Starskater

The ground was completely dirt and cold stone. There were no plants or animals were nearby, only sharp-looking stone columns and wreckages of old transport ships. They walked slowly and quietly, searching for a sign of the unicorns that sent the distress call. The two came upon a circle of stone spikes surrounding an ominous purple column. There was a clock of sorts imprinted on the side of the column, and it was counting. In front of the clock stood a unicorn. He had a black and orange mane and a pure white coat.

The unicorn turned and saw the visitors. "Who are you?" he asked.

Vicona hesitated, "Umm...Are you Streey?"

"Yes," the unicorn almost seemed to ask.

"We're here to rescue the unicorns you kidnapped," Vicona declared.

Starskater couldn't believe her ears.

Streey just looked confused, but then all of a sudden, he fired a blast from his horn. Starskater jumped up front to cast a shield. Streey turned to run, but they chased after him. They had only taken a few steps when the clock's large hand moved. Starskater's horn glowed brightly, and bolts were sent everywhere. Vicona stopped to see Starskater bent towards the ground, breathing heavily. Vicona then noticed as a ship launched from behind him and disappeared into the sky. Turning back to Starskater, he saw that she was still frozen in place.

"That w-was just one tick. What happens when it gets all the way?"

Vicona looked up at the clock. It was only a few good ticks away from circling all the way around.

"Let's not stick around to find out," he said and started walking back towards home.

"Wait," Starskater called, "It doesn't just happen to unicorns who are nearby."

Vicona stopped.

She continued, "It also happens to anypony who's wearing a cuff."

"A what?"

"All of Streey's unicorns have a cuff that controls their magic. They're linked to the clock, I think, which will deliver the shock to them."

"But where are they? They were supposed to be right here."

"I don't know. Streey used to just have a village of them right here. He must have moved them."

"I saw him leave that way. We can fix up one of these ships and follow him."

Starskater looked at the wrecks around them. "I thought you said it was hard."

"Well, it is, but we can find one that won't take so long to fix."

They scanned through the ruins for an hour or so before finding a good machine. Vicona began repairing it while Starskater gathered useful parts from the other ships. The clock managed another tick before they finished, sending a searing pain through Starskater.

With the ship finished, they managed to take off in the direction of Streey.

"We need to get some fuel first," said Vicona.