Eclipse trotted through Dodge Junction, a trail of dust followed behind his cart. The dust clung to his orange coat and black mane with orange pinstripe but he was making good time, that he was sure. Although, being a unicorn it was much more tiring than if a Earth Pony or Pegasus were the ones sent. He had begrudgingly agree to make the supply run. Apparently, every Earth Pony at the dig site had suddenly found the most fascinating archaeological find.
He found Dodge Junction quite the oddity, as it almost seem custom made to look like it was from the early reign of the ruling sisters. One good thing about it there was no question about where to buy supplies at. He left his cart on the road and entered a store marked “General Store.” A soft ring told the clerk he had a customer, the clerk, a brown Earth Pony with a mane the color of the desert sand. He smiled at Eclipse from behind a counter, “Howdy, I’m Hawker, if you need anything just ask me.”
Eclipse returned the smile and trotted to the counter. He pulled a folded up list from his saddlebag before carefully unfolding it with his magic and set in down. “I’m going to need everything on this list. How long do you think it will take you to acquire them?” Eclipse asked.
Hawker let a high pitch whistle as he read over the list, “That’s quite the list let you got there. If you don’t mind me asking what you do need all this stuff for any how?”
“I’m part of an archaeological dig site a few miles north from here and…”
“Umm, one moment mister,” Hawker said, eyeing something past Eclipse. He picked up an unmarked can reared back his hoof and threw it sending it soaring in an arc across the store. Eclipse heard the thud of the impacted followed by a cry of pain. A dark blue thestral with a light blue and white mane wobbled out from behind stacks of bagged flower.
“What was that for?” The thestral called, a hoof still rubbing the side of his head
“I’ve told you before no loitering in my shop. If you're not going to buy something than get out!” Hawker said, narrowing his eyes.
“Well maybe if you would give me a job there wouldn’t be a problem,” The Thestral countered.
Hawker gave a short laugh, “I’m not hiring some lazy good-for-nothing thestral.”
The Thestral pointed a hoof with a look of sheer victory on his face, “Racist! I will sue you and own this shop!”
Hawker raised and eyebrow, “Sue me with what? You don’t have a bit to your name.”
The Thestral seemed to freeze in midair as his mind processed this information slowly he lowered his hoof. “I-I can...I will go the Thestral embassy and report you and then you’ll see.”
“Good luck with that,” Hawker said, he motioned to the door. “Now out!”
The thestral held his head down as he trotted out the door all the while muttering under his breath. “Sorry about that,” Hawker said. “Anyway, it will take me about three hours to get everything gathered up. I assume you have a cart to transport all this?”
Eclipse nodded pointing out the door, “It’s parked just outside the shop.”
Hawker pulled out a abacus from under the counter and began sliding the balls back and forth along the metal rod. “This is going to run you about 1483 bits.” Eclipse reached into his saddlebag and pulled out three platinum bits, each worth five hundred bits. After collecting his change he left the shop in search of food. He needed to rest up before his return trip, as the trip here was tiring enough but now he was going to have several hundred pounds worth of supplies. Sure he would use his magic to help, he even knew a levitation spell just for this, but holding that spell for the five mile long trip was going to be difficult.
He entered the local saloon hoping they had more than just alcohol. The saloon was mostly empty only a few ponies sitting at one of the round tables. He took a seat at an empty table and within with moments a yellow pegasus trotted over to him. “What can I get you?” She asked, a wide smile on her face and her brown mane was pulled into a bun.
“Please tell me you serve food here?” Eclipse asked, his eyes pleading.
“Why of course sweetie,” The mare said, “We have a special on cheese oat soup with a side of hey fries.”
“That sounds good, I’ll have that.”
“Make that two,” a familiar voice said.
Eclipse gave a small inward sigh as he looked at the dark blue thestral who took the seat across from him. “You have any money Icey?” The mare asked, clearly amused at the situation.
“I have my love for you,” This “Icey” said, holding both hooves over his heart.
“I love you too Icey but I love bits more.”
“You’re heartless you know that.” Icey said, slouching on the table.
The waiter rolled her eyes at the childish display, “I’ll bring you a glass of water,” she looked back to Eclipse. “Your order will be out shortly.”
“You're the best,” Icey called out as the mare left. He turned his attention on Eclipse and smiled showing off his two pointed fangs, and setting Eclipse on edge.
Eclipse cleared his throat doing his best to push down the nerves, “Is there something I can help you with?”
“No...No wait, I mean yes...No I mean I can help you,” Icey said, tripping on his own words. “I overheard you talking about your dig site, and I thought hey I know how to dig holes. So how would you like to hire the best thestral in Dodge Junction?”
There were so many things wrong with what this “Icey” said he didn’t know where to begin, currently he was trying to figure out how something this dumb managed to breath and talk at the same time. “And how many thestrals live in Dodge Junction?” Eclipse asked before he realised.
“Hey let’s not get stuck on semantics,” Icey said. “The name is Swift Ice, nice to meet you.” Swift Ice held out a hoof to which Eclipse took it.
“So not Icey?”
“Only mares get to call me that, so no not Icey,” Swift Ice in formed.
“Listen Swift Ice, while you seem ‘energetic’ about wanting to work we don’t allow unauthorized personnel on the dig site, so I’m sorry but I’m going to have to turn you down.”
Swift Ice’s smile never faltered, “No, no you see I’m helping you out by working for you. You see once the media gets wind of your organisation helping a poor down on their luck thestral you’ll get all kinds of praise, and not to mention endorsement deals. If you think about it hiring me is an investment.” He folded his hooves over his chest confident in his sales pitch.
Eclipse just looked at him. His mouth half open with a look of pure bewilderment on his face. “Does he think he’s some kind of endangered animal, or famous athlete maybe?” Eclipse thought to himself. While he was aware that the thestral home land had only just opened their borders within the last few years, but as far as he knew there was no endorsements for hiring thestrals. With a deadpan face he said, “I’m just going to ignore you now.”
Right on que the pegasus mare return with his order and placed the steaming plate and bowl down in front of him and a simple glass of water for Swift Ice. “Come on, you have to reconsider!” Swift Ice bellowed.
“Icey, if you start bothering the paying customers we're going to have to ask you to leave.” The mare warned.
Swift Ice slouched in his chair slowly sipping his water. He looked across the table at the steaming plate, “Can I at least have a hey fry?”
“No.”
“And that’s everything,” Hawker said, tieing down the last strap on the cart. Eclipse, happy to see that everything was accounted for, gave him his thanks. “Anytime, and I welcome your business should you pass through again.”
Eclipse stepped up to the front of the cart, that now had crates stacked higher than his head, and readied to strap himself in. He could already feel the ache in his magic. “Fun fact,” a voice called out. Eclipse had to resist the urge to grind his teeth as he turned to face the all too familiar thestral. “Thestrals can use flight magic to pull chariots just like pegasi do. You know what else, we can also travel a lot faster then a unicorn trying to mimic the spell.”
Somehow, Eclipse wasn’t quite sure how, this thestral was making some kind of logical since. He shrugged figuring statistical anomalies could happen. “Minimum wage, you do as you're told, you don’t touch anything, and you sure as buck don't dig any holes.”
“You got it boss,” Swift Ice called strapping himself into the cart. He allowed his magic flow into the cart reducing the weight until it hovered just above the ground. “Now where to?”
Eclipse climbed on to the back of the cart shifting a few crates around until he formed his own little seat, “Just head north it's not far.”
Swift Ice landed the cart near where Eclipse had said was the main camp. It was a large grouping of tents surrounded by the half dug out remains of a city long ago consumed by the desert. Eclipse jumped down from the cart and stretched out his hooves, as Swift Ice quickly unhooked himself. Eclipse didn’t see the yellow blur the tackled him to the ground, “Uncle Clipsy, I missed you.” a pegasus filly cried out.
Eclipse grabbed the young filly in his hooves and tickled her sending her into a fit of giggles. “Stop, stop I surrender!” she begged squirming in his grasp. He released her and got to his hooves. He started to dust off his coat, but quickly remembered where he was and gave up on that idea. “Solarbeam, what are you doing here I thought your mother couldn’t make it? Eclipse asked.
“Hey what’s in the boxes?” Solarbeam asked doing her best to avoid the question. She unfurled her wings and with a jump glided on top of the crates, “Do you have any food in here I’m hungry?”
“Yes, food would be great,” Swift Ice said, still standing near the cart.
As if seeing him for the first time Solarbeam tilted her head to the side as she asked, “Who’s this Bat Pony?”
“Who’s this Bird Pony?” Swift Ice countered almost immediately and grinned in satisfaction as the filly's mouth dropped open.
“I’m a pegasus not a bird!” As if to prove the point she flared her wings out on both sides.
“What a coincident, because I’m not a bat.”
Eclipse rubbed one of his temples, he could already tell this was going to be a long day, “Swift, could you not argue with my ten year old niece. And Solarbeam where is your mother?
Solarbeam rubbed her front hooves together as she averted her eyes, “Well, she may be at work.”
“By Celestia, did you come here on your own?”
With another jump she glided back to the ground stumbling over to Eclipse. “But Uncle Clipsy, Mommy had to go to work, and I know that means she went to see her new coltfriend, so she couldn't bring me.”
“Yeah, come on Uncle Clipsy,” Swift Ice mocked. “She just wanted to see her favorite uncle.”
Eclipse eyes snapped to Swift, his glare was enough to wipe the smirk from Swift’s face. “The name is Eclipse, that is unless you want me to rethink your presents here. And that goes for you to Solar.” A chorus of sorrys came from the two as Eclipse continued, “I guess you’ll be staying with me until your mother comes to get you.”
A small group trotted out from the ruins “Hey the doc’s back,” a blue earth pony called as she laughed. “Looks like the sun’s blocked for now.” Much like the other ponies around her she wore a tanned shirt and a white brimmed hat, which she kept her black mane under.
“Joke all you want Granite, but if you make a pun out of my name again you're off the dig site,” Eclipse warned.
Granite through her head back in a short HA, “Like you could run this place without me. Anyway, we are about ready to open the chest, we’ve mostly just been waiting for you to get back.”
“Excellent, what did Time Seal find?” Eclipse asked.
“The chest doesn’t have any preservation spells on it so we set up a clean room within the main tent.” Granite said, pointing to the largest of the tents behind her.
“A chest?” Swift Ice asked, trotting over to the group. “Like a treasure chest?”
Eclipse sighed loud enough he was sure everyone heard, “No, not a treasure chest, a very old lock boxes.”
“Who’s your friend Darkside,” Granite asked, nodding to the thestral.
“My. Name. Is. Eclipse! And this is…” He turned to gestor to Swift Ice but he was already gone. He looked back to see Swift Ice in front of Granite holding one of her hooves in his.
“The name is Swift Ice, but you, my lovely, may call me Icey. If there is anything you need anything at all just come to me.” Swift said, with his most seductive voice while staring into her eyes. He tried to bring her hoof closer to his lips but Granite quickly jerked her hoof away.
She looked passed Swift to Eclipse, “I don’t think this one was on the list.”
“Yes, well next time don’t send a unicorn to haul supplies. He’s going to be transporting our stuff around for us, just don’t give him any artifacts.” He trotted past the group heading towards the new clean room, “Come on Solar let's go see this chest.”
“Treasure!” The impressionable filly called, flapping her wings with delight.
The Clean room, as they called it, was a corner sealed off with plastic sheets enchanted to keep dust out, within the supply tent. The rest of the supplies had been stacked in the opposing corner to make room. Eclipse and the rest of the archaeologist gathered inside the clean room, while Swift and Solar were told to watch from outside. On a table within the room set a small wooden lock box held closed by a large padlock; Time Seal, a gray unicorn with a white mane, was holding a lockpick in his magic. “This would be far easier if I could just use magic to open it.” Time Seal said.
“It’s far too old and fragile to risk magic on Time Seal, now enough delays let’s see what’s inside this.” Said Eclipse, a fire lit in his eyes. His heart beat in his ears as his anticipation rose.
Time Seal took a deep breath before inserting the lockpick into the ancient key shaped hole. He pushed the pick to the back as he tried to maneuver the lever into place. Time Seal could feel the weight of every pair of eyes on him as he worked. Slowly he turned the pick as he attempted to move the lever into place; there was a sickening crack. The room froze, “Time Seal,” Eclipse spoke calmly. “Slowly remove the pick.” Nervously Time Seal did so stepping back. Eclipse took the padlock in a hoof and gave it a small shake and was immediately rewarded to the sound of something rolling around inside. “Well, Buck!”
“Should we try magic now? asked Granite, her look of disappointment perfectly encapsulating the mood in the room.
“No,” Eclipse said, in an almost defeated tone. “We can’t risk it without knowing what’s inside. The group stepped off the the side each discussing what their next move should be.
“I don’t get it?” Solarbeam said, looking up to Swift Ice. “Why can’t they open it?”
Swift Ice just shrugged, “I’m not sure, it looks easy to open to me. I bet you could get it open with a hammer.”
Solarbeam looked around her surroundings for a moment before she pointed to a pile of spare tools. “There’s a hammer over there.”
Swift smiled, “That could work.”
“We don’t have a lot of choices here Eclipse,” Granite informed. “We can either use magic and risk whatever’s inside or we can cut the lock, and we both know that cutting the lock is the smarter choice.
Eclipse ran a hoof through his mane. He knew she was right if they used magic not only did they risk whatever was inside but the lock as well, it was more of a question of cut the lock or risk it all. Finally he relented, even if the lock was cut it was still a valuable find, “Alright Granite let's cut the lock.”
“What is he doing!” Granite yelled.
Eclipse’s head snapped in the direction of the cry to see Swift Ice standing near the lock box with a hammer raised into the air. It was like slow motion, the ponies closest charged him but they were too far away, while others just gasped in shock. All Eclipse could do was watch the hammer come down smashing the padlock into pieces and sending them flying every which way. As time sped back up Swift Ice was tackled to the ground he struggled but with two earth ponies holding him down he wasn't going anywhere.
“Hey let me up, I was helping you. Swift Ice cried.
“Helping!” Eclipse spat the words at him. “You just destroyed a two thousand year old artifact.”
“Correction, I OPENED a two thousand year old artifact,” Swift Ice corrected.
“Oh just get him out of here,” Eclipse said, waving them away. He turned back to the lock box to find Time Seal already looking through it. Stepping over the remains of the lock he joined Time Seal, “What’s inside?” Time Seal pulled out a large golden three pronged key and a leather bound book. Time seal carefully opened the book noting at how preserved the book was.
His eyes read over the page before quickly giving up and handing the book over to Eclipse. “It’s written in ancient equish, I can’t read it.”
Eclipse rolled his eyes, “You call yourself an archaeologist and can’t read basic ancient equish.” He took the book quickly reading over the first page.
May 18, 957
Tis but a dream to me, I hast been assigned to work on the Aperture project, Oh praise be to Celestia. I knew the years of hard work would pay off but I wouldst hast imagined getting to work alongside some of the great minds of this era. And the Aperture project, I can only imagine the wonderful research we art going to do for the betterment of all ponykind.
The current year was 1043 Celestia’s reign, and if Eclipse’s math was right that would put this journal at a little over two thousand years old. Any worry over the lock was gone from his mind as him turn to the next page.
June 20, 957
I have had little time over the last month to write my thoughts down. We have been working none stop; I have only gotten three days of sleep in the past week alone, but it has been worth it. The earth pony volunteers all seem so happy to be helping to make a safer equestria, no matter how hard we make the obstacle course they seem to be faster with each run.
Back home I had only a glow stone to light my home at night, but the Aperture labs are like nothing I have ever seen. It was built underground yet the dark of the night rarely touched this place, but that is only the beginning. They have these special rooms where they keep food fresh for weeks at a time, and I have even heard rumors that they plan to make life from nothing.
“Is something wrong?” Time Seal asked when he saw Eclipse’s jaw hanging ajar.
“This can’t be right?” Eclipse said, more to himself then in answer. Quickly he flipped to the last entry.
April 8, 967
I’ve left Aperture, or more accurately I escaped. Before I left I gave them a parting gift by sabotaging the systems and entombing the facility along with my sins. I know I will go to tartarus for the things I did, but I still wish to make amends so I have decided to stay in an earth pony village and help any way I can.
I don’t know why I kept the key after I left. Perhaps, a part of me wished to return to the lab and finish what I started, but I am a coward and know that I could never bring myself to return to that place.
Eclipse picked up the golden key in a hoof and simply stared at it. “What the buck happened.”