Yarost'

New Manehatten. July 13th, 2087. West 7th Street Apartments, Third Floor.

The holographic alarm began its' normal routine of wailing into the darkened bedroom. The light blue lights on the display flashed in sync with the alarm, turning the darkness into a club dance floor. A shadow bolts out from the bedsheets, giving the alarm clock a firm punch off of the nightstand. The clock hit the floor, and the alarm abruptly went silent upon impact. The fist goes limp and rests on the nightstand, patting around lightly for a light switch. The fingers find a small button and jab it, turning on a set of low lights. The lights faded into existence, illuminating the shabby bedroom walls adorned by various posters of bands, movies, and games.

"I hate mornings..."

The bedsheets rise from the bed, covering an awakening form. The covers slid off and revealed a toffee colored combination of a human male and a horse.

Or pony, if you want to be precise with the subject.

"I really hate mornings..." grumbles the man. He looked to be in his early twenties in human years. His head was covered in a messy collaboration of chocolate brown and light caramel hair. His tired eyes shared the same chocolaty coloring as his hair, forming twin pools of brown. With a mighty yawn, the young man swung his legs out from under his bedsheets, popping his equine knees with a small kick of his legs. Popping his back, the sounds of whirring gears and extending springs could be heard as a pair of metallic wings slowly spread out behind him. Rising to his hooves, the young man shuffled over to a small window and yanked the shades up.

The New Manehatten skyline was presented to him in all its' shabby glory. In the distance, the skeletons of new skyscrapers could be seen, covered in stories upon stories of scaffolding. The sun could be seen to the east, beginning its' ascension into the skies above. Crowding the sky were hundreds, if not thousands, of supply craft and public transportation. The young man watched as shuttle craft peeled off from the Skyway, arching down to the numerous shuttle stations placed around New Manehatten.

Behind him, a series of pings went off, alerting him. Turning away from the window, the young man approached his closet and threw the doors open, revealing a Suit Kiosk. Pressing the activation button, the kiosk hummed to life while a display dropped down from the ceiling. The display unfolded into a small array of screens and flickered into life.

"Welcome, Timeless Toaster.

-You have Two new messages waiting.

-Your job routine has also arrived from Shift Manager Checkmate.

-What would you like to do, this morning?"

"Damn thing is too friendly..." Timeless muttered as looked over the choices presented to him. He opted to clear his messages and pressed the small envelope with a light blue '2' on the corner.

"Message One: Hey Time, it's Anderson. Listen, my wife has just gone into labor and I need to call out. Can you please look at those Communications Relays on Level Three? Thanks man." said a gruff voice. Timeless selected 'Reply' and typed:

*"Yeah, no problem. Good luck with your wife."*

"Message Two: Tiiiiiiiimeeeeeyyyyy...Pick up Timey...I knoooooow you're theeeeeeeeeeerrrre...stop playing hard to get and let me ride your horsey..." said a crazed, feminine voice.

With that final word, Timeless wasted no time in deleting the creepy message from his inbox. Shivers ran up his spine as he remembered that girl from 3A; Lyra Heartstrings. What started out as a renovation project in her living room, turned into three months of crazed hell.

But the sex was good at least.

Shaking his head to clear the memories of insanity, Timeless returned to the main menu of the kiosk and selected 'Clothing'. The display changed to a listing of his various clothing. Scrolling down to the very bottom of the list, he selected 'Engineer RIG'. The display retreated immediately, allowing the shaped indentation in the back of the kiosk to be accessed. Stepping in, a pair of curved metal doors slid shut to enclose Timeless as the internal mechanisms assembled his Engineer RIG. With a dull thud, the doors parted and Timeless emerged, making small adjustments to his RIG as he stepped out.

The series of pings was heard again, signalling a new message.

Timeless looked at the display as it folded back down and pressed the envelope once again.

"Shuttle flight #554 to Station Gypsy is to be delayed by twenty minutes. Will notify RIG when update arrives."

"Well...I've got nothing else better to do..." Timeless said with a small sigh. Powering down the kiosk, Timeless shut his closet doors and powered off his apartment lights. As he stepped out of his apartment and locked the door, Timeless looked up suddenly, his ears swiveling around for any sounds of movement. He looked to his right, looking at the ragged doors of apartments 3D-3G. To his left were apartments 3A-3B.

His eyes lingered on 3A, staring hard at the faded lyre painted on the doors' front.

He knew she was watching him through her peephole, keeping herself aloft with a simple levitation spell.

In a burst of speed, Timeless raced past Lyra's apartment door, not turning to see if she decided to pursue him. As he ran, his RIG opened up and began to piece together his helmet, the cyan visor flashing to life. He raced down the stairs, not stopping until he had reached the outside. As he emerged, a couple Anthros and humans looked at him with curious expressions as they passed by. Timeless gave an uneasy chuckle and waved a bit.

"Was...avoiding my ex..." he said lamely. Turning around with his head down a bit, Timeless began his walk to his favorite coffee shop.

*     *     *

Upon entering the shop "Joe and Sweets", Timeless' helmet collapsed into his suit as he breathed in the rich smell of fresh coffee grounds and baking sweets. The cashier, who he learned was named Sunny Fields, perked up at the sight of him and waved with a smile.

"Morning Timeless! The usual?" she asked.

"You know it Sun. Sorry I haven't been in lately, Station Gypsy has been having mechanical issues out of wazoo." he said with a roll of his eyes. Sunny giggled a bit and nodded.

"Been there, done that. All you can do it strive right on through." she said as she began assembling Timeless' order.

"You hear from Old Lady Velvet?" Timeless asked Sunny. The barista was about to answer when there was a sharp clearing of someone's throat. Timeless turned and spotted an elderly mare sitting in the corner with a quill and paper.

"I maybe old, but I haven't earned the title of 'Old Lady' yet!" she said with a joking smile. Timeless chuckled and walked over to her, sitting down across from her.

"Hello Twilight Velvet. How've ya' been?" he asked. Twilight Velvet gave a melancholy sigh and shook her head a bit, a sad smile on her lips.

"Well, things could be better. The book store isn't doing so well lately. Guess no one stops to read a good book anymore. Sad really..." she said, trailing off a bit. "Nopony loves book as much as my daughter."

"She was always a bookworm. How is she, by the way?" Timeless asked.

"She's doing wonderful, last time I spoke with her. And don't poke fun at her intelligence; look where it's gotten her. The fourth member of Equestria's royalty, and second in command of the Alliance." Twilight Velvet with with a proud smile. "I honestly couldn't be more proud of her."

"You see her much?" Timeless asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight Velvet gives a small frown and shake of her head. "No, she barely writes as it is. And with the store suffering, I can't make enough to take a shuttle trip up to Equus and visit her in Canterlot." she says. Timeless looks at the mares' features, taking in the sadness in her eyes.

"How about I do this: I set aside some credits for you so you can visit her?" he asks. Twilight Velvet gives gasp and immediately shakes her head.

"Oh no Timeless, I couldn't do that to you! How are you going to get by?" she asks worriedly.

"Velvet, I live in a shitty apartment complex on West and Seventh. I don't need to worry much about my rent and such. You need to see your daughter, and I'm willing to help you out. Think of it as returning a favor; you helped me get a job in the first place when I came to the city." Timeless said, taking Velvet's hoof into his hands and patting it lightly. Twilight Velvet gave a smile and her eyes lit up a bit.

"You really want to help me out?" she asks. Timeless gives a simple nod and smiles in return. "Oh, thank you Timeless! Thank you! I-Oh! Looks like your order is ready." Velvet says giggling a bit. Timeless looks over and spots Sunny, holding his coffee and pastries in a small bag. Timeless says good-bye to Velvet and approaches the pick up counter.

"One doughnut house coffee, extra sweet, and two apple fritters." Sunny says with a smile.

"Thanks Sunny." Timeless says, placing a Ten Bit credit chip on the counter in exchange for the food and drink. "I'll see you later Velvet." he says, turning is head to face her as he walked out of the coffee shop.

*     *     *

Timeless hated this part of the morning.

Absolutely hated it.

Waiting for this shuttle to Station Gypsy was by far, the worst part of the day.

He always ended up behind either some extremely obese person who reeked worse than the alley way trash, or caught between two business people, chatting away on their phones, their voices screaming in his ears in order to be heard over the sounds of the heavy machinery that kept the station running. He tried to drown out the noise (and smell) by assembling his helmet as soon as he entered the station.

But this usually failed to block out either one.

There was a nasally laugh right behind Timeless.

"Oh Goddesses...please don't tell me that's-" Timeless groaned mentally.

"Hi Timeless."

"It is..." he thought, giving a heavy sigh. "Hello Ivan..." he said in a slightly annoyed tone, not even bothering to face the person.

"How's it going?" Ivan asked, stepping right in front of Timeless. Ivan was an extremely thin human, his weight almost in the danger zone of being severally underweight. He looked like your everyday, stereotypical nerd; complete with a pocket protector and tapped glasses. But Timeless pitied the boy; he had a tough time fitting in with the right crowd.

And Timeless could relate.

And even if Ivan was the most obnoxious and invasive person in existence; he was like the little brother Timeless never had.

"It's going alright. Nothing to really brag about. Helping out Velvet with somethings." he said, looking at Ivan, who's eyes were squinting due to the cyan visor light.

"Gee that's awfully nice of you Timeless! Oh! I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Ivan asked, opening his messenger bag. He produced a piece of purple paper and handed it to Timeless. Timeless took it with a gloved hand and looked it over.

"A party?" he asked, looking past the paper at an excited Ivan.

"Oh please? I want you to meet all my other friends! We're gonna have pizza, soda, movies, games, and even.." Ivan trails off, giggling a bit. "Girls." he said, snickering behind his lanky hand.

"Typical nerd gathering, huh? Well...I don't really have anything to do..." Timeless said, looking back to the paper. "I'll just have to check my work schedule when I get to the station." he continued.

"Epic! Oh, I'm gonna miss my train! See ya' later Timeless!" Ivan called, peeling from the line and running to a smaller hallway. Timeless chuckled and shook his head a bit, folding up the paper and putting it in a small compartment on his RIG. As he approached the Identification Terminal, a scanning light sparked to life and scanned Timeless from head to hoof.

"Please provide RIG Identification." said the AI in a heavy, male voice. Another compartment opened on the RIG and a small chip was produced. Timeless took the chip and slotted it into the required slot for the machine to read it. "Processing...Processing...RIG ID unreadable. Please try again." said the AI. Timeless groaned and took the chip back, then slotted it in once again. "Processing...Processing...RIG ID unreadable. Please try again."

"Oh come on! We go through this everyday you son of a-" Timeless raged, taking the chip and forcing it in with a small grunt.

"Processing...Processing...RIG ID Accepted. Please enjoy your flight, Timeless Toaster."

"About time..." Timeless grumbled as he took his chip, placed it back into his RIG, and walked to the shuttle platform.

*     *     *

The shuttle flight was, as usual, uneventful.

Timeless stood in the passenger compartment with humans and Anthros alike, watching out the windows. He could see Equus hovering in close proximity to Earth, a series of space tethers linking the planets. The tethers were a mean to deliver resources back and forth between the planets.

And sitting in the middle of the Tether Highway was Station Gypsy.

Timeless knelt forward a bit, shifting his footing, as he looked out the window.

"Hey bud! You stepped on my fuckin' foot!" said a man, his voice thick with a Brooklyn accent. Timeless looked at the man, then down to his foot, and saw that his boot was indeed stepping on his foot.

"Oh, sorry about that." he said simply, removing his boot. "No hard feelings?" he asked.

"I ain't acceptin' an apology from poison." said the man, venom dripping in his voice.

"Oh boy...here we go again..." Timeless thought. He gave a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Oh wow. As if I never heard that one before." he said, sarcasm lacing his voice.

"You's gettin' smart wit' me?" asked the man, stepping forward.

"No, I was simply stating that the whole 'racism' thing isn't new to me." Timeless said, making air quotations with his fingers, sarcasm still in his voice. As Timeless turned to look at Station Gypsy, he could feel the man grabbing his shoulder and yanking him back.

Pain shot across Timeless' jaw as the man's fist slammed into it.

Timeless staggered back and the man took another swing, his fist meeting Timeless' left cheek. "Freaks like you's belong in the ground." said the man. He charged Timeless again, but the Anthro shoved him back with a blast of Kinesis. The crowd watching the small scuffle caught the man and got him back on his feet. "Cheata'. Can't even fight normal." he said as he charged Timeless again. Timeless' RIG opened and assembled his helmet in record speed, just in time for Timeless to headbutt the man. The man cried in agony as his nose cracked from the impact.

"I'm gonna kill ya'!!!" roared the man as he lunged. Timeless braced for impact, but it never came.

A shield was being projected from a small projector built into the ceiling.

"Flight Marshall! Break it up you two!" said a young Anthro as he stepped out from a rather cramped looking station behind Timeless. The Flight Marshall gave Timeless a glance and looked at the human. "Care explaining?"

"I ain't talkin' to any freak." said the man stubbornly.

"Fine then. Looks like I'll just revoke your Shuttle Pass." said the Marshall, pulling up a small tablet. After a few taps of the screen, he looked up with a smug smile. "You're no loner allowed to board any flights, Mr. Henderson. This will be your final flight." he said. Henderson looked absolutely dumbfound, his jaw opening and closing, trying to form a comeback. The Marshall turned to Timeless, who was nursing his bruised cheek now. "As for you, with me." he said. Timeless groaned and followed the Marshall to the shuttles' cockpit.

Once the door was sealed behind them, the Fight Marshall turned on Timeless. "That's the third fight in three weeks. You're lucky I'm giving you one more chance." said the Marshal as he grabbed a small medical kit and popped it open. "Sit." he said, pointing to an empty chair beside Timeless. The engineer slumped into the seat and leaned forward.

"You and I both know you won't ban me, bro." Timeless said with a smirk. The Marshall gave a small chuckle and started applying some disinfectant to a gash on Timeless' cheek.

"That's my little brother. Always getting into scuffles, only to have his big brother rescue him."

"Watch it Silver Streak. I saved you once or twice. Remember when you were being chased by your ex?" Timeless asked with a smirk.

"I thought we agreed we'd never speak of her again." Silver Streak said tonelessly. "Besides, she's your ex also."

"You introduced me to the nutcase!" Timeless retorted. "You could've warned me!"

"And what kind of brother would I be, if I let you know the dangers ahead of time?" Silver Streak asked as he applied a small band-aid to Timeless' cheek. "There, all better. Would wittle Timewess want a lollipop?" Silver Streak asked, pinching Timeless' right cheek. Timeless smacked Silver's hand away and scowled.

"I'm not a little kid..." he muttered. Silver Streak chuckled and led Timeless out of the cockpit.

"We're coming up on Station Gypsy now. Get in the zero gravity compartment." Silver Streak told Timeless. Timeless nodded and entered a doorway to his right. As soon as he entered, the door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

"Entering zero gravity in ten seconds. Please prepare for pressurization." said light, female AI. Timeless' helmet formed once again as his suit self-sealed. "Now entering zero gravity. Please stand back from the door." continued the voice. Timeless suddenly developed a sense of weightlessness, realizing he was floating a couple inches from the floor. He activated the magnets in his boots and returned to the floor. "Shuttle docking in t-minus ten seconds." Ten seconds later, there was series of light thuds outside the shuttle. "Shuttle docked. Please disembark and have a good day." said the AI as the heavy doors in front of Timeless opened silently, allowing Timeless to step onto the passenger pad outside of Station Gypsy.

Once he was clear, Timeless could feel the force of the shuttles' thrusters as it pulled away and continued on to a farther station. Approaching the exterior doors, Timeless was once again scanned.

"Identification, please." said the AI with the same voice as the shuttle station AI. Timeless produced his RIG ID chip and slotted it in.

"Processing...Processing...RIG ID not readable. Please try again."

Timeless wasn't about to go through the shuttle station fiasco again. Instead, he took back his chip and pulled up his RIG's HUD. "Open communications link to Shift Manager Checkmate." he instructed. The RIG beeped in compliance and called Checkmate.

"Checkmate here." replied the stallion in a bored tone.

"Check. It's Timeless. Your damn door is being stupid again." Timeless said simply, in a slightly aggravated tone.

"Hang on...lemme bypass the door controls...there we go. Open it manually. I'll see you inside." Checkmate said, closing the call. The door gave a green light and Timeless grabbed the manual door control, twisting it and pushing it in. The door silently slid open and allowed Timeless to enter, sealing behind him once he had was inside.