Limitless Skies

by Priceless911

Ch3 Detour

With the sun shining overhead, the three ponies made their way down the road just outside of Ponyville as Derpy jumped and played through the field of wildflowers on the side of the path. As they continued Allen could only smile at Derpy’s joyful play as he looked back at Silvia and spoke, “Beautiful day for traveling isn’t it?”
Silvia sighed as she looked at Allen from the side of her cloaks hood, “No… a beautiful day would be overcast.”
Feeling a little awkward, Allen didn’t reply as Derpy called to him, “Hey Allen! Look at these blue flowers! Aren’t they pretty!”
Allen replied, “Yep!”
As Derpy continued her frolicking, Silvia sighed in disbelief as she mumbled to herself, “Like babysitting foals…”
Allen looked at Silvia and asked, “What was that?”
Silvia shrugged her shoulders, “Nothing.”

As they continued on their path, Allen asked, “So… you never told me about those stallion that pushed you off that cliff yesterday… were they old enemies of yours or something?”
Silvia shook her head, “No… just some wannabes who tried to start something with me yesterday.”
Allen asked, “Really? What happened?”
Silvia shrugged her shoulders, “Who knows… maybe they thought they should gang up on a flightless pony or something. Anyways next time I see them… I'll show them what happens when they mess with Silver Stream.”
Allen was confused, “Silver Stream?”
Silvia realized what she said as she replied, “Oh… it was an old nickname I had in the royal guard.”
Allen smiled as he nodded his head, “Oh! I get it now. You used to be a soldier.”
Silvia sighed, “No… I used to be a guard! Equestria hasn’t had real soldiers in centuries. But what does it matter. There aren’t any real wars anymore. That time came and went with the Bolt of the Nightmare Legion.”

Allen Key smiled with joy as he understood the phrase, “You mean Commander Bolt?”
Silvia was surprised, “Wait… you know the stories too?”
Allen nodded his head, “Yea! Mom used to tell me the story before bedtime. I remember daydreaming of Commander Bolt wisping through the sky over Ponyville. His shield glistening in the light of the eclipse as he called the charge. Dad used to get mad at me saying that he was the bad guy in those stories and that I shouldn’t cheer for the bad guy.”
Silvia smiled as she continued, “Yea… when I was a little filly, I always wanted to grow up and become a great commander like he was. But… well… I never did.”
Seeing Silvia become so excited about a topic then quickly fall into depression made Allen ask, “Did… did your accident cause you to quit being a royal guard?”
Silvia looked back down the road as she replied, “Among other things… yes.”
Allen continued, “What… what happened?”
With no attempts at being subtle, Silvia sighed as she changed the subject “When we get to Canterlot… I'll need to link up with an old friend. She can help us get an audience with Twilight Sparkle.”

With Silvia’s face covered by the shadow of her hood, Allen couldn’t see the depression in her eyes, however he could easily hear it in her voice, so rather than continuing the conversation, Allen decided to continue with the changed topic, “Is Twilight Sparkle hard to get an audience with?”
Silvia replied, “Sometimes. On occasion the princess will spend time with her, so during those moments, the guards get rather testy. So it would be best to approach her when she is studying in private. Then you won’t have to deal with Princess Celestia’s personal guards.”
Allen nodded his head as he replied, “That sounds good, I wouldn’t want to deal with too much trouble anyways. We only want to ask her a question then leave. No harm, no foul.”
Silvia replied, “Well when it comes to the princess’s safety, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time can be enough to make the line between citizen and assassin vanish with no chance at an explanation.”
Allen started to think over what Silvia was saying as Derpy flew into the sky to get a better look at their trail, “Um… Ms. Unknown?”
Silvia replied, “Just call me Silvia, Derpy!”
Derpy replied, “Okay… but um… is there supposed to be a rope bridge ahead?”

Silvia called back to the airborne mare, “Yea! But don’t worry! It isn’t as bad as it looks!”
Derpy replied, “Are you sure?... cuz it looks pretty bad!”
as the two ponies continued travaling down the road which was nearing the top of a hill, Allen chuckled at Derpy’s words as he spoke, “Don’t mind her Silvia… she tends to over exaggerate things from time to… time?”
As the two reached the top of the hill that had a clear view of the road ahead, Allen stood in awe as he looked upon an old rope bridge that stretched across a deep valley. Allen had no idea how to judge this simple bridge since it was an old rope and plank bridge that had two anchoring stakes on each side that ran ropes through two supporting posts that held the rope railing and planks in place. As Allen looked at the bridge as it rocked in the wind, he spoke, “Um… how… how long it that?”
Silvia continued down the road with no concern as she replied, “About three hundred feet across… why?”
Allen pulled out a map of the area as he spoke, “um… it’s not on any map… why isn’t it on any map?”
Silvia sighed as she stopped to turn around and replied, “Because the agreement between surface ponies and bat ponies clearly states that all territories belonging to the bat colonies will not be featured on any equestrian maps so that surface dwellers like yourself will refrain from trespassing on clan territory. Just because princess Celestia allowed bat ponies to become royal guards doesn’t mean that all tension between the two species have ceased. If you knew the history, then you would know that the unity between the surface and the underworld is a dark and untrusting one.”
Allen asked, “Really? What do you mean?”
Silvia shook her head, “It doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that to get to Canterlot we must cross this bridge.”

Trying to look at it from her point of view, Allen nodded his head, “Oh… um… okay… um… is that bridge safe?”
Silvia shook her head, “it’s just a simple little bridge… I promise it will be the most challenging part of the trip, and it’s a piece of cake.”
Silvia turned back to the bridge and continued on the road as Allen mumbled to himself, “Ok just a simple little bridge… if you’re not scared then I’m not… although that ravine does look a little too dark to me.”
As the two ponies approached the rope, bridge Derpy landed next to Allen as he looked into the dark abyss below. As he did, Silvia spoke, “Down there lie the Equestrian Caverns. That’s where I was born.”
As the two surface ponies looked down into the thick haze of darkness, Allen replied, “Ya don’t say…”
Seeing the worry in their eyes, Silvia smiled, “Don’t worry about looking down, you couldn’t see the bottom even if you tried. A powerful spell keeps the bottom of the cavern shrouded in darkness so that the bat ponies can come out during both the day and night.”
Derpy hovered in the air as she asked, “That seems silly… why would the bat ponies want their home covered in darkness?”
Silvia shook her head as she turned around and began trotting onto the rope bridge, “let’s just say, our eyes don’t agree with the sun’s light very well.”
Derpy looked at her in confusion as Allen nervously began trotting onto the bridge.

Though she had crossed this bridge many times before, Silvia kept her movements carful as she continued across the bridge as Allen followed also keeping his actions slow. As the two continued, Derpy decided to land on the other side and wait for the rest of her party to catch up. As she did, she noticed a colorful butterfly that she had never seen before so she decided to watch it carelessly. With her attention focused on the butterfly, Derpy watched as the colorful insect landed on one of the supporting stakes that held the bridge in place.as she lowered her head to it to get a better look; the little creature quickly flew up and around Derpy as she quickly turned around smiling as she watched it fly. However as she quickly turned to follow the butterfly, Derpy’s rear hoof accidently kicked the stake as the support stake shifted enough to slowly lose its grip from the weight on the bridge. Back on the bridge as the two ponies were half way across, Allen was moving carefully as he felt the sudden shift from the stake losing its grip. As he felt it, Allen looked forward and paused, “Silvia… did you feel that?”
Thinking that it was just his imagination, Silvia sighed as she replied, “It’s just the wind. Stop whining an-“

Before Silvia could finish her sentence, a loud knock was heard, as the ponies weight pulled the stake from the ground causing it to fly up and catch on its supporting post, as the entire bridge shifted and leaned to their right. Hearing the knock, Derpy quickly turned around and panicked as she grabbed the caught stake and tried to pull it to straighten the bridge out, all the while as Allen and Silvia griped the bridge in surprise. Feeling the tension on the bridge get looser, Allen called, “Silvia! Get to the other side!”
Quickly reacting to his words, Silver began moving as fast as she could while still using caution to avoid stepping on broken boards. Back on the other side of the bridge, Derpy used all the strength she had to hold the rope steady but as she started to lose grip she yelled, “A-ALLEN!”
As Allen looked forward at Derpy, he knew what she was trying to say as he yelled to Silvia, “Silvia! Grab and hold on to the right rope!”
Silvia turned back and replied as she continued moving, “What? Why?”
“JUST DO IT!!!”

Both Allen and Silvia grabbed onto the right rope rail as Derpy lost her grip on the left support rope and fell back leaving it to fly over the edge of the cliff with enough force to pull the stake on the same rope from the other side of the bridge out of the ground breaking the support posts on both sides. With two of the four stakes now unsecure, one side of the rope bridge fell free as the entire bridge was now hanging by two supports in a vertical position, leaving the two ponies still trying to cross to start dangling from the only supported rope left. Now that the loose side had fallen free, the now vertical hanging bridge became still as the two ponies who were crossing were standing on the now vertical planks using the only rope railing left as their stabilizer. Allen looked down and sighed in relief as his focus went from what lied below, to the pony in front of him on the half-stable bridge, “Silvia?”

Breathing deeply, the nervous mare sighed as she replied, “I’m fine… I guess this bridge isn’t very safe after all.”
Allen nodded his head, “Well let’s just get to the other side before something else bad happens.”
As the two ponies began shimmying across the now vertical bridge, Derpy rushed to the edge of the cliff as she called at Allen “Are you ok?”
Allen called back, “We’re fine Der…”
Before he could finish the remaining supports to the bridge shifted as the remaining stake on the other side of the valley was pulled from the ground and became caught on the support post on its side. As soon as both Silvia and Allen looked back at what just happened, they both started moving as fast as they could, this time with no concern in being careful. However, just as the final supports that kept the bridge in place started to give way, Allen called, “DERPY!!!”

Seeing the danger, Derpy jumped into the valley and quickly flew towards the two ponies as fast as she could. Approaching Silvia first, Derpy called out, “Here, grab my hoof!”
Silvia nodded and did what was told, but before Derpy could begin to fly back with her, the final support post keeping the bridge up snapped in half as the side of the bridge that they started on, began to fall as Allen held on and swung under Derpy before colligating with the other side of the ravine. The force of the impact caused Allen Key to lose his grip on the bridge as it knocked him off and caused him to fall into the shadows below. In a state of panic, Derpy quickly dove into the darkness with Silvia still holding on as she made her way under the falling stallion allowing him to land on her back. Unfortunately the small pegasus didn’t realize how heavy both ponies would be, so as Allen landed on her, Derpy quickly lost control causing her to drop Silvia and as she along with Allen started falling too.

As the three ponies fell through the darkness, Allen saw a faint glare fly across the ravine from below. At first, he thought it was just his imagination but as they continued to fall closer, he realized that there was a rope stretching across the ravine below so in a feat of desperation he called to his party as they fell, “EVERYPONY! GRAB ON!!!”
Seeing the rope and reacting quickly, all three ponies grabbed it at the same time causing one of the sides to give way as the three ponies found themselves swinging to the other end before hitting the wall, then falling four feet to the ground below. As the three winded ponies realized that they survived the fall, each one slowly picked themselves up from the ground as Allen spoke while trying to catch his breath, “Why is it… that everyday of this week… involves falling from a cliff... or something?”
Silvia rubbed her head as she replied, “Maybe it’s a way of telling you what you’re risking by trying to fly.”
Being her usual optimistic self, Derpy smiled, “Or a way of showing you that you can survive falling from any height.”
Allen knew that Derpy meant for that comment to be motivation to finish his goal, so he smiled as he replied, “Thanks… I think…”

As the group looked around, from the bottom of the ravine, Allen spoke, “Wow… it sure is dark down here. It looks exactly like it’s night.”
Silvia rubbed her head as she replied, “It’s the spell, the darkness was made to prevent the sunlight from reaching down here. It allows us bat ponies to rest peacefully without any problems from the sun or its light.”
Allen looked up at the hanging rope as he asked, “Hey Silvia? Do you happen to know what that rope we grabbed onto was from?”
Silvia sighed in a sarcastic way then replied, “Honestly? No, I was too busy trying not to die to worry about it.”
Allen mumbled as he looked at it carefully, “It isn’t as old as the ropes on the bridge… and it seemed too out of place to be used for anything in particular… where did it come from?”
“What was that?”
Allen shrugged his shoulders, “It’s nothing… never mind.”
Derpy started trotting around looking at their surroundings as she asked, “Um… what do we do n… oww.”
While Derpy was speaking, she stepped on a thorny vine that was draped across the bottom of the ravine as Silvia replied without realizing it, “That way leads to the Equestrian Caverns, but if we go this way we should emerge from the ravine in the Everfree Forest. Although it will take us the rest of the day before we get there… then it’s about a two day trip to Canterlot.”

Derpy sat down and started pulling the stuck thorns from her hoof as Allen approached her and helped as he replied, “So… you’re saying it’s about three days to Canterlot from here?”
Silvia turned to the two as she replied, “Yep, that’s assuming… wait… what are you doing?”
Allen replied as he continued helping Derpy, “Oh, Derpy just stepped on that vine right there so I’m just checking if she is alright.”
Silvia started to approach the two as she replied, “Vine? What do you mean by tha… oh no…”
Hearing fear in her voice, Allen asked, “What? What is it?”
Silvia gave Derpy a serious look as she spoke, “Derpy? Is that the vine you stepped on? Right there? That one!?!”

Derpy felt like she did something wrong as she replied with concern, “Um… y-yea… why? Is that bad?”
Silvia replied, “Bad?... That’s a Moon Weed!!!”
Both Allen and Derpy gave her a confused look as Allen asked, “Moon… Weed?… What’s that?”
Silvia grabbed Derpy’s hoof as she quickly examined it, “The Moon Weed is a highly poisonous plant that grows throughout this ravine. The poison it contains in its thorns is enough to kill a dragon.”
Hearing this terrified Derpy to a point that prevented her from commenting as Allen spoke up, “Poison!?! Is… is there a cure?”
Silvia nodded her head, “Well, yea… but…”
Allen replied in suspense, “But?...”
Silvia sighed as she replied, “The Cure can be found in any town or city, but the only town we can reach in time would be the Equestrian Caverns.”
Allen smiled, “Alright then lead the way.”

Silvia shook her head, “It’s not that simple, the Equestria Caverns is a Bat pony colony. In fact it’s the only colony left in the kingdom.”
Allen was confused, “Okay… so?...”
Silvia sighed in disbelief, “Surface ponies aren’t allowed in the Equestrian Caverns! If you show up there, who knows what they will do to you! I don’t even know because no Surface dweller has ever been stupid enough to do it!”
Allen looked at the worried look on Derpy’s face then shook his head, “I don’t care what they do… I’m not going to let Derpy die because of some stupid weed. She and I are the same, and I won’t abandon her when she needs my help. Besides, you’ll be with me, so maybe they will overlook this since you’re a bat pony.”
Silvia shook her head, “That probably won’t work. Like it or not, you just can’t go strolling into a bat ponies city and expect a warm welcome.”
Allen replied as he turned towards the path that led to the caverns, “I still need to try… and if you remember right, Derpy tried to save both of us on that bridge a second ago.”

Silvia tried to argue with Allen’s logic, “She failed!”
Both Allen and Derpy looked back as Silvia as he replied, “That doesn’t matter! Where is your clan pride if you turn your back on a pony who at least tried to save your life!?!”
Silvia started thinking about his words as Derpy stepped towards her, “Please…”
Seeing the great worry in her eyes, Silvia sighed in hopelessness, and mumbled quietly to herself, “I gotta learn to say no to another mare…”
Then she spoke up, “Fine… I'll take you to the Equestrian Caverns… but you better not expect a warm welcome… I’m not necessarily well liked there.”
Allen smiled as he replied, “Don’t worry, we got your back.”
Silvia replied as she trotted past the two, “That’s what I’m afraid of…”
With that said, the three ponies began trotting through the ravine towards the Equestrian caverns.

When the three ponies were out of the area, two cloaked pegasi glided down from the shadows as one spoke, “That was too close, one second more and all three of them would have died.”
The second one nodded his head, “We must report this to the boss. I have a strong feeling that the residents of the Equestrian Caverns won’t be very hospitable when an exile returns with outsiders.”
The first one nodded his head, “Alert the others, and have them come to her aid. We must act quickly if we hope to keep her safe.”
The other cloaked stallion nodded his head as he vanished into the shadows behind him, “Understood…”
when the other cloaked stallion was gone, the first flew up to the hanging rope and pulled it from the wall as he rolled it up and removed the dagger that was tied to the end. Then after he tucked it under his cloak, he started following the small herd of ponies while using the shadows to conceal himself.

The three ponies continued on their path as the ravine started to widen ahead. Then without even being able to see it, they realized that the deep trench that they were traveling through had turned into a massive cave. Feeling nervous, Derpy started trotting closer to Allen as he tried to calm her down, “It’s alright Derpy… we will get there and have Silvia’s friends help. You’ll see…”
Derpy smiled at his comforting words as Silvia sighed and mumbled to herself, “Yea… friends… whatever…”
Although Derpy didn’t hear what Silvia mumbled, “Allen heard it clearly so he decided to change the subject by making small talk, “So… this poison? Exactly how bad is it?”
Silvia replied, “It’s not that bad to be honest, in a few minutes she will feel drowsy and tired. In about an hour if she manages to fight to keep herself awake, she will start to hallucinate. In about five hours if she is still awake, she will faint and nopony can keep awake longer than that. But by nightfall, the poison will reach her heart, then… stop it. But don’t worry; we should be there before she even reached the automatic fainting stage.”
Allen could tell that Derpy didn’t like what she was hearing so he tried to find a topic to cheer her up, “So… have you ever been poisoned before?”
Silvia chuckled at the question, “Oh yea… Growing up in these caverns. Almost every bat pony has been poisoned at least once in their lifetime. It’s kinda a requirement down here.”

Seeing the irony in the topic, Allen asked, “Okay… so how far did you go in the stages?”
Silvia replied as she thought to herself then laughed, “The furthest I went was the first time I was poisoned, I reached the hallucination stage. You should have seen it… I thought the sun was chasing me into my own home. It was by far the most interesting night of my life.”
Allen was surprised, “The first time? How many times were you poisoned?”
Silvia replied, “Oh I don’t know… fifteen… maybe twenty times. And that’s if you don’t count the time I was poisoned seven times before the antidote was given to me.”
Allen Key and Derpy were amazed at Silvia’s words as she looked back and smiled at their expressions, “What can I say? I was reckless when I was little.”
Then Derpy leaned against Allen and spoke, “I… I feel… sleepy…”
Silvia saw her actions and smiled, “Well it looks like she is reaching the drowsy stage… here, let me carry her, it will prevent us from slowing down.”
With that said Silvia removed her cloak and gave it to Allen as she opened her wing and scoped Derpy onto her back and continued through the cave, leaving Allen to place her cloak into his saddlebag.

As they continued Silvia could tell that Derpy had fallen asleep so she asked, “Hey Allen?”
Allen looked at her, “Yea?”
Silvia continued, “Is it alright if a ask something that’s a little… personal?”
Allen though this would be a perfect opportunity, “Well… only if you will answer a question of mine.”
Silvia replied, “Alright then… shoot.”
Allen asked, “How did you lose your wing?”
Silvia sighed as she replied, “I'll answer yours as soon as you answer mine.”
Allen nodded his head, “Ok… what’s your question?”
Silvia felt a little embarrassed as she asked, “You said earlier… that you and Derpy were the same… what did you mean by that?”
Allen looked at Derpy’s face, and noticed that she was asleep as he replied, “Well… Derpy and I aren’t like other ponies… I’m sure you noticed it, but Derpy isn’t very… intelligent… or coordinated. And as for me… well, my dreams are a little extreme for others to accept. So because of this, Derpy and I grew up as outcasts. Every day, other ponies would call both of us names that resembled what made us different from everypony else. But since we stuck by each other’s side for so long… it didn’t matter to us. As Derpy put it, it’s great to be different, as long as we are happy with ourselves, it doesn’t matter what others think.”

Silvia understood what he was saying as she nodded her head, “So… you two defended each other.”
Allen smiled, “Yea… but… it’s different than just a friend sticking up for a friend. They have called me a lunatic, a maniac, a mad scientist, and a wannabe my entire life… but… they called her stupid, ignorant, dimwitted, and all sorts of words that I don’t even want to repeat, and all she did to them in return… was smile. If you look in a dictionary and find every creative word you could think of to call me, not one of them could ever be as harmful as all of the words they’ve called her. And still, she looks at me and says things like, hey Allen today you’re going to fly. Or hey Allen, keep it up, it won’t be long before you succeed.”
Silvia could tell that the topic started to get personal as Allen continued, “She tries to motivate me so hard… that… it’s started to become the only reason I keep trying. Sure… we are different… but that’s what makes us better than those who hide their true selves… You know, don’t you? You’re different too.”
Silvia was confused, “What?”
Allen smiled, “I noticed it the moment I saw your wing… you’re an outcast just like us. Though you may not know it, or you may even deny it… you’re just like us… and I think that’s why Derpy trusts you like she does… I know that’s why I trust you.”

Silvia couldn’t believe what she was hearing, sure the thought crossed her mind that she was different form everypony else, but to hear it from a pony as intelligent as Allen Key gave it more meaning then before. The thought now imbedded in her mind, as she replied, “Oh… um... thanks…”
Allen smiled knowing that what he said affected her in a positive way as he replied, “You’re welcome… and when this is all said and done… I’m going to replace your wing for you.”
Silvia was amazed, “Wh-what?”
Allen smiled, “You heard me right… your wing isn’t completely gone and making a working prosthetic for what’s left will be a piece of cake. So when we get to Canterlot, I hope you will come back with me so I can build one for you.”
Feeling grateful and somewhat guilty, Silvia replied as she lowered her head, “Th-Thank you… Allen… I… don’t know what to say.”
Allen smiled, “Don’t mentio-”
“No… I’m serious. Not many ponies ever earn my thanks… but… you?... Thanks.”
Allen smiled, “I’m always happy to help a friend.”

Even though Allen forgot about his question to her, Silvia hesitated before speaking, “Um… about my wing… all you need to know, is that it was caused by manticores during a mission… a mission that went horribly wrong.”
Allen knew it was hard for her to say anymore by the expression on her face so he replied, “If that’s all I need to know, then that’s all I want to know. To be honest that’s all I was curious about anyway. Something that could remove almost an entire wing… it’s just horrible.”
Silvia lowered her head as she replied, “It’s my punishment… for letting my friends down… although… I should have died.”

Allen couldn’t believe what he was hearing, in all his life, he had never heard of a pony saying something like they deserved death. He could only assume that the subject dug deeper then he thought into her own pain, so he decided not to say another word in response. As the two continued deeper into the massive cave, it wasn’t long before they reached a portion of the tunnel where many holes could be seen in the walls. As they continued further, each hole started to look more and more familiar until Allen could recognize what they were, “Those… those are doors and windows aren’t they?... are we there?”
Silvia nodded her head, “Yea… we are there. Welcome to the Equestrian Caverns.”
Allen looked around at all the homes that could now be seen built into the cave walls then he asked, “So… where is everypony?”
Silvia replied, “Most are probably asleep… but there are a few who are awake… in fact they have been watching use since we got here.”

Allen looked around as he replied, “Watching us?... but… from where?”
Silvia replied, “From above in the shadows… it’s been our custom to absorb before striking…it’s a kinda battle tactic for us bat ponies.”
Allen looked at Silvia and felt concerned, “A… battle tactic?”
Silvia stopped and replied, “Yea… a battle tactic.”
Standing in place, Silvia looked up as a large number of bat ponies dropped from the ceiling of the massive cave and began swarming around the air above them like normal bats. Though Allen was afraid of what was happening around them, he continued to stand his ground since, Silvia seemed to have no concern about what was happening around them. As the swarming Bat ponies started to land in a circle around the three travelers, Silvia looked up at the last bat pony as he landed in the circle and smiled, “Well, well, well, if I didn’t see it myself then I'd say the border guards were pulling my wing. If it isn’t my sweet baby sister, return from her exile… although I don’t remember any talk of your banishment being pulled from record.”
Silvia smiled at the stallion as she replied, “Well if it isn’t the great Nox… fashionably out of sync with the rest of the formation as usual.”

The black bat stallion smiled as he replied, “C’mon sis… out of sync sounds so… uncool. I'd prefer to call it… individualizing. You know the future leader of the clan must signify himself somehow, right? Like for example… dealing with trespassers.”
Silvia nodded her head, “Well then… deal with them already.”
The stallion looked at the unconscious mare on Silvia’s back, then he looked at the nervous stallion standing next to her as he replied, “You know… the first thing I assumed when I saw you, was that you’re here to take revenge on dad. So I was going to kill you on sight… but since you’re traveling with such… pathetic friends… I can only guess that this is a joke… It’s hilarious by the way.”
The surrounding bat ponies started laughing at the group as one of them spoke, “That’s a good one Nox.”
Silvia nodded her head, “Well I'll admit I laughed at this group when I first met them… but right now I need to get this one to the doctor. She is poisoned by The Moon Weed, and since I’m in a life debt with her friend, I decided to help her since she won’t make it to Canterlot.”
Equinox laughed at the comment as he replied, “Wow sis… and here I thought you had no sense of humor. First, you show up here when you know perfectly well that dad banished you from here. Then you bring surface dwellers here when you know perfectly well that that’s against the law to begin with. Then, and here’s the kicker, you just stroll in here thinking that we will overlook all of those things just because you’re paying back a life debt? You can’t be serious.”

Allen key looked at Silvia in confusion, “Banished?...”
Ignoring his confusion, Silvia replied to her brother’s words, “Equinox… you know as well as I, that to interfere with a life debt is against our rules… so if you plan to stop me… then be my guest. Father banished me… don’t think he won’t hesitate to banish you too.”
The dark stallion sneered at his sister as he replied, “Clever move sis… but that won’t stop me from giving this order… Guards of the Equestrian Caverns? Kill the exile and her guests!”
Nox smiled at his order, as his group of bat guards looked at each other in worry as they waited for the rest to follow the order. As Equinox realized his soldiers weren’t doing anything he looked at them and spoke up, “Well?...”
Silvia smiled, “Aww… look at that. It looks like none of your little team mates have forgotten the beating I gave them last time I was here. They all know that they can’t stand up to me. So since, I’m wasting time… I'll just be off to the doctor no-”
Nox Sneered as he interrupted, “If you cowards won’t stop her! THEN I’LL-”
“YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!!!”

At that, moment and elderly mare trotted out of one of the dwellings as she used a walking stick to approach the group. As the circle of guards opened to allow the mare to enter, Silvia smiled and lowered her head in respect, “Good afternoon Elder, it’s good to see you in such good health.”
The Elder smiled as she replied, “And a good evening to you too Silver.”
Still annoyed Equinox spoke, “Elder? Why are you stopping me?”
The Elder looked at Equinox and replied, “I have heard the filly’s reason for her trespassing, and I have decided that in light of her life debt, I will allow her passage here for no more than one day.”
Equinox tried to argue, “Elder, with all due respect, she has committed multiple crimes prior to these two and because of that, I feel as future clan leader, we sho-”
The Elder glared at him as she replied, “Who is the current clan leader?”
Nox replied, “Well… dad is… bu-”
“And in the commander’s absence, who is in control of the clan?”
“Well… the clan elder… but tha-”
“Then as clan elder… I will postpone her banishment to save her friend! Do you have a problem with that?”

Knowing that he lost this argument, Equinox sighed, “Fine… then as a member of the clan… I’ll let sis do what she came to do, for one day only.”
The elder smiled and nodded her head as she looked at Allen, “Then let’s get your friend to the doctor. Young handsome stallion? Can you help me by troting with me while I show you to the hospital?”
The elder dropped her walking stick as she put her hoof around his shoulder and used him to brace herself, “An old but single mare like me needs a strong stallion to help her get from place to place.”
Feeling extremely awkward about it, Allen looked at Silvia who motioned to him to just go with it. Then he sighed as he replied, “I… um… okay…”
With a cocky smile on her face, the elder started trotting with Allen as Silvia followed them further into the darkness of the massive cave.

When the elder and the pardoned group vanished into the darkness Equinox looked at one of his guards and spoke, “You… me… surface… now!...”
Then with enraged expression and actions, Equinox turned and flew out of the cavern with his anger shown in every action he took. Later outside the tunnel on the surface above the ravine, Equinox stood there with an enraged expression as the pony he ordered to meet him arrived, “I’m here Nox… what’s up?”
The enraged pony replied, “Hm… let’s see where do I start? Oh… how about here…”
without any warning Equinox punched the guard knocking him to the ground as he replied, “I though you said little Silver would no longer be a problem? WELL!?! She’s right down there back in the caverns! I'd say that’s a problem! And she is on her way to Canterlot! That’s another problem! So where does that leave me? Hmm? Tell me that if you can!”

The guard picked himself up as he rubbed his cheek and replied, “But… we didn’t expect her to come back. After the last plan went the way it did, I thought sh…”
“Oh don’t even get me started on that last lame excuse for a plan! I told you to kill her and what did you do? You sent her on a wild goose chase and she still came back! In fact your little plan killed all who were involved except her!”
“B-but Nox… I-”
“Forget it! From now on, I make the plans, you…. you’re not allowed to make plans anymore. You’re cut off…You just… sit there and… look brainless cuz that’s all you’re good for anyway!”
The guard nodded his head as he replied, “Alright… so… How do we stop her?”
Equinox started thinking to himself as he replied, “Well… nopony here can help. As much as I hate to agree, Sis is the strongest pony here right now. Especially since dad is… wait a sec.”
Equinox smiled as he mumbled to himself, “Dad… that’s it… We’ll go tell dad that little Silver has come back against his will.”
The guard became nervous, “What? You mean… you want us to get the commander? But… he’ll be furious.”

Equinox approached the edge of the cliff as he looked down into the darkness, “Exactly… he’ll be so ticked off that he may accidently kill her in his frustration… it’s perfect and with the fact that she brought home surface dwellers too… well… there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
The guard continued, “But… in his frustration… he just might kill all three of them. Do we really want to kill the surface dwellers too?”
Equinox replied, “They are disposable… consider this their punishment for trusting a deserter in the first place. They should have known what they were getting into by becoming a bat pony’s friend. They should have stuck with their own kind while they had the chance.”

The guard didn’t like where the topic was going but he asked anyway, “So… do you want to tell him… or should I?”
Equinox smiled, “You do it… I'll keep her here as long as possible. We can’t let her get to Canterlot. If any of Fancy Pants’ peons see her, then everything we planned will have been a waste of time.”
The guard nodded his head and turned to leave, “Got it Nox… I'll go get the commander.”
As his guard flew away into the distance, Equinox mumbled to himself, “I’m not going to let my lame little sis take what I’ve worked too hard to get. Whether she knows it or not… I will get what I deserve… even if it kills her… and… it will.”