Allen looked through his cracked goggles as he hammered a red-hot rivet in a small metal part. As he continued, he heard a slight knocking sound over the drill as he stopped what he was doing and looked towards the door to the shed. When he saw Derpy standing there with a plate of muffins’ he removed his goggles and smiled, “Hey Derpy? You need anything?”
Derpy shook her head as she replied, “I was just wondering if you wanted a snack… you know… for your big day. I accidently made too many and I wanted to see if they were good or not.”
Allen smiled as he looked at the plate of Blueberry muffins, and took one, “sure, let’s see how they turned out.”
As Allen took a bit of the muffin, he could only frown as Derpy started to feel disappointed, “its… that bad… isn’t it?”
Allen shook his head as he replied, “no… I’m just upset… you took my recipe and blew it out of the water… These are amazing Derpy.”
Derpy smiled with joy, “really?... I only followed your recipe. They shouldn’t be any different than yours.”
Allen continued to eat the muffin as he replied, “No different… these are nothing like mine. You got a real talent for cooking Derpy.”
Derpy blushed as she replied, “well… I can make some more if you want.”
Allen’s expression started to change as he replied, “actually… let’s try something else. These are good… but we’ve had muffins at least three times a week… for the past three weeks. Maybe we should try something a little more… healthy.”
Feeling a little disappointed Derpy hung her head as she replied, “Oh… okay…”
seeing her disappointment, Allen sighed, “Aright we can have muffins for breakfast tomorrow. Let’s just have something else tonight… okay?”
Derpy smiled with joy, “yay.”
as the two smiled at each other, Silvia trotted into the shed as she looked at Allen in confusion, “Allen?... I thought you said you were finished?...”
With the rivet now cooled and back to its black coloring, Allen placed the small piece of aluminum in a box and replied, “I am… I'm just making a few alterations to a different invention before we get started.”
As Allen closed the box, he trotted over to a tarp-covered machine, lifted the tarp and placed the small box on the wing before recovering it and smiling, “Silvia… Derpy?... It’s time to get moving.”
Both Silvia and Derpy nodded their heads, “Got it.”
With that said Derpy turned around and closed the small door to the shed as she started opening a much larger door that was right next to it. As the massive doors opened giving no obstacle for the invention to exit, Allen and Silvia strapped some halters to each other as they both began pulling the massive invention outside and into the open field. When the invention was outside, Allen smiled, “alright… let’s begin, first we test the engine, then we put it to the real test.”
As he and Silvia unhooked themselves from the invention, Allen pulled the tarp off to reveal the world’s first airplane. On the front of the craft sat a single wooden propeller that was connected to an engine shaft that was covered with small aluminum paneling. The wings of the aircraft where stacked both above and below the fuselage connected by a series of wooden posts and wires giving the connections a similar appearance to that of a suspension bridge. Past the wings stretched the aircraft’s fuselage, which was constructed with aluminum around the engine and cockpit, and a fabric-covered canvas stretching towards the tail of the aircraft. The aircraft sat on a single axle with two wheels just below the wings, and a single swiveling wheel just below the tailplane.
Silvia looked at the plane and smiled, “looks good Allen… Does it have a name or are you just going with airplane?”
Allen smiled as he ran his hoof along the wing, “I think I'll call her… The K-7 Limitless.”
Silvia though to herself, “K-7?...”
Derpy asked, “Why does it have two names?”
Allen replied, “One is a name for the invention, while the other is… sort of a nickname.”
Silvia asked, “but why K-7?”
Allen smiled, “Well, K as in Key since I invented it… and seven since that’s merely the answer…”
Silvia tilted her head in confusion as she asked, “Answer… answer to what exactly?”
Derpy remembered, “OH you mean that math problem right? The one when we were foals?”
Allen replied, “exactly… when it comes down to it there is no real reason why that was the answer other than it just was, so if anypony asks why?... it just merely is.”
Derpy smiled, “that’s really smart Allen, and things definitely haven’t change since then have they?”
Allen replied, “They have a little… but today… Everything changes.”
Still completely lost at what the two were talking about Silvia replied, “Ok… well I'll just nod my head and agree that Limitless is a good name for this plane. Although I still think it’s odd that you chose something like K-7… but it’s not the strangest thing you have said.”
Derpy giggled as Allen replied, “Hey… what’s that supposed to mean.”
Silvia could only shrug her shoulders, “I'm not lying am I?... now let’s get this thing ready to fly shall we.”
Allen disregarded the comment as he started looking over his plane, “hold your horses, I gotta make sure she’s ready first.”
As Allen took one, last look over the aircraft, he smiled as he started to climb into the seat, “Alright Everypony! It’s time for an engine test, Derpy? Can you grab the propeller and jerk it down to get it started? Just be sure you get out of the way so you don’t get hurt.”
Derpy nodded her head as she approached the long propeller that sat on the nose of the aircraft. Ever hopeful, Derpy grabbed the propeller and flung it down as a number of loud pops could be heard before the propeller started spinning as the engine started up. With the echoing sound of the engine stretching into the distance, Allen worked the controls to make certain the engine would continue running without any assistance. With the loud noise now filling the air, a few curious ponies looked into the field that the aircraft sat in and watched in curiosity as the mysterious invention continued running. With the engine test complete, Allen slowly lowered the throttle then hit the kill switch to shut off the plane. As he raised his goggles off his eyes, Allen climbed out of the cockpit and smiled, “Well, looks like it works. It’s time we get started, Hey Silvia, can you help me turn it so that we have a clear path ahead of us?”
Silvia looked across the field at the clearing that he was talking about as she nodded her head, “Sure thing Allen… looks like you’re drawing a crowd.”
Allen looked at the gathering ponies at the edge of the field and climbed out of the plane, “let them look. They aren’t bothering anything… let’s just get this thing ready for her maiden flight.”
As Allen and Silvia turned the plane to face the empty clearing, Derpy spoke, “feels like the wind is with us… this should be a hazardless flight don’t you think Allen?”
As Allen and Silvia finished turning the plane, he picked up the box that was sitting on the wing as he replied, “yea… this feels like a good day for flying… hey Silvia, I’m counting on your lead while I'm airborne. You are the flight expert after all.”
Silvia gave Allen a confused look, “Okay… so how am I supposed to help you from down here?”
Allen smiled as he held out the box for her to take, “that’s why you’ll need this.”
Feeling curious Silvia took the box and looked at both Allen and Derpy as they smiled at her in a joyful way. Silvia then put the box on the ground and removed the lid to look inside. When she saw what it was, she couldn’t believe her eyes, inside the box, sat an aluminum frame that had what looked to be ship sails connected to it, but that wasn’t what amazed her, it was the fact that with this item stretched completely out, it looked exactly like the wing of a bat pony. When she picked the item up, she saw just on the other side, a series of leather straps that could allow her to connect the item to her scarred wing. As she looked in confusion at the gift, she tried to speak, “it… it’s…”
Allen smiled, “I hope it’s the right size… if so, the connections will be perfect enough that it will interlock with the muscles on your wing and act as you do. Open your wing completely, and the end will extend to the length needed. Close it to rest, and it will do the same. I designed it to work just like your usual wing would… the only difference is that it a little heavier then a normal wing.”
Still at a loss for the right words, Silvia examined it closely, “it… it’s perfect… the detail is flawless… and… it has everything needed for average flight… wait… what’s this?”
With the question, Silvia pointed into the box at a small metal item that was separate from the wing in her hooves. Allen picked up the small metal piece as he replied, “it’s a counter weight. I know enough about flight to know that balance is key. And since this aluminum wing is heavier then a normal wing, you will need to attach this to your normal wing so that you have perfect balance.”
Understanding and agreeing with what Allen said, Silvia sat down and tried to find the right words to say, “This… I… A-Allen?... Thank you… I… I don’t know what to say…”
Allen smiled, “thank you is enough… I said I would make you one and I'm a stallion of my word… Besides, while I'm in the air, I'm gonna need a flight lead and I can’t think of anypony better for the job.”
Derpy gave Allen a worried look, “um, Allen? What will I do?”
Allen smiled, “you have the most important job of all Derpy… you’re my wing mare. And as long as you’re by my side… I have nothing to worry about.”
As the two ponies smiled at each other, Silvia attached the gift and started moving her wings around as she spoke, “wow Allen, you really know what you’re doing, this thing is moving exactly like my wing was never injured. Let’s just hope it flies. I can tell what you were talking about by the weight.”
Allen replied, “I know it’s a little heavy, but I’m sure after a while you’ll get used to it. Just remember to only do what you know you can. This thing is made of a strong aluminum, but it can still bend and break like any other item.”
Silvia nodded her head as she attached the counterweight to her other wing as she spoke, “this weight… could you modify it to work as a blade? Just curious, if I gotta have it I'd rather it be something that could help me in a pinch.”
Allen nodded his head as he replied, “well as long as the weight stays the same, I don’t see why not, in fact I'll do that to both later on. It won’t take long and it will also make them more aerodynamic.”
Silva nodded here head, “thanks Allen… but for now… let’s see how this thing works.”
Stepping away from her friends, Silvia stretched her wings out as she took a bracing deep breath, “here goes nothing.”
With that said, Silvia began flapping her wings in an attempt to fly. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then just like any normal bat pony Silvia started to hover over the ground as her wings started to take her higher and higher until she found herself hovering about two stories from the ground. As she looked at her friends from above, Silvia smiled with excitement, “I'm… I'm flying… I'm FLYING!!! I'm really in the air!”
Both Allen and Derpy watched from the ground as Silvia banked into a quickened dive before using her gathered speed to fly into the distance making maneuvers that she used to make as a royal guard. With Silvia using everything around as an obstacle to test out her new wing, she quickly made a flyby over the gathering crowd that started to accumulate on the road at the very edge of the field. As she flew over, she rolled herself over so that she could look at the crowd below her, before rolling back and continuing back to her friends who were waiting for her back in the middle of the field. As Silvia approached the area where Allen and Derpy where standing, she didn’t waste any of her speed, as she came in for her landing, rushed to Allen and hugged him with both her wings and hooves, “Thank you!... You don’t know how long it’s been since I was able to reach the clouds… Really! thank you so much! If you were a mare, I'd kiss you.”
Allen blushed a little as he replied, “um… thanks, but I’ve owed this to you for a long time Silvia. Besides, I'm always willing to help a friend.
Realizing how she must look in front of Derpy, Silvia quickly let Allen go as she backed up and blushed, “oh… um… sorry… kinda lost my cool there for a sec… um… anyway, now that both Derpy and I can reach the sky… don’t you think it’s your turn Allen?”
Allen nodded his head, “Now is a good a time as any. Let’s see just how much my studies have paid off.”
With that said, Allen put the goggles back over his eyes as he climbed into the cockpit of the biplane, and started checking his controls. As soon as he checked to see that all of his flaps were working properly, Allen looked at Derpy and spoke, “Derpy? Can you get the Propeller started? Once it’s spinning I'll be able to take it from there.”
Derpy nodded her head as she trotted to the aircraft’s propeller and jerked it down as it began spinning with its running sounds. As the propeller spun, Allen looked at all the gauges on his dash as he yelled over the noise of his engine, “Here goes nothing! I'll see you in the sky!”
With that said, Allen slowly increased his throttle as the aircraft started to roll at a very slow speed allowing Allen to position his plane properly for takeoff. Once the nose of the plane was lined up with the runway, Allen lowered the throttle so that the plane was still running but it held its position at the start of his off-road runway. As Allen looked into the direction he needed to go, he took one more deep breath of hope as he spoke, “here goes nothi…”
“YOU CAN DO IT!!!”
Hearing the unexpected and unrecognized voice, Allen turned his head to the side to see that the number of ponies gathered on the road that ran along the field had almost doubled. When he saw the gathered herd, he became surprised. It wasn’t the size that surprised him though, it was the fact that it seemed like everypony in the herd where cheering for him. Allen could only smile at his newfound supporters as he looked back to the grassy runway, “let’s do this…”
With those words of self-encouragement, Allen slowly increased the throttle as the propeller started to spin faster and faster until it became almost invisible to the naked eye. As the sound of the speeding engine increased, the plane slowly began rolling along the ground and down the runway as the herd on the road started cheering even louder. With its speed increasing, the tail of the aircraft started to slowly lift off the ground as the rest of the plane continued to roll along the ground. As the plane started to reach the end of the runway, the sounds of the speeding engine where completely muffled by the sound of the wind rushing by his face as Allen tried all he could to keep his focus on his action. Then, the sporadic bouncing that the plane did along the entire field ceased, as the wheels lifted from the ground and began rising from the earth. As Allen slowly pulled back on the control stick, he started to realize that his aircraft, of which he spent countless hours trying to perfect, had finally lifted itself off the ground, and was now nearing the height of nearby treetops. With his plane now airborne, Allen slowly moved the control stick to the side as his aircraft started to roll to show that he was fully in the air.
Feeling a little nervous about his actions, Allen rolled his plane back to where it was levels before looking around, “…I-I'm flying… I… I'm FLYING!!! I'm really flying!”
On the ground, the herd cheered for Allen as he turned his plane to fly over them. With that action both Silvia and Derpy looked at each other as Silvia spoke, “Ready Derpy! He’s gonna need our help!”
Derpy smiled as both mares took to the sky to quickly catch up to Allen who was now flying over Sweet Apple Acers. As the two mares caught up with him, Allen yelled, “Derpy! Silvia! It worked! I'm flying! Isn’t this incredible!”
Derpy smiled as she called back, “I knew you could do it Allen! I always knew that if anypony could, it was you!”
As the two ponies smiled at each other, Silvia called out, “If you two are done wasting fuel, I think it’s time for you to follow my lead… that is, unless you don’t think you can handle me being the flight lead?”
Allen looked back and smiled at the challenge, “Handle it? as long as you keep in mind that I'm six times your size, then by all means, lead the way!”
Silvia nodded her head, “Alright! Then let’s take this thing to ten thousand feet!”
With that order, Silvia quickly increased her altitude and flew above the others as Allen looked at Derpy and spoke, “Ready?”
Derpy smiled and gave him a competitive look, “I'm on your wing!”
Allen nodded his head as he quickly increased his throttle and pulled back on the control stick causing his plane to increase in speed as it started to fly higher. After a short time, Silvia stopped her increase in altitude as she leveled herself out just above the cloud line. As Allen reached her altitude, he and Derpy also leveled themselves out as he looked out from his cockpit, “whoa… this is high…”
Silvia smiled, “Can’t handle it?...”
Allen looked back and shook his head, “no… I'm fine… I just got to get used to it.”
Silvia nodded her head, “Good, cuz I got a plan for your plane’s first flight. That is… if you’re up for it…”
Allen nodded his head, “I'm up for it…”
Silvia looked down as she replied, “Alright, if you stay on my tail then you should be fine… Ready?”
Allen nodded his head as he adjusted his goggles so that they were sitting snug on his face, “Ready!”
Silvia nodded here head, “Then let’s do this!”
With those words, Silvia started to do a barrel roll, but as her body was upside down, instead of rolling back, she dove straight down and vanished into the clouds below. Remembering what she said about staying on her tail, Allen pulled the same maneuver by rolling his aircraft until it was upside down, then pulling the control stick to him causing his plane to dive into the clouds with Derpy following closely behind. As the three exited the bottom of the cloud cover, Silvia rolled back around and leveled herself out as they entered a wide valley. After their lead was leveled; Allen and Derpy rolled themselves around too and leveled themselves out so that the three were following one another through the valley in a perfect line. Leading the line Silvia spoke, “Allen! Listen carefully cuz the path ahead is gonna get hairy. Stay on my tail and do as I do, if I bank left sideways, you do the same. If I increase my altitude, then mimic that too. As long as you stay on my tail and do as I do, then you will be fine! I'm sorry for putting you through a challenge like this… but it’s the fundamentals of flying, and I promise you won’t regret it!”
Allen nodded his head, “Understood! I'll follow your lead! Ready for this Derpy?”
Derpy nodded her head as she replied with a nervous expression, “Only if you are!”
As Silvia looked ahead to see her first obstacle she replied, “I hope so… cuz your flight test begins now… Stay on my tail!”
Allen looked ahead of Silvia to see a high hanging cliff that made the top of the valley very narrow. As Silvia approached the cliff, she lowered her altitude to where the valley was wider as she flew under the cliff and clear of the narrow path. Copying her actions, Allen lowered his altitude as he flew under the cliff and past the first obstacle. After clearing the cliff, Allen looked behind him to see Derpy following his lead as he mumbled to himself, “that was easy enough.”
As Allen started to look forward, he saw Silvia roll her body until her wings were vertical as she flew through an area where the valleys edges became very narrow. As she flew through, Allen noticed that even if she flew horizontal she would still have cleared it, although he know his plane wouldn’t, so he turned his wings so that they too were vertical as he flew through without any problems.
As the three aviators leveled themselves out, Silvia called back, “alright Allen! Time to raise your altitude… I think it’s time to prove a point to a few naysayer we know.”
As Silvia raised her altitude, Allen did the same as he replied, “Prove a point?... To who?”
Silvia smiled, “You’ll see.”
The three ponies continued flying in their line as they slowly flew out of the Valley and along the mountain range. As they continued Derpy called as she pointed ahead, “Allen! Look!”
As Allen looked past Silvia he could only smile at what he saw, “Wait… is that?... Canterlot?”
Allen couldn’t believe it, By flying he was able to turn a two day journey into mere minutes. With full intention on allowing Allen to gloat, Silvia lead him in a flyby as they passed over the city at low altitude before banking around the castle for a second run. As the trio flew, the ponies of Canterlot marveled at the amazing flying machine that brought even Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle out onto a balcony. As the two looked to the sky, The Princess Smiled, “well isn’t that something… it looks like your friend finally succeeded in flying after all.”
Twilight looked at Allen’s plane as she replied, “he… he really did it. He became the first earth pony to reach for the sky and actually catch it.”
As the two stared at Allen’s plane, both day and night commanders trotted out onto the balcony as Commander Deurne spoke, “the earth pony really did it… although he has violated his banishment by returning here.”
Commander soul smiled, “actually, he didn’t… if I remember correctly, Allen Key was banished from Canterlot right. However, if I'm not mistaken, he isn’t in Canterlot… he’s over it. An acceptable loophole if I say so myself. And one that the princess would agree with, right your majesty?”
Commander Deurne looked at the princess in worry as she replied, “Allen Key isn’t violating his banishment, so I'll allow it.”
Commander Deurne glared at the smirk on Commander Soul’s face as he turned and left the balcony in anger, “Fine… let the criminal run free…”
when the angry commander was off the balcony, Princess Celestia looked at Commander Soul and spoke, “that’s your daughter leading him up there…”
Commander Soul smiled, “I know…”
Princess Celestia continued, “She can fly again… and now she has helped a friend fulfill his dream too… you must be proud.”
The commander nodded his head, “I’ve always been proud of her… I’ve only worried that through her troubles that she wouldn’t have the strength to handle what’s next for her.”
The princess replied, “And what is next for her?”
Silvia’s father sighed, as he turned to go back into the castle, “Hopefully?… nothing…”
Finishing their final flyby over Canterlot, Silvia led Allen and Derpy back into the valley as she looked at the changing color of the sky above, “crap… I better hurry if I'm gonna make it in time.”
Not hearing Silvia’s words over the roar of his plane’s engine, Allen called, “What was that Silvia?”
Silvia replied, “Try to keep up! We are behind on time! Remember to stay on my tail and do as I do!”
With those words, Silvia increased her speed as she started to push her new prosthetic wing to its limits. With the bat pony lead starting to increase the distance from herself and the rest of her flight, Allen and Derpy also increased their speed in efforts to keep up with their flight lead. With the valley walls now flying by at an even more dangerous speed, Silvia began dodging the passing obstacles as Allen followed her action so that he wouldn’t bring damage to his new invention. However, with every passing cliff, hoodoo and narrowing path, Allen, and Derpy couldn’t help but worry as Derpy called forward, “Silvia! Slow down! It’s hard keeping up!”
Silvia turned around and called back, “We only have a little further! Just be ready to bank!”
Completely confused as to what she was talking about Allen and Derpy looked at each other then back at their path in confusion. As the trio continued into their path, a thick mist started to enter the valley making the distant obstacles even more difficult to see. Having full trust in his lead, Allen double-checked his gauges to reassure himself so that his full focus could remain on his lead and his path.
It was not long before an obstacle came from within the mists as Silvia banked to avoid it, leaving enough room for Allen and Derpy to follow. Shortly after, an overhanging cliff reared its ugly face from the mists as the trio quickly banked to avoid it. One after another, hoodoos, cliffs and large rocks started emerging from the thickening haze that was in front of them, but with each passing obstacle Silvia continued to increase her speed, making each obstacle get closer and closer until they were dodging them by mere inches. Knowing that they were taking a risk, Allen called ahead, “Silvia! Slow down!”
Silvia turned her head back as she shook her head, “We need the speed if we are going to break through!”
Allen could only stare at her in confusion, “break through? Break through what?”
Silvia didn’t reply, she only leveled her flight out as another obstacle started to make itself known through the mists, only both Allen and Derpy couldn’t prepare themselves for what they saw. From within the mists, came a massive shadow that seemed to be a wall right in front of them, but as they got closer, they found that it wasn’t a wall, but a massive cave. As the plane flew into the cave Allen called, “is there a place for me to turn around in here? Or will it lead me completely through?”
Silvia didn’t reply, instead she only leveled her flight and braced herself as a massive wind came through the tunnel pulling all three flyers through at a speed that surpassed there earlier velocity.
With the wind pulling the three along, Allen fought to hold his aircraft steady as the wind tried to pull his tail over the front of his fuselage. And if that wasn’t hard enough, the stalactites and stalagmites started making the caves passage even more narrow as the three where pulled along. Trying to hold her balance, Derpy flew to the side of Allen’s plane and grabbed onto the fuselage as she spoke, “Allen! Are you okay? I don’t know how much more of this we can take.”
Allen still fought to keep his plane stable as he replied, “where is she leading us?… this seems too dangerous to be just some random flight.”
After a while of fighting the wind tunnel, Allen looked forward to see what looked to be a massive wall of water closing the end of the tunnel. As he and Derpy looked at the wall, Silvia called back, “NOW! Increase your speed! It’s the only way to make it through that waterfall!”
With those words, Silvia used both her wings and the surrounding winds to triple her speed as she darted towards the waterfall at penetrating speed. Feeling a little nervous, Allen looked at Derpy who was still hanging on the side of his plane as he spoke, “what do we do Allen?”
Derpy nodded her head, “Silva never steered us wrong before… and she wouldn’t do it now. Let’s go, full throttle!”
With a smile of confidence, Derpy pushed herself away from the plane as she started flapping her wings as fast as she could to keep up, but even then, Allen’s plane still outflew her as he increased his throttle and braced himself as the roar of his engine echoed throughout the cave.
Leading the flight, Silvia vanished into the watery wall as she colligated with it at full speed leaving a vertical splash behind. As Allen approached the waterfall, he braced himself and closed his eyes as the propeller sliced through the falling water first, scattering it in all directions, and slowing its speed. As the rest of the plane passed through, water poured into the cockpit as both the wings and tailplane were momentarily pushed downward with the weight of the falling water causing the plane to lose some of its altitude. Allen fought to not only keep his plane steady, but also to maintain his altitude, although by the time he regained full control, Derpy just emerged from the waterfall as she raced forward to catch up with her lead and wing. As all three ponies were now passed the waterfall, Allen slowly looked over the dash of his cockpit and realized that they were now on a low altitude flight over the western coast of Equestria. Breathing a sigh of relief from their rugged route, Allen sat back in his seat as he let his plane level out. Silvia who was still in the lead, lowered her speed, and fell back to the side of Allen’s plane as she spoke, “sorry Allen… but I wanted to get you and Derpy here in time.”
Allen looked at Silvia as Derpy caught up and replied, “In time? In time for what?”
Silva smiled as she looked into the distance, “in time, for that…”
Curious as to what their bat pony companion was talking about, both Allen and Derpy looked into the distance as they both saw exactly what she was looking at.
On the horizon, glistening in the reflection of the open sea, was the most beautiful sunset that the two surface ponies had ever seen. As they stared in awe, Derpy spoke, “pretty…”
Allen nodded his head, “y-yea… it’s beautiful. It… even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined…”
Silvia smiled, “this was one of the reasons I enjoyed the day. normally the sun annoys my eyes which is why we came here through a valley and cave… but when it’s at a low altitude like this… I can only admire the day. and only from this height at this place can its beauty really shine.”
Derpy nodded her head, but Allen didn’t realize what Silvia said as he admired the sunset and mumbled to himself, “Mom… I did it… I'm in the sky. They said I couldn’t… that it was impossible… even dad said it… but, here I am. I'm flying. I'm really flying. I did it.”
Allen removed his goggles to wipe the tears that were starting to puddle up in them, and as he did, he felt a hoof on his shoulder as he looked to see Derpy hanging onto the side of his plane with a smile on her face. Allen could only smiled back as he placed his hoof on hers, “no… we did it. Together you and I… we showed everypony in Ponyville that I really wasn’t crazy after all.”
Derpy shook her head, “no… remember what your mom said, you are crazy… cuz only a pony as crazy as you… erm… us, could ever hope to accomplish the impossible… right?”
Silvia sighed, “I think you’re both crazy… but then again, it takes one to know one right?”
The three ponies could only smile at Silvia’s comment as they continued their low level flight, but then the moment was broken as Silvia looked forward and called out, “SHIP!!!”
As the group looked ahead, they saw the mast of a large vessel coming right for them as they quickly banked in different directions to avoid the incoming obstacle. As they did the crew on the ship watched in confusion as the unknown, invention leveled itself out and started to swing around for a closer look. As Allen looked down at the crew that marveled at him, he could only wave as he called out, “Sorry! My fault!!!”
The crew looked to their captain as the old stallion could only smile, “Well blow me down… if it ain’t a fellow earth pony who conquered a new frontier. Look alive gents! This be a new age for us! Be grateful ya lived to see this day.”
As the captain spoke, he waved back at the airborne earth pony as Allen, Silvia, and Derpy flew back towards the mainland and started to cross the countryside back to Ponyville. By the time the trio arrived at Ponyville, the sun had already set and the moonrise could be seen lighting up the now dark field where Allen intended on landing. As he tried all he could to see the runway, Allen called out, “Silvia! Can you guide me in? I can’t see where I'm go…”
before he could finish, a string of lights appeared in the field lining the exact area he was going to land as the three could see a number of ponies standing there waiting on his return. Though the number was less than those who watched him take off, Allen could easily recognize Paladin, and his dad from the air.
Trying to be extremely careful, Allen turned his aircraft around and slowly landed on the lit strip of ground as the ponies waiting him started to approach the stopping plane. As soon as Allen cut off his engine, the approaching crowd gathered close to the aircraft as they cheered for the successful first flight. As the ponies gathered, Derpy and Silvia landed next to Allen’s plane as he climbed out of the cockpit and stood next to them. With the crowd of ponies still applauding and cheering for Allen and his accomplishment, Paladin trotted out of the herd and smiled, “Well, well, look who finally joined his avian friends. I hope you won’t let this go to your head Allen. Like it or not, stable ground is still my preferred floor.”
Allen smiled, “no worries boss, I'll still be around to keep your business running. I wouldn’t let you close down too soon ya know. What would you do if your best mechanic were to quit now?”
Paladin smiled, “Well if you’ll excuse my pun… I'm sure I'll get over it once time flies by.”
Smiling at the pun Allen looked to the side as his dad stepped out of the crowd, “S-son… I believe I owe you an apology.”
Allen looked at both Silvia and Derpy who could only smile back as he replied, “no… you don’t, I owe you one. I understand that my actions were a little foolish… but I just wanted you to understand that this is what I wanted. To reach for the sky and actually touch it. Look I don’t care if you were standing beside, behind or near me at all… I just wanted to prove that mom’s words weren’t just words of a mother humoring a big imagination. I just wanted to make her last words of encouragement something that made a difference.”
Allen’s dad smiled at his son as he replied, “And look at you now…flying, standing up to me and accomplishing the impossible. Your mother would be well more than proud to see you like this.”
Allen smiled as he held out his hoof and took Derpy’s, as the two blushed, “even if she didn’t… as long as Derpy here is with me… then it’s all the same.
Allen’s father nodded his head, “I was wrong, maybe you are responsible enough. I won’t ask you to come home. You’re an adult now son. And I know you will make the best choice, no matter my opinion on it.”
Allen smiled as he replied, “Thanks dad for what it’s worth… I’m glad you were here to see this. it means a lot.”
All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie jumped out of the middle of the crowd as she called out, “you know what this means… A PARTY!!!”
Allen sighed, “Actually… I'm gonna set this one out… it’s been a rather long and mentally exhausting day and I think we are just gonna take the rest of the night to relax.”
Derpy sat down as she rubbed her wings, “tell me about it…”
Paladin smiled, “I see no reason to cancel the party idea if Allen doesn’t want to go… anypony who wants to join in, how bout we gather at Sugar Cube Corner for something sweet!”
As a majority of the ponies cheered and began leaving the field, Allen, Derpy and Silvia where left alone as Silvia spoke, “that was… a bit odd, don’t you think?”
Allen smiled, “Actually… that was random. But that’s Pinkie Pie for you.”
Derpy smiled, “yea… it’s just the way she is. So you aren’t going to the party Silvia?”
Silvia shook her head, “Actually, now that your invention is finished, I'm gonna get some rest and prepare to leave town… I guess… this means we are even now… doesn’t it?”
Allen shook his head, “you were never in my debt to begin with. I'm always happy to help a friend, and to consider it payment for anything… well that’s just disrespectful. But if you want to leave… then let me make those alterations to your new wings before you go. They could come in handy if you ever get attacked on your trip..”
Silvia smiled, “thanks, I appreciate it.”
Derpy replied as she continued, “So... Where are you going from here?”
Silvia replied, “First I'm gonna go back to the Equestrian Caverns and have a word with dad about mom’s secret… then… I might head to Canterlot and take her up on that offer of hers. Since I can fly again, maybe I can be of better use now.”
Allen smiled, “with you at the lead, I'm certain the Cutters will be even more successful. Just, please don’t forget about us.”
Silvia shook her head, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Deep in the darkness of the Equestrian Caverns, another caravan of bat ponies form distant clans arrived as Equinox and a few of his soldiers met them at the city gates, “Good to see you captain… how was your travels?”
The leader of the caravan replied, “Dull, but profitable. Maybe we should go into the merchant business when this is all said and done. Trying to pose as merchants allowed us to do quite a bit of trading along our route and we even managed to recruit three more for the cause.”
“What cause!”
Without expecting it, the group of soldiers turned around to see the village elder as she trotted out to meet them, “Equinox! What is the meaning of this! I knew there were a lot of ponies arriving from other clans but from the looks of this… I'd say you’re up to something. Explain yourself now!”
Knowing he was busted Equinox raised his left wing as he turned to the mare and replied, “Alright… you caught me. So I'll tell you what’s happening. This pony if from the old Hallow Shade clan that left a few years back. He is here at my request to pose as a merchant caravan so that when I and my supporting guards leave here we can enter Canterlot with little to no suspicion.”
The arriving captain stepped forward in worry, “Nox… it’s not a good idea to tell her tha…”
With his wing still raised he interrupted, “Let me finish… now I don’t think you know this… but for the past few weeks we have had numerous caravans of soldiers gather in Canterlot and in the surrounding towns, claiming to either be merchants, a traveling carnival, or stuff like that. But in all actuality, they are a secret army that I myself formed. And wouldn’t you know it… we aim to take the city by force.”
The elderly mare stood in disbelief, “you mean you aim to attack Princess Celestia and take the city for yourself?”
Nox smiled as he shook his head, “uh… no… I aim to take a much more valuable prize. You see, the princess may hold the power of the kingdom, but guess who is responsible for protecting the kingdom?”
The elderly mare started to realize his plan, “The Cutters… you aim to conquer the cutters?”
Nox shook his head as he stepped closer to the mare with his wing still up, “No… I only aim to take what should belong to me In the first place. As the first born I should be the one to take command of the Cutters as the reaper… but if mommy dearest wants to keep it from me, then I'll take it by force. And there isn’t a single thing that can be done to stop me.”
the mare gave him a suspicious look as she continued, “why are you telling me this?”
Nox smiled as he replied, “Because even if I do tell you my plan, it won’t change anything, cuz you won’t be around to tell anypony.”
With a crooked smile on his face, Equinox trusted his raised wing down as a number of arrows fell from the dark haze above and hit the elderly mare before she could even notice the danger she was in. As equinox turned back to his guards and the arriving troops, he smiled when he noticed them staring at him in shock. With an evil smirk, Equinox waited for his hidden archers to dive down and land beside him as he replied to his actions, “I never liked that old bat, she was always too bossy for her own good.”
The arriving captain spoke in shock, “what do we do now… if the cutters find out she is dead, the…”
They won’t… we are leaving right now… I'm done waiting patiently for what should be mine. I waited five years till my sister was born and ruined my chances of inheriting it form my mother, but not anymore. It’s time we march into the Cutter’s haven and take what is mine. Even if I have to kill The Grimm Reaper myself. ALL SOLDIERS! MOVE OUT!!!”
and with that order, Nox, his archers, and the rest of his guard removed their armor and threw it into the covered wagons, as the small force departed, leaving the elderly mare lying in the very place where her life ended.