage began to build up. Twilight watched- and noticed something peculiar about Aldred- he was wearing the element of magic... but it wasn't a tiara... it looked more like an imperial crown... and he was wearing the other five elements on his arm- like bracelets.
"There's a saying in the old books- Loyalty to the end... do you know what it means?" Aldred asked.
"Being... heroic?" Celestia asked.
"It means devoting yourself to your leaders." Aldred said, with a swift movement, he ripped off his robe revealing a dark blue men's jumpsuit underneath, aligned with tough looking fabric, he charged at Celestia with a knife, Celestia caught his hand.
"As long as I have to be loyal to the end... loyal to you... the person who killed my family- there's no point for me to believe in anything- not even those I love." Aldred said, he swung his second fist up, but Celestia stopped him with her magic.
"And that's the way you think?"
"The only thing I can believe in with no doubt in my mind anymore- is myself." Aldred's eyes glowed, and with another, swift swing of his arm, threw Celestia to the ground.
"I'm defecting to the resistance... Celestia..." Aldred said, and paused. Celestia had tears in her eyes.
"You can't do this to me anymore." He said, Twilight shot up in front of Cyra's pod.
"Forgive me if the vision was a little... taxing on your mind... you might have a headache after a while." Ivar said, helping Twilight up to her hooves.
"What... why... what was with him carrying the elements?" Twilight asked, Ivar looked down to her.
"...Aldred... he kind of... how do I put this..." Ivar said, trailing off.
"Aldred is much older then he appears... technically, he's over four thousand years old." Twilight's jaw dropped.
"Huh?" Twilight asked.
"Yes... I have much explaining to do." Ivar closed his eyes.
"You see... Aldred was born around 2000 B.C., when he turned thirteen, he met Celestia. Celestia was about your age and wasn't in good health... Aldred had, and still does, have powerful magic- and was able to keep her health in check... but then catastrophe struck when rulers of one of the leading factors in black magic attacked Aldred's town- the Babylonian empire. They weren't that strong back then, but nevertheless did much damage... Aldred and his parents were fatally injured, and we had to send them to the realm of sleep to heal... when they awoke, it was a few years before Luna was banished... three thousand years later." Ivar said, Twilight looked very confused.
"Wait- let me get something clear- it took him three thousand years for him to heal? How badly was he...?" Twilight asked.
"He had been magically poisoned... ritual poisoning is resilient and only more sleep then one could have in a lifetime could heal it. Aldred isn't immortal. But those who rest in the realm of sleep- Light Tartarus, the realm of everlasting life- the land of the Titans and ancient Gods, shall not die in their sleep. Much less age." Ivar said, Twilight listened intently.
"It is for this reason that Aldred was somewhat upset when he got up- he didn't have any friends, but, everything in Equestria had changed... Luna was... how should I put this... somewhat new to Equestria- born about a decade earlier... and, to be honest, no means to offend him, but I think Aldred has... or at least had a crush on her." Ivar finished, Twilight blushed upon hearing the last part.
"R-really?" She asked, Ivar gave her an odd look.
"I-I mean, not that I'm not sorry for Aldred, but-"
"Ti's all right, I expected as much, besides... I have nothing against Humans and Equestrians getting together, but, it was... uncommon to say the least at the time... and, I wouldn't be surprised if it was part of Luna's banishment, either." Ivar finished, his eyes trailed up to the ceiling.
"When the rumor of Aldred, a human, having a crush on Luna, an Equestrian, and a member of the royal court, at that, reached the public, two things happened to him. On the Equestrian side, he was praised for dimming the lines of our species as a whole- and on the side of the resistance against Celestia, he was regarded as a monster and traitor. They tried to get him sentenced to death because of where his heart led him..."Ivar said, Twilight looked surprised and disgusted.
"...That's the sickest thing I've ever heard..." Twilight said.
"I don't even know if he really does have a crush to begin with... But as a result of this rumor, Aldred slowly became less and less of himself... as I watched him over the next few months, all I saw was depression leaking from him... but then something happened that nobody would dare dream... When Aldred awoke one morning, he walked out carrying the six elements in his hands. I was in shock." Ivar continued, Twilight stared.
"What happened?" Twilight asked.
"The elements- as artifacts- were only myths back then... Aldred was an aspiring scholar and leader, but nothing more... the idea that he perfectly matched all six elements was mind-boggling to everyone... he was the one under the most pressure- called a monster... an adversary... it was just unbelievable someone so young- so inexperienced could be so perfect... when it hit the public, everyone was quiet- as if the world had stopped turning... it was almost too fantastic to be true..." Ivar continued.
"As he gained notoriety, he brought harmony to not only all of Equestria, but many of the countries and leading powers in our world: Europe, Russia, Germany, the Americas, China... they all acted on his requests. But when his parents were killed in combat on the charges of being spies... he took the elements, defected, and crystalized the elements into spheres...Celestia went through so much pain that day... she brainwashed herself into believing it all was a dream... then, a few days ago, Aldred awoke from his sleep... and reality crashed down on her." He finished, Twilight looked very confused.
"...There's one more thing..." Twilight said.
"Yes?"
"If Aldred matches all the elements- why did he only take mine?" Twilight asked, Ivar's eyes trailed off.
"Do you know why it appears as a crown while the others as necklaces?" He asked, Twilight shook her head.
"It's gem is a direct link the divine order of things- it has the power over everything. Aldred doesn't need the other five- they just channel magical power from the crown... magic does bind everything together- I think Aldred wants to exploit this fact... I think he wants to bring order- to what he believes- to be a nation ruled by a tyrant." He concluded, Twilight's eyes went wide.
"If I'm correct about this- who knows what he'll do... but there's a problem in his plan. And for his sake, I hope he never solves it. As long as it stays in the form of a tiara- the feminine aspect of magic- it won't align properly with Aldred."
"The 'Feminine' side?" Twilight asked.
"Aldred specializes in solidified or 'Masculine' magic- it requires mediums to channel it's power. For instance, clay to make golems. Feminine or 'sympathetic' is more free-flowing and can be done without mediums, but it has a tendency to misfire since it does not have a specified focal point upon which it's magic can be cast. Pick your weakness- bound to physics or tendency to backfire." Ivar explained.
"Huh... well that explains why those golems work the way they do." Twilight remarked, pointing at one of the clay men- who was giving her a weird look.
"The alicorn amulet is a prime example, itself. It carries it's own power and channels it unto the caster... but it has adverse affects to those who use sympathetic magic... unicorns primarily cast sympathetic magic- and hence can gain a destructive persona due to the forces waging war against each other... In a sense you could might refer to it as the opposite of the element of magic, but, that would be stretching it a bit as far as how each of their power works. They don't come from opposing forces due to the fact the alicorn amulet carries it's own power, as I mentioned earlier, the element of magic channels pre-existing power- that of the divine. The alicorn amulet's power comes from the same source- but is not an open carrier. It is closed off to outside influences, and hence spreads to whatever touches it..." Twilight stared in confusion at Ivar.
"You seem to know a lot about how magic works... how do you know about the alicorn amulet?" Twilight asked, Ivar sighed.
"Because I took part in the ceremony to create those objects... didn't you notice how much it looked like one of the elemental necklaces as far as design actually went?" Ivar questioned, Twilight looked shocked.
"Wait... are you saying...?"
"That amulet... was intended as a test in an experiment to create a hypothetical seventh 'element'- the element of power... it contrasted sharply with the other elements in that it carried it's own power, hence it could be transferred from person to person, regardless of their nature... but it was made by an evil person. And hence, it makes whoever touches it go insane and maniacal... the worst part is that whoever bares it can not have the other elements used against them due to the fact it is perceived by the elements as one of it's own... the experiment itself initially was a success... but the side effects made it not worth it." Ivar finished.
"Oh well, I've been talking enough... you obviously don't want to hear too much of an old man, no?"
"Are you kidding? This practically shatters everything I've been told about Celestia... about Equestria... Is there more I don't know?"
"Much more... a lifetime of secrets, if you want, I can tell them all to you. If your ready." Twilight stopped at this sentence, it sounded dark. She thought about it, then responded.
"N-no... I don't want to know any more... not right now... I'm sorry but I..." Twilight stopped.
"Your highness?" Ivar asked.
"...I need some time to myself..." Twilight finished, and she ran from the hut with Spike, out of the forest, and back to her house.
In that moment, reality crashed down on her with an unholy blow.
There, she began to weep. Spike comforted her as she felt the whole world crash down on her, and everything she knew about Equestria, her friends, and her teacher, everything- she began to doubt. For the first time in a long time, she cried. Then, something put it's hand on her shoulder.
"Let not my pain be yours, Twilight. Do not suffer my suffering, I beg of you." She looked up to see a pair of familiar sapphire eyes, filled with empathy.
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I do like the backstory that was put up. It makes much more sense instead of that "He's evil because he was warped by his power" nonsense other stories have (the ones that actually have humans with magic or receive magic in someway that turn evil)
4510763
Thanks, man. What else do you like about the story? Also, thanks for stopping by and taking a look at the story- every view, like, and comment helps!
4513063 Personally... that "relationship" with luna sounds like it COULD be exploited in some way.... I mean in a way to make things go in either better or worse direction (out come wise for Aldred)
4513164 Hmmmm.... maybe... maybe not.
We shall see.
Not to mention the very RUMOR of it was exploited... and Aldred wasn't too happy about that.