//------------------------------// // A trip across the ice // Story: The Weary Traveler // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// The newly born creature wandered around the tundran wastes, expecting nothing and wanting nothing. The only thing to cross its mind as the child-like curiosity and wonder at this new environment. Its one eyes looked about, taking in its surroundings. There was naught but white as far as the eye could see within a rampaging fog of grays and white dots. On occasion, it would split apart to reveal a mountain range in the distance, but something else caught the newborn's eye. Uninhibited by the snow, it strode across the reflective landscape for hours until reaching a large assortment of white mounds that it happily bounced around, keeping up snow into plumes of white dust. The creature poked and prodded at the mounds, trying to see how they worked. It fled with a high-pitched squeak and hid behind another mound when the first collapsed, revealing a dilapidated wooden hut ravaged by time. Its frame had been conserved by the freezing temperature of the tundras, although its interior was not so fortunate. The sudden bumping shook the snow loose from the second mound, but the newborn was not surprised this time. It struggled to hop over a slope of ice and slid into the ruined home. Likely the first guest it had seen in many long years. The newborn looked around its surroundings, enjoying what it was seeing. Some beams of wood had fallen into the house and broken on its ruined floor, but they were the last vestiges of walls that remained. The newborn poked at a pile of stones and squeaked when it collapsed, kicking up the black ash it held greedily an eternity. Frantic face wiping followed coughing from inhaling the substance, but the explorer was not deterred. It bounced against a low-standing piece of furniture and looked around to see it was covered by the torn remnants of a blanket. The straw it once rested upon was black, thin, and frozen, and the underside of the bed had collapsed, creating a folded hole. The gem-eyed creature grabbed a shattered assortment of glass and pulled a flat, bending item out from beneath its tomb. Curiosity covered the newborn's face as it looked at the item. Upon it were several ponies wearing thick, winter clothing decorated by white fluff around the neck and ankles. The creature patted the picture with a smile but that smile slowly became anger when the people in the picture wouldn't react. The newborn angrily waved the picture around then slammed it onto the wooden floor, breaking it. It wanted to know who and what they were, but no matter how upset it got, the figures refused to speak. They just stared. Smiling. Content to keep their secrets to themselves. The newborn's face puffed up in frustration, and it stifled a few tears. It kicked the picture again, then the crystalline side of its shimmered with vibrant light. The house was engulfed in an orange-purple light, displaying it before its collapse. Its walls were covered with embroidered artworks, but not much else served as decoration save two chairs made of ice covered in white leather. The ponies in the image walked through the door, laughing while a bulky one dragged a white furred body into the door. He became stuck and struggled to pull it in, prompting the others to help him. The newborn smiled and rushed to them with a silent laugh, but when it made contact with the figures, the whole mirage dissipated back to the snowy landscape. Left to it own devices, the newborn sat on the wood and looked around for any sign of the creatures. The storm started to calm down, giving better sight to the denizens of the tundra. Past the horizon, the tiny creature saw thick towers of black clouds puffing into the air in a constant and rapid trail. It also saw two colored, indistinguishable dots flying around it. The newborn had somewhere new to go to. Something more to discover. Canterlot was surrounded by tents of the refugees from the Crystal Kingdom, many disheartened and upset from losing their homes. Regardless of Twilight's success, Cadance wanted to be absolutely certain that there were no more threats either within the Crystal Kingdom or among her people. She walked out of the largest of the tents amongst her citizens, frowning at their position. Shining was off in the plains, training the crystal soldiers and the new recruits that chose to join in both to protect their family from threats like the Traveler and for financial gain. The pink princess did not want an extravagant tent, but it was pushed onto her by her advisors. It was best to have a large tent so she could welcome dignitaries, her own populace, and the alicorn sisters. The crystal ponies would feel safer knowing that their own rulers still kept a calm composure and kept up their image despite all that had occurred. At least, that's what they told her. Shining Armor didn't care either way. He did not grow in luxury, and felt that such things would rust his skills as a guard, so he left the decision to his wife. Panting and sweating, he slowed to a trot and halted next to his wife. With magic, he pulled his helmet off his head and wiped his forehead with a leg. "That was quite the workout," he panted contentedly. Cadance was broken out of her stupor by the strong stink of her husband and reeled loudly, covering her muzzle. "You stink!" she complained. Shining frowned at her. "I just galloped several kilometers straight. What did you expect me to smell like? Vanilla?!" Cadance stared at Shining's annoyed face and couldn't help but laugh. "You always look so funny when you're upset." The prince turned red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger and turned away. It gave him time to see the massive saucer floating overhead and slowly rotating in place. It cast a shadow upon the land like a sun dial, bringing fear with it. "So It's true, then," Shining said. "There really is a floating city above Canterlot." Cadance observed her, her face pulled with fatigue. "Why has it not attacked Canterlot?" she wondered aloud. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." Shining Armor pointed to a mountain with a large hole running from one side to another. "That is...impressive," Cadance noted. "I know." The stallion smiled while multiple ideas rushed through his head. "With something like this, we would be able to destroy Sombra is he ever did come back, or destroy something worse." "I agree and disagree," Cadance said. Shining looked at her with wide, intrigued eyes. "Why?" "We don't know what that thing is or what it can do." "Then we can learn," Shining said. Cadance was perplexed. "How? Technology we don't know brings with it threats and risks we could have never fathomed. Will it explode? What powers it? What is within it?" Shining nodded. "That is true, and if the makers have long since vanished, the chances of us being able to find instructions for its proper functioning are too great to classify." The two looked towards Canterlot Castle in the distance. "I wonder what my aunt is doing now," Cadance wondered. "It must be very important, considering we saw dragons going there beforeh--" Shining and several of the ponies watching the saucer gasped or yelped in surprise when a beam of blue light shot towards the castle. "What was that?!" Cadance yelled. "What did it do?!" "Calm down, Cadance," Shining reassured. "The castle is okay. I don't know what that was but nothing happened." The princess looked to the civil workers taking in her ponies names for a census and became concerned. None of them reacted to the event and most of them dismissed the concerns of her crystal ponies regarding the beam. "They've been like this for a while," she noted. After several days of work, the multi-floor farm was ready for testing. The traveler stood at the base of the building and waited for Applejack and the rest of the willing staff to enter the confines of the tube. "S'mighty cramped in here," Applejack grunted. "You'll get used to it," the traveler said. He pushed a button n a colorful display next to the sliding doors. "It's usually limited in size. I'll replace this with a much larger elevator for food transport." Everyone shot upwards to the only floor with the food domes, but it wasn't over yet. The occupants had no time to recover from the new sensation that the metal box rotated to the right and everyone fell to the left, toppled onto each other. They were left to groan in pain while the cephalopony walked out casually as though nothing had happened. "Hurry out," he scolded the workers. "I don't have all day." Applejack squeezed out from between the minotaurs, gryphons, and ponies. She nearly lost her balance getting to the traveler. "What in tarnation was that? Felt like our elevators, but--" "They're technology. Not magic," the traveler interrupted. "But our is technology, too!" Applejack protested. The traveler frowned and looked away. "Not exactly. The body is technology, but the rest is either magic or the actions of workers." While the two talked, the rest of the passengers wobbled outside into the dome. Many were feeling queasy and took to breathing slowly and longly. They walked along a dirt path as wide as a minotaur was tall, and flanking it was rough, dark brown dirt ready to be treated with seeds and labored upon. The farm was enclosed in a glass dome whose form was interrupted by beams of metal holding the dome's pieces in place and providing strength against powerful winds outside. One of the minotaurs wiped his forehead and exhaled loudly. "It's pretty hot in here," he gasped. "I know this is meant to be a greenhouse, but it's too much. Nothing but cacti will grow in this heat." The traveler said nothing but walked past the group who asked him what he was doing. He gave no answer, instead stopping at a piece of the white wall the elevator was built into and pulled a panel out then pushed it up. Using his tentacles, he rolled a dial to the left and pushed a button underneath it. A cool breeze shuffled through the fur and feathers of the locals, giving them the relief they needed against the heat and humidity. "What'd you do?" Applejack asked. "I turned on the air conditioning and dehumidifier." He turned the dial back to the right, pressed the button underneath it, then went to a screen and pressed several things the farm pony couldn't see. Within seconds a loud roar blared through the dome, and everyone was sweating worse than before. "The domes can modify the weather using the form of the glass dome to reflect high-powered winds and break their strength, dropping heat and cold within," the traveler explained proudly. He restored the temperature and humidity to a more viable level. "That's...that's amazin'!" a minotaur shouted. "The things we could do, that we could grow! We'd no longer be limited by region or the seasons!" "No. You wouldn't," the traveler confirmed. "There's many things you could do with this." He looked up at the dome, his face still unchanging. "And yet, what we are lacking is soil. To properly use the multi-leveled farms, we would need to acquire soil from outside the planet's reach." Applejack followed his gaze and frowned. "Whadda ya mean?" she asked. The traveler stared at her a moment then looked to the rest of the farmhands evaluating the soil. "That is for something that goes beyond your lifespan." The enthusiastic chittering in the dome died down to silence, and many looked disheartened. "So yer sayin' that only our foals 're gonna see it?" she asked. "Perhaps the foals of your foals, but yes." He nodded. "All the work you are doing here will be dedicated for your offspring, but..." "But?" Applejack repeated. "You will not be forgotten, like the workers of so many centuries before us. There are a great many things that must be done, and your contributions will be noted." The mare's eyes darted left and right, her mind running through her memories and piecing everything together. "So that's why ya had most of us write our names down fer this job." "Yes," the traveler answered plainly. Applejack playfully punched him in the shoulder and immediately regretted the decision due to the viscosity of his skin. "Gross," she said. The newborn hopped off the long machine it was riding on and rolled along the ground to stop right in front of a massive white city. Shaking the dirt and dust from its body rendered wet and cold by the air and melted snow, the creature rushed off towards the colorful shapes sitting in front of the white walls encircling the city. It didn't even notice the looming form floating overhead.