We stand united 1x1 Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Evelyn is on her way right now.  And I have I think the 4 of you all make a good point, but we won't be safe in here forever, like Festus said, they will break in here, I have learned not to underestimate the Infected, giving enough time, they will break through that door, considering how many there are of them right now, I doubt this door will hold for long." Jack admitted.

"But Ember and Maple make a point as well, we won't last long againts so many, but I do have a plan, one that many might find taboo, but it might work.."

"Remember how I tried to blend in with the infected using that little trick I had learned? Now that I am infected, I can make this work... I can walk through the horde unnoticed, and then try to lead them away from where you guys are, and then we can escape." Jack said.

Suddenly the gate started shaking a bit, and very loud thumps and bangs could be heard, as lots of infected were trying to break their way in, the gate was still somewhat holding, but it was not guaranteed for how long it would hold.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"No Jack." Maple said reading herself, "Let us handle this... I'm sure Evelyn will get her before we fall."

"Yea. Trust us, Jack." Festus said arming himself and going into battle stance "We all really don't want you taking that risk. I don't know if you noticed but from what I was told, Maple turned in the span of 12 hours... It's been that same length and yet... you haven't turned... I don't know why but I've got a good feeling about this."

Luna grinned and raised a brow. "He has a point you know. There is something about you Jack but I can't place a hoof on it." She watched the door after looking at Jack for a second. She readied a magic blast.

'I see the town. Just a bit longer. How are things there?' Evelyn thought to Jack as she hurried 

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"You guys might be right, but i don't think we should celebrate to early about it, Pony and Eldritch body structure and biology are different, for all we know it might just take longer for me to get infected compared to ponies perhaps. I have seen someone turn with my own eyes, but it was hard to say how much time had passed back then.    I mean, it does seem incredibly convenient, doesn't it? So many had gotten infected in the past and succumbed, and out of the billions of victims, it just seems very out of place that I just so happened to MIGHT be immune, i just don't know... I might not have turned yet, but i sure am feeling the side effect of being infected."
 

"Normally i would be squirming on the ground in pain and screaming my lungs out, but i seem to barely feel it compared to what i am supposed to feel, and then those voices i can hear in my head...  Or i could be wrong, and you guys are right about that there is a good thing about.  I think we will have to wait and see, for now, we should focus on what is going to happen." Jack told them.

The door started to almost collapse, it was only a matter of time until it would break and the infected would be pouring through to claim their victims, victims who would not go down without a fight.

'Things are not looking good... The door is about to collapse, and there are so many out there, we are going to get cornered any moment, please hurry, I am afraid we might not make it in time.' Jack thought to Evelyn with worry.

"She confirmed that she is almost there, i guess we will have to get ready." Jack said, he knew this feeling all to well, once again being cornered in a room where on the other side countless of infected were ready to end him, he couldn't help but get nostalgia out of a most tragic situation.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Festus had an idea and breathed the ancient flame on the door igniting it in its entirety. "That'll hurt them until they knock it down." Festus looked at Ember and he felt bad he looked to Maple "Please... Don't let them hit Jack or Ember... I'm trusting you." Jack also noticed that Festus blade was still on fire, the symbols on the blade where glowing brightly as well.

"I won't. Just kill all of them and we'll be ok." Maple said back, they both started to like each other a bit more. "Luna... My bow."

Luna tossed it to Maple who caught it, She looked a Jack "Well following a bit of logic Maple would get overtaken slower... since her real body was much bigger than yours... Then again she was fighting for most of the change... But so were you..." Luna continued to think about it.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"That is a good plan, Maple does the stronger armour here thanks to her plating and weight to stand her ground, though please don't rely too much on one another, we all need to do our part here if we want to live, I will be joining as well.  Ok perhaps Ember might want to sit this one out due to her injuries, but I am still helping regardless." Jack said as he started reading magic in his hands, he was obviously not going to attack the enemies head-on with his knife, as he knew about his injury.

"You and Celestia shouldn't let lower your efforts at all cost, we need every bit of strength and teamwork if we want to get out this alive." Jack noted to them.

The door started on the verge of collapsing, the infected who were attacking the door did get hurt by the fire, some of them dying, but not by a whole lot.

Because they then broke the door down, and they started pouring through straight into the tunnel, so many of them, but what was worse, because of my Festus his ancient flame, most of the infected became flammable, meaning they wreathed in flame, they where getting hurt themselves, but those who got caught in the flames would deal even more devastation to their opponents who would get close, getting burned from the flames that where surrounding the burning infected.

"Oh crap."  Jack muttered out loud.

Jack started to fire some of his magical blasts towards them, not a whole lot or else he would drain himself of his magic to fast.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember stood up, "I can fight... And Festus... Get rid of your flame... It's not helping anymore... If... You will it away it should extinguish..." Ember only knew that it was that way from legend not even sure if that's how it worked but that is what legends said.

Celestia was quick when Ember got up. "No... You're much too hurt. Look at yourself... We can handle this, Alright?" She levitated her halberd ready to fight.

Festus did focus on the flames and made them stop burning on everything but his sword. "Wow... That's cool!" Festus braces himself quickly and sliced several infected.

"Let's do this, Luna aid me quickly!" Maple rushed the foes hitting them hard and moving quickly to force them close together she had a lot of pressure behind her strikes and once there was a huge group close together she lept out of the way unclipping the bow and firing some in the distance.

"I've got your back Maple!" Once Luna saw Maple move them all that close she cast as spell lifting them all into the air, following it up with several laser blast killing most of them.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

The Infected in the front where getting obliterated by the team efforts of the group, but as much as they were holding them back, it was only the front part of the enemy waves, because the ones that got killed were already replaced by the infected that had been swarming behind.

"Guys, we will need a to follow up plan, because we can only keep this up so long!" Jack called out to everyone.

Maple's and Luna's team attack had done great damage to the first hordes, but it only did so much as this battle was a matter of quantity over quality at the enemies part.

Jack was growing very concerned as time wen't on, as much as they where standing their ground, he knew better then risk with this becoming their graves.

And he knew he had to do something on his own part, he always used to do things in critical situations, and he wasn't going to back down.

"Listen, Everyone, I am going to walk myself through this horde like I had said earlier, I am going to meet up with Evelyn, she might have something planned, and it is only proper that i am there with her when it happens.    Just keep this up alright? Keep it up for as long as you can!    Don't worry about me,  as long as I can manage to blend in with them, they won't notice i am there, but if one of you goes running after me, I will be dead within a second..." Jack said as he dragged one of the dead infected towards himself and started to cover himself completely with its blood.

"Buona fortuna, amici miei." (Good Luck my friends.)  Jack said in a unknown language towards everyone with a smile

He then started to walk slowly past the entrance that the infected were swarming from, slowly but surely he managed to get outside while hundreds of infected where running past him, he would occasionally get pushed aside, but he was walking in such a way that it was similiar to that a slowly walking infected.

Jack knew beforehand that he could act in such a way they wouldn't notice him beforehand thanks to Kiran's modified DNA that was injected to him and that Infected blood, it was only that he was not sure he could pull off with trying to walk trough such an raging horde of infected, thousands of infected no less.

'Evelyn, i am outside, are you close now? I think i see you up in the sky,  you probabbly won't see me because i am among all these infected at the moment.   And before you scold me on how stupid idea this was of me, i had to get outside in order to reach you,   we need to act fast, the others can't hold them off forever,   can i ask what your plan is?' Jack tough to Evelyn.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

AS soon as Jack got outside, the blur of Evelyn flew up to him she almost took his head off with her claws but adjusted mid-flight killing those behind him one of which seemed to notice he was only disguised. "Jack careful with that. I almost mistook you for one of them... Where are the others." Evelyn's tail smashed into several of the foes behind her as she spoke to Jack casually.

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

Meanwhile, the Equestrians weren't giving eh infested and inch of their ground, Maple being the front force acting as a wall keeping out as many as she could. Her electric claws where killing some and the shock from the already defeated enemies would take out other.

Festus and Celestia were right behind her Taking those that passed Maple. Celestia was doing better than Festus was but not by a huge margin since Festus was using a flaming sword and only had to hit a foe once to kill them since the flames finished them off.

Last in the line was Luna, blasting any that grouped up to much with magic and making sure Ember was safe. It was working very well but Maple was about to malfunction at some point. Then they'd be overrun in seconds...

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Jack stumbled a bit back when Evelyn almost had attacked him, but sight in relief when she had prevented it before he would get hit.

"Sorry about that, but i needed to get past these infected to meet up with you." Jack said as he swiped the sweat from his face. "They are still in that tunnel there." Jack pointed towards where the entrance was.

"Do you have an plan Evelyn? There are just to many of them... More then i could have ever imagined." Jack said, before he tensed up again, and realising there were still lots of infected around them.

"Perhaps we should not stand still with those things still around us." Jack told her as he looked around.

 

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Maple take this!" Celestia tossed her halberd into the air. Maple lept up and took it coming down and smiting some of the foes that were still trying to come in, Celestia started to use magic like Luna was doing she was stunning them giving Maple and Fesuts better odds of killing them.

Festus had joined Maple in the front. His newfound strength allowing him to keep up with the well-trained bat, He was going to tire but when he did he could stay behind his shield.

After her landing Maple had picked up the axe blade, stabbed several with the spearhead and swung the axe around herself to kill a large cone of her foes. Several of those kills were seen by Evelyn and Jack.

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

"Perhaps we should... Hop on quickly. I do have a plan... It'll require the Small dragon's help. How do I get in there safely?" Evelyn asked as she lowered a wing for Jac knocking infested away with her tail and another wing. She also used her ice breath if she felt it was needed of course the ice formed walls so she only needed to do it the one time.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Jack climbed on her back and set himself in the saddle, he then looked at the battle that was going on inside the tunnel, which was happening a good distance away, but he could see bodies of the dead infected flying through the air, most notably Maple using Celestia's signature halberd.

"Talk about taking it a step further," Jack noted as he could just hear the amount of sound emerging from that tunnel.

He then heard Evelyn's question and thought for a moment, until he got an idea.

"If you need Festus his head, we should get him outside as well, rather then be trying to get you inside that tunnel, since I presume it would be better if you have enough space, to fly around and stuff.  If I may suggest, use an area effect attack that will clear an open path for a few seconds, we can use that moment to grab Festus and bring him outside. Do you think that will work? If need be, we can ask the others to clear the path instead?" Jack asked Evelyn.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple was still hacking away, She was perhaps doing so a bit too fast, Nothing was slowing her down however she kept going, Her body was starting to heat up, even in the cold of the desert night it was starting to glow red-hot slightly. She was overheating form all the work her body was putting in for the pure strength and speed behind her blows, For now, she would be alright but if she kept up for too long...

"I don't think we need to cut a path... Looks like Maple's got it." Evelyn said with a laugh "She's quite the fighter isn't she."

Festus was right behind Maple in her heroic push forward He was taking out any that Maple might've missed, which was more than she realized but not a large number.

Celestia went to help Ember get out of the cave. Luna flew out of the cave ending up next to Evelyn.

After Luna got there Evelyn landed near Festus. "I've got a plan. Just wait for my signal and you'll know what to do ok?"

"But I..." Festus was interrupted by Evelyn.

"You're a dragon, You'll know what to do trust me!" Evelyn said. 'Jack I need you to summon that giant ball of fire like before.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

'You mean your fire breath that was combined with the magic that I gave you before? Yes, i can do that, just give a moment, it's going to take a bit out of me.' Jack thought her as he placed his hands on her scales, and started to transfer most of his remaining magic in Evelyn.

'There, that should-' Jack paused in the middle of his thoughts as he suddenly felt his injury hurt very much, his magic had been somewhat suppressing the pain but now that his body had gotten this tired, the pain really started to get bad.

'I might end up regretting this one...' Jack thought with a grimace on his face.

'But atleast you can now set forward your plan.'

He then saw Festus.

"Festus, you should trust Evelyn in this, she shows what she is talking about." Jack called out to Festus.

He then looked at where Maple was fighting, and knew she wasn't going to last much longer, though he wondered at the same time why she wasn't asking Celestia or Luna to take over, rather than trying to exhaust herself to her very limits like that.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Evelyn summoned the meteor of fire it was burning brightly she sent it to the ground "Festus! Slice it with your sword, As many times as you can before it passes you!"

Festus sliced it several times it getting halved each time the flames from his blade increasing the heat of the original blast, Once it passed him, hundreds of fireballs crashed into the army of infested each of the balls of flame practically incinerated a single infested.

After which the huge army they faced had been reduced to that of a small platoon. As a result of the attack, Festus, Jack, and Evelyn were all worn out.

After the reduction of forces Maple, Luna and Celestia were able to dispatch the surviving infested. "We did it!" Maple cheered, Still overheating but not getting any hotter.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Yeah we did, I cannot believe how well this ended, normally I would have imagined some sort of escape plan for this situation, but instead we demolished those infected entirely, hundreds, no thousands of them... That is good... Thank you all." Jack said weakly.

"You might want to check around and be sure you got all of them, there might still be some around that are hiding in buildings and basements, I suggest some of you check the area completely, perhaps someone might even be hiding in one of the buildings, you may never know..." Jack reminded everyone.

'Evelyn, could you please take me back to the camp really fast? I really shouldn't have forgotten the fact that i had been hit by a hollow point bullet. Because i can feel my ribs cracking.. We should really do it fast before i damage myself even further...'  Jack thought to Evelyn, it was obvious that Jack regretted the fact that he had tried to fight with such a wound, but what was even worse, if this wound was going to left like this, the parts near his ribcage could start to regrow improperly, and thus damage his overall bone structure.

He needed a doctor fast.

Edited December 19, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Y... Yea. Equestrians! I'll meet you back there. Good luck!" Evelyn flew off at full speed hurrying back to camp worrying heavily about Jack. 'Are you gonna live? It's still a few minutes away...'

After she flew off Festus put his sword away and ran back to ember, "Come on Ember... Let's get you back to safety... Check those wounds and what not..." He then helped Ember get up starting to help her leave the town.

Maple watched the other 2 dragons leave the town. "Princess Celestia... I'll admit... The way you saved us there... I... I'm happy to see you working so hard to better yourself. You're almost as strong as I am now... With due respect Good Job Princess!"

Celestia was pleased to hear that she was almost as strong as Maple now It wasn't her goal consciously but deep in her head that was her true goal. "Thank you, But I don't need the praise... Let's head back with the others. Maybe help Festus with Ember..."

Edited December 20, 2017 by Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

'Yeah i think I am, even after I got shot I still decided to keep fighting regardless, all of the adrenaline was really masking my pain, but I made the wound worse in the process, i can't imagine how much deeper that bullet must have gone through all that fighting, but everyone's lives where at stake, so I really had no choice but to fight.' Jack thought to her.

'I am just worried, someone named Fluttershy had been shot before and the bullet inside her body had gone deep to the point where it had almost reached her vitals, it took Celestia with lots of her magic to get that bullet out and fix her up, I am not sure if it will be the same case for me, but who knows... I haven't exactly looked after my own health since the last couple of months.'

Jack thought to her as he laid his hand down but still kept his arms tight around the saddle, the wind rushing past his face.

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

'I admit, I am pretty impressed with how wild you wen't againts those infected during the last few minutes, despite almost destroying yourself in the process. Tough at the same time I saw how you handled that Kid, but don't beat yourself up to much over what happened to him, he was in a blinding rage of the death of his only family, and thus was looking for a way to justify his own rage, and considering the rumours of your group spreading like a wildfire everywhere, I presume it seemed reasonable to him to accuse everyone of your group. Well... not just you guys, I think he also had something particular againts Jack, nobody is comfortable around the *marked* ones.' Kiran said to Maple

Edited December 20, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

'I know. I saw the memory... If I was to guess... That "Fluttershy" I bet the wound is still there... She cared a lot for you... Looking at it. She was trying to fill for Luna almost. I man she made you a bed out of things she could find since you needed sleep. She tried to make sure you were comfortable and safe the whole time she was with you. Too bad she vanished... Well, Anyways we're closing in.. Just hold on tight...' Evelyn was pushing past her normal limit but still, it was going to take time to reach the camp.

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

'Really? I thought it was kinda reckless. I actually feel this heat... It's nice but That means that I've really overheated myself. It was just one of those all or nothing moments... I can only imagine what that kid was going through... I've said it before and I will again... I lived in luxury my whole life... Safety... A Family... Home... A steady Job even... I took all those things for granted. Listen... I want something from you... I know I said that I didn't need help but...' Maple hesitated, waiting a long time... awkwardly long even. 'I just want to beat Valtrek... Even if I must sacrifice myself to get rid of him that's truly my goal. I don't know what to think... I just... after what he's done... I want him gone'

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

''We should talk about the Valtrek situation later, we would need to spend hours of talking in order to get good into that concept, because I have alot to say about that.' Kiran thought to her.

He then paused for a moment.

'You know, you might not be aware of it, but you are becoming one of us more and more, the fact that you admit you took your luxury for granted is a big step, especially for someone like you who has been experiencing that luxury for most of your life. But I think why Jack is sometimes uncomfortable around you or some others of your group is because he is still a true follower of the traditions and culture that our ancestors have built up, and more importantly sees Aliah as something that others can take an example of. The fact that none of you really are interested of doing anything with it does keep a bit of a hole between relations, let me explain why this is the matter, because it's different then all of you seem to presume as of yet.'

'With tradition and culture, we use those words very loosely, we don't worship our ancestors or have any religious acts, none of that nonsense... I think you can relate to how some heroes of your race have done deeds that are remembered to this very day, where they are known among legends and heroes of your race right? We have those too, but we see our ancient heroes not just as forgotten legends and honour them by placing a few statues, we see their deeds as a sign of admiration.'

'Some of those heroes still walk among us to this very day, There is Amriel Adaptus, the current prince of and leader of the Terran race, not only did he idealise the term *shadow walker*, but he is the grandson of Aliah, I think you can imagine how much people look up to him.'

'Then there is Clan Karviah, he is an absolute hero,  Karthspire respects Clan more than anyone else in existance, and will constantly talk about him when he is talking about of his war stories. Clan is considered to be the strongest Raukan alive, not just because of feets in terms of strength and combat experience, but the way he masters the bezerker flaw that all Raukan have, he controls his own like it is not even there, outside of battle, he is calmer than ever, but once the battle starts to get tense, he charges into battle like a complete bezerker, his weapon called the Axe of Morkai cleaves trough enemies with absolute ease. Not only that, but he seems to have this inspiring feel, whenever he is leading the battle, those who are fighting alongside him seem to lose all doubt and fight harder then ever before, I can know this, I have had the chance to fight alongside him in the past.'

'And then we have Silver, oh boy... everyone's view on him can differ, for my own view, there is a rather very tense feeling between me and him, he was the one who ordered me to be put on the firing line, and would have gotten me shot for desertion. But I cannot deny that he is an uttermost smart tactician, and his experience is the very reason why we haven't lost this war yet. That is the sole reason why I haven't beat him to an inch of life. That ignorant bastard...'

'There are some more notable ones, but there is one you might already know, you know who that is? Caerson... He might be very secretive and in denial about his accomplishments, but he has done things that saved countless of lives, I am going to tell you his biggest an dearest secret. Caerson and Amriel where very close, at some point Amriel had gotten possessed, so in order to save his life, Caerson used genetic manipulation, and so forced the possessor to be bound inside Amriel like a prison, but this did take a pretty dark turn, because not only had Amriel now a very dangerous entity trapped inside of him, he was now capable of accessing its powers... I think you can see where this is going?  Caerson had turned his prince and best friend into a walking time bomb with very dangerous powers, and with that very act created the term *shadow walker*.'

'To give you a description of what a shadow walker is, it is a person who uses dark and dangerous methods on themselves in order to battle their enemies. There are different ways someone can become a shadow walker, but the most popular one is injecting yourself with the virus, but not let it reach to a point where you still retain most of your personality and still have control over your own body. The shadow walker gene makes it possible to halt the virus to a certain point and stop it from progressing, but it has major consequences, one of them is that everyone around you will start to call you an abomination and usually will want to kill you. Even those dear to you will start to despise you for using methods that have started this entire war, to begin with.   While Amriel is the embodiment leader of this Shadow walker thing, Caerson is the one who made it all possible, something that has turned him into a former shell of himself. That is pretty much why he has become the way he is now, dressing in cloaks in order to hide his own shame behind it. Gotta have pity with the man, I haven't seen him in a long, long, time.'

'And I admit that I have grown to respect you more than before, perhaps because I can see things in you that are similar to myself, or because I have become a man that has nothing left beside the prospect of vengeance, and uttermost retribution. Then you start to feel things that you never knew you had before.'

'But also, not to burst your bubble... But Celestia is still stronger than you, not by a whole lot. You do surpass her in terms of battle strategy and how you take on your opponents, there is no question about that. But I think you are forgetting she has alot of untapped potential, Jack has been pleading Celestia and Luna to fight more for a good reason, it is only recently that she has started to be more active in battle. If she would be jumping and air flipping like you do in battle, she would surpass you for sure. You have been utilizing your skill in battle for most of your life while she has been very inactive, sitting on her throne sipping tea, the but potential she had a thousand years ago never left, but has been lying dormant for far too long, as much as it might hurt your pride, you are going to have and accept that fact, I think a good lesson here is to drop all the competition in who is stronger and instead focus on doing your part, at what you are good at.'

'Because I am going to say something here that will have alot of purpose to you, there are those who are always will be able to go stronger than you, but strength doesn't mean much if you don't utilize it to your fullest potential, and the only way you can utilize that potential to its fullest is if you start taking a single combat role rather then take multiple. Celestia is both a magic user and a heavy weapon user at the same time, and strong as she may be, she will never be able to utilize one path completely if she uses both, but I think that seems to fit her best. You have the advantage of not having magic, or atleast not being able to use it, because this way you are not hindered by the prospect that you CAN use it, thus it can motivate you more to complete a single combat role like being marksman of spear user, rather than trying to multiple paths at the same time but never realising your full potential.'

'Once you get that new body, you will be getting a fresh start as well, what I know about you is that you are good with that bow of yours, but also are very experienced with spears. Don't get the wrong tough, you should still learn multiple things, but if there are situations where you need to be at your best, you need to choose the path that you have utilized completely. What I am trying to say here is, if you, for example, choose to use a spear user role, utilize that completely, drop your marksman training and other roles altogether and only focus on the spear training. In situations where you are forced to use your bow, use your bow, and in that sense, you are training as well since you are using it.'

'What I personally think? You should utilize that spear role of yours, because you can reach heights beyond what you are aware of, but at the same time, drop that competition thought altogether, don't strive to become the strongest, you are trying to force yourself that, and thus slow yourself down without realising it. If there is one mindset that will help you strive the best is *I don't care about how far I go or how strong I become, I am one among thousands, but I don't fight for the sake of my own desires, I fight to strive a future for others and thus so will others for me, because in the end we all stand united.*, That is one of Aliah's famous quotes when he addressed his students, and ironically, those 4 famous individuals I named followed that advice, and look what happened to them, they became heroes, did things that most would falter at. Remember this very specific quote I am going to tell you, and don't interject or try to form an argument againts it, just listen to it, and whether you want to follow it or want to ignore it is your choice.'

'*Those who seek to strive for the uttermost power and want to be praised will only get stuck in the false dream that is clouding their judgement, those who deem pride and their own needs to be more important then others will start a path that will give nothing but loneliness and arrogance. Those who drop every ounce of their desires and utilize the advice given from those around him will strive to uttermost heights, where greed, arrogance, pride or selfishness will never play a part. Desires are the thing that stops you from becoming a hero, those who claim to be heroes are the ones who will never get the attention that they desire, only doubt, and start to think if they really are the heroes that they claim to be.*' Kiran was saying this quote to her in such a way where he was using his own thoughts as a way to make his own voice sound like Aliah's in that very quote, creating an inspiring effect.

'I think you can see why so many respect him like that? I sure know that Jack looks up to him like some sort of Deity, which I find pretty hilarious. But I see Aliah more as a person who knew what he was talking about, and based his words on what he had experienced, rather than thinking what was right.  Of course, he managed to follow his own words, because  to the people who had known him, they described him as an odd person, normally every person has this form of selfishness, but they said Aliah was acting like he was completely devoid of those things, almost as he had never been born with them, go figure on how strange that sounds...' Kiran thought to her.

'I did ramble on for far to long, but atleast I got my words across.'

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'Yeah, she did, perhaps i should have shown it better that i appreciated it, but i bet you already know why i wasn't capable of doing it better, i am just very distrustful around others, well, except around You and Luna, well Festus also for that matter. The matter of the fact is that i want to be around specific people at specific moments, but when it is not that person, i tend to feel uncomfortable, and just avoid the situation. I guess i...' Jack stopped in mid-thought, as he was just too tired to say anything, and started to close his eyes.

He wasn't falling asleep but he tried to stop focusing on his surroundings, in order to stop any anticipation in the hope time would go faster for his mind.

But he held on tight to her scales, to make sure he would get blown off due to the speed they where going at.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

'It's not about the glory... I just want to fight him, For everything, he's done... I know that 'Tia can be stronger than me. I've known that But 'Tia has one thing that will keep her back during that fight. She's needed in Equestria more than anypony else. Me... I'm really no pony. I've made connections with others and I have those who are about me but... I worry about anyone else challenging Valtrek because Many fear death. I've managed to survive that sensation once and I'm not afraid to face it again. My talent with a bow isn't something I need to practice, it's a lay line in my soul, so it's not something I get worse at, nor a skill I lose. Spear fighting is something I train to keep on point, I don't want anyone to die that doesn't have to... It was never about being the strongest... I told Jack that Strength was all I had but... It wasn't that... When I see someone stronger I fear that my own ability to protect innocent people is diminishing but... Seeing 'Tia that strong... Well, It proves me wrong now... Personally, I don't care if I have a future as long as I make it so others do. If that makes sense.' Maple thought back with a audible sigh

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

Hearing what Jack said... about feeling uncomfortable around certain people worried her "We'll... Have to work on that..." She said to herself. "For now we need to get you patched up."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

'You do claim that you are willing to throw away your life that easy, but I am having trouble believing that, your outside may say you are a martyr, but on the inside, you wouldn't want to bear, you know why? Your family, if you are dead, you abandon your own family, and who will protect them? Your brother would be devastated, your father and mother as well. And if you don't care about your own future, do you atleast care about the future of your family, say what you want about me involving your family like this, but what you are saying DOES involve them, because it is YOUR family.'

'And I can understand your point about thinking you are not needed, but there is one place where you are needed, your family. Many are going to risk their lives saving your mother soon, and if you just happen to die only, later on, all of the sacrifices that have been made to save your mother will be rendered worthless, because the attempt to reunite your very family would not come to pass in the end, which is one of the reasons you are saving her am I right?'

'While I am not trying to reach into sour subjects here, it is something that had needed to be said, Jack had to cross such a bridge quite a few times, and so have you, but not all of those bridges have been passed for you yet, this is one of them.' Kiran thought to her.

'But don't get me wrong, we all want Valtrek death, more than anyone else. But challenging him won't do anything good if you don't know of a way how to beat him, we have all tried to shoot, stab or blow him up, but we can all safely assume that he is one of us anymore, he is something different, his appearance is just another way to mock us for our failures. This entire war is a way to mock us because he could have wiped us out long ago, but he doesn't... He had started to almost every race in the galaxy but left us partially alive, you know why? To mock us, to see what we have become, only for the last 30 years that alive thing has come to an end, only he is taking his damn sweet time of killing us... You can easily realise it by the way his forces are acting,  he could have launched planet-wide invasions with armies that could cripple our already scattered and weakened forces, but he doesn't...'

'You know why? Because he knows we can't do anything really, not anything significant, he can just retake anything that we have recaptured. And even with the revelation of all of you, the entirety of your Equestria, he doesn't seem to be afraid in the slightest, else he would have sent 3/4 of his armies to demolish the planet, but he hasn't... That force he had sent to Equestria before was just way to small... It was just another mask to plot something bigger, all I can say is to stay away from him until there is something that could harm or better yet destroy him, because magic at this point hasn't worked in the slightest...' Kiran said

'Maple, think about what i said here, you don't even have to respond, i don't expect an answer, i just wan't you to think about what i said, and reflect on what you are thinking is right, i am not an expert when it comes to emotions, but i sure know alot about it from my own experience,  Jack sure changed me in that regard... Spending years togheter in some caged, where rusted chains where hurting us beyond what we could bear... Anyways, i have to do some things, just because i no longer have a body doesn't mean i am unable to do something,  i need to make sure that the virus in Jack's body is not progressing to far.'

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

'Do you know if we are almost there? I can't really see alot, my vision is a bit blurry right now, can't see much about you and the sky really, or rather, the stars that are in the night sky.' Jack tought to Evelyn.

Edited December 20, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

'He's right Maple... I faced Valtrek myself on the way here... He takes a form but that form is well... Not really there... Fighting is something else... We'll have to find a weapon or something that can hurt him first... And we don't even know if anything like that exists... Just stay calm and safe sister... Ok?' Woody thought to Maple, He'd been listening for a little while

'Alright Bro... I will... For you and Mom. Dad too... I'll stay safe... Whether I'm alive is up to debate. I think I'm "Dead" Technically' Maple thought back to her brother. The Equestrians would get back to camp... But they were traveling slowly.

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

"Help!" Evelyns Voice boomed over the camp "Jack... He needs Help NOW!" She shouted as she landed in the center of everyone

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

It was quiet in the camp until Evelyn's voice boomed from all over the place.

Everyone looked and saw Evelyn having landed somewhere nearby.

"Get them a medic, and you." Karthspire pointed to another soldier. "I want you to patrol the surrounding areas. Now go!" He shouted to his soldiers, as he seemed in an bad mood.

"I would like to know what the hell is going on here..." He muttered to himself as he walked towards the other officers, discussing on what was going on.

One of the medics ran over to Evelyn. "What happened? I only heard some talk about something on here nearby." The Medic asked her, it was obvious that he wanted to know what was going on before he would start looking at Jack, perhaps he could then judge better on what things he had to use during the treathment.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"He was shot by a sniper, Hallow point round... So it really hurt him. Get to work quick! He's losing his strength." Evelyn moved in a way that tossed Jack out of the saddle and into her arms, she handed him to the medic that was close to her. She then faced Karthspire. "We're lucky... The equestrians saved him. I don't know why he went out there sir, However, I did make it in time to save him sir."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Good work there Evelyn, I knew I could count on you, same goes for those Equestrians there. Though I do worry about our entire situation at hand, we are being tracked without a doubt, our scouts have spotted scout drones, which is apparently capable of cloaking inside the sand, and have been tracking our movements ever since, which means we will be followed no matter where we go." Karthspire said as he stared into the distance.

"Sir, how about we try that sandstorm manoeuvre again? Surely-" The officer who said that got interrupted.

"No, I think you remember how it turned out last time, if it weren't for the heroic efforts of most, then we would have perished, in the middle of the desert, no cover, and moving very slowly on food.  Fighting an open battle in this desert guarantees our demise because we have no available cover, while our enemies just rely on their numbers." Karthspire replied.

"You are bringing this up now, but if you have known this earlier then us, surely you have come up with a plan beforehand? You do know how to get us out of this mess, right?...." Betamor said to him

"No, I haven't been able to come up with anything... Nothing proper atleast, because we are in a tight situation. The best we can do is travel at an uttermost speed and hope we can outrun our enemies, we have too much of a disadvantage to fight a proper battle in this desert without lots of casualties on our side. Perhaps we should send those who are not capable of fighting further ahead with lots of speed while those who are more stronger will be travelling a bit behind in order to slow down our enemies.  Any of you have a plan for this situation? I am open to suggestions now." Karthspire said as he looked at everyone, mostly Evelyn and his offers in particular, but also if anyone else of the Equestrian group would happen to have arrived.

It was during this moment that the Doctor was inspecting Jack's wound.