We stand united 1x1 Maple Bat

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember couldn't believe that. "Wow... That's extremely heartless. Here I was thinking that you were like Chrysalis and you really did care under that exterior. Let him go and let's finish th-"

Ember was cut off by Fluttershy's screaming "You dare to say that! I'll have you know that my daughter could have easily beat you and now so can I!"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

The assassin looked up to saw Fluttershy with a furious expression.

An evil smile crept on her face.

"Your daughter huh? You mean the same one who managed to get herself get infected? I am sure she is grateful that you let her suffer that fate, not even coming to rescue her, but sitting on the side lines, worrying about how your animals are doing, who presumably also have ended up the same fate as her.. You call me a bad parent, but I am not much worse from what I have described about you." The assassin said in a mocking tone, driving Fluttershy to the edge.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"There was nothing you could have done Fluttershy. Don't feel too bad." Ember was, once again, cut off by Fluttershy.

"Why would you talk about her like that. She fought by her own will to protect me..." She said looking at the axe she now used. "when I learned of her fate I decided to grow stronger. Let me show you!" Fluttershy rushed the Assassin not caring about Jacks safety anymore she went for the throat 

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

Jack's eyes widened in horror.

The assassin quickly Jack in front of her, which would cause the axe to go straight at Jack instead.

'If she does that, she is going to hit me, she is going to kill me!!'

He started squirming but his mother's grip was too strong.

"STOP!!!!" he screamed with all the volume his lungs could muster.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Fluttershy was about to swing but switch hooves quickly spinning and hitting the assassin in the now exposed shoulder "Since you know nothing of what family means. Let me show you!" Fluttershy kicked the axe head driving it deep into the Assassin's shoulder, Of course, it hurt her hoof kicking the blade, Making it bleed, but at least it did more damage. "I won't let you be so mean anymore!" She said, backing away from her opponent, starting to tear up. "Maple... I know she doesn't hate me for it... R... Right?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

The assassin growled when the axe hit her arm deep, when she pulled out the axe, it showed a mixture of cybernetics and blood.

As she threw the axe far away, she then threw Jack to the ground with a loud smack, the Assassin immediately sprinted towards Fluttershy and grabbed her back hoof, tossing from the air straight towards the ground,  she stomped hard into Fluttershy's ribs with her foot.

"Perhaps you should start worrying about yourself if I were you." The assassin said to her in a menacing tone.

"Has your confidence dropped yet? Because if not, I am going break you completely until there is nothing left of that puny resolve. You know why? Because you are not a warrior, you are pretending to be one, at this point you are imitating the boy with his over heroic behaviour, which is starting to annoy me."

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Fluttershy panicked a bit she'd never felt her ribs get that hurt, recovering from that quickly She looked her opponent dead in the eye. "Go ahead. You seem to have only one thing you draw your confidence from anyways... If I die then I become the martyr for your death and... I'll get to see Maple again." She smiled and spread her wings but couldn't get out from under the assassin's heel.

Ember wanted to see what happened next but if that assassin tried anything lethal then she'd step in.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

The assassin smirked.

"Your wish shall be granted." she said as she was about to stab Fluttershy in her vital places. Until she got interrupted by a magical blast almost hit her head hadn't she ducked.

Jack stood there panting heavily as he had fired the attack. "Over my dead body." he said with malice.

The assassin looked at Jack with intrigue before giving a fast blow to Fluttershy's head.

"You? You really think you can even get close to me? Most of your fighting techniques are a blatant copy of mine, your genes obviously say so." She replied flatly

"I would rather die than see you murdering them instead, it sickens me to the core my DNA is filled with your genes." he said back

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Fluttershy got hurt by the assassin's hit but kept consciousness, seeing an opening she grabbed the Assassin leg and threw her to the ground. Standing up Fluttershy ran over to picked up her axe, her ribs and back still hurt but she had hit the point where adrenaline had kicked in, something she'd never felt before. Retrieving the weapon the yellow Pegasus readied herself for battle.

Ember saw Fluttershy almost die, but didn't want to intervene she wanted to see what else she could do. 

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

Jack's eyes widened. 'Why is she getting up, she is going herself killed at this rate! I know I did the same, but damn it she is a mother!!' Jack thought with dismay.

The assassin looked around her with a smirk as she stood up.

"A wounded girl, a delusional boy, and a dragon who does nothing but gawk at the obvious can't this day get any better?" She said with a laugh.

"However, as much as I enjoy this little game, time is growing, you, the yellow one, perform your last pitiful strike before you wear out." She taunted.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember smiled at Fluttershy and nodded at her silently telling her something...

Fluttershy knew that this person was half machine meaning a well-placed hit, with electricity, would spell her end she had no doubt she could deliver the hit, This strike was her last if the enemy survived this one Fluttershy knew she couldn't win this fight. Ember knowing that Fluttershy was going to attack flew right in from of the assassin and scraped the ground throwing dust in the opponents eyes, right after which the yellow pegasus flew towards her opponent one last time the axe, glowing with energy, was aimed right at the assassin's chest.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

The assassin saw Fluttershy coming but was not even moving, she was silently staring at Fluttershy.

When Ember threw dust in the Assassin eyes, her eyesight was blinded, but there was a major thing they were overlooking, her ears and nose.

Right before the axe would hit, the assassin jumped straight over Fluttershy, but before Fluttershy would fly any further, the assassin grabbed her tail with both hands, which gave a hard yank that halted her advance, she then hit the pressure point in Fluttershy's neck, making her lose consciousness as she fell to the ground.

She rubbed the dust out of her eyes.

"That attack was not your smartest idea, you didn't even take my ears and nose in mind, did you? which leads me to the conclusion, you guys are laughable... A true warrior would have used this opportunity to attack me from all sides and try to catch me off guard in a way, but no! You all relied on the strength of an already near death Pegasus who only has weeks worth of combat experience. You really don't care if someone is going to die to you?" She said to Ember with a face that said *You don't care about them.*

"I might as well finish off this joke while it is lasting because I am only interested in fighting real opponents, not mediocre conscripts that you have presented me with so far." the assassin said.

Jack did not know how to respond, he just stood there with a bleak expression.

'Why Ember.... why did you encourage her to do that....' he thought

Edited August 25, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"I took a risk with her there. I thought she was stronger than that." Ember said a bit bleakly "Although that 'Weak Pegasus' left you with quite the mark there..." She said pointing at her shoulder "Something I so far have been completely unable to do so far. She may not have a lot of power but she's got the determination to back up true strength," Ember spun her knife in her hand. "Let's end this then..." Ember waited for the assassin to move at all but the Dragon princess didn't want to move first.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"And she required me to have a magic penalty and also catching me off guard... That doesn't really satisfy me. Besides..."

She eyed Jack.

"I still have one more combatant who has a death wish." she said.

Jack gritted his teeth.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Move towards the kid or Fluttershy and I'll end you," Ember said with a serious tone. "Go ahead and call my bluff I dare you too!" She shifted stance where she was low so if she needs to go quickly she could, it was apparent she meant what she had said.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"Oh really now?"

"I have known my death for 10 of your life times, at this, you would hardly be able to catch up with my limit." She said with a smirk.

The assassin started casually walking around, taunting Ember.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Jack," Ember said through gritted teeth "Take Fluttershy and run. I'll kill her, I promise on my title as Princess, but here." Ember handed him a rose colored Stone. "Give that to Festus, Tell him I'm proud of him." She turned away from Jack "I said if you moved I'd end you and you moved." Ember picked up her old axe and punched the assassin quickly knocking them into another room, She finally understood how to activate its power, The room the two were now in wasn't nearly as sturdy as the last one. "Go ahead and try to kill me."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

Jack looked at her with a tearful expression but then nodded when he took the stone.

'I cannot bear it.. Why does is this happening a second time?' Jack thought as he picked up Fluttershy.

He was struggling with holding Fluttershy but was still holding her up despite his injuries.

 

The assassin smirked

"As you wish."  she said as she charged towards Ember.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

When the assassin charged Ember knew she'd have her magic back soon. Ember rushed the Assassin knocking the to the ground she put both her knees on the assassins back once they landed making it so they couldn't get away, after which Ember tossed her axe against the weak wall with all of her strength, it crashed into the wall collapsing it and the roof.  Sorry, Jack things just have to be done sometimes... She thought to herself

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

The assassin frowned when she realized what Ember was doing.

When the roof started to collapse, she started generating powers in her hand and shot it at the wall behind her, creating a portal that was recoiling with energies.

"I told you that you couldn't outsmart me Dragon." She said, smirking greatly as she slammed both the reinforced parts of her fist straight at Ember's knee caps, while it didn't break them, the force was very strong, creating a signal reaction in Ember's body as the reflexes holding the Assassin pinned to the ground where started to weaken for a moment.

She used this opportunity to free herself and jump back.

"It seems your arrogance has become your own downfall, but I appreciate that you dug a grave for yourself." The assassin laughed evilly as she launched herself through the portal at the sudden surprise.

Edited August 25, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Oh no, you don't! I'm not dying if you don't die too!" Ember said chasing the Assassin through the portal. 

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Festus had given up on waiting and ran in to see Jack, carrying Fluttershy who had went inside a while before him "Whoa what happened." He took Fluttershy from Jack "And where's..." He froze on the spot when he saw a glisten off of the royal stone which Jack had in his paw. "Let's... Get to safety."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

The portal ended up somewhere pretty off from its entrance, almost on the other side of ghastly gorge, when the Assassin jumped through, she backed up backwards and waited for Ember.

When the portal closed, the Assassin started at Ember with an unnerving grin.

"You have done well Dragon, well enough in aiding me. Those 2 you have sent away, they are walking into my ambush this very moment, and guess what else? You were incompetent enough to wait with going all out because, with all the time you have wasted here, my powers have returned, which means you are going to be responsible for their very doom." She said.

"Because in end the end... i kept my word, i said i was going to win this, and in a sense i did, because all i needed was the boy, but now i am having that yellow pony as trophy for my winning, so you should be proud of yourself."

"Tata." The assassin said with in a mocking tone as she teleported away to a certain destination.

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"I am sorry... there was just nothing i could have done to save her...." Jack said with sadness.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember realized now that she had been tricked "No! I gotta warn them... But I'll never find them in the tunnels... Woody!" She realized quickly she found an opening in the cavern and flew off to Canterlot.

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"It's ok." Festus said stopping a minute to catch his breath "I know you wouldn't have let anything to her. The only thing is that stone determines who the 'leader' is did she tell you to give it to someone specific?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"She told me to give it to you." Jack said as he gave him the stone.

"I know what you are going through, this is never easy but-"  he choked a bit on his words.

"It is going to happen alot more over the course of years...." Jack said, or rather tried to say, as some words were a bit hard to understand from what he tried to speak out.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"M... ME!" He said dropping Fluttershy. "but... I... I'm not a leader. I can fight half decent but nowhere near some of the others... Well, I never argue with her word..." He took the stone placing it into his shield

Fluttershy started to regain consciousness, "W... What happened?" She said as she rubbed the pressure point she had been hit in. It was still pretty sore, "Ow!"

"Oh Ms., Are you ok?" Festus asked

"I... Think so... What happened?" Fluttershy said as she ,Weakly, stood up