October Event Part 4: Finale
October Event Part 4: Finale
From the moment Sword Dancer’s hooves left the ground and lunged toward the Moon Widow, chaos flooded the cavern. The independent actions of all the ponies together was unpredictable and disjointed. But perhaps, in the end, this was to their advantage.
Sword Dancer parried a slash from one of Moon Widow’s secondary legs, leaving a charred mark on her exoskeleton. Before she could go in for another attack, Pas had cracked another leg and Frostbite was aglow with magic. The chill that shot through the air had Sword Dancer ducking back. Ice shards shot left and right like shattered glass. Sword Dancer swung her head and let loose an arch of fire from her horn. The flames intercepted the largest of the shards leaving only puddles of water and scorch marks behind.
Managing this level of friendly-fire was not something Sword Dancer was used to. It was the cost of ending up in a combat situation with untrained ponies. She snored, causing a cloud of her breath to rise in the cool air. She had to prioritize protecting the civilians. And so the Knight Commander rushed forward, focusing on intercepting strikes from the Moon Widow. In a few instances she intercepted her in close quarters, her horn tangling directly with the giant spider’s mandibles. But there was too much for even her to keep track of. As Frostbite’s ice coated the floor in a thick sheet, Sword Dancer jumped back and her hooves slid. She crashed back into a stalagmite and the impact shook loose a stalactite from the ceiling. It fell right to where Sword Dancer had fallen, burying her in a pile of loose stone and rubble. Stunned, she regained her focus sometime later to see not only Swan Song impale the Moon Widow, but also Brave Storm drive it deeper into her head. These civilians were more capable than she’d thought.
Using her long hind legs and one shorter one, the Moon Widow pulled the ice shard from her wounded eye. With a wet, sloshing pop it was freed. Blood splattered onto the ground before the ice shard clattered and tinkled behind. The echoing sound throughout the cavern entrance sucked the threatening aura away. The Moon Widow may have been large and powerful, but she was outnumbered and wounded. This was nothing like facing simple bat pony prey alone.
The Moon Widow groaned and dragged her head backward through her own blood. The blue liquid smeared across her mandibles and the tips of her remaining front leg. The hiss that tumbled from her was low and pained.
“Cursed…ponies…” Her chitter was guttural and anguished.
There was one quick moment where all was still before the Moon Widow heaved her massive body and leapt backward through the cave entrance. Her carapace shone briefly under the true starlight before she sprung again, disappearing into the darkness. The remnants of her web hung from the cave walls and flapped listlessly from a weak incoming wind. The Moon Widow was gone.
Sword Dancer groaned and pushed herself out from under the rocks. “Let’s head back. We must tend to the injured, rest, and inform them of the monster’s departure.”
And so the ponies returned to the cavern village. The earth pony refugee and bat pony were a bit bruised, but ultimately unharmed. At first the inhabitants of Sumit’s Hollow seemed numb to the news of the Moon Widow’s disappearance. But slowly, just like the warmth of a fire slowly creeps into cold and weary bones, joy and excitement began to take hold of the bat ponies. They were free at last! They could finally venture into Equestria again!
All volunteers and refugees returned to Ponyville. From there everypony parted ways, with much gratitude given to the brave ponies who faced off against the giant spider corrupted by Wild Magic.
Sumit's Hollow is now an official location on the map!
Brave Storm got 10 Chaos Points!
Frostbite got 20 Chaos Points!
Pas got 10 Order Points!
Red Herring got 5 Chaos Points and Order Points!
Swan Song got 20 Order Points!
Calico Jack got 5 Order Points!
Velvet Wing got 5 Chaos Points and Order Points!
Moonstone got 5 Chaos Points!