//------------------------------// // Chapter 106: The Power of the Bard // Story: Marshmallow Dreams // by Halira //------------------------------// We all crept out of the room, keeping towards the walls. The element bearers had taken the lead. My friends and I brought up the rear. With me sandwiched behind Blanche and Sunflower, who was bringing up the rear. The sense of that thing was a constant pressure in my skull. It was both nerve-wracking and annoying.  "Why does this room have to be a big pentagram?" Sunflower whimpered. "Why are pentagrams even a thing in Equestria?" "They appeared in the other world, too," Jonathan said. "Also associated with dark magic there. It must be something that transcends the omniverse." "Hush," Blanche hissed.  Well, I felt unobservant now. I had noticed the lines on the floor before, but they hadn't clicked together in my head. A big pentagram room right outside the room, the big scary shadow pony was sleeping. If the universe were making a joke, there'd be a big crystal we could access as a save point before going into the other room. I thought about commenting as much to ease the tension, but being quiet seemed like a generally good idea…plus, I was unsure who would get the joke. Probably Roger and Jonathan; they were kinda nerdy. I could see Jonathan spending hours playing Final Fantasy; The Final Fantasy. Actually, probably best to keep my mouth shut. If I had to explain it, I might have to admit to my mighty level 96 Moogle bard I hadn't touched in three years. The Great Moogaloo exited on a high note and would not be dragged back in! Plus, I doubted my roommates would appreciate me repeatedly shouting commands at my laptop.  The element bearers and Wild Growth gathered near the entrance, all looking to Twilight for direction.  "Should I go in first?" Wild Growth asked. "I might not be able to do much damage to shadows, but I can take a hit better than any of you. If she lashes out, she'll hit whoever is in front hardest." "Not sure you should go in with the goal of being that thing's personal buckball," Rainbow said worriedly. "I should go in first. I'm fast enough to dodge whatever that thing lashes out." "Perhaps it would be better if Twilight and I went in and focused our shields together for defense?" Rarity suggested.  Twilight shook her head. "No, we need to focus on using our element powers. The quicker we bring her down, the better. Wild Growth is right. I'm the only other one of us who can withstand a direct hit from that thing, and I need to be focused on the elements. She makes the best distraction to buy us time, and she has a natural resistance to magic being used against her." She gave Wild Growth a long look. "Resistance to magic, that does not mean immunity. I have to stress that. Don't get too foolhardy. Just because you're hard to hurt doesn't mean you're invincible. That thing has enough concentrated magic to maim an alicorn with enough hits. It was made to be a final act of vengeance against Celestia and Luna once fully powered. It isn't fully powered yet, but we aren't on that level. It's probably already strong enough to take either you or me down if the fight goes on too long. Don't let your fans' stories about your invincibility go to your head. Try to avoid getting hit with anything. Keep moving." Wild Growth smiled. "My fans have no idea what my true limits are, but I've about killed myself once by pushing them. Don't worry, I know not to test my limits, and I don't have any desire for another near-death experience. My one chat with death was enough." Twilight looked back and forth between Fluttershy and me. "How is it feeling? Any change?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't feel any change. I don't think she is awake." "Me either," I concurred. "Why are we the only ones feeling her?" "Magic overlap with night ponies," Twilight said quickly. "That thing is highly concentrated night pony magic. You're feeling it because you share magic with it and have used that magic frequently, even if you aren't night ponies. I feel it, too; alicorns have the magic of all pony tribes, but I don't feel it as strongly since I haven't used my night pony powers as much as you two." "My grandstallion on my mom's side was a night pony. I get it from him, I think," Fluttershy said shyly. "I didn't know my stare was night pony magic before you told me. I'm glad Luna doesn't get mad at me." "Explains the whole Flutterbat thing," Applejack muttered. "Recessive genes gettin' activated." Twilight gave a grim nod. "Well, that isn't what happened in her case. Her recessive genes were an important factor, but activating them wouldn't have that immediate effect. However, it's a way of explaining it to get the general idea across, even if it's technically incorrect, but I wish I had known about her ancestry at the time; it would have helped. Anyway, in regards to Roger's mother, as a night pony, was probably even more vulnerable to the shadows. She might not have been hearing whispers but eager shouts." "If this thing is getting stronger by the second and is going to be that strong by the time it reaches full power, we need to stop wasting time with unimportant details," Blanche said grimly. Twilight gave another grim nod. "Agreed, but we need to have a plan of action in place. When we go into the room, we'll divide up. Me, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie will go to the left and start preparing to use the elements. Wild Growth will try to draw its attacks away from us to the far side of the room. Roger, you'll go to the left and try to talk to your mom. She'll be hopefully distracted by Wild Growth, but I'm hoping that part of her will still hear you. Blanche and Jonathan, you two stay with Roger and make sure he is moved if his talking draws her attention away from Wild Growth. Rebecca and Sunflower, you two keep to the air behind us on the right and be ready to dodge if necessary. Rebecca, do your best to monitor what you're feeling with your senses. Alert us if there are any significant changes. Fluttershy will be distracted." "Um…if it is sleeping, shouldn't you just sneak in and element blast it before it wakes up? That seems like it would make more sense," Sunflower said as her wings twitched.  "She's a night pony overflowing with night pony magic; she'll notice as soon as we go in there, even if she is asleep. Night ponies' instincts make them more aware of hostiles coming at them while they sleep. It's a necessary adaptation when they're asleep at the times most other creatures are awake.  She might already have noticed us, is awake, and refuses to come out while gathering power. She'd know we have to come in," Twilight explained.  "She's awake." I about jumped out of my fur at the voice. I wasn't the only one. Everyone turned to see the spider-like form of Bursa standing behind us. She'd crept up so quietly that no one had heard her.  "I can feel her. She is filled with anticipation. She is waiting for you to come in," Bursa continued. Several of our team took defensive stances, but Applejack put herself between them and Bursa. "Wait! She ain't goin' fight us. She had her chance to get away. She did get away, but she came back, an' she don't look ready to fight. I reckon we can take time to ask her why she's here." Twilight blinked and then gave the changeling a thoughtful yet still cautious look. "Well, Bursa?" The changeling looked down and away. "That thing…I can feel it. I can feel what it wants. It wants to crush all hope. I don't like you ponies. You imprison me on this world, but…." "But you don't want it to get rid of hope," Twilight finished for the changeling.  Bursa nodded stiffly. "Yes, and I feel…guilty…for helping it come to be. It is my mistake that I need to help fix. I will help you, and you let me go after it is done." "It really doesn't like Bursa," I informed everyone. "I think that it remembers who ponynapped her. If it leaves here, it is definitely going to hunt her down." Bursa glared at me and hissed– like, legitimately hissed, like a furious cat or snake. I backed my flank up against the wall. "What'd I say?" "I don't think she appreciates the reminder, darling," Rarity said and then raised an eyebrow at Bursa. "Although, Bursa might not be completely altruistic in aiding us if you're correct. It would be in her best survival interest to help us ensure the shadow monster does not get out." "Yeah, but I can feel guilty too!" Bursa snapped. Then glared at me. "Annoying fat pegasus!" Twilight sighed. "We'll accept your help, and we'll let you walk out of here uncontested." "She ponynapped my mother!" Roger protested.  Twilight nodded. "I know, but her aid now will better distract your mother. I'm not going to double-cross Bursa when she came back on her own to aid us." She looked at Bursa. "I'm letting you get away for now, but I expect you to abandon your current plans for trying to get to Earth. We know you were trying to sneak back as one of the tourists. It wouldn't have worked anyway, you'd have been caught before getting near the portal, but we can't have you endangering people with your schemes." Pinkie Pie jumped next to Bursa and hugged the changeling. "Aww, she's just a lonely bug that wants to go home." Bursa sneered down at the pink pony. "Continue to touch me, and I'll eat you." Pinkie Pie promptly released Bursa and inched away with a sheepish grin.  "Right," Twilight said, seemingly accepting Bursa would behave herself after. "It's going to be the same plan, but now with Bursa and Wild Growth working together to draw attention to the far side of the room. The two of you should try to keep its attention divided between you so it can't focus attacks. Try not to strike at it if you can avoid it. We don't know if that will injure Roger's mother or if contact with it will injure you. Does anyone have any questions?" I looked around. No one was saying anything. So that must have meant we were good to go.  "Let's do this. Wild Growth and Bursa in first, everyone else, follow quickly behind," Twilight instructed.  Wild Growth and Bursa charged in, and before any of the rest of us could follow, things started happening. "DIE!!" BOOOOMM I was knocked down before I had a chance to take flight. The shadow pony had struck immediately at the entrance when the two went through, causing a minor tremor and shattering the tile at the entrance, so there was now a giant crater there. Dust filled the air, and several of us, myself included, started coughing.  "Missed me! Try again!" "Over here, monster!" "They survived the attack and are drawing her away! We need to move!" Twilight shouted.  It was a struggle getting back to my hooves. Now that the thing was active, its presence was suddenly even more overwhelming.  "Twilight, wait! Fluttershy ain't doing so good!" I heard Applejack cry out.  "That thing isn't going to wait. We need to hurry before it ends up killing Wild Growth!" Jonathan yelled.  "Mom!" Roger yelled.  "Roger, not without us!" Twilight shouted in alarm. "Blanche, Jonathan, stay with him.  Excuse my language, but this had turned into a bit of a clusterfuck. I couldn't even see what was happening, aside from the view of my hooves trembling, making me wish I was a little more round, so I couldn't see that either.  "When I was a little filly, and the sun was going down…" Huh? "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown…" Was Pinkie Pie singing? Sunflower suddenly joined her in singing, almost timidly but loud enough to be heard over the crashes and explosions in the other room. "I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw…" Pinkie Pie giggled and continued singing. "But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way To deal with fears at all…" We were going into battle, and those two were singing? Maybe I had knocked my head, and I was reenacting the last great battle against Bahamut, and they were playing my bard.  The two of them now sang together in harmony. "She said, 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall Learn to face your fears You'll see that they can't hurt you Just laugh to make them disappear.' Ha! Ha! Ha!" I couldn't help it. This was so absurd it was funny. I had to laugh.  Sunflower now sang with more confidence, even joy, and Pinkie sang along with equal enthusiasm.  "So, giggle at the ghostly Guffaw at the grossly Crack up at the creepy Whoop it up with the weepy Chortle at the kooky Snortle at the spooky And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone, and if he thinks he can scare you, then he's got another thing coming, and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh... Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuugh!" I don't know why, but hearing Sunflower say those lines with all the matching enthusiasm and energy to Pinkie Pie broke whatever hold that was on me, and I was able to get to my hooves and finally see what was happening. The first thing I noticed was Fluttershy was also getting to her hooves.  "Good work, you two. You fought off her influence on them. Now let's move!" Twilight commanded. The rest of the elements let off a whoop, and I heard that same whoop coming from my mouth. Never underestimate the power of a silly song! Let no one underestimate the importance of the humble bard! Oh, crud, they'd drawn me back in. My roommates were going to kill me. Oh well…to battle!