//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Aitran // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle couldn’t believe her eyes. It was him. Against all logic and laws of pony mortality, it was “Star Swirl the Bearded?!” The bearded unicorn frowned at the lavender mare’s exclamation, but his blue eyes twinkled as he said, “No, I highly doubt that you are Star Swirl the Bearded, seeing as I am Star Swirl the Bearded.” Twilight blushed and chuckled nervously. “S-sorry,” she said, dropping her gaze, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” “I could easily say the same Twilight Sparkle,” Star Swirl said, smirking, “Where did you come from anyway? Oh, do I have questions for you, and I’m sure you have a lot of questions for me as well.” “Yes sir,” Twilight said, reaching a hoof toward the linking panel, “Why don’t I-” “No!” Star Swirl shouted, holding up a hoof, “Don’t. Touch. That linking panel. There’s no way back to Aitran from here. I presume you are on Aitran Island of course.” “We are,” Twilight said, “and speaking of ‘we,’ I should show you to Rainbow Dash before we continue. Just a moment.” She closed the book, looked around, and then opened it again. “Um, how do I get out of the fireplace?” she asked. “Simple,” Star Swirl said, “just activate the panel again and the whole mechanism will reset.” Twilight nodded and hit the red switch on her left. The metal panel - now clear of the pattern of squares that had given her access to the hidden alcove - dropped back down and the room rotated a hundred and eighty degrees. Another tap of the switch sent the panel back up and Twilight crawled out into the main room of the library, the green book and the book of patterns trailing behind in her magic. “What did you decide?” Rainbow Dash asked from her spot in the middle of the floor. “I went with the third option,” Twilight said, holding the green book up while sending the pattern book back to its place on the main bookcase. When Rainbow gave her a quizzical look, she went over and sat down next to her before opening the green book to the linking panel. “Rainbow Dash,” she said, “Meet Star Swirl the Bearded. Master Star Swirl, this is my friend Rainbow Dash.” “A pleasure,” the scholarly unicorn said, bowing his head. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Rainbow asked bluntly. “Rainbow!” Twilight hissed. “I take it you’ve encountered Cirrus and Archeon?” Star Swirl asked flatly, raising one thick eyebrow. “We have,” Twilight said, “but… well, it’s been a long time since anypony’s heard from you. Nearly a thousand years in fact.” “Is that so?” Star Swirl glanced down and levitated a large fob watch from somewhere behind the desk. He looked at it for a few seconds and then said, “Well, unless this is broken, it’s only been a week for me since I got stuck in here.” “So, this book is a trap?” Rainbow asked, scooting back a little. “Not by design,” Star Swirl said, setting the watch down, “not by my design anyway.” He sighed and his ears drooped. “If you’ve spoken with Cirrus and Archeon, then you’ve been given some false information about me and my family. It’s a hard tale to tell, but let me set the record straight, so far as I know it.” “I won’t bore you with the details of how I discovered the secret of Writing gateways to other realities, but suffice it to say I made an enemy or two along the way. I designed Aitran as a place of retreat, where I could hide and protect crucial books, only for it to turn into a permanent home out of necessity. My dear Clover and I were engaged in trapping a particularly dangerous foe of ours in another world, and Aitran was the last escape route he could have used. Of course, I’d also lived through the Wendigo Winter and the resulting Great Migration, the Days of Chaos, and the banishment of Princess Celestia’s sister Luna. Retiring from life in Equestria sounded pretty good after all that.” “I can imagine,” Twilight said, “My friends and I have faced and restored Luna to normal, and dealt with Discord breaking free.” “Dear heavens…” Star Swirl said in amazement, “Time really has gotten away from me then. Never mind that though. Let’s continue. “While Clover was handling the early phases of fighting our enemy, I adopted Cirrus and Archeon as apprentices. I chose them, a pegasus and an earth pony, to see if it were possible for non-unicorns to learn the art of Writing. I raised them on Aitran, and after we had fully trapped out enemy in his world-prison, Clover joined us. We seemed to be such a happy family, and the boys were always so excited to visit new worlds with me. Once they were old enough I gave them free access to my library. But… I don’t know how I missed the signs. I returned from a long journey gathering crystals I needed for a project to find that my wife and daughter, Nyx, were gone and my books had been destroyed. At first I feared that my enemy had found a book I had missed, but as I investigated and secured the surviving books I learned the truth. Cirrus and Archeon, both of them were tearing the worlds apart in any way they could and then burned the books, the only means I had of reaching them and trying to fix the damage. When I finally caught up to them, they tried to overpower me, telling me that Clover and Nyx were lost in another world but not saying which… I couldn’t bring myself to harm them, despite all that they had done, and so I tricked them. I had never told them the purpose for the Red and Blue books; I designed them to be temporary holding cells for my enemy or greedy explorers who might find their way to Aitran. I pretended to capitulate and the boys took the bait, trapping themselves. I removed six pages from each book and hid them in the places you’ve undoubtedly retrieved them from, rooms that would serve as a reminder of their actions once I felt ready to make a judgment. After hiding the final pages, I came here to my private study to ponder and attempt to discover where Clover and Nyx had gone. Then, I discovered that my ‘apprentices’ had left one last surprise for me.” He picked a book up from the desk and held it out so Twilight and Rainbow could see the cover. It was an Aitran linking book. He opened it to the back page to show that the linking panel was nothing but a solid black rectangle. “My Books are written with meticulous formulae,” the bearded unicorn explained, “if a single character is out of place, the link will not take you where it should. Damage or remove enough of the text, and the link breaks entirely.” “So that’s what Cirrus’s message meant,” Rainbow said, “He had Archeon tear a page out of that book, didn’t he?” “I am missing a page, yes,” Star Swirl said, “unless it is found and restored to its place, I’m trapped here.” “How could he have left there himself after taking the page though?” Twilight asked. “Everdunes,” Star Swirl said sadly, “one of my earliest successes and a world I cared deeply for. Archeon had rigged a means for the Everdunes book to be burnt after he used it, and from there he would’ve easily found the local copy of Aitran.” “Couldn’t you just re-write the missing page?” the pegasus asked, “It looks like you’ve got enough paper.” “I could, in theory,” Star Swirl said, “but I would have to it from memory, and that’s not my best attribute. At best I’d still have a broken linking book, and at worst I’d turn it into a trap-book. The only hope is that the missing page still exists and can be found.” “I think I might know where to look,” Twilight said, a slow smile crossing her face. “Where?” Rainbow and Star Swirl asked at the same time. In answer, Twilight pulled out the torn note, held the halves together, and read, “Finding and using the vault is very easy. First, turn on all the marker switches found on the island of Aitran, then go to the switch located on the dock and turn it off and the hidden vault will open.” “Ah yes,” Star Swirl said with a nod, “I recall making that vault system, although I never put it to use. But how can you be sure the page is there?” “I can’t,” Twilight said, “but it’s the only thing on this island we haven’t opened up yet, and I don’t think Archeon would have had much time to hide the page in another world.” “So, we just turn off the marker switch on the dock?” Rainbow asked. Twilight nodded and the pegasus saluted, saying, “be back in a jiffy,” before zooming out of the library. “Oh, Master Star Swirl,” Twilight said, realizing something. “Please, just call me Star Swirl,” the robed unicorn said. “Star Swirl, if this is a regular linking book, how can you see me?” Twilight asked. “Ah,” Star Swirl said with a twinkle in his eye, “That took me several weeks, by Aitran time, to implement properly. There’s a spell on that book that transmits a magnified image everything the panel is pointed at onto the wall of the study. It transmits sounds as well, obviously.” Rainbow Dash returned with a light gust of wind and landed next to Twilight, a sheet of paper torn along one edge held in her mouth. “Dis it?” she asked. She let it go as Twilight gripped it in her magic and brought it over for a closer look. The text was clearly from a linking book, but that didn’t tell the unicorn very much. “The only way we’ll know is if one of you brings it to me so I can try to put it in the book.” “We can’t just, like, put it on the linking panel and send it to you?” Twilight asked with a hopeful grin. “Books would tear themselves apart if the links reacted to paper,” Star Swirl said, “No, it will only work if it is touching you when you touch the link. I know it’s a risk, so-” “I’ll do it,” Twilight said with determination. She grabbed the page in her mouth and dropped the book onto the floor before lightly stepping on the linking panel. The world vanished around her for a second before reforming as the interior of a door-less room carved into a single piece of stone and with a mosaic tiled floor. Star Swirl’s desk stood on a slightly raised portion of the floor in front of her and the old unicorn was looking at her with concern. “Well,” he said with a sigh, “give it here.” “Move your head Twilight, I can’t see,” a voice said from behind her. She looked back and saw a large image of Rainbow’s face on the wall. Comforted by the sight, Twilight trotted up to the desk and set the page down in front of Star Swirl. He picked it up in his magic and gave close scrutiny to both sides before sliding the Aitran book over and opening it to a point near the middle. “The text seems to be intact,” he said, lowering the paper into place. There was a brief glow as the page reattached to the binding and then Star Swirl turned to the final page. “The book accepts it as a valid page and the linking panel seems to working, but there’s only one way to be sure.” He placed his hoof on the page and faded from sight as a faint buzz filled the air. Twilight turned around and looked anxiously at the projection on the far wall. Rainbow jumped to the side, out of view, and after a second the image shifted as the book was picked up and aimed at a bearded grey pony face. “It worked Twilight Sparkle,” Star Swirl said, “thank you so much.” “What am I, chopped cabbage?” Rainbow groused, making Twilight chuckle as she reached up and touched the linking panel. “…for your role in this as well,” Star Swirl was saying to Rainbow when Twilight rematerialized, “speaking of which, I’m quite curious about your adventure, and how you got here,” he added, casting a glance at Twilight. “I also need to settle with Cirrus and Archeon, and I’d like to hear of your experiences with them before I make my decision. Shall we talk over lunch?” “We just ate a little bit ago,” Twilight said, “but sure.” “My biggest concern regarding you two,” Star Swirl said from the kitchen as he prepared a tall sandwich, “is how you came to be here. When I took my final leave of Equestria, I left behind only the original copy of Aitran and a solemn oath from Princess Celestia herself that it would be sealed up in the memorial tomb they would be erecting for me. You seem to be a wholesome pair of mares, but appearances can be quite deceiving.” Rainbow bristled at the veiled accusation, but a firm hoof on her shoulder from Twilight kept her in place. “So far as I know,” the lavender unicorn said, “your tomb is intact and sealed. I found the book in the Royal Archives, a very restricted-” “Yes, I know about the Archives,” Star Swirl said as he came out of the kitchen, “I had a hoof in establishing them. What would Aitran be doing in there though? The Princess wouldn’t go against her promise; she understood how important it is that the original never sees daylight again.” “I… don’t think what I found was the original,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “I only figured out that you had written it due to a note written on the inside cover. I think it said that that book was the… seventh copy?” Star Swirl froze with the sandwich nearly to his mouth, his eyes sliding to the side as he thought. “Copy seven… Where did I plant that… Oh!” His eyes went wide and he lowered the sandwich, completely bewildered. “But I dropped it into the… Oh, that is interesting.” The sandwich hung forgotten in the air as Star Swirl started to pace, eyes casting about for something to write with. Rainbow cast an amused glance at Twilight and chuckled when she returned the look with confusion. “You two must be related,” the pegasus said in a low tone. “Not likely,” Twilight muttered back, “Princess Celestia would’ve mentioned if there was a connection while I was studying his work.” “If you say so,” Rainbow demurred, rolling her eyes. “But, that’s a mystery for another day,” Star Swirl suddenly declared, coming back to the present. He sat down, took a bite of his sandwich, and then swallowed it and leaned forward. “All right,” he said, “you found a linking book where it shouldn’t have been. What happened next?” Star Swirl’s sandwich came to its end long before the mares’s tale did. After the story ended, Star Swirl began asking questions about their conversations with Cirrus and Archeon, their reactions to what they had learned and deduced, and why they continued to press on gathering the pages. Finally he lay down on his couch and closed his eyes, deep in thought. “I know what I must do,” he said after a minute, “but I am scared to act until I know what has happened to Clover and Nyx. Cirrus will try to withhold what he knows to spite me, and from what you’ve described, Archeon may not be in the right state of mind to recall the truth.” “They both said Clover was tricked into using a book you’d forbidden them to use,” Twilight said, “Archeon’s version had Nyx going into the same book first, and he noted that Clover hadn’t taken a way to leave with her.” “Hm,” Star Swirl said, thinking, “it’s obvious that neither the Red or Blue books are the culprits, since they are intended for a single occupant only.” He opened one eye and looked at Twilight and Rainbow. “If you had restored the final pages to those books, they may very well have tried to trick you into taking their places.” The mares’s faces were perfect pictures of horror as they exchanged a glance. “Besides those two,” Star Swirl said, continuing his previous thought, “there were only a couple of books I forbade the young ones access to because the worlds within are extremely dangerous, but they all had copies of Aitran in secure locations, except for…” His eyes flew open and he shot to his feet, exclaiming, “Sohndar!” He galloped out of the living area at full speed, his eyes glowing faintly with anger. “The hay?” Rainbow said, confused. “Come on,” Twilight urged, already running after Star Swirl. With the groan of someone who was dead tired of being dragged around, the cyan pegasus got up, spread her wings, and flew after the unicorns. They caught up to Star Swirl in the library, where he was throwing the red book open to the back page. His eyes were glowing a faint baby blue as he glared down at the panel, and from Cirrus’s reaction, it was clear the dusky pegasus knew he was in for it. “St-st-Star Swirl! Master, wha…” “Spare me your sniveling you wretch,” Star Swirl said with a snort, “answer me truthfully or I’ll tear out every last page and destroy them. My wife and daughter, where did you send them?” “I-it wasn’t me Master,” Cirrus protested, “Archeon-” “Where are Clover and Nyx?” Star Swirl bellowed. Twilight, who had been cautiously approaching, drew back in fright. The old grey unicorn was almost pulsing with magical energy, and Twilight could swear he was almost ready to burst into flames. “Is it Sohndar? Did you and Archeon send them to Sohndar?” “Yes,” Cirrus blubbered, “Yes I did, I- Mercy…?” The anger drained out of Star Swirl’s being and his eyes returned to normal, but he still slammed the book shut with the force of a thunder clap. “Mercy,” he muttered darkly as he turned away from the alcove, “I hope they’ll see their full punishment as a mercy.” “Wh-what are you going to do to them?” Twilight asked hesitantly. “I’m going to complete the links,” Star Swirl said. His horn flared with magic and a piece of parchment and a feather pen materialized before him. “A trap book is created by making certain changes to the descriptive formula of a linking book,” he explained as he started to write, “Cirrus and Archeon are currently caught in-between worlds, but once I make some changes to the texts, they’ll be sent to the places the books purportedly link to. They won’t find any other ponies or intelligent beings, or any linking books to allow them to leave, but at least they won’t be in total isolation anymore. We’ll see if having to fend for themselves in an unknown place changes them for the better. As for you two,” he finished, floating the parchment to Twilight, “I’m going to get you home. Go to the holographic viewer under the dock and follow those directions, then meet me back here.”