Limitless Skies

by Priceless911

Ch6 "I love you... Good Bye..."

In a large but dark cavern hidden deep below the city of Canterlot, many cloaked mares and stallions of all kinds were going about their business as one particular mare made her way through carrying a large scythe. As she continued, one of the cloaked stallions stopped in front of her and smiled, “Good afternoon Miss Mist. I say, how did the meeting go?”
The Reaper continued trotting along as the stallion began trotting with her, “Dull as usual… once again I hear nothing but complaints about The Cutters’ existence while absolutely no royal guard thinks we have any purpose anymore. But like always, Princess Celestia told her commanders that we may be a small asset, we are still valuable to the protection of the kingdom. By the way Fancy Pants, it’s boss when down here.”
The noble stallion nodded his head in embarrassment as he replied, “My apologies Mi… erm… boss. Old habits and all that. Anyway, I’m sure that the princess wouldn’t dream of shutting us down. Considering we have kept peace in Equestria for many centuries. And I’m sure that since we all pay for our own organization is a worthy incentive in itself as well.”

The Reaper continued towards a meeting room as she nodded her head, “I’m sure it is… although, you know as well as I, money is no object of value.”
Fancy Pant smiled, “Yes of course, I couldn’t agree more. The citizens of Equestria always come first.”
The Reaper continued, “Always.”
As the two continued, another cloaked stallion rushed to her from behind as he called out “Boss! Boss!”
The Reaper turned to the winded stallion as replied, “Prince Blueblood? What is it?”
The winded prince replied, “It’s Mr. Rich… he has yet to check in.”
The Reaper gave him a serious look as she replied, “Really? When did we last hear from him?”
“Yesterday evening, he reported that Silvia and her cohorts left the Equestrian Caverns… but that’s the last we heard from him.”

The Reaper started thinking to herself as Fancy Pants spoke, “I say, do you think he could have befallen to ill will? It isn’t like him to ever miss his time to report.”
The Reaper looked at Prince Blueblood as she spoke, “Alert the search team. Put Mr.’ Rich’s status as high priority. And have a letter prepared for the Rich family… just in case.”
Prince Blueblood nodded his head, “Yes boss, as you wish, but what about Silvia?”
The Reaper sighed, “Future or not, we can’t place the safety of one over all. We must first find Mr. Rich, and then we can focus on Silvia’s safety. Besides, we know where she is going and who she will try to see. Therefore, we will just await her arrival here. Fancy Pants?”
Fancy Pants replied as he straightened his posture, “Yes my dear?”
The Reaper continued, “Have your contacts on lookout for her arrival… when she gets here, she will be ready. That’s when you will approach her. Understood? Tell her, her purpose… but let me explain who I am. It would be better to reveal myself to her personally.”
Fancy Pants nodded his head, “Of course, I shall escort her here myself.”

The Reaper turned around and started to trot away, “See that you do… meanwhile I will meet with the commanders. Maybe I can… convince them to assist in our search for Mr. Rich.”
Prince Blueblood added, “And the letter of condolences?… what should it say?”
The reaper replied, “What do all letters from The Cutters say… A heart attack. We do not exist, so when we die, it’s always from a heart attack. Just as our targets do.”
As the Reaper trotted away from the two stallions, she mumbled to herself, “I don’t know who is trying to hurt her, but if Silvia is in danger… then so are The Cutters.”

---

In the Everfree Forest, Silvia, Derpy and Allen continued on their path to Canterlot, as Allen was jabbering away at the design ideas for his aircraft, “So by placing two adjacent wings one over the other, I can increase structural stability while leaving enough room for myself and the series of wires running through the craft. Then if I have to place a motor on it I can decide where I place it along with the control…”
As Allen continued talking about his idea’s Silvia continued nodding her head as she blocked everything out, then she leaned towards Derpy and asked, “Do you understand any of the words he is spouting out?”
Derpy shrugged her shoulders as she replied, “No, but it makes him happy to say them, so I just go with it.”
Silvia could only shake her head as Allen continued talking about the aircraft design, however as Silvia started looking at the path again she paused and opened her wings causing Allen and Derpy to stop with her.

Allen went silent as Silvia started looking around in worry. With Silvia starting to nervously shift her eyes around as if they were surrounded, Allen asked, “What is it?...”
Silvia shushed him as she turned to the right and started looking into a thick bush. As Silvia started trotting closer to the bush, trying to see what was inside, Allen and Derpy slowly trotted behind her until Derpy accidently stepped on a small twig that snapped under her hoof. Hearing the snapping sound greatly surprised Silvia, whose eyes immediately widened as she turned around and started sprinting from the bush, “THERE ARE TOO MANY!!! FALL BACK FOR COVER!!!”
Thinking that she saw something they didn’t, Allen and Derpy followed Silvia into the forest as all three of them ran as fast as their hooves could carry them. As they ran, Derpy called, “What is it!?! What’s chasing us!?!”
Silvia replied with a look of intense worry on her face, “Just keep running Serene!”
Derpy looked at Allen in confusion, “Serene?”

As the group continued running through the forest being led by the terrified bat pony, they came to an area where tree roots started growing out of the ground. Allen and Derpy managed to avoid each root with ease, but as Silvia came to one that was directly in front of her, she tripped over it as she rolled a number of times before hitting the ground on her side in a clearing. Seeing the action, Both Allen and Derpy turned around and rushed to their fallen friend as Derpy tried to help her on her hooves, while Allen stepped between Silvia and the path they came from as he readied himself to protect her from what was behind them. However, after a few seconds of standing there Allen realized they the path they came from was completely empty. In fact, it looked like there wasn’t even anything behind them at all. Too terrified to even stand, Silvia pushed Derpy away as she used her hooves to push herself along the ground until she was against a nearby tree. There with her face beginning to get paler with fear, Silvia curled in the feedle position as she mumbled to herself, “I can’t do it… I can’t win… no… I’m not leaving you… Serene… no…”

Both Derpy and Allen were scared for their friend since this was the first time they have ever seen her this traumatized. Allen tried to calm her down as much as he could, “Silvia… what is it? What’s wrong… don’t worry we are here with you… just tell us what’s wrong?”
“Uh… Allen?”
Allen looked at Derpy who was standing beside him as she pointed at the tree that Silvia was leaning against. As he looked up his eyes widened as he saw deep claw marks embedded in the tree as if something massive was clawing away at it. The very same markings that resembled the scar on the side of Silvia’s body. As he looked back down at Silvia she continued mumbling to herself, “I… I can’t do it… I can’t win… we must… fall… bac…”
in the middle of her sentence, Silvia’s words became slurred as she slowly lost consciousness where she was laying.

Hours later Silvia opened her eyes to find herself looking at the night sky with an unusual bluish glow right next to her. As she rolled on her side, she saw a large Zap Apple tree sitting inside of a charred but glowing crater just feet from where she was laying. In the center Derpy hovered over the electrified soil as she tried to grab one of the zap apples, but when a small arc of electricity jumped off the apple and hit her hoof, she jumped back as she glared at the zap apple in anger, “Darn it!... let me eat you already!”
Silvia looked at the edge of the crater as Allen stood there laughing, “Derpy can you give it a rest? You’ve been trying to get that apple for the past hour. Every time you grab it it’s just gonna keep shocking you, that’s why this area is called the Thunder Grounds.”
Derpy looked back at Allen and pointed at the apple, “I don’t care! I’m gonna eat this big meanie if it’s the last thing I do!”

As she hovered over the grounds pointing at the apple, a small arc of electricity jumped from the apple and hit her hoof a second time as she jumped back and grunted at the inanimate object, “Oh that’s it! You asked for it this time!”
Silvia couldn’t help but laugh at the determined pegasus as Allen looked over and noticed that she was awake. As Allen approached Silvia, he spoke, “Glad to see you’re alright, you gave us a scare there for a second.”
Silvia rubbed her head as she replied, “H-how long was I out?”
Allen replied, “About four hours, when you passed out, we carried you as far as we could but when we got here, well I just couldn’t keep going after arriving at a special place like this, so we decided to set up camp here for the night.”
Silvia sighed as she replied, “Sorry… I guess this puts us more than half a day behind.”
Allen shook his head, “Don’t worry about it, it’s not like Canterlot won’t be there tomorrow. We can still finish this journey of ours; it’s just better, that we finish it together is all. By the way… What happened out there? You looked like you saw a ghost.”

Silvia put her hoof on her head as she thought to herself, “Hmm… I don’t remember much… but while trotting I thou…”
All of a sudden, Silvia grew quiet as her eyes widened, then they began to tear up as she lowered her head in shame. Seeing this, Allen asked, “Silvia? What’s wrong?”
Allen couldn’t see her face, but he could see the tears falling from her eyes as she replied, “That… that place… that’s where they died… that’s where… they were killed… where… I let those monsters kill them.”
Allen tried to understand, “Calm down… let who die?”
Silvia looked up at Allen, but when he saw her face, his heart sank. She looked like a little filly who was pleading for forgiveness after doing something horribly wrong, knowing full and well that she wouldn’t get it. With tears rolling down her face, Silvia continued, “M-my squad… in the royal guard… that’s where my squad fell. That’s where I let them die…”
Allen put his hoof on her shoulder, “Silvia…”
Silvia took his hoof off her shoulder as she replied, “Don’t… I don’t need your pity… I… I don’t deserve it.”

Allen had never seen such pain in anypony’s eyes before, so all he could do was put his hoof on her shoulder again as he spoke, “Silvia… What happened? I know it’s not my business, but I can’t help you feel better if I don’t know. What happened?”
Silvia understood what Allen meant, so she wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke, “It… it was about a year ago. My squad was the very first in history to be composed of one of every type of pony, excluding alicorns of course. We had Kilo Gram a massive but strong Pegasus, Hammerhead, a quick-witted earth pony with a lot of strength behind his bow. We had Serene, My second in command and by far the most talented Unicorn I ever met. And Myself, the most skilled bat pony in the kingdom, second only to my father.”
Allen smiled, “All four species united? Sounds like an inspirational group.”
Silvia nodded her head, “We were… but… one night we received a letter from dad about a special mission in the Everfree Forest, so I ordered our group to meet at the city gate, so that I could brief them on our mission…”

---

Silvia waited at the city gate of Canterlot with a unicorn as she paced back and forth mumbling in annoyance, “They’re late… again. Why do I even bother?”
The mare standing next to her replied, “Cut them some slack Silly, you know that Hammerhead can’t fly and Kilo Gram is pretty big for his size.”
Silvia sighed, “First off don’t call me Silly at work, and second, just because they aren’t the fastest ponies in the world doesn’t mean that the royal guard will accept tardiness. As night guards, it’s our duty to arrive at dusk. Princess Celestia raised the moon almost thirty minutes ago so why are they late?”
Serene smiled, “Oh silly, I know you’re captain and all, but that’s no reason to be so serious all the time. If you keep this up then the white in your mane will turn grey.”
Silvia sighed, “I know… but dad… I mean the commander, won’t see it that w…”
All of a sudden, a large muscular pegasus and a skinny earth pony rushed up as Silvia gave them an annoyed look, “You’re late!”

The large pegasus replied, “Sorry Silver, Hammerhead here forgot his quiver so we had to rush back to the barracks.”
Hammerhead looked back at the pegasus and replied, “What!?! You’re the one who forgot your axe! I mean what kind of guard loses his weapon! If it were me I’d…”
“AT EASE!!!”
Hearing Serene’s command the two soldiers stood at attention and silenced themselves as Silvia smiled, “Thank you Sargent. I'll overlook this for now, but there will be repercussion later. For now, we received a letter from the commander who is currently taking care of business in the Equestrian Caverns. He reported that there is a family lost in the Everfree Forest that has been missing since this afternoon. Since it is now dusk, we can only assume them to be dead, but despite my personal opinion, we are ordered to search for them anyway. The mission, a basic search and rescue. Should be a trot through the park but remember this is the Everfree Forest we are talking about, and at night of all times.”

The squad nodded their heads as Serene smiled, “As long as you’re at the lead Captain, we have no worries.”
Silvia smiled, “And with you as my second, I have no worries. Squad move out!”
With that command, the four ponies started down the road towards the Everfree Forest on hoof. A couple hours had passed before the team found themselves trotting down a trail through the center of the forest, as they continued, Serene asked Silvia, “Hey Silly… I mean Silver. What is the point of all this? I mean is this family important or something, it just seems odd that we are searching for three ponies lost in the forest when ponies go missing out here every other week.”
Silvia sighed, “Don’t ask me, I’m not one to question orders from up top. If the commander wants them found then that’s what we should do. Even if it seems stra…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Silvia heard some rustling in the bushed nearby. Curious to the sound, she stopped the group as she started looking into the bush from a distance. As she did she spoke, “Hello?... We are the royal guards out searching for a lost family of ponies… would you by chance be one of them?”

There was no reply, but the sounds in the bush continued as Serene nudged Silvia, “Silver… I got a bad feeling about this…”
Griping her sword Silvia called a second time, “If you’re a member of the lost family, or you happen to know something about them, then come out and tell us. We want to find them as soon as possi…”
Before Silvia could finish her sentence, she noticed two large eyes staring at her from the shadows in the brush. Seeing the Eyes and knowing what it was at first glance, she slowly turned her head to her squad while staring at the hidden object, “Serene… hold still… it’s a manticore.”
When they heard what she said the group of royal guards froze in place as Serene replied, “What?... then… what do we do?”
Silvia replied, “He has already bowed his head down to pounce on me… so when he does I want you to strike him down. If it’s only one… then we can take him no problem… ready?”

Silvia held still as Kilo and Serene griped their Weapons leaving Hammerhead to lay an arrow across his bow. Silvia nodded to her group as she continued, “Set…”
With that said Silvia braced her front hooves to jump back while Hammerhead drew his bow and aimed it directly at her, which was going to be the manticore’s pouncing path. However, as Silvia started to give the word, a second manticore jumped out of the bushes that Kilo was standing beside, as the mammoth creature pinned him to the ground and dug his teeth into the large pegasus’ wing. As soon as the action happened, “Kilo screamed in pain as he tried to swing his axe at the creature but with his body pinned down, the manticore was just outside his area of attack. Reacting to his comrade’s cries of pain, Hammerhead swung his bow around and fired the arrow in a reflexive haste as the arrow flew through the short range and hit the creature on his side. Feeling the sting of the arrow, the manticore lifted the paw he was using to pin the pegasus down as Kilo took this opportunity to pick himself up and dig the axe into the manticore’s head, killing the creature with one blow.

Seeing the horror unfold, Silvia called to her soldier, “Kilo! Are you Oka…”
forgetting the previous plan, Silvia dropped her guard as the first manticore jumped out of the brush and tried to grab her before she could react. When Silva realized her mistake she noticed that it was too late to jump back, but just before the creature could grab her, a magical barrier appeared in front of her as the calousle creature colligated with it and was immediately stopped in its tracks. With the attacking manticore falling to the ground in a daze, Silvia could hear the echoes of more roaring in the area so as she nodded to Serene in appreciation for the assist, she called out, “THERE ARE TOO MANY!!! FALL BACK FOR COVER!!!”
With her command, Silvia turned around and sprinted off the trail as fast as she could while her team followed closely behind her, first Serene, then Hammerhead, leaving the wounded Kilo Gram to trail at the rear of the pack.

The squad of royal night guards ran through the forest with everything they had as another manticore jumped from the side of their path as it grabbed Kilo Gram and rolled into the brush on the other side, leaving behind nothing but a loud scream from the trailing pony. Hearing the scream Echo behind them, Serene called to Silvia, “Silver! Kilo is down! What should we do?”
Silvia looked back and replied, “Just keep running Serene!”
Silvia led her squad through the forest as fast as she could but as they started to reach a clearing, Silvia stopped in her tracks when she saw another manticore blocking her path. After stopping, Silvia braced herself for a fight as Serene and Hammerhead regrouped with her and readied themselves for the manticore that were following the trio. As the two following manticore entered the clearing, and surrounded the three, Silva mumbled to Hammerhead, “Hey… do you think you can hit their eyes with an arrow?”
Hammerhead nodded, “Definitely… but as soon as I fire, the one I hit first will lose control of his anger and attack. Not to mention his buddies will get to me before I even get the chance to fire the next.”

Silvia though to herself as the ferocious creatures roared loudly at their prey. Then she replied, “It’s the only plan we got… but let’s try it. Just focus on one at a time, Serene and I can hold off the other two. But try to act fast.”
Hammerhead nodded his head, “Got it Silver… I'll do what I can.”
Silvia looked at Serene and Spoke, “Is that alright with you Serene?”
Serene nodded her head, “I’ll be fine, their size takes a toll on my magic, but as long as you can hold one, I'll take another. Just… Don’t die.”
Silvia nodded her head as she replied, “Don’t worry… I don’t intend to.”

Moving slowly not to startle the circling manticore, Hammerhead pulled an arrow from his Quiver and laid it across his bow. Then he nodded his head as he whispered, “Ready… on your mark Silver.”
Silvia nodded back as she looked at the circling Manticore and chose her target carefully, “And… NOW!!!”
With that order, each pony made an action as all three manticore charged the group. Hammerhead aimed his bow at one and fired an arrow straight into its eye as it backed up roaring in pain. Serene used a magical barrier to stop the second manticore in its tracks while Silvia charged at the third with her sword held high.

When Silvia approached the third Manticore, the beast extended its claws as it slashed down on her, luckily, Silvia managed to dodge the attack and fly around behind the creatures head in an effort to attack his blind spot. As she circled around, she raised her sword to strike down on the back of the beast’s head but as she did, she heard the forgotten hiss of the manticore’s serpent tail. Silvia quickly turned around as the angry snake lunged towards her with his razor sharp fangs completely exposed. Silvia managed to dodge the strike, but as she did, one of its fangs still managed to get close enough to graze her face to cut the outside of her right eyelid while ejecting venom which was used to neutralize its victims.

As soon as she felt the mix of blood and venom roll into her eye and down her face, Silvia dropped her sword through the shock as she put her hoof over her eye and flew far behind the creature so she could land and regain her senses from what just happened. However, as she did, the creature quickly turned around and charged towards her while the snakes venom started taking effect by blinding the very eye it was drenched. The large creature started to raise its claws in an effort to strike her down, but as it did, Hammerhead , who had just killed the manticore he was fighting, looked over and saw what was happening, “SILVER STREAM!!!”
Hearing the warning Silvia looked up but it was too late, the monstrous creature was already too close for her to avoid. Luckily, Hammerhead quickly pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it across the clearing as the arrow hit the side of the manticore’s face missing his eye by barely an inch.

In a feat of rage the manticore closed his eyes as he finished his swing at his distracted prey allowing his razor sharp claws to run alongside Silvia’s body as they cut through her wing and left three deep lacerations up her body before tossing her five feet away from where she was standing. When she hit the ground, Silvia screamed in horrifying pain as she griped her partially removed wing in pain. While she laid on the ground, the injured manticore continued swinging its exposed claws around in a fit of rage as it tried guiding itself closer to the injured bat pony using her screams as its guide. Seeing the creature getting closer to her, Silvia tried pushing herself along the ground until she found herself cornered against a tree. Still too enraged to look around for its prey, the manticore continued its unsuccessful temper tantrum as it continued swinging one paw mercilessly while using the other to apply pressure to the wound on its face. Finally, the claws got close enough to swing right over her as they slash a large chunk out of the top of the tree she was against. With Hammerhead rushing to aid her he screamed “Silver! Get out of there!”

As she looked towards Hammerhead who was rushing to her side, Silvia managed to gather her strength and courage to pick herself up and quickly move away from the monstrous beast as it continued centering its anger at the tree as it slashed away thinking it to be its wounded prey. When both ponies met, Hammerhead put Silvia’s hoof around his neck and carried her away from the angry creature as he tried to get her back to Serene who was still holding her selected Manticore back with a powerful barrier spell. As the two continued trying to make their way to safety, the manticore that was clawing away at the tree finally calmed itself down enough to look around as it realized its real prey was getting away, so the angry creature turned to the fleeing ponies as it began charging at them.

Hearing some of the commotion behind her, Serene continued holding up her magical barrier as she turned and looked towards where Silvia and Hammerhead were. Seeing that her friends were in danger completely broke her concentration as she called out, HAMMER! SILVER! LO…”
before she could finish her warning, the massive manticore that was bashing its paws against her magic barrier, finally broke through as the barrier shattered and knocked Serene to the ground. With its obstacle now gone, the annoyed manticore pounced on Serene as she barely saved herself by using a levitating spell to hold the beast up as it started kicking and roaring in anger as it hovered a few feet from the ground. Though her warning was almost fatal, it didn’t go unnoticed as Hammerhead looked behind him to see the manticore with the arrow still embedded in its cheek as it rushed towards the two fleeing ponies. Hammerhead took Silvia’s hoof from around his shoulder as he pushed her forward, “Keep Going Silver! I got this!”

Silvia nodded her head as she continued limping towards Serene as fast as she could while Hammerhead turned around and readied his bow for another shot. However, as he started to aim, the manticore swung his powerful paw upward as the arrow released and flew into the air well over its target. With the force of the hit, Hammerhead had to take a few steps back to regain his balance but before he did, the mighty manticore pushed him to the ground and pinned him under his massive paw as it sneered at his trapped prey. Hammerhead looked into the eyes of the glaring manticore as he mumbled to the beast, “I’m not done yet… I’m gonna….”
While saying his words, Hammerhead was trying to reach for an arrow that had fallen out of his quiver, but since the manticore saw his action, the monster bit down onto his face before giving him even the opportunity to finish his sentence as it killed him instantly.

Hearing the quickened silence, Silvia turned her head as she continued limping towards Serene, but as she saw the monster raised its head back up with blood on its teeth, Silvia called, “HAMMER!!!”
A tear rolled down her face as she looked at the body of her comrade in hopes that it would show even the slightest hint of life. However, with no movement from corpse, Silvia could only look back to her destination as she mumbled, “I’m… I’m sorry Hammer.”
Seeing its previous prey still trying to flee to safety, the manticore stepped off its lifeless target as started charging At Silvia with full intention to finish what was started.

Hearing her cries to her fallen Friends, Serene who was still holding her foe in the air, turned to Silvia and saw the approaching monster that was about to attack. Knowing what to do, Serene called, “SILVIA!!! HIT THE DECK!!!”
Trusting her last soldier, Silvia dropped to the ground with the assistance of her own weariness. Shortly after Silvia hit the ground, Serene turned to face Silvia as she used her magic to toss the already airborne manticore over her head and strait towards the manticore that was about to pounce on the wounded bat pony. However, as the monstrous beast went flying over Serene, he managed to slash his sharp claws down against her shoulder leaving a deep and ultimately fatal cut. Feeling the shock from the strike, Serene dropped to a knee as the airborne beast continued on its uncontrollable path before colligating with the other manticore before he could reach Silvia.

With both manticore temporarily incapacitated, Serene ignored her wound as she stood up, rushed to Silvia’s side, picked her up, and helped her move as far away from the monsters as she could. However, it wasn’t long before the mighty beasts regained their footing as the two began their charge together. Just before the creatures got five feet away from the two fleeing ponies, Serene used her barrier spell again to block both the monsters from them, however as the two manticore hit the barrier with unbelievable force; the magical recoil was enough to knock Serene to the ground as Silvia fell with her. As the mighty beasts clawed away at the barrier, Serene and Silvia picked themselves up as Silvia spoke through her blood loss, “It’s… no use… They are too strong… and I won’t last much longer… the venom from the manticore’s tail is… starting to take effect… I’m feeling… dizzy… wait… are you wounded too?”
Serene replied, “Yea… it’s bleeding too much… I’m almost out of magic… I don’t know how long I can hold them back… but… that doesn’t mean you have to be here Silly…”

Silvia looked at Serene in surprise, “What?... what are you saying?”
Serene replied, “Silvia… you have to go… as long as that barrier is up we are safe… but if I bleed to death or run out of magic then we will both die. So, you need to run.”
Silvia shook her head, “No… I’m staying here with you. I’m not going to leave you here to die like this. we’re gonna get out of this… all we need is a plan.”
Serene smiled, “Silly Silvy, I’m bleeding way too much to survive the trip back to Canterlot, even with what first aid stuff we have… I’m a goner… I’m already starting to feel dizzy. But you can make it… all you have to do… is run.”

A large crack appeared on the barrier as the two manticore’s scratching and hammering started to take effect on the weakening unicorn magic. Ignoring the barrier’s weakness, Silvia continued, “Serene! I’m gonna stay here… I’m not leaving you no matter what. Not just cuz we are squad mates… but because we are the same… we can get back together… I just know it.”
Serene smiled as she closed her eyes, “I don’t like this anymore then you Silly… but it’s the only option. I don’t care what happens to me, but I can’t let the mare I love fall beside me when she has a chance to get away. Now hurry up and go… it’s taking everything I have to hold this barrier together.”

Silvia shook her head in denial as she faced the crumbling barrier and changed her stance to one of an unarmed defense, “No… I’m staying here… I can’t leave you… not now… not ever.”
Seeing the wounded bat pony stand at the ready trying not to rock back and forth with her obvious fatigue made Serene smile as she placed her hoof against her lover’s cheek and kissed her for the last time. Then with tears rolling down both their faces, Serene smiled and spoke, “Oh Silly… I told you already… there’s no other options.”
Silvia’s eyes widened, as Serene’s horn glowed brightly and engulfed the bat pony’s body in a blue aura, immediately picking her up in the air and levitating her about five feet above Serene. Trying to free herself, Serene struggled in her weightless body, as she called, “Serene! Don’t! I can’t leave you here by yourself! STOP! SERENE!!!”

Serene smiled at her final spell’s work as she replied, “Silly you must continue living without me… it’s the only way.”
“SERENE NO!!! PLEASE!!! SERENE!!!”
Serene smiled at her lover as tears rolled down her face, “I love you… Good bye…”
With that said, Serene used her magic to toss Silvia through the air at an alarming speed and distance as Silvia called back, “NO!!! SERENE NO! NOOOOO!!!!”

As Silvia flew through the air looking back onto the clearing that she was tossed from, she was able to see the magical Barrier shatter as the two manticores rushed the lone Unicorn before the three vanished from Silvia’s view behind the tree line. With her bat pony instincts kicking in, Silvia opened her wings to slow her fall, but with one wing partially severed, she made no progress. Just then Silvia crashed through the top branch of a tree which tangled her in its many vines which caught and held her in place leaving the weakened pony to dangle from its lowest branches. As she hung there looking at the ground below her with blood dripping from her eye, wing, and side, she could only mumble to herself as the venom from the Manticore’s tail started reaching its final stage… loss of consciousness. As everything started to go black Silvia mumbled, “Kilo… Hammer… Serene… I… I’m sorry… I… I failed you all… I can’t even go back to save you… I… I abandoned you when you needed me most… I’m sorry… I… I deserve this… I deserve to die like this… right here… and right now…”
And with those words, Silvia lost consciousness as her body hung from tree vines almost thirty feet in the air.

---

As Silvia finished her story, she looked at the ground as tears rolled down her face, “When… when I came to. It was daybreak. I managed to untangle myself and stich up my wounds with what supplies we carry on us… but when I went back to the site of the attack… n-nothing could have prepared me for what I found. Kilo Gram was killed by the bite marks on his chest, Hammerhead his face… but Serene, the manticores did far worse to her than I ever wanted to see. The look of her corpse still haunts my dreams… every night since…”
Remembering all the times he heard her say Serene’s name in her sleep, Allen nodded his head, “I… I didn’t know that you’ve been through so much pain.”

Silvia nodded her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes and continued, “Using what I could fine, I made a travois and returned to Canterlot… with my squad behind me. I reported everything to Princess Celestia… and then on the very next day. I quit the royal guard. I told Princess Celestia it was because I couldn’t fly anymore… but the real reason, was because from that point on, I couldn’t bear showing up to work without my squad by my side. So… I left.”
Allen thought to himself as he replied, “I can understand that… trauma like that isn’t an easy thing to get over.”
Silvia started to speak with annoyed ton as she continued, “And to make matters worse, because of my actions, in failing the mission, quitting the royal guard, and all in all falling in love with a subordinate, I was banished from home.”
Allen was amazed, “What? That’s why you were banished? But why? None of it was your fault to begin with. And falling in love with a subordinate? Is that really such a bad thing?”

Silvia nodded her head, “Yes, in battle you tend to pay more attention to the safety of the one you love then yourself. So falling in love with a subordinate is forbidden because it could jeopardize the mission. As for the other stuff, Failing a mission and Quitting the royal guard in my dad’s eyes, is no different than insubordination, and desertion. Not to mention desertion after recently failing a mission is viewed as an alternative form of sabotage, or treason. So, as commander of the royal night guard, I was banished. In my own opinion, I think dad didn’t like the fact that I was in love with Serene though, I always assumed he wanted me to meet a strong stallion and settle down. But I’m just not that kind of mare.”

Allen nodded his head as he replied, “Yea… you seem like the Stallion type of Mare. And now hearing your story about Serene, only confirms it. So you like mares instead of stallions right?”
Silvia nodded her head, “Is that a problem?”
Allen shook his head, “Not at all, I think it good how you admit it openly like that. The way I see it, Love is Love. So long as the partner you want to be with, whether it be stallion or mare agrees to it, I see no reason why they shouldn’t be together if they want to be. I just wish things could have been better for you two… it’s just hard to imagine how anypony could continue after something like that.”
Silvia nodded her head as she replied, “Well… to be honest I wouldn’t have been able to continue if it wasn’t for… him…”

With those words, Silvia looked at the glowing tree that Derpy was flying around, as Allen understood, “You mean Commander Bolt? But how did he help you?”
Silvia replied, “His stories… so far he is the only pony I know who has suffered as much as I have. He lost his officers in battle, he faced countless odds, and he even fell in love with somepony who died in battle. I know it’s terrible, but when I think about how even after all of that, he still found reason to keep living. It just motivates me to overcome whatever the world throws at me you know. I never met a pony like him before… that is, until I met you. A pony who is willing to stand up to unwinnable odds just because of his dream… Determination like that is truly inspirational.”

The two smiled at each other for a quick second, but before Allen could reply, a loud hissing and popping sound came from the center of the Thunder Grounds as arcs of electricity shot up from every other foot and made contact with Derpy who was gripping a Zap apple with both hooves as electricity surged through her entire body. Then as quickly as the light showed up, it vanished as Derpy who had a number of her feathers singed from the electricity. Flew in a wavy line and landed next to the two with a zap apple in her hooves. Then she held it up as she rocked back and forth with her smile of success, “I… got it… who’s laughing now… me… that’s who…”
With Derpy still rocking back and forth, Silvia and Allen both exploded in laughter as Silvia spoke up, “I take that back, Determination like that is what’s inspirational.”
Not hearing the rest of the conversation Derpy shrugged her shoulders and bit into the zap apple as her mane stood up on end from the electrical surge the apple held. Then she smiled as she spoke, “Ah the sweet taste of victory… it’s… it’s actually not very good… I don’t think I want it anymore… you want it Allen?”

Still laughing Allen shook his head, “No thanks Derpy… I don’t think I can handle something like that anyway. Nevertheless, congrats on your success… I knew you could do it.”
Suddenly Derpy remember why they stopped there, “Oh Silvia? Are you feeling better? Were you sick or something?”
Silvia nodded her head as she replied, “I was just remembering something really bad is all. I’m feeling better now though. Thanks.”
Derpy looked at Allen with concern as he continued, “I'll tell you about it later Derpy. It’s very hard for her to say so I'd rather she not burden herself by repeating it. It will be better if I just tell you tomorrow or something. As for now, we should probably get some rest. It’s too dark to travel tonight anyway.”
Derpy lowered her head in disappointment, “Oh… well okay… um Allen? I know it’s probably some sciency reason, but could you tell me why this tree is glowing when normal zap apple trees don’t?”
Allen looked at Silvia, smiled then looked back at Derpy as he replied, “Well, to understand that, you may want to hear the story of Commander Bolt first. Do you remember when mom told us the story?”

Derpy though to herself as she replied, “I… I don’t know. I remember the name but not the story. Will you tell me it? OH! It could be a campfire story!”
Silvia smiled “Well for that we would need a camp fire wouldn’t we?”
Allen shook his head, “Nonsense; all you need is a dim light and some good friends for a campfire story.”
Derpy smiled as she looked at Silvia and continued, “Yea Silly, and we got the glowing tree and each other so there is nothing left but a story.”
Feeling nervous that Derpy may have upset Silvia by calling her Silly, Allen looked as Silvia who could only smile peacefully back as she replied, “You’re right… how, Silly of me.”
Seeing the content smile on her face made Allen smile as Silvia looked up at the alicorn indention on the moon, and started to speak, “Well, a long time ago, back before any of our grandparents were born, there were two princesses ruling Equestria, Princess Celestia who raised the sun. And Princess Luna who raised the moon. Well one night as soon as the moon rose, Princess Luna saw a bright flash coming from this very spot that shined brighter than anything she had ever seen before. So with curiosity, and worry for her subject’s safety, Princess Luna and a hoofful of guards flew out here to investigate…”

Comments

[Prince Jules Moonshade]

...I swear I’ve seen that ending two paragraphs before somewhere else. I remember something about a tree glowing and why it dose. Didn’t understand it at the time tho.