The Traveler

Frequent time skips continue from last chapter, sorry!

I never realized just how much mayhem a single alicorn infant could cause, which was somewhat doubled when Icy Step had her daughter next winter.

Thankful that we decided it best to wait until Celestia was two before having another foal, I gather the bin of diapers that needs to be emptied every week and head out towards the swamp saying, "I'll be back, dear, I'm going to go pester Marty again."

Chuckling and rocking Celestia back and forth, she looks up at the nullifying band that she and Trav frantically created to put an end to the infant's magical outbursts in order to save their house and says, "Alright dear, just try not to let any cragodiles follow you back. When you get back, we need to make another band in case our second foal is born with a horn!"

Calling out in agreement, I make my way out into the forest with the bin of diapers in my hand, my backpack and MTR on my back and my helmet on my head. Heading to the swamp I then look at the inconspicuous rock shaped heads belonging to Marty and then shout, "HEY MARTY, READY FOR OUR NEXT GAME OF TAG?!"

Lobbing a diaper into the air, I watch it splatter on the head and watch as bubbles start to rise from below, with the head rising up out of the water to reveal the growling hydra I came to call Marty. When his bulk is above the water, I then watch him roar at me with all five heads and take off running, shouting, "You're it!"

As we dash through the forest, making a mighty ruckus, Marty shoots bolts of water at me. Most of them miss, but one of them does bowl me over, sending the diapers to the forest floor. Quickly scooping a few of them back into the bin, I then take off running and saying, "Good shot, but now it's my turn!" then launch one at another head.

The game of tag goes on for about an hour with Marty chasing me the whole time until all the diapers are gone and water is dripping off my suit and backpack, jumping across the gap with help from my boosters, saying, "SAFE!" then run down the slope, saying, "I had fun, see you next week pal!"

Watching them run away, the hydra's middle head blows a raspberry at it and then turns his body around to return to his swamp when the far left head says, "Why does that creature only ever come by to throw the smelly things at us?"

The head on the far right huffs and says, "Because it knows that we will eat it if we catch it, so it needed a way to make itself feel brave and courageous."

Another head then smirks and says in a female voice, "It is kind of fun though when it visits, the attacks never cause us any pain, and we do knock them down occasionally with our water."

The middle head snarls and then says, "HEY! DON'T FORGET WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THAT SUBSTANCE GOT INTO MY EYE! I COULDN'T SEE OUT OF IT FOR A WEEK!"

Snickering, she says, "Well, that is why you need to remember to keep your inner eyelid closed whenever the creature visits with those weapons."

As the spring mating season passes by, our second alicorn daughter is born during the middle of the night during an eclipse, causing us both to come up with the name...Luna when we see her dark blue coat and vivid bluish-purple mane and tail with a pair of beautiful greenish-blue eyes.

When Celestia is five years old, I see her with her nose buried in a book about magic and turn to Equise and ask, "Dear, what do you think about finding a tutor for our girls?"

Thinking it over after having removed Celestia's magic null ring earlier that day as one of her birthday presents with the second gift being a couple of books about magic from her father, Equise says, "I think that would be a great idea, I can only think of one pony suitable for the task. Can you watch the girls for a bit while I go ask them about it?"

Nodding my head, I then say, "I would love to babysit the girls, though I think that we need talk about trying for another foal, preferably a boy this time."

Heading towards the door, she stops and looks back at him, and bursts out laughing, saying, "Alright, dear, but I think that you should know that the ratio of girls to boys here are 4:1 in the girls favor. If you really want that boy, I am willing to discuss more foals."

As the door closes behind her, I let out a soft huff at what she said, thinking, 'Being in this small house and raising 4 girls just to have another guy around?' Shaking my head at the lunacy of the idea, I then think, 'To hell with that, I don't feel like expanding our cabin even more just for male bonding.'

When Luna is old enough to finally get her own tutor, I guide Celestia into the living room and kneel down in front of her. Placing my arm upon her withers, I look into her eyes and use the thumb and forefinger on my right hand to gently lift her head away from her book and say, "Look at me sweetie, daddy needs to have a talk with you."

Thinking that she is in trouble, her eyes widen with fear as she panics, saying in a high voice, "I'M SORRY, IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR! CHILLY BREEZE WAS USING HER MAGIC TO PUT A LAYER OF THIN ICE OVER THE TOPS OF THE TREES IN THE EVERFREE FOREST AND LUNA WAS UP THERE WITH HER, TRYING TO DANCE ACROSS THE ICE! THOSE TWO ARE ALWAYS CAUSING TROUBLE FOR ME AND I ALWAYS GET BLAMED!"

Chuckling at hearing the escapade, I then shake my head, saying, "I'm not angry about that because that is all part of being the oldest sibling, it means having more responsibility for your younger sister and half-sister. This will be a great learning experience for you, I'm sure, but you will need to learn how to handle different situations. You never fail when something goes wrong, because you learned something new and there is always room to improve where you are lacking in experience. Some day in the future, you might find yourself and your sister in a position with great power and responsibility. What your mother and I need you to do for us is to look after your sister and help her with her studies when she has trouble, but be sure to have fun when you can. You can do that for mommy and I, right?"

Surprised to hear her father say that to her, her mood lifts as her confidence gets a boost. Nodding her head proudly, she takes his words to heart and stands taller with a determined smile, saying, "Yes I can, father. I won't let you down." Turning towards the hall, she then calls out, "Lulu, we need to get going!"

Heading out of her room with her head hung low nervously, Luna trots towards her sister, saying, "Sorry for keeping you waiting, I needed to use the restroom." Stopping beside her, she asks, "Do you think that the wizard will agree to teach me magic too?"

Remembering her father's words, she smiles and says, "I don't see why not, you are just as talented as I am in your own way. What spells I had trouble with, you learned with ease. We compliment each other's magic very well, in fact, I believe that we will be a force to reckon with some day."

Getting a boost to her self-esteem and confidence from her sister brings a smile to Luna's face as she says, "Let's not keep the wizard waiting any longer then, Cece."

Three years after Luna get accepted as Star Swirl's pupil, I then huff in annoyance, saying, "It still irritates me that he turned me away because 'he didn't have the time', yet, he took both of our alicorn daughters on as pupils in a heartbeat."

Chuckling, she leans against Trav's side and says, "Oh don't let it get you bent out of shape dear, he had quite a few things going on at the time. One day, I know you will find someone to help you learn magic."

Sighing as I know she's right, I open my mouth to respond when I hear a heavy knocking on the door, hearing a familiar voice call through the door, "Hello, are either of you here today?"

Happy to hear his voice, Equise says, "We both are, what brings you here today Star Swirl?"

Relieved that they both are there, he says, "The six of us have completed your task, Guardian. We are ready to do our part at your behest."

Elated to hear the news, she smiles widely and says, "That is excellent news, please come on in."

When the door opens and they walk in, I then turn to Equa and ask, "Do you want me to pay a visit to them?"

Glancing at him for a moment, she shakes her head, saying, "Not just yet, dear, I would like to talk for a bit with Star Swirl first."

Nodding my head, I pull her closer to me and say, "Have a seat everyone, make yourselves at home."

As the others that haven't met Trav before whisper to each other, Equise looks at Star Swirl and asks, "How are Trav and I's daughters doing in their studies, Star Swirl? They are doing exceedingly well I hope."

Chuckling softly, he makes his way to a rocking chair and looks over at the couple, saying, "They are doing so well that it startles me at times. In fact, Luna impressed me for the first time last fall when she successfully teleported to a location...before her sister could study the spell. OH! Did they tell you yet that they got their cutie marks at the same time, and that they can raise the sun and moon...by themselves!?!"

I listen for an hour as he goes on about our daughter's extraordinary abilities and achievements, feeling extremely proud of our girls for doing so well. As I notice Equise scoot away from me, I look at her with a curious look and ask, "Hmm? What's up, dear?"

Smiling gently at him, she looks into his eyes and says, "Why don't you go take care of that errand and come back so we can get started?"

Understanding, I then nod my head and go over to the closet to put my exosuit on, moving onto putting my backpack on. I then grab my helmet and put it on, activating the seal to see the normal information appear in their proper places before finally grabbing my MTR and slinging it over my back, looking at the others, saying, "Hopefully, I'll be back in a bit with a friend, so please try to remain calm when you first see their appearance, I promise you that they will not hurt you."

Closing the closet door as they look at me with curious and shocked looks, I then make my way to the locked door at the top of the stairs to the basement and unlock it before heading down the stairs. Locking the door behind me, I then head to the control module and use it to select the Frozen Hearth.

Once the portal activates, I walk through and head past the windigoes stationed by the controls, waving and saying, "Hello, I have come to discuss something important with your queen."

Walking past the windigoes as one hurries off ahead of me, I make my way to where the queen's throne is at and dip my head to her, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness, I have been working on a plan of great importance to the balance of the world with the blessing of the Guardian, there is one important thing that I must ask of your whole clan. Will you hear me out?"

Curious to hear, she nods her head and says, "What is this plan you have thought up, and what would be required of us?"

As I tell her about the plan to find a way to help the guardian manage the balance better, I then sigh and say, "Some years ago, my wife, Icy Step brought an idea to me of how to possibly achieve this, what she said lies between Light and Dark Magic. She said that due to your connection to this world's magic and also because windigoes are magical by nature, along with your bodies and souls being primarily composed of it...I would need to consider using a living windigo to help create a tree this special. What would be asked of you is for a few willing volunteers to sacrifice themselves so that I might be able to somehow infuse them into being part of a seed that will hopefully grow into becoming a magical, sentient, pure crystal tree capable of protecting the balance on its own to lessen the burden the Guardian has to endure."

Queen Cold Spell narrows her eyes a little and sits up straight, saying, "What you ask of my clan is a very serious thing, and must not be considered lightly." Needing to ascertain if any experiments were done and successful, she says, "Answer me these questions, have you experimented with making various types of flora from this material that thrives on its own? Were any of these experiments successful?"

Looking up at the queen, I say, "I have been experimenting for the past 9 years, successfully recreating nearly every type of flower, a few different types of crops that would do well there...weather permitting, various types of trees, including some fruit trees, a handful of nut trees, and a few types of non-food trees. I hope that you find those results satisfactory, there were other successful creations, though I destroyed them because of what their requirements were. Those being that they were to picky about what soil they needed to be planted in, or required too much water or a certain nutrient to continue thriving."

Thinking it over for a couple of minutes, the queen closes her eyes and comes to a decision, letting out a sigh, saying, "Your results are to my liking, so I shall allow 3 members of my clan to volunteer." Getting off her throne, she says, "I must address the clan, let us head outside.

After following her outside, I stand back as she finishes her speech when turns to me and asks me to state my boundaries. Stepping forth, I look around to see countless hundreds of windigoes in the air and say, "Any volunteer is allowed, unless you are not yet mature, not currently raising young, with young, coupled, or heir apparent. If you wish to volunteer together as a couple, it will be allowed. I must also inform you that I am not sure what will happen to your souls in the process, you might just simply move into another dimension or life, it is possible that you will be absorbed into the seed itself and become part of a new existence. Something like this has never been attempted before, so this is a journey into the unknown. I am sorry to say this, but this also is pretty much an experiment with high hopes that it succeeds on the first try. If this does succeed, though, you shall be part of something special, magnificent, and absolutely amazing." I then look at the queen and nod to tell her I am finished.

Turning her head towards the gathered windigoes keeping a smile off her face at hearing her daughter can't volunteer, she calls out, "If you wish to volunteer, come forward and stand by our hero."

Dead silence hangs over the area for five full minutes without anyone moving an inch, when one windigo comes down from her place in the sky slowly. She hovers before him for a moment before moving to his right side and remaining there, looking at the others and saying, "Don't you understand how big of an opportunity this is? We're being given the chance to be a part of keeping the balance in this world that we are part of, we finally have the chance to be something other than terrors of pony society. Yes, it may take a while before we are seen as a friend instead of a foe, but I have faith that it will happen...one year, a century, or perhaps even two or three millenia from now. Who cares how long we may wait for it to happen, Windigoes mature, but never age! Which means we just have to remain patient until it comes to be!"

As I stand there watching, windigoes begin to whisper things to each other, as two minutes pass by when another female windigo moves forth to stand beside the first windigo. The whispers stop as the last windigo, also being female, moves forth to stand next to the other two, looking at me while saying, "You have made me curious to see what becomes of this untested venture of yours, young one."

Something about the hero calls to the last windigo to join, who has more years of life and experience than any other, including her younger sister, Queen Cold Spell. A sixth sense of hers detects some intangible haze following the traveller, but ever remaining just beyond his grasp. Curious, she dusts off some skills she hasn't used in a very long time and begins to study him.

Walking out in front of the others, I look at each of them and say, "I thank you all for your courage and bravery in volunteering to sacrifice yourselves to see what lies ahead, you will be remembered by other windigoes and the ponies partaking in this undertaking. I will also remember you for what you have done as long as I shall live. Let us be on our way now, the great unknown calls to be discovered."

Queen Cold Spell follows them back to the teleporter and watches the group start heading toward the portal, saying, "You all will be honored for your sacrifice this day to aid the balance, and we shall erect a monument to memorialize this momentus day."

Heading through the portal, I make my way up the stairs and unlock the door before opening it, saying, "I'm back, and I brought some guests."

Watching as Trav steps aside, Equise sees not one, but three windigoes follow him through the door and says, "It makes me so happy to see that you succeeded in your task, dear." She then turns to the pillars and asks, "Do you know of a place we might be able to perform this attempt so that this tree remains hidden and protected?"

Star Swirl nods his head as he notices the human lock the door and says, "I do, it is near my castle just east of the big half-loop in the river, there's a hidden cave at the far back of the ravine that runs around the front of it. Allow me to lead us all there."

Curious, the alicorn asks, "Star Swirl, when will our daughters be returning home from their studies?"

Exiting the house and walking down the path, he looks over his shoulder and then says, "They will be returning tomorrow morning around noon after completing their supplemental lessons for where I feel they are lacking."

Nodding, Equise closes the door and lets the pillars get a little bit ahead, turning to Trav, saying, "Dear, I have been meaning to bring this up earlier, but I noticed that you have been having difficulties sleeping well every so often. Can you tell me about what has been bothering you?"

Sighing at how she noticed, I then nod and say, "You see, during the civil war between the two windigo clans, more memories returned to me as I finished collecting the cores from the fallen." I then look off in the distance and continue, saying, "The memories that came back all feel like they happened a very long time ago, as I was not even 25 at the time when I found myself sent to fight against these alien abominations. I remember that, in each of the battles I fought, I showed no mercy whatsoever to the enemy I was fighting, not even when they pleaded for their lives. Wherever I fought, there was always lots of blood, body parts everywhere, and a landscape either being a field full of craters or a city in flames. The memories stop with the war ending and me laying waste to their queen and the remainder of her army, then reducing their home planet to dust. Now, every once in a while, when I close my eyes...I find myself walking amongst the silent battlefield of dead humans and alien creatures with body parts scattered everywhere and the ground slick with green and red blood when I hear a cacophony of pained screams and pleas for aid."

Sad to hear that he has such traumatic memories, she wraps a wing around him, saying, "I am so sorry that you suffer from such horrid memories, but you will always have our family, your wife and her daughter to make happy memories with."

The wisened windigo floats up beside the Traveller as her seer ability activates on its own, turning to him, saying, "The ancient enemy has been in hiding, but they will make their play to claim this world one day. Be warned, it will be an exceedingly difficult task for you to bring change to their race. But fear not, for your treasures will return in due time as you go through life, making new memories." Her ability ends as she then blinks her eyes and shakes her head clear, saying, "The Seer ability of mine is such a nuisance because it can't be actively used...not to mention how it makes me look and sound possessed."

Pretty sure that she was meaning the alien creatures I fought before, but not knowing what to do with that information, I nod dumbly at her and say, "Thank you, I will remember your words and figure out how to deal with the ancient enemy when it arrives."

Nothing more is said for several hours as we make our way down stone steps that have been created by Rockhoof, we reach the bottom as Star Swirl says, "The cave is a little bit further ahead."

Arriving at the cave, Equise watches the others gather around in a half circle, then asks the three windigoes to stand together and be part of it before making her way to the circle as well, saying, "Dear, I will have to be inside the circle because I am an alicorn and the Guardian of this world, you need to complete the circle and put your all into what you desire to make." She then walks up to him and removes his helmet before giving him a long, passionate kiss.

Once I move into place and get started, I hear her tell the others what they need to do and then take her place in the circle, lying down on her right side around the center of the circle, posing her body to look as if she was chasing after something.

Seeing as Trav begins to manipulate crystal powder, she then says, "Dear, keep working and do not lose focus when I tell you this, but whatever happens to me must be that way. There are two letters inside your nightstand, one for you and the other for the girls. Be sure that they both read it when they get home, remember that I will always love you."

Not wanting to disappoint her and stop, I nod my head and push even harder to create the crystal tree. I lose track of time when I suddenly see a twinkle from within the swirling mass of purified crystal dust and smile, happy to be making progress finally when I hear my lover say, "Do your part now, JOIN ME!"

As Equise commits her body and soul to the combined efforts to create something new, she feels the change start to wash over her body as she begins to turn into a cloud of glowing, golden dust.

Committing themselves to their task, all three windigoes channel their whole being towards the sparkle amidst the swirling mass of crystal dust. As they feel themselves be accepted by something, their bodies let a final, joyful howl that drops off when their bodies transform into dusty forms of themselves that swirl towards the inner circle and merge together.

Two clouds of dust begin to swirl above the smaller, writhing crystal dust and start to merge to form a spinning ring of gold and blue dust when they start to glow brightly as Equise's voice whispers into Trav's ear, "Don't be sad, dear, my body is only taking on a new form, though I will miss not being able to travel anywhere. I will look forward to the days ahead, dear, please come here often and visit me once I have passed the sapling stage. Be sure to look after the girls for me, I love you dear. Farewell...for now."

I watch as the swirling ring of blue and gold then converge with the swirling, writhing mass of deep blue crystal dust. Moments later, tears slip down my face as I watch the clouds mix together, then get pulled into the bright sparkle of light at the center of the mass of dust. When the sparkle flares brightly, I raise my arm to shield my eyes when it fades away seconds later.

Returning my arm to my side, I then look at the spot where the swirling mass of dust was to see a new hovering mass of fluctuating liquid, bluish white crystal, watching curiously as it then slowly begins to take the form of a small teardrop with a small, wiggling tail. The mass of liquid has a golden sparkle at the heart of the teardrop that slowly turns from a liquid state to a solid one, spreading the transformation to its upright tail. When the transformation is complete, I watch as the tail freezes in a mostly straight, squiggly line and then instinctively let out a half-laugh, saying, "Heh...we did it."

Examining the teardrop-shaped object with his magic, Star Swirl nods with a smile and then says, "We most certainly did, my boy. How about you take the honor and pick it up and then plant it?"

Looking around the chamber as Star Swirl lights up his horn, I say, "I would, but it is impossible for a seed to take root in solid rock."

Nodding his head in understanding, he then says, "You have a very good point there," then looks at his companion and says, "Rockhoof, why don't you make a spot more suitable for a seed to grow."

I watch as he uses his shovel to rapidly pulverize the floor until it is a fine powder, then Star Swirl uses his magic to create a gap for light to enter the cave. Carefully picking up the large seed as if it were fragile, I carry it with both hands to the pulverised stone floor, then move it into one hand and dig a hole with my glove in the center of the makeshift field. Once the hole is deep enough, I take the seed and set it into the hole standing up. Lightly pressing the base of the seed into the pebbled sediment, I then cover it slowly and pat the sediment lightly to pack it down, saying, "Now we just need to figure out if it needs water or other nutrients to grow." I look at Star Swirl and Mage Meadowbrook, saying, "Since you two know most about magic and nature, would it be possible for you both to monitor the seed's growth?"

Nodding their heads and agreeing to observe the seed closely, we take our leave when I see three twinkling lights dance about the cave and hear faint echoes of laughter bounce around the cave's interior. Making my way home to read Equise's letter, meander about aimlessly until arriving just after sunset.

At noon the next day, my exosuit is in the closet of my bedroom the girls come home worn out from their supplemental lesson as Luna asks where mom is at, when I approach them and kneel down. Wrapping an arm around each of the base of their necks, I pull them in close for a hug, saying, "Welcome home girls, I've missed you. There's something that I need to tell you..." Once I tell them that their mother's duty has changed, I then inform them that she won't be able to come home.

Trying to hold my own tears back, I then say, "But don't worry girls, because mommy will always be able to watch over you in her own special way. Because of her new duty, she asked me to look after you girls." Hearing sniffles coming from both Luna and Celestia, I finish and then say, "However, I do need you girls to do something important for me now, I need you both to be very strong for me and learn as much as you can about magic so that we all can protect each other. Do you girls think that you can handle that for mommy and I?"

The dam breaks as both girls begin to openly sob and wail, making me decide to retire to my bedroom with them so that we can all find comfort in each other's presence.

Frequent time skips continue near the start of next chapter, sorry!