Spiders and Magic: Rise of Spider-Mane

by Maximus_Reborn

Parental Guidance

Chapter Twenty-Seven "Parental Guidance"

There were some things in life Peter experienced that would test the mettle of others, and usually he was forced to deal with each situation without any form of preparation. From spur-of-the-moment bank robberies, high-speed chases, random super villain encounters, and last-minute requests from Aunt May to buy a dozen eggs, Peter was used to dealing with events thrown in his lap. However, the stallion was more suited to improvise when his life was in danger, for he had managed to live this long without getting himself killed.

The same couldn't be said about his personal life. Anything coming at the last moment usually ended in disaster. Peter stood with his forced smile intact, mentally trying to regulate his quickening heartbeat as his mind registered the sight of Twilight's parents with immense struggle. Ordinarily, a girl would pass off a warning to her boyfriend (or coltfriend, as the case may be) regarding her parents, but Peter chided himself for attempting to use rationality when it came to Twilight, a mare who was unusual in her own right.

'Hey! Don't stand there like a deer in the headlights! Introduce yourself!'Peter's mind screamed, prompting the stallion to shake his head and bring himself back to reality. Slowly but surely, he separated himself from Twilight, although he inwardly begged to be taken back in her protective grasp. The lump in his throat grew uncomfortably large, making the simple act of breathing nearly impossible to perform, but he managed to force down a swallow before stopping inches away from Twilight.'Fighting super-powered crazies is much easier than this. Is that even natural?'

"Twilight didn't tell me we were visiting you today. If I knew we were, I would've baked you a cake," Peter chuckled, his nervousness apparent in his voice. Small beads of sweat formed along his forehead, clear signs of his elevating body temperature. Perhaps out of instinct, Peter shifted his gaze to the older mare first, finding the similar version (albeit a more mature version with notable differences) of his marefriend somewhat relaxing. He extended his hoof out. "She likes to keep me on my hooves, I guess. My name's Peter. It's nice to meet you."

Peter remained in that position for what felt like an eternity, unaware that a flush had consumed his cheeks. The entire world fell silent, the only sound to reach his ears being his own heartbeat. In his imagination, Peter felt himself shrinking. Even the ants could laugh at how small he had grown, but as if sensing his immense despair, Twilight's mother pressed her hoof against his softly, accepting the gesture. Her sky blue eyes softened as she brought her other hoof over the stallion's, using both to soothe out the tremors that coursed through his limb.

"You poor thing. Relax!" she cheerfully said, smiling. Relinquishing her grip, the older mare brushed a few strands of her violet and white mane behind her ear before placing her hoof over her chest. "As you already heard, I'm Twilight's mother, but you may call me Velvet." Her smile grew in width as she extended her hoof to the stallion by her side. "This is my husband, Nightlight. We're quite happy to have you!"

Nightlight approached Peter, and both stallions were quick to shake each others hooves. "Indeed. I'm happy my little girl has found somepony."

Velvet's smile was rather infectious, causing Peter to mirror her action. Twilight found a place by her stallion's side once more, giggling as he chuckled sheepishly. Peter shifted his gaze between both mares, noting how much of a resemblance they shared. Father time and mother nature provided a few differences, but the stallion felt his heart swell with a new sense of affection. Leaning over, Peter pressed his lips against Twilight's cheek, causing the mare to stammer about.

"P-Peter? What was that for?" Her cheeks burned, intensifying once her gaze fell on his cheeky grin.

"I just wanted to let you know how beautiful you are to me," he said confidently before shifting his smile to Velvet, "and I have your mom to thank!"

Twilight playfully poked her hoof into the stallion's side, quickly turning her head to hide her flushed features. "Stop being silly," she murmured, finding it difficult to remove her smile. Keeping her violet irises fixed on the ground, the unicorn placed her hoof over her mouth and cleared her throat, unaware the pink blush in her cheeks was still quite visible. "Sorry, Mom."

"Honey, don't apologize!" Velvet practically beamed, her cheery voice matched only by her light giggling. She gave Peter a friendly wink. "Aren't you a sweet young stallion?" Her eyes grew wide and giddy. "You're handsome, too. It's nice to see my daughter has lovely taste."

"Mom!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice nearing falling into a pout.

Before the young couple could react any further, the older mare tugged at both ponies insistently with her telekinesis and slowly led them into her abode, all while earning squeals of protest from Twilight and nervous laughter from Peter.

However, Velvet's brightened demeanor proved greater than their combined will. "Come on inside. We can talk as we eat. I want to know everything!"

Nightlight watched the spectacle unfold with a furrowed brow. His wife sat the young ponies down at the round kitchen table, asking them countless questions while pointing out where each dish stood. Cadance emerged from the kitchen, immediately joining the festivities with innocent vigor. Spike only watched, laughing at the expense of the young couple. Yet, despite her obviously embarrassed state of mind, Twilight's smile had not faltered in the least. Nightlight's eyes widened once a firm hoof fell over his shoulder.

"What's on your mind, Dad?" Shining Armor whispered, giving the older stallion a warm yet subtle smile.

Nightlight stood with a furrowed brow, shifting his gaze from his daughter back to his son. Every parent's dream was to see their child grow into a successful adult, and Shining Armor was his father's dream come true. Once the Captain of the Canterlot Guard, now he served as the Crystal Empire's Prince alongside Princess Cadance, whom he had recently happily married. Nightlight smiled. There was no question his son had found happiness, but a questioning frown formed on his face; the idea of his daughter following her brother's example being a bit more difficult to believe.

Shaking his head, Nightlight knew the reasons were different. Twilight wasverytalented, to the point of having been deemed worthy to become Princess Celestia's apprentice. Her skills in magic were unmatched, and her intelligence was vast, especially for her young age. However, with such credentials, Twilight was not necessarily the most sociable pony, often choosing the books over anything else. While it was fine during her foal years, Nightlight grew worried as the trend carried over into Twilight's young adulthood.

So it was fairly surprising to hear that Twilight had found somepony special. Nightlight closed his eyes and sighed. It was a relief, actually. She spent all of her time in the library, finding books more welcome company than ponies. This only served to fuel his curiosity regarding Twilight's sudden interest in love. Whether this was done on a whim or his daughter finally emerged from her shell, Nightlight could not shake his doubts.

"It's strange, Shining. You just got married, and now your little sister is dating somepony. You two grew up so fast," he murmured, managing a smile, but it quickly dissipated, allowing Nightlight's frown to resurface. "Are you certain this pony is worth it? How do we know he's not just stringing your sister along? You know how dense she is at times."

Shining Armor chuckled. He had just carried the same mindset a day ago. Admittedly, hestillhad reservations, but they were lessened, thanks to the encouraging words of those around him. Now he only wanted to see if his sister's feelings (as well as Peter's) were truly sincere.

Patting his father's shoulder, Shining Armor shook his headand shrugged. "I guess we'll find out, Dad." His eyes widened, a late realization coming to mind. "Dad, do me a favor. Don't ask those two too many questions. Peter is still recovering from a coma, and Twilight would kill me if you stressed him out."

"A coma? By Celestia! What happened?" Nightlight's jaw fell slightly.

Shining Armor glanced off to the side, paying mind to keep the truth hidden. "Timberwolves."

---

Nearly half an hour had passed, and everypony remained seated at the round table, exchanging pleasantries. Spike sat between Twilight and Velvet, chewing on a turquoise diamond without so much a care in the world. Shining Armor sat next to Nightlight and Cadance with his hoof over his forehead, groaning at the tales his parents exchanged with each other regarding himself and his sister. Meanwhile, Peter, sitting between Twilight and Cadance, kept his head and voice as low as possible, trying his absolute best to avoid attention.

Thankfully, the majority of everypony's attention, particularly Nightlight and Velvet's, were both centered on Twilight and Shining Armor. Considering the parents had not seen their children under normal circumstances in quite some time, this reaction was certainly understandable. This was exactly the break Peter needed to recollect his nerve. While Velvet's illuminating charm eased away a great deal of tension initially, it could not fully eliminate the massive amount of paranoia the stallion carried.

Peter's ears remained perked, twitching with unwanted anticipation should Twilight's parents call upon him. He could not compare his current ordeal to the old days of school because, unlike the other children, Peter knew exactly what answers to give to his teachers. Right now, the shoe was on the other hoof. While he could easily tell Twilight's parents the truth about his origin, common sense suggested going against that notion.

Nightlight and Velvet were completely taken aback just by the fact their headstrong, socially-awkward, bookworm of a daughter started dating somepony when history suggested such a thing would never happen. So it wasn't difficult to imagine their reaction to learning Twilight's coltfriend was actually an alien from another dimension. All things considered, Shining Armor took the news amazingly well before, but Peter knew he had his friends and all three princesses to thank for that feat.

For Twilight's sake, he vowed to tell the truth only to a certain extent and lie only when necessary. The stallion sighed lowly. It was like his days on Earth all over again, when Peter Parker was forced to lie to everyone around him regularly to protect his secret identity as Spider-Man. The fact that he didn't have to do it as often as before made Peter love his new home of Equestria so much more.

'Still, I can just imagine how they would react. Yes, Ms. Velvet. I'm an alien from an alternate dimension. Oh, don't act like that, Mr. Nightlight. All of the cool kids are doing the same thing nowadays.'His mind sneered, tuning out the outside world as it centered on the possible scenario.'Speaking of which, I don't think Aunt May would take the news well either.'

Peter's hoof tapped nervously against the leg of his chair, but the stallion had not noticed, thanks to his prolific daydreaming.'Look, Aunt May. I know Twilight's a pony. Sure, the neighbors would have a field day talking about this, and there's a chance Uncle Ben is rolling in his grave right now. But hey! She's sentient! So it's totally okay and not weird! Would it help if I told you she's a fan of literature?'

Suddenly, something tapped the young stallion on the shoulder, knocking him out of his trance. Peter turned his head in the direction of the disturbance and found Cadance with a warm smile on her face.

"It's so warm in here, but you're practically shivering," she whispered, placing her hoof over his own firmly in hope to end the stallion's erratic trembling, but it proved to be for naught, evident once Peter's shivers coursed through the alicorn's limb. Giggling sheepishly, Cadance removed her hoof and magically edged her seat closer to the stallion's subtly. "You're still nervous, aren't you?"

"Me? Nervous? No way," Peter replied almost too quickly, attempting to ignore how dry his mouth had grown.

Unfortunately, like the desert landscape of Saddle Arabia, Peter's body reached a fever pitch, and small beads of sweat began to form along his forehead. He reached over his plate, quickly retrieving a glass full of ice water, but due to the severity of his thirst, the stallion downed the entirety of his beverage in one full gulp. Peter blankly glanced over at Cadance out of the corner of his eye, finding the alicorn with her brow raised, before exhaling softly.

"Okay, so I'm a little nervous. It's no big deal. After all, first impressions are everything, and what do I have to show for mine?" Sliding his hoof across the table until it linked around the handle of a larger glass of ice water, the stallion poured its cold contents into his cup and swiftly finished his second drink, sighing afterward. "Nothing."

"That's not true," Cadance quickly objected, shaking her head. "You're a very nice pony, but you have a nasty tendency to sell yourself short." Placing her hoof over his shoulder, the alicorn glanced at Twilight, who was actively focused on her talk with her parents, before giving Peter an affirming nod. "Twilight loves you, and you love her. As long as you two are honest with your feelings for each other, there's no reason for anypony to object or say otherwise."

Once the commotion around the table lessened, namely the vigor of the surrounding conversations, Cadance slid her seat an appropriate distance from Peter's and straightened her sitting position. However, the alicorn placed her hoof over the side of her mouth, preventing everypony with the exception of Peter from hearing her words or reading her lips. She delivered a small sentence somewhat mutely but slowly, allowing the stallion to decipher her lip movements.

"Just be yourself." Cadance winked, finally shifting her attention away from Peter to her husband, who broke away from his own conversation just a moment later.

Peter rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to scoff at Cadance's simple advice, but his mouth betrayed his mind's actions, smiling with a grand sense of relief. Throughout his life, Aunt May and Uncle Ben raised Peter upright, teaching him that, no matter the circumstances, he should always be himself and never change to impress anybody. Granted, he remained a wallflower following their advice, but by the end of the day, especially where he stood now, Peter had won the heart of the best girl imaginable because he didn't attempt to be someone he wasn't.

Sliding his hoof under the table, where it clumsily searched for Twilight's own before eventually succeeding, Peter grinned softly. If he could be honest with Celestia, Cadance, Luna, and the rest of his friends, Twilight's parents were certain to receive the same treatment, but his mind reminded him that the entire truth was not necessary at the moment. Sooner or later, it might be time for Velvet and Nightlight would learn about Peter's origin from Earth and his connection to Spider-Mane.

However, with a simple reaffirming nod, he knew what was more important today. After all, he was Peter 'Pony' Parker first and Spider-Mane second.

---

"I can't stress how much of a relief this is for us," Nightlight said, sharing a glance with his wife.

Peter tilted his head to the side. "How so?"

"We were worried Twilight was never going to date somepony," Velvet sternly stated, pausing to place her hoof under her chin. "Honestly, as much as she read, we thought Twilight would sooner marry a book than a pony."

"Told you so," Shining Armor whispered to Cadance, immediately earning a stiff poke to the side in response from his wife.

Spike ceased his chewing for a moment and chuckled. "I knew she read too many books."

Twilight, despite having a vivid pink flush on her cheeks, shot both of her brothers a glare. "Excuse me for strengthening my intellect."

Peter snickered as he placed his hoof over Twilight's. "She's a bookworm, but it's something I really like about her. Nothing's cuter than a girl who can provide the answer to any equation with ease."

Twilight's ears fell to the side, and her smile grew in width. "Aw, that's sweet."

Winking, Peter turned to the mare's parents. "Although I think she's cheating on me withThe Wondersof Science and Magicbook. She cuddles with it way more than me."

Flustered, Twilight rammed her hoof into the stallion's side, and Velvet giggled at the sight while Nightlight smiled. Peter raised his hooves defensively, an act of plea for his mare not to tear him apart. Surprisingly, Twilight folded her hooves across her chest and poked her lips out in a mock-defeated pout. However, her expression stiffened once Peter's hoof gently fell over her shoulder, diminishing into a flushed smile.

"I'm kidding. I know Twilight wouldn't do something like that," he chuckled, leaning over to the side. His lips nearly met the side of the mare's cheek, but he turned back to Twilight's parents with a coy grin. "She's seeingThe Magical World of Physicsbook for sure. I think I even saw her kiss it last ni- Ow!"

The entire table burst into laughter as Twilight struck Peter's side for a second time, her eyes narrowing on the stallion. "Oh, ha-ha."

Peter sobered for a moment. "Oh, I read theNew Frontiers in Magic and Technologyalready. I guess that means we'll have to resume our lessons in the morning? I finally have an idea on how to regulate the polarity issues in my output."

"You did?" Twilight's voice heightened, a hint of excitement rising from within. "That will make the lessons easier tomorrow, but just to be safe, we should readMagic: The Practical Sciencetonight together and share a briefing."

Shining Armor closed his eyes and sighed, unable to contain his smile. "Well, I'm starting to see why you like him so much. Peter can actually keep up with your intellect." His brow furrowed and a concerned frown formed on his face. "I just hope he isn't as... manic as you."

"I'm not manic!" Twilight shot defensively. Everypony stared at her, prompting the mare's brow to lower into a glare. She turned to her coltfriend. "Peter, am I manic?"

Peter opened his mouth but hesitated to speak, knowing his words had to be chosen carefully. However, his mouth ignored his mind's demand and spoke freely. "Well, youcanbe rather... excitable at times."

Needless to say, Peter was given an earful, but not in the sense everypony was expecting. Usually, Twilight was quick to anger, yet despite having Peter tease her several times, she responded kindly.

She giggled. "We'll have to wake up really early tomorrow for our magic lessons. How does 5:30 sound?"

"That's... What?!" Peter waved his hooves frantically. "Oh, come on! Can't we talk this out? Maybe over dinner?"

Twilight's coy smile grew in width. "We're already talkingandhaving dinner."

Scratching the back of his head at the late realization, the stallion chuckled. "Oh, right. I almost forgot." Peter pressed his hooves together in a begging manner, his eyes growing to the size of a puppy's. "You're not manic in the slightest!" He reached out, grasped the mare's hooves gently, and lowered his head, managing to laugh halfheartedly. "You're just unusually cruel at times."

Nightlight watched both ponies with a stern expression in his eyes, but as their conversation progressed, it steadily softened while a smile formed on his face. Twilight often polarized, more so repelled, everypony with her strict, no-nonsense demeanor. Even as a foal, she had a tendency to take every situation as serious as possible, including the most menial of tasks. While Nightlight was proud of his daughter's sense of duty and responsibility, he wished she would learn to loosen up, especially when it came to the company of others.

Success was everypony's dream, but it was otherwise empty if one couldn't share it with anypony. However, here she was laughing with somepony. Granted, Twilight still had her strict tendencies, but in Nightlight's eyes, this relationship was undeniable progress and a step in the right direction for his daughter. Whether she knew it or not, a pink blush had stained Twilight's cheeks immensely to the point where it was quite visible to everypony, and it refused to dissipate, as if it were a natural, physical feature of hers.

It was a sign of her feelings, but Twilight's change in demeanor was a more blatant sign of her attachment to Peter. Nightlight chuckled. It wasn't subtle, but his clumsy, cumbersome daughter was never known to be graceful. Whenever Peter looked in her direction, whether by passing glance or focused gaze, Twilight always responded in kind, depending on the situation. He was the center of her attention, meaning she was possibly on edge whenever they were in the same vicinity together.

Nightlight stole a glance at his wife and felt his smile widen. Velvet was exactly the same when they first started dating. Twilight and Velvet were nearly mirror images of each other, and Nightlight continued to recognize his daughter was currently showing signs that his wife did years ago. Her smile, while always warm and welcoming, was brighter, illuminating with a hint of happiness that could rival the light of the sun.

Twilight was never the affectionate type, choosing to keep others at a distance, but that seemed to have changed, as she practically giggled with delight every time Peter held her hoof. The symptoms were there. Peter was at the center of Twilight's mind, finding ways to make her smile and relish his touch. Nightlight closed his eyes and nodded. Twilight was truly in love, and her father refused to end something so wondrous.

Of course, he still had his reservations about Peter and even more questions to ask. What were his hobbies? Why had he not discovered his special talent yet? There were several others, but Nightlight would save them for another time. Right now, he only wanted to enjoy watching his daughter mature into an adult a bit longer.

"Six in the morning?! That's still so early!" Peter whined, waving his hooves over his head erratically.

Twilight huffed. "It's never too early to broaden your intellect!"

Shining Armor and Spike continued to laugh at Peter's expense while Cadance and Velvet sat with their chins cupped in their hooves, cooing at the young couple. Nightlight shrugged. It was progress, but his daughter still had a ways to go. However, he felt a bit more comfortable about the young stallion that stole Twilight's heart. Whatever he was doing, Nightlight only hoped it would continue to change his daughter for the better.

---

"They're the same," Lyra murmured, ripping the picture from her notebook, wadding it up, and throwing it behind her shoulder unto an unusually tall pile of crumbled pieces of paper. "They have to be!"

Her room, usually tidy and organized, was the embodiment of chaos. Several different pictures of Spider-Mane laid scattered throughout the abode, each with various comparison notes etched into them. Lyra scrolled through every picture she found for days on end, evident by the large bags formed under her large, yellow irises. The mare's mane was quite mangled, an obvious sign she cared more for her research than appearance at the moment.

The way he stood and moved. It was not normal. Like the beings of old and the individual she saw the night of the first dragon attack, Spider-Mane exhibited so many human-like tendencies. Lyra was more than determined to expose the truth. Sadly, many deemed her rather eccentric, borderline obsessive, in her task. The mare sighed. In her excitement, she realized too late that tackling Spider-Mane in broad daylight was not the wisest of strategies, especially when she lacked the evidence to prove her theories were correct.

After her 'embarrassing' ejection from Manehattan, Lyra retreated back to Ponyville and focused on what little proof she possessed already. Unfortunately, Spider-Mane was rather discreet and rarely appeared whenever danger wasn't present. Yet, there was still a chance. After spotting that strange pony in the Gala, the one who sat like a human, Lyra noted to keep a keen eye on him as well. Luckily, after spotting him dancing with Twilight Sparkle at the end of the Gala, it was easy to assume they were in close company.

That accusation was spot-on, as the pony lived with Twilight Sparkle, but that was unusual, considering he just moved in with her recently. However, Ponyville was a small village, and almost everypony was recognizable. Nopony had even heard of Peter 'Pony' Parker. Lyra's brow furrowed. Like Spider-Mane, his movements were rather odd and more human than pony. Coincidentally, these two appeared in Ponyville around the same time. If she believed in coincidence, it would not have been given a second thought, but Lyra was a factual girl and didn't put much stock in chance.

"Peter Parker and Spider-Mane." Lyra, using her magic, levitated a photo of the hero close to her face and used her hoof to trace along his features. "Same colored mane. Same short and stubby tail. Same movements! Same stance!" Her voice bounced off the wall, growing in volume with each punctuation. "They're the same pony! Of course, they are! I mean...!" Giggling evilly, the aquamarine-coated mare rubbed her hooves together. "He'sa human. If I can find Peter, I can get the truth out of him!"

Spinning around in her chair, Lyra hopped out of it and proceeded to bounce happily in place.

"You hid from me long enough! Tomorrow we'll begin the hunt!"

Lyra's maniacal laughter echoed throughout her entire home, even reaching the outside walls. Sadly, her temporary roommate upstairs was forced to listen to her friend's growing insanity, but once her bloodshot, mulberry eyes peeked from underneath her sheets and found that her clock read 6:05 A.M., Octavia slammed her pillow over her dark gray head, wanting nothing to do with such stupidity. Once she awoke, the mare promised to see the situation through, but for now, Octavia only wished Lyra wouldn't go too far in her adventure.

The cellist sighed. By Celestia's name, she knew that was only wishful thinking.

Comments

[Alchemystudent]

MY biggest problem with this chapter, is the fact that this is all happening while we know of the danger that is approaching. We all know of Green Goblin's approach and here we are talking to Twilight's parents as if nothing is happening. Not to mention we seem to be ignoring Peter's power loss while just sitting back and talking to the parents. It feels like we just have useless padding while we could be dealing with the real issues at stake. I don't mind character interaction and development, but it feels like I am getting it at a cost. Now, what would make this better is if I dind't know about the danger, if I didn't know that there was something big approaching, but as it stands, all I can do is look at my watch and demand the plot to move on.

[Amos Anon]

Lyra's maniacal laughter echoed throughout her entire home, even reaching the outside walls. Sadly, her temporary roommate upstairs was forced to listen to her friend's growing insanity, but once her bloodshot, mulberry eyes peeked from underneath her sheets and found that her clock read 6:05 A.M., Octavia slammed her pillow over her dark gray head, wanting nothing to do with such stupidity. Once she awoke, the mare promised to see the situation through, but for now, Octavia only wished Lyra wouldn't go too far in her adventure.

I thought Octavia lived with Vinyl Scratch.

[Luckyfanisaac]

"I just wanted to let you know how beautiful you are to me," he said confidently before shifting his smile to Velvet, "and I have your mom to thank!"

Winking, Peter turned to the mare's parents. "Although I think she's cheating on me withThe Wondersof Science and Magicbook. She cuddles with it way more than me."

Lyra's maniacal laughter echoed throughout her entire home, even reaching the outside walls. Sadly, her temporary roommate upstairs was forced to listen to her friend's growing insanity, but once her bloodshot, mulberry eyes peeked from underneath her sheets and found that her clock read 6:05 A.M., Octavia slammed her pillow over her dark gray head, wanting nothing to do with such stupidity. Once she awoke, the mare promised to see the situation through, but for now, Octavia only wished Lyra wouldn't go too far in her adventure.

Octavia and Lyra are roommates?

[Progamer]

good chapter👍

Winking, Peter turned to the mare's parents. "Although I think she's cheating on me with The Wonders of Science and Magic book. She cuddles with it way more than me."

😆😆😂😂🤣🤣