Killjoy

Maelstrom looked to the side as he sensed a presence of something that was not supposed to be the castle. His eyes narrowed "Ally...I know you feel there is something in the castle that wasn't here earlier... would you please go and investigate the presence, whether you wish to kill it or not is up to you, I just want it gone... understand?" He glanced at Ally, his ember like eyes were still glowing bright "though if you choose not to destroy it, bring it to me." Killjoy sighed "pass the platoon Sergeant's test...but not mine. Even if he did pass my tests, would it even be enough to face such a powerful force?" She thought for a moment before shaking her head "no...no it wouldnt." She whispered to herselc, she looked towards the horizon as the sound of a horn blasted through the air "that's from Canterlot, open the gates!" She exclaimed as soldiers scrambled. Soldiers, 600 strong, marched across the horizon being led by the moon princess clad in dark purple armor and armed with a ornate straightsword . Killjoy quickly ran the stairs to meet Luna at the gate. Luna glanced at Killjoy with a slight smile "have the troops made any progress in their training?" She asked. Killjoy shook her head "very little, not enough for what is to come I'm afraid." She said with a sigh. Luna kept her composure "well keep it up, can't stop now, do whatever you have to do to give yourselves an edge, use whatever means you deem necessary." Killjoy smirked "you don't have to tell me, I've already made all the preparations available. They wont be getting through without losses that's for sure." She said with a chuckle. Luna clinched her fists but kept it calm "unfortunately I cannot stay, I only came to bring whatever troops we could spare at the time. So I must take my leave." She said turning around as she spread her wings. "Princess..." Killjoy called. Luna quickly looked back "what is it?" She asked as if wanting to hear something. Killjoy opened her mouth but quickly closed it as she looked down. Luna had a look of disappointment on her face before finally flying off.

Maelstrom just stared down "it looks like we have our winner of this tournament. I believe congratulations are in order. Though before we bring this to a close, is there anything our champion has to say or maybe someone higher you wish challenge?" He said moving his hooves behind his back. He felt very confident that everyone under his command have done more than just improve their strengths, they excelled far beyond his expectations. Sadly there are still some kinks Maelstrom planned that to work out in some of the higher ranking vampires. Maelstrom's eyes glowed bright orange as Shadow suddenly felt his energy surge through his body as he was rejuvenated to full strength, even his wounds quickly disappeared. Maelstrom gave a portion of his strength so Shadow didn't have to struggle to stand due to the devastating battle that took place mere moments ago. Though given the amount of energy Shadow lost in his fight, Maelstrom way more than enough energy to supply.

Maelstrom lifted his hoof as the barrier was reinforced even further, Even Maelstrom's power wouldn't put a scratch into it. "You are correct, this fight will be rather entertaining." He glanced back at Ally "Though let me ask you this Ally...who do you think will be claiming victory in this battle?" He glanced back at the arena "I feel a near equal presence of power resonating from both of them so it's hard for me to say."

Maelstrom was unphased at the result "Black Star's defeat was well seen before this fight even started. He let his pride get in the way of what is important and chose to underestimate his own brothers and sisters, in doing so, he stayed ignorant to the growing strengths of those who wish to surpass him. It's a shame such talent was left to stagnate. If Black Star made effort to improve, he would not be bleeding into the dirt as we speak." He said like a disappointed father.

Maelstrom watched on as he put a hoof up to reinforce the magical barrier "I am more than pleased to see that our brethren have improved themselves, it is obvious that during one thousand years, their strength has been dramatically increased. They took their loss seriously and worked hard to make sure it never happens again." he said as he approached the very edge of the arena, just outside the barrier. "though are still some kinks that need to be worked out...." he glanced at Caesar "pride can only get you so far..." he said quietly watching the battle closely "it lost us the first war...and ill be d@mned if I let it do it again"

Maelstrom stood there paused for a moment, waiting for another possible second wind from Demi. Maelstrom clapped slowly "well done Caeser, your prowess in combat is what makes you undeniably a valuable asset to the cause. Now without anymore delay, let's move on to the next round." He said calmly before sitting back in his chair. As he watched the tournament, the lust for battle filled his soul.

Maelstrom just folded his arms and watched carefully "a rare sight indeed, either way, we are going to see something grand tonight." he said glancing at Ally "though I must say im surrised you did not wish to partake in this tournament."

Maelstrom clapped slowly as he stood from his seat "well done Caesar, you have once again shown your strength and prowess in battle, very good indeed. I can say for all of us, that we are grateful to have you among us, and seeing that you have not suffered any noticeable damage, I say we can go ahead and move you up to your next opponent without delay. So next contestant join our victor, lets see if our Caesar has improved enough to climb to the top." he said sitting back down.

Maelstrom stood up from his seat "now I must remind you this is only sparring, you're not aiming to kill." He said he raised his hand "prepare yourselves..." he paused for a moment before swinging his hand down "Commence!" Killjoy glared at the team leader "are they THAT dangerous?" She quickly walked up to the leader and grabbed him by the collar "have you ONCE looked into a d@mn history book in your life!? The Batponies aren't like us, they are stronger, faster, better than us in every way in physicality. If you thought Changelings were bad...then you'll never want to witness what Batponies are capable of. " she pushed the leader into the ground "now let's go again! We will keep repeating this until all of you do it right!"

Maelstrom was surprised by such a small number of contestants "only five...I was expecting at least twice that to be honest. Well it matters not, your positions will be the rank you hold in the 24. The reason being is to see if any of have truly improved to move up. This is only sparring so whoever gets knocked out or immobilized, loses, and winner moves up. Simply enough right? We can use the arena, I'll set a barrier up so there will be no destruction in the castle. Well...Lets get to it." Killjoy stood in front of the squad "this is pathetic, how do you expect to protect the Princesses if you can't even go through these simply training exercises!?" she barked "get up, we're doing it again!" she yelled.

Morning came and Maelstrom sat on his throne deep in thought. He pondered greatly on the future as he waited for the vampires who sign up for the sparring tournament. Killjoy was up and already giving her troops h3ll in training for the huge upcoming battle.

Maelstrom shook his head and chuckled "I will not partake in this event unless someone wishes to challenge me, then I'd have no choice to accept. As for Ally, the choice on whether or not she would wish to attend the tournament is completely up to her. Get the notice out to the rest and for the ones who wish to partake, they can all form up in the throne room, then we can get a roster up and go from there." ((that's fine, but if I may, I was planning on Killjoy having a vision while she was out of the battle you have foreshadowed, pretty much have a spiritual connecton with her ancestor and having a rough heart to heart, with the present Killjoy's arrogance.))

"I believe it's this rise in their abilities that is making everyone so eager to fight each other, be it out of anger or just to prove themselves again." Maelstrom thought for a moment "Shadow..." he called out before he was able to leave "I think I might have an idea to put everyone at ease with one another. Why not host a sparring tournament. This way they can discover where they stand within the ranks again and they can show off what they have been perfecting for the past thousand years. We can hold it tomorrow, that will give about two days to recover." Maelstrom said rubbing his chin "What do you think Shadow?"

"Enough!" Maelstrom roared as his eyes glowed like fire "I will not tolerate any further conflicts among us, this will be the last time I say this. We can't afford to be continuously fighting with each other, but...I can't afford having insubordination in my ranks!" He glared at each of the four individually "and if either of you four have an issue with obeying my orders...I'll be happy to to sort things out!" He barked as he waved them off "Now all of you separate, and for all of your sake I better not hear anymore about any of this in the future!"

Maelstrom waved off such thoughts "calm yourself Ally, it was nothing more than just a small theory, don't get your hopes up just yet, we still have a long road ahead of us. Plus are you sure you want to be experimenting like that, I'm surprised you wish to make something stronger than you." he said glancing as the group of three walked in "they are preparing for a large assault? Well they are going to be quite surprised when we show up with only the 24 of us."

Maelstrom sighed "Ally what you are saying is what I've been saying. I am well aware that we must crush them quickly. Also let's not give your pet a few more years to get to that point, he should already be dead and drained of every last drop of blood he has inside him. You know that soon, your pet will have to die. I dont want any descendants alive, I'll make sure to end all their bloodlines so I never have to see their faces ever again. I've managed to recover a large book with family history of the high ranking soldiers of Equestria. The Trax Bloodline is long and wide spread few children and quite the number of relatives, though the Veil Bloodline is quite a tale...the Veils were once a large and powerful Noble family, about 4,000 years ago. Even the one a thousand years ago held quite the status. It's funny, half way down the list where a Veil should have been, the name was scribbled out as if out of hatred and in very crude hand writing was a name...it was simply "Monster." and that one was only the first. I've done a bit digging in old war history and found that apparently the Veil bloodline has a very long history of violence a history almost as old as I am, and they all held high ranks in the Equestrian military. The one that was scratched out was a General, who in simple terms was cruel, razed cities to the ground, gathering surviving soldiers and residence of the cities and setting fire to all of them. That's just one example. So to shorten things up." He glanced at Ally "there is a dark and gruesome side of the Veil bloodline. Maybe it's something you can use in your fight when the time comes, trigger something deep inside. If we are lucky, she might join you."

Killjoy looked at Trax puzzled "I never said anything about being a POW. I just wouldn't wanna die on the very first battle... Or at any battle, but if I do. I want it to be at the very last fight of the war, win or lose...I wanna go out fighting tooth and nail, cursing and all to the bitter end....but later on of course." She said looking back at the soldiers and sighed "might want to give them two days to rest, I'll work them to the bone, I'll pull out all the stops and run them into the ground, they will at least have a knowledge of what they will fighting against, and hopefully that alone will get us somewhere." Maelstrom looked on unimpressed as he glanced at Ally "why do you sound so...impressed by his performance? The ones before him a thousand year ago were far greater, they make your pet look like a insect...it would take over 20 of him just to kill The Lady of Death, it took four of us to do it, and that was after a long battle..." he said as a pair of crimson glowing eyes pierced the back of his mind in memory of the battle. "He doesn't even hold a candle to them..." he got up out of his throne and walked forward to the fighting pit as he looked over at the battered boy laying in the middle. "I know it sometimes good to play with your food but dont you think tenderizing him is beneficial?"

Killjoy sighed "I can still hear the scolding..." she said looking over the wall "so we are just stalling the inevitable....great." she said sarcastically "just hope the reinforcements come before we all die...I don't know about you, but i like living and want to stay that way for a few more years at least. H3ll I'll take seeing the end of the war, win or lose."

Killjoy shook her head "it's dreadful.... the troops can't even last a minute with me, and I'm taking on ten at a time. With only a week...there's just no way they can be ready, not at this rate." Killjoy said with a sigh "Also you're just shooting yourself in the foot keeping this information from Tavi,..don't expect me to run to your defense like last time before we went to flush out that undead horde out of the ruins near Ponyville." Maelstrom just stared at Kasey for a moment "you won't win..." his tone was cold "that is what you want to say is it not? a speech on how you have faith in your allies to push through." he chuckled "those thoughts are wasted boy, a storm is coming and none of your friends will be strong enough to stop it."

Killjoy stood in the middle of numerous battered soldiers. Killjoy huffed "take a break, you've been humiliated enough!" she barked as the soldiers got up and limped their back to the barracks. Killjoy sighed before looking over at Trax talking to the platoon leader and started heading over. "Colonel, sorry to interrupt this meeting, but has there been any word from either princess? surely we should gotten a letter or something by now." she said before leaning up to Trax's ear "plus, have you let Tavi know yet, she was always one to...make dramatic scenes, especially when you're involved." she whispered Maelstrom listened carefully to each word the Captains said their reports. "very good, you're all dismissed." he ordered waving off the Captains. He glanced at Ally "seeing that the boy doesn't have a scratch on him....I suppose you got no information for me about the humans...am I correct?"

Killjoy just facepalmed "usually I'd admire your son's courage...but I think he swapped the definition with stupidity before he left... It's a waste of time Colonel, putting out a search party will only waste the energy of our soldiers and an unnecessary risks, for all we know, they might be waiting for a search party so they can ambush them. we should keep the soldiers on standby until we get word of the Princesses. Let them decide what our next move is." she said looking out into the forest line "...and not only that, Kasey COULD very well be dead...I know he's your family but right now we need to stay on course." Maelstrom thought for a minute "I suppose, but...we should hold back a bit...we can still kill the descendants yes...but there is still much we don't know yet, It's been a thousand years. We still don't know the extent of the military might both princesses have. So giving off our true strengths at the very beginning could give the Princesses an idea to counter us. They are smart and swift and are not to be underestimated. Be patient brothers, this is only the beginning..."

Killjoy gave a light smirk "yeah...I can relate a little" it was already well known that Killjoy and Princess Luna have a unexpected close friendship, but what was kept secret was that Killjoy felt she wanted to be more than just friends. Killjoy looked down not sure what to with her hands as they were trembling. "Maybe it's time, I mean what do I got to lose?" She whispered to herself "If I'm to die...I want all my cards on the table..." Maelstrom glanced at Shadow and Ceasar "Shadow, do be at ease, this is not the Trax you are looking for, the scent of Lucifer's blood was merely unnoticeable. If my hunch is correct, the one you wish to kill is the one Shade encountered, so don't worry brother, vengeance is still well within your grasp." He said assuringly, his eyes moved towards Black Star "right...I almost forgot...you must be punished for your failure." He said now in a stern tone. Maelstrom thought for a minute "you can be the Castle's maid for a month...do make the place spotless, if I see one spec of dust on anything before the month is over..." Maelstrom's eyes glowed bright "I will have you know about it."

((hey, Night Hunters is in need of your attention. Also I think I'll start the alternate WW2 RP after we get done with the Night Hunters RP))

"then we better head back and get a plan going as soon as possible, Colonel..." Killjoy paused for a moment clinching her fist, she knew their end would be absolutely guaranteed "we should also prepare to say our goodbyes...with only a week to get ready, you can can kiss our hopes for the future goodbye. No matter how I look at it, I don't think either of us are going to make it out." Maelstrom stopped and sighed "fine, but only after Shade is done with him, the more information we can get, the better...though i must admit, you have a very valid point Ally." he glanced back at Kasey "his blood will taste better than the finest of wines..." she said with a smile as his fangs revealed themselves "Ally...keep him on a short leash."

Maelstrom paused for a moment thinking about what Shade has said. "no doubt they will have an army behind them...but unlike the ponies, we have had a thousand years to prepare. Not only do we have the advantage of planning, we have caught these descendants in the middle of their development. I do believe we couldn't have chosen a better time to strike. A job well done Shade, I am pleased." he said glancing back at Kasey before standing up off his throne. "Kasey Trax....and a Melody at that. two very well known bloodlines joined into one." Maelstrom now stood only inches away from Kasey, he glanced up Shade "get what you can out of him, then prepare him for harvesting." Killjoy scoffed "that's impossible, I can't get an entire unit ready to fight batponies in just one week. we will be walking in a slaughter Colonel." she said "a lot of soldiers are going to die"