Spiders and Magic: Rise of Spider-Mane

by Maximus_Reborn

Mist and Shadows, Part II

Chapter Twenty-Four "Mist and Shadows, Part II"

Peter sat in his wheelchair with a glare in his heterochromatic, hazel-blue irises. The news of his bitter nemesis, Norman Osborn, left a lingering effect on his psyche, evident by the pulsating throbs coursing through his cranium and knot his stomach tightened into. The moment Twilight relayed the news of Discord's sudden visit to Princess Celestia, everypony, including the Spirit of Chaos and excluding Trixie, were teleported to the secluded, secure throne room in Canterlot thanks to Princess Luna. Now all everypony could do was wait for Princess Cadance and Shining Armor to arrive.

Peter was without his Spider-Mane costume, but it wasn't needed, considering Princess Cadance and Discord already knew his secret identity.

The only pony that didn't know was Shining Armor, and Peter did not know what his relation to Princess Cadance was. Yet, Parker could only believe he was trustworthy, for everypony he'd met who learned his secret in Equestria had proven to be thus far, but it was still unnerving thattheirworst enemy knewhisbiggest secret.

Peter rolled his eyes before stealing a glance of the chimera, who manipulated the figures in the stain glass to dance wildly at his command. Based off first impressions, Discord didn't come off as evil. It was clear he was a jerk, granted, but if anything, Peter was grateful the one bad guy to discover his secret wasn't a psychopath or murderer.

However, everypony else was not taking Discord so lightly.

Exercising caution, Princess Celestia gave Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity their respective Element of Harmony on the probability that Discord might try something underhanded. Princess Luna stood by her sister's side with a venomous scowl aimed at the Spirit of Chaos. If not for Celestia's plea to practice restraint, the Moon Goddess would have struck down Discord. He had information regarding a potentially greater threat to their world.

For everypony's safety, they had to hear him out, at least long enough to see if his words were true.

Peter shifted his gaze about, glancing at each enchanted necklace his friends wore, but his brow furrowed at the different piece of jewelry Twilight kept over her head, a golden crown with a gem matching her cutie mark at the center. His eyes widened at a realization. Each element was a reflection of its wielder, from Rainbow Dash's lightning bolt to Pinkie Pie's balloons.

Under circumstances of old, the stallion would have had difficulty believing such simple pieces of jewelry held godly powers and could seal away evil for centuries, but he learned from personal experience that pessimism was ill-advised to keep in a world that thrived on magic.

'The Elements of Harmony, huh? Almost puts Mister Fantastic's Ultimate Nullifier to shame.'Peter chuckled inwardly, but his upbeat demeanor was merely a front, hiding a fear buried within. Letting out a desolate sigh, the stallion's gaze fell to the ground.'Osborn...are you really trying to chase me down?'

His mind continued to race, filling with thoughts centered around Osborn's possible intentions. There was virtually no need for the Green Goblin to seek out Spider-Man, and even if there was some convoluted reasoning, how did he acquire the means to traverse between dimensions? Peter exhaled, hating the technology capable of performing such a feat existed in his world, as well as the geniuses who could invent them.

Whether it was the X-Men's blue furball Hank McCoy, crazy dictator/megalomaniac Victor Von Doom, or billionaire playboy Tony Stark, the fact remained that it wasn't impossible for Osborn to travel to Equestria. Even so, reality was filled with infinite universes and various dimensions. It wasn't too long ago when Spider-Man teamed up with three alternate reality versions of himself to repair time and space.

Osborn's pinpointing of Peter Parker's position required improbable precision. How Goblin managedthatwas the burning question that played throughout Peter's mind relentlessly. Bringing his hooves over his face, the stallion closed his eyes and shook his aching head. The sooner Discord answered some questions, the better.

"Peter?" Twilight whispered, freeing the stallion from his deep train of thought. Her hoof fell over his own, prompting Peter's hazel-blue gaze to meet with Twilight's glossy, violet irises. Although he felt the mare looked silly with a crown, he could easily say she was as beautiful as ever. "Are you okay? You look troubled."

His lips curled into an empty insincere smile. "Not really. It's just one thing after another. Your big bad is here, my big bad is probably on the way..." Peter rolled his eyes. "That's my fault, I bet." Sighing, the stallion slowly turned his gaze to his injured leg. "To make matters worse, I can't even stand to help you out." The tone of his voice fell lower, revealing his inner despair. "That's the story of my life. I feel so useless right now."

"You always think everything's your fault. It's not." Despite her voice not rising above the hint of a whisper, sternness could be felt within, causing Peter to look away shamefully. However, the mare rubbed the top of her stallion's hoof affectionately before smiling confidently. "Remember, you're not alone. No matter what Discord or Osborn have planned, we'll see it through..." She paused, allowing Peter to see the mild flush that formed in her cheeks. "...together."

Peter shook his head, managing to give the lavender mare a matching smile. Once again, Twilight had provided the assurance he needed and washed away the sea of doubts that plagued his heart. As long as he doubted himself, his superpowers would never return, and without Spider-Mane, Peter would not be able to protect the girl he loved. Glancing off to the side, the stallion's eyes widened at the sight of the others, who seemed to have heard the conversation He relaxed, taking in the supportive smiles his friends offered.

Peter nodded with a grin. Of course, his best friends needed protection, too.

"The lot of you are acting as ifI'mthe villain," Discord vainly stated, earning a glare from every mare in the room and a furrowed brow from Peter. After a snap of the fingers from the spirit, the figures within the glass stopped dancing, returning to normal as if nothing happened. "As I am, I pose no threat to you. Unfortunately, there's not much a spirit can do without its body." The figures struck one final pose, prompting the chimera to let out an exasperated groan. "With the exception of small things, of course."

"If that's the case, you're taking a huge gamble coming here with the thunder goddess and friendship express," Peter said, folding his limbs across his chest and ignoring the annoyed expression Luna wore. "If the Elements of Harmony sealed you away for hundreds of years while you were intact (body, soul, and all), what happens if they blast you right now as Discord the Jerky Ghost?"

Discord scoffed, shrugging his shoulders half-heartedly. "Imprisonment for two: one for my body and the other for my spirit." The chimera shuddered, loathing the torment that would have followed with such a fate. "Considering I'm weakened, my sentence would last much longer than before, and I would not even have the privilege of wandering through the astral plane for the next thousand-plus years."

"Sounds boring," Peter and Pinkie Pie mutually stated, one scratching the back of his head while the other simply nodded in agreement.

"Indeed." That same moment, Discord suddenly appeared with his arm draped around Peter's shoulder, earning a surprised yelp from the stallion. He then placed his talon over the cast on Parker's leg. "Which is exactly why I want to show everypony my sincerity."

A bright beam of energy shot across the room, barely managing to miss Discord's head by a few centimeters. All eyes fell in the direction of the source, finding Luna with a piercing blank glare aimed directly for the Spirit of Chaos. The color in the mare's eyes returned, but her scowl remained intact as she slowly walked over to Peter's and Discord's position. Once she stood only a couple of feet away, Luna paused and concentrated as much magical energy as she could into her horn.

"That was a warning shot, Discord. Should you hurt him, I guarantee the next willnotmiss."

"Trust me, I do not wish to incur your wrath, Moon Goddess," Discord sarcastically spat, running his paw along the rough exterior of the hardened cast. Rolling his eyes, the chimera huffed. "You should consider hanging around Parker, Luna. You'd probably learn to loosen up..." He paused upon seeing the glare the princess aimed in his direction and the clouds outside of the castle walls growing uncomfortably black. "...but that's merely a suggestion."

Luna ignored Discord's words and kept her horn primed, not dropping her guard for even a moment, but her glare softened occasionally whenever the princess glanced at Peter for any signs of discomfort. This did not go unnoticed, namely by Princess Celestia.

The Sun Goddess smiled inwardly, adoring the fact her younger sister, known for not trusting outsiders easily, was acting so protectively of an individual not from their world. Cassandra's words echoed throughout her mind regarding Spider-Man's, or ratherPeter's, ability to influence those around him, and over the course of his time in Equestria, Celestia was more than open to admitting how true that fact had become for the village of Ponyville, the city of Manehattan, her sister, the Elements of Harmony, and her precious student, Twilight.

Considering what lay in the future, for her world and for Peter himself, Celestia realized Madame Web's final predictions were coming to light, but with a simple nod she vowed to do everything within her power to prevent the oncoming catastrophe. Peter was an asset and personal friend to Equestria now, and it was her duty to watch over everypony in her land, especially the young outworlder.

Discord huffed, tossing the cast over his shoulder nonchalantly, and the following moment, every mare shrieked, horrified with the chimera's actions. Luna's eyes glowed as a snarl escaped from her mouth, and Pinkie mimicked her actions, albeit not with nearly the same level of intimidation as the princess. However, before anypony could hope to get their hooves on Discord, Peter stood from his wheelchair and landed firmly on his legs. All of the blood in Twilight's body rushed to her head, a sense of panic leaving the mare feeling light-headed.

"Peter! Are you crazy?! You can't walk on your-!" Twilight's words fell into her throat at an amazing sight. "...perfectly healed leg?!"

Peter knelt down and ran his hooves over his leg, awaiting any sign of discomfort to surface, but no such thing occurred, prompting the stallion to test the limb in a more aggressive manner. Shifting his weight, the stallion made himself stand upright, but that proved to be rather challenging without his heightened sense of balance. Yet he managed, using his outstretched hooves for added leverage. Much like his friend, the usually hyper Pinkie Pie, Peter proceeded to jump in place, and much to his surprise and relief, it seemed Discord actually healed the nearly crippled Spider-Mane.

"Uh, thanks," Peter said with a mixture of honest gratitude and utter confusion. Raising his brow, the stallion gave the spirit a questioning frown. "This isn't some kind of cruel joke where you undo everything with a snap of the fingers, right? Because that'd be sick and twisted on so many levels."

Discord stood with his crimson eyes wide before shaking his head and snorting a harsh, disgusted scoff. "Of course not! I'm not a sadist."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "You sort of are, actually."

Peter drummed his hoof on the ground. "You know, I'm used to dealing with complete and utter psychos, who wouldn't think twice about throwing live grenades into innocent crowds,or even right into my face. And I'm not kidding. Osborn actually did that. It hurt. A lot. You might want to think twice about cutting deals with guys like that."

Discord's imagination ran full-tilt, playing Parker's accusation vividly and in great detail. The spirit shuddered. "I enjoy the fun type of chaos. That's just...demented."

Twilight politely stepped between the two, prompting Peter to abandon his upright position and stand on all fours. She glanced at her stallion first, followed by his healed leg, and he replied with a small smile, affirming everything was truly fine with his physical well-being. After a few moments, the mare turned to face Discord, not with a glare or scowl, but rather a conflicted frown. Peter, the pony who stole her heart, was just healed from a terrible injury by an enemy...of sorts.

To say Discord and Twilight had a troubled meeting last time was an understatement. Throwing the entire land of Equestria into chaos was bad enough, but the Spirit of Chaos made it personal when he turned Twilight's closest friends against each other, nearly succeeding in severing the bond that held the Elements of Harmony together. She could not forgive him for that. At least not yet. However, her grudge seemed to have lost some of its weight, and a sense of gratitude took its place. Hence the birth of the mare's conflicted feelings for Discord.

"Discord..." Twilight paused, searching for the strength to find the right words. Her heart begged for her mind to lower its defense. It was a small request, and considering the depth of the feelings Twilight held for Peter, something had to be said. Leaving her pride aside, the unicorn closed her eyes and lowered her head out of respect. "Thank you for helping Peter."

"I didn't do it for youorhim. I simply need Parker to help rectify the situation, and he's pretty useless to me with a broken leg," Discord said dismissively, earning a snarl from both Twilight and Princess Luna, who took great offense to the term given to Peter.

However, before they could retort, an electrical shock coursed through the spirit's form, causing Discord to yell out involuntarily. His breathing quickly grew ragged, resembling a chalk skidding across a board. After a second jolt of electricity, the astral spirit fell to a knee, wheezing as his form proceeded to fade away from existence.

Discord could only grunt in pain. "Curses. He's already..." Shaking his head, the chimera stood tall, using the entirety of his focus to keep his dissipating astral form intact. "I need more time." Discord paused suddenly, his eyes widening at a realization. "It seems the whole gang's finally here." His form grew more transparent by the second, yet the Spirit of Chaos managed a smirk. "I shall return momentarily."

In a brief yet bright flash of light, Discord disappeared from sight. Peter brought his hoof over his chin and furrowed his brow, contemplating what exactly could have happened to the chimera, but a loud, exasperated groan from Twilight disrupted the stallion's train of thought. He turned, finding his mare's scowl had not left her features. Peter placed his hoof over her shoulder, managing to diminish Twilight's anger to annoyance, evident by her disgruntled frown.

"The nerve of him!" She rolled her eyes and growled. "Who does he think he is, calling somepony 'useless'?!"

"Yeah, Discord's definitely a jerk," Peter agreed, finding the chimera's pompous attitude polarizing, "but he just helped me voluntarily. He didn'thaveto do that. I think it's only fair that we hear him out." The stallion's voice steadily shifted into a stern, calm tone. "Besides, something's obviously wrong. Did you see what was happening to him a moment ago?"

Twilight's eyes widened for a moment before her mind recollected Discord's strange behavior. "Yeah, you're right. He seemed to be in pain. I wonder what, orwho, was causing it?"

"Maybe it has something to do with that Osborn fella?" Applejack suggested, stepping between the pair. "It might explain why Discord's so desperate for us to help?"

Rarity placed her hoof over her chest while concern filled her glossy, azure irises. "Peter, you and Osborn have a...tragic history. Is he truly as devious as you suggest?"

Peter's gaze fell to the ground. "'Devious' is putting it mildly, Rare." Fluttershy approached him, placing her hoof reassuringly on the stallion's shoulder, earning a melancholy smile in response. "Girls, I really hope it's not him. He's bad news, plain and simple."

Before he could react, Rainbow Dash swooped down and held her place in midair over Peter's head. "Green Goblin, huh?" She reached down, brushing her hoof through the stallion's mangled mane. "He'll be the Black and Blue Goblin if he tries anything with us."

'I'm not alone anymore. I have to get used to this.'Peter smiled, exchanging a friendly hoof with the Pegasus. "Thanks, Skittles. I know you have my back." Pinkie nudged into the stallion's side, causing his smile to grow. "Don't worry. If it is Osborn, I won't let him hurt any of you."

The main door to the throne room opened, causing everypony to shift their gaze in its direction. An alicorn with a bright pink coat entered first, her light violet irises widening upon spotting Princess Celestia. She galloped across the room and embraced the taller mare, rubbing the side of her head affectionately against the underside of her chin.

"Auntie! We came as soon as we could. Are you okay?" Cadance asked, her voice filled with concern.

The Sun Goddess broke away, managing to give her niece a small smile. "Yes, we're fine, Cadance." Once the main door to the closed, Celestia found a snow white stallion approaching her position. "Thank you for arriving on such short notice, Shining Armor."

The blue-maned unicorn bowed his head chivalrously. "I'm always at your service, Your Highness."

As both ponies acquainted themselves with Princess Celestia, particularly about the developing situation with Discord, Peter edged over to Twilight, bringing his hoof over his mouth to lower the volume of his voice. "Hey, I meant to ask you on the way here..." He pointed at the stallion, hoping he wasn't drawing attention to himself. "Just who is that? A friend of Cadance?"

With the force of a tsunami, reality struck Twilight with the utmost force, evident by the cold blue streak that formed over her snout. In the midst of the gathering chaos, she completely forgot to mention to her stallion exactly who Shining Armor was. Her mind went into a flurry. Yes, so much had happened since Peter's arrival to Equestria, but that was only an excuse, her mind forgetting to mention something as important as this.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time Twilight failed to mention Shining Armor to those close to her, and it seemed that mistake was replicated, this time with Peter.

"Um..." She stared at Peter worriedly with her mouth agape, her mind struggling to find the words necessary to continue. Forcing the lump in her throat down, Twilight bit her lip and sighed. "Peter, this is my big brother."

"He's your...? Wait, what?!" Peter blurted out, immediately slamming his hooves over his mouth. The stallion felt his spirit shrink to the size of a thimble. Shining Armor glanced in his direction, but Parker could not repel his state of shock. Shifting his sight back to Twilight, Peter gritted his teeth into an uncomfortably stiff smile. "You never mentioned a big brother. I-is he f-friendly?"

'Idiot! Cadance is Twilight'ssister-in-law!'His mind added, bringing up a simple, nearly-forgotten fact.'Of course, she has a brother!'

"Well, sometimes..." Twilight's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but Peter's complexion paled, leaving his coat a cold, shade of white. Sensing his fear, the librarian smiled before placing her hoof over his, caressing it affectionately. "Don't worry, Peter. You're a great pony. He'll like you."

"Are you sure? Do you think he'll be keen on the idea of his little sister dating somepony?" Peter made certain to keep his voice as low as possible, using his hoof to shield his mouth from prying eyes and opened ears. "I hear big brothers arereallyprotective of their little sisters."

However, before Twilight could try to explain anything further, Shining Armor stumbled away from the trio of princesses. "Twilight's doingwhat?!" His voice echoed throughout the room. Snapping his head in Peter's direction, Shining Armor gritted his teeth, snarling at the only other stallion in the room. "Withhim?!"

Peter stared back dumbly, cursing the entity that was his Parker luck. Seconds felt like minutes, and Shining Armor refused to let Parker out of his line of sight. Scratching the back of his head, Peter's gaze fell to the ground. "Awkward..."

Thankfully, a bright flash of light erupted from the midst of the room before the argument could gather any heat, prompting everypony to shield their eyes from the sheer brightness. Once the light dissipated, Discord emerged, although his spiritual form appeared to be far more transparent than before, nearly nonexistent.

"I don't have much time, so I'll make this as brief as possible," Discord said, wheezing as he held his talon over his chest. Closing his eyes, the chimera held his free hand out, forming a spherical silver-colored ball in midair, the object appearing more solid than the entity who summoned it. An image formed within the orb, revealing a human male with a wicked scowl, one that Peter recognized immediately. His physique was morphed, monstrous in a sense, and flames surrounded his being, rising several feet from the ground. "I've been captured, and now Norman Osborn has complete control over my power."

Peter felt his chest tighten. His worst fears were coming to light. Stomping forward, he faced Discord with a venomous glare. "You're telling me that murderous psychopath has the power to bend reality at will?!" Peter fell into a slump, bringing his hooves over his forehead in a vain attempt to settle his nerves. "How could this happen?"

Time was of the essence, and Discord had none to spare. The ball's glow brightened, revealing the events that brought about this travesty...

To be continued...

Comments

[Just Defender]

Osborn bending reality...
He could very well challenge Thanos and win.

[ThunderBlitz03]

Peter felt his chest tighten. His worst fears were coming to light. Stomping forward, he faced Discord with a venomous glare. "You're telling me that murderous psychopath has the power to bend reality at will?!" Peter fell into a slump, bringing his hooves over his forehead in a vain attempt to settle his nerves. "How could this happen?"

Welp, were fucked

[Luckyfanisaac]

Once the main door to the throne room closed,

[Progamer]

good chapter

[Progamer]

9419330
Totally ☠️