//------------------------------// // Vacation Time Part I // Story: Spiders and Magic: New Families // by Masterob //------------------------------// The next two months was eventful for all the ponies. First for the Parker-Sparkle family, little Hope had gotten better at walking, though only for a bit. Plus having been born a unicorn, she had moments where she would do bursts of magic, something Twilight had warned them about. Luckily the two had help from all of their family members, especially Peter and Twilight, who knew how to deal with babies, Twilight being born a unicorn herself, she knew how to handle the magical outbursts. Mayday had to deal with the sudden affection of Pound Cake. It's gone on for months, he always seemed to be making her treats. She thought by telling him she didn't want some everyday it would get him to tone it down, but instead he makes it once a week for her. Now she doesn't know how to handle this without hurting his feelings. Her parents and Trixie offered her some guidance, telling her that sometimes she has to be honest sometimes, even if she risks hurting somepony's feelings. Rarity had her start on her pregnancy, but nothing showed too much aside from getting a bit hungrier. She was still able to work and had some advice from her mother on how to handle certain parts of the pregnancy. Bobby and Sweetie Belle did what they could to help Rarity, especially Bobby who wanted to make sure his wife, and the mother of his child was well taken care of and properly rested, though he would get too concerned for her at times. This was gonna be a long pregnancy for Rarity. Applejack and Remy had their start as parents. Oliver was born an Earth Pony, meaning he'll develop some great strength. He's already shown some interest in Apple bucking, as he normally watches his parents do it, and always claps whenever he sees his mother buck a load of Apples out of a tree. Applejack loved her colt very much, she constantly showered him with her motherly love, and she loved having him outside whenever she would buck apples, already seeing his interest in the family farm. She knew he was gonna be a little mama's boy, much to Remy's concern. It's great that he and Applejack will very likely have such a great mother-child relationship, though he hopes Applejack won't get carried away like she's been known to do when it came to looking out for her little sister. Remy of course was a great father to his son, often showing off his kinetic powers to his son and watched as his son tried to imitate his movements. Remy then started to wonder if his son had the X-Gene, if he too is a mutant. Remy's not worried, his son lives in a great world so it likely won't be as tough. Apple Bloom loved her nephew, she would often let him ride on her back as she galloped around Sweet Apple Acres. She also helped out a lot with him, such as being the usual foalsitter if Remy and Applejack had to go somewhere. Apple Bloom would make sure to be a great Aunt for him. With Rainbow Dash and Johnny, it was a little different. Their daughter Firefly was definitely theirs as she had a bad habit of throwing tantrums and being sassy. Every time Johnny tried to feed her, she would throw the plate at his head and laugh. Whenever Rainbow Dash tried to bathe her, she would splash water in her mother's face, much to her amusement. Even getting her to fall asleep was a pain as it would take her forever to lay down, sometimes even waking up in the middle of the night and crying. Johnny and Rainbow Dash did not get a lot of sleep Rainbow Dash's parents Bow and Windy were there to help though. For them, Firefly was no different than Rainbow Dash when she was a baby, both very energetic. Granted it still wasn't easy for them, they wanted to be there for their grandchild. Scootaloo was also around to help, though there wasn't much she could do, the baby was a bit too much for her as well. Their daughter was also born a Pegasus, and had moments of randomly flying around, making it that much harder for her parents to keep up with her. This filly was becoming a real headache for the couple, they only hoped they could get better. Tony Stark's business had grown a lot to the point where it had expanded to other cities. He still had Coco Pommel at his side, making things a lot easier for him, despite some of the morons he's been dealing with. Sunset Shimmer had been working tirelessly to open the portal to Capcom, but there was just something about it that made it too difficult. That won't stop her goal to see Ryu again, though she worries she won't get that, but she can't stop trying. Discord himself was having similar troubles trying to get the Saiyans, though he was also worried about getting the attention of the Godly beings there. Maybe he should try helping Sunset with her plan, it could weaken the portals more for him. Even the Avengers had to keep busy, while things were usually calm, there were moments where their assistance was needed. One in particular involved them having to keep a dragon away from Ponyville. The dragon was huge, but that didn't intimidate the Avengers as they did their best to keep the dragon away. "Come on team! That town needs our help!" Cap said, using his shield to block a fire blast. Stark flew around, blasting the creature a bit with his Ion lasers, "Not the first time we've fought a dragon, but they're still tough each time!" Carol also flew around to blast the creature with her powers, "This thing's pretty stubborn, obvious statement but still." The dragon had swatted at The Avengers, missing them narrowly each time. Thor had flown to the dragon and fired some thunder at it, though the dragon held out it's handles to block the attack, though still leaving a mark. "Much tougher than I expected!" Thor continued to attack with his hammer. Cap rushed over and threw his shield at the dragon's face, though that merely annoyed it as it slammed it's fist down on Cap, the Avengers leader dodging it narrowly. The dragon again went to attack, but suddenly his hands were all webbed up. The dragon looked to see Peter making his way over, running at the dragon and doing a jumping kick to it's face, stumbling it back. Peter landed next to Cap, "Am I too late?" Cap shook his head, "Not really, we're glad you're here, maybe this can end a little quicker." The dragon again marched toward The Avengers, but Iron Man blasted it in the face, then Thor threw a hammer at his jaw. "Easy guys, we don't wanna hurt it too badly, we just need it to go back to it's home," Peter said. "Well it keeps going towards Ponyville, it obviously doesn't care to go back home," Stark said. The dragon recovered and punched down at them, but they all dodged. Peter managed to web the dragons hand to the ground, leaving it stuck. "Sorry, but I can't let you potentially destroy that town, kinda live there with my family, plus my niece is sleeping and I don't want you waking her!" Peter warned. The Dragon shot some fire at Peter, though he jumped out the way as Carol punched his face. The Dragon again tried to slam down, but Carol moved out the way, causing him to miss and Peter webbing his other hand down. The dragon struggled to break the webbing, but it wasn't working. Peter shook his head disapprovingly. "Sorry big guy, this webbing was specifically designed to handle a dragon's strength, now unless you wanna spend time here and-WHOA!" Peter dodged the dragon fire. Stark rushed in and punched under it's jaw as Thor landed on top of it's muzzle. Peter took this time to web the dragon's mouth shut, "Are you done!? Now you can stay like that or you can agree to go back wherever you came from!" The dragon glared angrily at Peter, making him groan. "If only Fluttershy wasn't afraid of dragons, maybe she can talk sense into him." Cap looked to a group of oncoming ponies, "Actually that can happen, look." Peter saw Twilight make her way over with Logan and Fluttershy, the latter looking a little freaked out. "I really don't like dealing with dragons," Fluttershy admitted. "I know, but you have to try, think about Ponyville" Twilight said. "Don't worry, I'm here few ya if anything," Logan reassured. Fluttershy looked to them both, each offering a smile of encouragement. "Alright, I'll try then." Fluttershy approached the dragon, who gave her an intimidating look. Fluttershy almost backed out, but she knew she had to be brave. Besides she has a look of her own. She flew over to the dragon and unleashed her Stare, causing the dragon to freak out a bit. "That Stare of hers does wonders," Peter said. Fluttershy spoke to the dragon, "Alright Mr. Dragon, I don't know why you're cranky, but you have to stop what you're doing. There's nothing for you in our town and it's not polite to step over the homes of other ponies. Now if you agree to leave, I can have my husband free you from my friend's webbing." The dragon looked over to Logan, who showed off his claws, and an intimidating look that freaking the dragon out more. "So, what will it be?" Fluttershy asked. The dragon nodded it's head, so Fluttershy gave Logan the signal. The dragon was freed and quickly went away, back to it's home. Cap sighed in relief, "Good work team, the town is safe again." "Man so many dragons, how did you ponies handle them before?" Stark asked. "The Wonderbolts usually did, at least before Peter came," Fluttershy said. "I will say, it's nicer having some help with this type of stuff," Peter admitted. "We're happy to help, it must make your life much easier," Cap said, putting his Shield on his back. "Yeah, maybe one day I can go on a nice vacation without having to worry about saving the world," Peter admitted, somewhat joking. That got Twilight's attention, "A vacation?" "A vacation would be nice, a good way for you to relax Peter. I wouldn't mind going somewhere with Logan myself," Fluttershy said. "Yeah, spending a week away from home at a nice resort, that would be cool," Peter said and sighed. "If only though." "So why don't you?" Cap asked. "If you want to take some time to yourself, by all means go for it." Peter shook his head, "Can't, gotta be alert. I mean I can go to the beach from time to time, but to spend a week away is too much." "Peter, one reason we came to this world was to help you and make things easier. I think you and your family should take a vacation, maybe even your wife's friends if they want to," Cap said. "Yeah, we can watch over Equestria for a week, we have plenty of help," Stark said. Peter looked unsure, "But, I don't wanna dump my responsibilities on you." Cap approached Peter, looking very serious, "Peter, you need some time to yourself, it's good for you. It's great that you wanna be a hero but sometimes you need to relax your mind, it can help you grow stronger. Don't worry about giving us your work, you've done so much for our world and this one, you deserve a chance to relax. Now don't make me give you a direct order to do so." Peter still felt unsure, but he realized maybe Cap was right. While Equestria was a bit more safer than his world, he still always kept on high alert. Maybe a chance to relax would be good for him. Twilight approached Peter as well, "It would be good for you Peter, you get too stressed out sometimes and I don't like seeing you get worried. Trust me a vacation would be a great thing for us, we can bring the whole family if you'd like." Peter tapped his chin, "That would be nice." Peter shrugged and gave in. "Alright Cap, I'll go for it." Cap smiled, "Good, anyway since the situation here is resolved maybe you should go back to your home and tell the rest of your family." "I will," Peter said and turned to Twilight, "Let's go honey." Twilight nodded and turned to Peter, "Thank you for your help Captain." The Parker-Sparkle couple went back home as Fluttershy approached Logan, "Maybe we should take a nice vacation, what do you say?" Logan shrugged, "Don't see why not." The two then went home as well while Cap and the others returned to Canterlot to report a job well done to Celestia. Back at the Parker-Sparkle home, Peter explained the idea of a vacation to everypony in his home. "A vacation? That sounds really good, where to though?" Spike asked. "Um, I don't know, maybe a beach house?" Peter suggested. Janet squealed in excitement, "That sounds so fun, laying on the beach, getting a nice tan...might be hard because I have fur now but still, that sounds so relaxing." "Maybe we can go for a nice swim together," Spike suggested. "That too, wait what about Hope? Should she come too?" Janet asked. "Sure, everypony can come, I'm sure there's stuff for Hope to do," Twilight said. "We can only...Hope," Peter said and chuckled a bit. He stopped when he noticed the glare Spike and Janet gave him. "What did we tell you about using our daughter's name as a pun?" Spike said, arms crossed angrily with Janet doing the same. "Um...only do it if it's a good one?" Peter sheepishly said. Everypony just glared hopelessly at Peter as he chuckled nervously. Spike sighed, "Try not to get too carried away with that." Janet shrugged, "I don't think Hope would really mind though." "I hope she doesn't," Peter said and got another glare. "I swear I wasn't trying to make a pun!" Trixie groaned, "Ignoring Peter's usual idiocy, I think a vacation would be a wonderful idea, the whole Parker-Sparkle and Van Dragon family can come." "Maybe we can invite Rumble, we haven't seen him much lately and I miss having him around," Twilight said. "I doubt he'll wanna come, or if Flitter and Cloudchaser would be ok with that," Peter said. "We can just invite them too, it'll be fun," Twilight insisted. "Besides think of how happy Mayday would be, she loves him like a big brother, and we do love Rumble like a son so I think he counts as family." Peter scratched his head at the whole 'son' idea. At this point he wouldn't consider Rumble much of a son anymore. He doesn't mind Rumble as a little buddy, but to call him his son nowadays doesn't really work too well anymore. Though it doesn't matter, he won't stop the idea of Rumble coming. "So when do we go? How long do we stay?" Trixie asked. Twilight used her magic to grab a calendar, "Let's see...oh, how about in five days? I can get some rooms and we can spend a whole week there, that sounds fun right?" That got a unanimous 'yes', to which Twilight started making plans. "Ok, we can start packing now so we'll be ready when the time comes, we'll get up at dawn and-" she was interrupted by some loud groans. "Is there a problem, Peter...Spike...Janet?" "Why so early? It's just vacation, the point is to NOT get up early," Peter said. "We wanna get there in time, when we get there then you can get some rest," Twilight said. "By that does that mean you'll let us sleep in or are you gonna schedule some early morning stuff?" Peter asked, earning a glare from Twilight. "Do you really wanna spend a week away from home just to sleep in Peter? What's the point of going on vacation then?" Twilight asked. "Um, to relax, something I can't do if I have to get up before Celestia even raises the sun," Peter pointed out. "He has a point," Spike said, earning a glare from Twilight which caused him to hide behind Janet. Trixie sighed, she knew how to stop this. "Listen, my idea is that you let Peter sleep later than normal, maybe an extra two hours, so he has more sleep and it's still early enough to do some activities you may want him to do." Twilight tapped her chin and nodded, "Sounds reasonable, alright we'll do that. BUT we're still getting up at dawn!" Peter groaned, "Fine, you win dear." Twilight smiled in victory and trotted off, "I'll go start packing, I should hope the rest of you do so as well." Trixie also trotted off, "That sounds like a good idea, I suggest the three of you don't wait too long, though I won't be too surprised if you put it off until the morning of the vacation." "Hey! We're not that lazy!" Janet said, then whispered to Spike. "Please don't let me forget." "Don't worry, I help Twilight with her scheduling a lot, I kinda learned a lot from her," Spike insisted. As the two mares left, Peter glumly shook his head, "Guess this can't be helped, a husband must do what he can to make his wife happy." "Still, she could be a little more understanding, why does she have you get up early anyway?" Janet asked. "It's just how she is, she likes having a really early start to the day," Peter said. "She's been like that with me, though not as strict. Then again I'm not as lazy as you are Peter," Spike said. "Huh!? You're totally lazy! You spend a lot of time sleeping when Twilight doesn't wake you up!" Peter complained. "I don't sleep for half the day like you would if Twilight didn't wake you," Spike said. Janet chuckled, "Peter, you really shouldn't sleep that much. I don't like waking up early either, and I personally wouldn't make Spike do that, but think of it this way. The earlier you're awake, the more time you spend with Twilight for the day. That would make her pretty happy I would say," Janet said. Peter thought a moment, then nodded, "I guess." "Don't forget your daughter, she'll be happy too," Spike said, then heard some crying. "Oh, speaking of daughters, better go see what Hope wants." "She's either hungry or she needs to be changed," Janet said. "Maybe both, come on," Spike said as he and Janet went to Hope's room. Peter chuckled a bit before making his way to Mayday's room, "Better let Mayday know too, I'm sure she'll love this idea as well." At Fluttershy's cottage, she's also explaining the whole vacation idea to her family. "A vacation huh? Where too?" Lightning Dust asked. "I'm not sure, maybe a nice and quiet nature reserve?" Fluttershy suggested. "What do we do there?" Laura asked. "Well, we can watch all different types of animals, maybe see some Butterflies, or some cute bunnies, or even the Breezies," Fluttershy said. Laura looked unsure and turned to Logan, "You got any ideas old man?" Logan shook his head, "Can't think of any, best go with what Fluttershy suggests." "You said Peter is planning his own vacation, why don't you go ask him and maybe get some ideas," Lightning said. "Oh, good idea, I can bring this up to her later on, we're all gonna meet tomorrow at Applejack's farm to see how she's doing with her colt, I can ask her there," Fluttershy said. "Uh...is Rainbow Dash gonna be there too?" Laura asked. "Yeah, she should be, why?" Fluttershy asked. Laura bit her lip a little, "How do you think her mood will be?" "Johnny's too, I mean they haven't been too friendly lately," Lightning said. "They're just getting used to being parents, that's all," Fluttershy insisted. Laura looked unsurely to the side, "If you say so."