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// Ch8 Propulsion 
// Story: Limitless Skies 
// by Priceless911 
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               The heat from the metal shop radiated out the front door as Derpy entered and approached the blacksmith who was in the middle of making a sword, “The last Package is Delivered Mr. Drib. Is there anything else you need?”
Mister Drip placed the hot sword back into the furnace with his magic as he replied, “It’s only two fifteen…”
Derpy nodded her head, “I’m sorry… I got distracted by a flower vendor on my way back… did I take too long?”
The large unicorn smiled as he replied, “Too long?... too short is more like it. I gave you ten packages almost two hours ago… and you’re telling me that they were all delivered?”
Derpy felt like she had done something wrong as she replied, “Is… is that bad?”
Mr. Drib laughed, “Bad? I'd say that’s brilliant! It’s been almost three years since I was caught up on all my deliveries, then you march in here and catch me up in a matter of a day and a half. I wish you wouldn’t go back to Ponyville. I could use a delivery mare of your talent.”

Derpy blushed as she replied, “Well… I only did what you asked me to do.”
Mr. Drib smiled as he used his magic to pull the now red sword from the furnace and laid it across the anvil as he replied, “And you did a good job. I don’t regret hiring both you and Allen to help me around here one bit. In fact, my only regret is that I can’t convince you two to stay longer. With your speed, and Allen’s knowledge on metal, business hasn’t been better. In fact once I finish this sword we won’t even have any more jobs to accomplish till the next customer arrives.”
Derpy smiled as she rubbed her head in embarrassment, “I’m glad you don’t see us as a disturbance. By the way, where is Allen?”
As Mr. Drib picked up the hammer to continue working, he pointed it at a nearby door as he replied, “Where else? He’s in the back working on that invention of his. It seems a little odd for an earth pony to try making something to help him fly, but to each his own I guess. As long as he does his job when we have work to do, I don’t mind him using the back room for his invention… although I’m a little concerned that he asked for three gallons of kerosene.”

Derpy replied as she started towards the door, “Its ok Mr. Drib… I'll make sure he doesn’t do anything that could hurt anything.”
Mr. Drib smiled as he started hammering at the sword while using his magic to increase the power of his hammer, “Thanks Derpy, I don’t have anything else for you two today, so feel free to take the rest of the day off. It’s the least I can do for your help.”
Derpy smiled as she trotted to the back room, “Alright thanks Mr. Drib.”
Derpy trotted to the back room and entered to find a large metal motor that was sitting on a mine cart with only a few feet of tracks below it. As Derpy curiously trotted around the one of a kind invention, Allen was sitting on the other side of it as he connected a fuel line to it and smiled, “Hey Derpy, how did the deliveries go?”
Derpy smiled, “Very easy thanks… um… what is this Allen?”
Allen smiled as he replied, “It’s my latest invention. And for the time being, it’s a secret. When it’s finished, I'll explain how it works then I want you to help me test it out. If all goes well, this should solve my propulsion problem. All that’s missing is the prop.”
Derpy nodded her head as she reached for the messenger bag that she had on, “Oh, speaking of which. When I delivered some cabinet hinges to the carpenter, he said that he finished the item you asked for, and that he finished it to your schematics exactly.”

Derpy reached into her bag and pulled out a long box as Allen took it, opened it up, and pulled out a wooden propeller. As Allen ran his hoof along the sanded surface of the commissioned part, he smiled, “Perfect… this means we can run the first test in about fifteen minutes.”
Expecting a thank you from her friend, Derpy held her head up with pride as Allen completely missed the gesture, quickly turned around, and started attaching the part to the front of his motor as he replied, “Hey Derpy… can you get the crescent wrench for me? It’s in the tool box over there.”
Derpy looked at the tool box that Allen pointed at as she rushed over to it and looked inside, however as soon as she did, she noticed a number of different types of wrenches and had no idea which one he was talking about. As she tried to understand which one he wanted on her own, Allen didn’t notice her predicament as he added, “And while you’re at it, can you adjust it to fifteen sixtieths of an inch? I got to hold this lock washer in place.”
Feeling too embarrassed to ask for help Derpy picked up two wrenched and started looking at each in confusion as she quickly tried to find out which one he needed without guessing wrong. After a few seconds of holding the prop onto the motor, Allen looked at Derpy and could see the distress on her face as he sighed and placed the part on the ground, “Derpy… here. Let me get that, why don’t you take a break or something. I’m not sure how far you flew today but you may need to rest.”
Feeling a little offended Derpy replied, “No Allen I can help. Really, I just can’t remember which wrench was the crescent wrench. Really I’m fine, I want to help.”

Smiling at Derpy’s attempt to assist him, Allen replied, “Well… how about you work the controls when I get this thing running. But for now… why don’t you just take it easy okay, I can handle this part on my own.”
Allen smiled as he took the right tool from one of Derpy’s hooves, turned around, and trotted back to his invention as Derpy replied, with a mumble that was too faint for him to hear, “But… I want to help you… Allen…”
as Allen started putting the prop on the invention; Derpy started leaving the room as she continued through the shop with an unhappy look on her face. As she passed Mr. Drib who was putting the finishing touches on the sword he was making Silvia entered and smiled, “Hey Mr. Drib, Hey Derpy how’s business?”
Before Mr. Drib could see Derpy’s expression he replied, “Going smoothly as usual Silver.”
Derpy held her expression of loneliness as she nodded her head and trotted by both Mr. Drib and Silver and mumbled, “Its… fine Silvia… thanks…”
With her head hung in disappointment, Derpy trotted out of the shop as Silvia turned back and spoke, “Is… is something wrong with Derpy? She looks a little down.”
Noticing it too, Mr. Drib replied, “No kidding. She wasn’t like that a few minutes ago… I wonder what happened.”

Silvia turned to Mr. Drib and replied, “Well I guess I'll talk to her in a little bit. First thing is first though. Is Allen here? I got some news about Twilight Sparkle.”
Mr. Drib placed the sword into a bucket of water as he signaled to the back room, “He’s in the back.”
Silvia nodded her head as she trotted to the room and went inside to see Allen tightening the prop onto the motor as he looked back and spoke, “Oh, hey Silvia, what’s up?”
Silvia smiled, “Well, turns out Octavia is true to her word. She got the info we needed and in half the time she said too.”
Allen spun the prop around to make sure it worked as he replied, “Really? So what did she find out?”
Silvia replied, “Well, every day at about two o’clock, Princess Celestia and her student like to trot through the city amongst her subject to show her concern for the citizens. That is except on Wednesdays when she makes her rounds at three o’clock. The reason for this is because she gives her student an hour of personal time while she attends weekly meetings with her royal guard commanders. During this hour, Twilight likes to go to the Canterlot garden and read about her studies. This would be the best time to approach her since it will be without the royal guard lackeys assuming you to be an assassin or something.”
Allen smiled, “Then that’s perfect, I can still test my invention out before we meet her.”

Outside, Derpy was trotting alone with her head hung in sadness as she mumbled to herself, “I can be helpful too… I don’t know much about what he is doing… but… that doesn’t mean I’m a burden… does it?”
As she, trotted along a pony waited in the shadows of an alley as he timed her trotting perfectly. Then when she was directly in front of him, he rushed out of the alley and colligated with the unhappy mare as they both fell to the ground from the impact. After the stallion picked himself up, he smiled in an apologetic way as he spoke, “Oh I’m so sorry miss, I didn’t se… oh hello again.”
As Derpy looked up at the stallion who crashed into her, she replied, “Oh… hi… um… Equinox… right?
Equinox smiled in a charming manner as he replied, “You remember me… I feel honored. Well how have you been miss… uh…”
Equinox froze as he realized that from all his spying he never once made an attempt at remembering Derpy’s name. He could only stand there with a stunned look on his face as Derpy noticed it and replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever told you my name… it’s Ditzy Doo. But friends call me Derpy.”
Felling relieved that she didn’t suspect anything Equinox smiled as he replied, “Charmed… I’m sure. Sorry I bumped into you… I was in a hurry and wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Derpy smiled and replied in curiosity, “Really? Where are you going?”
Equinox froze again as he quickly tried to think up a fake place, “Um… I’m… uh… on my way to... to… um…”
Derpy noticed his hesitation as she lowered her head in shame, “Sorry… I know it isn’t my business. There I go getting involved with things I don’t understand… again.”
Taking advantage of her weakness, Equinox spoke, “Yea, yea that’s right… it’s a secret so I can’t really tell you. Oh… is something wrong? You look a little bummed out.”
Derpy sighed, “Well… I was thinking about what you said… and I was wondering… do you think I’m a burden? I mean… I know I’m not as smart or coordinated as Allen… but… do you think I’m a nuisance to him?”
Equinox shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “Well, to be honest, It’s not my place to say. But I would think that somepony with enough courage to stand up to father would have the decency to cheer up his friend when she is unhappy like this.”
Derpy was confused, “What? Stand up to your dad? What are you talking about?”

Knowing that he was making his matter better by worsening hers, he continued, “Oh… he didn’t tell you? The reason… um… the earth pony was so banged up when he left the Equestrian Caverns, was because he challenged dad to a hoof to hoof fight… in which case, dad felt sorry for the beaten pony and just left him unconscious on the floor.”
Derpy was shocked, “But… Allen said that he fell from a ladder… you mean… he lied to me?”
Equinox smiled, “I guess so… well at least he had the decency to tell you what he was building.”
Derpy hung her head as Equinox continued, “Wait… you mean he is keeping that from you too?”
Derpy tried to defend him, “Well, he said it was going to solve the propulsion problem on his invention. But… he also said it was a secret… I… I bet he thought I wouldn’t understand it.”

Equinox looked away to hide the crooked smile on his face as he replied, “But I’ve never heard of a friend who would lie to another friend like this… I guess… he really is dragging you along out of pity. What a shameful pony he is. If I were you, I would leave him here and go home without even telling him. I mean, somepony who would be so cruel to a pony that he was foal hood friends with… he is disgraceful if you ask me.”
Derpy though to herself as she replied, “Well, I’m sure he has good reasons…”
Equinox shrugged his shoulders as he continued down the street, “Is there really a good reason for disrespecting a friend like that?... oh well, it isn’t my business to say. All I can do is wish you luck Ms. Doo… you’re gonna need it.”
With a hastened step, Equinox quickly trotted back into the alley and vanished into the shadows leaving Derpy to sit and ponder his words. Although Equinoxes last words were closer to a threat then a warning, Derpy didn’t notice as she started mumbling to herself, “Allen… was in a fight?... but… why? And why did he lie to me about it?... is… is Allen really ashamed of me after all?... no… I don’t believe it… there has to be a good reason for it… I just know it.”
“Derpy!”

Hearing the voice, Derpy turned around to see Allen rushing up the street as he approached her and spoke, “Why are you out here? I thought you were going to work the controls for me on my invention… right?”
Although she was starting to get her doubts, hearing him speak like that reestablished her optimism as she nodded her head with a pleasant smile, “Sure… I’m sorry I just though I needed some air for a few minutes. Let’s go back.”
Allen smiled as he motioned back to the blacksmith shop, “Then lead the way. We can’t control it without you.”
with that said, Derpy began trotting back to the shop as Allen explained what their plan was for meeting Twilight Sparkle on the next day. By the time they returned to the shop, Mr. Drib had already closed it for the day as Silvia waited in the back room for both Derpy and Allen to arrive. As soon as the two ponies entered the room, Allen pointed to the control console behind the motor as he spoke, “Alright Derpy, back there you will find a switch and a button. First turn on the switch then give it a second and push the button. But make sure nopony is near the propeller when you push the button.”

Silvia asked, “So what is this invention supposed to do Allen?”
Allen replied as Derpy trotted around to the console, “It’s a motor for my aircraft. When I saw the windmill a few days ago, I thought to myself, if wind can make something as massive as windmill sails spin, then is there a way that sails could make the wind blow. And if so could that somehow be reversed to make the windmill move. So I thought about how a fan blows air onto your face and theorized that if the laws of motion are correct, then if blowing air will push the air forward, then there should be an equal and opposite reaction right?”
Both Derpy and Silvia were lost in the intellectual logic but they both just nodded their heads as Silvia sighed, “Ok… so what is this invention supposed to do?”
Allen sighed as he replied in a less complicated way, “The motor you’re looking at will spin the propeller and pull the aircraft through the air… kinda like the opposite of what a fan does.”
Silvia nodded her head as she replied, “There… now was that so hard to say?”
Allen sighed as Derpy raised her hoof as if she were in school, “Um… Allen? I see the switch and the button… but what does this lever do?”
Allen replied, “That’s the throttle. As soon as the propeller starts spinning on its own, I want you to nudge it very slowly so that it stays spinning, then when I give the word, slowly nudge it further so that it can increase in speed but do it slowly… I’m not sure how effective it will be.”

Derpy nodded her head as Allen stood directly in front of the propeller at the end of the small stretch of track on the ground. Then Allen put the goggles that where on his head down over his eyes and ignored the still cracked lends on the left side. As he looked at Derpy through his damaged goggles, he spoke, “Alright Derpy! Flip the switch!”
Nodding her head, Derpy flipped the small switch on the console as she started to hear a faint rumbling sound from inside the motor. Though Derpy didn’t know what the sound was, she knew that Allen understood it so she looked back at Allen as he waited about three seconds before speaking up, “Alright Derpy! Push the button and it should start right up… but once it starts just push the throttle lever up just slightly so that it stays running.”
Derpy nodded her head as she pushed the small button on the console as a loud popping sound could be heard and the propeller on the front of the motor began spinning as the motor started up filling the room with a loud running noise. After Derpy did what she was told and pushed the throttle enough to keep the motor running, she looked at Allen as he yelled at the top of his lungs so his voice could be heard over the sound of the loud motor, “All right Derpy! Now ease the throttle up as slowly as possible until I tell you to stop.”

Derpy nodded her head as she reached over and began pushing the throttle forward with cautious ease. As the throttle continued to increase, the sound of the spinning propeller started to get faster and faster until the vibration on the motor went down as the air pushing against Derpy’s face increased. Finally Derpy pushed the throttle far enough to where the spinning propeller caused the wheels on the cart to slowly move forward, when this happened, Allen called out “That’s it Derpy! Stop!”
Derpy let go of the throttle lever as the cart slowly rolled forward along the track before hitting the rubber bumper at the end stopping it entirely. As soon as this happened Allen called out in joy, “It worked!!! The motor moved the cart with absolutely no connection to the wheels what so ever! My theory worked! Now I know how to keep my aircraft moving once I’m off the ground!”
As Allen cheered at his accomplishment, Derpy could only smile and enjoy the happiness she brought him by helping him in his test. With the loud noise still filling the room, Allen called to Derpy, “Okay Derpy! You can kill it now! Just pull the throttle towards you until the motor stops running.”

Derpy nodded her head as she reached over and griped the throttle lever. However, at that moment, as the throttle lever went down just slightly, she felt an unusual pop in the console that was against the lever. Thinking it was just her imagination, Derpy continued to pull the lever towards her, but although the lever moved freely, the motor’s actions remained unchanged. Out of worry that she wasn’t doing it right, Derpy pushed the throttle back up to where it was before and then tried to pull it back a second time, however, like before, the motor just continued its current pace as it continued running.

Allen stood in front of the motor as he looked at Derpy in confusion when he realized the motor was still running at the pace that he said to stop it on before. Seeing the confused expression on Allen’s face, Derpy decided to try one more thing before she would ask for help. This time instead of pushing the throttle to the point that she stopped on before, she decided to push it just slightly further to see if anything would happen. When she did, she could hear the propeller spin even faster. However, when she pulled the throttle back again, the motor still didn’t die down; it didn’t even go back the speed it was stuck on before. Instead, the motor continued holding its pace as Allen called, “Derpy? Did you hear me? I said pull back the throttle to kill it!”

Derpy felt completely worried as she frantically tried what she was told again and again. She knew that the best thing she could do was ask for help, but she was worried that she wasn’t doing it right and would make herself look bad like she did before with the wrench incident. Derpy frantically looked along the console for an alternative switch or toggle but there were only three controls on the whole thing, the power, the starter, and the throttle. While Derpy tried to figure out what she was doing wrong, Allen noticed that the top of the engine bock on the motor started to turn red with heat and that it was starting to vibrate even more due to the continuous running that it wasn’t built for. As Allen looked at the heating motor, he heard a loud pop, followed by a scraping sound coming from inside as he started to panic, “DERPY! SHUT IT OFF!!!”

Still trying to find out what was wrong, Derpy frantically tried every button and switch on the console, but to no avail. Finally, a second loud pop was heard as Allen noticed that the fuel line that was running up the side of the motor had melted through and was starting to leak fuel onto the red hot motor. With a terrified call, Allen yelled “SILVIA! GET DERPY! I'll KILL IT MYSELF!”
Silvia sprinted to the console and picked up the confused pegasus as Allen sprinted around the spinning propeller, grabbed the fuel line and tried to pull it away from the motor as the rubber line melted onto his hooves and burned his skin with the action. As Allen cringed at the severe burns his hooves were getting from the melting rubber, the leaking fuel caught fire as the fire quickly spread along the trail of fuel and climbed up the leaking fuel as it burned Allen’s hooves even more.

Knowing it was now too late to save it; Allen dropped the hose and turned to leave the room as quickly as he could. But before he was out, the fuel tank caught fire and exploded into a fiery shockwave that tossed the earth pony through the air as he crashed through the shop wall and propelled into the streets outside. Although he was now outside, it didn’t slow his uncontrolled flight as he flew into a party of ponies as the herd made their way up the street. Although the goggles he was wearing were covered in soot from the explosion, he didn’t need his sight to realize it as he colligated with a member of that said party knocking both he and the surprised mare to the ground. In a complete daze, Allen tried to pick himself up as the faint ringing of his ears was overshadowed by another sound, “Twilight! Are you okay?”
As Allen picked himself up and removed his goggles, he realized he was laying on a purple unicorn as the mare looked at him with complete confusion. As their eyes met, Allen felt concerned as he started to speak, “Oh… are you oka…”
before he could finish Allen looked up to see multiple spears pointed directly at his face as he froze in place.

Quickly acting to the guards’ distraction, the unicorn that was laying under Allen used a teleporting spell as she vanished from her current location and reappeared behind a tall slender alicorn who was standing behind him. With the Unicorn now completely out from in front of the Spears, one of the guards spoke “Make one move and it might be your last.”
Knowing that it would be a good idea to listen to the armed unicorn, Allen nodded his head as he stood still. Just then, both Derpy and Silvia came rushing up to the group as Silva called, “Allen! Are you alright?”
Keeping his movements slow, Allen only shifted his eyes to the two as he replied, “I’m fine Silvia… I think.”
As Silvia approached the group, she called to the guards, “Shining Armor, stand down!”
The alicorn who remained silent through this whole situation looked at Silvia and spoke, “Is that?... Silver?”
Silvia approached the alicorn as she bowed slightly and replied, “Good afternoon your majesty, if you could; please call off the guards. This pony is with me, and trust me, he couldn’t hurt a fly… even if he wanted to.”
Allen gave Silvia an annoyed look, “HEY!”
Princess Celestia could only giggle at the two as she nodded her head and spoke to the Unicorn Guard, “You heard her Shining Armor. You and your guards can stand down. It’s kind of obvious to see that this was an accident anyway.”

The guards lowered their weapons as Allen sighed in relief, then Derpy rushed to his side as she looked around him, “you’re not hurt, are y… Your hooves…”
Allen smiled as he replied, “Its ok Derpy, they are badly burned, but they will just hurt for a few days. What about you miss? I didn’t break anything when I landed on you did it?”
The Purple unicorn shook her head, as she replied, “No… I’m fine… But what were you doing?”
Allen rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he replied, “Just an experiment. Nothing to worry about.”
Derpy tried to explain, “Allen… I don’t know what happened, I pulled the lever back like you said bu…”
Allen shook his head, “Its fine Derpy, we all make mistakes from time to time.”
Derpy tried to defend herself, “No… it wasn’t a mistake it was a problem with the s…”
Allen patted her on the back as he replied, “Don’t worry about it Derpy. Fact of the matter is that the test was a success and I know I can use that as the propulsion.”
Derpy lowered her head in disappointment thinking that Allen could only assume the accident to be her fault as the purple unicorn spoke, “Princess Celestia? You weren’t hurt were you?”
The princess shook her head, as she replied, “No, I’m fine Twilight, I wasn’t even in the line of fire.”

Both Allen and Derpy looked at the two in shock as he spoke, “P-Princess Celestia… you mean… The Princess of Equestria, Princess Celestia?”
Princess Celestia smiled, “Yes that is me.”
Both Allen and Derpy bowed as Allen replied, “Please forgive me for my actions your majesty… I… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen… I swea…”
The princess raised her hoof and interrupted, “No need to worry my little pony. Accidents do happen, and as long that nopony was hurt; there is no reason to apologies.”
Allen and Derpy rose from their bow as Allen looked at Twilight and spoke, “And… You must be Twilight Sparkle… right?”
The unicorn tilted her head in curiosity as she replied, “I’m sorry, have we met before?”
Allen blushed in embarrassment as he replied, “Well… no, but I came here to Canterlot to see you personally.”
Twilight was confused, “M-me? Really?...”

Silvia stepped forward, “Well, I should probably explain. You see Twilight, this pony is an inventor from Ponyville who has traveled all the way here to ask you a few questions.”
“Questions?... about what?”
Allen replied, “Flight… you see, I’ve been trying to find out if there is a way to allow an earth pony to fly.”
Twilight though to herself, “You mean… like a hot air balloon?”
Allen shook his head, “Close… but much faster, and much more maneuverable. I’m in the process of building an aerial vehicle that should give me the ability to fly… but I want to know if my designs would work… or if they are all unethical hypotheses.”

Twilight though to herself as she replied, “Well… I know of a spell that could give you wings, if that’s what you’re after…”
“No… No magic… not being carried… nothing that can be accomplished outside of my own abilities. I want to prove that an earth pony can fly without anypony's help.”
Hearing the comment, Derpy looked at the ground and became lost in thought as Twilight Sparkle replied, “Well… I don’t think I have ever heard of such a thing as a flying earth pony… although maybe spike would know of a book that can help. He remembers stories that don’t involve magic better than I do, so ma…”
“WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SHOP!!!”
Twilight silenced herself as everypony in the area turned their attention to Mr. Drib who was rushing outside to the damaged wall as he spoke, “Who… Who did this!?!”

Knowing that there was no way to deny it, Allen sighed in disappointment as he stepped forward and spoke, “Mr. Drib… please forgive me. When I tested my invention… it malfunctioned and exploded. I know it will take a while… but I promise. I will work as long as it takes to pay you back for the damages…”
Mr. Drib stared at the hole in the wall with anger as he placed his hoof against it, “When I purchased this shop… it was a total wreck. I alone repaired it and turned it into the success it is today… now look at it!”
Derpy tried to take the blame, “Mr. Drib… it’s my fault. It was because of me the engine exploded and destroyed the wall. If you want to get mad at anypony… get mad at me.”
Allen tried to turn the blame back to him, “No… it was my invention if anypony should take the blame it…”
“ENOUGH!!!”

The yells from the annoyed unicorn silenced both ponies as he sneered at the hole in the wall and spoke, “There is only one way to settle this mess…”
Both Allen and Derpy lowered their heads as Mr. Drib closed his eyes and started to concentrate. With all his focus on the hole in the wall, Mr. Dribs horn began to glow as the area around the broken wood glowed with the very same green aura. Then with a flash and a quick puff of smoke, the whole in the wall vanished as the wood that was once shattered by the explosion earlier turned back to the way it was before the accident. Everypony in the area was confused as Mr. Drib smiled pleasantly and spoke, “There ya go… good as new.”
Allen tried to speak, “Bu-but… I thought...”
Mr. Drib turned to the shocked pony as he smiled in a joking manner, “What?... I said I repaired it and turned it into the success it was today. I didn’t say it took long to do.”
Derpy asked, “So… are we off the hook?”
Mr. Drib shook his head, “Oh I didn’t say anything about that. Though the wall is now fixed, the inside is still trashed. Therefore, you two will spend the rest of the evening cleaning and fixing everything that’s damaged inside. And it will be done by morning… Right?”
The two ponies looked at each other in worry, as Princess Celestia couldn’t help but smile, “Well I see that the rest of your day is pretty much busy Mr. Key… but perhaps you can come by the palace tomorrow to discuss your questions further. I'll be happy to allow both you and your friend entry, that is, if it’s alright with you Twilight?”

Twilight Sparkle thought to herself for a few seconds as she replied, “Normally I would just say no… but to be honest, I’m a little curious. I wonder if there is a scientific way to allow an earth pony to fly. So, if it’s alright that I have the time to do research, then I don’t mind it at all.”
Princess Celestia smiled, “Then it’s settled, Tomorrow’s lessons will be canceled while you do some research on this new topic that has even me curious. However, I would like a full report on anything you discover about this topic. It should prove interesting after all.”
Silvia asked, “You said you will allow Allen and Derpy entry into the palace… what about me?”
Princess Celestia nodded her head as she replied, “Silver? You have always been allowed entry into the castle. You may no longer claim the name of the royal guards, but even now after all that’s happened, I will always see you as such and even if you don’t follow my orders, I will still trust you with my life knowing that you will protect it just as you did back then.”

Silvia smiled as she bowed in respect, “Thank you, your majesty… I’m grateful that you still respect me as such, but… I know I’m not worthy of such respect.”
Shining Armor shook his head, “Nonsense… you did what you had to do and no matter what the outcome, you returned alive. None of us in the royal guard could have asked for more.”
Silvia shook her head, “Dad did…”
Princess Celestia sighed, “Your father’s opinion may be understandable, but in this case your opinion should be the only one that matters. Nevertheless, I think its better that we avoid that topic. Come Twilight, let’s leave Mr. Key and his friends to their work. We can discuss this more tomorrow.”
Twilight nodded her head, “Yes your majesty. Well, I'll see you tomorrow… Allen was it?”
Allen nodded his head as he replied, “Yes… I'll see you then.”
Twilight nodded her head as she turned around and started trotting with the princess as the royal party continued through Canterlot. After they were out of sight, Silvia turned to her two friends as she spoke, “Well, I'll see you two later. Good luck cleaning that mess and all.”
Mr. Drib smiled, “Oh no Silver… you’re gonna clean it too. It may be Allen’s invention and Derpy’s mistake… but you brought them here and asked me to give them a job, so it’s only fair that you stay and clean too.”
“WHAT!?!”

Further, down the road the princess and Twilight made their way through the town as Princess Celestia noticed a confused look on Twilight’s face. Feeling concerned, princess Celestia asked, “Twilight? Are you ok?”
Twilight snapped out of it as she replied, “What? Oh I’m fine… why?”
Princess Celestia smiled, “Oh it’s nothing… I just think it’s kinda odd, that the only pony you ever seem to have interest in is as smart as you.”
Twilight blushed, “What? No, no your majesty. I don’t have interest in him, just his hypothesis. The idea of a flying earth pony seems interesting to me.”
Princess Celestia smiled in a joking manner, “say what you want my little student, but I know you better than that, and it seems to me I remember another young colt that caught your eye a few years back. Although it was just a crush.”
Twilight shook her head, “That’s not fair your majesty… I was just a filly and he was much older than I was. Furthermore, I don’t have a crush on Allen Key alright?”
Princess Celestia smiled sinisterly as she replied, “Then why is it that he is the only pony whose name you remembered so quickly?”
Trying to end the subject, Twilight pouted as she looked away and replied, “I’m not talking to you anymore about this.”
Princess Celestia giggled at her blushing student as she noticed a troubled look on Shining Armor’s face, “Captain? What is it? Worried for your baby sister?”

Shining Armor replied with a concerned tone, “No… for a second, I could have sword there was somepony watching us back there. It seemed faint… but I know for a fact that we were under observation.”
The princess asked, “Was the pony wearing a cloak?”
Shining Armor was a little confused, “Um… no… Why?”
Princess Celestia nervously replied, “Oh… uh… nothing… just imagining the whole spy cliché.”
The princess then mumbled quietly to herself, “Who could it have been… was it the murderer?”
Shining Armor though he heard her speak so he asked, “What was that your majesty?”
Princess Celestia replied, “Oh… it’s nothing. Maybe you’re just imagining things.”
Shining Armor replied, “Maybe… but something tells me I wasn’t.”