UTOPIA

Stone Valley

"Are we there yet?" The foals said in unison, which annoyed Raven and Oleander.

"For the love of the goddess! Yes, we're here! Stone Valley!" Raven yells out!

Two days have passed since the Black Crows and the Honeycomb hive departed Mushrump for Stone Valley. The trip was uneventful besides the lessons Ambrosia gave Raven along the way. Thanks to these lessons, Raven has a better grasp of using Valasia in its plant form. He can grab objects with his vines now and even bring himself toward something if the planet is latched onto something sturdy. Still, the Cyborg had a long road ahead of him before he could truly master this, which means more lessons with Ambrosia.

Raven discovered that the HoneyComb hive only has two hundred dedicated fighters out of the thousand two hundred in one of their discussions. Most of the drones were infiltrators or love gathers, while the rest were nymphs. From what The Queen told him, they would lure in ponies and have 'fun' with them, then release them. But ever since Chrysalis exposed their entire race, ponies and other species have become wary and paranoid. This meant they had to spend more time gathering food and had less time for relaxation.

The trip would have taken less than a day if they had flown, but the Human refused to be carried like a piece of luggage. So, they went by hoof and foot in Raven's case. And so, here they were standing in front of the valley—nothing but stone and the cloudy black sky as far as they could see. The land was barren; nothing, absolutely nothing, was growing here. "Geez, not even the badlands were this bad," A random male changeling said. "Uh-huh, this place gives me the creeps!" Another changeling said.

Ambrosia had to agree with her children; there was no life to be had here; even the air here felt lifeless. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here? Too late to turn back now; the potential of having an unlimited supply of love was too good to pass up, and of course, taking Chrysalis's head was a good incentive.

Raven gave a nervous Oleander sideways glance. "Oleander, what's your take on this? Because this isn't natural" The Man squatted down and dragged his hand across the stone, and he wasn't surprised to find more stone underneath. He kept clawing at the ground and still found nothing but stone, no trace of any other type of rock or mineral.

"Ah well. Uh," Oleander cleared her throat and tried to shake off the nervous feeling. " From what I've observed, it's like this whole place has been petrified. But nothing should be capable of such a feat, maybe the princesses or Discord himself?" Raven instantly crossed Discord off the list; from what he's been told, Discord was a buffoon that liked playing pranks. The Princesses were more likely, but what reason did they have to turn an entire piece of land barren? Were they trying to stop the spread of something? Should they turn back? No.

This was no time for doubts; the answers he was looking for were straight ahead. All he had to do was move forward. "It doesn't matter; whatever that lies ahead, we can handle it." While everyone was nervous, even Ambrosia, Raven was filled with resolve; nothing will stop him from reaching the truth. He stood up at his full height and looked back at the changeling Queen. "Do you remember the formation I told you about?"

She nodded and sent her orders through hive mind, which all of her changelings received. Twenty drones took the form of pegasuses and took the air and formed up. The rest stayed on the ground and took their positions. Raven gestured to his charges to remain in the middle. In less than in minute, everyone was in place. The formation they took wasn't too dissimilar from an arrowhead.

The changelings in the sky were the scouts and would warn everyone if something was coming their way. Everyone on the ground was in groups of around a hundred, spreading out. Approximately four warriors were in each group; they would fight head-on and draw the enemy's attention while the rest blasted it with their magic. The middle formation had the sick, injured, foals, nymphs, and the Queen; everyone would protect this group at all costs. Meanwhile, Raven stood at the very tip of the formation. Technically, he was the captain and should stay in the middle, but he was also the powerhouse and was the only one capable of ending a battle in seconds.

It's been five days since his fight with Luna, and his wounds were fully healed within that time. He no longer felt sluggish and was filled with energy. Raven had no doubts in his mind; all they had to do was move forward. The Man was ready, but was the people behind him ready? "THERE SHOULD BE NO DOUBTS IN YOUR MIND!"

Everyone stiffened at Raven's booming voice. "Steel your nerves and keep moving forward and trust your comrades! Now march! And double time!" Raven pulled out his sword and started jogging, followed by nearby changelings. "Ah, this feeling." He felt something, the feeling of dread, the same dread he felt when he went to war. The Cyborg hadn't felt like this since he fought the demons in Feita and Velder. His resolve started weaver again until he saw something shining ahead.

Once the marching army was closing enough, Raven bent down and scooped up the shining object with his claw. What he held was unusual; it was a heart-shaped locket. He felt magic emitting from the accessory; it felt warm and comforting. The Man tried opening it and found that he couldn't, no matter how much force he used. "I'll examine this later." Raven placed the locket in his pocket.

32 minutes Later

The longer the group traveled, Oleander's theory of petrifaction made more sense. They've passed by trees, bushes, tiny houses, and a waterfall made of stone. But there were no signs of this supposed monster, just the occasional stone landmark. It didn't mean they would let their guard down.

Soon the group came by a castle made of stone; it was relatively small and basic; it would be better to call it a fort. They heard it, trumpets and the mains and moans of something talking."RAAAAAAAGOOOOWWWINTRRRDUCINGHER" It was complete gibberish. But from what Raven could piece together, it felt someone or something was trying to introduce royalty.

That same feeling of dread came back at full force, it felt like something was watching them, and it was hungry. "wELCoME t-T-T-T-tO mY perfect EmPIRe MY nEW SuBJECTS! SoON all of yOU wilL be perfEct! HAHahA!" From what everyone could hear, the voice was artificial and damaged. While everyone was scared, Raven was terrified because he recognized that voice. The Cyborg looked around frantically, trying to find the origins of this voice.

NO NO NO NO, SHE SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE!" The small voice in Raven's head was also terrified.

Cozy hated this! Everything has been out of her control ever since she joined the group. Things were so simple before this, all she had to do was be cute and innocent, and ponies would do what she asked. But now she felt so small and helpless and couldn't stand it! Out of frustration, she lashed out and yelled at the sky! "Who the buck are you?! Calling us your subjects and this place is perfect! You're nothing!"

The trumpets cut off, and the voice stops its laughter. The only thing that could be heard were the moans of an unknown creature and the metal chains on the Raven's belt. Then the voice came back, and it didn't sound too pleased. "YOU arE WrOng." It said calmly, with an edge to its voice.

"SAYS WHO?!" Cozy barked back!

"BECauSE i DeEMEd It sO. For youR DisReSpecT, aLL oF yoU wIll Be PunISHED. TrOJaN HorsE!" A giant holographic rocking horse appeared in front of the group out of nowhere. It had wings on it's back and it started flashing black, it was covered in holographic screens saying 'ERROR!'. It started approaching the group at an alarming speed, destorying anything that got in the way.

"Everyone, get out of the way!" Raven commanded, and no one thought twice about it. The Man dashed out of the way, along with every other changeling. The unlucky few were either crushed or vaporized on contact. Then Raven noticed something, the way it moved, the horse was tracking someone and he knew who was being tracked. The Cyborg sprinted after the horse.

Cozy and the other foals screamed as a giant hobby horse chased them! "You had to open your bring mouth, didn't you?!" Moon Charm yelled at the Pegasus.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it from you!" They watched as Ambrosia flew and blasted the horse with her magic; it did nothing! Oleander threw out some 'fel sparks,' and they did nothing! "Scatter, It can't go after all of us!" They did precisely that with no other choice, and it became clear who was being chased. "ARE YOU BUCKING KIDDING ME!" Cozy yelled out in frustration. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut?!

"Power assault!" Raven dashed passed the trojan horse and was now running alongside Cozy.

The Pegasus couldn't be happier to see her favorite Human! "Mr.Maxwell, I knew you woul-" Raven scooped up the filly with his claw. "uh, what are you doing." Then the Human threw her over the Trojan horse like a football. "You motherbucker!" Raven would apologize to her later but couldn't have anyone nearby while performing his next skill.

As the Trojan horse got ready to turn around, but its movement were halted. The hologram was trapped in a dome made of Valasia and blackthorns. "Interdiction." Raven covers his blade with Valasia and slashes at the dome. The dome explodes destroying everything within, including the trojan horse, leaving nothing but ones and zeros: and they too disappeared.

"Behind you!" The small voice tried to warn Raven, but it was too late. Raven was hit from behind by a giant pink electric ball. Once it made contact, he was trapped in a pink electric force field that held him in place. The electricity was constant as well, making the Man scream in pain. "GGGAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Shes trying to get in! Activate Safe Mode!"

Holographic Errors screens appeared before the screaming Raven. They disappeared to reveal a generation two Nasod female wearing the most elegant ball dress possible. The dress was made of black, white, and gold colors, and towards the bottom, it had eyes that tracked everyone's movements closely. What put it all together were the black and gold feathers and the violet and gold brooch she wore around her neck.

This wasn't just any Nasod; it was Eve, Queen of the Nasod! But she looks far different than Raven remembered. Her gray-white hair was as long as her dress. The energy core on her forehead was a bright red and constantly flashed 'error'. Her hands were covered in golden cracks. Her feet were mutated and had metal sticking out of them. The two Nasod drones, Remy and Moby, were wildly different. Even after all this time, Remy remained uncorrupted but was in a sorry state. While Moby was unrecognizable, the drone was demonic-looking.

"rAven! It's BEeN sO LoNG, I'm GlaD YOU'Re AlIVe! LAst tiMe I SAw yOu, YoU wEre BEing ArResTed! I mean aFtER WhAt YOU DiD TO thAT NobLe anD Her WIfe, I woULD Do ThE same haHAhaHEHEHE!" Eve cackled uncontroablely

"E-eve!" That was the only thing he could get out!

"eVE!?" The crazed Nasod slapped the Cyborg in anger. "HOw DAre yOu, Eve was a Weak aND pATHetic fOoL, Who coUlDN't geT anything DoNE! i Am peRFection! SOMEThing aLL nasod AnD HUmAnS SHouLd STRiVE tO be! i AM" The Nasod Queen gave Raven a cruel smile. "Antithese! And with the power of El, I will remake this imperfect world once again!"

footnote:

Raven

NEW ITEM ACQUIRED

Heart-Shaped Locket - - Raven can feel the magic within but can't get it to open. The warmth reminds him of better times.

NEW VIRUS ACQUIRED

ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!

"MAKE IT STOP!"

"HAHAHA YOU CANNOT DENY YOUR EMPRESS!""

VENOM TAKER SKILLS: DISABLED

MUTANT REAPER SKILLS: DISABLED

VALASIA ARM: DISABLED

WELCOME TO UTOPIA!

[Antithese]

Author's Note

Got another chapter out! AND ARE YOU GUYS READY?! Because things are about to get crazy!

Also! The story reached over 100 likes! Again I have to thank you guys for reading my story and liking it!

Thank you for everything guys! Now enjoy!