Maya's hoof didn't even budge. "I've got solid bones, like an earth pony. Why do you think I almost never fly?"
"Every little bit we can do will make a difference," Dusty replied. "Every power-up, and every good idea."
Maya kept her hoof put, despite his efforts to overpower her. "Dude. Can't overpower a tank. Try something else."
Silver nodded. "Thank you. Now, Raven, use a stone to strike the eye." It would be a much more difficult test for her. ******************************************************************************* Apophis roared in rage, shaking the mountains. These tiny, insignifcant, mortals had dared to attack him! Worse yet, they'd stolen a portion of his power! A relatively tiny portion, to be sure, but enough to earn his direct wrath. A gigantic, crystalline eye opened in the center of his head, drawing in light. Moments later, thousands of small pores opened up on his back and unleashed a barrage of laser fire from the ruby-like crystals within. The laser blasts shot out of the atmosphere, aimed at the area where the ship had come from.
"Silver. I can smell his eye." Raven picked up a larger stone and tossed it up, leaving it to land right in Asmo's uncanny, conjured eye. "It smells like sulfur." Asmo immediately snapped the eye shut, wincing. "Rude!"
Rep: (seeing this beam.) Hold on. I'll be back. (Vanishes and reappears in orbit, carefully redirecting the beams to be harmlessly sent into space junk, before vanishing and reappearing on the battlefield)
Silver laughed. "Fantastic! You can open your eyes now, I believe you understand what I was trying to teach you." He landed in front of her. "Bat ponies are not as naturally fast as pegasi, though we are more agile by far. Our strength, though eclipsed by earth ponies, exceeds that of unicorns and pegasi. And though we --usually-- have no magic of our own, we have a natural resistance to harmful spells. But what makes a bat truly unique is their senses. We can see in near-total darkness. We can hear the faintest sounds. And our noses are as sensitive as those of a wild beast." ******************************************************************************************* Apophis was furious. Some meddling creature had deflected his beams. It took mere moments to trace the presumptous, doomed thing to where it was now... miles to the south, hiding amongst an army.
Raven smiled. "Yeah... Think I get it now. But, like... I'm a little small, if you haven't noticed, never been the strongest. Gotta rely on hitting fast. Don't suppose you can make me stronger in a day?"
Silver nodded. "You are much stronger than you realize. A physically weak pony would not have been able to harm a creature like Asmodeus. But if you wish for an additional edge in combat, I believe Maya can make you a strength tonic. And, of course, Nightshade will be taking you armor shopping tonight." He caught the knife that Nightshade threw at him. "Perhaps that was meant to be a surprise. Apologies."
"I think Rave just feels inadequate in strength compared to Stoner Horse and Formaldehorse," Asmo said, sarcasm strangely missing. "I..." Raven sighed. "Maybe... Armor sounds cool, though."
Rep: (amplifying his voice and summoning a great banner. Speaking to the army. ) I'm not very good at speeches. But soon, we are going to be fighting a very big angry snake. We're up against the biggest threat this world has seen in a very long time. We must all work together and put aside any rivalries we may have, or old grudges if we are to succeed at this. I for one will be trying my absolute hardest to defend you all, regardless of affiliation to anything I may not particularly care for. In the past Equestria has faced powerful enemies and adversity, but every time who rose up against them? You, all of you, even if indirectly, rose up together hoof in wing in claw in hoof and fought the adversity and showed the light of Friendship, Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic. So that is how I know that together we can, and will defeat this snake.
Dusty clapped his hooves together at the end of the speech. Azrael nodded. "You're damned right we will. And then we'll use its skull as decoration."
(Longer, better post murdered by power outage. Here is shorter, less good post.) A number of ponies cheered Rep's speech. Others politely clapped. Many, however, were wondering who the heck the guy talking was. **************************************************************************************** Nightshade sighed. "It was supposed to be a birthday present, actually. You've met Moonshine, right? The mare who makes all my dad's weapons? I asked her to make you a suit, but she wouldn't do it without talking to you first. Wants to make sure you get exactly what you want. We don't have to if you don't want." Silver nodded. "I understand. But remember, there is more to life than just strength. You overcame adversity that would break lesser mares. You went from an unknown to a famous musician in a matter of weeks. And you have drawn my daughter out of a depression I feared she would never escape."
Mado: (pulls out a bow and shoots the banner igniting it with energy and changing the blank banner into a shimmering hologram like representation of Equestrias flag.)
"Thanks, Sil. That means a lot." She smiled over at Nightshade. "'Course I wanna go armor shopping, Nighty. If you show me how to wear it. You know... hooves on."
Nightshade grinned. "Great. You wanna go now, or maybe pull a quick training montage with my dad and Asmo first?"
