Dark Age of Time

Chapters

Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening

The door at the far end of the throne room slowly opened, creaking loudly on rusty hinges as a white unicorn clad in full plate armor walked in.

His purple and gold armor was simple to the point that it was adorned with various campaign badges the unicorn had received through his long career, which were inscribed directly onto the armor. A gold and purple crest ran sideways on his helmet, marking him as an officer for easy identification on the chaotic battlefield. He had long since given up his battered ceremonial shield in favor of his currently sheathed sword, which was nicked and bloodstained from defending the castle from invaders. On his right hip was a used ceremonial flintlock pistol in a fancy holster.

He paid no mind to the shattered stained glass lining the floor on one side. Neither did he pay attention to the blood, dirt, and sweat covering his armor. He even ignored the sounds of battle that drifted in through the now open window; swords and shields clanged against each other, mixing in with the occasional blast of a pistol. As he walked with heavy echoing hoof steps towards the alicorn sitting on the throne, he slowly took his helmet off and cradled it in his right arm. Revealing a white face full of dirt and a blue mane, equally dirt filled and matted down with sweat. A faint black mist flowed out the sides of his solid green eyes while his horn was tinged black from using his magic to near exhaustion.

He knelt down on his right knee and bowed his head when he reached the actual throne. "My queen," the unicorn began in a quiet, but powerful voice. "We are holding the line, but we're losing ponies by the minute. It won't be long until the horde of enemies breakthrough and storm the castle."

The white alicorn sat up and adjusted her purple cape. Jewels inlaid in the silver trim reflected light and drew attention to her from any passerby. A silver crown adorned her head. Its various purple, red, and yellow gems also glinted in the light as if newly polished. Hugging her curves was an elegant purple dress, also trimmed in silver like the cape but without the gems. The long hem of the dress was almost gracefully laying over the side of the throne along with the cape. Her almost skeletal-like fingers were encased in thin gloves and a pair of silver slippers adorned her perfectly trimmed and polished hooves. Adorned around her neck was a black necklace with a fancy design and a red gem in the center.

A large jeweled staff sat next to her. The top of it was thought to be ornamental because it had a large blue topaz in the center with a few smaller ones floating around it in a magic field, but the alicorn could easily manipulate the gem to bring the internal spell to bear on a target. She grabbed the staff in one hand and tapped the bottom blue gem on the ground. "General, I believe it is time to enact Order sixty-six."

"My queen?" he hesitated in rising and chose to keep his gaze down at her hooves.

She got up from the throne and slowly stepped down the steps, appearing to glide because of the dress which was made to touch the floor for that purpose. "You heard me. I will take my personal airship and leave the city with a guard contingent. You. Will. Give the order. The one we have been planning for."

The alicorn stopped just short of the unicorn. All he saw was her regal purple dress and the jeweled bottom of the staff as it was placed under his chin. She slowly lifted his head up to where he was forced to look into her blue eyes. The gem in her necklace glowed a soft red, drawing his attention to it as her eyes flickered red.

"Y-yes my queen, I will give the order," the unicorn replied, causing the alicorn to smile.

"Good, I would have been disappointed if I were forced to take your life." She slowly stretched her arm out and fixed the sleeve of the dress as she added, "your pistol. Give it to me." Without any hesitation, the unicorn slowly drew the single shot flintlock pistol and held the grip out first. It was a ceremonial item that was adorned with engravings along with an inscription on the right side. The alicorn placed it in her belt and made sure it was snug between her dress and belt. When it didn't fall, she nodded. "Rise."

He did, but slowly. The unicorn placed his helmet back onto his head and drew his battle-worn sword. He looked down at the hilt and noticed that the gem was milky, indicating that it was nearly depleted and would need to be replaced if he wanted to keep its cutting power for more than ten minutes of use. With a frown, the unicorn turned to go. But the alicorn grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her again. "My queen?" he askednwith a slight metallic echo from the helmet, his frown staying on his face but she could not see it.

"Where is my airship's pilot? He was supposed to have been at my side by now."

The unicorn glanced at the large doors for a few long moments before looking at the alicorn again. "I do not know, my queen. Spell travel over long distances through the chaos realm is complex and it is uncertain when he will appear, or where. I only hope it is soon. Bu reprimand the transporter when they arrive."

"Then I'll pilot it myself." she hissed with a glare, shoving the unicorn towards the door and walking ahead of him. "Make haste and do not waste precious time. Order sixty-six must be activated before my airship leaves the city."

The unicorn took one last look at the throne before following after his queen with the knowledge that it was the last time he would ever see the throne.

*** ***

Whiskey opened his rose pink eyes as the light from the spell died down. It took him a few moments to register the fact that he was no longer inside the aerodrome hangar, he was outside. But that was not the first thing he noticed. The first thing Whiskey noticed was his stomach flipping around and trying to exit his mouth like he was on a roller coaster going over a hill. The second, and probably most important thing, was the fact that he was in the air falling straight down. Towards a wall of white lined by rocks.

Before Whiskey could react beyond covering his face with his hands in a futile gesture to protect his face should he hit rock, he slammed into the snow covered hillside, tossing a cloud of fresh powder into the air. His body shuddered from the impact as all the air was knocked out of his lungs. As he began sliding down the sloped hill, he tried to stop himself by clawing at the snow with his hands. They grabbed at the loosely packed tiny ice particles of the freshly fallen snow and all he got was handfuls of snow as he began tumbling out of control.

He did not see the edge of the slope. In fact, all Whiskey saw was a cloud of snow that obscured the sky as he became a ragdoll that tumbled faster and faster. Eventually landing on his back and slowly sliding to a stop at the sheer cliff edge almost a hundred yards from his impact point.

Whiskey laid there staring up at the clear blue sky in confusion and wondered to himself, 'am I dead or something?' Because one moment he was talking to a strange unicorn, and the next moment he was falling from the sky.

He involuntarily shuddered as a cold wind whipped the loose powder across his chest. Whiskey slowly sat up, groaning and wincing as his back popped and cracked in protest. He looked down at his grease covered blue coveralls over striped legs. The fabric was frayed in various places, indicating he either did not like to change much or the coveralls were very old, and a few of the pockets were stitched back together with different cloth to form a patchwork appearance. After a few quick moments of checking himself over, he ran an ebony black and grey hand through his wild two-tone mane. The snow clinging to the zebra's face did little to hide his stripes and was quickly brushed off. Luckily for him, his coveralls had long sleeves and was made from a thick enough material that the wind barely cut its the way through. He knew he had to find shelter and fast, before he froze.

Just below the cliff Whiskey sat on was another slope that held a rocky snow covered path down the mountainside. At the very bottom was what appeared to be the remains of a large billboard covered by snow on the advertising side.

With a couple of curses and a few popped joints, Whiskey got up and began limping his way along the cliff side towards the path down. His trek was slow due to the deepness of the near knee high snow, which caused him to wish for a pair of skis.

They did not appear out of thin air.

*** ***

Whiskey stared up at the faded billboard and tried to suppress a shiver. Nearly half of billboard was gone to the elements while the rest of it was heavily faded and partly covered by snow. What the zebra could make out wasn't much, not even a name. All he could see was a round seal with a large star in the center and smaller stars around it.

Something about the drawing felt familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. Whiskey was sure he was seen it before somewhere, yet the name and place was lost. He quickly checked his pockets again and slowly removed an ice cold metal bar from of a knee pocket. As he turned it over to look at the stamp, the gold glinted a little in the sunlight and almost blinded him.

The seal did not match the billboard. His gold bar had a picture of a unicorn with a heavily styled mane and a crown on her head, not a star surrounded by other stars.

Whiskey put the bar back into the pocket whence it came and looked at the ladder on the billboard's support tube. He then looked at his freezing hands, flexing them slightly to keep the blood flowing, and wished for gloves.

For a few long moments, Whiskey looked up the mountain he had walked down and sighed deeply. Icy wind whipped at his face, chilling him to the bone and causing him to shiver almost uncontrollably despite his jumpsuit. He recalled, that where he was from, it was summertime and there was no snow anywhere. But luckily for the zebra, it was very late winter-early springtime so the snow would be melting soon. Though he didn't know that.

Whiskey turned around to face the snow covered road and frowned when he saw that it stretched for miles until disappearing around a slow bend. The pink eyed zebra glanced left, then right in an effort to figure out where he was. Faintly scattered trees dotted the landscape on either side and mountains rose to the sky, blocking him in. To Whiskey it seemed that the only way to go was forward because he sure as hell wasn't going to climb the mountain. So that was the direction he traveled, forward.

*** ***

Night had begun to fall across Equestria as the sun slowly set. Ponies in the various towns scattered across the land began lighting what candlelit street lamps still remained in their towns, and guards began to patrol the immediate area surrounding the towns. Very few ponies remember the stories told by their grandparents of the old 'golden' days, and even fewer were actually alive to see the fall. The effects of the day Equestria fell in on itself nearly ninety years before were still felt everywhere. Though, what effects there were, were easy enough to spot; it was as if society had collapsed on itself and the world became a figurative wasteland nearly overnight. No longer was there a central government to tell every pony what to do and neither was there any set rules regarding what constituted law. Ponies cowered in their towns or roamed in gangs while clinging to the idea that they were the last 'civilized' area to remain and the other towns were full of marauders. Laws were rewritten or tossed out on a whim and justice was usually applied by sword point.

Rings had his spyglass trained on an odd lone traveller. The main lens was partially broken and gave an odd view, but it still worked. Rings was an earth pony guard for a small town and wore the standard grey cloth uniform for the town with a cap and a crossbow for defense. He had heard of zebras before from stories. Yet he had never seen one before until today. He watched the strange striped pony walk along the faint snow covered the road towards the town and noted he carried no gear of any kind beyond a grimy jumpsuit, nor did he appear to have any weapons.

'It's gotta be a trap,' Rings thought as he collapsed his cracked spyglass and picked up his crossbow, aiming it down at the striped pony.

Whiskey stopped outside the gate, slowly raising his hands up when he spotted the guard going for his weapon. Whiskey placed his locked together hands on the top of his head and waited for a while, and waited some more.

Eventually, when it seemed apparent that nothing was going to attack, Rings shouted, "what's your business here?"

"I would like a place to rest and get a warm meal," Whiskey shouted, hoping the guard wasn't stupid enough to shoot him for being a zebra. "I've been walkin' all day. I will only do those two things, and be gone."

"Where are you coming from?"

Whiskey shrugged. "Some mountain. No idea the name of it, but it's back that way," he nodded towards the mountain behind him while keeping his hands on his head.

Rings glanced up the road at the far mountain and possibly knew which one the zebra might be talking about. "Coal Mountain?" Rings called out.

"I guess," Whiskey shrugged again. "Look, I have important business to get to and I can go around the town. But I prefer to rest tonight. I can pay a small fee in gold if you want."

"Gold?" Rings brought his gaze back down to the zebra. "What do you mean gold?"

"Gold, it's a precious yellow metal everypony covets because it's used as currency to buy things, like a way into a town. May I get into a pocket and show you since you seem to not know the concept of it?"

"Do it slowly and no tricks."

With a nod, Whiskey slowly stretched his hand out and gently brought it down to the pocket containing his gold bar. As he slowly removed it, he said, "it's five ounces of pure gold."

Rings slowly took his trigger hand off the crossbow and pulled his spyglass out again. A gentle flick of the wrist caused it to extend and the earth pony placed it against his eye. He had a bit of trouble keeping it trained on Whiskey due to using it one handed, so he set the crossbow down and used both hands. In the failing light he saw the faint glint of gold. To him the gold looked like the real thing, but he was not sure since he could not physically touch it. Regardless, the rule was that anypony carrying gold was to be let inside, the gold tested for purity, and a bargain would be struck for it.

"Alright, give me a minute," Rings shouted.

Whiskey sat there and patiently waited. He watched a few guards run over to the first and the four of them had a hushed conversation. Whiskey waited, and waited, for them to come to a decision, even hearing a few angered shouts. But, eventually the small door at the bottom of the gate opened and the four guards aimed their crossbows down at him.

"Walk through the gate nice and slow," Rings shouted.

"Alright," Whisky sighed deeply, his breath formed a faint cloud of icy fog ahead of him. He slowly got up and walked towards the gate. The four guards kept their eyes and crossbows trained on him the whole time. When he reached the small door, Whiskey glanced back at the mountain before stepping through the door.

On the other side he was met by a short and frail looking unicorn in robes that covered her from hoof to shoulders. Her frayed dark purple and gold hood was down, showing a heavily wrinkled face and a solid grey mane. In the pale moonlight and dark town, it was near impossible for Whiskey to see the actual color of the unicorn. She held her right hand out with the palm up as she said quietly, "gold, please."

Whiskey glanced up at the wall and noticed the guards still had their crossbows trained on him. As slow as he could, Whiskey gently stretched his arm out and opened his hand, dropping the bar of gold into the unicorn's hand. It did not reach her hand. Instead, a swirling field of purple magic surrounded the hand and the bar as the gold was examined by the old pony.

She nodded slowly as she flipped it over with a subtle flick of her fingers. "The seal is correct for crystal gold, and the composition feels right for pure gold..." she snapped her fingers together, causing the bar to turn to molten slag on the spot. It began to swirl around with the magic field for a few moments before coalescing into thirty coin sized molten bits. The unicorn snapped her fingers again and the slag began cooling, revealing that it was solid and pure gold with hardly any impurities.

"Where did you get this bar, traveller?" she asked, her old voice was shaky but forceful. Whiskey said nothing and stretched his cupped hands out. The unicorn slowly began to drop the bits into his hands one by one. "The desert, a jungle, or... a mountain perhaps?" she dropped two bits at the same time she said mountain and stopped, causing Whiskey's expression to change to one of mild shock. "Ah, I see by your expression that you walked from the mountain. A lonely road that is."

She dropped the rest of the bits into his hands and picked one up, causing him to frown. "That's mine," Whiskey said to her.

"A gold bit for the services of an old court mage," she snapped her finger and smiled as both the magic glow and gold bit disappeared into thin air. "Enjoy your stay at Moccasin Hill. Might I suggest the Drunken Mare? They have the best bath in town and the best price." Before Whiskey could respond, the unicorn clapped her hands together and spread them out before walking off while mumbling to herself about seemingly nothing, and everything.

"Hey!" Whiskey shouted at the unicorn. "How'd you know?!"

"Logic!" she called back to him and waved towards the gate. "Only one road that way."

*** ***

The Drunken Mare was like any other tavern/inn that dotted Equestria's landscape. In the center of the room sat a sunken fire pit to provide warmth and light for the nearest tables, its orange coals were not steadily stoked despite the cold. Despite that fact, it still warmed the place to a temperature that was deemed comfortable. On one side of the first floor sat the bar with a large mirror behind the counter. Music was provided by a standup piano near the stairs to the second floor. Scattered about the room were tables filled with ponies of varying states ranging from sober to passed out drunk.

A pair of striped hands pushed open the batwing doors separating the Drunken Mare from the outside. Soft music and laughter greeted the visitor as he stepped inside. Most of the patrons seated at the filled tables ignored the pony in the stained jumpsuit. That is until they started to notice the striped steel grey and ebony face of the visitor along with his wild two-tone mane, and it soon became deathly silent in the bar.

Whiskey glanced over at the large firepit providing warmth for the room and took note of the tools strewn around it for keeping the blaze going. He then glanced over at a table of ponies playing a game of cards and gave them the faintest of nods. The ponies had their sword hands gripped on the hilt of their weapons; axe, dagger, sword or mace. Ready to draw at the slightest hint that the zebra was going to attack.

The group of ponies watched Whiskey as he slowly made his way over to the bar and set a hand down. "I'd like a room and some whiskey," he said in a heavily accented voice like leather. "And I can pay in gold."

"Everypony carries gold, mister. Did you think we used buttons for currency? A room is ten gold bits a night," the barkeep nodded slowly as he set a bottle of whiskey down on the bartop along with a shot glass. "It'll get you a room, warm bath and a meal in the morning."

"And the whiskey?" the zebra turned his head a little to the side. His gaze was not directly on the barkeep, but on the mirror so he could keep an eye on the ponies that had watched him enter. Their full plate armor looked like it had seen better days and bore no houses or town insignias on the shoulder plates or chest front. Their sheathed weapons and helmets sat on the table near their cards.

Slowly, Whiskey set the ten gold pieces down on the bar top. After a few moments of checking their weight, the barkeep pocketed them and said. "I'll include it in the price of the room for a weary traveller. You look like you could use a drink."

Whiskey's hand gripped the tiny glass after the barkeep filled it, and he slowly raised it up in a salute to the ponies in the mirror. His gaze never left the armored ponies that were still watching him. "Here's looking at you," he nodded at them. Then placed the glass to his lips and threw his head back. His mouth and throat were burned by the liquid as it quickly made his way down into his belly where it warmed his gut.

"I'll have Ruby show you to your room," the barkeep said as Whiskey put his glass down.

"No," Whiskey slowly shook his head and poured himself another shot. "Let me guess, it's up the stairs and first door on the right?"

"Yes..." the barkeep eyed Whiskey suspiciously and wondered how he could have known that. So he asked him, "how did you know?"

"Top floor is partially lit with the a side window being dark. Fifty-fifty chance of it being unoccupied, but with your vacancy sign out front. That puts the chance to pretty much a hundred percent." Whiskey tipped his head back and drank the amber contents of his glass.

"I suppose it does..."

"I want the bath to be filled before I head up. Warm water, not ice water, and not steaming hot." His gaze stayed on the ponies that were still watching him.

"It'll be done," the small earth pony said with a nod, drawing Whiskey's attention to her. Ruby's coat was a light yellow and her shoulder length mane was a deep red like a rose. A sleeveless forest green dress ran down to just above her hooves and looked to be cleaned often. She quickly picked up a bucket and ran towards the stairs on the left side of the building, her tail and long dress flowed on the artificial breeze she created as she moved.

Whiskey pushed the shot glass back towards the barkeep with a nod of thanks. "That's some fine alcohol you have bottled there. How much for all of it?"

The barkeep picked it up and stared at it, his old mind slowly churning over the value of the contents.

Whiskey took the time to feel around his pockets again to make sure he still had everything. He felt the remaining gold in a leg pocket, his small cigar case in a chest pocket with four cigars, and an adjustable wrench. With a satisfied internal sigh, Whiskey set his hands on the bartop. "Well?"

The barkeep looked up from the bottle and said, "fifteen bits."

"I'll pass," Whiskey replied, slowly running a hand through his two-tone mane. "There a place around here I can pick up a weapon or armor?"

"There's Warmare's, but the shop is closed for the night. It's two blocks down that way near the gate," he pointed in the general direction of the gate, which was towards the stairs.

Whiskey glanced in that direction and nodded his thanks even though he could not physically see the shop. He then slowly left the bar and made his way over to the stairs while keeping an eye on the group of ponies that had been watching him.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Dawn came across Equestria as the shop owners awoke to a partly cloudy sky that looked like it was on fire. For Whiskey, it was just another day and he would sleep past the early morning due to him being even more tired than he had originally thought. Some hours after dawn, he rolled over in his soft bed, snoring loudly, and pulled the other pillow close. The thick bear pelt blanket kept the zebra warm, almost too warm.

In the hall outside his room, a pair of small hooves walked towards the striped pony's door. Ruby, the light yellow earth pony that had filled his bath, gently slid a key into the door and unlocked it as quietly as she could, cringing slightly as the tumblers clicked into position almost too loudly. Strung over her shoulder was the stranger's clothes. She had been up the whole night trying to clean them and had hoped he would pay for it.

Ruby glanced up and down the small dark hallway one more time before stepping inside the room and quietly shut the door. She took a quick look around the modest room and noted the stranger's lack of equipment or gear. All she saw was a tiny pile of bits on the nightstand next to the bed and a small elliptical container, with a metal device nearby that she remembered belonging to blacksmiths.

Slowly, Ruby took one quiet step after the other over to the bed. She folded the clothes and quietly set them on the nightstand. Ruby looked over at the door wondering, 'should I wake him? What if he gets mad? No, I can't. But it is late...'

She looked over at the sleeping striped pony and placed a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him side to side. "Mister? It's past dawn. Hey mister, wake up."

Whiskey mumbled in his sleep and slapped at the thing touching him, but when he heard her voice, his eyes snapped open. Revealing a blurry light yellow face and a dark red mane filling his vision. He slowly sat up while looking around the room for actual intruders, but found none beyond the small earth pony. "How did you get in here?" Whiskey asked as he looked over at the filly. His tone was annoyed and his voice was groggy, nearly sounding like a croak.

Ruby looked down at the floor unsure of what to say or even if she should say anything to the striped one. She had no idea who he was and he could have an angry reaction if she lied. But, with a deep breath and a nod, Ruby slowly brought her gaze to meet his bright pink eyes. "I... I have a key, and I thought ya wanted to be woken sometime today. Ya missed breakfast at dawn and it's nearly lunch time."

Whiskey ran a hand through his wild mane, yawning quietly. As he looked down, he remembered something. The complete lack of clothes under the fur blanket. His pink eyes darted over to the earth pony, then the stuff on the nightstand. When he saw his brown coveralls folded up, he frowned. "Why are my clothes there and not where I left them?"

"I came in after ya went to bed and cleaned 'em as best I could." Ruby nodded as if to assure herself that, that was what she did.

Whiskey pulled the coveralls over and mentally counted how many bits he saw, coming up with the same figure he had last night. He then looked at the filly and said, "turn around and close your eyes."

Ruby wordlessly complied, turning around so her back was to him and looking down with her eyes shut. "Why do you have stripes?" she asked quietly.

Whiskey began to pull his coveralls on and thought over her question. He knew the answer, but assumed by the question that the filly didn't. Whiskey stood up, zipping the front of his coveralls closed. "Because my parents had stripes," he said as he started pocketing everything. "You can look now."

Opening her eyes, Ruby turned around and looked up at the strange pony. "Why?"

"Because Celestia made them that way."

"Who?" Ruby tilted her head, an ear twitching a little at the soft sound of hooves walking on wood in the hallway.

Whiskey looked over at the door as well, also hearing the hooves. "Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, and sun mover."

"There's no pony like that!" Ruby giggled, quickly shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay and chat. I need to get to the crystal palace," Whiskey said as he tried to walk around the fully known as Ruby.

She quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path, and said, "what's a crystal palace?"

Whiskey brought a hand up and rubbed his forehead with a deep sigh. "It's a palace made of pure crystal in the north."

Ruby tilted her head. "What's a palace?"

"A big fort where a queen lives."

"What's a fort and who's a queen?" Ruby tilted her head the other way and side stepped to block the striped visitor's path again.

"Look, foal, I don't have time to educate you when your parents clearly haven't. I need to go right now!" A faint creak outside his door caused Whiskey to tilt his head a little and whisper to Ruby, "who's out there?"

Ruby glanced at the door and shrugged. "Dunno. Ponies going to and from the bar?"

Whiskey stared at the door for a few moments and then down at Ruby with a frown, partly wondering if it was ponies hired to stop him. "Maybe..."a

Ruby held her hand out, smiling up at the strange pony. "Five bits, please."

It took a few moments for Whiskey to comprehend that she had just asked for payment on something. The whole time he was staring at her and blinking. Then, it slowly dawned on him like a slap to the face, causing him to take a step back. "Payment for cleaning my clothes?" he asked. Ruby nodded, keeping her smile. "Fine," Whiskey sighed. He dug around in his pocket for a few moments before pulling out five bits.

He dropped four into her outstretched hand and kept the fifth, causing Ruby to frown. "Please...? I don't get paid for what I do downstairs."

"What's your name?"

"Ruby Flower," she replied with a nod. "My folks were killed by bandits 'n Mister Taps raised me. But he never told me about them ponies you talk about."

Whiskey glanced over at the door again, keeping the last bit just above her hand. "Ruby, those ponies in plate armor that were staring at me last night. Are they still here?"

She nodded with a wide smile, "yes! They asked me on my way up if I had seen you leave, but I said 'how could a pony leave without his pants? He'd be naked an' ponies can't be naked now can they?'."

With a silent hiss and a glare at the door, Whiskey let go of the remaining bit, dropping it into Ruby's yellow hand. "So they're downstairs then. Is there another way out?"

Ruby closed her fist around the bits pointed a finger at the nearby window. "I heard of ponies in stories escapin' a place through a window, but I ain't never seen it first hand before." Whiskey looked over at the closed window for a few moments, then the door again, and finally Ruby. She smiled up at him. “Ain’tcha gonna go out the window?”

Whiskey pulled out his wrench and looked at it. "Hm..."

*** ***

A plate armored pony kicked the zebra's door in and ran in with his sword out, the other two ponies followed close behind. As they spread out and looked for the striped pony, they soon found out that he had vanished into thin air like a ghost. One of them slowly sheathed his sword and asked, "where's the filly? She was supposed to be here!"

Ruby skipped along behind Whiskey with a grin. "That was so cool! It was like a Daring Do book!"

Whiskey, however, was not amused. He looked back at Ruby with a frown and stopped. She also stopped and smiled up at him, clearly suppressing a giggle that caused Whiskey to facepalm. "Foal, please go back to the bar."

"Nu-uh," she shook her head. "I want to see what you are doing!"

A few poorly dressed ponies passed by the pair and looked at the odd zebra before going on their way. Whiskey didn't care, he was used to the looks, but he had no idea where he was or even when. For all he knew, he could have been thrown back in time, which he assumed to be the likely outcome.

Whiskey pointed back towards the Drunken Mare with his finger and glared down at Ruby. "Go home. I don't want you following me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to!" Whiskey shouted. Ruby began to pout, the black part of her eyes slowly grew bigger as they teared up. Whiskey's ears folded back at the sight. "Don't... Don't cry." Ruby's lips began trembling, causing Whiskey to facepalm and mutter, "fine... Only to the gate."

"Yay!" Ruby instantly grinned at her success.

Whiskey groaned at having fallen for the trick, then turned around and resumed walking towards Warmare's. He and Ruby walked along without further complaints, but Ruby kept looking up at the zebra's tail and tilting her head. "Why is your tail two colors?"

Whiskey rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Why is your tail red?"

"Because it is!" Ruby giggled.

"Then you answered your own question," Whiskey said as he walked around a pony that eyed him curiously because of the stripes and odd voice tone.

Ruby frowned and skipped along.

Back at the bar, Fell Hoof pulled the bartender across the bar by the collar of his shirt and placed a sword against the back of the pony's neck. The bartender shut his eyes when he felt the cold steel pressed against his neck and waited for the inevitable.

It never came. Instead, Fell Hoof asked, "where is the filly?"

"What?" the bartender blinked and stared down at the armored hooves of the pony.

"What ain't a location!" Fell Hoof growled and pressed the blade further into the bartender's neck, drawing a little blood as it broke the skin. "The filly that works here. Where is she?!" he shouted.

"I don't know!" the bartender shouted as he shut his eyes. "She runs off in the mornings to go run errands for ponies around town!"

Fell Hoof pulled the blade away and took a step back, keeping the tip of the sword point aimed at the bartender. The other ponies in his small band kept their eyes out for trouble, but no pony dared to get close to any in full plate armor. All of the patrons had cleared out shortly after the swords were drawn and the only worker in the bar was the bartender, an old stallion well past his adventuring days.

However, the batwing doors slowly opened and a pony wearing hooded robes with a massive broadsword made of bone walked into the bar. Adorning the sky blue robes were various gold chains with symbols attached to them and small pony skulls with smaller chains linking them to the belt. On the figure's right side was a thick leather bound tome with an embossed gold skull on it, the figure's left carried the bone broadsword adorned with various inscriptions along the blade and a small dragon head with bright gems replacing the eyes for a pommel.

Fell Hoof and his cronies glanced over at the figure and took a step back as the pony rested the tip of the sword on the ground and looked over at the nearest armored pony. The robed pony sniffed the air for a few moments and shut its eyes, taking in all of the various scents with a faint smile that was invisible to the others. All Fell Hoof could see was the pony's masked muzzle. "We got no quarrel with you," he said to the figure.

"Ah," the figure began in a masked voice that did not reveal its gender. "But that is where you are wrong." The robed pony held its gloved right hand up, revealing that it was clutching some parchment, and tossed the parchment over to the leader.

Fell Hoof picked up the paper and slowly read it before crumpling it into a ball. "And?"

"I hate Hunters," the figure replied in its indistinguishable voice. "I could smell your filth before I even set a hoof near the gate. I want you three gone before I make you disappear."

"There's three of us and only one of you," Fell Hoof said. "I think the odds are in our favor."

The figure pointed a finger at Fell Hoof as the palm of its hand and the gems in the dragon head's eyes began to glow, a ball of energy started forming in the figure's palm as its fingertips started to turn into bones. "Last chance to leave before I add your skulls to my collection."

Meanwhile, a completely oblivious Whiskey walked up the steps of Warmare's, a small two story shop with a forge out front. Inside the shop was a counter with a sleeping old unicorn. Around her sat various weapons on racks ranging from simple wood staves to ornate ceremonial muskets. A few displays showcased suits made from chain mail or thick linen, but no plate. Dirt lined the floor and, by the depressions in the floor, one could see the room was well traveled.

Whiskey walked over to a shelf with gloves on them and picked up a leather bracer, slowly turning it over to inspect the stitching. Ruby, however, smiled as she skipped over to the counter, around it, and started to slowly pull a dagger out of its sheathe.

The unicorn snorted awake and glared over at Ruby. "Put that back you thieving foal!"

Ruby squeaked, quickly sheathing the dagger and scrambling to the front of the counter. Whiskey glanced over with a frown, setting the bracer back down before slowly walking over to the counter. The blacksmith looked over at the zebra and tilted her head, but shrugged.

Ruby tapped the counter and said, "I need to pick up an order for Stone Gazer."

The unicorn stretched her back, shutting her eyes, and yawned as it popped. "Oh? Stoney's order was ready last night. It's that sword there," she pointed at a polished steel sword on a rack. Ruby went over to it and pulled it down along with the sheathe, then used the belt loop to carry it on her back.

Whiskey tilted his head at Ruby and it finally clicked that she wasn't following him, but picking up an order for a pony. He nodded at Ruby before looking at the shopkeeper. "Tell me, what year is it?"

"Spell traveller, huh?" The unicorn scratched her chin some while she thought over the question. The others in the room merely stood there awaiting the response, which took the unicorn some time. "About seventy years since the fall of the kingdom and the Sisters vanished."

"What?" Whiskey's eyes widened in shock as his mouth dropped. He wobbled a little bit before collapsing into a sitting position, leaving his hands on the counter. Whiskey shut his eyes and shook his head. "No... This can't be! I... I was hired by the Crystal Queen last week to fly her airship!"

The unicorn nickered and shook her head. "Ain't that some bad luck. Well, you're here and I presume you have bits to make a purchase?"

"Huh?" Whiskey looked up at the unicorn in clear confusion and on the verge of collapse from shock. He teetered a bit in place as Ruby walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to her. "I didn't know..."

Ruby pat Whiskey's shoulder and smiled. "Now you know. But I don't know what you don't know, so it's okay!"

"Do you want to buy something?" The old unicorn asked the striped pony.

"Um..." Whiskey slowly looked around the room and nodded. "I would like some armor and maybe a weapon. I've a long trip ahead of me it seems and will need protection."

*** ***

A backpack. That was all Whiskey could afford with the rest of his twenty bits. A simple two strap leather backpack big enough to hide Ruby in if she wanted to play hide and seek.

The zebra's gaze went down to Ruby. Her long green dress nearly touched the ground and the sword on her back was just barely above the ground. Ruby' gaze was scanning all of the nearby buildings including the gate, which a pair of cloth uniformed guards stood at. Not far from the blacksmith's shop was a market. To the right was the rest of the town and to the left was one of Waremare's apprentice blacksmiths making a dagger.

"Where are you going to go?" Ruby asked, slowly rising her gaze to meet Whiskey's. "Didn't you say you couldn't stay and talk?"

"Yeah," Whiskey nodded some. His gaze went over to the pony in thick clothes with a thick apron over them. The pony was busy hammering the dagger's blade into submission and had their back to Whiskey. "But now... I don't know. It seems like my job is a failure, but I want to head for the castle anyway."

Ruby shrugged and started skipping off towards a building across from Warmare's. Not knowing any other pony in town, Whiskey followed along behind the filly as she started humming a merry tune. Ruby skipped past the buildings and headed for one almost a city block away marked 'Phantom's Apothecarium'.

The buildings was a small stone and wood hut with the image of a partially filled bottle leaning over as it poured into another bottle. Whiskey tilted his head and wondered what Ruby could be doing there.

His answer came when she opened the door and pulled a small lock of his two-tone mane out, causing Whisky to instinctively feel the back of it where it was probably cut. Ruby opened the door to the shop and skipped inside.

A pony almost as purple as a plum was sitting down at a table with various vials around him. Adorning his head was a straw hat and thick gloves covered his hands. A black robe was bunched up and partly covered with an apron so anything spilled didn't get on it. He didn't notice the others when they entered.

"Phantom!" Ruby shouted, causing the pony to start in surprise and spill the whole vial into the partially filled one as his smaller than average wings flared out with a pop. Any concoction he had been working on instantly burst into flames and smoke. Ruby covered her smile and suppressed a giggle as Phantom quickly doused the mixture with a thick cloth.

He started dabbing it dry and glared over at Ruby, folding his wings back under the fold in his robe. "You know better than that! These potions are very... who's that with you?" He tilted his head when he finally noticed the zebra with Ruby.

"Whiskey," he said with a nod, stepping around Ruby towards another table and a set of chairs. "I'm new in town and Ruby was showing me around."

"I brought you a part of his mane!" Ruby held the lock of hair out and smiled. "Maybe you can make me striped too!"

Whiskey rolled his eyes before sitting in one of the chairs. Phantom gently took the hair and set it into a jar, sealing it tight with a clasp lock. "Ruby, transformation magic like that is dangerous and requires a lot of ingredients. Just a mane sample isn't enough and you probably wouldn't like the result."

"Why not?" Ruby frowned.

"Why not just paint them on with soot?" Whiskey mumbled to himself. The others didn't hear him because he was on the other side of the small room.

"Ruby, why are you interrupting me?" Phantom sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Papa needs some more firewater cure," she replied.

Phantom sighed. He pointed over at a large cabinet filled with all manner of potions over by Whiskey. "Over there. It's labeled 'aspirin' with three pills on top."

Whiskey glanced at the cabinet as Ruby skipped over and started to dig through the bottles. Upon getting an idea, he looked over at Phantom. "Do you know of any job openings? I spent all of my bits."

Phantom leaned back, scratching his chin in thought. "Hm... You could try dancing at the inn. An exotic looking-"

"No," Whiskey glared at Phantom. "You can burn that idea."

Phantom shrugged as Ruby picked up the right jar and said, "found it!"

"I'll send the bill later," Phantom said to Ruby. He looked at Whiskey again. "There might be work around town if you ask. Somehow Ruby always finds some."

"Yep!" She smiled and nodded.

*** ***

As Whiskey and Ruby approached the bottom floor of a two story wooden building marked Ground Floor General Goods, the two of them could hear muffled shouting.

Ruby was about to grab the handle when Whiskey's striped hand engulfed the filly's tiny hand and pulled it away, causing her to look up at him in clear confusion. "Peppy always yells at her help," Ruby said, frowning some as the confusion cleared off her face.

Whiskey took a slow glance around the town, that seemed too quiet, before looking down at Ruby. "Are you sure?" She nodded slowly, to which Whisky let go of her hand. "Alright, but at the first sign of trouble you run. Okay?"

"Okay!" Ruby nodded and opened the door.

"-I don't want it here any longer!" the old unicorn mare from gate last night shouted at another, much younger, pony. "You get that box out of my shop. Do ya hear me?

"Yes, ma'am," the pony nodded.

The old pony from the night before wore the same garb she had then, a simple robe covering most of her figure while her assistant wore just pants and a shirt. Whiskey stepped into the room behind Ruby and whispered, "which is Peppy?" Ruby pointed a finger at the unicorn. "Of course."

Peppy turned around to face the door, having heard the bell. She smiled at the sight of Ruby and Whiskey as the two of them covered the short distance to the counter. The shop was your average goods store that looked like it sold junk to any pony to walk in; filled shelves upon filled shelves lined the wall and part of the room's center. Next to her sat a box about the size of a very large tome.

"I see the lone traveller has graced my presence," Peppy said with a smile, slowly placing a hand on the box. "Sleep well at the Drunken Mare?"

"Yeah," Whiskey nodded. Ruby skipped over to a shelf and started pulling things down much to the annoyance of the assistant, who rushed over and started putting everything back as fast as he could. Whiskey looked at Peppy's hand for a few long moments, before looking into her eyes. "I'm out of bits and looking for work."

The statement caused Peppy's lips to curl up as the old mare chuckled. "I figured the measly amount of bits wouldn't last you." She pat the box with her hand and smirked. "Tell you what. I just happen to have a jo-"

"Hey!" the assistant shouted at Ruby as she stuck a sucker in her mouth and skipped away. "Get back here you thief!"

"Let her alone!" Peppy shouted at her assistant before he could chase the diminutive pony. Ruby skipped up to the counter and set a bit down, which Peppy took and placed in a bag without looking down at Ruby because her gaze was locked on her assistant. "Grab a broom and start sweeping."

Whiskey waited patiently for Peppy. He looked down at Ruby and tilted his head when he noticed she was looking up at him and holding another sucker out. "For me?" Whiskey asked quietly in some surprise.

"Yep!" Ruby nodded.

"Thanks." Whisky took the sucker and placed it into one of his pockets. "I'll eat it later."

"Right," Peppy began as she slid the box over and opened it, causing Whiskey's eyes to widen in complete shock. "I want this box, and its contents, to be delivered to Fortune City. You will not give the box to any other pony, you will guard the box with your life, and if you succeed. I'll pay you fifteen hundred bits and give you a sword that was once wielded by a captain of Celestia's personal guard. It’s claimed to have heavily wounded the changeling queen in a battle before she disappeared."

Whiskey closed his mouth at the same time Peppy shut the box and regained his composure. "Why me?"

"Because you're not from here and I know a mercenary when I see one. And judging by your reaction, you know exactly what the contents are." Whiskey slowly nodded his reply and said nothing. "Exactly my point. Now what do you say?"

Whiskey scratched his chin in thought for a long moment. He didn't know where Fortune City was, but planned to ask, and it wasn't as if he had any other choice. None of the other jobs he had found were worth as much as the one Peppy offered. Whiskey took a quick breath and said, "how do you know I won't simply run off with the bits and box?"

"You're a merc, right?" Peppy asked with a tilt of her head.

"Privateer actually," Whiskey corrected her.

"I didn't know you had a ship," Peppy replied dryly. "Did your crew decide to throw a mutiny and toss you overboard?"

Whiskey rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Not exactly. I was thrown forward in time. My ship is long gone by now."

"There are some birds still in the air from before the war, so there's a good chance yours might be around. The point stands. I assume you’re a stallion of your word based off your… shady profession. Can’t get much work if you constantly go back on your contracts."

Whiskey nodded before snapping his fingers when he thought of something and pointed at Peppy's horn. "You can open a portal and-"

"Fuck. That." Peppy glared at Whiskey, cutting his sentence off and causing his ears to fold back. "I wouldn't trust the chaos realm with this box for one second. You're using conventional means."

Whiskey slowly ran his hand through his wild mane and scratched behind his ears, thinking over the job again. "Where's this Fortune City?"

"In the sky."

There was a few seconds of silence before Whiskey asked, "come again?"

"Did I stutter? For a second I thought we were negotiating, but now it's so quiet you can hear a mouse fart. Fortune City is in. The. Sky."

"You mean Cloudsdale was renamed?"

Peppy shook her head. "Cloudsdale? No. Fortune City was a joint project before and during the war to build a flying city of stone and steel. It still flies thanks to earth pony engineering and pegasus magic, but the buyer for the box is there. All you have to do is get to one of the waypoints along its route and charter a taxi ride up, if a dragon doesn't try to eat you."

Whiskey looked at the box with a frown at the new information. "I see why it's still here. That sounds..."

"Suicidal," the assistant added in, receiving a glare from Peppy. He quickly went back to work sweeping the wooden floor. Ruby was sitting on a chair clicking her hooves together and humming a song, still not having delivered the sword yet as it was her second to the last stop.

Whiskey took a deep breath and looked at Peppy, sticking his hand out. "Half the bits now and half after delivery, sword too."

"Deal," Peppy smirked and firmly shook Whiskey's hand. She looked at her assistant and shouted, "oi, you. Get the bits."

"So who am I delivering the box to?" Whiskey asked as the assistant walked across the room to a safe.

Peppy shrugged. "Some pony I don't know the name of, but I imagine you'll know who to give it too when you get there."

Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

As Whiskey walked along the dirt road inside of Moccasin Hill, his mind ignored the buildings around him, on his way back towards the bar he and Ruby had originally started from. Whiskey wondered why he so quickly accepted the box, but quickly passed it off as him needing the bits as soon as possible, and a having a job never hurt any pony.

Ruby however, was skipping along next to Whiskey and humming quietly to herself. She had yet to deliver the sword to Stone Gazer, due to the pony being out of town on business. Ruby was not concerned with the pony being gone because she would have the Drunken Mare's bartender hold the sword behind the counter until Stone Gazer came back.

Ruby would glance up at Whiskey every so often and smile. Whiskey would glance down and tilt his head when she stopped and giggled. Ruby twirled around in circles, spreading her arms out as she finished humming. Whiskey ignored the display, choosing instead to walk over and open the door to Phantom's shop.

The pegasus had his back to the group and was adjusting the position of a few vials on a shelf. Phantom wore only a pair of pants and a shirt, showing his less than impressive wings. They were half the size of normal wings and prevented him from doing anything more than slow his falls. Whiskey glanced down at Ruby and noticed she was slowly sneaking her way over to the unsuspecting purple pegasus, so Whiskey quickly knocked on the door and called out, "hello?"

Phantom spun around and adjusted his glasses after they shifted on his face. "Yes?! Ah, Whiskey, right?" He nodded as Ruby looked back and pouted, having lost the element of surprise. "What can I do for you?"

Whiskey tried to ignore Ruby's pouting by focusing his gaze on a cabinet stocked full of various colored jars. "I'm going to be traveling and need some help."

"Help?" Phantom placed his palms together and looked at them as he opened, closed, and turned his hands around while thinking over Whiskey's request. It didn't take him long, only a few seconds, before he nodded. "Yes. I can help. Let me pack my things."

His response received a minor chuckle from Whiskey, causing Phantom to tilt his head in confusion. He opened his mouth to ask why, but Whiskey said, "I meant medical supplies. I need to buy some in case I get injured."

Phantom facepalmed. His cheeks darkened as a faint blush of embarrassment formed on his face. "I'm an idiot," he muttered as he pulled his hand down and managed to cause the blush to vanish. "I thought you wanted me to travel with you!"

"Sorry." Whiskey walked over to the cabinet and began browsing all of the labels. "I travel fast and light. Another pony is only going to slow me down." He grabbed a purple vial labeled 'healing potion' with a red cross painted on it and held it out. "This made from herbs?"

Phantom stood up straight, firmly nodding and looked annoyed at the question. "Every potion in here is made from hand picked herbs!" He said with a wave of his hand. "How else can you make one?"

Whiskey, not amused by the reply, pulled the cork top and sniffed it, smelling roses, grass, and a few other flowers mixed in. He corked it and grabbed a few rolls of cloth, then went over to Phantom and showed him everything before setting his bag down. "Sorry. I had to be sure because I once heard a rumor of ponies grinding unicorn horns up for their potions."

Ruby, who had been dancing around and humming to herself, stopped and stared at Whiskey with her jaw agape as all the color drained from her face. Phantom looked down at the potion, up at Whiskey and then over to Ruby. "They're just old world rumors to scare young foals. No such recipe exists." He quickly looked at Whiskey again and a small glimmer of a glare crossed his face. "As for you. I'd appreciate it if you respected my line of work more. I save lives, I don't harm any ponies and that'll be sixty bits for everything. Now pay up."

Whiskey tossed the gold bits on the table and scooped up the items. He quickly placed them in his bag and headed for the door before he would say something he might regret. The zebra opened the door as Ruby asked, "are ya tellin' the truth, Mister?"

Whiskey looked over his shoulder at the small earth pony filly, frowning some. "Even a lie has a bit of truth to it somewhere." He stood there flexing his striped fingers for a second before walking out of the shop towards the front gate.

Ruby looked at Phantom like she was about to be sick. The pegasus slowly shook his head and brought a hand up to rest on his forehead. "Ruby, they're just stories."

"But you heard 'em! They've got to come from somewhere!"

"No," Phantom sighed. "It's like the story of Discord and Harmony, a fake tale to tell to ponies."

Whiskey was busy grumbling to himself while he walked. He didn't like making foals cry, but he had no choice in his eyes. It was either lie to her and let her be naive to the real world, or tell the truth and make her cry. Luckily for Whiskey he had found a middle ground, since he wasn't even sure the rumors were true.

*** ***

Whiskey stopped next to the tavern's door and slammed his fist against the wall, receiving a hollow thump and a dull pain for his effort. He shut his eyes, let out a deep breath, and shook his head. "Why are you acting so stupid?" he asked himself.

The batwing doors to the tavern were flung open as a screaming pony flew out of the bar and landed on the ground, sliding to a stop in the middle of the road. Whiskey's eyes snapped open, his gaze quickly darted left and right as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He spotted one of the plate armored ponies in the road and tilted his head a bit. The whole right side of the armor's breast plate had been sliced open like somepony had pried it apart.

The armored pony scrambled to his hooves and ran off towards the gate without his sword. Whiskey audibly gulped and wondered what had caused the armor to rip in such a manner. He also wondered if he should look inside the tavern. And if it was a safe place for Ruby to come back to. Whiskey stood there contemplating his choices until his choice was made for him.

The batwing doors swung open and a pony in sky blue robes with gold trim stepped out. Chains all over the robes clinked together and Whiskey could see the leather bound tome on the pony's side. The zebra's eyes widened when he saw the now bloodied bone broadsword.

Whiskey took a half step back. The pony looked down at the road and sighed. "Did he get away?" the pony asked no one in particular in their strange voice. "And we were having so much fu-" The robed pony sensed a frightened gaze and looked over at Whiskey, which caused him to take a full step back. "Oh, hello there." the pony's voice had suddenly changed tone to a more friendly one. "Hunter or non-hunter?"

"What?" Whiskey blinked at the sudden question.

The robed pony conjured the bounty paper and held it up for Whiskey to see. He could see that it was a one thousand bit bounty on living unicorns or one hundred and fifty bits for each full grown horn.

"Do you hunt unicorns?" the pony asked as they crumpled the bounty up and burned it in a green fireball that didn't burn their hand.

Whiskey gulped again and quickly shook his head. "No! Never! I'm just a land bound privateer from the past."

"Ah." the pony nodded as the fireball ceased. "Ships are fun. So you're travelling then?" Whiskey nodded and said nothing. "Mind if I tag along?" the unicorn asked with a tone that indicated it was in Whiskey's best interest he accepted. It didn't help that the unicorn lifted their sword and began cleaning the blood off with some cloth.

"No...?" Whiskey cringed and braced himself for the inevitable attack.

It never came. Instead, the unicorn placed the sword on their back and sighed. "Perhaps we got off on the wrong hoof. I'm Crystal Shard," they held their hand out. "And you might be...?"

"Whiskey," he said and looked down at the offered hand. The pony's gloves appeared to be over extremely slim fingers and they even had polished metal extensions on them that looked like they could tear Whiskey's skin with ease. Regardless, he gently took hold of the unicorn's hand and shook it. "This is going to sound weird, but are you a mare or stallion?"

Crystal let go after a moment and laughed. "It is my robes, isn't it?" Whiskey nodded. "I'm a mare. So where are you heading?"

"Far, far, away," Whiskey said as he looked at the mare's face and tried to see through her hood's shadow. He failed miserably at it.

"Good! I could use a nice walk."

"No." Whiskey shook his head. "You're not coming with me."

"Yes, I am." Crystal held up her hand, her fingers ready to snap at a moment's notice. "You see. I can turn you to ash with but a snap of my fingers. Say no one more time."

"You can come." Whiskey grinned sheepishly.

Crystal gasped in 'surprise' and clapped her hands together, a flicker of magic exploded like fireworks from her palms. "Oh thank you! You don't know how much it means to me."

Whiskey's fake grin stayed on his face. "No problem, Crystal," he said through his teeth with almost no enthusiasm. "I have to see the barkeep about something."

"Nope!" Crystal quickly yanked Whiskey close and half-hugged him, he tried to pull away, but the robed unicorn began walking towards the gate. "You don't want to go in there. It's..." She brought up her other hand and waved it about. "Quite a mess. Some unicorn hunters came by and they tried to slice the innkeeper's head off."

"Why? He's not a unicorn." Whiskey didn't want to walk, but he had no choice in the matter due to Crystal Shard being taller than himself. That and she had her thin fingers digging into his shoulder preventing him from running even if he wanted to.

"Dunno, don't care. I walk from town to town hunting the hunters as it were. One got away and now we must find him!"

"But..." Whiskey sighed and looked over his shoulder at the Drunken Mare. Ruby skipped around the corner, waving at him and his new companion. Whiskey waved back. "Did you kill those other Hunters?" he asked the tall pony leading him away.

"They're naught but ash piles now." she replied.

Whiskey frowned. He wasn't quite sure what it was, maybe stupidity, that drove him to attempt to knock Crystal Shard's hand away from his shoulder and step to the side. However, Crystal's bony fingers dug deeper into the worn cloth protecting his shoulder and he felt five spikes nearly dig into his arm. He shut his eyes and his face scrunched up, letting out a quiet whimper. "Please let go."

"Please?" Crystal stopped, but kept her death grip on Whiskey's shoulder. "We're off on an adventure that cannot wait and you want to go back?"

Whiskey nodded. "Yes." He looked back at the bar. "I need to..." Ruby was no longer outside. She seemed to have vanished in thin air and it took Whiskey a moment to realize that the doors were swinging in and out. Yet he heard no scream of terror or any indication that something was amiss. "What?"

"I said they were ash piles, and were cleaned up. Now let's keep moving." Crystal started pulling Whiskey along whether he wanted to go or not, she didn’t care. She had a pony to chase down and could use a source of food on the trip.

As the two of them approached the gate, they could hear the guards shouting at a pony down below. “No gold, no entry!” the guard shouted and kept his crossbow aimed down at the two ponies below. “Now get out of here!”

“Look, I told ya,” an older orange mare in dirty green fatigues shouted up at the guard. “I ain’t got any bits on me. Do ya carry ‘em into a fight? I sure as hell don’t! I got an injured pony here an’ she needs healin’ or she’s gonna die.’” Her greying blonde mane was tied back and kept under her slightly tattered cowpony hat. A long musket was resting in her left hand while her right hand kept a passed out pale pink pony on her shoulder. The pale pink pony was dressed in a blood stained white white and gold uniform.

Crystal stared up at the guards while scratching her chin in thought. Luckily for Whiskey, she had let go of his shoulder. The zebra stepped back. Noticing her gesture and remembering her earlier remark about being able to turn ponies to ash, he quickly looked at the guard and shouted, “open the gates! I need to head out.”

One of the guards looked down at Whiskey and shook his head. “No can do, there’s a strange pony outside with no gold. Can’t open the gates until she’s...” he noticed the tall hooded pony was pointing a glowing hand at the gate.

Crystal’s magic flowed out from her hand to surround the gate completely. She felt its old, rusty and poorly maintained hinges, and the timeworn wood. The unicorn clenched her hand into a fist and pulled it close, tearing the thick wood off its hinges with some effort. She made a tossing motion and the gate followed suit as she opened her hand again, the gate crashing against a nearby building. “You really should rebuild that gate,” Crystal said as she began walking, snapping her fingers to get Whiskey’s attention. “Seems to be unlocked.”

He jumped at the noise, but ran over to the orange mare instead. Her wide eyed gaze was on the tall pony in the blue robes. “What happened?” Whiskey asked the orange mare.

She finally blinked and looked at him. “I dunno. She fell from the sky like this. I done patched her up as best I could, but I gotta get her to a doc.”

“There’s an apothecarium up the hill that way,” Whiskey pointed towards Phantom’s shop. “Lay her on the ground and I’ll see what I can do.”

The orange mare set the pale pink earth pony down and ran off to get help. The guards were busy shouting at Crystal for her destroying the gate, while she stood there ignoring them. She sighed deeply and went over to Whiskey. “Alright, minion, what is your plan?”

Whiskey looked the pale mare over. Her dress shirt under the trench coat had been turned into a makeshift bandage and her whole right leg of her pants was covered in the blood that had leaked out of a shot to her gut. The mare was breathing, if a bit faintly. Whiskey could not identify the markings on her shoulder as belonging to any group he recognized. He shook his head and concentrated on the bandage, slowly unwrapping it to expose the wound. “We have to get the ball out, or the-”

“I could fix her for you,” Crystal said as she pulled her broadsword out and held it near the pink mare’s neck. “Just a cut here and she’ll sleep without pain.”

“No!” Whiskey shook his head, Crystal removed the blade and sighed again. The zebra’s pink eyes stared at the wound. He did not really want to even touch it, but he took a deep breath and started moving his hand towards it.

"Wait," Crystal grabbed his hand and pulled it away, her metal claws digging into his wrist. "Sterilize your hand first."

"What?" Whiskey blinked at the shadowy face. "How?"

"With strong whiskey or something."

Whiskey tried to pull his hand away with a frown, but Crystal's claws only dug deeper. "I don't have any on me."

"Then don't touch it or you'll infect it and that'll be worse."

"I don't get you." Whiskey, again, tried to pull his arm away from the mare, and succeeded. He backed away, gently rubbing the marks the metal had made. "You have no qualms about killing this mare, yet are concerned with her wound getting an infection."

"There is a difference between a clean kill and one that drags the death out, making the pony suffer a fate that is far, far, worse."

Whiskey opened his mouth but closed it. He saw no fault with Crystal's logic and even agreed with it, to a point. It was one thing to stab a pony, but a whole other thing to drag their death out on purpose. Only a sadistic pony would torture their victims. So, the zebra did the only thing he could do. He placed a hand on the pale pink mare's clamy forehead to check her temperature and firmly pressed a clean part of the cloth over her wound. Her pulse was very weak, almost imperceptible and her temperature was almost ambient, yet her chest rose and fell in erratic intervals.

"I'm surprised she hasn't kicked the bucket yet," Crystal commented. "A wound like that should have killed her long ago from the internal damage."

The orange mare had left her musket on the ground near the pale pink pony. Crystal put her broadsword away and scooped the firearm up, holding it close to her nose while pulling the hammer back. She sniffed the pan a few times and smelled nothing, so she started inspecting the craftwork that went into making it. "Well, I can tell you that old mare didn't shoot the pink one."

Whiskey looked over towards the gate that was now partially wedged inside a building. He gulped, wondering just how much magic the unicorn knew. Then, he looked at the leather bound book on her hip. Its brass skull was quite visible and looked recently polished, as were the skulls of once living ponies that dangled on chains. It was then that Whiskey noted the skulls she carried bore no horns. "Wh-who are y-you?" he asked hesitantly.

"Just a pony who was cursed. Nothing you need to worry yourself about."

"Why were-"

On one hand, Crystal's fingers came together as if she were about to snap them. "Do you want to die? If you do keep asking. If not, I suggest you move away so that pegasus can help." she nodded towards Phantom.

Whiskey looked at the purple pegasus and moved to the side. Phantom sat on his knees and began to wordlessly tend to the mare's wound. The other three ponies gathered around watched him work. He pulled a lead ball out of the wound, then used some metal tweezers to remove a piece of the pink pony's shirt that the ball had taken. He set them in Crystal's hand and dumped a vial of yellow liquid on the wound. It began bubbling as the pegasus pulled another vial out of his bags, this one a pink color.

Whiskey yanked the musket away from Crystal and gave it to the orange mare. She took it and began inspecting it to make sure it hadn't been messed with. On her left side was a small ammo pouch and powder horn made from a hollowed out bull's horn. Whiskey slowly looked her up and down, and wanted to ask an obvious question, but chose to not say anything.

She, however, felt his staring and looked over. The sun's position in the sky caused her hat to cast a shadow across her face and hide most of the faint wrinkles. "Don't'cha know it ain't nice ta stare?" she asked, tilting her head some as she slung her musket on her back next to her travelling pack.

Whiskey blinked and shook his head. "Sorry." he placed a hand to his forehead with a deep sigh. "I'm lost is all."

"Ya don't say?" she asked sarcastically. "It done looked like ya suddenly found my shirt interestin'."

"It's just-"

Crystal set her hand on Whiskey's shoulder and squeezed it, digging through his cloth jumpsuit. "What my friend here is trying to say, is that his brain is scrambled from being flung through the Chaos Realm." Whisky sighed in defeat and nodded.

The orange mare tipped her hat up and let out a low whistle. "That ain't fun to jump through. How'd ya do it, portal or unicorn?"

"Unicorn," he mumbled. "Claimed he could get me to the right place. He missed the mark by a long shot, and the time frame. Sent me into the future."

"That's why I like portals. Ya just hop through and there ain't no worries. Thanks fer yer help, miss," she stuck her hand out for Crystal. "Can't say I'm too fond of her attire though. It's kinda creepy."

"That's the point, to confuse and frighten," Crystal said as she bowed slightly while waving at herself. "I am known as Crystal Shard to those I travel with."

"She'll be okay, I think." Phantom stood up and looked at the orange mare. "Miss Applejack, count yourself lucky. Had you arrived a minute or two later, she would have died."

She looked at him and took her backpack off, slowly digging through it for anything. "What do I owe ya, doc?"

"Well," Phantom took a deep breath, glared a bit at Whiskey, then looked at the orange mare. "Do you happen to have any Applejack Whiskey?"

"I got half a bottle." She pulled one out, flipping it around to show the purple pegasus. The label had the words 'Applejack's Distillery' above three neatly arranged apples and 'Best Brew in Equestria' underneath them along with a date. "Brewed with love from only the finest of apples."

Phantom's eyes widened at the sight of the pristine bottle. He quickly snatched it from her hands and held it close. "This bottle, is it real?"

"Yep. A hundred percent real home brewed whiskey." Applejack nodded, causing Whiskey to tilt his head and wonder if he should have brought a case on his trip, but the notion died down when he remembered he couldn't carry a whole case on his back. "I guarantee it."

Phantom uncorked the top and took a swig, the strong alcohol burning his mouth on the way down. He withdrew the bottle and began coughing violently with watery eyes, nodding his approval of the liquor.

"Thanks, doc." Applejack pat Phantom on the back and smiled at Whiskey's head tilt. "What? I always carry a bottle with me."

"Not that. Your name is Applejack?" He asked. She nodded as Phantom walked over to a pair of guards and converse for a few moments. The guards dashed off towards Phantom's shop with him following behind, bottle in hand.

"Who would name their foal after an alcoholic drink?" Crystal asked, poking the passed out pink mare with a stick she had found. "That is just asking for them to drink."

Whiskey rolled his eyes in response. Applejack folded her forearms across her chest and frowned at Crystal. "Ya don't gotta make fun of a pony's name. I don't know why my ma and pa named me Applejack, but they did, so there."

"Why does your name sound familiar?" Whiskey asked. He scratched the back of his head while the gears inside the space between his ears slowly turned. "I heard it named in other things too, but I just... can't. Remember."

"I'm famous I guess." Applejack shrugged. She looked down at the passed out mare and frowned when Crystal poked her again. "Stop that. How'd you like it if somepony did that."

Crystal stepped back. The stick burst into flames, quickly turning to ash as she dropped the item to the ground. "You said she fell from the sky?" she asked.

"Yep. I found 'er like she is. One of them there airships was way off in the distance. I figure she came from them."

The three of them looked over at the two guards carrying a stretcher. They ran over to the group and gently placed the pink mare on the cloth, then stood up. Applejack looked at Whiskey and Crystal, the guards, then the duo again. "I'd show you the crash site, but ya can't miss it. It's about a half hour walk thataway," she pointed her finger off towards the forest.

Whiskey followed her gesture and looked for a few moments as if memorizing it. He then looked at Applejack, but Crystal's hand grabbed his shoulder and leaned close to his ear, her claws digging in again as she whispered quietly, "if you try to bring her along, I'm burning the both of you right here." Her voice spell had dropped and Whiskey heard a nearly ice cold tone from a faintly echoing female voice. "I don't want her around me."

Whiskey gulped and nodded, not taking his eyes off the orange mare not far away. His heart rate picked up as a cold sweat formed on the sides of his forehead from the threat. Applejack watched the guards carry the pink mare off, but felt the zebra's staring. She looked over her shoulder and gave a small wave, barely lifting her hand off her still folded arm.

"M-Miss Applejack," Whiskey managed to say. He pat one of his pockets, opened it, and brought out a handful of bits. Slowly, he held them out. His hand trembled as Crystal's finger talons nearly ripped the cloth on his shoulder as she gripped even tighter.

Applejack turned around and pointed at herself. "For me?"

Whiskey nodded. "Please, t-take it. Get a r-room, meal, and b-bath at the Drunken Mare."

"Ya don't gotta buy an old mare a room, but thanks." She smiled and held her hands out. He dropped the bits into her outstretched hands and looked at her, pleading with his eyes for her to get help. Applejack counted nearly fifty bits. "Shucks. I'll have ta figure a way to pay ya back."

"Don't worry about it," Crystal replied. "My friend and I are happy to help."

Applejack placed her newly acquired bits into her pockets and pulled the brim of her hat down a little. "I thank the both of ya and hope yer travel in this crazy land goes well. I've gotta figure out how to get back to my troops."

"What?" Whiskey blinked as Crystal started pulling him away. He resisted and tried to stand his ground, but the tall robed mare was stronger than he was and he was dragged along. "What troops?!" he shouted to Applejack.

"The Royal Guard," replied Applejack. Then, something clicked in her mind, the pale pink mare with the strangely marked royal navy uniform. She spun around to face the town, quickly pulling a map out of her pocket. Applejack looked at it, looked at the landmarks around her, then back to the map and gulped when she saw everything was the same except for the town name. "Oh, fuck me."