The two professional adventurers departed the train station and headed into the city proper. Once they had entered the city, Uncharted Fortune led Daring Do through a winding, round–a–bout way through the Crystal Empire, suddenly taking a side street here and there. A normal pony might have questioned Fortune’s methods, but Daring Do knew better; ever since they had left the train station, she had gotten the familiar sensation that somepony was watching her. She never once looked over her withers and instead glanced at the occasional reflective surface or checked her peripheral vision so as not to alert their stalker.

Eventually Uncharted Fortune led Daring Do to a house in the middle of the Crystal Empire, near the gleaming castle that stood at the heart. He opened the door and motioned for her to enter.

“Ladies first.” He said, smirking and Daring Do rolled her eyes and trotted in. Once inside, she could hear the sounds of amiable conversation coming from further inside. “Dining room’s that way. Sounds like the gang’s already started on lunch.”

“They’re already here?!” Daring hissed quietly and Fortune laughed.

“Well, since I work with most of them regularly, yeah; they’re all here.” He replied as they trotted into the dining room. Once inside, they were immediately greeted by an older griffon with graying feathers and a mustache.

“Hey kid, we were just talking about you!” He exclaimed, giving Uncharted Fortune an enthusiastic hug. Once he released his embrace, he looked over and saw Daring Do, who had removed her hat and sunglasses and he smiled warmly. “And there’s the last member of our crew!” He walked over to her and also hugged her gently. “Great to see you again, Rosie. Still as gorgeous as the last time I saw you.”

“Now, now, Sullivan; I told you to cut the flattery.” Daring replied with a chuckle. “You know it’ll never work between us.”

“Bah, can’t blame an old griffon for trying.” Sully laughed before motioning to the table. “Come on, pull up a chair and meet everybody. If you’re hungry we’ve got all kinds of stuff; daisy sandwiches, hay fries, even some meat if you’re feeling particularly brave.”

“I’ll pass on the meat, but thanks for the offer as always.” Daring Do replied, taking a seat at the table.

She looked around the table and saw an azure crystal pony stallion wearing glasses with his nose in a book, a sophisticated–looking earth pony mare, and a large minotaur wearing an eye patch. The minotaur was casually hunched over the table, a large battleaxe leaning against the corner behind him and he nodded at Daring Do.

“So you’re Fortune’s expert, huh?” He asked, and Daring nodded. “He told you what we’re looking at up in the mountains?”

“Just that there were some ruins he wanted me to see.” Daring replied and the minotaur nodded thoughtfully before holding out his hand and Daring shook it.

“The name’s Iron Bull.” He said, releasing her hoof.

“You can call me Compass Rose.” Daring replied, using her other alias. “And I know who you are; you’re a pretty well–known mercenary, supposedly one of the best.” She turned to the earth pony. “And you’re Reliquary; your contributions to historical exhibits around Equestria are nothing short of incredible.”

“As are yours, Rose.” Reliquary replied in a sophisticated accent. “It is wonderful to finally get a chance to work alongside you.”

“Likewise.” Daring replied, smiling, and then she turned to the crystal pony. “Though I don’t know who you are.”

“Huh, oh… I–I’m Professor Sky Diamond, from the Crystal Academy.” He replied nervously. “Miss Reliquary was kind enough to invite me as a consult of the local structures.” He slid the book over to Daring and pointed at a diagram that had been drawn in it. “It was fascinating, really; a group of researchers had been investigating a series of ruins that apparently predate any known culture on Equus, past or present! Sadly, they had been afield when the Crystal Empire was transposed and passed away centuries ago.”

“Huh.” Daring Do’s curiosity was piqued. She looked at the diagram, which depicted some kind of structure that appeared to be a pillar shaped almost like a perfect, geometric cube. “And where did you find this journal?”

“It was locked in a box at their old research site.” The crystal pony replied. “There did not appear to be any openings, but there were definitely uncanny structures all around the area. In fact, cursory examinations of several locations in the mountains around the Empire have revealed more ruins.”

Daring Do furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the historian.

“’Uncanny’? That’s an unusual way to describe something.” Daring remarked and Reliquary gave out a small sigh.

“It’s an apt description.” She told Daring. “That diagram doesn’t quite do them justice. These structures, they’re not just unnatural, they’re… well, uncanny; when I looked at them, I felt uneasy, as if just looking at the ruins made me feel as if I was going to fade away then and there.”

Daring cocked an eyebrow.

“Okay…” She said, and then slid the book back to Sky Diamond. “Do we know anything about the researchers?”

Sky Diamond and Reliquary looked at each other uncertainly and Fortune leaned forward on the table.

“That’s where things get… weird. Like, really weird.” He said and Daring’s ears perked up.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“That research team? Nobody remembers them, heck there aren’t even any records of them being out there in the first place.” Fortune replied. “It’s almost like they never existed.”

“And how exactly did you find a journal belonging to someone on a non – existent archeological survey team?” Daring asked and Sky shifted nervously.

“Well, I was up in the mountains with Miss Reliquary here to examine the ruins; those are very well – documented.” He replied. “We didn’t even know a survey team had been on the mountain back then until we kind of, er… stumbled upon their old encampment.”

Daring quirked an eyebrow. “Stumbled?”

“Professor Diamond fell through the canvas of a tent buried by snow.” Reliquary replied, sipping her tea nonchalantly.

“Ah.”

The crystal pony blushed and cleared his throat. “Yes, well, when I was inside, I found an old trunk that was sealed by ancient unicorn magic; curiously enough, it was some kind of chronological seal, designed to hold the contents of the trunk in a location outside of time. Naturally, we returned to the Crystal Empire and had one of Princess Cadence’s personal historians release the seal.” Diamond said. “When we discovered the journal, the Princess gave me clearance to investigate the ruins further. I was going to gather an academy team, but Miss Reliquary insisted I hire professionals and thus, here we all are.”

“What’s so curious about a chronological seal?” Daring inquired.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but…” Iron Bull replied. “Aren’t chronological seals a ward designed by Star–swirled, the Bearded in order to preserve things for a short amount of time?”

“Yeah, but they fell out of favor in the magical community because even though food could be kept fresh for years, you had to undo and redo the spell every time you needed to get something out and from what I’ve read, the strain on the unicorn’s magic is almost as immense as teleportation.” Daring Do replied, and then she rubbed a hoof under chin. “So why… why would somepony put that much magic into protecting a trunk all the way up in the mountains unless… unless they were trying to hide something inside it?”

“Isn’t that the question of the hour.” Iron Bull said, and then he looked at Daring. “You know, most ponies would have asked why an archeological investigation team needs a minotaur bodyguard.”

“Oh, I know why.” Daring Do replied, dismissively waving her hoof. “Someone’s been watching us, probably since before I got here.”

“Huh, I take it you’re… used to being stalked?” Iron Bull asked, putting a hand to his chin in contemplation.

“You could say that.” Daring Do said and took the journal back. “Let’s see… what are you hiding from me?”

She flipped back and forth through the journal, trying to find a secret, until she finally closed the journal and put her head down so that her eyes were level with the edge of the journal, scrutinizing the pages from the side. Then her eyes lit up and she pulled open the rear cover of the journal, pointing at the spine.

“Clever bastard. Look, the last page is missing.”

The gathered dungeon delvers leaned in close over the journal and Sky Diamond gasped when he saw that there was a fine, almost imperceptible tear along the spine where a page would have gone.

“By the princesses, she’s right!” He exclaimed. “How could I have missed such a detail?”

“Where do you think it is?” Asked Sullivan and Daring Do rolled her eyes. She slid her hoof gently over the inside of the journal’s back cover and then indicated one of the corners.

“Would you be so kind, Sully?” She asked sweetly and the griffon shrugged before running the tip of a claw along the edge from one corner to the next, separating the binding, and then he pulled a piece of parchment out. “Everybody hides the good stuff in the bindings; kinda cliché if you ask me.”

“Wow, she’s good.” Iron Bull remarked to Uncharted Fortune sitting next to him and the pegasus grinned, patting the minotaur on the back.

“Told you so, big guy.”

Sullivan spread the parchment on the table and Daring Do slid it in front of herself, reading the text. The text on the parchment was in hastily scrawled Old Equish. The writing looked as if the writer had been in a rush to write it down and there were words written above, and around the main body of text, seemingly to get as many words as possible onto the parchment.

“Tick tock tick tock, time is wasting I mustn’t delay! The ruins, yes the ruins! Something… something sleeps; no… not sleep, it does not sleep! It waits for the time; yes the perfect time, always, always time! It waits… why does it wait?! To attack? Destroy? Control?! Control what? Time! Always time, it seeks to control time! My time? No, our time! Time is not our ally, it is their tool!

My mind… it is not my own and yet… it is mine; how? I don’t have… time, always, always time; why always time?! Can’t think, must write, must warn, time is running out; time is always running out! How do I stop it? Can’t stop it! Not yet! Cannot be stopped! Head hurts… can’t think… was I always alone? Why am I alone?! Time, they stole their time! Always, always time! Creatures… unholy things… eyes in the darkness! Beware the red eyes they will steal your time!

Ruins, yes ruins! Time ruins! Different time! Looking for time, always looking for time! WHY DO THEY SEARCH FOR TIME?! WHY ALWAYS TIME?!”

Daring Do felt a chill go down her spine. The text was barely legible, clearly having been written hastily by a half–mad pony. She turned the page over and discovered it was almost completely covered with the word “time”.

“What in the name of Celestia…” She murmured to herself. The others had read the text and a silence had fallen upon the adventurers.

“Who wrote this and why were they obsessed with ‘time’?” Uncharted Fortune said, breaking the hush.

“I don’t know, kid.” Sully replied, leaning back in his chair. “But this paper’s giving me the creeps; it’s got ‘bad news’ written all over it.”

“Literally.” Iron Bull added. “Whoever wrote this was clearly out of their mind.”

Sky Diamond gulped. “Um… maybe going into those ruins might not be such a good idea…”

“Relax, Professor.” Reliquary said, giving the crystal pony a smile. “I’m sure that they must have encountered some kind of hallucinogen up there.”

“P-perhaps you’re right.” Sky Diamond stammered, more to convince himself than anypony else.

“I dunno…” Iron Bull said, thoughtfully. “I’ve heard of some pretty crazy stuff out in the world, and tried more than a few of them, I will admit… but judging from the writing I can say that, tripping balls or not, this pony saw something up in those mountains that drove him bat-shit crazy.”

They discussed the matter for some time, though they eventually began to go around the town to gather information and supplies. That night, after a hearty supper and discussion about the travel plans, they had retired to their rooms. Daring lay in bed staring at the ceiling, her mind too busy to sleep at the time, so she rose and went into the dining room. She retrieved the page and once more examined it, reading and re – reading the insane scrawl. She hadn’t said anything to the others, but she could tell that everything written on the note was important and that she needed to memorize what it said.

“Time…” She murmured to herself after a while, leaning back in the chair and mulling over the word. “’Beware the red eyes, they will steal your time’… what does that mean?”

Daring Do had gone to the town library and the librarian, an elderly mare named Amethyst Maresbury, had recommended several compendiums on creatures and, although nonplussed by the request, tomes describing all known unicorn magical theories related to magic. Daring had gone through each of the books quickly, but had found nothing that stood out. She was about to give up, but Amethyst had shown her to a room containing logs from a pegasus bolt–knight contingent stationed in the city. It hadn’t taken her long to find a report on an incident that occurred in one of the areas Sky Diamond had indicated. She pulled the two–page report out of her saddle bag and read it once more.

Bolt-knight patrol report

Location: Crystal Mountains region, approx. 35.2 km north of Imperial City, 3000 meters above sea level.

Date: September, 26

Time: Approx. 23:45

A bolt-knight squadron patrolling the northern border of the Crystal Empire reported that they had sighted an unknown entity, supposedly sentient, wandering the mountains and upon investigation, were beset upon and forced to retreat. Out of twenty pegasi, four have been classified as M.I.A. and two others confirmed K.I.A.

Of the fourteen pegasi that returned to base:

Eleven suffered from injuries ranging from moderate to critical, with five of the most critically injured not expected to survive.

Two of the returned were declared D.O.A.

Three of the survivors also appear to suffer from some kind of PTSD; only one of which is lucid enough for speech, but only in seemingly nonsensical babble, primarily about “red eyes in the dark”, the rest remain catatonic. Least injured squad members report seeing red lights that may support this information.

All injuries suffered are combination of various lacerations of the hide that appear to have been caused by unknown projectiles and burning of the wounds in the third degree. Surviving members with the least wounding report that the hostiles were somehow throwing “darts of flame”; further investigation required. All survivors have received proper medical treatment and have been placed on leave to recover.

She flipped to the second page.

Update, 3:00:

As expected, critically injured did not survive. Unfortunately, two of the distraught survivors committed suicide at 12:00, when left without supervision; the third one has been placed under twenty – four hour surveillance and all objects deemed dangerous removed from her vicinity for safety.

Final fatality count stands at eleven dead, four unaccounted for but presumed dead as well. Strangely, one of the survivors claims there were more than twenty souls in the platoon, but our records indicate that they had one of the smallest platoons, with three new recruits in – bound.

Under orders from his majesty, King Sombra, we are to mobilize our forces and investigate the location for any signs of these hostiles and retire them with extreme prejudice.

Daring Do put the report down and once more felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She’d been in many ancient temples, pyramids, and ziggurats and a few of them had contained artifacts that were eerie, or simply bad news. She had taken the liberty to destroy the ones she could, and she brought the others to Princess Celestia to have sealed away in the royal vault when she couldn’t. These ruins, though… she couldn’t place it, but her senses were telling her that something was seriously not right about them and that she needed to get as far away from them as possible.

Daring Do shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“Silly girl, Daring.” She murmured to herself as she rose and trotted to the window. “You know better than to psyche yourself out going into a site… there’s probably nothing terrible in there, those guys just bungled into a few traps is all.”

She slid the curtain aside a little so she could get a good look outside. She looked around for a moment, but then a red gleam reflecting off a nearby wall caught her eye and she snapped her gaze in the direction it was reflecting from…

But there was nothing there.

Daring Do blinked a couple times, and kept staring out the window, but the red light did not return and she slowly slid the curtain back in place. As she did so, however, she was intensely aware that something outside the house was watching her, even if she could not see it. After a brief pause, she gathered the journal, the note, and the bolt – knight report into her saddle bag and returned to her room, stashing the saddle bag in between the mattress and settling in for what she was sure to be an uneasy sleep.

Outside, all was seemingly normal, save for an odd area of distorted air that almost appeared to be a tall, gaunt bipedal figure. The figure stood perfectly straight, observing the house as the lights went out except for one. Eventually, another light turned back on and after a few minutes, it observed Daring Do peer out the window and it proceeded to scan her bio-signature. The pegasus looked around suddenly as if she had noticed something, but then closed the curtain and a moment later, the house went dark once more.

The biped buzzed a silent query to its Mind, requesting permission to decommission potential threats, but received a negative response in return. It did not question the order and returned to its vigil, registering Daring Do’s bio-signature amongst the rest of the network and receiving acknowledgment of the influx of new data in return.

Author's Note

Ugh, writing a whole new chapter in the middle of a story bites.