Forestry
Once again Star Swirl stepped out of the Sisters' portal, a much smoother experience than his own rough teleportation. This time, however, the world he reentered wasn't a gaudy nightmare of city planning. Rather, the unicorn found himself looking around at a lush forest.
“I hope these woods treat me better than the last ones,” he muttered as Luna and Celestia came through behind him.
“They should,” the night goddess reassured, stopping to lay a hoof on his shoulder. “This forest is fairly new, and it hasn't had time yet to grow wild.”
Celestia marched past, not so much as glancing at Star Swirl. “That said, it is still best if we make haste. Our destination is a good distance away and we can not fly or use magic to speed the journey along. Let's go.”
“I know I can't physically fly, but why can't we just teleport to where we're going?” Star Swirl asked Luna as they watched Celestia stomp into the undergrowth.
“There are rules, young one. There are rules.”
They walked for the rest of the afternoon, Celestia's foul mood persisting throughout, and when they stopped to camp Star Swirl was completely unsure as to where they were. Even putting aside the three teleportations in a third as many days- all three of them blind on his part- the forest itself seemed to be scheming to be as devoid of distinguishing features as possible. He could only resign himself to trust that the Sisters knew which way to go.
In that state he kindled the fire, and in that state he tended it as the night set in. Celestia was quick to nod off, while her Sister appeared to grow only more alert. It was strange for the scholar to see their natures demonstrated so clearly.
It was also strange to catch that as he studied the Night, she gazed back at him.
“What did it feel like for you?”
Her words took him aback momentarily, they were so sudden. “What do you mean?”
“Passing through y cyfnod pontio,” Luna clarified. “That was an unprecedented act. No pony, indeed no mortal creature at all, has so much as attempted it. Truthfully, my Sister and I thought it impossible. So tell me, Star Swirl the Bearded, what was it like?”
“It was... odd. I felt more alive than I ever have before, yet at the same time I felt drained. It hurt, but it didn't. Truth be told, I'm at a loss. All my knowledge, all my words, and I still can't explain it properly.”
Luna snorted. “I should think not.”
“What do you mean by that?” Star Swirl demanded.
“Calm yourself, noble Star Swirl. It was not a slight against you,” the alicorn soothed. “I simply meant that your kind physically can not comprehend what you underwent.”
Star Swirl said nothing, so she continued, “The Wellspring was here before my Sister and I descended, as was y cyfnod pontio, but it is not actually part of this world. It exists separately, absorbing and leaking raw life-stuff. So in order to reach that place, you must experience the entirety of life itself. Happiness, wrath, loss, power, defeat, pain, learning, confusion. Everything. Including death.”
“Death?”
“Oh, yes. As birth is a part of every life, so too is death- but your senses are not able to penetrate those thresholds. So, while your soul knows what it went through, your worldly body will never be able to truly feel it.”
“I miss it, I think,” Star Swirl confessed, looking down at his hooves as a twinge shot through them. “I feel... a little empty.”
Luna nodded grimly. “As you shall for the rest of your days,”
“Will it have been worth it, in the end?” he asked.
“Yes,” Luna vowed. “This I promised, Star Swirl. Your efforts will not be in vain. There will be a land where ponies can live according to their wishes, free from Discord's sadism.” She pursed her lips in thought. “In expectation of that future, might I ask a favor of you?”
“What is it?”
Luna seemed hesitant. “It concerns Journey. She was, and still remains, a dear friend to my Sister and I. So please, forgive her.”
“After what she did?!” Star Swirl demanded.
“I realize she deceived you, and I understand that it hurts. But you, too, must understand that she had a good reason. Names aside- the friendship you two forged was real, and in times like these you need friends.”
Star Swirl thought on her words, and on the escapades he'd gone through with the Spirit of such things. After a long while, he spoke again.
“I'm busy.”
When dawn broke the three resumed their trek, and after some time they came to the edge of a ravine. The Sisters told Star Swirl to remain where he stood, while they went on without him. An hour or so they returned, laden with saddlebags the mage didn't remember them having before.