We stand united 1x1 Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"But how are you gonna find her? Just rushing out there like this is only going to end in disappointment, because you won't find her like that. If your friends won't stop you tough then I won't either, but you are going to feel incredibly bad when you know you could have avoided that by following my advice." Karthspire said as he took another cigar out.

"Instead, we should take the time to figure out who captured her and where she *could* be, for know we can until making assumptions on where she could be, but given enough time, we could find her location, and mount an armed assault, which does not include going alone. And since we both have militaristic experience, let me give you some important advice from one soldier to another," he said as he walked up to Maple.

"A one-man army sounds heroic in context, but in reality, it's just another excuse to either get lured in by all that heroism or because stubbornness becomes the main emotion in one's head, but emotion is perhaps our biggest weakness because it blinds us from our true duty. And this weakness is something that all of us suffer from, only everyone handles it differently. You are strong and you have so much potential, your friend over there already confirmed that for me." Karthspire said pointing to Ember.

"But you are so willing to do it all alone, to storm into danger and fight it the moment you see it, but there are moments when you have to rely on others to help you or perhaps even do it for you, being strong is one thing, but thinking you can take everything on is the another thing that is usually caused by being too strong. But perhaps this is different, you are more worried about your mother, but how do think your mother would feel if she realised that you ended getting destroyed when trying to save her? She might say specific things, but deep in her heart, she would want you to not do something like this, because it's not worth it, it's not worth dying for a single situation. Rather, you should bring additional reinforcements with you so you won't be alone because at least having some allies with you is better than trying to take unnecessary risk." He said.

"But if you feel like it, get angry at me, try to prove me wrong, perhaps even call me a dirtbag if it makes you feel like it because this is just the opinion of a single person, nothing I say would be justified, i am not exactly sure how you would respond to this but I know it's pretty ridiculous to follow the advice of some stranger you just met a few moments ago." Karthspire said.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple stopped for a second and upon hearing the last bit responded with "No... No, you're right then again... I'm not sure if she wants to see me like this," She said referencing the robotic body "At all. She does know about it yet... But still, The longer she's wherever she is the more likely she is to get hurt... and I only came here to make sure she was safe, so if she ends up not being what's the point of going home..."

"Sis, There's still plenty to protect at home," Woody began, "But still she's ok, I may not know where she is but I can just feel it. We just need to find her before we can help her any."

Festus examined Maple, "So you're the one Ember always talked about." He said. "The strongest pony. I'm Festus it's an honor."

Maple looked at the young dragon "Maple. It's a pleasure meeting you too."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Then it is settled, in the meantime, you might all want to hang around town for a bit if I may recommend, it might get you away from troublesome thoughts while we are working on trying to find where she could possibly be." Karthspire said.

"Tough sadly Xaxir has decided not to follow my request and is just minding his own business, it's a shame, he would be our best man for this job to find her." He said with a sigh.

He then walked to the balcony and looked in the distance.

Jack then looked at Woody.

"Say, what happened to you tough? You look pretty beat up?" He asked him.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Celestia walked over to the balcony as well "So... How stressful is it leading... this. On a planet like this." Celestia said looking into the distance. "I'd imagine it's not easy."

 

Woody looked at Jack "Oh it's nothing that realm was really rough. That's all. I'll go find someone who has a salve or something and I'll be alright."

"Should've just gone for it like I did" Maple laughed "Jack. What do you think by the way?" She said opening the metallic wings

Edited September 22, 2017 by Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Karthspire was puffing out smoke from his mouth as he blew it into the wind.

"It is indeed, It is a big burden, having to look out for so many lives while fighting against the constant hordes that we are forced to face at any given moment, but at this point, this is alot simpler to what I used to do before the fall, being a leader is hard, but being a leader that has to lead his armies trough impossible odds is on a different scale, because there is either victory, or there is death, and no matter how lucky someone is, that luck eventually tends to run out. That is a reality that all leaders must face." He said

 

Jack looked a bit disturbed at Woody.

'I know you are not speaking the truth Woody, i saw some glimmers of that scar and i can compare it to what i had endured myself.' He tought

Jack decided to ask Woody later on for more answers as Maple had asked him something.

"It looks good, who made that body by the way? The design is really smooth." Jack said with a praising tone

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"I agree. Leading is way harsher than most make it out to be some, however, are very capable of doing it, and you're one of them looking at what you've done with the place." Celestia said still pretty Impressed. "I must ask though, who exactly are you? I know your name but there's more to you than that."

 

Woody responded to jacks comment by quickly looking away and brushing his mane closer to his face hiding the glowing part completely. 'Not in front of her please.' He Told jack through a psychic connect 'I'll tell you more in private I didn't want her worrying about it.'

Maple smiled "Thier name was Caerson. He did great on the body with Twilight's help and the Rarity helped make it look more like me. To be honest however Woody only was able to keep my soul safe thanks to that artifact you gave him so most of this was set in motion by you." Maple then kinda started to brag a bit "It's quite the upgrade, I've got these rockets in my wings like you saw, and electric claw things" She said showing them to Jack "Though... I just hope they can find mom... Then I can go save her."

Edited September 22, 2017 by Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Yes, there is. While I am now the leader of this city and a massive resistance group, I used to be a military commander, it has been centuries since those times, almost 400-500 years ago, but time flies by faster then we could all comprehend. During my military service, i was a captain when Raukan was still in its prime, back when I was young and patriotic, I could still remember the times when I fought alongside my brothers in arms against our enemies, this virus may have brought us to ruin, but even before that war was ever so present. Many were brave and cunning warriors who instead of showing fear, only loved to fight more and more, a trait that all Raukan share in their blood from our fore, fore, fore gene-father. Most saw me as a brilliant and competent leader for my battle instincts and my self-control regarding the fighting lust, but even during those times, there were some brothers which I saw as my closest friends. Clan Karviah, Brynmor, Moriah and even Mantorov Yefim, the person who we all now know as the wretched slave trader, we all served in those wars and fought side by side as we stood triumphant over our enemies. But just as life itself, it does not last forever." Karthspire said.

His face turned into a scowl.

"Betrayal, forgotten, abandonment... Those are the things that turn any strong group into a divided faction, where brothers in arms were fighting head to head against those who they saw as friends, such as the ideology that Mantorov carried in his mind, collaborating with our enemy is a betrayal, a betrayal of everything we stood for, Mantorov was not troubled by such matters, people like him only look to further their own agenda and interest.."

 

'Do not worry, I won't tell her anything, but I would appreciate if you tell me everything that has transpired there soon because I can see from that scar who you had fought against.' Jack thought via the telepathy.

He then looked at Maple's body with closer inspection.

"Damn... That design looks amazing, I can see from the build alone that it was his work, because no one else I know would make something this advanced with limited technology." Jack said with amazement.

He then looked up.

"Don't worry Maple, we will find Fluttershy, you just gotta trust them here, because if there is one thing that speaks the truth, we all stand united." Jack said.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Celestia flinched "Oh wow! Your race does live for quite some time!" She said a bit surprised "I mean I am immortal but it seems that you have accomplished significant things over less time. Even though things may have fallen apart there really wasn't much you could have done judging by where the fighting was mostly coming from your own... That's not a new thing to me actually..." Celestia quickly noticed a pony she wasn't too familiar with

"Sorry to interrupt you both. The story was touching indeed." Windphaser said "But I've got something I need to tell you both. If Fluttershy's alive then she got captured by Mantorov trust me I'd know... So if your people need somewhere to start looking for her then that's where they should look."

 

"You're right Jack." Maple said "Fluttershy's good with nature and animals so if she's just lost she'll be ok otherwise we'll find her and rescue her," She looked at Luna who was trying to get her attention. "Luna seems to need me, Jack, I'll be right back." Maple said walking away from him.

Woody stepped up next to Jack "Are you really ready to see this? It's probably something you're not going to like." He moved his mane out of the way. His right eye, the normal one was orange with a green color in the center as the iris his left eye, however, was a silver color with a dark grey in the pupil and a lighter grey iris. Woodland's injury had left him half-blind. "Be honest... Does it look bad."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"I was suspecting that as well, but it won't be so easy, from what I had heard, they have been held prisoner by him before, which means he is aware that the rest is still roaming free. And by that conclusion, I can assume without a doubt he is moving from location to location, he is not a fool because he knows he is outmatched when we catch him off guard. And then we have to keep in mind his armies, we are still sorely outmatched despite our already big numbers. Only by careful planning and fast hit and run attacks will we be able to save her, a direct assault is not going to work on him." Karthspire said.

He then looked into Windphaser eyes a bit, and he realised something.

'Those eyes, they are Raukan, and then that he knows the closer details about Mantorov is already an indication.' He thought.

"You are his son aren't you? Then it would only suffice if he dies by your own weapon, which means you are the one who deserves to make the killing blow on him." Karthspire said

 

 

Jack's eyes widened as he saw the injury.

"It doesn't look good Woody, you have become blind in your left eye, and that scar already tells that it is not a light injury either, but... There is one thing that is positive, you are still alive, and breathing at that. You are very lucky, man, I could not imagine how I would have handled this myself if I was in your place..." Jack said with a small gasp.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Windphaser nodded "I... Never liked my father he's a monster. So let me challenge him... Alone. That would be the most preferable to me. I defiantly think he'd want his old war sword back." Windphaser said looking at the blade attached to his side "He probably misses the old thing."

 

Woody nodded moving his mane to hide it again "I know that I can't see out of it anymore I already tried to be sure."  He pu a paw on Jacks shoulder "It's a pretty scary story Jack I could've very well died back there and when I tell you about what happened don't get mad alright? What I did was... Pretty stupid, looking back on it. You sure you want to hear it?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Then he is all yours comrade, it's going to take time before we can find him, but once we do, we will murder his wretched armies, and while we do, you go for the kill." Karthspire said with a smirk.

"You may be 3/4th of a other race, but from the remaining 1/4, you are a Raukan at heart, which means you will put your deeper hatreds to rest by performing the death blow. That is a guarantee." He said.

 

"Do not worry Woody, Valtrek was the one who had given me that horrific curse in the first place, if anything we 2 are one of the only people who have felt this similar experience, but don't worry, I won't get mad, I am glad you are alive in the first place. Just please tell, I need to hear what happened." Jack said

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Windphaser bowed to Karthspire "Thank you. You will not regret this decision." He said walking away, he was going to need the blade to be much sharper than it was, plus he had no idea where his father was anyways. "When you find him... He's as good as dead."

 

"Alright." Woody said nodding "So... It all began with me and Windphaser running here..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Flashback as explained by Woody)

Woody was running to keep up with Windphaser "Wait... You... Need me to open the portal!"

"No time the longer we wait for the more likely our mothers are dead!" Windphaser said picking up speed.

Woody slowed down "Wait... I... need a break..." He looked around and thought he saw Maple. He wondered how she got here "Sis?" He said loudly.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The fake Maple called out to him. "Woody! We ne-" She was however interrupted as some sort of blade cut off her head with a fast and clean swipe.

"Need to leave? No, I think not." A voice suddenly said.

A dark figure emerged a bit from shadows as it held the severed head of the fake Maple.

"And what do we have here? 2 visitors who got separated from their herd, ready and ripe for the slaughter, an insignificant prize for my attention, but it will all suffice in the end." The voice sad as he was wiggling around Maple's head.

"But first, we will pay our tributes to the fine bat creature who thought she could stop me in all her glory, but in the end..." The figure threw the head to the ground and crushed it completely under its foot.

"It was the mere delusion of a child, playing hero in front of something bigger." The voice said.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody flinched in horror "M... Maple! What did you do... What did you do you monster!" He said angered not noticing something very important, Maple wasn't a robot so it was a fake version of Maple.

Windphaser reached out to him "Don't Woodland! It's just an illussion we need to run."

Woody didn't listen to him, He charged at the figure "You'll pay for that!" He swung his back left aiming to cut the figured across the chest after his hit connected he spun in the air and breathed fire atop the figure.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The figure itself had been a rare case because while it did kill the illusion when Woody attacked it, it ended up being an illusion as well, which meant the entire scene had been a trick all along.

"Normally I would have to seek out my enemies, but you 2 just arrived at my doorstep, that is worth a celebration, a celebration worth in Blood!" The voice said with a laughing aftertone.

4 Tentacles made of a flaming energy suddenly constricted Woody from out of nowhere, trying to squeeze him further and further as the flames were already active.

"I would suggest you act quickly Draconequus, the clock is ticking, how long will you last? If you are lucky, you might get a new record from previous victims, but that is something we have to experience ourselves won't we?" The voice said in a mocking tone.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody eventually struggled enough to use his front claws, freeing himself "Show yourself! You weak coward! I'll kill you for what you've done! Nothing cheap either!" He kept shouting at nothing.

Windphaser sat down and watched him battle the whole realm. "Woody! We still have time to get out!"

"Get out?! I need to distribute vengeance!" Woody shouted.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Vengeance? Oh, that word sounds like music to my ears, the line of every opponent I face before they get humiliated beyond their expectations."

"And after all, you have heard, after all those who have warned you, EVEN your friend is who is trying to drag you away from this fight, your own confidence is blinding you, but that doesn't matter to me, I might even take my sweat time breaking that confidence piece by piece." The voice said

"But your wish shall be granted."

Suddenly a figure appeared who had a dark black coat, but the things that stood out were those golden eyes, as they were an exact replica of what an infected would have, only more pure.

"I hope you are not disappointed, to keep it fair for your sake, I brought out my older body, that should tone down the pace to your level more, am I not generous?" He said with a laugh.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody rushed him again his claws glowing a hot red, He angrily attacked him driving the claws as far as they would go "You think, this is my confidence? No, this is when you've messed up, You took my sister not once but twice..." He looked him dead in the eyes "I don't have anything to fight for so this is just pure determination." He attacked his foe with all he had combining fire and Ice spells, and claw attacks. After his barrage, exhausted, he watched it all hit that demon. 

Edited September 23, 2017 by Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

As the smoke cleared, the enemy had lots of burn marks, scratches and blood marks.

"A good effort, and quite the lashing against my non-existing defence. But...

His face changed into a different expression.

"That is not nearly enough to suffice."

He was standing there, despite having all those marks and damage indicators, he was not even moving in the slightest like he enjoying Woody's outburst.

"Allow me to show you a fraction of my power unrestrained, and see just how low you are falling behind on my level."

He said as he literally grabbed Woody's face with a quick motion, his hand blocking Woody's view like he was grabbing an object.

Suddenly from the hand, an immense pressure of energy was coming like it was squeezing Woody's head like a grapefruit almost.

The energies were streaming into Woody's head like an overflowing river as the unusual effect was taking place as if the energies were trying to physically attack Woody's mind further and further.

"Having no regrets Woodland Orchestra?" He mocked as he was making Woody almost scream with the attack, his left eye was, however, enduring the worst.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"No... I'm not regretting... Protecting my friends." Woody said, "Though like you'd know... not having any and all."

Windphaser saw what the figure was doing to him and moved behind the foe slicing them with a fully drawn sword. Sheathing it quickly "Best not lose now Woodland we still need you!"

Woody back off for a second when he did the energy forced itself out of his body "Enough!" He shouted using his time stop as a last resort. He summoned two magic blades around his paws "For Maple!" He shouted delivering a heavy slash to the chest and legs at the same time and moved Windphaser out of the way in case of retaliation. Once he unstopped time he noticed something... Different but couldn't exactly tell what was different "Face justice!" He said charging him again aimed at the neck, with time unpaused.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The figure was bleeding as the cuts were deep, and were bleeding even more than the before ones.

As Woody was preparing to strike at the neck, the figure grabbed the blade part with his bare hand, which started to bleed badly.

"Very good, very good. But it seems you forgot one thing, your justice won't exist if it won't come to light. Surely you realise I have been toying with you up to all this time? I could have used barriers, defensive attacks, reality manipulation, but instead, I only used 1 attack, while you threw away your entire arsenal against me, and here I am still standing." He mocked again.

He suddenly used his other hand to blast some sort of massive energy straight in Woody's chest, blowing him away straight into the ground.

"So, any more attacks I should know of? Any more heroic speeches or desperate assaults? Throw them all at me, because I can keep this up for eternity while you waste every last breath in your body." he said with a grin as he popped his neck.

 

Edited September 23, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody got up he was crying angrily but only out of his right since his left was still hot from, whatever he did. "I... can't..." He said "But... I have to for... My sister..." He started to move towards the figure again before being cut off.

"Woodland, let's get outta here," Windphaser said "Look at yourself... you can't-do anything else, your vengeance will come in time I promise, but you cannot die here and now. Let's get away from him."

Woody wanted to leave but he decided to do one last thing. He focused all of his energy into a powerful beam, the beam was a large one rivalling even something Celestia could pull off, he poured all of his magic energy and physical energy into the attack "I can't let this monster just walk away from what he did!"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The figure decided not to do anything drastic but instead, he grabbed the severed body of the fake Maple and threw it straight into the beam, creating a big explosion.

As the smoke emerged, the figure grinned deeply.

"Vengeance is a luxury that none of you can afford because none of you are even able to stand up to me, if only you would realise your situation you wouldn't be reduced into such a mess. Face it, there is someone stronger than you, and there is nothing you can do it to change it." he said with a smile.

The figure then disappeared.

"Come back another time and try again, because I do not waste my time on those who cannot see their own mistakes." The voice said before it vanished.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

(Back to the present)

After finishing telling about the final laser, Woody was tearing up from his right eye, still unable to cry from the left one, "And... th...That's what happened..." It was clear he wasn't comfortable talking about his choices but wanted to finish telling anyways "Please just... Tell me how dumb and awful those choices were, and don't say they where justified they really wheren't..." Woddy said moving his mane back to where it always was rather than hiding his eye. "Don't sugar coat anything tell me what you honestly think of me now... i deserve anything you say... I was a fool." He looked down waiting for Jack to scold him.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Jack was silent for a moment, trying to process the whole story until he spoke again.

"I don't really know what to say about this Woody, on one side you shouldn't have tried to attack him, its the reason why I have been trying to warn everyone to stay away from him. But on the other side... You were only doing what felt right, and I can't blame you for that, because no matter how much I would have warned you about him, it would have never been enough to convince you or anyone else for that matter, since the only way to realise this is if you experience his powers. You might know this now but whenever Valtrek attacks someone with a pretty strong force, he leaves behind these energies that enter your mind, while it is nothing dangerous, it does create a worrisome effect. Before i got cursed i knew nothing about Valtrek and didn't really cared much, but the moment he murdered my father and cursed me, i started to fear him like he was some type of demi-god, i am not sure how it works in your case, but for me, it has stayed ever since. Either way, i glad you are alive, Valtrek always had pleasure in brutally murdering his victims, but now that a number of fighters who could oppose him are getting so small, I could only think that he is just using this method as a type of suffering? I don't know, i rather not even think about it." Jack said.

"Just please listen to others before engaging such strong opponents Woody, i have to tell myself this lesson everytime i get consumed by own instincts." He said.