Aldred: The Wizard on the Run

by DaringWizard

Chapter 7: Understanding

Aldred walked down a path covered in vines. As he made his way further and further into the Everfree, he knew he was getting closer and closer to his destination: the temple in which the elements were first found. As he pushed aside some ruble in the way, he found himself in a large room, dark, and dank. It was quiet, and one could hear a cricket chirping from a mile away. He held the element of magic in his hands, and held it up to his heart. He felt electrified as he pulsed magical energy through his veins. When he reached a point at which he could no longer hold the energy, he directed it into the tiara.

"Gelácne, ic i gíeme, giemest, háligede,hæle, þurhhæle, hael!" He chanted, a white light radiated from the crown and a soft hum could be heard in the room. As the light grew brighter and brighter, Aldred felt a strange, pulling feeling in his chest. As he held the crown, he heard a small 'ping' noise. He looked down at the crown, now in two pieces. One, the base of the crown, the second being the gem itself. Aldred reached down and held the gem in his left hand, he looked at the gem with a strange sense of awe- never had it occurred to him how powerful this little gem was. It had shaped a whole nation to his -and eventually Celestia's- liking. The gem pulsated with a hot-pink aura with a hint of violet. He put the crown piece in his pack, then pulled out a small, circular, metal box. He opened it. It was lined with red velvet. He placed the gem in a like-shaped depression in the box. He then closed it, and held it cupped in his hands as he whispered an incantation over the box.

"Ne Onclys!" He said, a golden light formed from the crack between the two halves of the box, and then faded. He had magically locked the box.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here." Aldred froze as an-all-to-familiar voice sent a shiver up his spine- then, caused him be overcome with anger. He turned around.

"What are you doing here? I told you after our last meeting to not look for me."

"I wasn't... I wanted to pay my respects." She said. She walked past Aldred, towards a tattered portrait on the wall. It was of a pink-colored filly with two hearts connected by an arrow as a cutie mark. Celestia stared sadly at it.

"You know... your sister reminds me of Cadence." Celestia remarked, she broke her gaze and looked back to Aldred.

"...What would you know?" Aldred asked. He felt a lump around his waste line- his hand had instinctively reached down for his sword. Celestia noticed this, and it was obvious that she wasn't happy about it- for her eyes were beginning to water.

"Do you hate me? I don't blame you." She said, Aldred didn't blink, he didn't move, he didn't show any sign of emotion. Celestia looked away from him.

"...When your sister died, I took it upon myself to try to fix things... I even collected all of your works and stored them at the Canterlot archives." She said, Aldred raised an eyebrow.

"It was your works that saved all of Equestria. It was your works that drove out the resistance- peacefully. It was your works that helped our citizens regain their previous lives- peacefully. You saved my entire kingdom, Aldred. You've been a good friend, teacher, and student all at once... Aldred, I never wanted any of this." Celestia's voice had grown very soft. Aldred took his hand off the handle of his sword. He stared at Celestia and was completely silent.

"Aldred... I want you to see what all of your works have built." She said, Aldred inhaled and exhaled.

"Why did those guards attack me? You don't expect me to believe that you didn't-"

"No... I don't expect you to believe that I didn't order an attack on you. I don't expect you to believe anything I've said. But I want you to see what your legacy has left... and there's one more thing."

"What?" Aldred asked, looking off into the distance.

"My student figured out how to make your final spell work." Celestia said, Aldred looked back to her, he looked surprised. A piece of folded parchment materialized in front of Aldred.

"It is yours." She said, Aldred's heart nearly stopped.

Aldred's hands quivered as he reached out and took the parchment, and unfolded it.

"...The reason you couldn't figure it out was my own fault. I kept you from your own kind... you had very few friends at all, and it was that which kept you from figuring out how to enter this new magical realm... you can thank Twilight for finishing your work." Aldred was dead-silent. An emotionless tear fell down his cheek. He didn't think. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak.

"Aldred, you are the only one who knows how to properly use the forces within this realm. Now why would I give Twilight such a demanding task of finishing the spell if not even I could use it?" Celestia said, Aldred blinked and looked at Celestia in shock.

"I knew one day you would return... so I looked for a student who could finish your work before you came home." Celestia's voice became almost soothing. Aldred removed the wax seal, and words written in golden ink adorned the parchment. Aldred's heart began to pound.

"Y...you..."

"Whatever you choose to do with this knowledge... please use it with good intent." Celestia said, she turned to walk away, but then, Aldred spoke.

"Is my Alias still being used?" Aldred asked.

"...Yes." Celestia answered.

"You can change it to my real name. I don't need to be 'protected' anymore." He said.

"Are you sure?" Celestia asked.

"...No more 'Star-swirled The Bearded', I'm done with that false name." He said, and he walked away from the building.

Author's Note:

Tell me what you think in the comments! (PS: Sorry if the chapter's short.)

Comments

[dark_zero]

call me paranoid but I have a bad feeling

celestia up to something

I just hope that does not betray Aldred

ps great story

[DaringWizard]

4829040 thanks for the comment. It helps- what do you think of the story so far? What can you tell about Aldred so far, specifically? (It helps me get various points of the story across.)

[Alex Wadegrove]

4831635 img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130510190738/scribblenauts/images/b/bf/Cannon_SU.png

in cannon.

No, they don't.

[DaringWizard]

4836843
How so?

[CloudG45]

uuuuuhhhh..... What? Pardon here, but are you telling me that Aldred is Star Swirl? How?!?!?!?