"All packed up?" Daring Do asked.

"All set, Ms. Do," Sandstorm said, tightening a rope binding a bundle to the wagon.

"I forgot," Daring Do said, riffling through a pile of clothing. She pulled out Bravado's hate and tossed it to him. "I saved your fedora; the guards had it. It just slipped my mind to bring it to you.

"Gracias, señorita," Bravado said, twirling the hat a bit before putting it back on his head. "So, who's pulling first?"

"I am. You sit with Storm Talon." Daring Do stood still while Desert Flower tightened some straps around her.

"First stop, Horsepania," Storm Talon said. "Ruby Rust deserves to hear about this possibility."

"I really don't visit her enough," Bravado sighed as he climbed into the wagon.

The cart started down the road.

"What happened to Swinn and Dell?" Bravado asked. "I thought they were coming with us."

"Yeah, right," Storm Talon said. "Soon as they had their horns back on their (censored) faces, they hit the road. Running away is what they do (censored) best. That and (censored) swindling; we're still missing a couple items…"

There was a pause.

"Would you tell me about my father?" Bravado said.

"Didn't Ruby Rust tell you about him?" Storm Talon asked.

"She didn't like to talk about him," Bravado said. "Anyway, you knew him longer than she did."

Storm Talon rubbed his chin with one taloned foot.

"Yeah, I suppose I could do that," he said. "The question is, where to start?"

"Hey, Daring?" Sandstorm asked, holding up the Miracle Chalice. "When were whistles invented?"

Daring didn't answer at first. Bravado tried to figure out what could have made Sandstorm ask that question.

"Um… what kind of whistle?" Daring Do said from up front in the harnesses.

"Uh… I think it's a steam whistle," Sandstorm said, staring at the base of the Miracle Chalice.

The cart jerked to a halt, and both Bravado and Storm Talon sat bolt upright.

Steam Whistle had been a master inventor. His creations had been built not only from clockwork and magic, but woven from the fabric of reality itself. Bravado, Daring, Storm Talon, and many of their friends had spent the better part of a year racing to discover all of Steam Whistle's freak constructions of nature- to destroy them.

"Where?" Storm Talon asked, scrambling over to look at the chalice. Daring undid her straps and joined the others in the wagon bed.

Sandstorm pointed to a small carving of a steam whistle on the base of the cup. That carving was all too familiar; each and every one of Steam Whistle's creations had had that mark.

"But… but…" Bravado stammered. "But the Temple of the Ko-mara predated Steam Whistle by thousands of years! And it wasn't like he'd snuck in or anything- I would have noticed if anypony had been in the temple that recently!"

"And anyways," Storm Talon said, "the ancient texts of the Ko-mara talk about this chalice. It couldn't have been created later!"

Daring adjusted her pith helmet. "But that must mean…"

A chill seemed to sweep over the wagon.

"Steam Whistle had a time machine," Storm Talon said.

There was an eerie silence.

Daring sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this…"