Prologue:
“Small Beginnings”
July 8, 2005 - 20 miles outside San Palomino
The pegasus let out a bored sigh, pumping his wings again to maintain his gliding position above the large expanse of desert. Below him, standing out in sharp contrast to the rather bland browns and yellows of desert, was a black strip of road, upon which, glimmering in the sunlight, was a little blue car. From what the pegasus could see, it was a rather mundane four-door, speeding along at a brisk pace.
Must be out of towners, the pegasus thought, flexing his wings to send him banking to the east. He was getting distracted. His job was to survey the surrounding valley and lay out some simple coordinates that would later be used for housing developments.
Just survey the land and then you’ll be able to go back home. He told himself, swooping down towards the ground as he arrived at his search grid for the day, the automobile nowhere near the forefront of his mind.
//////////////////////////////
Two hours had passed, and the surveyor began to pack his bags. He had completed his grid, and let out a grunt as he flexed his wings and back. Time to go, he thought, zipping the duffle bag shut.
A sudden low rumble caught his ear, and he looked off towards the horizon. A large plume of smoke billowed on the horizon. The surveyor raised an eyebrow.
“Well that’s odd…” he muttered to no one in particular. He slipped the duffle bag on his shoulder, pumping his wings and flying towards the smoke cloud. Something was wrong, that was for sure. There were no oil fields in this area, so the smoke must be from an accidental fire. As he flew through the air, he pulled out his camera, readying it for use.
Whatever it is, I’d better photograph it. Then contact the authorities. He thought. ...and sell the photos to the paper maybe…
As he got closer to the smoke, however, any optimism he had vanished like dust in the wind. It turned out, the smoke was from a large train that had managed to be derailed by a vaguely familiar blue lump of metal.
//////////////////////////////
Manehattan
Mayflower was bent over the counter, busily clipping coupons for the next day’s shopping. The radio was tuned into the classical music station. The sound of a nature documentary drifted from the living room, where she knew her nephew, Pipsqueak, was most likely entranced by the intricacies of nature. He'd been left here by his parents, who had been asked to attend a science conference out in San Palomino.
The sound of someone knocking at the door caught Mayflower’s ears, and she straightened up.
“Honey, somepony’s at the door.” she called out. Probably just one of his poker buddies. She mused, returning her attention to the coupons. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Copper Wire heave himself up from his armchair and head towards the door, most likely firmly clutching his nightly Clydesdale. She thought nothing of it at first, busily working at her couponing, until the shattering of glass caught her attention.
“Honey?” she called out, setting her scissors down to turn and head towards the door. She was greeted by the sight of two police officers, one of whom she vaguely recognized as one of her husband’s old army teammates, looking very somber. She looked towards Copper Wire, who had grown noticeably pale, and looked as if he’d just been shot. His beer was in a puddle around his hooves.
“I’m so sorry, Copper, I really am.” the officer said.
“Sorry about what?” Mayflower asked, stepping forward. Copper Wire leaned in close, quietly whispering into her ear. As he spoke, Mayflower felt her entire body grow heavy.
“No...no…” she said quietly, shaking her head. She felt as if someone had taken a knife and plunged it into her. “They can’t be dead...they said they were coming back on Friday,” she cried, shaking her head again.
“I’m so sorry, Mayflower. But the train--”
Mayflower fell to the ground, letting out an anguished cry. Both of them, dead. She looked towards Pip, who was still watching television.
“He’s...he’s all alone now.” she said quietly, as Copper Wire somberly bid his friend goodbye, and closed the door slowly. He then leaned down, gently helping her to her hooves, and she leaned up against him, tears flowing freely.
“What are we going to do?” she sobbed, looking into her husbands eyes. He simply hugged her tightly, gently stroking her graying mane.
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.”
Pipsqueak, meanwhile paid the adults no notice, instead observing the nature documentary on TV. He shivered slightly as the image of a giant spider climbing a leaf filled the screen.
//////////////////////////////
Castle of the Two Sisters - The Everfree Forest - Five Years Later
“Are you sure, Doctor Bunsen?” The young stallion asked, flinching for what seemed to be the hundredth time at the sound of the wind blowing through the empty castle around him. He looked around fearfully, the large, empty castle looming over him, blocking out the soft breeze that had been so wonderful at the entrance of this hellhole of a forest.
“Yes, yes I am sure, Honeydew. Now, are you going to help me find the arachnids we need, or are you going to continue to complain?”
Honeydew let out a vague sound of unease.
The older scientist sighed. “Do you want me to inform your professor at the university that you abandoned your extra credit assignment because of a couple hundred mosquito bites?”
Honeydew winced. “No, no, I don’t. It’s just...this place is so...creepy.” he said, slapping away a particularly big mosquito. “I mean, like, we don’t even control any of it.”
“So? The griffins don’t control the weather or nature of their country and are just fine. Your argument is on weak ground Beaker.” Dr. Bunsen replied grumpily.
“Um, my name isn’t Beaker, sir. It’s Honeydew.”
Dr. Bunsen just looked over his shoulder, eyebrow arched critically. Honeydew sighed, letting his shoulders sag. “I’ll shut up now.”
“Good. Now, to answer your question, yes, I believe we are close to the spider nest. According to my research--which is always accurate--The Star Spider lives in and around the Castle of the Two Sisters. They prefer dark, damp areas. This place is full of those. Just look around for a cleft in the rock or some sort of hole in the ground, and you’ll find some.”
“But this is a castle. There must be a thousand rooms in this place.”
“Beaker. Stop complaining. Start looking. Or I shall leave the premises without you.” Dr. Bunsen replied sharply, and Honeydew nodded meekly. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small flashlight, flicking it on and shining it about, searching for any place that looked damp or dark.
Given the ancient castle’s state of repair however, it seemed that ‘damp and dark’ applied to every square inch.
Now think Honeydew. If I were a mystical spider, where would I hide? he thought, looking along the castle walls, not really paying much attention to the faded frescoes and mosaics that showed golden clad alicorns in some sort of kingdom. That was for an art student. Honeydew continued to search, occasionally tentatively pounding his fist on the wall to feel along the walls, for a loose brick or a hidden door.
Suddenly, a part of the wall crumbled away, and a sudden swarm of jet black spiders poured out of the hole. On their abdomen was a bright blue star, which glowed faintly in the dark. Honeydew however, was far too busy screaming at the top of his lungs to notice the anatomical details of the spiders.
“GAH! GET ‘EM OFF ME GET ‘EM OFF!!!!!!!” he screamed, before feeling himself get dragged asides by a halo of green magic.
“BEAKER YOU FOOL! You’ve disturbed--” Dr. Bunsen stopped mid sentence, whipping out a clear glass jar and scooping up several hundred of the spiders. “You’ve done a wonderful job! Consider yourself promoted!” he finished, his voice loosing it’s previous venom.
A bewildered Honeydew blinked. “Wha?”
“You found the spider nest. Good job.” Dr. Beaker said, already heading towards the exit. “Now, are you going to stay here, letting wild spiders crawl all over you, or are you going to help me take these spiders back to RichCorp and to Dr. Cheerilee’s lab?”
Honeydew quickly clambered up to his hooves. “Here I come sir!” Quickly following the older scientist out of the old castle.
//////////////////////////////
Dr. Bunsen carefully lifted the jar containing a small hoard of spiders in an aura of green magic. He swiftly moved it to the chamber that he and Honeydew stood in front of. It was a stout, glass-walled affair, with a nest of cables and nozzles running from the camber to come together at the pair of laser emitters that flanked the case. With a flicker of his horn, Dr. Bunsen deposited the jar inside the chamber, popping open the lid and gently shaking it to provoke the spiders into moving about before he emptied the jar entirely.
Outside the chamber, and behind two layers of magically reinforced transparent fiberglass, stood Honeydew and Dr. Bunsen. In front of them, quietly whirring and beeping, was a large, extraordinarily complex control panel, that looked more at home in a bad science fiction film than an actual laboratory.
Honeydew turned towards Dr. Bunsen with unease. “Are you sure this will work?” He squeaked nervously. Dr. Bunsen rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses up his muzzle slightly.
“Of course it will, Beaker. I’ve run the simulation at least a hundred times. It is going to work perfectly.” he replied rather acerbically, fiddling with the knobs and dials in front of him as he spoke. A couple dozen switch-flips later, a calm, feminine voice spoke over the intercom.
“Beginning thaumatic build up, please stand clear of the test chamber”
Bunsen turned to Honeydew, eyebrow raised critically. “Now, you didn’t leave your watch in there again, did you Beaker?”
Honeydew shook his head. “Meep-I mean no, no sir!” he answered, rubbing his orange hair reflexively. Memories of several weeks as a glowing energy being came to mind. It wasn’t an experience he wished to repeat.
“Thaumatic charge exceeding nine thousand Megathaums, discharge in thirty seconds.” the voice stated flatly, and Dr. Bunsen nodded.
“Watch now, Beaker. It’s almost ready.”
Honeydew bit his lip, taking a step back. “Oh joy...” He murmured, slipping the polarized goggles on. Getting hit by over nine thousand megathaums didn’t sound fun at all, even for something as gross as a spider.
The electronic voice of the computer began to count down steadily, and Honeydew hunkered down behind the desk, ignoring the snide remarks from Dr. Bunsen.
“Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Discharge”
The emitters glowed with an strange blue light before two identical white-blue beams blazed out of the emitters and spread out like a spider web, shooting from spider to spider as the hundreds of arachnids crawled along the chamber walls. Honeydew covered his ears as the whine of the emitters proved to be unbearable and the light only intensified, beginning to overwhelm the polarized lenses of the goggles. The last thing Honeydew saw before he had to cover his eyes were the spiders, suspended in the beams, all writhing in pain.
Well, not a bad start, I follow this to see where it goes.
4488835 Yeah, I'll be first to admit this is VERY bare bones.
Obviously things will get more fleshed out later as the story goes.
It seems I have a habit of having rather brief prologues don't I?
4488843 Not that I saw when reading them. I also saw you update listen for each story, I hope Iorn Mare next chapter is bring work on. And are you going to post this on Fanfiction as well?
Well, it's a start, that's for sure. You should check out my Marvel stories.
4488871 Yeah I do.
Just not as often.
But I do keep them updated.
4488871 And yes, Iron Mare shall be the next Harmony's Warriors fic to be updated if everything goes right (I might just up and write the next chapter of this just to justify it's existence a little better you know? Instead of just leaving it with a bare bones prologue for a month)
I'm actually currently working on the next To Boldly Go chapter, since I've been neglecting that work something fierce.
Wow, that was fast. Should head over to TVTropes
Also
4488910 That was exactly what we had in mind when we wrote this.
Also, I should probably list you has a proper co-writer now, since you do so much help on these....
A good a start as any. I look forward I see where this goes.
4488882 Ok, just wondering.
4488875 Hey Billy remember me? How are your chapters for Curse of the Black Pearl coming? I want to read more of it.
4488918 Alright then. Mind if I include it on the TVTropes page?
4488934 Sure. I have no qualms.
4488910 honeydew? Shit! Keep him away from a pick axe, Jaffa cakes, or any form of explosive!
In the description:
There seems to be a word missing.
4489024 Thank you I'm fixing it now.
Looks good, Ben. I'm not usually a fan of all things Marvel (Marevel? Heh),and especially not Spider-Man, but I'm liking this a lot. Can't wait to see what happens in Chapter 1!
And do I detect a couple of well-known Muppet characters from the bit in Castle of the Two Sisters on? I'm thinking...yes.
4489108 Why yes they are muppet characters.
I'm a mad man
4489120 Kinda thought so. The original Muppet Show was one of my fave TV shows back in the day.
Really? Gee, I couldn't tell.
4489135 THE MUPPET SHOW IS AWESOME
4489140 Yes, it was.
Good start. Not much more to say. Gives me an idea for my sequel. Hope you don't mind me borrowing an idea from you.
So Pip's parents have no conspiracy on this story, but have you thought about them having any relevance in another story? Just wondering.
4488921
Eh, they're on hold for now due to lack of notebook paper, which I need in order to iron out any flaws the story might have.
"And if somepony told you he was your average, everday colt, not a care in the world...then somepony lied."
4489417 as long as due credit is given.
4489657 nope.
They're like Batman's parents. Exist to die.
I have a suggestion, why not have the Mane-iac in there? She does kind of remind me of the green goblin a little.
4491240 well, I do have plans for her, but I figured I'd move her to the Batcolt Beyond fic (which is in the same 'verse anyways).
But nifty idea though in making her a Spider-Colt villain. I do already have a Doc Ock lined up though, let that be known.
4491309 Oh. Do you have a bat-colt fic already, or are you planning on working on it in the future?
4493792 Planning on it.
4490676 Course man. I said borrow, not steal. II`ll use it dust it off and give it back.
Huh; so Zecora isn't involved in the origin anymore? Also, are you going to give credit to the artist who did the story picture?
Huh. Muppets.
4497643 Yeah, I'll do that right now.
And no, I don't think she is.
I think she just kinda got jossed when we decided to skip the ponyville trip.
Dang it.
4497810 Darn. So did I read the chapter right when it described the spider as 'magical'?
Also, since we're clearly skipping the funeral scene, are you still planning on having Bluebell and Pipsqueak related?
4497871 Yeah.
If anything, since I'm still writing the first chapter (I either work hella fast or hella slow), I can drop in a reference to her having left for work or something.
Or she just lives in a different place, either works.
4489120
4488910
Speaking of the Muppets, is it just me, or does Coulson remind anyone else of Kermit?
“Now, you didn’t leave your watch in there again, did you Beaker?” is that a Watchmen reference? Or am I looking too far into it?
4515228 no its a reference.....just with less depression
4497810 Hate to keep coming back to this, but are you going to credit the artist who did the story picture?
4515601 yes, but alas, I've been distracted with the new chapter.
Pretty sure you can click the pic and get the source though, but I could be wrong
4515739 It sends you to another version of the image, without any credit to the creator.
I tracked down the picture. It was drawn by someone named Jack Lee, who uses the handle SpikesMoustache on deviantART.
4516596 Thank you so much, I'll link it now.
4516636 Yay!
Ironically, the fact that there's no conspiracy makes their deaths even MORE tragic!
Oh, a Muppets reference! Yay!
Brilliant as usual, I see. And I love playing "Count the References" so that in itself was a treat. Here's to hoping this will be another great read.
BTW it's me, Spyro9. I had to make a new account because passwords suck.
so... I'm confused... is this supposed to be like a pony and human thing or is it just a pony thing?
5168667 It's a pony thing.