The next morning, after a hearty breakfast and a flurry of last-minute preparations and excessive checklisting, Twilight and Spike left the Ponyville library in the hooves of Rarity and Fluttershy and took the Link to Materan. Star Swirl was waiting for them on the patio and ushered them into his study once they had gotten their bearings.
“Hey, quick question,” Spike said, “Is there any way to get in and out of this place without using a book?”
“Yes,” Star Swirl answered simply, and then took note of the saddlebags Twilight was wearing, each looking near to fully packed. “May I ask what’s in those bags?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure what we’d be likely to encounter,” Twilight said, “so I made sure to pack plenty of nice sturdy notebooks, some pencils, and food to last me and Spike for a day or two. Is it too much?”
“I tried to talk her out of it,” Spike said in a weary tone, “I mean, there’s a way for us to get bail out if we need to, right?”
“Technically yes,” Star Swirl said, taking a couple of books out of his desk, “It would take you to Aitran though, not back here. That’s one of the tasks I have for you on top of looking around: find the Aitran book in I’strukun, assuming it’s still intact, and replace it with a Materan book I’ll give to you.”
“What are the other tasks?” Twilight asked.
“Just one other,” the stallion replied, “I spoke with Nyx about your offer yesterday, and after some discussion I agreed to let her accompany you. If the Lesson Worlds seem to be unmolested, then she will undertake the challenges they pose. Allow her to take the lead on solving the puzzles and try to help her discover the principles each world exemplifies on her own.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Twilight asked, “I don’t know the answers any more than she does.”
Star Swirl laughed and levitated the books to her. The bottom book was a copy of Materan while the one on top was smaller, hoof-bound, and looked more like a journal. “I recorded my impressions on each Lesson World as I developed them for use, and each entry concludes with the lesson I wanted the world to impress on attentive visitors. Let it guide you in identifying anything that’s broken or in overseeing Nyx’s journey. Don’t let her know you have it; she’s a good girl, but won’t hesitate to use every shortcut she can find.”
“I get you,” Twilight said, taking the books and stowing them carefully in her bags, “That’s something most colts and fillies have in common.”
“I suppose you are right,” Star Swirl said, “Nyx should still be getting ready, so why don’t you get a start on reading?” Twilight nodded and went over to the far side of the study, laying down as she brought out the journal and began reading.
She managed to read through the entry on I’strukun when there was a knock at the study door followed by Nyx nudging it open and walking in, wearing a saffron-colored vest with pockets and a saddlebag that looked far less packed than Twilight’s own. Her attention was focused on Star Swirl, so Twilight surreptitiously put the journal away before standing up and walking back to the desk. “Morning Twilight,” the filly said in a cheerful tone that betrayed her excitement at what lay ahead, “You… look ready.” She eyed Twilight bulging saddlebags with some amusement, causing Twilight to chuckle in embarrassment.
“I guess I am,” she said, “How about you Spike? Still coming with us?”
“Of course,” the baby dragon replied promptly.
“Very well then,” Star Swirl said, removing a book from his shelf and setting it on the desk in front of the gathered trio, opened to the linking panel on the final page, “Have a safe journey. With luck, you should be able to finish the course by the end of the day.”
I’strukun
I Wrote this world with the intention of finding a place to serve as a central hub from which the four Lesson Worlds could be accessed, but I did not expect to find it already perfectly suited to my needs, or nearly so. While I worked on the finishing touches – mainly cleaning and repairing worn-out machinery and configuring the illusion viewer and locks in the central tower – I failed to find any evidence of the people who had built the vaults into the island’s tusk-like towers and given the disrepair of the various locking mechanisms I think it’s highly unlikely anything will be stopping by to protest my use of their property.
This island I have dubbed I’strukun would make a tiring place to live on without wings, as it seems to be mostly made of cliffs and giant boulders with ladders and stairs carved into them, fully encircling a low freshwater pond from which the central “tusk” rises to a dominating height. It is a small island, and impossible to get lost on.
Part of me worries that I’strukun is too perfect as a hub world, but nothing has ever gone wrong there and so I ignore those thoughts.
Nyx was the first to arrive on I’strukun, followed by Twilight and finally Spike. They found themselves on the flat top of a rock next to a short lantern with three glass lenses and a big red glass ball set in the top. To their right was a tall, dark monolith of a rock and directly ahead was a metal bridge that led around to the right. A sandy beach was visible close by and below the group’s current level, and the sound of the ocean’s surf filled the air. In the far distance, they could see what appeared to a gargantuan white tusk rising up out of a cliff, along with some of the trail they’d need to take to reach it and another lamppost. To the left was another short bridge to much larger rock from which a second tusk jutted into the air. To the right, just visible past the towering monolith, was a third tusk tucked into cliffs that seemed to plunge below sea level, and a couple more lampposts could be seen at certain highpoints along the trails there.
“Ok, let’s get started,” Nyx said, trotting off almost immediately toward the nearest tusk-tower.
“Hold on a second Nyx,” Twilight said, grabbing the filly’s tail in a light magic grip, “We should come up with a plan first, a way to search the island quickly for damage or trouble. Once we get that out of the way you can put all your focus on the Lesson Worlds.”
“Ok,” Nyx said, “I’m listening.”
“I think we should each check out one of the tusks,” the lavender unicorn said, “If Cirrus and Archeon destroyed anything, those would probably be the most likely spots to have things worth destroying.”
Spike had wandered over the railing at the edge of the rock and was looking at something past the rough monolith. “Twilight,” he said, “There’s a tower right over here. I’d be willing to bet the old exit book we’re supposed to replace will be in there somewhere.”
Twilight went over to take a look and saw a fourth tusk-like spire crowned with a round building made of red metal with a ring of windows just below the gently curved roof and what seemed to be a bubble-shaped window on the side. “That sounds like a reasonable guess to me Spike,” she said, “Would you mind handling that, and then you can investigate the tusk over that way.” She indicated the first tusk.
“Sure thing Twi,” the dragon said, holding out a hand to accept the Materan book Twilight levitated over to him. As he walked away, he heard Twilight ask Nyx to investigate the closest tusk while she would go around to the final one. The bridge led him around the corner of the monolith and out of sight of the mares and then right up to the base of a ladder set into the side of another tall rock. He couldn’t see the tower from this position, but he guessed he’d find a way into the building from the top of the ladder, and so he carefully gripped the book against his back with his tail in order to free up his hands and started climbing. He only made it a couple of rungs up when something peered out over the edge and gave Spike pause. The dragon blinked and rubbed his eyes in disbelief and when he opened them again the figure was gone. “That was weird,” he said to himself, “Coulda sworn I just saw Pinkie Pie. But she couldn’t possibly be here, could she?”
“I don’t think you’ll want to go this way Twilight,” Nyx said after the two had crossed the bridge toward the nearest tusk, “There doesn’t seem to be any other paths off this rock.”
Twilight looked around and found that she had to agree. She could see a number of stairs leading up and over other rocks between her and her intended destination, and a bridge farther along that seemed to lead almost to the tusk, but in order to reach the trail she’d either have to jump off the rock she was on – a fall of at least ten feet into the water by her estimate – or find another way down. As she turned to leave, however, Nyx raised a hoof to ask her to wait.
“Let’s get a few things straight,” the filly said, “I’m only here to take the lessons this world and the others offer, and I know the only reason Father is letting me is because you’re here to babysit me.”
“Nyx, I’m not going to-” Twilight started to protest.
“Eh eh eh,” Nyx cut in, “I’m not holding it against you, and I don’t mind having company, but don’t try holding my hoof through this. I want you to promise me you’ll let me take the lead when we get around to visiting the other worlds, and if you figure something before I do don’t tell me unless I’m really, truly stumped.”
“I promise Nyx,” Twilight said, “I’ll stay out of your way.”
“Good,” Nyx replied, “and in return, I promise not to sneak a peek at the journal Father gave you.” She laughed at Twilight’s nonplussed reaction and added slyly, “Yeah, I saw you with that book when I came into the study. I figure it’s something Father gave you to help you figure out if anything we find is broken, and that means it probably has all the answers. I’m going to do this course right, with no cheating.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Twilight said, “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s cheating on a test.”
All of a sudden, a loud cry sounded from the direction of the central tusk, a cry that pierced Twilight through the heart with icy fear. “TWILIIIIGHT! HELP ME!”
“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, and she and Nyx charged across the bridges between them and where the scream had originated. Twilight hardly paused when she came upon the ladder rungs set into the rock at the end of the path, instead wrapping herself in a levitation field and all but rocketing upwards. When she touched down on the top of the rock, she saw a strangely familiar-looking pony kicking her little assistant the last foot or so across a bridge and into the red building on the top of the central tusk before galloping in herself and slamming the door shut. “Pinkie?” Twilight muttered in a brief moment of confusion, but then shook it off and ran across the bridge to the door. The handle turned easily in her magic grip, but the door itself refused to budge, and through a small round window she could see a second door which also had a window, providing her a very small and slightly fish-eyed view of the room beyond. She could see the pink pony pacing impatiently on the far side of what looked to be a fenced pit in the middle of the room, but there was no sign of Spike.
“Twilight, what happened?” Nyx asked breathlessly. Twilight turned around to see the young unicorn pulling herself up onto the rock from the ladder.
“Spike’s been kidnapped,” Twilight said, fretting, “I don’t see the book back to Materan anywhere, so the kidnapper might have that too, and I can’t get this door open!” She blasted the door with a bolt of pure magic from her horn, but it just splashed off harmlessly. “Gah, seriously? Open up!” She spun around and gave the door as solid a kick as she could, but didn’t leave so much as a dent in the metal. Seething with frustration, Twilight finally resorted to furiously knocking on the door, shouting, “Spiiike!”
“Twilight,” Nyx said, trying to get her attention, “This isn’t working.” The lavender unicorn didn’t seem to register her statement, so she spoke up louder, “We should look for another way in!”
“Another way?” Twilight asked incredulously, “what makes you think there’s another way in?”
“Because there usually is,” Nyx said, rolling her eyes, “That’s how Father is about these things: he makes sure there’s always a way to get through or around a lock, even if it’s not obvious.”
Twilight stopped and took a long, calming breath. “Right then,” she said, scrutinizing the door and the wall around it, “I… don’t see anything noteworthy here.”
“There might be a back door,” Nyx said, heading back to the ladder. She stopped at the top and frowned down at it, trying to figure out how to get on it from her position. Twilight smiled slightly as she joined the little unicorn, and then picked her up and teleported both of them down, and then went a step farther by teleporting down onto the small sandy beach below the rocks. “Wow,” Nyx said as Twilight trotted off to the left, crossing over a shallow tidepool under the bridge between their arrival point and the closest tusk, “That’s a neat trick. Uh, can you put me down now?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry,” Twilight said, blushing as she realized Nyx was still wrapped in a telekinetic bubble. She climbed up onto a rock that stood between her and the trail leading around the island before setting the filly down.
“It’s ok,” Nyx said, “but, if you can do that, why didn’t you just teleport past the door?”
“I didn’t have a good enough view,” Twilight answered, pressing on down a set of stairs carved into the rock, “If I can’t clearly see or picture my destination, the spell doesn’t work.” The stairs took them close to the side of the central tusk and onto a bridge leading to a rock platform very close to one of the outer tusks. There was a brown door set into the side of the tower, but a long gap separated it from the platform. “Curious,” Twilight muttered before looking around and down. Another bridge led from the platform to a set of stairs heading upward, continuing what was likely to be a very hilly loop trail around the island. Far below, she could see the base of the central tusk, around which had gathered a small lake of water and a little vegetation. What really caught Twilight’s eye, however, was the rounded roof of a structure built into the tusk’s base. “Well, that should do,” Twilight said, “come on Nyx.” Leaning over the edge to get a good look at a landing point, she pulled Nyx close and teleported them both down onto a bridge linking the far side of the lake to the building, which seemed to be made mostly of stained glass windows and a metal roof. Without hesitation, Twilight trotted up to the wooden door and pulled it open. Almost immediately after walking inside, she found the way blocked by a metal gate, but to its right was a lever of obvious purpose. The gate swung open to the left, mirrored by another gate a few feet away to allow access to a second door to the outside. The gates were now blocking off an alcove filled with plants that looked like they’d been nibbled on and framing a large button on a short pedestal. Across from the alcove stood a short hallway leading into a larger room inside the tusk-tower itself, but a third gate blocked access to it until Twilight pressed the button and it tilted down to settle into the floor.
As Twilight and Nyx entered the room, the unicorn filly took note of a patchwork hammock hanging between a hook on the right wall and one of the two pillars in the middle of the room which helped to hold up the high roof and supported a C-shaped desk between them. A number of objects sat on the desk and on improvised shelves and end tables lining the right wall, and an unfinished portrait of a pony was painted on the wall on the left. Twilight, however, ignored all of this when she spotted an elevator on the far side of the room. It was shaped like a round booth, kept inside a black metal cage with crisscrossing diagonal bars. “Wait here Nyx,” Twilight said, galloping around the room and then around to the backside of the elevator to find the door, “I don’t want you getting hurt when I deal with that dragon-napper.”
“What? I can help!” Nyx exclaimed, but to no avail. Twilight entered the elevator, slid the door shut behind her, and then located the lever to start it placed outside the booth but accessible through a small window. The cage rotated around the elevator a hundred and eighty degrees, quickly swung back to its original orientation, and then the elevator began to rise. Nyx watched it go with a grumpy pout until it vanished from sight up the shaft. “I’m not helpless,” she grumbled to herself.
The elevator ride was quick and smooth, something Twilight was grateful for, but when it reached the top she realized she had a problem. When she slid the door open, she found herself immediately confronted with the door leading out to the upper approach to the central tusk, which was still locked by some mechanism she couldn’t see thanks to the elevator blocking it. She was facing the wrong way! At the back of the elevator booth was a round window, which gave her a view of the room she was trying to get to that was only marginally better than before and still not good enough for Twilight to feel safe teleporting. She could see the disturbingly familiar pink pony at the back of the room, standing over a dazed and hog-tied Spike. The pony was looking directly toward Twilight, apparently aware that the elevator had come up. After a second, she smiled in a taunting and creepy manner.
“Think you’ve caught up to me already, huh?” she asked, and Twilight took an involuntary step back in shock. The stranger sounded as much like Pinkie Pie as she looked, but there was still something off. “Here to take back your little friend?” she asked, giving Spike a light kick, “Or how about your book?” She poked her head under one of her wings – Wings! That’s it! She has bat wings! – and pulled out the Materan linking book for a second before tucking it away again. “Not yet I’m afraid,” she continued, sauntering over to a tiny table of some sort with a lamp hanging over it at the left side of the pit in the floor. She reached under her wing again and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and placed it on the table, flattening it out with a hoof. The lamp turned on and a gear-shaped ring dropped off the bottom of the table and out of sight and then floated back into place. A moment later, a small golden lattice cage shaped like a pointed flower bud rose out of the pit on the end of a similarly golden post. The bat-winged Pinkie doppelgänger retrieved the paper and stashed it under her wing again, and then looked at the window and said, “If you wanna catch me, better move faster, Star-swirly!”
“Star-swirly?” Twilight mumbled, confused, “does she think I’m…? No, no time to stand around wondering.” She looked around and found a green button in the wall outside the elevator’s side window, and pressed it. The elevator activated and began taking her back down to the lower room. “I’ll be back for you Spike,” she said, “Hold on.”