Limitless Skies Ch15

Chapter 15
The Hostile Takeover

                Octavia stepped out and approached her cello case as it sat in the middle of the stage. When she looked into the crowd, she was amazed to see a substantial number of Bat ponies in the audience. Though she was surprised to see something too odd to be a coincidence, she held her emotionless expression as she looked at Phi Phi behind the bar who could only look back with an expression that said, “I know… I see it too.”
Octavia nodded back as she opened her cello case, Picked up her cello, bowed, and begin playing a melancholy tune. As the song progressed, Octavia acted as if she was closing her eyes to concentrate on the music but in actuality, she was only closing them enough to observe the crowd without bringing attention to herself. With no way of identifying whether or not her eyes were truly closed, Octavia looked over the crowd. Their actions seemed simple enough to understand, one group in the back were merchants talking trade over a drink. Another in the front, a group of preforming circus ponies who were celebrating a successful show, while the front had a few bat royal guards meeting friends from out of town.

                Each group of bat ponies seemed to have good alibis for being here, however it didn’t ease Octavia’s concerns one bit. She knew that the ponies responsible for both Mr. Rich, and Mr. Dribs murder was a pony who could fly, and The Reaper had ordered her to keep her eye out for any bat ponies asking about Silvia. So with that in mind, Octavia could only suspect that the murderer they were supposed to be worried about was in this room, her only question was… who? As her song came to its end, the herd of ponies who actually paid attention to her music applauded her as she laid her cello back into its case, and bowed to the audience. Then with a quickened, but unnoticeable speed, Octavia made her way off the stage as she moved through the crowd and approached the bar.

                After reaching the bar, Phi Phi placed a drink on a napkin as she spoke, “Good performance Octi, but um… do you need to take a break from all the stress your under?”
Realizing their signal, Octavia lifted the corner of the napkin up to see the word “Report?” written underneath it. Then she nodded her head, “That’s a good idea Phi, It would be the best thing to do in a time like this.”
Leaving anypony who could be eavesdropping unaware of her actions, Octavia took a sip of the drink before leaving the front room and going backstage. After reaching her dressing room, Octavia quickly entered and turned around to lock the door before she paused. With her hoof still on the lock and her body facing the door, Octavia could feel another presence in the room as she slowly turned around to see Equinox sitting in the chair next to her vanity as he looked at a picture of Octavia and Silvia when they were together. When she saw the uninvited bat pony, Octavia turned towards him as he looked at her and smiled, “That was a beautiful performance miss Melody… sadly I'm not the music loving type so I'm being a little sarcastic. Is this you with baby sister Silvia?... I knew she was in a relationship when she was a guard, but I didn’t think she would bag a rich one… nor did I expect her to be with a mare of all ponies. But then again… I like mares too.”

                Keeping the door unlocked behind her, Octavia replied with a faked confusion, “Really… small world… So you must be her big brother that she has told me about. Sorry, but even relatives of friends aren’t allowed back here. If you want an autograph, please wait for me at the front and I can get with you later.”
Equinox placed the photo back on the table as he replied, “Sorry, I am here for something, but it isn’t an autograph. I want you to tell me where the entrance is.”
Playing dumb, Octavia replied, “The entrance?... I believe it’s out front.”
Nox smiled sinisterly, “No… I mean the other entrance.”

                Octavia smiled as if he were joking with her, “I'm sorry, but I do not understand what you mean by, entrance.”
Equinox replied, “You know… the entrance to the Cutter’s Haven.”
Octavia put her hoof on her chin and acted like she was thinking as she replied, “Cutters, Cutters, now where have I heard… Oh you mean…”
Octavia started laughing as if she had heard a funny joke as she replied, “Silvia told me you were the serious type, but she never told me that you were superstitious.”
Equinox acted unamused as he replied, “What?...”

                Octavia continued, “You actually believe all those old Cutters stories? I regret to inform you, but the stories about some noble run organization of mercenaries is nothing but pure fantasy. I believe it was started by some of the homeless ponies in hopes that we nobles were actually doing something… noble with our lives, instead of just sitting around and spending our fortune on petty things.”
Knowing it was just an act, Equinox replies, “Really? So it’s some kind of urban legend?”
Octavia nodded her head, “Most likely, you see I am one of very few nobles who would rather earn my fortune doing what I love rather than spending my parent’s money. Sadly many of us do just that while the middle and lower class like to believe us to be some sort of secret cult who protect the world from danger and threats. But in the end all we are is just simple nobles.”
Equinox smiled, “Is that so… well then I would like to ask you something then… do you happen to have a hobby outside of work?”

                Octavia replied, “I hardly see how that’s any of your business… but if you must know… Music is my hobby.”
Equinox stood up from the vanity and began trotting through the room as he observed his surroundings. “That’s right… a mare as sophisticated as you wouldn’t have time for a side hobby other than playing the cello… right? Although…”
Octavia started making her way towards her vanity as Equinox continued trotting through the room. With full focus on his actions, Octavia spoke, “Although?...”
Equinox approached a dresser as he reached for the bottom drawer opened it, and pulled the small dagger out, “I could only wonder what a mare of your… social status could be doing with something like this… you a collector or something?”
As Octavia reached her vanity, she continued watching Equinox’s actions as she replied, “As if it’s any of your business… even a mare like me has a right to defend herself when threatened. Although, it’s not like I actually know how to use such a thing. I only know what tricks Silvia taught me a few years back.”

                Equinox carefully looked over the blade as he replied, “Oh that’s right… a mare of your talent and status would need protection… but like you said… it’s not like you would know how to USE IT!!!”
With the emphasis in his voice, Equinox tossed the dagger across the room at Octavia. Reacting to the unsurprised attack, Octavia grabbed the back of the vanity chair as she kicked its legs bringing it up so that it could block the incoming projectile as the dagger stuck through the bottom of the seat and stayed in place. Unfortunately, as she looked back at Equinox, she realized that while she was saving herself from the dagger, he had already began charging at her as he knocked the chair out of the way, grabbed her throat and slammed her against the vanity mirror as it shattered on impact. Pinned against the shattered mirror Octavia struggled as Equinox smiled, “Don’t take me for a moron, anypony with no skills using a dagger wouldn’t have sharpened it so well. And trust me… I know blades… My ancestor was called Blade!”
Still acting Octavia replied, “Blade… what are you talking about…”

                Equinox pulled her away, and then slammed her against the vanity mirror a second time to get her attention, “SHUT UP! Unless your next words are directions to the Cutter’s Haven I don’t want to hear anything else out of your mouth.”
With that anger filled scream, four bat ponies to include Shade entered the dressing room as Equinox looked over at then and spoke, “It’s about time! Deal with her while I search for the Haven!”
With those words, Equinox tossed Octavia to the floor in front of Shade as the group of bat ponies picked her up and tied her hooves together. With Octavia bound, Equinox started trotting through the room as he spoke, “Five years… for five years my mother told me that someday I would claim the Scythe and lead The Cutters. Then all that was ruined when my sister was born. Thanks to her, my inheritance, my prize and my future were taken from me because the first-born daughter gets first dibs. It’s a bunch of crap if you ask me.”

                 Trying to take his focus off his search, Octavia tried to taunt him, “Well I didn’t ask you… it sounds to me like you have mommy issues. Nevertheless, why would you bring such things here? Why not talk to Silvia yourself and sort them out. Not that I believe all this cutter nonse…”
“DIDN’T I TELL YOU TO SHU…”
as he yelled in anger at the subdued mare, Equinox silenced himself when he heard a slight whistling sound pass through the room. When he realized it was coming from under the door to the walk in closet, Equinox smiled, “Bingo…”
Octavia kept herself quiet to prevent it from being too obvious, as Equinox opened the closet door and examined the appearance of the room carefully, but when he noticed the sleeve of a garment as it flapped slightly in the breeze, he knew that he had found it. “Shade! Get over here!”

                 Curious as to what his boss had discovered, Shade made his way through the room as he looked into the closed at the hole that was in the wall behind the flowing garment. As he looked at the hole Equinox spoke, “This is it… it has to be… but how do we get in?”
Shade put his hoof against the hole as he spoke, “This looks like some kind of key hole… but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a key with this shape… have you?”
Equinox took a closer look as he replied, “Not that I know… but then again it kinda looks like…”
Equinox turned and looked at the dagger that was sticking out of the vanity chair as he replied, “Don’t tell me… it can’t be that simple… can it?”
Equinox approached the chair as he looked at the angry expression on Octavia’s face and spoke, “You think you’re so clever… don’t you?”
Equinox pulled the dagger from the chair as he looked at the blade, “You sharpened this blade so it could be used as a key… didn’t you? Which would explain why it looks so unused. Cuz using this for cutting would make it unusable as a key… wouldn’t it?”

                With no concern in letting Octavia reply to his words, Equinox turned back to the closet, as he approached the secret door, inserted the dagger, and opened the door to reveal the passage leading to the Cutter’s Haven. As soon as he saw the staircase leading underground, he turned to Shade and spoke, “Gather the others and get ready, make sure everypony is wearing a cloak. I’ll go down and create a diversion but as soon as you give the signal, I want the clans to capture as many of The Cutters as possible. Killing them shouldn’t be necessary. I can’t lead a dead army now can I?”
Shade nodded his head as he replied, “Sounds good… what should the signal be?”
Equinox smiled, “Shadow arrow…”
Shade gave Equinox a surprised look, “What?... but… who wi…”
“You’ll know the time when you see it… I'm counting on you Shade. Don’t let me down.”

                Pulling the dagger from the door and hiding it under his wing, Equinox began trotting down the steps as Equinox turned to the soldiers, “Go back to the wagons, and get your equipment on. Make sure everypony is prepared; The Cutters will only surrender when they know they are caught.”
One of the soldiers spoke up, “And… what about the mare?”
Another soldier grabbed her mane and held her head up as he put a blade to her neck, “Should we finish her?”
Shade replied, “No… she can’t stop us so we have no reason to kill her just yet. Leave two guards here with her as for the rest of you, get ready, this is a major step in our plan.”
The soldiers stood at attention as they replied, “Yes Sir.”

                As most of the soldiers left the room leaving Octavia, Shade, and two guards behind, Octavia spoke, “Why are you doing this… what exactly are you hoping to accomplish?”
Shade replied, “I do as I'm ordered. Equinox may seem overzealous, but he is a good leader and he is fighting to make the world better for us bat ponies.”
Octavia replied, “Better for bat ponies? Or better for himself?”
Shade replied, “I don’t need to explain anything to a surface dweller, all I need to do is follow my orders. You should be grateful. If it were Nox’s decision, you would be dead right now.”
With that, said Shade left the room to prepare himself as Octavia replied, “If it were Nox’s decision… all surface dwellers would be dead.”
Ignoring the comment, Shade continued out of the room as he left Octavia alone with the two guards.

                Down below, as Nox neared the door at the very bottom of the stairway, he adjusted the dagger to make sure it was hidden before slowly opening the door and revealing the secret haven. As Equinox looked around in amazement at the underground town full of cloaked stallions and mare who were going about their business, he began making his way through the place as he marveled at what was hidden from the world above. As he continued, every cloaked pony who saw the unexpected intruder, stopped what they were doing and watched as he passed by, then each one began following him without so much as a single word to one another or to their guest. Not far into the haven, Equinox noticed the large group of ponies following him as he stopped and asked, “Can I help you?”
One of the cloaked ponies stepped forward, “You do not belong here… State your business!”
Equinox smiled, “Really? I do not belong here?... then, how am I here? Seems kinda funny how I don’t belong here, yet here I am, right?”
Not amused by the comment, the cloaked pony spoke again, “Leave this place immediately. If you don’t comply, then we will make you leave!”

                Equinox laughed as if he was told a funny joke, “Make me leave? I’d like to see you try.”
At that moment, everypony wearing a cloak started stepping closer to Equinox, however before any of them approached him a voice rang out, “what is the meaning of this!?!”
With that call, everypony looked up as they saw The Reaper gliding down into the area with her scythe in hoof. As she landed, Equinox smiled with relief as he spoke, “mom… good to see you. For a second there I thought I would get my butt handed to me by the rest of your little gang here.”
The Reaper gave Equinox an unamused stare as she replied, “Equinox… you mind telling me how you found this place… or furthermore, how you got in?”
Equinox gave her an amazed look, “Really? Twenty years and all you can say is how did you get here? I wasn’t expecting a heartwarming hug followed by I missed you mommy, but considering how long it’s been that was almost a slap to the face.”
The Reaper sighed, “You were old enough to understand what I was going through so I won’t explain anything to you… however, you should also know that you aren’t welcome here. This place is restricted to all except The Cutters. You should leave.”

                As The Reaper turned around to leave, Equinox spoke up, “So why not make me a member then?...”
The Reaper paused as she turned to her son, “What?”
“I am your son after all, and I'm a skillful fighter, so why don’t you make me a member of The Cutters?”
The Reaper looked at the expression on the surrounding spectators as she replied, “You say you want to be a member of The Cutters?”
Equinox nodded his head, “Well I know I'm not as strong as all other ponies, but surely you could find a place for me… right mom?”
The Reaper though to herself as she replied, “The answer me this… what do you think of the social and economic tolerance that this kingdom is currently stated with?”
Equinox gave his mother a confused look, “Um… I uh…. What now?”
The Reaper sighed, “I'm talking about the current relationship that the different pony species live with. Would you say that we are living with equal rights?”

                With a clearer explanation of her question Equinox shook his head, “No… in my opinion we bat ponies are drawing the short straws when it comes to equality here.”
The Reaper nodded her head, “Really? and if you could, how would you change it?”
Equinox replied, “I would simply even the odds. We bat ponies have been put down for the past seventy years or so, so I think it’s only fair that we are granted a right that pays its dues.”
The Reaper gave her son a disappointed look, “Pays its dues… interesting…”
Equinox tried to continue, “Yea… first I think we sh…”
The Reaper put up her hoof to silence him, “No need… I’ve heard enough.”
Equinox gave her a concerned look, “You have?... and?...”
The Reaper turned around as she replied, “Leave this place, I'm sorry to say… but The Cutters isn’t a place for ponies who wish for others to, Pay its due.”

                Equinox stepped forward, “Wait… your just gonna say no and trot away?... just like that?”
The Reaper replied as she continued, “Yes… just like that.”
The enraged son yelled out, “It’s because I'm a male… isn’t it?”
The Reaper paused as she turned to her son, “… A male?”
Equinox continued, “Over twenty years ago, you said that I would one day inherit the Mist family fortune and with it, the position of The Reaper which commanded The Cutters and brought peace to Equestria! Then as I grew up planning my own future… Silvia was born and all you could do was come to me, a mere colt with his hope far higher than the heavens themselves, and tell me that you were sorry. That now that my sister was born, it was her right to inherit the fortune and the scythe leaving me with nothing. Nothing to look forward to and nothing to make of myself.”
The Reaper replied, “The law of The Cutters states that the first born daughter will inherit the role of The Reaper. I know that I told you once that you would take it, but that was before your sister was born, so I had no knowledge that she would be the next reaper… nor did I know that she would turn it down.”

                Equinox couldn’t believe his ears, “Wh-what?... she turned it down?... really?”
The Reaper replied, “Yes… because of her decision I was going to wait before selecting the next Reaper… however, today you have proven that you aren’t worthy of the task. The Reaper seeks peace for Equestria and equality for the kingdom itself. Not to pursue a hopeful dream and attempt to use guilt as a means to attain it. The only ponies who would do such a thing are desperate greedy scoundrels who only want to benefit themselves. Actions like that leads to power-hungry actions that further risk Equestria’s safety. Such a pony, male or female must never wield The Reapers Scythe. Now leave, before I lose my patience with you.”

                Equinox glared at his mother with an increasing rage as he replied, “Lose your patience… now you want to act like a mother… well the joke is on you, I'm not a member of The Cutters so I don’t have to follow your instruction like the rest of your little lackeys. If you won’t let me be a member of The Cutters, then perhaps I should attain my future by force.”
The Reaper started to get angry as she replied with an unamused calmness, “Force… and how will you do that?”
Equinox replied, “A challenge! You and me! Right here, and right now! For the role of The Reaper!”

                The Reaper looked at the amazed looks on the surrounding ponies faces as she looked back at her son and replied, “You really think you can challenge me like this? I'm not a bat pony and this is not the Equestrian Caverns. I can easily give the order and have every single member of The Cutters here Execute you where you stand before you even realized that you were in danger to begin with. However, if you were so truly foolish to challenge me like this… then perhaps I should take you up on your offer. But I warn you now, if you continue this challenge, then I will kill you. Son or not, nopony in Equestria will ever get away with challenging The Cutters… Especially The Reaper. So, do you accept your fate, or would you rather chose a better path that lies outside of this tomb?”
Hoping for her son to reconsider, The Reaper looked at her sons expression as he smiled and spoke, “I accept. But naturally, I don’t expect to fight you unarmed, do I?”

                Not knowing that he still had a dagger concealed under his wing, The Reaper looked at one of the cloaked ponies beside her as she nodded her head in agreement with Equinox’s comment. When the subornment saw the gesture from his leader, he drew a sword from his side and tossed it into the open having it land just one foot in front of Equinox. As Equinox reached for the sword, he started to plan his next move. As soon as he grabbed the sword, he was going to charge The Reaper in hopes of catching her off guard. However as his hoof touched the weapon, The Reaper yelled, “BEGIN!!!”

                With that call, The Reaper opened her cloak as she tossed three needles through the air straight at her unsuspecting son. Trying to react quickly, Equinox ducked under the first needle, picked up the weapon and jumped back dodging the second, and raised his sword to deflect the third, however as he did, the needle hit the sword with so much force that it knocked him to the ground. Surprised beyond anything he expected, Equinox shuffled to his hooves as he stared at his mother with his expression showing his surprise, “That… that was impossible… how cou…”
The Reaper replied as she spoke with anger in her eyes, “You challenged The Reaper… you should have expected this to be a difficult fight from the start. The fact that you’re so surprised only points out that everything you’ve done to get into this situation was pointless and naive.”

                Feeling a little nervous about the drastic change in his plan, Equinox readied himself as he replied, “Naive?... I knew you were cruel enough to abandon me and dad when we needed you… but I didn’t think you would insult your own son so easily.”
The Reaper sighed, “No son of mine would ever raise a blade to me, even in anger. You’re even more a foal now then you were back then. However, it’s too late to save yourself now.”
Keeping the wing that was hiding the dagger closed, Equinox charged forward as he raised the sword up to strike down his own mother. With no concern in her situation, The Reaper held her ground and waited for the distance between her and her son to close as he raised his blade up and tried to bring it down on her. With great speed, The Reaper dodged the attack leaving Equinox to hit nothing but air. Hoping that her dodging could have delayed her actions, Equinox brought the blade back up and took another swing at her, but like the first, The Reaper dodged the attack with ease.

                Over and over Equinox started swinging profusely at The Reaper in hopes of striking a fatal blow, but no matter how hard he tried, The Reaper dodged each and every strike without any stress. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, even a few thrusts, but each and every attack was easily evaded by the skilled assassin as she dodged the attacks without any attempt on blocking, parrying, or even countering the attacks. As the continued actions of both ponies capture the attention of all The Cutters in the area, nopony noticed as a large group of cloaked ponies entered The Cutters Haven as they all began mixing into the crowd, leaving one to make his way to an area that gave him a perfect view of both fighters.

                With each passing attempt, Equinox became more and more frustrated with his opponent, however, rather than turning his frustration to anger, it slowly turned to fear as he started to realize just how strong his opponent was. Finally, rather than continuing to show off her own agility, The Reaper blocked a vertical slash and swung the blade of her scythe over Equinox’s sword, as she buried both his and her blade into the ground beside her. Using her stuck weapon as an anchor The Reaper spun around the scythe shaft as she kicked Equinox in the jaw, tossing him away from her as he released his sword leaving it in the ground where it was stuck.

               Equinox flew through the air hitting one of the small buildings inside the massive haven as he fell to the ground. Equinox frantically tried to get back up to continue his fight. However, before he was able to do anything, The Reaper pulled his sword from the ground and tossed it through the air, leaving him no time to dodge as the sword flew by his head and buried itself into the stonewall behind him, just close enough to put a cut on his cheek. The once cocky bat pony trembled in fear as he felt the blood running down his face as he slowly turned to look at his reflection on the blade that was less than one inch from killing him. Equinox then looked back at The Reaper who was slowly approaching him with a half covered look of rage that filled him with even more fear, “You see it… don’t you? This is the fear that one feels when he looks into the eyes of death herself… this is the fear that everypony who has ever threatened this kingdom has felt before he meets his fate. You think you can live this life? Something which terrifies you to the brink of insanity?... because that’s what awaits the wielder of this very scythe… fear… and death.”
Panting in frustrated fear, Equinox grabbed his sword from beside his head as he pulled it from the wall and tried to swing at The Reaper who was now close enough for him to reach. However, as he did, The Reaper swung her scythe with so much force that as the blades made contact, Equinox’s sword shattered sending metal shards into the air as The Reaper punched through them hitting Equinox in the face and slamming him back against the wall as he fell to the ground.

                 As Equinox laid on the ground in pain, The Reaper sighed, “This isn’t what somepony in my position should do… but I'll give you one last chance to save yourself. All you have to do is agree to leave this place, and I will spare your life. So, will you swallow your pride and live the rest of your life… or will you continue this pointless phased, guaranteeing your own death.”
Equinox looked up at his mother as he mumbled to himself. “Shadow arrow…”
not hearing him clearly, The Reaper turned her ear to him as she asked, “What was that?”
Equinox replied with a loud scream, “SHADOW ARROW!!!”
With that order, the cloaked stallion who was watching over the duel removed his hood as Shade raised his bow and fired an arrow directly at The Reaper. Sensing the arrow on its approach, The Reaper ducked down and out of its path, but when she noticed that removing herself would put her son in the line of fire, she used the curve part of her scythe blade to hook the chevron arrowhead, as she brought the arrow around and sent it flying back towards her assassin. Without being able to see the lightning fast action, Shade was unable to defend himself as the arrow cut through his still raised bow and dug into his firing eye missing everything vital as he fell to the ground screaming in pain.

                 Taking this diversion to his full advantage, Equinox pulled the dagger from under his wing as he lunged forward and dug it into his mother’s back before she could turn around. Seeing the attack, the surrounding Cutters stepped forward in amassment but before any of them could go to their leader’s aid, a majority of the cloaked ponies removed their cloaks and drew swords revealing that they were all bat pony soldiers. With the members of The Cutters surrounded and outnumbered, they each backed up and admitted defeat as their surrounding foe began pushing them back and away from the duel. Stunned from her son’s attack, The Reaper dropped her scythe as the sound of the metal ringing echoed through the haven. The Reaper sat down as she overlooked her Cutters who were being disarmed and subdued from their aggressors. With a heavy heart, she turned her head slightly and spoke, “So… this was your plan all along. To defeat The Cutters?”
Equinox shook his head, “No… this is just a bonus. I came because no matter what you or your precious law of The Cutters says, that scythe is rightfully mine. Now, The Cutters, the scythe, and everything else that I deserve now belong to me. And that isn’t even the best part. What you don’t know is that I intend to join Nightmare moon when she returns. And when she sees the army I’ve gathered for her, then she will even cast aside Commander Bolt for me. I will command the army of the night, while you and the rest of the surface ponies will finally be put in your place… below us.”

                 The Reaper shook her head, “I would say that you have everything figured out… but this won’t last. Because of your cowardly actions to gain the scythe. I can only say that you will die with that scythe in your hooves… and I will guarantee, it will be much sooner than you think. Mark these words, for they are the words… of The Reaper.”
Equinox pulled the dagger from her back and placed it against her throat, “You’re not The Reaper… not anymore.”
With a swift and finishing action, Equinox ran the blade across his mother’s throat, and let her fall to the ground as she died. The subdued members of The Cutters watched in shock as The Reaper hit the ground dead. Then with a heavy heart, they each removed the hoods from their cloaks as they revealed their faces, and bowed in respect to their fallen leader. Seeing their actions, Equinox smiled as he reached down and picked up The Reapers scythe and held it in the air, “Finally… it’s mine… It’s all mine! The scythe, The Cutters, everything! The world will remember this day, because I, am The Reaper!”

                 As he admired his weapon, one of his soldiers called out to him, “Captain Nox! It’s Shade! He’s hurt pretty badly!”
With his new weapon in hoof, Equinox flew over to his hurt comrade as Shade looked up at him, “N-Nox… m-my eye!... She took my eye!... I… I can’t believe she took my eye!... h-help me… please help me…”
Equinox looked down at Shade, then he looked at the shattered bow that laid in two pieces beside him, then he looked back at Shade’s injuries as he replied with a cruel smile, “What is your profession Shade?”
Confused and in pain, Shade looked back, “Wh-what?”
Equinox repeated himself, “What is your profession? What service do you do as my brother in arms?”
Shade replied, “I’m… I’m your partner… aren’t I?”

                 Equinox shook his head, “You’re my archer… and nothing more. Now it looks like both your firing eye and your bow are permanently destroyed. So… you’re an archer without the ability to fire an arrow… am I right? In other words… you’re a water well without any water. So what do you think we do to wells that have no water?”
With his hoof covering his injured eye, Shade glared at Equinox as he spoke, “No… no you can’t.”
Equinox looked at one of his other soldiers and spoke, “Find the nearest alley and dump him in it… if he’s lucky, a surface pony will take pity on him and patch his wound before he bleeds to death.”
Feeling too enraged to worry about his wound, Shade stood up as the bat ponies beside him graved him by the shoulders, “You can’t do this! After everything, I did for you! You’re just gonna abandon me like that?!?”
Equinox smiled as he turned to trot away, “Sorry Shade, but if I have no use of you, why would I keep you around. You should consider yourself lucky, any other pony would just be killed, but since you’re a friend, I think you’ll be fine on your own… see ya later… partner.”

                 As the bat ponies dragged him away, Shade yelled in anger at his traitorous friend, “NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!! YOU TRAITOR! YOU CAN’T DO THIS! NOX!!!”
With Shade’s calls of anger quickly turning into swearing, Equinox turned away and began trotting by the bowing members of The Cutters as they rose from their bow and looked at him with looks of disgust. As he observed each noble in the herd, he looked at the bat ponies that were guarding the prisoners and spoke, “Search the city and find any members of the cutters that aren’t here. Then I want each and everypony interviewed. If they want to, they can join me and remain in the cutters, but if they show signs of disapproval, then find a cell and lock them in it. I don’t need any rising up against me.”
One of the following bat ponies nodded his head, “Yes sir, but where would a cell be?”
Equinox replied, “This place is the haven of the one’s responsible for Equestria’s safety… there is bound to be a dungeon here somewhere… oh and from now on… It’s Boss!”
As Equinox turned back to continue what he was doing, another bat pony approached him, “Um Captain Nox… I mean… Boss? We have a problem.”
Equinox replied, “What kind of problem?”
The soldier replied, “You… might want to come with me.”

                 As the soldier lead Equinox into the corridor and back up to Octavia’s dressing room, Equinox was shocked when they reached the room to find Octavia missing and her guards hanging from the ceiling by their necks. When he saw the sight, he asked, “When was this found?”
The soldier replied, “Just now… she must have done this right after lieutenan… I mean, Shade and the rest of us entered the Haven.”
Equinox nodded his head as he examined the bodies, “Cello wire… how appropriate. Don’t bother looking for her, The Cutters are masters at stealth so even if we tried, she will be long gone before we even get a hint of where she is hiding. But make yourself ready… I have a feeling that she is going to invite a rather expected guest to this little party of ours.”
Equinox turned to reenter The Cutter’s haven as the guard asked, “Really?... who?”
Equinox smiled, “My sister…”

                 Though Equinox was correct about Octavia’s attempts to make contact with Silvia in Ponyville, she didn’t realize that Silvia had already left Ponyville and was arriving in the Equestria Caverns as a large number of bat ponies where gathered in the town plaza. When Silvia entered the area, she approached one of the residents as she asked, “Hey… what’s going on? Why is everypony out in the middle of the day like this?”
The bat pony replied with a sad expression, “Last night… the elder was found dead near the city gate.”
Silvia was surprised, “What?... but… how? Was it natural causes?”
The bat pony shook his head, “Unless you think a sword seems natural… the commander is about to say something.”
Silvia looked at the front of the crowd as she saw her father talking with a few witnesses. Wanting an explanation, Silvia made her way forward and called, “Dad! Hey dad!”

                 As Silvia approached Commander Soul, he turned to her and spoke, “Silvia… what are y…”
“What happened?”
The commander looked at the ground in disappointment as he replied, “Equinox killed the elder.”
Silvia stepped back in surprise, “Wh-what? Are you sure?”
The commander nodded his head, “We have been collecting evidence on this for a while now, and I had a suspicion… but now I'm sure of it. Equinox is the one who killed that member of The Cutters, the blacksmith in Canterlot, and now the village elder.”
Silvia sat down in disbelief, “But… if Equinox is the one responsible… then why did he frame Allen?...”
the commander shook his head, “I… I don’t know… but I’ve announced that he is a traitor to the kingdom and will be captured as soon as possible.”
Silvia was surprised, “You mean… he isn’t here?”

                 The commander shook his head, “No… he has been gathering bat ponies from other clans for a while now… but after last night he moved into Canterlot with them. I don’t know what he is planning, but I put my guards on red alert. If they find him, he will be caught.”
Silvia nodded her head, “Good… Mr. Drib and the elder were good ponies. I just don’t believe that he could possibly be the one to kill them both.”
The commander hung his head as he continued, “Um… Silvia… there’s more.”
Silvia was curious, “More?”
Commander Soul nodded his head in sadness as he replied, “Yea… you see, he is also responsible for a group of soldiers who died about a year ago…”
Silvia was confused, “A group of soldiers that died a year ago?... but who?”
Commander soul gave his daughter a look of disappointment, and he replied in a sad, sympathetic way.