We stand united 1x1 Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Yes, but let's be honest here, once I build her body I am going to be expendable, I don't know how your society operates in times of downfall but I know the drill regarding warfare, either you die yourself or you start losing everyone you care about and hold that grief in your heart for the rest of your life as you slowly succumb to the feeling, until it swallows you whole. It might be a dark truth, but it is going to happen to every single one of us, as there will never be a true end to this madness of a war." Caerson said.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"I know." Moonshadow said "But isn't it better to die fighting... Fighting for a better future for others than to just be sitting there thinking everything's a lost cause." Moonshadow snapped at him " 'Being so hopeless means you don't want to fight. But if you have hope you're stronger than armies.' Maple told me that. It's what drove me to become like her after I learned of her death, but now she's coming back!"

Shining came by. "I can't imagine how rough things are to drain so much hope from not only you but Jack as well." He said as they escaped into the forest. "It seems like it's pretty bad."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"It is alot worse than many think. Many think this is a war but there is a much darker purpose behind it, not many are aware of this, but those who are aware have mixed thoughts, but in the end, the result will be the same."

"Because it is not the armies that anyone should be afraid of, they are that a small part of bringing forth something bigger, it is the one who controls them they should be afraid of."

"Centuries before this war happened there used to be another one, a massive war that was long and bloody, it was until much later that some realised that the war was not meant for conquest, it was method to fuel some sort of blood sacrifice, the billions of deaths that had ended up where the exact fuel they needed, this war that has been planned by the very same person as the current one, perhaps not in the same body, but in spirit it was the very same."

"Those who have fought during that war and managed to live to this very day cannot help but think there is the same connection going, mark my words, all this mass genocide is something beyond extermination, because last time that madman had attempted to reverse the time flow by methods we did not knew even existed. Give an entity of pure madness the right tools and he will attempt to destroy to the last living monocle, that is what is going on here. Considering what happened last time I cannot shudder the thought something bigger is going to happen, or even know when in that regard." Caerson said with a sigh.

Edited September 1, 2017 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody had gotten to canterlot and seen that Windphaser again "So..." Wind said. "Are we going to finish your training."

"No, That won't be necessary," Woody responded. "You made a strong point to me. I really need to think these things through rather than assuming everything going to work out."

Windphaser dashed at him "Prove it then!" He said completely drawing his blade "Knock me down and Your training is complete. Fail and we resume." The pony did the thing that Woody failed against early 3 of him 2 of them being magical doubles woody thought for a second and scattered fire around him the unicorn jumped back and dashed at him moving faster than Woody's eyes could comprehend. Wood lept into the air to dodge it but that's just what the unicorn wanted after Woody was air born Windphaser fired a countless number of shots at Woody again though something was different this time.

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Moonshadow and Shining both were quiet for a second until Shining made a comment "Well we Equestria might be able to help with that. Maple now, more than ever."

Moonshadow nodded in agreement "Right. Let's hurry back to the-" Moonshadow got rammed by something.

Twilight stood up after the crash "Moonshadow! Oh, I didn't mean to run into you sorry I only saw a faint glow and thought something was up."

"No problem princess." Moonshadow said getting up and dusting himself off.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Caerson fell to the ground but stood with a groan.

"We are not yet safe because there is no way they let their targets go easily." He said as he scanned the area.

Suddenly he heard metal stomping from very far off, but that was not all, he heard it at a more frequent rate.

"Knew it, they are trying to corner us." he said.

"But if they want a fight then I will give them one to remember." He said with a hint of anger in his voice.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody used a hand blade to cut one of the shots in half it exploded harming him, He summoned strong winds catching the projectiles gathering them until he was surrounded by them and forced them forwards using his wind. after which Woody flew down and grabbed the Wind's sheath.

Naturally, Wind slashed at Woody but Woody blocked the slice with the Sheath Windphaser smiled "Well you are doing better." he kicked woody who dropped the sheath and Windphaser picked it up he slashed at the projectiles and put the sword back in the sheath, all the projectiles exploded shacking Canterlot mountain. "With that, I can put my blade away safely knowing you can think ahead and protect others. Congratulations Woody, you pass."

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"Guess we're fighting then." Moonshadow said. With Luna and cadence coming to him from behind

Luna sighed relieved that Caerson was ok.

Twilight nudged the engineer a bit "Hey we managed to take out one of those machines but... There wasn't a powercore. Didn't you say there was one in all of them?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"There should be one in all of them, without one, they would not even function. Though we did manage to get one ourselves." Caerson said.

"Perhaps we should-" he got interrupted as suddenly they started to get under a barrage of enemy fire from all directions, there were even some who used rocket launchers, the missiles being very deadly to the magical barriers should they be used.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Windphaser after Woody lowered his guard quickly dashed and slashed him "I can't believe you thought that was it, Woodland, so gullible." He went to put the blade way but it wasn't held by him anymore. 

Woody had caught the blade with his paw, It hurt but he had expected Southern wind to do something like "Ow... that wasn't tactical it was just cheap!"

Windphaser shrugged "Alls fair in love and war." he said

Woodly growled at him "In that case..." Woody flipped the sword holding it by the handle he dashed at him for a change, Wind simple swung and hit him with the sword sheath but when he did Woody disappeared and reappeared behind the gray unicorn stopping his blade inches away from their hide. "It's getting too easy to read you..." He said blankly.

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Moonshadow dashed into the enemy fire recklessly followed quickly by Luna. The two overtook the enemies position quickly and started killing them just as fast. Luna's magic infused blade went through the enemies armor and she felt no resistance so it was always a clean cut.

Cadence saw the wound on Caerson's leg "You sure you're going to be ok with that injury? Looks really bad."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"It is hard to say, it did get me good, but I have had way worse before, even my own medical perspective has been getting sloppy over the years." Caerson admitted.

"Though it does feel hot, disturbingly hot..."

"It must be a burn wound.." he subtly lied.

He then looked at the battle going on.

"We are going to get trapped soon, they are holding us in check while their war machines approach us." he said.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody handed Windphaser his sword back. "I win. That's enough." He said walking into canterlot castle

Windphaser nodded "Indeed that is enough." He said to himself.

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Cadence wasn't entirely convinced by his response. "You sure you can walk on that..."

"It's not a burn mark," Shining said "An infected got you. That means..." Shining put two and two together. "Crap. Twilight, I think you and Caerson should go get building those things that he was talking about. We can handle this for now I hope."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Not yet... I will not give those monsters the satisfaction of defeat just yet... If I am truly infected, then I pay them back 10 fold!" Caerson growled under his breath.

"I shall never falter..." he muttered as he cripplingly walked towards the direction of the enemies.

He started panting but his determination and stubbornness were clouding his judgement as his mind was filled with fury.

Caerson gripped his axe tightly in his hand as it shook with anger.

Caerson was starting to lose it, his weakness starting to show regarding the enemies dark exposure. A very feeling that Woody had tried to prevent triggering on him.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Twilight shook her head and teleported both him and herself back to the castle. Once there Twilight smacked him. "That is exactly how Maple got infected you know. She made a bunch of reckless mistakes and to be honest here. I believe both Moonshadow and Luna are at the moment Cadence and my brother are at risk too." 

Woody turned hearing Twilights voice and he knew he could be seen by Caerson. He dashed inside quickly hoping he did get seen.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Caerson blinked for a bit, being an utterly surprised by Twilight's reaction. No one has given him such a lecture and scolding at the same time before.

"Reckless mistakes is something we all make, I am perhaps the biggest one in that factor, but in the end, we are suffering from this ordeal, if not by infection, then by death, it is going to happen to all of us eventually, no matter how much we resist, they all keep coming back for more and more..." He said in a sore tone as he collapsed a bit, supporting his body on his left leg.

"You wouldn't-" He eventually fell to the ground as he fainted from the pressure.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Twilight lifted Caerson up and carried him to the infirmary "Well that's fantastic." She said sarcastically "I guess I should read about building robots while you take a break."

"Twilight... Should I show him my true form or should I keep hidden." Woody said poking around the corner.

Twilight looked at him "Probably best you show him after he wakes up. Don't want to scare the daylight out of him." Twilight chuckled leaving to go read.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Caerson woke up after a few hours.

He looked with a groan as he clenched his head.

After calming down he put off the blanket a bit, inspecting his wound.

"Infected... This is just great... Well it was bound to happen, I can at least use the remaining time to work on the project." he muttered to himself

[Maple Bat 3,568]

When Caerson arrived in the room he saw Twilight about halfway the stack of books she had, She had been drinking a coffee with a nice blanket around her since it was cold when it was late. She heard the door open as Caerson walked in. "Let's hurry with this project. Before it's too late for you." She put her book down and stood up.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Agreed." He simply said.

He and Twilight started on the robot further for the next couple of hours.

It was even 8 hours later Caerson was still working, not wanting to rest for just a simple moment.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Twilight worked just as long and just as hard as Caerson did Woody walked in and joined them. He had some refreshments for the two, Luna had made them since they had returned most of them were injured but get wounds tended to, Woody had his hood down. He was really nervous about showing his appearance to Caerson. "Can... I help in any way" he stated.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Caerson looked at him with a hint of wide surprise.

But that surprise eventually faded as things started to click into his mind.

"Well, I and Twilight are still working very hard on her first body, and we are making fast progress, I don't know anything in particular."

"And considering I only have a certain period of time before I succumb, I might as well make them count." He said with as smile.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Twilight finished the last thing she was working on "Caerson Has been teaching me things, I could perhaps get the second done but not as quickly by myself."

"I... Brought some refreshments for you." Woody said trying really hard to be helpful. He had a few different things on a tray on his back "It's all vegetarian I hope that's ok."

Twilight smiled and flew over taking some water, in a canteen, and took a drink out of it. "Thanks, Woody."

Edited September 2, 2017 by Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

Caerson nodded

"Thank you." he said.

He was silent for a moment.

"You know... you guys could at least show a bit of sympathy, I gave up everything i had left back there in order to build these 2 bodies for your friend."

"I know you all don't really care for me, but you are all acting around me like i am some throw away, it is rather disrespectful considering i am even going through with task despite the news that i am going to be turn soon. I don't expect you all to be crying for me, but it is not very comforting to spend my last moments knowing that i am just going to be dumped in some grave and be forgotten." He said with a grimace.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Twilight flinched hearing that "I guess I was so caught up in my work and schedules, I didn't even stop to think about it. Wow... shows how good I am at being a princess of Friendship." She said to herself "We... Don't have to work on this for now... Perhaps we can just... Take a moment."

Woody kept his somewhat composed stature as he spoke "We do worry about you. I know exactly what you are going through I had to as well when it happened to Maple. But sometimes doing something for someone else can really have a resounding effect. You bringing her back... It's going to win Equestria this war... But... I guess you're correct." Woody started to lose his stature and start getting upset "I'm sorry. I just don't really know anymore, My emotions have just been all over the place and I'm not sure where they should settle... I can promise one thing though Equestria will remember you forever just as they will Luna and Celestia both, you will be a hero in our eyes forever. To be fair to you however when we first met you wanted to give up anyway, no fame nor glory, you just wanted to go out and give up... Why is that changing now?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Because, before I had already pretty much lost everything, family, friends and even comrades who I grew an unbreakable bond with back in my military service. And it was no surprise at that point I was going to lose the very race I vowed to protect. But when you guys came to me, something changed... When I first saw you guys, the first thing went through my head *A species that still lives...*, most other races had already died out over the span of this tragedy, and when I came here, I was in awe at how well everything was going, a still proper populated, lots of life, and most of all, a still function society. That struck me with an realization that there was perhaps still a slight chance, how slim that chance may be, the spark was still there."

"Aliah had always adored life and started this plan with the unity of the galaxy, where no other species would be threatened by the more destructive forces that exist. But after his death, the plan still remained, and those who lived on embraced this as a new purpose, perhaps a chance at redemption. And even to this very day it still stands as our symbol, but this has caused some serious backlashes as well... Because of all our desires to help out, we started from one death trap to another, until corruption started spreading among the ranks, which set a chain of events in motion that everybody had to suffer from in the end." Caerson said.

"But I am not the only one who has such deep emotions, beyond all those heroic efforts you see in us, most of us are very sensitive to the whole... family subject, because when you lost everything dear to you, and encounter something that still has those things.. you start to grief in your own mistakes, thinking about how you could have all of that as well if things had gone differently. Some may see us acting all tough, but if you end up asking things about family or past matters, most of us will show an side that you would not expect."

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Woody smiles even though he was tearing up "Don't worry. I... may not understand the full fact of your people but I know one thing you, nor any of your people will be forgotten here. Sacrifices have to be made and I know that..." His smile faded "though I kinda wish it'd been me instead of you... Here you are helping us for no reason and now you're going to die because of it... Maple... She wouldn't stand for this. I... I wish I had a spell or something to help"

"We're very lucky it wasn't you Woody those changes, from what Jack told me, cause magical freakouts one of those with your magic could be very destructive." Twilight said "However, I too am very sorry. I should have made sure that you were protected when you left to go get that power core. So if Maple would be disappointed in anyone it would be me. As for you caerson... What do you think about our actions in this war?" She asked as she started working again.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,211]

"Well, you guys have been holding them off very good so far, and you had a good amount of information regarding your enemy when they first attacked here, which means you already managed to wipe away one of their advantages from the start. And while the chance is looking big that you will be driving the enemy off your planet. But like i told Woody before, keeping the planet defended for very long is going to be a problem, with your current defense, you could perhaps hold for a few more years, but the matter of the fact is that even with a compact defense, you are all going to be running low on numbers. You are going to need outside help if you wish to keep this planet safe. Because once Valtrek no longer has his other war efforts to toy with, he is going to send in everything he has into this planet, and the size of you and his armies is going to be of a whole new magnitude." Caerson said.

He then looked at Woody.

"I guess I can only try one thing since I have been infected only recently, it is still in my leg, which means it has not spread to other parts of my body yet. And I think you know what I am referring to." he said with a sigh.

"It could save me, but the chance is very slim, and it is a pretty radical thing to do, even for my standards, what do you guys think?" He asked the others.