Dude In Distress

As Above, So Below

This one doesn't have time to screech before it crumbles to dust.

Fiona screams again. Two Pointy Demons converge on her. She scrambles back, but hits one of the still stationary stalagmites. "Get away, get away, get away!" The filly goes limp, passing out.

Burn steps toward her, intent on saving her, but another monster jumps in his path. "No you don't." He kicks out and knocks it over, then sends a fireball at it. Its legs are burnt to a crisp, and it can't right itself, however another monster knocks Burn down from behind.

Quell succeeds in finishing off the injured Pointy Demon with a swift stab while continuing to sing his heart out. No cute quips from him with this kill. Another skitters toward him, and he knocks it over with a deft hoof, also scrambling its insides.

"Ah, these things are harder to flip than I thought," Sun says. "I think they're adapting to our tactics." She barely keeps off the two monsters that are still on her.

"Keep trying, sis." Star dodges the one still after her and summons a shield to protect the poor, passed out Fiona. Just in time, too--the monsters slam into the shield. They then start running into it, like little battering rams. She hopes it will hold.

Sun misses with her next strike again. Two seem too much for her to handle, and Burn can't deal with the one that knocked him over. Once off his hooves, he doesn't have much to protect him from the Pointy Demon, and it pummels his rump.

Quell assists Star, knocking over the last monster on her, and she happily fries its insides with a spell. "How many are left?"

"Five, I think," Sun says. "Better get the ones off Fiona before they get through the shield."

As if saying her name brings her back to the world of the conscious, Fiona stirs. The shield falls, but she manages to gain her feet and run to hide behind another stalagmite before the two Pointy Demons realize there's no more shield to ram their spiky heads against.

Star trots up to the two that were on Fiona, succeeding in getting their attention, so much so that they slam into her side knocking the wind from her. She struggles to get her breath back, whispers a Divine Blast, knocking over one of the monsters.

Quell is behind her and finishes it off.

Sun finally knocks down one of her attackers and shears off one of its spider-like legs, and when the other one strikes at her, she knocks that one off its feet as well. "Ha!"

"Matriarch, save me!" Burn fails to move out of the way of the Pointy Demon, and it opens a gash on his side. No more mere bruises. These things are getting deadly.

Quell drops his defense song in a rush to get to Burn. He kicks the monster off of the wizard, but doesn't have the angle to bury his blade into its belly.

No matter, Burn throws out a spell that sounds like a curse, his fury evident in every word. The fireball is small, but enough to fry the Pointy Demon.

Sun, on her way to help Burn as well, misses her chance to finish off the two she knocked over.

Star shoots a bolt of white light at the one missing a leg and ends its failed attempts to right itself. The other, though, finds its feet and skitters after Quell and Burn--perhaps seeking revenge. And the final monster knocks Star off her hooves, yet again.

Burn blasts the Pointy Demon heading for him, and it tips over. Then Quell comes in and double stabs.

The monster's death screech is louder than its friends, rattling Star's brain.

Thankfully, Sun charges in, flings the last Pointy Demon off of Star, then stabs it with fervor.

That should be the end of them.

Star surveys the room, making sure no other stalagmites and stalactites are on the move. Everything seems still. "Let's hope there are no more of those the rest of the way." How far did Big Bad Girl take Dom into this cave?

They begin the healing and bandaging process. It takes a bit to coax Fiona out of her hiding spot--the filly is shaking uncontrollably. They should have made her stay behind. Star hopes she can survive the rest of the way without completely falling apart.

While the others rest, Star trots over to the exit. Unfortunately, the tunnel is caved in. No getting through. She sighs and returns to the group. "It looks like we'll be heading back and taking the right path. There's a cave-in blocking the way."

"Back to the mud?" Fiona asks.

Star nods.

"Well, I guess that's better than these things." Her eyes flick from point to point.

Sun laughs. "She's got that right."