Round 1: Magic's Not Allowed
At first, the night appeared to be like it always was. It was beautiful. Stars littered the sky, each one sparkling or dimming to its own unique music. The moon was full and brilliant, its whiteness casting a soft glow across all the land. The blue sky had darkened into a deep blue, offering to envelope any pony in a deep embrace of calm and quiet. A coolness hung in the air that the daytime simply could not match, even on its coldest day. Everything seemed peaceful, and to the untrained eye, it would appear as though all of Equestria was asleep.
The Princess of the Night knew that was not the case. While she had come to accept that most ponies slept through her beautiful night, she took comfort in the knowledge that not everything did so. She knew that the night, her night, was the most cherished part of many beings’ lives. There were even some ponies now, a thousand years later, who preferred what they called the ‘Night Life’ and stayed up all through her glorious work. They did not appreciate it the way she would like them to, but they still witnessed it, and for that, Luna was thankful.
But there was something wrong with her masterpiece. Something foreign had invaded her beautiful night, her refuge, and her place of comfort. It had been creeping into her nights for the past several days, slowly growing stronger until even Celestia had been able to feel it. Both sisters had known long before hoof that it was coming, but Luna had been able to sense it before her elder sister. The night was calmer than the day, more restful and focused, and thus Luna had always been able to sense certain things better than her sister.
It had started as just a faint hum in the back of her mind. At first Luna had not even noticed it. In fact, the only reason she had detected it at all was because Celestia had reminded her of what was coming. The following day, the hum in her mind had become a faint scratching sensation at the back of her ear. She had told Celestia about it, and while her sister had believed her unreservedly, Celestia had not felt anything. The following day, Luna had been able to feel the excess magic tingling in her hooves and dashing through her midnight mane. When she had raised the moon, she had used the extra power to make the job easier and give herself even more to work with when arranging the stars.
Two days ago, when Luna could feel the magic flowing through her very blood, Celestia had told her that she too could now feel the extra magical energy. That had been the start of the events. Luna had dispatched her own personal guards out into the night, while Celestia’s guards and the majority of the Canterlot army remained behind to defend the capitol. Luna had told her bat ponies to observe, and act only if needed. Equestria had come a long way in a thousand years, but she knew that her guards still frightened many ponies, and that she herself was still feared by many.
That had been the main reason Luna had taken the bat ponies under her personal wing. She felt for them, understood them, and empathized with them. More importantly, they had empathized with her. They were misunderstood by the other three pony races, and often shunned and feared, just as she and her night were. They were a left over race from back in the days when Discord had still been in power. The draconequus had warped several pegasi, taking their feathered wings and replacing them with bat wings. He had turned their coats to dark blues and purples, and made them allergic to the sunlight. The ponies had been shunned by their fellow pegasi and other ponies, forced to live away from the rest of society because of their preference for the night.
When Luna and her sister had defeated Discord, Luna had heard rumors of strange ponies flying at night, with horrible monster wings, wicked tails, and evil glowing eyes. Luna had spent many nights searching for what she believed to be nothing more than an old mare’s tale, until she had found a bat pony. The being had fled from her in terror, but when Luna had easily kept up with her, the mare had turned to fight, vowing to not betray her people and to take Luna to the grave with her.
It had taken quite a lot of convincing—and some serious magic—to end the fight without harming the strange pony. It had taken Luna nearly breaking into tears, pleading with the mare named Shadow Echo and swearing that she meant no harm, before Luna had been allowed to meet the other bat ponies.
Shadow Echo had been the first bat pony Luna had ever spoken with, and the first captain of Luna’s own personal guard. Celestia and Luna had offered to change Shadow Echo and her people back into regular ponies, but they had refused. Besides, magic had not made them what they were. They were the children of Discord’s original bat ponies, and they had doubted magic could change them even if they had wanted to.
When Luna had returned from being Nightmare Moon, she had feared that the bat ponies would no longer exist, or worse, hate her for deserting them and shun her for giving creatures of the night such a foul reputation again. But that had not been the case. Her first night back, dozens of bat ponies had appeared outside of Canterlot castle, each one asking to be officially knighted into Luna’s service. Celestia had told Luna that she had kept the bat ponies on as guardians of the night, but that they still missed their beloved Princess of the Night.
Luna had immediately knighted every single pony there, joy filling her heart with each pony that looked up at her with pride in his or her eyes.
Joy did not fill her heart tonight though. Tonight it was filled with doubt and worry, and perhaps even a dash of fear. The magical energy was coursing through her veins, sparking through her hair, sizzling across her fur, and ringing in her teeth. Her entire body felt as though it could tear open any moment, unable to contain the raw power that she felt.
Luna raised her head as she flew through the sky and looked at the source of so many of her worries and her discomfort.
The Secretariat Comet blazed in the night sky, a gaping wound in Luna’s otherwise flawless masterpiece. It’s bright yellow light clashed with the darkness, casting an eerie glow that mixed terribly with her beautiful moonlight. It looked as though a miniature sun was slowly burning its way through the sky. Its magical energy seeped into the very air around her, saturating it to the point where Luna felt as though she was flying through water instead of air. The energy sucked at her being, granting her immense power but threatening her with exhaustion as she struggled to control it. She stayed focused on her one goal in hopes that doing so would keep her from losing herself.
She needed to get to Manehattan.
Canterlot was in no danger. True, her big sister expected some sort of attack during the comet’s appearance, and Luna expected one as well, but Celestia was there, along with the Canterlot army and Celestia’s own personal guard. Canterlot might end up a target—it did every time the comet appeared—but it was probably the safest place in Equestria at the moment too.
Cloudsdale was perhaps the second safest place. The only creatures that threatened the city of the pegasi were ones with wings, and only dragons would be numerous enough to attack the city in any real force. And dragons hated the comet even more than Luna and her sister did. Its magical effects did strange things to their bodies, and thus they tended to vanish into caves when it appeared in attempts to hide from it.
Besides, Luna thought to herself with a smile, ‘tis a city of cloud. It can easily be repaired.
The Wonderbolts had been divided into two teams. One team had been dispatched to Las Pegasus and the other to Fillydelphia and Baltimare. Unless something truly drastic happened, they should be able to handle any situation.
Ponyville had Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Luna smiled to herself as she thought about the purple unicorn. Perhaps Ponyville was the safest place to be during the comet’s passing, not Canterlot.
The Crystal Empire had Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, and Luna was certain that nothing could stand against Cadence’s love and Shining Armor’s resolve.
Appleloosa had responded to Celestia’s offer of protection by reporting that the ponies and the buffalo would be protecting the town together. Some of the buffalo had ever gone to Dodge Junction and offered to help protect the small town. Luna was pleased to see that different species had learned to work hoof-in-hoof during her banishment. There had been a time when such a thing had been impossible to imagine.
Luna had sent a dozen of her guard to Trottingham and another dozen to Vanhoover and the surrounding area. Both groups had been given orders to remain hidden, less they startle the populace and become mistaken for the very monsters they had been sent to guard against. She had told them to act only if the situation demanded it of them.
She didn’t need to worry about Hollow Shades because many bat ponies called that town home. Being deep in a forest meant they were safe from the sun and…unwelcomed guests.
Still, many ponies knew of the town, and when Luna had last visited, she had been pleasantly surprised to find that many earth, unicorn, and even pegasi ponies now lived there too.
All the major and minor settlements in Equestria had defenses ready, and tonight, many of those defenses would likely be put to the fullest test. Tonight was the comet’s peak, the time when its magical energy was at its fullest and monsters crept out of the dark places of the land and attacked. It had happened before, and Luna had no doubt that it would happen again. Those bat ponies that she had not assigned a location to had been ordered to patrol the land and contact her if they found anything that they deemed worthy of her attention.
She hoped that would not be the case, because during all her and her sisters’ planning of Equestria’s defenses, they had both overlooked Manehattan.
What had been a small port town a thousand years ago was now a busy metropolis, with a population that rivaled Canterlot’s, and the most advanced city in all of Equestria. Luna had been baffled when her sister had pointed it out on the map, stunned that such a small island settlement had grown into such a city while she had been gone. And it had absolutely no defense against the comet. No guards, no Wonderbolts, no pegasi, or even buffalo.
“Then we shall give them a Princess,” Celestia had said.
“But sister, you know you cannot leave Canterlot,” Luna had protested. “Not with the Elements housed within the castle. They will draw powerful creatures to them, creatures wishing to feast on their magic and grow even stronger. They will act as a flame does to moths. You are needed here.”
“Then you must go, my dear little sister.”
“I? But…I cannot. I mean, outside of Ponyville, I am still feared and—”
“My dear Luna, you are forgetting something very important. Why do the ponies in Ponyville no longer fear you?”
Luna had paused at that for a moment, thinking about what her sister was saying. “Because…Twilight Sparkle helped me.”
Celestia had smiled at the mention of her favorite student. “True, but what did she help you with?”
“Making friends,” Luna had responded instantly, pride swelling in her heart at the thought.
“Correct. And the only way you were able to make those friends was by letting them get to know you. Introducing yourself and showing them what I already know—that you are a gentle soul, a kind ruler, and, above all, my little sister. If you want more ponies to see you that way, you must brave Equestria outside of Canterlot’s walls.” Celestia had smiled after that and had added with a grin, “Also, if something does happen in Manehattan, helping to protect their city will surely gain you some admirers.”
Now Luna found herself racing across her night sky, her body overflowing with so much magical energy that it was starting to ache, trying to reach the glow in the distance that was Manehattan. From what she could see there was no immediate danger to the city, but with the comet’s peak tonight, that situation could easily change at a moment’s notice.
Luna was able to fly for another minute before her fears were realized.
“Princess Luna,” a voice said from her left. Startled slightly, she looked over and saw one of her royal guards flying toward her in all haste. She slowed, allowing her subject to catch up with her, but continued toward the city.
“Good evening, Silent Wing,” Luna said. While all bat ponies tended to be quiet, Silent Wing had the talent to be completely silent in the air if she so chose. It made her ideal of the scouting mission Luna had put her on tonight.
“Your Majesty, I have a report,” the bat pony said as she flew alongside Luna. Her yellow eyes glowed in the dark and her armor made her difficult to see against the night sky.
“I am on my way to Manehattan,” Luna replied. “I fear my sister and I forgot to place defenses around it for the comet tonight, so my sister elected me to its aid. Is this report something that requires my immediate attention, or can you and the others contain it?”
Silent Wing smiled, something she rarely did when on duty. “Then you’re in luck, Your Majesty. Manehattan is the source of my report, and it is where you are needed.”
“Why?” Luna asked, her panic rising slightly. If the ponies in Manehattan came to harm while she was not there, she would never forgive herself.
“Well, uh, I’m not sure you’re going to believe this.” Silent Wing seemed to be at a loss for words, another thing that was strangely out of character for her.
“Speak,” Luna said after a few moments, the panic now starting to take hold of her more completely.
“A giant…marshmallow pony is attacking the city. At least, I think it’s a marshmallow.”
Luna decided that it was a good thing she was not flying low, otherwise she was certain she would have crashed into a tree or some other object because of Silent Wing’s statement. If it had not been Silent Wing reporting to her, she would have assumed it was a jest. A giant marshmallow pony? How did something like that even come into existence? There were countless magical beings throughout Equestria and beyond, but none of them were made the soft, tasty, sticky substance that ponies made smores out of. Or at least, Luna had never heard of a creature made of marshmallow. The comet’s magic apparently affected a great many things.
“I understand,” Luna said, though understanding was very far from her mind at the moment. “Is there anything else I should be aware of about this…creature?”
“It stands as tall as some of Manehattan’s taller buildings, does not speak beyond roars, and magic seems to only make it angry. Do you wish for me to call in the rest of the reserves?”
“No,” Luna said shortly. “No, have them stay on their patrols. We cannot have another incident. I will handle this myself.”
Silent Wing saluted with her hoof. “Yes, Your Majesty. Still, I will be close by. If you need us, you know what to do.” With that, the bat pony banked slightly and vanished into the night sky. Luna knew that she would not go far, but looking for her would prove to be useless.
Besides, she had more pressing matters to attend to. As she drew closer to Manehattan, she began to notice the signs of the raging monster.
“Honestly, does a marshmallow qualify as a monster?” the princess asked herself as she flew high over the city, surveying the area.
The city did not seem too damaged. As far as Luna could tell, all the buildings were still intact. She saw a few places in the street that looked as though they had been depressed and collapsed under a heavy weight, and as she looked at the markings, she realized that they were actually hoofprints. She followed the trail and started to notice more damage: smashed windows, crushed carts, small fires, and a few buildings with structural damage. She also saw, and heard, dozens of ponies dashing through the streets, some running with no clear destination in mind, others moving to help wherever they could. She noted that several ponies were lying on the ground, but all of them seemed to be moving and being attended to, which was a good sign.
All in all, the damage did not look too severe, but Luna knew that that could change easily. She needed to find this giant marshmallow and deal with it before a pony was seriously injured, or worse.
She did not need to search far.
A roar tore through the night air, drowning out the sound of screaming ponies below and the rolling waves around the city. Luna looked up and saw the source of the sound and found herself in shock.
It really was a giant marshmallow pony.
The creature stood at least four stories tall, towering over the smaller buildings in Manehattan and coming up to eye level on some of the more fancy hotels. Its white body took up the entire street, its sides brushing against buildings as it walked past, smashing out windows and knocking down lampposts. Its tail swept back and forth like a wrecking ball, although the effect was not as crushing. Instead of demolishing everything it hit, it merely bounced off most structures, or in some cases, caused the walls to dent slightly. Its hooves trudged down the street, smashing carts and other objects beneath them and occasionally causing part of the street to cave in slightly.
The monster did not seem to have a destination in mind as it continued down the street, roaring and stomping its way through the city. Luna stared at its back, trying to decide how best to handle the situation. The thing had not seen her yet, so she could launch a surprise assault against it. Perhaps she could fry it with one focused blast of magic. The comet was certainly giving her enough extra strength.
Still, if the creature was sentient, it deserved a chance to at least explain itself and perhaps walk away unharmed. Blasting it in the back hardly seemed like something a ruler would do. Nightmare Moon, perhaps, but not Luna. Not if she wanted ponies to see her differently.
Gritting her teeth, Luna flapped her wings hard and flew to the front of the pony. She sailed through the sky until she was at eye level with it. At least, she was fairly certain she was eye level with it. The creature did not have eyes, but merely shallow indentations in its face where its eyes should have been. Still, it stopped once Luna appeared in front of it and seemed to stare at her, so she decided the thing could see her in its own way.
“Halt!” Luna said, using her Canterlot voice. It echoed through the night air, and for a moment the only sound was her voice bouncing off of the buildings around her. She quickly looked down and noticed that several ponies had stopped fleeing and were looking up at her, whether in awe or terror, she could not tell. She hoped it was the former.
“Thou doth rampage through the home of my subjects, creature!” Luna said. “Thou shalt stop immediately and return to…wherever thou came from at once.”
The marshmallow pony let out a low rumbling sound, but it did not move.
“Doth thou understand?” Luna demanded. “Thou hath brought ruin and chaos with thee. Now, as ruler of these fine lands, I command thee to leave immediately, or I shall be forced to do battle with thee.”
For a moment, the creature stood still and Luna began to believe she had managed to reach the giant pony, but then it opened its mouth and roared. The roar was so loud, so powerful, that Luna found herself reeling through the sky and clutching her ears, trying to stop her head from spinning. She closed her eyes in pain and struggled to stay in the air as the vibrations shook her down to her bones. She opened her eyes just a pinch to see what was happening, and then immediately flung them all the way open.
A giant marshmallow hoof was coming straight at her.
Luna reacted instantly, bringing her wings close to her body and going into a sideways dive. The hoof missed her, but the shockwave of air caught her full blast, sending her spinning through the night yet again. She allowed the momentum to carry her to what she hoped was a safe distance, then flared her wings and came out of her spin, facing the monster.
“Very well,” Luna shouted, her voice booming even more than when she had spoken earlier. She focused her magic and fired a blast from her horn, aiming for the creature’s front leg.
The magic impacted the giant monster and…did nothing. Luna watched as her magic simply dissolved against the marshmallow flesh with minimal impact. The area seemed to glow slightly for a brief moment, but then it returned to its white texture as if nothing had happened.
The monster roared, whether in pain or with simple annoyance, the princess could not tell. It swung its hoof at her again, but Luna was well out of reach of it. Instead, its hoof crashed against a nearby building, smashing windows and causing part of the wall to collapse. Its hoof seemed to become stuck for a moment as the creature tried to free itself from the impact, so Luna flew in close. She looked at the being’s flesh, searching for a weak spot.
It appeared to truly be made of the fluffy white sweet. Its body looked to be made of nothing but marshmallows. Giant marshmallows, each one at least six ponies tall and ten ponies across.
And the smell. Luna almost gagged as the smell of marshmallow overwhelmed her nose. The smell of sugar was nearly too much for her to handle as she looked over the creature.
Where its joints should have been were instead where the marshmallows connected, so that each part of its body appeared to be made of separate marshmallows. Luna looked at the area near where the creature’s hoof joint would be. That seemed like a vulnerable spot.
Luna focused her magic and fired it at the shallow point where two of the marshmallows seemed to meet. This time, she was rewarded with more success. The blast plunged deep into the joint and caused a small black mark to appear, as if the thing had been held over a fire for too long. The smell of burned marshmallow filled her nostrils and Luna smiled triumphantly, but her smile quickly faded. The scorch mark faded as well. It took slightly longer than her first attack, but in seconds, the joint was as clean and white as it had been before.
The marshmallow pony freed its hoof and roared, bringing it up and trying to smash Luna as it did. More of the building came apart as the hoof came free and Luna found herself desperately dodging bricks and pieces of wood as they sailed up through the air along with the marshmallow’s hoof. The monster roared at her again.
“Silent Wing was apparently correct. Magic does not seem to affect it much,” the princess said to herself as she flew into the night sky. But how is this possible? No creature regenerates this quickly.
Still, Silent Wing had not been completely correct. Magic did seem to have an effect on the creature. It left damage, but the creature healed itself too quickly for the damage to be of any real threat.
Perhaps Luna just needed to use more magic.
Luna spread her wings to the fullest and made her body go perpendicular to the ground. She closed her eyes and rose into the air, flapping slowly and deliberately. She felt her mane and tail ripple with energy as they flowed around her. She took several deep breaths, inhaling the power from the Secretariat Comet. She cyan eyes flew open, but she knew they were no longer their normal color. They had gone pure white, like they always did when she lost her temper or used her full power. She could feel the magic flowing through her, trickling out of her fur and eyes.
“Be GONE!” Luna bellowed, unleashing the full force of her magic. Her head ached and her horn felt as though it was about to explode as the power left her body in a single shot. Her eyes were blinded from the light as it flew from her, but she made sure the shot was aimed high, so that if it managed to pass through the marshmallow without dissipating completely, it would impact out in the sea and not destroy Manehattan. Still, controlling the blast took more effort than she expected, and it was all she could do to keep the beam from demolishing the surrounding buildings.
After what felt like a lifetime, the magical attack faded and Luna slowly regained control of her body. She felt dizzy, and it was all she could do to stay in the air. Her tiara suddenly seemed to weigh her down and she had to struggle to not pull it off and drop it. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to make her eyesight return. It slowly came back, along with her hearing, and she looked around for the giant monster.
To Luna’s disappointment, the creature was still standing. To her disbelief, what should have been at least a gaping wound through its body was in fact nothing more than a smoldering crater in its chest. Worse still, Luna swore that she could see the wound starting to heal itself instantly. The blackened crisp marshmallow was already softening and growing back. Within moments, the wound had closed and repaired itself and the marshmallow pony was once again all white.
“But…how?” Luna asked as exhaustion gripped her body. That had been the strongest magic she had ever used in her entire life. Even when she had been Nightmare Moon and battled her sister, her magic had not been that powerful. If such a blast had not even managed to harm the creature, much less defeat it, then stopping it might prove to be impossible.
The creature roared again and swung its hoof at Luna. The princess struggled to fly out of its reach. When she was safely out of it the swing’s way, she stopped and turned to face the creature, trying to—
The hoof came speeding toward her, faster than before. Luna gasped in shock and flew to the side, barely dodging the blow. This time, she expected the shockwave effect and collapsed her wings, allowing the gust of air to pass over her with minimal harm. Still, her mind was confused. How had the marshmallow pony been able to reach her? She was certain she was out of its range if its earlier attack was any indication.
Luna looked at the giant monster’s hoof and felt her heart sink. It was stretching. She saw the soft marshmallow body stretch as the hoof sailed past her. She saw several white tendons, if that was the proper word for them, stretch and a few break as the limb flew past her. This…creature could apparently elongate its limbs at will, though not too far.
“The tendons…are breaking,” she said. She focused her magic again and fired. The blast was weak, nowhere near the strength she had just used, but if the monster was already damaging itself by stretching and if she added to it, perhaps it would be enough to actually give the monster pause.
It wasn’t. Luna watched as her attack not only failed to harm the creature, but appeared to actually be absorb by it. Was this thing adapting to her? What type of magic was thing? True, the comet and its powers were still not entirely understood, but all creatures Luna and her sister had faced in the past had been, well, normal.
Over the many centuries that Luna and her sister had safeguarded Equestria during the comet’s passing, they had battled all kinds of strange beasts. Hydras that had been granted the power of flight. Dragons that could change size in an instant. There had even been a battle with a flock of Phoenixes that not only had commanded fire, but ice as well.
Each one of those conflicts had been trying, and several times Luna had been worried that she and her sister would not prevail, but each of those battles had been against normal magical creatures of Equestria. The comet had only given them strange powers or mutated them in some way. Luna had never heard of the comet creating a new creature out of what she was certain was an inanimate object. Nor had she ever heard of the comet granting the ability for something to regenerate so quickly. The comet only increased magical potential, or tampered with abilities. It did not grant new ones.
So why was she fighting a giant marshmallow pony in the middle of Manehattan? Why was it able to heal itself and withstand a magical blast that would have leveled half the city? And most importantly, why was she losing to it?
“Your Majesty! Look out!”
Luna looked up into the night sky and saw Silent Wing diving toward her, frantically pointing back toward the giant pony. Luna looked back and her eyes went wide. The pony’s other massive hoof was sailing toward her now. She knew she would not have time to dodge it. She closed her eyes and waited for the blow to send her reeling through the air.
Instead, she heard a loud boom! followed almost instantly by a howling roar of pain. She cautiously opened one eye, still expecting the blow to come any moment, and looked at the monster.
It was clutching its right hoof to its chest. A tiny fire was burning at the very tip of it. Luna watched as the flames died and all that was left a small wisp of smoke and a black mark.
“Princess Luna, we must withdraw,” Silent Wing said as she flew to Luna’s side.
“What…what did you do?” Luna asked. Her mind was still foggy from exhaustion and it was taking everything she had to stay in the air.
“I grabbed a stray storm cloud and hit that beast with a bolt of lightening. I fear I only angered it though, and now—”
“Look out!” Luna shouted, reaching for her guard in an attempt to push her out of the way. But the princess was too slow. The marshmallow hoof slammed into Silent Wing and the bat pony went spinning. Luna watched in horror as her faithful subject spun through the sky like a doll. Luna tried to grab the pony with her magic, but Silent Wing was spinning too fast and Luna was too worn out. She watched helplessly and the guard pony crashed through a third story window and vanished from sight.
Luna’s blood boiled. Her eyes blurred, from both tears and anger, and she felt her anguish bringing new strength to her body. She spun in the air, her hooves shaking with rage, and glared at the thing that had dared to strike one of her subjects.
“Foul beast! For that transgression, there shall be no—” Luna did not have time to finish her threat. Before the words had even finished forming in her mind, she found herself raising a protective spell around herself.
The marshmallow pony’s two front hooves slammed against her shield from opposite sides. The shield held for a moment, but Luna heard the cracks forming in it a second before it shattered around her. She simply did not have enough magic to maintain it against such a strong impact. The princess looked right and saw nothing by white closing in on her. She looked left and saw the same, save for the tiny black spot where Silent Wing had attacked.
A moment later, the giant pony’s hooves came together like it was trying to catch a fly. Luna felt as though she was being smothered in pillows. For a brief moment, her mind found the sensation relaxing. It was so soft. If it was not for the overwhelming scent of sugar and marshmallow, she would have found it to be very enjoyable.
Then the inertia of the attack hit her. The fact that she had just been smashed between two marshmallows lessened the pain and she was certain that it saved her life, but it still hurt. She felt her body sink into the creature’s hooves for a moment, then they would give no more and she found herself being smashed. She felt the sticky substance coat her fur and cling to her feathers. As the creature ground its hooves together, the princess could feel her hair getting tangled and several strands of it being ripped from her tail and mane.
Worst still, she could not breathe. The giant pony was smothering her. She gasped for air, but her mouth was only filled with fluffy sugar. Panic rose in her mind and she struggled, but all her efforts managed to accomplished was to coat herself in more of the sticky substance.
Her cheek brushed against something. Its texture was different from everything else. Instead of feeling soft and squishy, it was hard and flaky. Luna struggled to turn her face toward the strange object, but she could not see and thus had not idea what she was feeling. Still, it was different than everything else around her, and with darkness beginning to close in on her brain, she did the only thing she could think of.
She opened her mouth and bit down on the strange surface.
Her teeth sank into the surface instantly. Its hard, flaky exterior was no match for her jaw and it snapped, startling her at the ease at which she had been able to bite it. As the taste flooded her mouth, she realized that she was chewing something familiar. It took her but a moment to recognize the taste as marshmallow. Burned marshmallow.
Of course! Silent Wing’s lightening bolt. Luna must have bitten into the part where the bolt had struck. She had no idea what good that knowledge would do her as she began to lose consciousness, but at least—
Luna suddenly felt herself being hurdled through the sky. Precious air filled her lungs and she gasped several times, nearly choking as bits of marshmallow clung to her mouth. She vaguely registered the sound of the beast screaming in pain, but that thought was pushed to the back of her mind as several more raced to the forefront.
One, she was free and able to breathe.
Two, her wings were covered in so much goopy marshmallow that she could not open them to fly.
Three, she was still too exhausted to use her magic to control her tumble through the air.
Four, the ground was coming up terribly fast.
Luna closed her eyes and braced for herself for the impact she knew was coming. She tried to slow herself with magic, and for a brief moment she thought she felt some of it envelope her, but then she crashed against something, felt it tear under her weight and speed, and then she hit something that did not give so easily.
Then there was nothing but blackness.
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I read the comic too. It would be nice to see PL and PC kicking more flank. ( Luna didn't even get a chance to kick some flank in the nightmare arch of the comic series!)
2974251
Yes, Luna did seem to get a bit cheated out of her chance to shine. Although I did like that all the other ponies had their moments. Octavia smashing an enemy with her cello was awesome. It does look like season four is attempting to fix that though.
2978487
I suppose. We'll see what happens.
I haven't read the comic... perhaps I should. If I did would it spoil much?
Either way, a magic resistant marshmallow pony that is four stories tall could be a foe worthy of a princess. It's interesting that can be hurt by electrical/plasma/positron attacks... is it time to call Rainbow Dash and Derpy? or the rest of the bat ponies? and do other physical attacks work... What happens when you put a marshmallow in the ocean? (I might have to take a trip to the beach to try that) and will traditional fire harm it?
I suppose only time will tell.
On another note this is a great battle cry;
"I shall be forced to do battle with thee."
Perhaps someday i'll find a way to use it.
It's great to see that you can write battle scenes as well as you can write romances.
2993484
Hi FireTide!
Fun fact, I have never written a romance scene, much less a story, in my entire life. Often times I find romance to be...boring? No, that's not right. I don't know. Too 'sugary' I guess. Seeing all those covers on romance books of a man with a perfect chest having a girl draped over him really turned me off the genre. And anime romances tend to get so corny that my skin crawls (Shakugan no Shana comes to mind), but then I have read a few good romance stories. I studies those closely, trying to figure out what I liked about them. I'm glad you think I wrote it well though.
Battle scenes and action are actually my favorite things to write. I was actually worried that this scene didn't come with enough action, but I didn't want it to turn into an all out brawl yet. As for your other questions...I think it's safe to say that physical attacks would work, but the thing is so big that it would be like throwing a pebble against a wave to stop it. You'd need something a lot bigger than one pony can manage. As for the ocean, I'm still up in the air if that will play a part. Finally, for you last few questions, I'll just say you're on to something. I'm not saying what question, but you're paying attention, that's for sure.
2993562
Hey Zeck,
I can understand the romance being overly supermodel in design or incredibly cheesy. I have also found Anime romance to be one of the worst about exaggerating everything in well, everything...
Either way i'm glad to hear you're back in your home element, And I thought there was just enough combat/action in this chapter as it was introducing the characters and rule #1.
All i could think of was ghostbuster...
I was almost expecting her to be attacked by a marshmallow she was about to eat and turns out to be a unicorn messing with her.
This is silly. I like it!
5534499
Thanks. I tried to make it a bit of a goof ball story. I mean, a giant marshmallow pony? Too good to pass up.
Nobody smacks up Best Pony in my town!