private Family Matters (1x1)

[GoldieS 679]

"The who what now?" The dog tilted her head at the title Maple provided, but shrugged. "Sounds important."

Storm nodded in agreement. "You bet! The master took her in personally, gave her a mission and everything."

He leaned forward to whisper into the dog's ear, who lowered as he motioned. Unfortunately, he hadn't really made the connection of bat+ears= excellent hearing. 

"Champion fighter, the master said. Supposed to be for a new chaos god." Storm whispered, but pulled back before speaking up again. "She's pretty good alright. Need to be to take out me after all. I do happen to be the best."

"And she doesn't know about the snake cult?" The dog looked Maple over curiously. "I call that lucky. They're the type to take slaves, prisoners and that kinda thing, then skin em' alive and poke the flayed fool for the fun of it while they keep them breathing. Nothing but a bunch of sadistic monsters if you ask me. That's not even the worst of it..." 

"Ah, you don't got to worry about that here though!" Storm added, before moving over to a pegasus armor stand covered in leather padded berserk gear. Less ranger, more barbarian. "What about this? Doesn't restrict your movement much, but gives you some protection on some important spots."

 

"We'll be waiting, one way or the other..." War warned as Woody stepped through the portal. 

On the other side of the doorway was a striking scene. It wasn't like any of the afterworlds he had traveled too, and not quite the mountains he and Maple had seen upon first entering. Here, he was greeted by the sight of the side of Tartarus everyone seemed stuck on. It was a blasted landscape with rolling hills of ash and magma cracks. Giant columns rose into the sky to connect the ceiling with the ground. Off in the far distance was a forest of absolutely gigantic trees, bigger than any building in Manehatten, and a stark contrast to the landscape he now found himself in.

Suddenly someone grabbed Woody from behind, another giant creature, this one with the claws of a griffon. He tossed Woody up in the air with a hearty laugh, catching him before he could recover on his own and holding him in front of his face like the young draconequus was a teddy bear. 

"Ha ha ha! I knew it, I just knew I felt something! A new master aye?" The giant griffon laughed, his voice boisterous mixed with something akin to chivalry. 

The bird was a massive beast, rivaling many dragons in size. He was a dark brown with a messy, disheveled set of white feathers and blue eyes. At the moment he wore a set of thick black and gold armor plates that had a rough texture to them. Giant shoulder pads, breast plate, and a skirt of plates and chain. It was unlikely he could fly with that sort of equipment. 

"Welcome, welcome little master!!" He shouted mirthfully. "Grimclaw the Slaughterer at your service!" 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Says the one who literally held me until we both drowned... Totally what 'the best' fighter would do." Maple chuckled to herself "Anyways the armor..." Maple looked over it carefully inspecting the work closely "Well let's try it on. I think it'll do but I'm not gonna sure until I try... That is if I can miss quartz." She slightly bowed to show respect since Maple felt 'out-ranked' by the gold teams armorer

 

Woody after walking through the portal flinched "Wow..." he was depressed by the sight just he didn't like how harsh everything looked. When Grimclaw grabbed him he went into a panic mode shacking in his grip but when he said "At your service." he sighed calming down. "Well for starters could you put me down... Please."

[GoldieS 679]

"Sure, go ahead." The dog replied, stepping over to a weapons rack to examine a few choice pieces of two handed weapons. 

Storm decided to help her out, assisting with fitting the straps and whatnot. Though, weather or not she actually needed that help was another thing entirely. Armor fitting was always something done with a little bit of aid though, welcome especially for a creature like a pony. 

Quartz pulled out a long hammer, more likely used for pounding a large piece of metal than an enemy. Realistically anyways.

"Alright, so here's how you judge armor. Everything has a weakness, but it's how you compensate for that weakness that matters. If that makes sense... leather and light armor's good for little things that slash quickly like knives or short swords. So... if it's light enough you can dodge the bigger stuff too, you've handled the weakness, right?" Quartz explained, producing a long sword and handing it over to Storm. 

 

"But... you're very soft. The serpent let's me touch her." Grim replied with a saddened and disappointed expression, before letting Woody down. 

The giant bird dropped down back onto all fours, causing the earth to quake just a little. A bit of ash puffed up into the air as well. 

"I take it you've come to see me in action hu? It's glorious! I promise you'll love it, there's nothing better than a little rampage to start your day, right master? You know, I don't know what it is, but you look a lot like your father, must be something with the face... not sure..." He put a talon to his beak, examining Woody up and down, even going so far as to lower his front half into the soot so his eyes would be closer. "The... hair? Oh! No no, those horns. That's it, must be the horns! Oh, where are my manners! Are you hungry? Tired? Excited!?"

[Maple Bat 3,568]

After wearin the armor for a second MAple moved around a bit in it, "Fits nicely. Tight but not enough to restrict movement at all... With this plus my wings, I should be able to be dodgy enough to avoid heavier weapons... Though something tells me we're about to test that. Right?" Maple braced herself in case either of them swung at her.

"As much as I appreciate the compliments and your nice offer of a... Rampage I... Need your help..." Woody said looking down at the ground. "I wanted to help the 4 grow closer, but I... I just drove them farther apart." Woody's tone was faltering a bit, For a figure that was seen as a god he seemed to be very emotional, something he picked up from his mother, "I think I might have started a war between War and Slug against Shadow and Salacious. Slug told me you could help me fix it... I'll do whatever you wish I just really need help."

[GoldieS 679]

Her suspicions were quickly confirmed, though it was probably of no surprise given where exactly they were. It wasn't an attempt to intimidate or bully, it was just how the followers of the Wolf understood how to do things. Just about everything was handled with violence, for the most part. 

The dog hauled the ax as she swung around to try and smash Maple in the side, right there inside the shop in relatively close quarters. There was barely any room for the canine to actually use that weapon to any effect, save for an attack as Maple stood just in the right place in the smithy. At the same instance, Storm brought his sword up from behind in an overhead swinging motion in a quarter half circle around at Maple's side. 

The combined attack was well timed and apparently well practiced. Jumping up, or dodge lunging at either of them only guaranteed she'd get hit. If they'd been on opposite sides instead of adjacent, there would be no escape. 

 

The giant bird blinked a few times in surprise, before dawning a wide absolutely elated smile. It borderline on tears even.

"Of course I can help little master!" Grim grabbed Woody once again, squeezing him against the fluffy disheveled feathers exposed on his chest in a practically bone crunching bear hug. "I've been waiting for this day since I was born! Well, not literally, I think. I don't know, I can't remember what I had to eat yesterday!"

Grim laughed before placing Woody onto his back. With thudding steps he climbed the small hill Woody had entered beside. 

"Well, you're in luck!" Grim added. "It's my duty, no, my entire purpose! Have you tried dancing? Everyone enjoys dancing!"

As they reached the top of the hill they would be greeted by the sight of a massive army marching in formations in the hills beyond. They weren't actually fighting, merely maneuvering against one another in a mock battle of sorts. While they looked like a hodgepodge of creatures in a kaleidoscope of different colored armors and equipment, most had the same colors as their master, the signature gold edged black. Banners they carried had a black background with a gold eight pointed chaos star emblazoned on the center. 

A small group of creatures approached Woody and Grim, ascending the hill with a great deal of caution. A few noble fey looking deer wearing bright pinks and purples, a black robed unicorn with few distinguishing features, three armored barbarians (two sphinxes and a graying bear), and two earth ponies wrapped like mummies wearing goggles to obscure their eyes and body (they emitted a rather strong decaying smell). 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple was smart enough at that moment to realize that the only way she could avoid both of the swings was to move backward which she did "Whoa... Well, That's a way to test reflexes but I'm pretty sure you both would've just cut right through it with those weapons." Maple said after she had avoided both of them. She did notice the armor didn't really didn't mess up her retreat noting it was still there.

 

Woody smiled  I wonder why they said I wouldn't like him? He's very nice... Or at least he means well. "Well No I haven't tried dancing. I've got a left paw and a left claw... Singing is something I'm really good at though but not everyone likes it." Woody looked at the few that approched them "So this is your army?"

[GoldieS 679]

She was able to dodge the two with little trouble at all. Quartz nearly hit Storm in the swing, then smashed into one of her armor stands. Storm meanwhile, got his longsword stuck in the wooden flooring. The dog didn't seem upset at all about wrecking some of her furniture though, but Storm was clearly frustrated by his own mistake, getting his weapon stuck and all. 

"Well duh!" Quartz retorted as she slung the hammer over her shoulder. "If you're goanna use armor like that, then you need to be fast and agile. Just like if you wear a suit of plate mail you need to be big and strong enough to actually move around in it. It's designed for specific wearers, and if you're not that kind of wearer, then what's the point of wearing it? You're just wasting your time."

Storm nodded. "But, you know, you pass." 

"So what are you two trying to do anyways? For some reason... I'm feeling a little suspicious..." Quartz narrowed her eyes at Maple. 

 

"That they are!" Grim replied boastfully. "Well, a small bit anyways. Just the few I could pull off their campaign trails. Need them for a bit of a my own special campaigning! You're in for a real treat if you stick around. Had this dream, right? Little old mare, bout the look of a turnip farmer. Well, she asked me what kind of pie I wanted, so I said Frapple, naturally. She goes into her little hut, and comes back out with the most wonderful smelling pie you've ever smelt in your entire life! Gah! My tongue tingles just thinking about it! Anyways, I was about to take it when... when one of my blasted nemesis attacked! Woke up to deal with that blasted fool..."

He shouted and growled at the last comment, smashing his fist into the earth and causing it to shatter a bit. "So we're just going to tear apart Tartarus until I find her and get my pie she owes me. I think she might be in-"

He paused, before chuckling. "Well, actually, now that you're here... I have a whole new purpose!" 

Edited October 28, 2017 by GoldieS

[Maple Bat 3,568]

To Maple, the swings almost seemed like they were intended to kill her but she didn't really take offense to it since she could just come back. "War told me she'd destroy my soul if I didn't kill the blood team leader." Maple started to explain "Storm here, however, says that she wouldn't do that and I believe it, so I think it's some form of training me. Other than that I don't really know why she wants me to kill the blood team leader." Maple shrugged but was undeterred by the question she didn't know if she wasn't supposed to say or not but she didn't care. She'd need all the help she could get and now that she was wearing the gold team armor she had a lot of it.

 

Woody listened to his story for a second and then frowned "Wait... So you're going to hunt down someone... Obviously, someone, you don't get along with... because they stole a pie from you in your dream?" Woody asked confused. "I don't think that logic is very sound I mean really there was no pie to begin with, so she doesn't really-... Nevermind. Perhaps I should focus on the problem a paw here..." He looked out at the others but ended up only explaining to Grim "I was trying to have War and Salacious get along and make Wars followers do less harm to Salacious' but when I did Salaciously didn't agree to that... Things that happened before hoof lead me to start thinking that Salacious and Shadows both had a distaste for natural orders of things, something I personally care a lot about, I voiced my opinion and... I accidentally started a war..."

[GoldieS 679]

"Oh, sounds like a blast! That mare never shuts up... I'd like to see someone smash that smug smile off her stupid face..." Quartz mused. "Seriously, last time I took part I made it all the way to the last day of the battle when the leaders came out to brawl. She never stopped talking..."

Storm nodded, yanking his sword out of the floor and almost lodging it into the ceiling. "Yup. I figure we could just, you know, wait till the last minute and try to get the killing blow. Chill here while things blow over. You know, play it safe and easy?"

Quartz rolled her eyes. "Somehow I don't think waiting is going to be a good idea... unless you want to deal with the last remaining team on your own..."

 

"No pie to begin with?" Grim scratched the top of his head quizzically. "What do you mean, it was right there..." 

He pondered it for a few moments while listening to the rest of Woody's problem. While he spoke, the group down below on the ground gave mixed looks. The two sphinxes with the bear glared at woody, one of them even bearing their fangs in outright fury, fur standing up on her flank just above her tail. They didn't take kindly to his comments about how the conflict between the two was somehow the Wolf's fault. 

The two deer laughed silently to one another, until he suggested something about the so called 'natural order'. That seemed to cause the robed pony to scrunch his nose up in distaste. Despite having hidden expressions beneath the wraps, the only ones that seemed in agreement to Woody's total assessment were the two leper mummy ponies. 

"Ba aha!" He burst out laughing for a moment. "And what about your singing, did you sing? That's the first logical thing to do. Or maybe make a painting of it all, I think that could work too... but don't worry little master. I've faced the same problem every day for the last few thousand years, and let me tell you, it's quite the puzzle to work."

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"It's not a good Idea to me either... If say... Blue team wants red team gone we can temporarily align with them. After all, a lot of the fighters here aren't just savages some of them see advantages and take them... Like how you dragged yourself and I into the water to get me. It was dumb... but clever... somehow."

 

"Well, it's good to know I'm not alone... I want the 4 of them to get along but I don't think I could get along with Salacious and Shadows... I shouldn't have spoken my thought... I should've just bottled them up again... I... Just want to prevent Blood from being shed... How do I fix this Grim... It's all I want to know..." He laid down on Grim's back where he was stilling resting his face in the feathers along his back.

[GoldieS 679]

Storm gave Maple an apologetic look as he scratched his neck in embarrassment after she revealed how exactly he took her down. 

"Well I don't know if you're gonna get that lucky." Quartz replied. "There's really no point for teams to join up with each other. After all, there can only be one team that wins at the end of the week, right?"

"Hey now, wait a minute..." Storm interjected. "We don't need another team on our side anyways! Gold's were it's at, we're going to win regardless!"

He puffed out his chest and struck a confident pose. Well, it looked more stereotypicaly 'knightly' than anything else, propping himself upright with his new long sword. 

"Well either way, I'm coming along." Quartz continued. "Sounds like fun, if you don't mind. Kinda want to stretch my paws a bit anyway. How's our team doing on the battlefield right now anyway? They look like they were winning?"

The dog started off towards the exit with her hammer, followed by Storm. "Oh yah, totally." Storm replied. 

 

"Shouldn't have-" Grim chuckled as he cut himself off. "Little master! Let your mind speak! The Raven and the Serpent are the whisperers... let them play at those games. It's what they're good at after all. Why don't you play your own strength? I'm sure you-"

Suddenly he whipped around, Woody still on his back, just as quickly bringing down his fist into the small group assembled beside them. Most of the group managed to dive out of the way, but one of the deer wasn't so lucky... he wasn't getting back up. 

"You said the word again!" He shouted, eyes wide and pupils narrowed with a wide grin across his beak. "That's two now! Don't forget what happens when we get to three!" 

The other cowered back a bit, ready to dive and dodge at a moments notice. They kept their eyes squarely on Grim's massive form.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"Oh? You're coming too?! Well the more the merrier. You're very welcome to join us." Maple replied full of enthusiasm "One small thing before we leave... I still need a weapon. Fighting with my hoofs is something I can do... But still I'd much rather not." Maple added sarcastically as she started to examin some of the various weapons. Storm's words echoed in her mind so she didn't touch anything she was only looking. There was a variety of diffrent things she noticed "You've been quite busy here haven't you?"

 

I'm gonna regret asking this Woody thought before saying "What word? Is there something that just bothers you... Is something that bothers you so much that you'll readily kill someone if they say it? What even is 'The Word'?" Woody didn't assume that Grim would harm him since he's 'his master' but he still got ready to stop time just in case he decided to anyways.

Edited October 30, 2017 by Maple Bat

[GoldieS 679]

"Oh... right... I guess that would kind of help, wouldn't it?" Quartz replied with a sheepish grin. "So what are you looking for?"

"She's a knife kind of fighter." Storm replied as a matter of factly. "That and a bow... that kind of hurt... got some muscle on that pull of yours..." 

Quartz rubbed her chin in thought as she looked at the displays in the blacksmith section outside. They were fairly basic weapons, mostly heavy equipment and two handed arms. There were a few knives, though they might be considered small swords, and had the look of machetes but with a sword breaking side with grooved jagged edges. There were a few of those. No bows though, that was a cross the street along with crossbows and a pegasus busy making arrows. 

"Go ahead, take whatever you want. Afraid nothing in here's enchanted though..." Quartz added. 

 

"You know... the word..." Grim replied with a slight whisper. "Can't even say the word myself, then that would be strike three, and no one enjoys the third strike! Well... except me..." He chuckled deeply.

"Calico!" He snapped. "Bring me my entertainers! Oh and... uhm, let's see..." 

He craned his neck to try and get a look at Woody. "And go round up some dancers and singers for my little master here! Make haste! Busy schedule today... don't want to waste my master's time."

"I like to play games with my companions!" Grim explained as he turned around, leaving his 'companions' to scatter to his order. "Keeps things fun! You can't imagine how boring stuff get's around here... doing the same thing over and over again... ugh. Even concubines loose their luster after a while, and I can't tell you how hard it is to find good food nowadays!" 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple chuckled "Sorry... Just was trying to get you off me. A point blank shot like that tends to hurt." She laughed "No matter how powerful the draw is that will still hurt." Maple grabbed one of the sword breaking knifes examining the craft on it closely before sheathing it satisfied with the craft. "I think I'll go pick up one of those bows before we head out. I'll need one." Maple laughed

 

"Haha, I can imagine that things get boring... Though with the portal to here open new cultures and stuff will bring their culture here so there's some excitement right? Or perhaps I'm wrong on that?" Woody scratched his head a bit confused on what he likes and doesn't "Also... Something's still bugging me... You were going to hunt down somepony for a pie... That they took... in your dream?" He asked him still REALLY confused about that and it was never really answered

[GoldieS 679]

"Yah..." Storm replied, rubbing his shoulder. 

They both walked across the road with Maple over to the bowyer, who was busy fletching a bundle of arrows. An unfortunate thing these more simple straightforward weapons weren't enchanted like Maple's personal one. Unless she found it again, she was going to be weighed down with arrows during her fights. 

The pegasus looked up at maple with a scrutinizing eye, something angry in his expression, appalled even that she would dare approach him. His snout scrunched up in clear displeasure. 

"I heard your conversation... go away." He stated bluntly. "You don't belong here, you're a bat. Go find the snakes to hang around."

He turned around and flicked his tail, effectively dismissing her outright. Quartz and Storm were both angered by his little dismissal. 

 

"Ha! Very true little master! I have to admit, things are starting to tick up too... met my first Equestrian the other day!" Grim replied, beaming with excitement. "Quirky little fellow."

"I'm certainly excited to visit the outer world! Just think of it all... It's been so long since I've seen the sky I practically forgot what a real one looks like. Looking forward to sizing up that Celestia out there... if she's anything like the alicorn here, she'll give me quite the challenge!" He added thoughtfully, and hopefully. "Don't know if I'd rather take that Luna one... she seems she'd be the better general of the two. Well, more risky if you know what I mean! No fun in straight laced enemies. Just boring one on one stuff... but I really can't complain."

"Oh, sorry, a bit of a tangent there little master! Yes, of course I'm going to hunt someone down for taking something from me! I could never let them get away with that, wouldn't be right." He concluded, ignoring the 'dream' part of it. "Not that it's that big of a deal... but... I must find that pie."

"It's kind of like griffons! You know, like me? All those one's out there pretending to be me... so if they have the same color scheme as me, they have to die. Don't want impostors running around, right? Not that hard to get big either, so you just cut it down to colors. Changing size is a messy business, but it's a thing I guess. Anyone can be a colossus nowadays!"

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"What?..." Maple looked, very confusedly, at the pegasus, She stepped away from the pegasus bowyer. "What does he mean... Go find some snakes... That's the second time and I still don't know what that means... I heard about the Serpent before, but... Wow, I wish I'd have done some research about this place before visiting." Maple chuckled nervously "All these concepts are confusing."

 

At first, woody was calm. Actually, I'm mostly Equestria mys-" And Then he heard the part about look-alikes and his jaw dropped "Wait wait wait... That's not right... I mean sure if they act like you or try to become you that makes sense but... Just for somewhat resembling you... you outright KILL them... That's extreme! Like so what they have a similar color pallet... Not necessarily are they trying to copy you... That and the pie you had was in a dream. So there was no pie... It was all in your head." He sighed... It seemed he was angry or sad in this realm and really there was no in between except for a few fine points.

[GoldieS 679]

"Hey, CHILL OUT!" Storm snapped, swinging his weapon threateningly. 

The pegasus snapped forward as if to accept his challenge. It was as quick as that, the two clashing blades in the same dance of death seen so many times in the past day. Storm was an adept duelist, pulling back onto his hind legs and standing upright so he could swing the weapon with both sets of claws. It gave him an advantage over a pony using the same type of weapon. 

"The serpent is the witch's master." Quartz replied, examining one of the crossbows and offering it to Maple as the other two fought. "You know, god of sinful delight and all that nonsense. The wolf's sister, so they say. Vampires and Bat ponies tend to follow her, pretty decedent, take slaves, torture, all that stuff. Each chaos god kinda has a few races that gravitate towards them... sphinxes are our big one."

 

"Oh, don't be silly little master!" He replied as they arrived at the camp, sounding as if the answer were so obvious. "I know most won't try something so foolish! But you know, it's to make sure the few that would don't. Simple!"

He conveniently left out a response about the pie...

The camp was a messy mix of various colored tents. Some garish and way too opulent, others simple and utilitarian. It wasn't entirely dirty, but not exactly clean or organized. Grim's command tent was located in the center. The camp itself was mostly empty, but enough stuck around that Grim's mere presence caused them to keep a wide berth as they drilled and lounged about. 

The inside of his tent was a strange thing, the tent itself just a simple black with golden stripes. It was easily big enough for a good number of elephants, given his own size. The floor was packed dirt covered various luxurious carpets, mixed with a pile of pillows in the center not unlike what Woody had seen in Salacious' chambers. Grim plopped down in the center, Woody still on his back. 

"Your lordship," A black robed unicorn stepped through the tent flap, bowing respectfully. "The delegation wishes to speak with you. Shall I send them in?"

Grim craned his neck to look at woody for his approval. 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple was kinda happy Storm was defending her honor she watched the fight for a second then spoke to Quartz. "Well... They better watch out for my brother. He can't tolerate somepony acting that way. It's part of the reason why I actually fought War... She did threaten my soul and everything... While it was a good effort on my part no amount of my brother's chaos magic could've protected me from her forever." She spoke very casually about things that possibly seemed very tense in Tartarus. She took the bow from the dimond dog and started to look over it examining the handwork and craftsmanship of it

 

When Grim said what he did to him, Woody sighed, He needed grim's help so carrying this conversation any farther wasn't a good idea. He just kinda let things happen from there.

When Grim got inside his own tent his snout expressed his distaste for piles of pillows at the moment. He thought about it and

"The delegation?" It took him a second "Y... Yes send them in please..." Woody paused. "Maybe some tea for us as well? I mean if you all have something like that down here I haven't been here long so I've no idea... But I could use some right now."

[GoldieS 679]

"Ha! Good on him. Sounds like a noble fellow." Quartz replied, referring to Maple's 'brother' before leaning in to whisper. "But ah... between you and me... the wolf isn't all that better, just a different beast I guess. The All Mother's the only goddess that actually cares about her pups. Only reason I'm here is cus the two are close. Plus, these fools don't know how to make weapons all that well... and I... enjoy a little fighting from time to time..." 

Storm walked back over to Maple and Quartz with a bloody beak and sword. Only a few grazes under his fur though, he was at least an accomplished fighter, despite having been soundly beaten by Maple given he could only beat her by killing himself in the process. 

"You're taking that? I don't get you ranger types, what's wrong with a crossbow? Carry more bolts than arrows... plus it's got a whole lot of punch! Man! You seen a bolt go through a thing of armor before? Didn't believe it till I saw it..." Storm commented, grabbing a crossbow to play around with it as Maple examined her weapon. 

The bow she had chosen was a fairly sturdy thing. A simple ironwood short bow with a strong and taught string. Definitely something to use at medium to close range, but not quite as good at long. Much faster than loading a crossbow. 

 

"Excellent choice young master!" Grim replied with delight, clasping his claws together. 

Just on que several tiny mares rushed in, platters secured in their mouths. They held only fancy dishware, with a teapot along with various styled cups in garish colors. The three little ponies were a strange sight, each of them completely shaven, to the point of baldness even! It revealed not a dulled shade of what it coat once was, but rather a pale chalky white. At least their eyes were vibrant, but neither one had a cutie mark on their flank, despite appearing more than old enough to posses one. 

With surprising dexterity, grim used the tips of his giant claws to gently pour some tea into one of the comparatively tinsy cups. He took an equally tiny sip, a mere drop for someone his size, causing his feathers to puff out. 

"A new flavor, your grace, from the outerworld." One of the mares said, before climbing up onto his back to bow to Woody, offering him some of the tea as well. 

It smelled minty, with a heavy undertone to it. In fact... it smelled a lot like catnip. 

Just as the mare made it up atop Grim, the delegation entered through the main tent flap. They were not at all the same barbarians, warriors, and decadent creatures he had been introduced to thus far in Tartarus. In fact, they were quite the opposite. They couldn't be more different. 

About a dozen ponies, mixes between the three races, plus a single rabbit like creature that rode atop one of the retainers. In the middle of the group was a giant earth pony, not as big as grim or any of Woody's siblings of course, but still big. He was decked out in thick plates of polished silvery armor over a thick red and white cloth robe. The retainers wore tabards with breastplates and helmets similarly polished but not as elegant, the tabards with a red and white quartered pattern. 

The two unicorns of the group wore White and Red mage robes separately. The red robe adorned with fiery designs and a literal burning crown atop his head. The second in white with golden stars and a sun on each flank. No hood for him, and he held a stave firmly at his side. 

"We've reviewed your proposal." The earth pony dominating the center with a stern scowl for a brow bellowed, black tail partitioned and tied up into two separate tails, main practically overflowing over his light blue coat and green eyes. "However, understand we will not accept the presence of any chaos cults within our borders. Any found will be dispersed, participants executed, and preachers interrogated by an Inquisitor. We will spare no quarter, and none may enter within our borders. Will you and the other princes accept such an agreement in exchange for a ceasefire?"

Grim merely flicked his talons in dismissal as he took another sip of the tea, apparently not even listening. This seemed to anger the leader of the delegation, but he knew how to hold his tongue. None of them seemed to notice Woody on the giant's back. Grim craned his neck to see if Woody agreed to those terms, considering the Draconequus was basically his boss. Well, one of them at least. 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple shrugged to storm "So?" Bows fire faster and I can use them in the air and don't have to land to reload it. Plus a crossbow doesn't have much more power or range and it can't be easily reloaded mid-flight... I can't really pull those crossbow stings back enough while flying... Have to use the foot stirrup thing or my wing to pull it back." She shrugged and had a smile with her next comment "And Hey, My own bow was enough to get you off me."

 

Woody, before he started to drink his own tea looked past Grim seeing the small mares disheartened him, just the state they where but now that there were people of importance here he felt he couldn't say anything about it with the large pony and the others of the large group present. He made a mental note to see if he could go find them later. It took him a little before he realized that he was the one they were speaking too. "Oh! Uh... W... Well Yes, a ceasefire would be appreciated." Woody grabbed the tea and gently flew down to ground level from there it was easy to see that he was much smaller than the comparatively large earth pony leader. "I'd really like it if you didn't kill anypony... Life is really precious and you shouldn't take it away from them...

[GoldieS 679]

"What!? Psch, crossbows have a much bigger punch than puny arrows!" Storm replied vehemently. 

Quartz grabbed a few bundles of arrows the pony had been working on. He wasn't getting up any time soon. Or rather, it'd take him a few minutes to get back from wherever he returned from. The afterlife was a strange place... but at least death wasn't a permanent thing. 

"Alright, got some weapons and gear, so what's the next plan of action?" Quartz asked. 

"Let's just go hunt Red down!! What more is there to do?" Storm exclaimed. "This is a champion level fighter, we don't need much else, right?"

"Mhmm... even top notch warriors need a team at their back, and I'm not so sure we're big enough for that." Quartz replied. 

 

The entire group of ponies stepped back defensively as Woody descended from Grim's back. He was too busy drinking the catnip tea to really pay attention to what was going on. In fact, he was now drinking from the teapot itself while the attendants rushed off to get some more. 

There was a mix of fury and anger from the group. The giant knight still stood tall, looking down at Woody beyond his nose in a most regal manner, or rather it was more condescending than anything. He was clearly the most confident and defiant, while the others clearly were prepared to bolt in every direction, they likely would have if not for the fortitude from their leader. 

"No." The knight replied sternly to Woody, glaring at him. "We will not accept chaos in the Empire. Nor will we let them escape or enter unpunished. Their kind will be rooted out and punished severely for all to see."

He paused for a moment, the rest of his retinue emboldened by his own boldness against Woody and Grim. "The Twin Tails comes for you, chaos kin... be careful..."

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"I kinda agree with Quartz here... The leader will be guarded... and while the 3 of us are all pretty combat efficient it's not gonna be enough we're facing an army here..." She eplained slinging the bow over her shoulder and making sure she had arrows too, Something she hadn't needed in a very long time. "Where can we find a few others?"

 

Woody chucked "I don't think I'm the one who needs to be careful." He said with a hint of venom "Remember who you are talking to here." He added with a sip of his own tea, The first of his own. "I don't want there to be bloodshed. If Bloodshead results in less bloodshed then I won't hesitate..." He paused for a minute "Now... Can we ake an agreement. I can try to keep chaos out of the city... In return, you will not kill them... or there won't be a city to have this problem" There was no sense of hesitation in his voice, He was approaching the problem the only real way he knew how, Assertively but as politely as possible.

[GoldieS 679]

"Well, guess it depends what kinda fighters you're looking for." Quartz replied. "At the training fields between villages, you can find your usual fair, gladiators and stuff. That's where all the sphinxes gravitate. The hills have some good rangers living in those little rabbit hole homes. But, if you're looking for heavies, you can see them doing their thing on the track... usually trying to show off and compete against one another."

Storm chuckled. "Yah, meatheads to the extreme, but they're big, and can definitely take a hit. Nothing like a mammoth barreling through a formation..." 

"How many are we looking for?" Quartz asked. 

 

The two mages looked genuinely afraid, while the rest of the retainers looked downright terrified at the suggestion Woody would just destroy a city on a whim. They clearly believed his threat, and they gave a few looks to their leader to impress upon that possibility. 

"Your threats are meaningless, whelp." The lord replied, to the the horror of his companions. "My offer remains unchanged. If your damnable princes want a reprieve from the Empire's onslaught, you will accept my terms. Otherwise, we will continue our war without mercy, and slay every last one of you!"

Grim rose a brow, but he didn't at all appear angry or shocked by the comments of the lord before them. He looked about to speak when one of the attendants returned with an entire bucket of catnip tea, effectively demanding his attention completely... 

"I'm no fool..." The lord added as a matter of factly, and a little arrogantly. "You're not one of the four... even if you were nothing would change. But I can tell you're frail and pathetic... Test me further, and I may earn the title of godslayer on this day..." 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple chuckled awkwardly "Funny you mention Storm..." She shook her head "Anyways we'll need quite the army, We're attacking the leader after all and I'd hazard a guess the leader would be heavily guarded. No matter how tough we are we can't break that sorta line alone. So we'll need a small mix of all the other kinds of fighters for the best chance." Maple looked around "I'm not sure where I need to head so you two lead the way."

 

Woody slammed his paw on the ground but no magic or anything with that "I'm not part of the 4, As there are 5 of us now!" Woody levitated the leader with a light song, levitation was easy for him and he moved the leader up to his face staring him right in the eyes, there was no doubt nor fear in them only fury "I have made my offer. Take it..." He lifted his paw, A small flaming orb appeared slight above it. "Or face the consequences of bloodshed that I will personally see through to conclusion." He threw the leader to the ground harshly, chest first so his armor dug into his chest. "Am... I... Clear."

[GoldieS 679]

"Hmm..." Quartz pondered what exactly to do next. 

Storm was a little more confident, for whatever reason. "Well alright, let's hit up one of arenas! Sphinxes are always looking for crazy stuff to do, shouldn't be too hard to get a few of them on our team."

He started off, followed by the other two, heading back out of the small village. The winding slightly wet dirt roads kept to the creases of the hills around them, some being cut into them directly. It obscured the horizon for any meaningful distance, but every now and then the highlands exposed themselves to the trio, revealing a landscaped pockmarked with settlements with camps and fields of competition in between. 

"You know I've never actually done something like this, I mean... recruitment." Quartz added as the walked, speaking specifically to Maple. "Sorry, don't know how much help I'll be, never really even commanded anyone either... you?"

 

The group looked on in absolute terror, while the leader's face was awash with emotion. His once stalwart face now shattered by the realization that his assumptions were quite incorrect. Once released, he slowly staggered to his hooves, though he managed to force an expression of measured caution with a slight bit of concern and fear. At least he was trying to remain composed against such an overwhelming force. 

"The... we'll review the proposal... with the elector counts..." He replied. 

The lord hesitated for a moment, but gave a slight bow of the head before turning around and walking out of the tent with his retinue at a quickened pace. 

"Ha! Good to see such resolve, little master!" Grim replied gleefully, clasping his talons together. "I hope you can forgive me, rude to make decisions when you lot are around. You catch on a lot faster than your brothers and sisters you know! I watched their first time dealing with these things and let me tell you... it's cringe worthy... the Wolf's was quite violent, a hen after my own heart!" He chuckled. 

"Oh... the Raven's though... that was about the same time he realized he didn't like dealing with others face to face. Liked to solve his problems before they became problems, if you know what I mean. The serpent though, bah ha ha! Oh bless her heart she tried." Grim mused. "Don't let the Slug fool you either, he at least made it look like he knew what he was doing. Can't fault him for that, keeps the moral up at least right?"