Evergreen Heart

Chapter 19
Night of the Star Spiders.

Several things happened at once. That first window had been like the opening signal to an all out invasion. Within seconds the other three windows shattered. Two of them, like the first, had giant legs coming through that were grasping about wildly. The third window gave entrance to a trio of spiders the size of a great dane. They let out keening shrieks before they jumped the nearest ponies. A pegasus and his unicorn marefriend. I swear, spiders should neither be capable, nor allowed to make such sounds, it sent a tingle of dread down my proverbial spine.

The pegasus took to the air and avoided the spider that came at him by a mere inch. But inside the lodge with its low ceiling, he had very little room to manoeuvre. Once the spider recovered from its landing it turned about, and then shot a wad of strands from its spinnerets. The tangle of sticky string hit the pegasus full on, rendering his wings useless. He hit the ground hard, momentarily dazed. Then the spider rushed back out the window, dragging the unfortunate pegasus behind it like a struggling kite. With a shriek of terror he disappeared into the night. It all happened so fast none of us were able to respond.

His marefriend fared little better, she fired a couple of spells, actually managing to kill one of the dog sized spiders with some kind of cutting spell, before the third one webbed her up and dragged her screaming out the window as well.

“Barricade the windows!” Yelled Chopper as he swung his axe at a spider leg that was sticking through. Cleaving it in half. The stump pulled back with a deep shriek. “Don’t let any more of them through!”

I ran to the nearest window, a pair of flytraps emerging from my shoulders as I went. I slammed into the windowsill in-between the grasping legs, launching a wide spray of acid through the broken glass. I couldn’t risk using it inside. I might injure or kill somepony with a stray splash. But out there, that was fair game. My efforts were rewarded by a tortured shriek and the hiss of melting flesh and chitin as the legs withdrew. I focused my power on the now trampled flower bed that had been growing beneath the window. With a magic burst I turned the broken plants into a thick spiked bush that covered the entire window.

Behind me Trixie was working together with Chip on barricading the stairwell window. They used a combination of cantrips to rip apart the tables into individual planks, then Trixie used her rope control cantrip to bind the planks together into a rudimentary barricade, before the two of them attached it to the window frame with a combination of fancy ropework and what I can only assume were sticking charms of some sort. Crude, but it would do in a pinch.

Another pair of spiders jumped through the back window, but this time we were slightly more prepared. I couldn’t risk using acid, but I had more tricks up my sleeve. I dashed towards them but one of them veered off and was met by Chip who wielded a two man crosscut saw in his magic. Don’t ask me where he kept the thing, because I was sure it wasn’t there a minute ago. As I passed him by I saw a couple of legs fly off from my peripheral vision. I had my sights set on the other spider. A pulse of magic fired a hail of cactus spines from my chest like a shotgun blast, skewering the second spider like some disgusting kebab and pinning it to the far wall next to the hearth.

Another spider jumped in through the window behind me, only to be met with Chopper’s axe. The spider’s abdomen was split open with a wet crack as the axe rose and fell. Splattering yellowish guts everywhere. With the immediate danger over I focused on raising another plant barrier over the window nearest to me, while behind me a pair of mares were pushing a heavy cabinet in front of the other one. Just as they were about to complete their task a trio of giant legs reached through and snatched one of them away in the time it took everyone else to blink. With a final desperate push the remaining mare managed to slide the cabinet completely in front of the window, effectively blocking it off. Then she collapsed to the floor, sobbing in terror.

Barely two minutes in and we had already lost three ponies. Not exactly a great start. Something heavy thudded against the door again, and the sound of skittering outside intensified.

“We better reinforce the door too, just in case.” Trixie said.

“That would be wise.” Said Chopper as he and Chip began to push the second couch across the room and in front of the door. We then put as much heavy stuff as we could find on the couch.

With the room as secure as it could be under the circumstances we finally had a moment to breathe and reorganise. I felt a bit drained, despite having soaked up a day’s worth of sunlight. Using that much magic in such a short time had eaten into my reserves considerably. I stole a glance at the remains of the spiders we’d taken out. They looked disgusting, but I couldn’t afford to be picky right now. When nopony looked my way I snuck a bite from one of the corpses. Damn things taste like very sticky taffy, I don’t really like taffy. I prefer fudge. Still it was energy, and that’s what I needed right now.

“What are we gonna do?” Quick Shot began to cry, the guy was obviously down to his last nerve. “We’re doomed.”

“Panicking is not going to help.” Trixie said.

“You saw what happened. Those things are gonna get in here just like they did before and they are gonna get us and drag us off to be eaten and were all gonna get killed! I don’t wanna die yet, I haven't even kissed my marefriend yet. And now I’m gonna get my organs sucked out by a giant spider. Oh Celestia I wanna go hooooooome.”

“SHUT UP!” Trixie roared. Making me and a few others blink at the level of ferocity she was displaying.

“Trixie has been through a really bad time and yet she’s still kicking. Trixie has met the dreaded Ursa minor and survived that too. Trixie has been rejected, ridiculed, humiliated, and even beaten on several occasions. Yet now Trixie finally has a chance to put her life back in order, and Trixie has no plans to die here tonight. So you shut your noise hole and stay calm while we think of a plan.” She glared at the panicking pony and snorted. “Got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” Quick Shot swallowed quietly.

I leaned over and stage whispered to Trixie, “Feel better?”

“Much. Now let’s think of a plan to survive this fiasco.”

I must admit I was surprised by how well she seemed to handle the situation. But then Trixie has been faring for herself for quite some time. Being alone on the road I’m sure she’s had to deal with her fair share of trouble, so perhaps I’m not giving her enough credit.

“We need to get help somehow.” Said Swift Wind.

“Too many spiders out there. The moment you go out, that’s it, you done.” Said Chopper.

“I’m a pretty quick flyer ya know. It’s even in my name. Swift Wind, cause I’m swift as the wind.”

“Spiders don’t care. They shoot you down with webs.”

“Yeah, what is up with the web shooting?” I asked. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Well except on Spider-man, but that’s a different show altogether.

“Star spiders have magic of their own that lets them shoot webs like a net. They snatch prey that’s too fast to run down, or prey that flies.” Said Chopper.

“You seem to know a lot about them.”

“Have worked in the woods all my life. You best learn about what’s out there if you wanna stay alive.”

“Sound advice, so how long till you think they give up?” I asked.

“Spiders this hungry? They not gonna give up. They gonna keep trying until they get in, even if they have to gnaw through the walls.”

“So waiting it out isn’t an option. That doesn’t exactly leave us much choice.”

“Is there any way to send out a signal?” Peachy Plum asked while she gently rocked Melody in her forelegs. The little filly was clinging to her mother for dear life, doing her best to put on a brave face, even though her eyes were wet with unshed tears.

“I don’t see how.”

Another bang against the door startled everyone. Especially since some of the wood around the hinges creaked ominously.

“What about your unicorn friend. She’s great magician right? She can cast big spell to get attention.” Chopper said.

A lightbulb lit up inside my head. Why didn’t I think of that?

“He’s right. Trixie, you could use your firework spell to send up a call for help.”

“W-what… but Trixie..”

“Oh thank Celestia, if she can do that then the garrison can send help.” Said Peachy.

“But Trixie can’t. As soon as Trixie sticks her head outside to cast her spell Trixie will be dragged off to her doom.” She said.

“Not if we can keep the spiders busy, and you do it from a relatively safe place.” I said.

“You have plan?” Said Chopper.

I nodded. “You and Swift Wind take Trixie up to the roof. Keep the spiders off her. Trixie, you go up there and cast the biggest, brightest, loudest, single most spectacular firework spell you’ve ever cast in your life. I want ponies to see it all the way in Manehattan. Everyone else stay here, huddle up and stay safe.”

“I’ll keep watch down here.” Said chip, brandishing his saw.

“And what are you going to do while we risk our necks up there?” Swift asked me.

“First, I’m going to stock up on energy.” I said as I walked over to the spider corpses. A small burst of magic saw them swiftly devoured by my flytraps. I ignored the shocked and disgusted looks some of the others were giving me, survival first, dealing with the awkward situation bullshit afterwards.

“What in the world are you?” one of the remaining patrons asked me with a quivering voice.

“No time for explanations, besides it doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we all get out of here alive. Now let’s get to the roof and cast that signal.”

“You still haven’t told us what you will be doing.” Said Swift.

I gave him a grin that bordered on crazed. “I’m going to play Indominus Rex with the spiders.”

“Indomi what”?” Trixie said, puzzled.

“You’ll see. Let’s get to the roof.”

“Can we really trust this guy?” Swift whispered to Chopper as we ascended the stairs.

“You have problem with him?” Chopper asked.

“Well… he’s not a pony, he ate the Celestia damned spiders for goodness sake. And what’s with that freaky magic? I’ve never even heard of such a thing. I don’t know how trustworthy he can be.”

“You shared entire evening with him in good spirits, you only freak out now because he shows strange powers and eats meat. Yet you had griffin guests here last week. They eat meat. Now suddenly you have problem with it? Small minded no? We all in this together, you remember that.”

Swift looked away with shame, and I couldn’t help but smile at Chopper’s words. It’s nice to have ponies around that don’t freak out at the first deviation from the norm. But I can’t really blame Swift too much. He’s scared and under a lot of stress. We all are. Heck even I found this entire situation unnerving. While I’m not afraid of spiders, they aren’t bees after all, I don’t exactly wanna cuddle one. Especially if they are big enough to ride one off into the sunset. Swift had one more reason to be extra on edge though. His wife and little girl are downstairs. With their lives on the line I can forgive him for being weary of my freaky powers and dietary habits.

As we reached the second floor we hurried down the hall and gathered around the door that led to the small deck.

“I’ll go through first and grab the spiders attention. The moment the fighting starts you cast your spell, Trixie. Gentlecolts, you protect the lady. Keep the spell going as long as possible and watch your backs.”

“You sure about plan? You have strange powers yes, but taking on many spiders alone, is suicide yes?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ve faced worse. You just keep miss Lulamoon safe.”

I got ready to open the door and rush through.

“Wait!” Trixie said.

I looked back to her with a puzzled expression when she suddenly hugged the stuffing out of me.

“For luck.” She said after she let go. “This doesn’t mean Trixie likes you or anything. So don’t go getting strange ideas.”

My brain seemed to short out for a moment. What just happened? Did Trixie just pull a Tsundere on me? A quiet but amused snort from Chopper snapped me out of my stupor.

“Uhm..thank you.” I said to Trixie, still too stunned to think of anything better to say. “Now let’s do this.”

“It will take Trixie at least two minutes to gather enough magic to perform the spell you want. So stay alive at least that long. It would be extremely inconvenient for Trixie otherwise.” She said.

“Yes ma’am.” I saluted with a smirk.

With a swift motion the door was unlocked and I stormed through. A Lone spider was sitting at the far end of the deck. I galloped straight for it as I gathered every ounce of power and began to create mass. A beam of magic shot past me and blasted the spider of the roof. Good work Trixie. Now it’s my turn. I ran to the end of the deck and kicked off, leaping as high as I could, then I unleashed my magic.

My body doubled, tripled and then quintupled in size. I slammed into the ground amidsts a virtual sea of spiders in the form of a giant wooden dinosaur and let out an ear shattering roar. The spiders answered with a high pitched shriek and swarmed me. There were a lot more of them than I had expected. If I didn’t know better I’d swear the whole swarm was here. We were surrounded. I snatched up the first victim in my jaws and bit down. Crushing it in a spray of yellow fluid. I tossed the gory mess aside and stormed forward, trampling several more under my feet with a crunch and a wet squelch. One exceptionally large spider charged me head on. This thing was easily the size of a pickup truck. It reared up on four of its legs and presented it’s fangs to me. I barreled into it, my intention to push it over and trample it. But the thing was wise to my actions and grabbed me around the head and neck with its many legs. It’s fangs crunched into my neck and unleashed their deadly payload. I could actually feel it burning. Their venom must have some strange magical properties or be frighteningly potent for me to actually notice an effect. Possibly a mix of toxins and potent digestive enzymes, considering most spiders actually drink their prey’s insides. Kinda like myself now I guess.

I clawed at it in an attempt to dislodge it, pushing it down far enough to bring my jaws down on its head and crush it. I tore it off and swallowed it whole. Using the energy I got from it to repair some of the damage the venom had done. And this was just the first twenty seconds.

Up on the roof the trio of ponies stared open mouthed at the scene unfolding below.

“That’s some friend you have there.” Chopper said to Trixie as all three of them picked their jaws off the floor.

“Trixie had no idea he could do... that.” she said with a shaky wave of her hoof.

“Shouldn’t you be casting your spell?” Swift asked, but didn’t look away from the fight.

“Huh? Oh yes, of course! Trixie will now perform her greatest spell to date.” She said confidently as she lit up her horn and began to amass her magic.

I stomped and bit and lashed out with my tail, and still they kept coming. As if some great force was driving them to fight on despite their losses. Could mere hunger truly be the motivation that made them attack despite horrendous loss? I snatched up a spider the size of a small horse and tossed it bodily into the side of the lodge where it left a giant yellow splatter and chunks of chitin sticking to the wall. Like some bizarre piece of modern art. And then I learned something new, namely that these fuckers were smart. They couldn’t match me in brute force so they now started to try and cocoon me. Already several of them had fired their web strands at me. The sticky strings stuck to my head and torso, making it hard to move freely.

I risked a quick glance at the roof where Chopper was laying into a spider that had climbed up the wall with his axe. Limbs went flying as the axe rose and fell and soon the spider toppled down. I couldn’t see Trixie, but I could see the building glow of magic power. I caught a brief glimpse of Swift Wind bucking another spider off the roof with a flying dive, before my attention was pulled back to the fight as several spiders jumped upon my back and began to try and cocoon me further. I threw myself down to the ground and then began to roll over. Crushing them beneath my bulk. I scrambled back to my feet before they could capitalize on my somewhat vulnerable position. I was covered head to toe in spider guts now.

More of them latched onto my legs and bit down, injecting their corrosive venom. I lashed out with my tail and sent half a dozen of them sailing into the air. One smashed into the wall of the upper floor like an eight legged missile and popped like an overripe watermelon. The rest sailed over the building and landed somewhere on the other side. I ripped, I tore, I bit. I swallowed several spiders whole. I could feel them clawing on my insides before I drowned them with acid and absorbed them. I looked over the battlefield and actually saw several of the smaller spiders drag away the remains of the larger ones. They must be so desperate for food that they even eat their own dead.

I slashed a spider with my claws, tearing it open in a spray of yellowish blood, then slammed my foot down on the corpse. And that’s when my leg snapped off at the knee. The venom must have done more damage than I thought. The wood on the inside was rotten and pulpy, like wet sawdust. I toppled forwards, crushing several more with my bulk as I landed. They swarmed over me now. Biting, stabbing, spraying webs. I needed to change the game.

I roared as I unleashed the last of my reserves. Hundreds upon hundreds of thorny spines exploded out of me as if I was a giant landmine. The spiders that had been crawling over me were turned into a fine mist of blood and guts. The ones behind them were torn to bits by the shrapnel of thorns and chitinous chunks of their own buddies. It bought me enough time to get back on my feet. I had to shrink down and re-arrange my mass to form an intact leg. I simply didn’t have enough power to generate more since I was burning energy as swiftly as I could replenish it. And the swarming mass didn’t seem to have shrunk even a little.

I briefly considered tapping into the earth itself to draw power from it. But truth be told, I was kind of afraid to. What if I accidentally went too far again? Tapping into that nearly endless reserve of power is such an overpowering rush, it’s easy to lose yourself in it. I couldn’t risk losing control. Never again.

Something red flashed in my peripheral vision, then the sky lit up and everything was bathed with brilliant red light, accompanied by a boom like someone just set off a piece of naval artillery. I looked up to see a giant red arrow pointing down toward us. Above it flashed big red letters, and above that a giant spider silhouette. The entire sparkling red display was enormous.

“Trixie, you really are the greatest show mare ever.” I smiled. Someone was bound to see that.

The spiders seemed momentarily disorganized by the whole thing. Some were standing on their hind legs, making threatening poses at the sky. Others milled about in confusion, stumbling over each other. But some were starting to wise up. I tore my eyes away from the sky and prepared to get back in the thick of it.

*****************

High above the buildings of canterlot, princess Luna stood upon her tower balcony, her eyes skyward and horn aglow. She was carefully weaving a tapestry in the night sky. Constellations and sparkling starfields formed overhead. It wasn’t like she was actually creating or vanishing these stars. She wasn't even moving them. No, her magic actually changed the atmosphere of Equus so that the light of certain stars would shine through while others would deflect. Celestia might move the sun, and she might move the moon, but only the ancient forgotten ones could truly move the distant stars themselves.

Luna found this task relaxing. Painting a picture in the sky the way a painter would do so on a canvas. And it also formed a good exercise for her magic. She had grown strong again over the past couple of months. Her coat had returned to its deep dark blue and her mane and tail had returned to their full ethereal form. Tiny white stars danced in their phthalo blue and purple depths. And even though her other half still remained silent, with the return of her full magical power she was starting to feel whole again.

At long last her work was complete and the gentle glow of her horn faded away. The sky sparkled with the light of a thousand stars. She had dimmed the light of the moon slightly so that they seemed brighter.

Something bright and red flashed in the distance, followed a second or two later by the echo of a bang like distant thunder. Luna narrowed her eyes and then cast a spell to increase her already considerable eyesight. She cast her gaze upon the red glow in the distant sky and her vision zoomed in. There in bright glowing red letters flashed a message. Spider swarm attack. Ponies in mortal danger. Help!

“Aurora!” Luna shouted as she galloped into her room.

The Thestral mare emerged from the shadows like a ghost. “Your highness? Is everything alright?”

“Ponies are under attack by a spider swarm, gather as many of the night guard as you can, we leave to face the horde in ten minutes.” Luna said as her horn lit up anew.

Her royal regalia vanished, to be replaced with finely crafted peytral armor. The armor was a deep black, as if it were made out of pure obsidian, and polished to a mirror finish. The peytral piece was joined by flanchard armor, which appeared to cover her back and sides. And her flanks were covered in a segmented crupper. A crinet covered her neck, leaving only a small section free for her mane to stick through. Her silver decorative horseshoes were replaced by studded plate greaves. Finally an elaborate chanfron appeared on her face, a dagger like blade rose from it just in front of her horn, serving as both protection for her horn itself as well as an additional weapon.

“We, your highness? Are you sure it is wise to get involved personally? I’m sure the guard can handle things.” Aurora said while Luna worked on adjusting the armor’s fit.

“We may be a bit rusty, true.“ She said as an enormous crescent blade, almost like a giant Mezzaluna with pointed sides appeared in her magical grip. It was nearly as big as she was, but she wielded it effortlessly.

“And It may have been some time since we last took to the field of battle, but one never truly forgets how to wield a blade. Besides, we will not sit here and expect our guards to rush headlong into danger we are unwilling to face ourselves. Whatever peril awaits us, we will stand side by side with them.” she continued as she gave her weapon a quick spin to get a feel for it once more.

It had been crafted specially for her over fifteen-hundred years ago during the war with the crystal empire. Forged of Minotorian steel and enchanted by the finest magi of the time to never lose its edge. The word eclipse was engraved along its length in ancient Equestrian runescript.

“Now please, do as we asked and round up the night guard. We waste precious time arguing while lives are in danger.”

“Yes, of course, forgive me princess.” Aurora said with a deep bow. It may be her duty to keep the princess safe from harm, but she couldn’t help but feel a delicious tingle of excitement run up and down her spine at the thought of fighting side by side with her mistress in battle.

As soon as Aurora was out of earshot, Luna let out a shaky breath. She didn’t feel even half as confident as she pretended, but she was not going to show weakness in front of anypony. And like she told Aurora, she would not sit idle and let others do the hard work. She intended to be more directly involved in matters rather than adopt her sisters wait and see policy.

********************************

Okay this was getting really difficult now. With my reduced size the spiders became a lot harder to fend off. A lot of my attacks left them wounded rather than outright killing them. I snuck a quick bite from another corpse and used its energy to bring out a few flytraps, using them like point defence turrets. Their acid however was not as potent as it could be. It surely hurt the spiders yes, but unlike that first blast I shot out the window their attacks were rather weak in comparison. Leaving many a spider that got hit still capable of fighting, unless I managed to score a direct hit on their heads.

I snuck a glance at the rooftop after slamming another spider aside with a bodycheck. Trixie was swaying on her hooves, struggling to maintain her spell. The glow of her horn flickered in and out and beads of sweat were rolling down her muzzle and neck. What’s more the spiders seemed to have got wise to them and were now swarming the roof en masse rather than one or two at a time. Chopper and Swift were doing their best to fend them off, but they would be overwhelmed soon. And then things took a bad turn.

A number of terrified shrieks reached me as one of the bigger spiders finally managed to tear the front door off its hinges and the small ones began to climb over the barricade. I charged blindly at the door, slamming into the big spider that was still lurking outside and crushed it against the wall with an oh so satisfying crunch.

“Chopper, Trixie, Swift! Get back inside, they got in! Get back and help the others!” I yelled up at the deck as a trio of spiders jumped me and wrestled me down to the ground.

I snarled and crushed one of their heads between my jaws, spraying brains everywhere. I felt the fangs of the others sink into me and the familiar burn of their venom followed swiftly. I kicked out with my legs, and through luck rather than skill caught one of them, slamming it into the wall besides me, shattering it’s back like an eggshell. It’s broken body fell to the floor, twitching in its death throes. Another bite, another dose of venom. Part of my midsection fell away, sizzling and smoldering.

I heard the sound of struggle from inside the inn. The death shriek of a spider as it got torn open by a saw. An impact on the wall as another was bucked into it. Hooves thundering down the steps, followed by unintelligible cries and the whoop zap of a magical blast. It is only now that I realise the red glow is gone from the sky. Trixie and the others must have rejoined the fight. More shrieks and the sound of something heavy slamming repeatedly into the wall and floor. Then a horrified desperate cry of “NO!” reaches me.

A spider emerged from the door, dragging a silk line, at the end of that line a sticky silk net. And inside that net the tiny, terrified form of Melody Star.

I throw myself forward, trying to grab the line, trying to stop the spider. I almost make it. Another spider slams into my and throws me off. I miss the line. I make another desperate grab for the net itself, but it’s just out of reach. Several spider legs pierce through my weakened shell, one of my legs comes off again. But I hardly register it. My sight is fixed on that tiny crying filly as she’s dragged off and vanishes into the dark of the night.