Evergreen Heart

Chapter 20
Into the nest.

Princess Luna paced up and down the small courtyard in front of her personal tower. A familiar mix of fear and anticipation coursed through her mind and body. She recognised the sensation as pre combat jitters. Something she had not felt for more than a thousand years. It was like welcoming an old friend. An annoying old friend who nags at you constantly and endlessly, true. But a familiar one all the same. And while she would never admit it, especially not to Celestia, part of her relished it. She adjusted her armour for the umpteenth time and swore that she would take it to the smiths first thing tomorrow. It felt a little tight in the flank. The realisation of that made her cheeks heat up, and she vowed to get out more. Clearly spending most of her time in the palace wasn’t doing her any favors.

She took a deep breath and then went through a few more practice swings with Eclipse to steady herself and keep her mind occupied. The blade almost seemed to sing as it cut through the air, leaving a faint shimmering trail of silvery moonlight behind.

The gate to the courtyard swung open and Aurora came galloping through, followed by a contingent of lunar guards. All of them Thestrals. She Snapped a crisp salute as she stopped in front of Luna. Her soldiers lined up in neat rows behind her.

“Welcome back Aurora, how many ponies did thou bring?”

“Highness, I was able to rally a single platoon in the time you allowed.”

‘Twenty able thestrals.’ Luna thought, ‘That will do.’

“Hast thou briefed them?”

“No ma’am, I figured it best to round up as many as possible rather than waste time explaining.”

“Very well.” Luna said before she turned to face the waiting troops.

“Hear us brave soldiers of our night guard. A few minutes ago somepony sent up a distress signal. There is a swarm of spiders attacking an unknown number of civilians. We do not know how many spiders we face, but we must respond swiftly to safeguard our ponies lives.”

“We, your highness? You mean you’re coming with us?” Asked a young stallion. Aurora shot him a glare but Luna held up a hoof to forestall her.

“You are correct. In case our wearing armour did not give it away, we will fight alongside thee this night.”

A wave of excitement rippled through the assembled ponies.

“Now, gather round me my children of the night, We shall teleport there directly. Be prepared for battle the moment we arrive.”

Swiftly they formed a ring around Luna, facing outwards. As one, every single Thestral spread his or her wings, the moonlight reflecting off their silvery wingblades. With a metallic twang, spring Loaded blades extended from their foreleg greaves like claws. Luna powered up her horn, a mist like shimmer formed around the group.

“Domina noctis aeternae!” Aurora shouted.

“Et magna victoria!” they all thundered in reply.

Luna felt a swell of pride and love as they recited her warcry of old. Her earlier jitters vanished as a soothing calm settled over her. Here she was, about to go into battle, surrounded by those who adored and respected her. Her precious night guard. It seemed ironic, she was seconds away from violent conflict, and yet she felt more at peace in that moment than she had in the past millennia. She focused on her horn, completing the spell. And in a flash, they were gone, and the courtyard stood empty once more.

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

With a scream of seething indignation I grabbed the spider stabbing at me with my claws and tore it in half, before I threw myself in front of the door, blocking it off with my bulk. I even managed to crush another spider beneath me as it tried to get in. I had to trust in the others to deal with the remaining spiders already inside. I just had to keep the ones already there from running off with any more ponies, and keep the rest of the swarm outside. Staying put however, that was not easy. Every single fiber of my being screamed at me to run after Melody. But the one part of rationality amidsts the raging emotions knew that if I did that I would doom everypony inside. The needs of the many and all that cold logic. And as much as the trekkie in me is shouting heresy, I’ll say this anyway. Fuck you and your logic mister Spock. What good are the many if you can’t save the few important to you? Still, I stayed put. And vented my anger, anguish and frustration on the spiders.

I mentally grit my teeth as I transformed what remained of my damaged body back into my usual hulking humanoid self. Lashing out at the spiders with oversized fists adorned with spiked knuckles. I had no energy left for anything fancy. From here on I would be relying on my strength alone. The spiders formed a loose semicircle as they approached. They seemed a little more wary of me now after chewing and stomping my way through so many of them. Their reluctance to attack me didn’t last long. One of the bolder ones decided to just go for it and jumped me. I punched it away, feeling its carapace break on impact with my fist, but the damage was done. Emboldened, the others charged in. I punched the first to reach me into the ground, shattering its skull. I kicked away the second, and headbutted the third. I gave it my best, holding my ground while standing ankle-deep in slippery guts. Still, with this many spiders one slipped through my defence eventually and landed on my chest, nearly bowling me over. I grabbed what legs I could and snapped them, managing to partially dislodge it. As it began to slide down however it bit down with its fangs, right into my chest, pumping a full load of venom into me. I could feel it burning its way through me. My insides sizzled, and then the venom ate its way into the hollow part where I kept my core.

My body collapsed to its knees and I screamed as I lost all control. It burned!
Some strange part of my mind couldn’t help but think how Ironic this was. This is what it must feel like for others to be hit with my digestive acid.

The spider that filled my vision as it clumsily clung to my chest suddenly vanished with a shriek, blasted away by a bolt of energy. I looked to my side where I spotted Trixie, standing on top of the barricade behind the broken door, her horn still smoldering.

“Get up!” she yelled, her breath coming in gasps. “Get up and fight, Aeron!”

She unleashed another salvo of what I first believed were concussive bolts. The small, pale magenta streaks of energy zipped past me and struck several spiders that were trying to take advantage of the situation, then they detonated in colorful explosions that blinded and seared them. They were more fireworks. I could see Trixie was struggling with fatigue. Part of her mane was plastered to her face with sweat, and she looked about ready to drop. Still her eyes were fierce and defiant. A far cry from the downtrodden mare I met this morning.

A lone spider tried to pounce for her, and only through some miracle was I able to intercept it with a fist against its face. One of its many eyeballs popped as it slammed straight into one of the spikes on my knuckles. I grabbed it by the head and smashed it into the ground before pulverising its abdomen by bringing both fists down on it. My movements were sluggish, the venom had damaged my core enough to hamper my control, and I simply did not have the energy to regenerate without compromising my form any further.

“I’m sorry Trixie.” I told her as I once more lost control of my legs, gracelessly toppling over.

“What are you apologizing for? Don’t waste your energy making excuses.” she panted.

I couldn’t help but give a wry chuckle.

“At this point, it’s gonna take divine intervention to get us out of this mess.”

In a sense that’s exactly what we got.

The flash of a teleportation spell near the road momentarily blinded us. Before my vision fully returned a familiar voice rang out.

“Night guard, take them!” echoed the voice of princess Luna.

I have never been happier to hear that voice. With a battlecry I couldn’t make out her bat ponies charged into the spider swarm. Wing blades flashed and spider limbs went sailing everywhere. They trampled over the small ones and punched the big spiders with hoof mounted claws. Tearing them open and spilling their yellowish guts into the grass. Several of them launched themselves into the air, only to rain down on the spiders like blade covered comets of vengeance. I watched as one of the ponies got bowled over by a pouncing spider, only for that pony to bite down and tear off one of its chelicerae with his teeth. Never have I seen ponies fight with that level of ferocity. And then there was Luna herself.

She strode calmly through the swarm, swinging a curved blade almost as big as herself in graceful but deadly arcs with a speed and precision that was nearly impossible to follow. A single swing cleaved two spiders in twain. The blade itself left a shimmering trail as it completed a full rotation around her. Almost like a moon orbiting a planet. Her star filled mane completed that picture nicely. Several spiders tried to attack her from multiple sides at once, but her blade moved so fast they never made it. One of the blasted arachnids got through her defence, stabbing at her with its razor tipped legs, but her armour took the blow without so much as a scratch before she brought her blade round. For a moment the spider stood stock still, and I was beginning to think she had missed it, until it collapsed in three pieces. Another spider pounced directly at her face, only to be impaled on her horn, as well as the blade of her faceplate. She didn’t so much blink at the blood that ran down her muzzle.

All around us the swarm was driven back. Let no one ever say that ponies don’t know how to fight, because these bat ponies are a whole different breed. They fight as ferociously as a griffin. Faced with this new opposition the spiders finally decided they had enough for one night. The swarm began to retreat back to the everfree in a roiling mass. However, Luna was not done with them. Her horn lit up with an icy blue light, before she unleashed a massive beam of lunar energy that cut a swathe through the retreating swarm, killing a dozen or more spiders in an instant. Their bodies disintegrating into a fine silvery dust. I quietly reminded myself not to piss her off from now on.

As the swarm ran, Luna turned to her second in command. “Pursue them, harass them all the way back to the everfree.”

“By your will mistress.” the mare replied and took off with most of the other bat ponies. Only two lingered behind to form an honour guard.

“Princess Luna, are you ever a sight for sore eyes.”

“Aeron, why is it that whenever there is trouble, we find thee in the thick of it?” She said by way of greeting.

“Because a certain bitch in a summer dress has it in for me.” I groaned as I tried to get back to my feet.

“We beg thy pardon?” she said looking confused.

“Sorry, that’s just how I picture fate whenever stuff goes wrong. As a flighty redhead in a yellow summer dress, giggling quietly as she toys with the fate of us mere mortals, while her brother Murphy looks over her shoulder and offers her advice to maximise her efforts.”

Everypony stared at me as if I had completely lost my marbles. What? Oh come on, I can’t be the only one who has ever imagined fate or some other abstract concept being personified. After all we speak of Mother Nature and Father Time. So why not Lady Fate and her adopted brother Murphy’s Law? What do I imagine him to look like? Mostly like Chris Rock in a brightly colored tuxedo for some reason.

“Thou truly art a strange one, now, tell us what has happened here.” Luna said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“All I know is we were just sitting inside, having a good time when a lone road guard came banging at the door, saying his patrol had been attacked. Before we knew it we were surrounded by an endless number of spiders. We barricaded ourselves in, but those barricades were never going to last the night. So we signaled for help.”

“Yes we saw thy display in the sky all the way in Canterlot.”

“Not mine, Trixies.” I said as I motioned to the stunned mare behind me.

“Indeed?” Luna said before she stepped over to Trixie. “Commendable spellwork miss Trixie. We were most impressed. You certainly got everypony’s attention.“

“Uhm.. t-thank you, your highness. Trixie Lulamoon at your service.” Trixie stammered with a bow before she turned on me.

“You never mentioned you were friends with royalty.” She hissed between her teeth.

“Sure I did, I told you all about my past this afternoon.”

“Well you certainly glossed over the part about being on first name bases with the princesses!” She said in an accusatory tone.

“Eh, I’m not really that chummy with Celestia. Luna’s just easy to get along with once you get to know her a bit. It's really not that big a deal.”

“Not that big a… are you even listening to yourself?”

“Trixie, Luna may be a princess, but more importantly she’s just a pony like yourself. And treating her as such is not a sign of disrespect on my part.”

“She’s the bucking princess of the night. It is a big deal.”

“Thou realiseth we are standing right here.” Luna said. And was that a pout? It could have been a trick of the light but I swear she was pouting.

Further arguments were interrupted as the rest of the survivors made their way outside.

“My baby, where’s my Melody?” cried a distraught Peachy Plum.

My face fell. “I’m sorry Peachy, I couldn’t...”

“No! No you have to save her. Y-you h-have to do something. You have to!”

Any joviality I may have felt after being rescued by my favorite princess evaporated faster than a snowball in a volcano as Peachy collapsed into a heap of tears. Swift Wind wrapped a wing around her, his own eyes brimming with tears.

“What has happened?” Luna demanded.

“The spiders took her little filly, as well as several other ponies. There was nothing we could do.”

“Most likely already eaten by now.” Chopper said grimly as he joined our little group. He had a bleeding gash on his barrel, but didn’t seem to even notice it.

We all stood in silent misery for a moment, the only sound the heartbroken sobs of Peachy Plum.

“There may yet be a chance.” Said Luna.

“What do you mean princess?” asked Trixie.

“Most spider species are solitary ones. Star Spiders on the other hoof are one of the few social species. They make extensive underground nests and have a complex hierarchy, led by the biggest, oldest female among them. The broodmother. Oftentimes, foraging parties like the swarm we just faced will take food back to the nest for the broodmother to eat. Since she rarely if ever leaves the nest.”

Hearing her words Peachy threw herself at Luna’s hooves. Clinging to them like a drowning mare to a life preserver.

“P-please your highness, if that is true, save her. I beg of you, save my little girl before it’s too late!!”

Luna briefly flinched as Peachy grabbed her hooves, but she recovered swiftly, standing tall she gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

“You have our word my little pony. We shall do whatever we can to bring thy little one back to thee.”

“How would we even find her?” Trixie whispered to me.

“Doesn’t matter, we have to try.”

“B-but..” she said, her eyes darting back and forth nervously. Clearly the idea of going after the spider horde didn’t appeal to her.

“Hey, it’s okay, I understand. You don’t have to come with us.”

“No! No… Trixie will come too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. What sort of mare would Trixie be if she left a little filly to her fate. Trixie would not be able to look at herself in a mirror ever again.” She said with a deep sigh. “Just..”

“Just?”

“Just promise Trixie you won’t let the spiders get her.” She said, looking away.

“I won’t. Besides, we won’t be going in by ourselves.”

“I’m coming too.” Said Swift Wind.

“No, you won’t.”

“What! You can’t tell me to stay here. That’s my little girl out there.”

“Aeron, what art thou thinking.” Luna said disapprovingly.

“I’m thinking that if he comes with us he’s going to get either himself or somepony else killed!” I said as I turned to look swift in the eye. “I understand how you feel. I really do. If it were my child out there, and the only way to get to her led through a pit full of broken glass and fire, I would hurl myself into it without a second thought, regardless of the odds of my survival. Which is exactly why you need to stay here. Because I’m not rescuing that little filly only to tell her that her daddy is dead!”

Swift looked like he wanted to argue some more, but Peachy’s hoof touching his shoulder seemed to drain the fight right out of him.

With nothing further to say we set off after the horde and the rest of the night guard. Luna, her two bodyguards, myself, Trixie, Chopper and Chip. I stuck closely to Luna, leaching as much power off of her magic aura as possible to replenish my depleted reserves. It’s a good thing alicorns radiate so much excess magic. We all ran at a gallop, with Luna and her thestrals flying just above us. Well every pony galloped, I was running after them at full sprint. It has been too long since I last assumed a humanoid form. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to run on two legs.

We soon reached the border of the Everfree, where the rest of the night guard were waiting.

“Your highness, why are you here?” Asked one of the thestrals.

“The situation has changed Aurora. These fiendish spiders were apparently able to make off with several victims. Amongst them a young filly. This is now a search and recovery mission. We must locate the nest of these monsters and retrieve our little ponies, if any are still alive.”

“We will not fail you, mistress Luna.”

We organised into teams of two, and each team was given a signal flare. We had thirteen teams in total. Ten teams consisting of two night guards each. Luna and Aurora made up another. So did Chopper and Chip. Leaving me to pair up with Trixie, which was fine by me.

“If Thou finds the entrance to the nest, fire the signal flare and await reinforcements. Under no circumstance must thou go in alone.”Luna said. “Move swiftly, and good luck.”

We set off into the woods as briskly as possible in the darkness. Trixie lit up her horn to light the way for us. Thestrals can apparently see better in the dark than they can in the daylight, so they didn’t require magic to find their way. I briefly caught a glimpse of another light in the distance. That was likely Chip’s horn. Now the pairing made sense. This way everyone could find their way around. Though technically I didn’t need any light to see in the dark either.

We pushed our way through the underbrush, keeping alert for the slightest sound. There were no tracks to follow. Apparently these spiders hardly leave any trace of their passing, even while dragging a victim. Possibly one of the bigger ones had taken to carrying them instead. Even so their nest couldn’t be too deep into the woods. At least I hoped not. We had been searching for close to twenty minutes when Trixie stopped me.

“Trixie really needs to take a quick break.” She said quietly. I guess she was still tired from the fight. Then again she had been using a lot of magic tonight, and the hour was growing very late. Plus we had been on the road all day, so she must be dead on her hooves by now. I channeled a little magic through my hand and grew an apple.

“Here, eat this. Get a little sugar in you.”

She gave me a questioning look before she quietly accepted the apple and bit into it.

“You aren’t just giving Trixie treats to fatten her up are you.”

“What? No! Of course not, why would I..” She was laughing at me. I could see her shaking as she tried to keep it in.

“Oh you cheeky, cheeky filly.” I said with no real malice in my voice.

“Trixie is sorry, but that was just priceless. You sounded so panicked for a moment there.” she sputtered between fits of laughter.

“Yeah well… where I come from mentioning a girl’s weight is like… like poking a Manticore with a stick. Bad idea.”

After a minute or so, Trixie finally got her laughter back under control.

“Ohh trixie needed that.” she said, slightly breathless.

“Glad to be of service.” I said with a mock huff, but inside I was smiling too. It was kinda funny.

“This whole venture will make for quite the story. Now you will have something you can brag about for real when you get your show back on the road.” I said quietly.

“Let’s hope it has a happy ending.” she replied between bites.

I nodded grimly at that.

“This really wasn’t how I imagined this day to turn out.” I said.

“Then what did you hope for?”

“Oh just a nice boring, relaxing day. I’ve had way too much excitement since I got to this world. I never was the adventurous type, yet trouble seems to keep finding me. It's like a stubborn bloodhound I just can’t seem to shake off my trail.”

“Maybe it's a sign you are meant for greater things?”

“Now that is a truly scary thought.” I said, and meant every word.

We were just about to resume our search when a green light lit up the sky to the west of us. Someone had sent up a signal flare. They had found the nest. We rushed in their direction as fast as we could safely manage in the darkness. Soon we came upon the rest of the group. They motioned us over silently. One of them pointed at something through the trees, motioning for us to keep quiet, and when I stole a glance I saw a tunnel opening in the side of a small, tree covered hill, wide enough for ponies to walk through four abreast. The walls and mouth of the tunnel were lined with strands of silk webbing. What’s more, there were at least five spiders roaming about. Most likely sentinels of some kind. I couldn’t help but wonder if we were dealing with spiders or ants at this point. Fucking magical creatures and their weird behavior.

Soon enough the last of our group arrived and we made ready to go in.

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

Melody Star whimpered as the spiders carried her deeper and deeper down the dark tunnels. The web she was in stuck to her fur and pulled painfully on her mane at times. She had been crying so much she had literally no tears left, and her eyes were red and puffy. Two other ponies were being carried by spiders to her left and right. She recognised them as customers from her home.

“Where are they taking us. What do they want with us?” Called the mare on her left. She too was shivering.

“I don’t know.” Called the pegasus stallion on her right. His wings reminded melody of her daddy. She wanted to go home so badly.

The tunnels were damp and lined with old webs. Here and there strange glowing mushrooms clung to the wall. Providing a spot of light in the darkness. There was a musty stench that clung to everything, mixed with the earthy smell of wet dirt.

The tunnel finally ended and they were brought into a small natural cavern. The spiders moved over to the far wall where another pony was already hanging in her own web cocoon. Soon enough their own cocoons joined hers, stuck to the wall with a bit of sticky silk before the spiders backed away swiftly. All was quiet for a few moments, then something stirred in the darkness.

Everypony's eyes widened and they all let out frightened whimpers as an enormous spider, easily the size of a small cottage emerged from the darkness. Half of its eyes were milky white instead of blue like the other star spiders. Blindness caused by old age. Slowly the old broodmother approached. Her fangs clicking together as she sized up the morsels her children had brought her. Melody whimpered as those poisonous jaws came closer and closer. The spider's pedipalps brushed briefly over each cocoon, as if she were sampling them. When they finally reached Melody’s cocoon she couldn’t help it, she wet herself. A tiny stream of pee running down her legs and tail. The broodmother pulled back with a light hiss. Annoyed by the pungent stink of urine. She moved aside and her pedipalps latched on to the cocoon of the unicorn mare, who yelped as it was torn free of the wall and tossed to the floor.

“Wha-what.. No, no not me. NOT ME!” the mare in question began to yell. Trying to kick free of her silk prison.

Her yells turned into a shriek of pain as the broodmother bit down with her fangs and pumped the mare’s belly full of digestive venom. Melody screwed her eyes shut and put both hooves over her ears as best she could. But no effort on her part could shut out the poor unicorns agonised death screams as her insides were slowly melted into goo for the broodmother to drink.

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

The sentry spiders were easily dealt with thanks to the night guard, who descended on them in groups of three. The arachnids didn’t stand a chance and were swiftly eviscerated. With nothing else to stand in our way we began our descent into the darkness below. The tunnel descended at a moderate angle, neither too shallow nor too steep. The silk webbing along part of the walls must be a way for them to reinforce it and keep loose dirt from collapsing it, clever. Kinda icky, but clever all the same.

Aurora and two of the night guard were leading the way. Their night vision able to pick out any nasty surprises waiting for us. Luna herself followed close behind, together with myself, Trixie and two more of the night guard. Chopper, Chip and the remaining night guard brought up the rear. As we trudged along I noticed some strange bioluminescent fungi growing at odd intervals along the tunnel. I decided to sample one with my powers for later use. Who knows when such a thing would come in handy. After perhaps five minutes of walking the tunnel opened up into a large natural cavern. Dozens of tunnels led off in all directions. There were spiders here too. But so far they had not noticed us yet. Most of them seemed to be resting. Tucked away in nooks and crannies. Barely visible at all. Others were napping right out in the open. Lazily hanging from the ceiling amidsts the stalactites. Like creepy christmas decorations.

“That’s a lot of spiders.” I whispered.

“What do we do now? We have no idea what direction to go? We could wander about endlessly in this place. And who knows how many more spiders are down here. If we get caught in a dead end we’re bucked.” one of the night guard mares said in a hushed voice.

“We will have to hold the central cavern if we are to have any hope of making our retreat.” Aurora chipped in.

“Does anyone have any idea where the broodmother is likely to be?” I asked.

“Hard to say. No two spider nests are the same after all.” Chopper said.

We sat there silently, trying to think up a way to find the victims quickly.

“Aeron, how are thy energy reserves?” Luna suddenly asked me.

“Thanks to my proximity to your magical aura they are recovering well, why?”

“Could thou make some of those plants thou used back when thou were our, guest in Canterlot. The ones thou used to prank the castle staff.”

“Heard about that did you?” I said sheepishly.

“Indeed we did.” She answered with a smirk. “If thou can maketh enough of them we can use them to scout out all these tunnels at once.”

That is actually a brilliant idea, I should have thought of it myself. Why didn’t I think of that myself? Ugh, maybe I’m too used to handling things with brawn rather than brains lately. Something to rectify later.

“I will give it a try.” I said.

“Maketh sure they look as spidery as thou can maketh them.”

I focused my will on my hand and directed my magic to sprout some seeds. Then I set to the task of rapid growing them into bellsprouts. I made sure to give them exaggerated spidery features before I sent them on their way. From a distance they sure looked like spiderlings.

“Luna, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why are you speaking in olden Equestrian again? Last time we spoke you weren’t this… archaic.”

“We do not know of which thou speaketh.” She said with a huff.

She scrunched up her face as her eyes darted left and right. When she was sure nopony was paying attention she leaned over to me and whispered. “Between us, ‘tis mainly nerves. Long has it been since we last led ponies into battle. When we speak in the olden tongue we are better able to hide our nervousness. We cannot look weak or indecisive in front of our troops. It would destroy morale.”

Show no fear huh, I guess I understand. She sort of is their anchor after all. I nodded to her, then got back to concentrating on sifting through the myriad of information my bellsprouts were relaying back to me. They were moving quite swiftly, a far cry from their slow and clumsy predecessors. I just hoped we were not too late.

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

With a gurgle, the broodmother sucked up the last of the ‘soup’ from her victim. Leaving behind a shriveled husk. The other ponies were beyond terrified now. It had taken an agonising five minutes for the poor mare to die while her organs slowly melted. Five minutes of endless tortured screaming. The pegasus stallion had fainted from fright, while the other mare was gibbering unintelligible with shock. And little Melody, she apparently still had some tears left after all. She cried as she begged for her mother to come and save her. Then the spider’s pedipalps reached for her cocoon and tore it off the wall. Melody landed on the ground with a cry of pain, her eyes widening in terror as the broodmother came closer.

Behind her, at the mouth of the tunnel that led into the broodmothers lair, a tiny spider shaped plant emerged.

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

“I found her! Luna, she's about to be spider chow, we need to do something now!”

“Thy seedling, have it flare it's magic. Burn it out if thou hast to, give us something to lock onto.”

I had no idea what she planned but I wasn’t about to argue with that little filly moments away from death. I sent a surge of magic through the connection and into the bellsprout. Oversaturating it so much that part of its body began to literally boil and rupture from the excess energy. Next to me Luna’s horn flared to life.

“We have it. Secure our escape route. We shall return!” She teleported away with a bang of displaced air. A bang that didn’t go unnoticed by the spiders.

The swarm inside the cavern stirred, endless numbers of eyes suddenly glowed in the gloomy dark. A hiss of challenge was issued.

Aurora stepped forward. “Night guard, you heard the princess. Secure this exit. Let none of these bucking monsters stand in your way!”

We rushed from the tunnel and into the cave.

“Once more into the breach.” I muttered under my breath as I let loose with my powers.

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

The broodmother loomed over Melody, its fangs still dripping with the remains of its last meal as it got ready to strike.

“No, I wanna go home. Mommy, anypony, heeelp!”

There was a flash and a bang, and something struck the giant spider like a meteor. Slamming it into the cavern wall with an enraged shriek.

“Away vile arachnid!” Boomed a voice, before a beautiful winged pony stepped into Melody’s view.

“Art thou alright child?” The strange mare asked as she gently gave her a nuzzle.

“I’m scared.” Whimpered melody. “Can I go home now? please?

“Close thine eyes little one. Do not watch and do not worry, this will all be over soon, and then thou can go home.” Luna said as she unsheathed Eclipse, taking a protective stance between Melody and the broodmother.

The broodmother hissed at her. Her chelicerae clicking together aggressively.

“Thou hast feasted on our ponies for the last time abomination.” Luna spoke quietly, “Now thou shalt know mine displeasure.”

The old spider rose up into a threatening pose, ready to strike.

Agile as a cat, Luna sprang forth, Eclipse leading the way. The old spider was quick though. The beasts great fangs shot forward and impacted Luna’s armour with a loud, metallic clang. Fortunately the sword sized fangs failed to penetrate the enchanted, obsidian colored steel. But they still managed to leave a pair of deep scrapes that hissed with drops of corrosive venom. The broodmother had no such enchanted protection. Eclipse shot forward and struck deeply, slicing through several of the beasts remaining good eyes. The broodmother let out a keening wail before battering Luna away with one of its legs. The impact knocked the breath out of her and sent her crashing into the cavern wall. She landed on the ground with a bang and rattle of armour. The broodmother chittered in triumph.

“Thou cries victory too soon monster.” Luna said as she got back to her hooves, eyes ablaze with magic. “We are the princess of the night. We faced the likes of the shadow king and Discord. A thousand years on the moon could not lay us low, we will not fall to an old decrepit arachnid like thou.”

She let loose with her horn, sending a trio of white bolts at the spider. They detonated like flashbangs. Loud and bright, blinding and disorienting. With her telekinesis Luna directed Eclipse underneath her opponent's abdomen and struck. The enchanted blade cut through the monsters chitinous hide with a sound akin to the breaking of a giant eggshell, immediately followed by a wet splatter as a portion of the beasts organs spilled through the cut and fell to the floor. As the beast reared up in pain with a deafening shriek, Luna unleashed a beam of force from her horn, blasting straight through the creatures sternum and out the other end of its cephalothorax, leaving behind a smoking hole.

“To the endless abyss with thee!” She screamed as she jumped on top of the swaying spider and rammed eclipse down into its skull. The blade burst out the other side in a spray of blood.

The broodmothers death wail echoed through the entire nest. Then the old spider collapsed. It’s legs no longer able to keep it upright. Its impact with the floor sent a tremor through the cave. For a moment all was silent, and then the spiders everywhere let out enraged shrieks.

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

The central chamber flooded with spiders coming up from below. I had no idea where they were all coming from. The nest must run even deeper than we anticipated for there to be this many. One of the night guards on my left fell with a scream as a spider skewered one of his back legs. His companion managed to slice through the spider's leg with a wingblade and buck the beast away before it had a chance to capitalise on its victims injury and bring its venomous fangs into play. I lashed out with whip like vines. Battering several spiders away. My bellsprouts attacked the spiders from behind. A burst of magic transforming them from harmless little buds into full fledged flytraps. The stink of melting flesh filled the cavern.

From the tunnel leading to the broodmothers chambers Luna emerged, little Melody riding on her back, clinging onto her for dear life. Two of the other kidnap victims were following close behind her. The spiders tried to attack them from behind as they made their escape, but in a flash Aurora was there. Her wingblades sang as she darted to and fro, slicing off spiderlegs and fangs with every move. Watching that mare fight was like watching a dancer. A dancer armed with two feet long razor blades that is.

Trixie and Chip did their best to cover Luna’s retreat with spellfire. Launching bolt after bolt into the spider mass in order to clear a path. For my part I tried my best to both support the night guard whilst simultaneously trying to block off the tunnels and stem the flow of reinforcements with thorn vines and acid spitters. But there were simply too many tunnels and too many spiders. Trixie unleashed her trademark firework spell into the biggest concentration of spiders. The spell detonated with a series of bangs and bright lights. Burning and disorienting many of the beasts. Several brave night guards took advantage of this by jumping into the throng of disoriented arachnids, wing blades and hoof claws stabbing and slicing before they pulled back at the last possible second.

As luna finally reached our position I took little Melody from her so she could fight freely and add her magic to the barrage. I cradled the little filly protectively in my arms. She shivered as she curled up against me. She was a little dirty, but otherwise she seemed unharmed. Her mental state however, I did not wish to think about that. But I was certain Luna would be there for the little one in the coming weeks to keep her nightmares at bay. Several of the night guard took hold of the other two survivors and began to lead them into the exit tunnel.

“Night guard, we are leaving! Assume semicircle formation and fall back!” Luna bellowed over the din of the fight as she fired another series of concussive blasts into the throng of arachnids.

We began to fall back to the tunnel that led to the surface. It was slow going since the spiders were on top of us every step of the way. Slaying the broodmother had apparently enraged them beyond all sense of self preservation. And even though we had found no evidence I felt certain there was some darker force at work here. Their behavior simply seemed unnatural.

“Get the wounded and the civilians out first. We’ll hold here as long as we can.” Luna Instructed Aurora.

The thestral mare snapped a crisp salute and began to lead the way out. The rest of us gathered around the tunnel opening and dug our heels in. A number of spiders were crawling along the ceiling, trying to get at us from an unexpected angle. A quick blast of Luna’s horn turned them into moon dust. Another night guard fell. His left wing torn to shreds and bleeding profusely. Chip yanked the unlucky stallion away with a quick burst of telekinesis, as Chopper split the offending spider’s skull with his axe. After that we fell back into the tunnel itself. We simply didn’t have the manpower to hold our ground otherwise.

The guard led the way. Supporting their wounded between them while the rest of us brought up the rear.

“Make haste to the surface, we cannot hold them for long.” Luna yelled as she fired another blast of magic into the cavern.

Spiders were coming out of every tunnel now, all trying to get at us. The barricades I managed to erect had been torn away completely. My bellsprouts still tried to fight, but were soon torn asunder by fang and leg. The only thing keeping the spiders from overwhelming us now was the exit tunnel serving as a bottleneck. But the moment we’d reach the surface and got out into the open they would be able to swarm us. And with the wounded ponies slowing us down there was no way we could outrun the swarm. Not in the woods where they had the advantage in mobility.

“Princess, can’t you blow part of the roof and seal the tunnel?” Chip suggested.

“Nay, we would risk bringing the whole thing down on top of us.”

No choice then, someone had to stay behind and keep the spiders busy as long as possible to give the others a chance to escape. I handed melody over to Trixie.

“Go, get her out of here. All of you get to safety.”

“We can’t just leave you here!” Trixie protested, guessing my plan.

“It’s not like I want to stay behind, but out of all of us, I’m the one who has the biggest chance to survive this.”

No that wasn’t me bragging or somehow giving into this hero complex I seem to be developing. It was a simple fact. Not even Luna would survive being buried under several hundred tons of dirt. But I probably could. Probably.

“But..” Trixie tried again.

“MOVE! Take her and go.” I yelled as I placed Melody on her back.

Trixie looked like she wanted to argue more, but in the end she turned and ran after the night guards carrying the wounded.

“Don’t you dare die on me, idiot!” she yelled over her shoulder as she vanished down the tunnel.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Melody asked Trixie quietly.

“He had better be.” Trixie scoffed.

Luna fired another beam from her horn before I closed off the tunnel with a thick bramble like bush. Already the spiders were tearing away at it and it wouldn’t last long.

She looked at me. “Aeron..“ She began, But I gave her my most determined look and motioned down the tunnel.

“I’m not trying to be a hero, I’m simply the most logical choice for this.”

“Mind Miss Lulamoons words. Do. Not. Die.” She said before she galloped down the tunnel, leaving me alone to face the horde.

I sighed. What the hell am I doing? How do I keep getting myself into these situations. Maybe I was just deluding myself. Maybe I really do have a hero complex, or perhaps a death wish. Or maybe I’m just fates little plaything until she gets bored and finds something new and shiny to distract her. Or maybe this is all just some crazy delusion and some day I’ll wake up in a padded room somewhere, doped up to my ears next to a guy named Smelly Stu. Time will tell I suppose.

I slammed my fist into my palm and got ready as the last of the thorn bush came down.

“Round two you arachnid fucks.”

They rushed the tunnel en masse, only to be greeted by a shower of acid and blasts of thorny spines. Even so they simply crawled over their own dead in order to get to me. I lashed out with whip like vines, grabbing several spiders and wielding them like flails. Battering and smashing as many as I could with their own bodies. Hehe, spider flails.

It did not deter them in the slightest. I unleashed a cloud of deadly spores, choking the life out of many of the spiders. But even that didn’t seem to slow them down anymore than my other tactics. I erected a wall of razorthorn vines and roots, with a few thorn grenades woven through them for good measure, trying to buy the others as much time as possible to reach the surface. But the spiders were undeterred despite several of them being blown into ground chuck. My barricade didn’t stand up to them for long, with whole sections of it being stripped away at once by powerful jaws and legs. I tried my best to plug the holes, but it had been clear from the start that I was fighting a losing battle.

I slowly backed up and erected a second barricade of thorny vines and acid spitters. I needed to stop the spiders from following us, but It would take more power to do it than I had available, despite the pick me up I got from Luna. It seems I had little choice now, corrupted or not I dug in my roots and reached out to the earth itself in order to draw upon its power. What I found was not what I expected.

Instead of the corrupting energy that permeated the whole of the everfree, I found the unmistakable power of the tree of harmony. We must be close enough for me to connect to it. But I never could before, so why now? Could it be due to the elements of harmony hitting me with the rainbow beam of deus ex machina? Or was it because I removed all the plunder seeds, somehow allowing the tree’s influence to reach further once again? Whatever the reason, it was my good fortune right now. I reached out to it, and it acknowledged me.

‘I need more power, ancient guardian. Please, give me some of yours, whatever little snippet you can spare.’

‘Already have great power you do, why more do you need? For what purpose, use it you will?’

Did… did the tree just talk like Yoda? Or is that merely how my overtaxed mind chose to perceive the tree’s language right now? I really am bloody crazy aren’t I? No, this is hardly the time to dwell on that.

‘To protect the ones I care about.’ was the thought I sent its way.

‘To protect, Mmhmm. A noble goal this is, yes. Then receive this you shall. All I can spare this is.’

‘Thank you.’

I could feel it, new energy flooding through the connection, into me. But it felt different, unlike the time I received some life force from the apple tree. This energy didn’t feel like anything I had experienced before. I felt it flow through me, through every fibre, every cell, down to my very core. And suddenly I felt the very tunnel walls around me. I could almost see the flow of natural magic as it moved through the earth itself. I reached out to it with a hand. The very rock moved, and a section of the tunnel came apart from the rest and jammed itself into the opening, sealing it off.

“Holy shit did I just… did I just...“

I backed up a few yards, reached out to another part of the tunnel and made a fist. The entire thing collapsed in on itself, as if a giant hand crushed it like a soda can.

“No way… no fucking way.”

A crack appeared along the ceiling, getting steadily bigger and pieces of it began to chip away and fall.

“Uh oh, guess I overdid it.”

I ran as fast as I could. Following the tunnel all the way to the surface. I reached the entrance with moments to spare. Tumbling out into the open and landing on my back as the tunnel collapsed behind me, and a wave of dust and debris blew out of the entrance. Before I could get my bearings I was set upon by a mare and a little filly.

“Mister, you’re safe.” Shouted little Melody as she jumped on top of me and hugged her little forelegs around my neck.

“Yes, yes I am, and more importantly, so are you.” I said, giving her a gentle nuzzle the way ponies do. It’s not so odd a gesture really. Heck I’ve done so a few times with my dog. I miss that little mutt.

She hugged me even tighter, but it wasn’t the only hug I received. Trixie was actually hugging my shoulder. Until I looked her way and she quickly let go, looking away in embarrassment. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Tis good to see thee safe Aeron.” Said Luna as I got to my feet, holding little melody safely in my arms like a puppy.

Ugh I really need to stop comparing ponies to dogs. Even if they are about that size to me, not to mention just as cuddly, if not moreso. Okay mind, I get it, you’re tired and getting off track. Time to wrap this up so we can all get some rest.

“Thank you Luna, It’s good to see everypony else made it out too.” I said as I gave Trixie a gentle nudge. She didn’t say anything, but I could see her smile.

“But what will we do about the nest? It won’t take those spiders very long to dig their way out.” Said Chip.

“Thou need do nothing. We shall call forth the full power of the moon using a spell of our own making to obliterate the entire nest from orbit. ‘Tis the only way to be certain.”

“Uhm Trixie does not wish to cause offence your majesty, but is that not… excessive?”

“Nay lady Lulamoon, these spiders form a direct threat to all the farms and settlements surrounding the Everfree. They have developed a taste for pony flesh, and thus there is naught to be done but eradicate them whole.”

Her decision was final and I can’t say I disagree with it. So we set off, walking until we were a good distance away from the collapsed tunnel.

“This should be far enough.” Luna announced, then she floated rather than flew up into the sky, hovering above the treeline with her front legs aimed at the sky.

“Everypony stand back!” she called down.

Her horn began to glow, and then her entire body glowed. The few clouds in the sky parted, and we had a clear view of the moon, which seemed to glow with unnatural brightness as it moved directly overhead, guided by her magic. Luna was... chanting to herself. I had to strain my supernatural hearing to make out the words.

“Mirror of the day star, hear our command and illuminate this darkest night. Deliver upon mine enemy our furious wrath.”

She threw her forelegs forward and pointed her horn at the woods, roughly where I knew the nest was.

“STELLA MAGNA!” She shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

A beam of pure silver, nearly three hundred feet across erupted from the moon itself and shot down to impact the Everfree. The ground trembled, and I could see small rocks, pebbles and other detritus start to rise into the air all around us. My body felt lighter too, and then I realised what she was doing. That beam was some sort of gravity attack. With a dull crump, every tree caught in the beam broke and collapsed, entire rock formations shattered, crushed as if flattened by an enormous weight. The ground shook harder, like the start of an earthquake. And then part of the forest floor collapsed with a deafening cacophony. Finally the beam cut off, and everything that had been floating in the air fell back down to the ground.

“Unbelievable.” Chopper whispered in awe, and I couldn’t help but agree.

When the dust finally cleared, a deep crater filled with pulverised rock, splintered wood and crushed, eight legged bodies was all that remained of the vast spider's nest. As if the whole thing had been flattened by the strike of a titanic sledgehammer.

Luna landed gracefully and folded her wings. “It is done.”

That’s an understatement if ever there was one.

“Can we go home now?” Asked Melody, still nestled into my arms.

“Yes, yes we can Melody, I bet your mama and papa will be very happy to see you.”

She nodded, then looked at me quizzically, tilting her head ever so slightly. It was adorable.

“What’s wrong with your eyes mister?”

“Huh?”

I gently explored my own face with one hand, Keeping hold of melody in my other arm. When I pulled it away from my face I noticed my fingers were wet with a slightly greenish fluid. I was actually crying tears of joy. I had not even realised.

“Nothing’s wrong with my eyes Melody.” I told the little filly with a smile. “For the first time in a long time, they are working perfectly fine.”