The Traveler

As months pass by quickly, I continue searching around the dark forest while we get to know each other's language. With no reliable way to learn languages, a year passes by when we are finally able to communicate clearly to each other. Spending quite a lot of time together, we both learn to share a light laugh from our interactions over the past two springs.

While helping the human who still can't remember his name pick zap apples, Equise finishes harvesting her tree and sets the last few apples from it down when she recalls how close she came to bearing a foal. Still holding one apple in her magic, she spins it round and round slowly as she gets lost in thought. Thinking of how the apple's shape stirs up her desire for foals, she sighs wistfully and asks, "Hey Trav, do you remember what happened during the final day of spring this year?"

Once I finish harvesting the apples I can reach, I add them to my backpack and nod, saying, "I do indeed remember that, you would have succeeded in your endeavor if that pot hadn't fallen off the hook and made you jump forward. You learned just how skilled I am with my tongue."

Frowning lightly as a soft blush colors her cheeks, she chuckles a moment later and says, "I've always known you were good with that particular body part, but what are your thoughts about us trying for a foal this coming spring?"

Not surprised at her bringing it up again this fall while harvesting apples, I make my way to her and place my hand upon her cheek, saying, "I didn't let you have your way the first season because we didn't know each other yet, I turned you down this last spring for the same reason. Be honest with me, Equa, do you think that our relationship is to the point where either of us are ready to discuss children? We've only just learned how to hold a full conversation..."

Equise knows that he is right and leans into his touch with a sigh, saying, "I know that our relationship is still young, but I can feel this yearning burning brightly in my heart. It feels like I am being called to fulfill a purpose, and it gets even stronger with each spring passing without becoming with foal. So...can we please try for a foal this coming spring, dear?"

Noticing the hope in her eye as she nuzzles against my palm, causes something to change within me and leave me unable to turn her down a third time, saying, "We can keep discussing it with clear heads and then I'll come to a decision the day before the season hits you, does that sound fair?"

A hopeful smile crosses her face, making her rush forward and hug him affectionately, saying, "I know that is only a step in the right direction, but I cant help but be happy at the progress our relationship is making."

Time Skip

As we spend the next few months discussing having a foal, I give in to Equise's earnest wishes to try for a foal in a few weeks. However, the plans are put on hold when a terrible sickness spreads throughout the pony race, causing us both to choose to wait until it is safer.

Time seems to pass by slowly as the scarlet fever rages through the pony race, unfortunately even passing to Equise first, then me two weeks later.

Fear and worry rule over the alicorn's mind as her lover's condition grows worse, getting to the point where the possibility of his death terrifies her. Desperate and not wanting to lose him, she then asks her lover's companion, "Is there anything at all that I can do to save him?"

Running another scan over him, Evette looks at her and says, "Scans indicate that the sickness affecting him has an anomalous trait, containing a slightly magical signature throughout the disease's structure. Normal remedies will not work against it, which means he will perish unless you locate someone skilled with both remedies and magic."

Capable of thinking of only two names, she then asks, "How much time do I have to still save him?"

The AI looks at her and says, "You have three full days and must be back before the sun is high in the sky or it will be too late for him. Do what you must to prepare quickly, for time is already against you."

Nodding her head and thinking of what to do, she hides his suit in the closet along with his backpack, then strips him down to his skin and lays him on the couch. Never having to use this complex spell usually, she casts it upon her lover and watches his body take on the form of a tan earth pony stallion with blue eyes and a night sky filled with tiny starbursts. Satisfied with the change, she fights the urge to kiss his cheek, saying, "Stay right here dear while I go get some help."

Too weak to do more than open my eyes and nod my head, I mumble, "O...kay."

Hurrying outside after hiding his clothing in the closet, she heads behind the house and casts an invisibility shield over the ship itself. Checking its placement quickly to ensure that it doesn't touch any part of the house, she alters her own appearance into that of a pegasus with her same colors and flies up into the air to go find Star Swirl the Bearded and Mage Meadowbrook.

Unable to do anything at all but lie down as my body attempts to cook me from the inside, I barely register the sound of a door opening and the sound of voices. Delirious from the sickness affecting me, I open my eyes to see the fuzzy image of a mare in front of me holding my head up.

Fighting her urge to pace and hover over him, Equise watches the two spend a couple of days trying different remedies. As sunrise comes on the fourth day, she nervously starts plucking hairs out of her mane out of worry as nothing seems to work. When the sun begins to set, she starts to lose hope and fights to keep herself together.

Things take a turn, however, when they try one more remedy late at night and causes his fever to finally break, causing Mage Meadowbrook and Star Swirl to sigh in relief as she says, "Whew, I'm glad that you were able to come up with a way to get ahead of the virus, I never could have imagined that a pony could be born without any magic at all."

Star Swirl looks the stallion over, using a spell to examine him once again to confirm what his earlier castings told him, saying, "So am I, Meadowbrook. When I first discovered that he did not have any connection to magic, I was perplexed, and shocked by what my spell told me. I am glad that you were able to come up with a usable solution with my help, resulting in one more life saved." Turning back to the pegasi mare that found him and asked for their help, he asks, "No offense, but I wasn't born yesterday, miss. Would you kindly drop your facade and his as well so that we can talk about what is really going on here?"

Sighing, Equise nods her head and says, "I was hoping to keep you from discovering him so soon, the last thing I want is for him to become some science project. Guess I should have known better than to fool your keen eyes and magic." She then undoes the spell she cast upon herself, returning to her alicorn form and heading to a different closet to grab a blanket, saying, "Let me give him some decency before I turn him back..."

Mage Meadowbrook looks at the pegasi's original form with wide eyes and stammers, saying, "Wh-Wh-Whu-What is the spirit of the first alicorn doing here?!"

Letting out a soft chuckle, Star Swirl looks at her and says, "She has been around since I can remember, and she is no spirit. She is living just as we are, though it is not known how slowly she ages. Just like her name, it may remain a mystery for a long time."

With a smile, she lays they blanket over the lower part of her lover and then undoes her spell, watching as he returns to his furless, human form, saying, "Allow me to introduce to you, a visitor not native to our world. Sadly, he has lost nearly all his memories of his life, retaining only the most basic of knowledge regarding speech, bodily functions, and basic needs. I have came to call him Trav, which is short for Traveller."

As the two of them look on with wide eyes at the strange human before them when Star Swirl says, "No wonder why it was strange for him to not have a connection to the magic on our world, he isn't from here at all." Letting out a nervous breath, he says, "In order to cure the Scarlet Fever within him, I had to create a connection to our world's magic inside him." Looking up at the alicorn, he finishes, saying, "He will need a fair bit of looking after, but he will recover from his illness. I would like to stay a bit longer to ask you questions about him, but unfortunately, I have other duties to attend to."

Mage Meadowbrook then smiles and says, "As do I, there is a terrible epidemic of Swamp Fever in a nearby village that I must treat before it gets out of control, I wish the human a quick recovery."

Before they can take their leave, Equise looks at them and says, "Thank you for saving his life, I would greatly appreciate it if we could keep knowledge of his existence here a secret until other ponies are more welcoming to other creatures. Do you think that you can abide my request?"

Bowing their heads, Star Swirl is the first to answer, saying, "It was my pleasure to be of assistance ma'am. We will not tell a soul about his existence here as long as we live." when Meadowbrook replies a second later and bids her a good day before heading for the door.

Once they leave, the alicorn spends the next week tending to his needs until he recovers, telling him what happened when she went to find help.

Finally back on my feet after falling ill and unable to care for myself, which felt like an eternity of suffering in itself, I stand beside my lover and hug her around the base of the neck, saying, "Thank you for taking such good care of me like you did, it really shows how much you care for me."

Loving the affectionate hug, she nuzzles against his suit, saying, "I've come to care about you quite a lot these past few years, but now that you are healthy once again, can we still try for a foal when spring comes back around?"

Moving my hand to the back of her head, I rub the base of her ear with the first three fingers on my right hand, saying, "Of course we can. Since the pony who gave me a connection to this world's magic, do you think that one of you could try to teach me?"

Pressing her head into his hand blissfully, she moans softly, saying, "Oh yes, right there dear, right there..." Once the massage ends, she remembers what he asked her and says with a light chuckle, "Of course, though I think that Star Swirl might be a better teacher than I would, he seems to have more patience than I do. However, I felt it best for you to remain a secret until others can tolerate strange creatures better."

Nodding my head to that, I say, "I can understand that, thank you for wanting to protect me from an excessive amount of negative feelings from others. I'm sure that fear and anger can make others do strange things they normally wouldn't do."

As they go about their days, Equise and the human wander through more parts of the Everfree Forest they haven't searched yet as they skirt around the far outskirts of the village they came upon as she asks, "Dear, what kind of material are searching for this time?"

Returning to the forest, I walk for a ways before letting out a sigh, saying, "I was hoping to come across some rare metal called Platinum, for I need a fair bit to be able to repair some critical systems on my starship needed for traveling through space. I did find some traces of that metal in the mountain I completely hollowed out three years ago, but nowhere near enough to repair a single thing. It appears that we will have to give up on exploring the forest and head out into the world to continue searching elsewhere for it."

Happy to hear it, she smiles with joy on her face, saying, "Oh I was hoping you would suggest we leave the forest!" Clearing her voice and calming down a bit, she says, "Don't get me wrong, I love our house in the middle of nowhere, but a mare like me needs to wander and keep an eye on what is happening throughout the world of Equis. My mother made me its sole guardian after all."

Her words dance around inside my head, tickling at the notions of a thought that might lead to an idea. Looking at her with a smile, I then say, "Then what are we waiting for, let's go see the world your grandmother created out of boredom."

From her place in the spirit realm on the moon, an ancient, ethereal alicorn huffs and reaches through the veil with her magic and shrieks into the human's ear, shouting, "INSOLENT WORM! I MOST DEFINITELY DID NOT CREATE AN ENTIRE WORLD WITH MAGIC OUT OF BOREDOM! IT WAS DIVINE INSPIRATION THAT LED ME TO CREATE THIS SLOWLY EVOLVING WORLD!"

Rubbing my ear to get rid of the ringing in it, I then shrug my shoulders and say, "Whatever you say Kettle."

Unable to hold back her laughter at the snort that blows his hair away, she snickers and hears her grandmother call him a hairless primate under her breath. When he asks what just happened, she says, "My grandmother used her magic to be able to speak to us through the veil separating the spirit realm from ours."

With a smirk on my face, I then ask, "Well, shall we head home to gather what we need for what may be a long journey of discovery?"

Nodding her head, she follows him back to their home and uses her magic to set perishables into a pile on the floor. Grabbing a few pillows and blankets, she adds them to a separate pile before creating a sign and hanging it on the door, reading, 'We have decided to explore the world, for how long, we do not know. Apologies for the inconvenience, we shall return to this humble home...one day in the future. Please check back every so often after two months have passed, if this sign is gone, we have returned.'

With what we need for an adventure stored in my pack, I stand outside our home and ask, "So dear, where would you suggest we start our search for platinum?"

Thinking it over, she then remembers a developing village of crystal ponies far to the north, saying, "Well, I do remember a village from a decade ago or so that belonged to an isolated tribe of earth ponies which were slightly different from the earth pony tribe, I recall that the three pony tribes moved here from the far northern lands that have long since became inhospitable to the tribes. Now, those lands are called the Frozen North and are ravaged by severe snowstorms." Getting back to the main part, she says, "There are some mountain ranges several miles north of this forest, though we will have to take a meandering route due to a few towns of ponies located across the land in a few places and a few nomadic pony herds wandering from place to place."

Nodding my head, I then say, "Alright then, lead the way dear."

Making her way around to the back of the house, she walks past the ship and asks, "Will this be safe here if we are gone for a while?"

I look at my hauler and nod, saying, "No one but me will be able to get inside the ship because I locked it up, even if they do stumble past your protective barrier and find a way to break into it, they won't be able to start it because I have the key with me at all times."

Taking leave of our property, we trek through the forest on a journey to explore the world before us with a quest to find the rare metal Platinum.

Making our way through the Everfree and then across grassy plains, we remain watchful for ponies in the area around us while making a large loop around the city Equise tells me was newly built called Canterlot. Several weeks after passing Canterlot, we arrive at a mountain range made from crystal. Scanning it for any materials I need, I discover a small amount of Platinum running in veins throughout the lower portion of the mountain.

Taking me only an hour to mine what Platinum I can find, I am disappointed at how much more I need to gather to be able to repair anything on my ship and kick a rock down the tunnel I carved through the mountain to the other side, saying, "I was hoping to get more than that from all that crystal I harvested..." Deciding to leave the tunnel open as a shortcut through the mountain, I walk out of the tunnel's end and begin to discard a fair amount of the crystal so that I have room for what I still need to collect.

While she watches him discard the crystal he had to mine through, she hears voices echo down the tunnel and gasps, then hurries to her lover's side, saying in a low tone, "We need to make our way to the west of here now, I heard voices coming from the other side of the tunnel."

Nodding, I stop dumping the crystal from my pack and hurry after her, asking in a low tone, "Do the voices belong to anyone you know?"

Shaking her head, Equise says, "They were too far away to tell yet, and I don't feel like hanging around to find out...especially not with us being so close to the village of Crystal Ponies north of here."

Making our way west a fair distance, we then head north and keep going in that direction for a few days while feasting on the crystal berries we find growing all across the cold land. Once we reach the mountains to the north, I discard the rest of the crystal I collected after scanning the area and find a bit of Platinum.

We wind up spending a few weeks wandering the edge of the mountain range, searching for Platinum as we go. When we make our way back east, I see a mountain peak that towers above everything I have seen so far, turning to my lover and ask, "Do you want to climb this mountain with me?"

She looks up at the peak to see snow blowing across its southern face and shivers, saying, "I would love to, but I don't know a spell to keep warm in really cold weather. I would rather stay here or go see how the Crystal Ponies are getting along here. Would you mind me going to check on them while you climb this mountain?"

Smiling, I then shake my head and say, "Alright, I understand. It would not bother me in the slightest, so follow your heart's desire."

Happy with his answer, she hugs him with her wings and says, "I will be back in about four days, so please try to be back on the ground by that time."

Nodding my head, I hug her back and then say, "That should be no problem at all, go and observe the Crystal Ponies to your heart's content."

She watches him turn towards the mountain and approach it, then start to climb it as she turns to go check on the tribe of Crystal Ponies south of their location. As she spends a few days observing them from a cloud above, she smiles upon the progress they are making so far as she watches one mare acting as a leader for them all. She is then surprised by a shout coming from the north, listening closely to the distant echo to hear a familiar voice shout, "I can see all of Equestria from the top of Mount Everhoof! I feel as if I'm standing on top of the world!"

Those words cause her to giggle from her crowd and smile fondly towards the very peak of the mountain to the north, however, her eyes are drawn to the ground below when she spots a sparkle from below her followed by the rising sound of laughter and cheering coming from the ground. Getting a little closer and focusing on the ponies, she watches as their coats begin to reflect the sun's rays. Finding this discovery very interesting, she can't help but stay far longer than she originally intended. With nothing further going on with them, she makes her way to the mountain to share her findings with her lover.

I am east of Mount Everhoof searching for more Platinum, carving a tunnel into the base when I hear a giggle from the start of the tunnel. Chasing the vein up through the mountain, I stop and look back down the path to where the sound came from.

Hearing the sounds coming from further inside the tunnel, Equise illuminates her horn to find a path leading ahead and another upwards. She is about to take the path forward when a few traces of dust drift down from the one leading upwards, saying, "I'm guessing you found another source of Platinum, dear?"

Relieved at hearing my lover's voice, I then chuckle and answer, "I have indeed, and this one is a bit bigger than what I have been finding so far. How are things with the Crystal Ponies?"

Staying at the base of the tunnel going up, she replies, "Well they are starting to build homes out of crystal now. I did discover something new though after hearing your announcement. For one, the crystal ponies laughed and cheered moments after, I then noticed a glint from below and looked down to find that their coats started to shine a bit more and reflect the sun's rays. I think that your announcement inadvertently caused a change in the Crystal Ponies' bodies, I find myself eager to find out what becomes of their race in the years ahead."

Smiling at hearing that, I say, "I am happy to hear that their lives are improving, let me finish mining this seam and fill in the tunnel on my way down. There is something that I need to talk to you about."

Letting out a nervous sigh, she then answers, "Alright, I will wait outside the tunnel for you then." Heading outside to wait for him, several minutes pass by when she hears a noise from inside the tunnel followed by a series of other noises accompanied by a long line of cursing that draws a snicker from her when she realizes he lost his footing and tumbled down the tunnel, calling after him, "ARE YOU OKAY DEAR?"

Grumbling under my breath, I stand at the bottom of the tunnel and look at the entrance, calling back, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just stepped on a pebble and lost my footing, then slid and tumbled all the way down with my ass taking a brutal beating." Rubbing my rear for a few moments, I then grab my MTR and make my way back up to continue filling in the tunnel.

Using my pack's jets, I jump down the long tunnel and stop a little ways down to keep filling in behind me instead of trying to walk down the steep tunnel leading up. It takes me about a half hour to finish filling in that tunnel when I stop there and begin to fill in the tunnel leading further ahead, starting at the very end of it and working my way back.

As she waits outside, she watches him emerge and turn off his lights, then face the mountain and return it to how it looked before, asking, "Welcome back to the outside world dear, what is going on?"

I sit down on a crystal rock and lean my MTR against it, saying, "Well, when I was at the top of Mount Everhoof, I got a glimpse at the lands to the north and saw how they were covered in white, and ravaged by relentless wind and blizzards."

Nodding along, she says, "Yeah, the ponies were driven out of the once-warm land by the Windigoes, which were drawn there by the ponies anger and distrust towards each other. What are you getting at, dear?"

Sighing, I get to the point and say, "I know you won't like hearing this, but once I have collected enough Platinum from these mountains, I plan to put my helmet on and venture into those lands. Fear not, for I will be protected from temperatures up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, and have rechargeable hazard protection beyond that."

Worried for him, her eyes are wide with fear as she says, "Are you insane, it's way too cold for me to even fly past this mountain range?! The windigoes will turn you into a block of ice the moment they find you!"

Laying my hand upon her cheek, I look into her fear-filled eyes and say, "I won't give those green phantoms the chance to use their magic against me, because I have managed to repair a fair number of the damaged weapon modules installed on my MTR."

A tear slips from the corner of her right eye and trails down her cheek, asking in a quiet tone, "Why do you desire to go there though, don't you enjoy our adventures together?"

Rubbing her cheek with my thumb, I smile fondly at her and lean forward to kiss her forehead, saying, "Of course I enjoy our adventures together, I look forward to having even more with you. However, I need to head into the harsh land in order to find materials that can only be found in extremely cold environments."

Seeing the resoluteness in his eyes, she sighs in defeat and says, "Alright then, but I will follow you as far as I can and leave a crate of supplies for you every month where I can go no further."

Continuing to hold her cheek, I smile affectionately at her and say, "That's more than I could ever ask for, and I will be grateful each time I come to collect them."

Once he rises to his feet to resume searching for Platinum sources, a couple weeks pass by when he finally has enough of that metal. Starting to make their way to the west, it takes them just shy of two and a half weeks to reach a clear path north through the mountains.

Equise is able to follow him halfway through the pass until she can go no further without risking her wings icing over, saying, "This-s-s is as far as I g-go, any f-further and I will h-have trouble f-f-flying."

Turning around and looking at her with a solemn nod, I approach her and give her a firm hug and a kiss on the lips, saying, "I will build a structure against the mountainside here with a tall crystal marking the entrance so that you can take shelter from the cold when delivering supplies."

Nodding her head while shivering, she says, "O-Okay, dear. I-I w-will see you in a m-m-month from today. F-Farewell for n-now, I l-love you."

Smiling back with tears slipping down my face, I say, "I look forward to seeing you then, I love you too. Goodbye for now." then give her a final deep kiss before separating from her and turning towards the mountain to begin building a shelter out of the available material.

Frequent time skips continue into next chapter, sorry!