We all have the ability to change our own futures. No matter what anypony says, we alone, can shape the foundation of our own lives. However, one must be careful on the path they decide to take in life, for the futures of others can also be affected by your actions as well.
-Twilight Sparkle
His Undoing
I - His End
“So, what are we going to do with the body?”
The stallion in the wagon opened his eyes painfully, vision blurred from lack of light. He felt every bump and rock the wagon wheeled over, slowly adjusting to reality again.
Goodness, how long was I out? the stallion thought. The last time he was conscious, he was rolling off a hillside, falling to the hard, rock ground below.
“Where do we normally dump the bodies?” The two young colts pulled the wagon, oblivious to the fact that the horse they were toting was conscious. The brown stallion closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to avoid being noticed.
“You mean… we got to go there?”
“Yeah! We were ordered to do this, after all.”
“Yeah, but… that really isn’t the safest place if you catch my drift.”
The other colt rolled his eyes at the response. “And just exactly what is safe in this Tartarus hole known as Equestria.”
“I get it, but what about the savages around here?” The colt felt his knees start to quiver in fear. “I mean, they show no remorse for anypony. They’ll eat us alive or dead!”
“Which is why we dump this fugitive’s body, and get out of here before they come out!”
The stallion listened into their conversation, hoping to gain some valuable information off of them.
“I don’t know,” the nervous stallion replied. “Do you really think we should be doing this? I mean, I know the guy is a wanted stallion, but dumping him there? What exactly did this Time Turner fellow do?”
“That wasn’t our place to ask. We were just told to dump the body; nothing more, and nothing less.”
“But… this just doesn’t feel right. What if he…”
“Listen, you have no reason to be complaining right now! We were able to weasel our way out of a war that would have most likely killed us both! All we gotta do is dump bodies here whenever we are asked. Yeah, it’s a shit job, but I’d rather be dumping dead bodies than be one!”
The frightened stallion sighed. “I guess you have a point. Still, I wish that the two princesses didn’t have to put our lives at stake just to overthrow each other.”
“That’s just how things are. We can’t do anything to change that.”
Time Turner continued feigning death, avoiding any conflicts with the two carriers. The information he picked up was vague, but it was apparent that the royal sisters didn’t take too much of a liking to each other.
After what felt like an eternity, the cart had stopped. Time Turner didn’t dare open his eyes, as he didn’t want any conflict with the stallions. He felt the two holstered his body on their backs.
“Hey, doesn’t this body seem a little warm for a dead body?” asked the shaky stallion.
Time Turner felt his pulse speed up. If he was caught still alive…
“Probably because the poor bastard just died not too long ago. Even if he is somehow alive, he won’t survive long out here.”
“Well… I guess you have a valid point.”
“Nice to finally see we agree on something. Now lets hurry up and toss this body before those creeps show up.”
Time Turner was sent plummeting down the dirt hill, crashing into the pit. He kept his eyes closed until he was sure that the two had left the vicinity. He waited until he couldn’t hear the hoofsteps of the any longer. The wait was rather excruciating, as the smell of decay harassed his nostrils.
He laid on there briefly, until nothing but the faint beat of his heart was audible. As he reopened his eyes, he noticed where the foul stench had come from. Time Turner was staring face to face with the skull of a pony.
“Holy!” Time Turner quickly scooted away from the skull, shoveling through a pile of decaying corpses. They weren’t kidding when they said they dump all the dead bodies here. This is both insulting and unsanitary.
Time Turner lifted himself up and dusted off his body. Trying to gain a good sense of where he was dumped, he climbed on the pile of bodies, scanning the land. Other than the dead, there was nothing.
“Well, this is just great!” Time Turner grumbled and stared up at the night sky. The sky was decorated with bright stars dancing under the moonlight.
“Beautiful sky,” Time Turner stated. “It’s a shame that the stench of decay ruins it.” Time Turner couldn’t bare the smell anymore. He began climbing out of the pit to get away from the foul odor.
Hmm… I can’t very well go out looking like this. he thought. I will probably wind up coming across whoever wanted me dead eventually. Showing up like this is just signing my own death warrant. The silence was soon broken by echoing sounds of howling. He wasn’t the only one in the area anymore.
However, if I stay here for too long, I’ll most certainly become food. Time Turner put a hoof to his chin, trying to figure out a solution to his problems. He turned back towards the pit, looking down at the pile of bodies. There was a wide assortment of ponies with different clothing, armor, and headwraps. It wasn’t the most dignified idea he ever had, but Time Turner knew how he could get around briefly without getting discovered.
“Well, it’s not the worst thing I’ve done…” He slid back down into the hole and scavenged around for some clothes that could conceal his identity, trying to avoid taking in the smells. Time Turner dug through the pile, gagging every time the stench hit his nostrils. The search landed him a body wearing a ebony heavy jacket with a brown head wrap.
This will do. I don’t want to be in this pit any longer than I have to. He stripped the stallion of his attire, noticing the scars and holes filling his body. He also took notice of the stallion's head wrap, which had a blue dagger piercing through a crescent moon.
He turned the wrap inside out to hide it before wrapping it around his face, masking everything but his eyes. Being completely concealed, he climbed back out of the pit.
Now to find my way out of this place.
Time Turner traveled for hours through the dry, empty land. There was no life anywhere, no deserted cities, not even bodies that would indicate anyone traveling. It was just him, and a dry wasteland with no mercy for the living.
“Mother of Celestia, how far did they dump me?” Time Turner was exhausted, near the end of his ropes. He was on the verge of collapsing in the middle of nowhere, and there was nopony there to help him.
He trotted for an incomprehensible amount of time, feeling faint and light headed every step he took. It wouldn’t be long before his body finally gave in.
So, this is how I die. Time Turner grimaced about his current condition. Well, I’d rather die this way than in a rotten pit that’s for sure. Still, it’s kind of discouraging, waking up just to meet your end, nothing but the soft wind and the sound of a old man whistling… wait…
Time Turner’s ears perked as the faint sound of whistling became louder and louder. He looked around to track the source of the noise that would either be his saving grace or just another sentence to death. The later wouldn’t surprise him much.
A wagon being pulled by a burly, red stallion slowly appeared from the horizon. Time Turner looked for the driver of the cart, hoping it was anypony other than a hired dump stallion. Fortunately for him, it appeared to be an old, stallion, riding with a stick of hay in his mouth.
“Hey! Over here!” Time Turner weakly shouted out to the stallion. “Hey, could you please stop?”
“Huh?” The stallion looked around, finally noticing the heavily clothed traveler. “Well, I’ll be. Somepony actually alive out here in these wastes.” He pulled on the harness of the stallion, forcing him to a halt. “Now, how did you get out here in the middle of Death’s Pit?”
“Death’s Pit?”
“Oh, I know what happened to you,” the old stallion started, leaning over his wagon. “You were considered dead, so they dumped you into the pile. Am I wrong?”
Time Turner looked up at the passenger. If he was going to convince anyone that he wasn’t Time Turner, he would have to start by convincing somepony that didn’t want him dead. “No, that’s correct,” he replied, altering his voice to a much deeper, huskier tone.
“I figured. The only things that make it through here are carriers and passengers. Anypony caught alive on foot are usually eaten alive by savages or shot down by the Revolutionist that patrol this dry pass.” He flicked the hay straw out of his mouth and smiled widely at Time Turner. “You better be happy that I was the one that found you. One of those Revolutionist get a hold of you, and you’re dead meat.”
“I guess I’m just lucky,” Time Turner responded.
“Oh, where are my manners? I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Tumbleweed. I’m just a lone wanderer traveling to Dodge City.” He leaned over and patted the back of the quiet stallion pulling the cart. “This is my trusty workhorse. He’s not a talkative fella; he didn’t even tell me his name once I purchased him. So I just call him Big Red. Seemed appropriate.”
Time Turner trotted towards the stallion and looked into his green eyes. They were dull and dead looking, lacking any kind of emotion. “So, you bought him as a slave?” Time Turner questioned.
“Slave? Oh no, boy. He’s more of an indentured servant if you will.”
“That, is literally the same thing.”
“Well, it seems like you aren’t from around here if you don’t know how things go down. Big Red here isn’t just some tow horse, even though that’s a lot of what he does, he’s a companion as well. Albeit a very silent one. Sure he has to work for me until he keels over, but he gets fed, he’s treated well, and quite frankly, I think he’s better off here than where he was.”
As much as Time Turner would have liked to argue that, he didn’t have the energy nor the patience. “I guess you have a point. It’s none of my business what you do with him anyways.”
“Glad to see we agree on something,” said Tumbleweed. “In any case, I don’t suggest you walking by yourself out here. Where are you planning on traveling… uh… Sorry, didn’t catch your name.”
“Because I didn’t give it,” Time Turner relied. Tumbleweed chuckled lightly at his snarky statement.
“You know what, kid, I like you. Hop onto the cart. I’ll take you where you need to go.”
“Much appreciated,” Time Turner responded, climbing onto the passenger side of the cart. “My name is Primrose, by the way.”
“Primrose? Weird name, but I ain’t one to judge. So, where do you need to be? I can drop you off if it’s between here and Dodge City.”
“To be honest, I just need to get to civilization. I can handle the rest from there.”
“Fine by me. Makes my job a whole lot easier.” Tumbleweed grabbed the rope of the harness and tugged on it. “Alright Big Red, time to get moving!”
The stallion slowly began pulling the cart, the extra weight not hindering him in the slightest. Time Turner splayed his front hooves out, drained from lack of food and water.
“Hey, would you by any chance have anything to drink or eat?” Time Turner asked.
“Sorry kid,” answered Tumbleweed. “We downed the last of the rations a few hours ago. You’re out of luck until we get to the next town.”
Time Turner splayed in the cart, sighing loudly. “Great. I don’t know how long I can go without anything nourishing.”
Tumbleweed chuckled and reached into his satchel. “Well, I might not be able to offer you food, but I can give you a few bits to get you started.” He dropped thirty bits onto Time Turner’s jacket. “I’d suggest taking up a job. It’s pretty easy to find one, and if you can’t find one, you could always serve another horse.”
“Sure, whatever…” Time Turner didn’t have the energy to respond well to Tumbleweed. He gazed up at the stars, reflecting on his situation.
I don’t know where you are, but I will find you. He thought, his eyes closing slowly. In due time, I will find you…
***
Time Turner grumbled as he was tapped on the head.
“Hey kid, wake up.” Tumbleweed smacked Time Turner on the face, finally gaining a reaction out of him. “Before I continue on, is this a good place to drop you off?”
Time Turner squinted at the brightness of the sun, covering his face with his hoof. “Where exactly are we?”
“Just a small city outside of Old Manehatten called Trotson,” Tumbleweed replied. “There’s a cafe pretty close to here if you need something to eat. But if you decide to leave, this is where we part. I have some business in Dodge that I need to attend to.”
“Thanks for the lift then,” Time Turner stated, grabbing the bits that Tumbleweed gave him and leaping off of the cart. “I can handle myself from here.”
“Well, then I’ll be off.” Tumbleweed nodded and tugged on ‘Big Red’s’ harness. “Stay safe, Primrose.”
“I’ll try,” Time Turner agreed, watching Tumbleweed pull away from the town. It wasn’t a guarantee that Time Turner would stay out of trouble for too long, but he was going to try his damnedest to avoid it. But there was one thing he had to take care of first; something more pressing at the moment.
Time Turner began exploring the small town of Trotson. It was a quaint dirt town with little activity. Not too many ponies were seen roaming the streets; in fact, it seemed that most of the city was empty and without life. It would appear that it was just a town made for short stops.
“Looking for something?”
Time Turner turned around to locate the pony who called out to him. A small orange colt stood behind him, smiling widely.
“Hey, kid,” Time Turner said, smiling back at him. “Do you think you could point me to the cafe?”
The kid cocked his head to the side, analyzing the strange stallion in front of him. “You look and smell funny.”
Though the kid couldn’t see it, Time Turner was frowning heavily through the cloth. “I didn’t ask for your opinion on how I smelled, I asked where the cafe is!”
The colt jolted at Turner’s sharp tone, pointing at the direction of the cafe.
“Thanks. That’s all you had to do in the first place.” Time Turner turned trotted in the direction that the kid pointed to. As he walked down the path, he noticed a few of the ponies staring at him as he walked. Some paid him no attention, but the ones that did made things very unsettling. Still, a few stares wasn’t enough to prevent him from getting what he came for.
The restaurant was very noticeable. It had “Trotson’s Cafe” displayed over the roof. It wasn’t the biggest cafe he had seen, but he also wasn’t in the biggest town either. Besides, he wasn’t going to be too picky on the verge of starvation. He pushed open the door and entered the cafe.
Much like the outside, there weren’t too many ponies inside. Just a few small groups who were carrying on light conversations with each other. Time Turner noticed took notice of the flyers plastered on the cafe walls. Each one had a print of the sun with a small banner in front of it saying “The Order”. Though it was obvious who the order was led by, Time Turner didn’t put much thought into it. He just trotted towards the cafe’s countertop and planted himself on a seat.
“Hey, waiter. I need some assistance.”
The stallion in question trotted towards the counter, cringing as he got closer. “Celestia, you reak! When was the last time you bathed?”
“A blunt town I see,” Time Turner groaned. “There’s a reason that I smell like this, but that’s none of your business. So, are you gonna take my order or what?”
The waiter rolled his eyes. “Yes, what do you want?”
“Water, and some toast and jam.”
“Hate to break it to you, but we’re all out of fresh water. You’ll have to deal with dirt water if you want any.”
Time Turner slammed his head on the counter. Things were getting worse by the minute.
“Look, I’m sorry,” the waiter apologized, “but we’re at a shortage right now. You can either take it or leave it."
“You know what… forget the water.” Time Turner put a hoof to his forehead and sighed. “Do you have anything that won’t possibly make me sick if I drink it.
“We have tea and coffee, if that’s any better.”
“Very. I’ll take tea.”
The stallion nodded and internalized his order. “It should be ready in a while. Oh, and please… consider freshening up after you eat, sir.”
Time Turner didn’t respond. He just laid his head on the countertop, waiting for his order to be prepared.
So now even fresh water is scarce. He took note of everything he had noticed and experienced since he regained consciousness. Apparently I was wanted dead by somepony, there’s a feud between the two princesses, and ponies have resorted to cannibalism. Well Time Turner, you sure screwed things over, so how are you going to fix it?
While he was in his thoughts, a topaz stallion walked towards the counter and sat next to him. He just sat there, wryly grinning and staring directly at the chalkboard, much to Time Turner’s confusion.
“Um, you need the waiter for anything?” Time Turner asked, eliciting a chuckle from the stallion. “I didn’t say anything funny. I just asked a simple…”
“You know, Revolutionist don’t go around a group of Orders. That’s a death sentence just waiting to happen.”
Time Turner’s eyes widened at the sharp response he was given. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re wearing a Revolutionist head wrap. You just turned it inside out so no one would notice. It’s really easy to determine the clothing of the guy you helped kill.
Time Turner could feel beads of sweat trickling down his face. The stallion lead closer and began to whisper.
“See those guys back there?” He pointed at the group of ponies talking and laughing. “Normally, if we were to discover a Revolutionist, we would have had you killed the minute you stepped in here.”
“So what’s stopping you now?” Time Turner boldly asked, to hide his nervousness.
“Because even though you’re wearing their attire, a Revolutionist isn’t that reckless. If you were a spy or an assassin, you sure as Tartarus wouldn’t be showing up with their clothing.”
“So, this is just an idle threat?”
“Not exactly…”
The waiter showed up with Time Turner’s plate and tea. He set it down in front of him and resumed his work, ignoring the other stallion next to him.
“You enjoy your breakfast,” the stallion said, patting Time Turner on the back. “Once you get done though, I want you to go to the old abandoned house at the back of this cafe.
“And if I refuse?”
The stallion chuckled and lifted himself from the stool. “Well, you could always share a resting place with the rest of The Revolutionist.”
Time Turner watched as the stallion trotted out of the cafe.
“Well, it didn’t take long for trouble to find me,” Time Turner mumbled to himself. He didn’t really have any options other than go along with them. It was either follow what they said for the moment or get killed.
But before anything was going to happen, Time Turner was going to try and enjoy his potentially last meal. He bit into the jelly covered toast, his face contorting to one of displeasure.
“It’s stale…”
