• Published 6th Mar 2012
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Sohndar - CTVulpin



The Sequel to Aitran. Myst/Riven cross-over

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Chapter 13

Age 243

This is turning into a distressing pattern, Twilight thought sourly as she took in her surroundings. The cage was circular, with thick bars made of a yellowish metal that reached from the floor to the ceiling, and stood in the center of the room. Large windows filled each wall in the five-sided room, with a single door leading outside and a hole in the floor near the back with a ladder built into it, obviously leading down to a lower chamber. Just beyond the bars, which were spaced wide enough for Twilight to fit a hoof through, were five stands holding books, each identical except for the pattern of squares drawn on each cover. Twilight recognized the patterns as those representing the five Sohndar islands, but when she flipped them open to the linking panels she saw that they were all dark and useless. As she faced toward the door, on the right was a round table with another book and writing materials on it and a short cushioned stool to sit on. To her left was a spherical metal oven-like contraption with a lever on the front and small bubble window but no door, and she noticed a panel with a star-shaped button was affixed between the bars of the cage. To the right of the table she saw another lever on the ledge below the window, and the fifth side of the room was notable only for the ladder leading down. There were no signs of anypony being around, so Twilight carefully lit up her horn and tried reaching out to manipulate things in the hopes of opening the cage. To her shock, her telekinetic sense stopped when it reached the bars of the cage, as if she’d hit an invisible barrier that refused to budge no matter how hard she pushed.

“Great,” she grumbled, glaring around, “anti-magic materials.” She then took a calming breath and checked her satchel to make sure she still had the trap book with her. She looked around once more and then cleared her throat loudly, following up with a shout of “Hello?” when she didn’t get a response. She looked at the button set between the cage bars for a calculating moment, and then sighed and pressed it. An air horn sounded outside, sounding muffled to Twilight’s ears but undoubtedly loud and attention-grabbing to anyone wandering around outside. “If that doesn’t do the trick, I don’t know what will,” Twilight muttered to herself as she sat down and stared at the door expectantly.

She didn’t have long to wait. In less than a minute, she saw a figure clothed in a thick protective coat, goggles, gloves for fingered hands, and carrying a strange-looking spear gun climb up to the door from below and open it, letting in a hot, dry breeze as they entered. This was without a doubt Aldro, and Twilight could see immediately that Star Swirl had been accurate to describe him as similar to a Diamond Dog. There were obvious differences however. Unlike the skulking, ape-like cave dogs, Aldro’s legs were much closer in proportion to his arms and he walked with a fully upright stance. As he turned around to close the door and set his spear aside, Twilight saw his tail peek out from under the coat and noted it lacked the spiky club most Diamond Dogs had on the end. His fur was a rich auburn, save for around his muzzle where it seemed to be graying with age, and looked properly cared for. He turned back around to face her, regarded her for a second, and then removed the goggles, revealing his intelligent golden-brown eyes. Overall, he gave the impression of someone who would prefer following scholarly pursuits surrounded by modern comforts but had adapted easily to making do with less.

“I must apologize for the cage,” he said, walking around to place the goggles on the writing desk, “but recent events have required I take extra precautions for my safety.” His voice took Twilight by surprise. It was not the rough, dissonant voice of the Diamond Dogs that had ponynapped Rarity, but a rich, deep, and cultured tone that would have fit perfectly at a gathering of Canterlot’s elite.

Twilight quickly shook off her surprise, reminding herself that this was a creature who had set himself up as a god among the ponies of Sohndar and held Star Swirl’s wife captive. Finding her voice, she replied with carefully measured sarcasm, “Don’t worry, I’m starting to get used to it.”

“Ah, well then,” Aldro said with some amusement as he removed his gloves and set them beside the goggles, “I doubt you’ll mind staying in there while we talk then. As you can guess, my name is Aldro. I’m sure you’ve heard a great deal about me and my actions in the past from Star Swirl. Some rather… unpleasant things I wouldn’t doubt, given the nature of our last encounters before he trapped me in the Fifth Age.”

“What makes you think I’ve even met this Star Swirl?” Twilight asked, looking to test Aldro’s reasoning.

“I’m no fool my dear,” the dog answered, narrowing his eyes at her, “I am not ignorant of events in the Fifth Age that occur while I’m here in the Two-Forty-Third. Besides, your coloration and bearing are quite out of place for the Fifth Age, or any Age of my creation for that matter, and I highly doubt old Star Swirl would leave the linking book unguarded. Am I wrong in my assumption?”

“No,” Twilight said grudgingly, “you’re quite right, and Star Swirl didn’t have much to say about you that was good.” It was evident she was in for a serious battle of wits with Aldro.

“All of it was true, I’m afraid,” Aldro admitted, and Twilight got a sinking feeling in her gut, “It would be a sad understatement to say that he and I had disagreements about the nature and morals of Writing worlds. I even tried to kill him. That was nearly thirty years ago by local time; thirty years of exile, it gives a dog time to reflect and think.” He sighed and sat down on the stool facing Twilight, head hanging down. “Doubtless Star Swirl still thinks me the same self-absorbed tyrant I was when we warred over the Fifth Age,” he said, and then looked up and met the unicorn’s eyes with an earnest expression as he added, “but I have changed. I understand now why Star Swirl did what he did and I’m willing to admit it may have been the right choice.”

“That’s easy enough to say,” Twilight murmured in reply without thinking. Dang it Sparkle, she thought as she bit her lip and watched Aldro’s face warily for a reaction, we don’t want to antagonize him too much!

To her relief, the canine creature laughed and stood up. “Ah my dear,” he said as he started to walk slowly around the cage, “You are a pony after my own heart it seems.” The words sent an involuntary shiver down Twilight’s spine, but she kept her outward reaction neutral. “I am not one who easily trusts the words of another, be their pony, Kl’kai, or some other intelligent being. If you can speak, you can lie; it’s in actions that one’s true intentions are revealed.”

“What I’ve seen of your influence on Sohndar doesn’t fill me with much confidence,” Twilight replied, “I mean, I’ll grant you that most of it – the temple, the symbolic association between you and the Whark, and the fanatic belief in your divinity I’ve seen in some of your guardsponies – could be attributed to traditional habits you set in place in the distant past, but if you’ve really changed your attitude and accepted your punishment, what am I to make of us having this conversation somewhere other than Sohndar?”

“You are aware that the Fifth Age is on the brink of dissolution, yes?” Aldro asked, and Twilight nodded. Aldro came back around to the writing desk and laid a hand on the book there. “I don’t believe Star Swirl intended my entrapment to be a death sentence,” he said, “and I certainly do not wish it to be so, and so I have devoted myself to making a safe haven in which I and the ponies of the Fifth Age can flee to.” Twilight cast an askance glance out one of the windows at the inhospitable-looking rock spires surrounding the shelter, a look that Aldro noticed and acknowledged with an irritated shake of his head. “My…” he began, and then quirked an eyebrow at her, “You haven’t given me your name yet.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn answered.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Aldro said musingly, “You obviously do not fully understand the hurdles I’ve had to overcome these past thirty years. When Star Swirl cut off my ability to leave the Fifth Age, he cut me off from all of my Writing resources, including the notes, formulas, and frameworks for world creation that I had gathered from the ruins of my people’s former empire as well as the ideal physical materials to let me Write a working Linking book without relying on external power. This Age you see is the result of years of intense effort to recall my formulas, and although it is not quite fit for habitation it is a success. I’ve learned from it, and the Two Hundred and Forty-Fourth Age should be a more appropriate sanctuary.” He patted the book on the desk fondly.

“So, you just have everypony’s best interests at heart,” Twilight said.

“Everypony… yes,” Aldro said, “I doubt Star Swirl would ever see it that way; he likely still thinks I’m the same as ever, and that’s why he sent you in his place. As for Clover… well, there may have been a small chance of convincing her, if the Moiety hadn’t gotten to her first.” He let out a weary-sounding sigh and began pacing around again. “The ponies of the Fifth Age are a simple, superstitious lot and easily intimidated by things they don’t understand. The Moiety have sought to exploit this in their deluded quest to destroy me. They look to Clover as some sort of religious figure, and I fear it may have gone to her head. I had to lock her away before she could incite the rebels to actions that would prove disastrous to the world as well as myself. Star Swirl would hardly recognize her the way she is now, so I must caution you against freeing her, for all our sakes.”

He’s lying, Twilight thought, that’s the complete opposite of what Nyx told me about her mother. She kept her expression plain; if Aldro knew she’d been in contact with the Moiety she’d lose what credibility she had with him.

Aldro came around to the spherical oven and turned the lever, which let it fill with a glowing red fluid that could have been magma. The five books on the stands around the cage all seemed to grow brighter in hue and the stands rose slightly. “I know you came to the Fifth Age in the company of another pony,” he said, “and you were in possession of a Linking book that was taken by the Moiety. I’m granting you full access to all the islands of the Fifth Age. In return, I would like you to retrieve the book if at all possible and bring it and your friend to me.”

“Why?” Twilight asked, tilting her head toward the book on the table, “I thought you were about to have a breakthrough on your next world.”

Aldro paused, a glint of anger briefly flashing across his eyes before he composed himself. Coughing into his fist to cover the lapse, he gave Twilight a charming smile and said, “Time is running very short Twilight Sparkle, and there’s no guaranteeing I can finish the Two Hundred and Forty Fourth Age and confirm its fitness for habitation before the end. Knowing that there is a working Book within reach will make things… less stressful for me.”

If you have a working Book there’s no need to finish Two-Forty-Four, Twilight thought, And if that Book lets you get to Star Swirl, all the better. Aldro returned to the table and started putting his gloves back on, and Twilight hesitated in her move to bring out the trapped book. The Kl’kai dog seemed to be gearing up to go back outside, and since he’d apparently powered the Linking books, it was entirely possible that Twilight and Rainbow could bring Clover through the Age while Aldro was gone, letting them get away without his knowing. She was also starting to question the morality of trapping him in a book. She had seen what time spent in a virtual void had done to Star Swirl’s rebellious apprentices, and if there was a chance Aldro was being sincere she couldn’t feel justified subjecting him to that. He lied about Clover and the Moiety’s intentions though, a mental voice that sounded like Rainbow Dash’s pointed out to her.

He could just have assumed the worst, she argued back at herself, He obviously doesn’t know Clover Wrote a link to a new, stable world.

Because she doesn’t trust him, the other voice countered, we’ve only just met him, while Clover and Nyx spent a year on Sohndar and haven’t changed their opinion of him. They’d know better than us.

Besides, if he has reformed, couldn’t Star Swirl just Write a way out for him later?

“Aldro,” Twilight spoke up just as he was reaching for his spear gun. He paused and looked back at her quizzically, and she levitated the trap book out of her bag. “I’ve already managed to retrieve the book.”

“Ah, good,” Aldro said, turning to face her, lifting his goggles up and casting his gloves aside, “I’m impressed Twilight Sparkle; the Moiety are nearly impossible to pin down. How did you manage it, if I may ask?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Twilight said evasively. It was a true enough statement; she doubted she’d have managed it if the Moiety hadn’t come to her.

“Well, give it here,” Aldro said, reaching through the bars to grab the book. Twilight relinquished it with only token resistance, and sat back as Aldro opened the book, flipping quickly to the back. He contemplated the image in the link panel for a few seconds, and then turned back to the front and skimmed through the words. He read through a few more pages, frowning slightly in thought, turned back to the link panel, and made a few false starts at touching it. Twilight started to sweat and struggled to keep the nervousness out of her face. Did he suspect anything? She couldn’t tell, and so she stayed as still and natural-looking as possible. She started to wonder how she’d retrieve the book once Aldro used it, but before the thought could completely formulate the canine closed the book, reached through the bars, and opened it to present the linking panel to Twilight. “Perhaps you should go through first,” he said, voice grim and eyes locked on hers.

Twilight froze, staring at the innocuous-looking aerial view of Aitran Island hiding the link’s true nature. Aldro was indeed suspicious, and now Twilight was caught in an impossible choice. If she refused, she’d confirm Aldro’s suspicions and the entire plan would be shot. If she did as he said, he’d be convinced the book was genuine, but she’d be trapped as well. No, that’s not right, her flailing rationality shouted over the din of panic, Remember what Star Swirl said would have happened if you’d fully repaired Sirrus or Archeon’s book? You’d have swapped places with them. Trap books only hold one prisoner.

“Is something the matter?” Aldro asked, bringing Twilight back to the present.

Twilight shook her head. “Just a little worried about being able to get back to Sohndar quickly enough to get my partner out. She’s… not doing well after our encounter with the Moiety. There should still be enough time though.” Quickly, before she could lose her nerve, she reached up a hoof and touched the trapped linking panel.


The darkness didn’t fade away. There was no sound. Twilight could feel her body, but there didn’t seem to be anything around her, not even a floor. There seemed to be air aplenty to breathe, because her lungs and heart were working a bit of overtime from anxiousness. She knew she wouldn’t die of starvation – probably – considering how long Sirrus and Archeon had undergone their ordeal. However, those books had been on Aitran, where the passage of time was all but nonexistent. Twilight wondered whether the location of a trap book had an effect on time’s passage for the prisoner, or whether it was based on the supposed destination, or possibly neither and every trap book led to a timeless void. She wasn’t in a hurry to come to a conclusion, she just needed to keep her mind off her helpless state until-

An image appeared before her. It was Aldro, busily slipping on his gloves and checking his spear gun while giving the book only a cursory glance. Twilight didn’t know if he’d be able to see her if he paid attention, so she kept silent and tried to will herself out of the link panel’s frame. Surprisingly, the image did shift up a ways, giving her a skewed view of the top of Aldro’s head and the building’s ceiling. After a moment, the light went away again as Aldro placed his hand on the panel.


Reality asserted itself again, and Twilight found herself on the floor, outside the cage, with the book laying closed next to her. She picked herself up, shook herself out, and then levitated the book up and opened it to the linking panel. Aldro’s head filled the middle of the rectangular panel, and behind him she could still make out the moving aerial image of Aitran. Aldro’s face was blank with shock, which soon contorted into frustrated realization and rage.

“You… you…” he sputtered, too angry for words.

Despite herself, Twilight smiled at him in a fair impression of Princess Celestia after a good-natured prank. “Gotcha,” she said, closing the book on him.