Chapter Twelve "Two Spiders, One Web, Part II"
The early morning sun's rays entered through the small openings in the curtain. As light slowly filled the bedroom, Twilight stirred to life with a sleepy yawn before pulling herself into a sitting position. She rubbed a hoof over her eyes, groaning at her body's sluggish responses. It was only a few hours ago that Gwen Stacy came back through means yet to be thoroughly explained, but for Twilight, it felt as if an eternity had crawled by with no haste in its step whatsoever.
There was an unnerving irritation churning at the center of her chest, matched only by the sense of trepidation that accompanied it. Twilight chided herself for allowing those feelings to surface like this prematurely. From what vague explanation she'd gathered from Zecora, the Gwen Stacy that returned last night was not the one that Peter personally knew, hailing from a parallel dimension. Shaking her head, the alicorn pushed those unfounded thoughts to the side in hopes of forgetting her sleepless night and paranoia.
Twilight's eyes widened at the peculiar sight on her bedside or lack thereof. Peter was not present, and considering that the stallion never woke under his own will before seven in the morning, this left the alicorn to shake her head in dismay. That same moment, a tempting scent reached the mare's nose. A trail of fumes filled the entire Treebrary, coming from downstairs.
Wasting no time, Twilight hopped from the bed and rushed to the source, coming to a halt upon spotting a second unusual sight in the living room. The table had been set accordingly, with a bowl and utensils placed in front of each seat. Every bowl held a serving of oatmeal, each containing a side of sliced apples. Twilight walked up to the table before eyeing a bowl, its substance holding a sweet scent. Soon afterward, Peter walked into the living room with a tray, balancing several glasses of orange juice.
"Morning, honey," Peter chimed, pausing to plant a soft kiss on the mare's cheek before placing the tray down at the center of the table. The stallion turned, pulling out a chair for his wife, and Twilight nodded, accepting the gesture with a furrowed brow. Peter hummed obliviously while he scooted the chair closer to the table. "Did you sleep well?"
Twilight hesitated, glancing off to the side before straightening her posture. "Y-Yes. I slept just fine. Why areyouup so early? This isn't like you at all. You should be resting."
Peter chuckled, his smile widening. "I'm fine, Twilight! I was just too excited to sleep, so I cooked breakfast! Hope you don't mind." His eyes widened at a belated realization before he ventured out of the living room. "Just sit tight while I go grab everypony."
The stallion's upbeat attitude only seemed to add to Twilight's uneasiness, evident by her quickening heart rate. The past few months had been challenging for her husband due to his building physical and mental stress. While Peter kept a strong front for the sake of keeping others from worrying about him, Twilight knew how much duress he was under. For the first time in weeks, he seemed genuinely happy and practically giddy. Twilight inhaled deeply before sighing. She should've been ecstatic about the stallion's turn around, but feelings deep down prevented that, doing the opposite.
Before the alicorn could dive further into her steadily growing anxiety, Spike, Aunt May, and Trixie entered the living room, exchanging pleasantries with each other until they found their respective seats at the table. Mayday lazily entered behind the mares, yawning deeply before slipping into her chair next to Twilight. Peter followed with Ben in his hooves, propping the baby colt in his special seat between his mother and Trixie. Everypony eventually settled into their seats.
Mayday's ears perked up at the sight of her oatmeal as the sweet scent filled her senses. "This smells great!" She paused for a moment, inhaling deeply before looking to her father. "What's the occasion, Daddy?"
Peter grinned, scratching the back of his head. "Two things. I wanted to cook for my family and welcome an old friend of mine."
Aunt May scooped a tiny sample of oatmeal into her spoon before plunging it into her mouth. Once the treat melted, she sighed blissfully. "This is absolutely wonderful, Peter. I can tell that you've been practicing."
Peter nodded, sharing a glance with the baby dragon sitting across from his position. "Yeah. Those cooking lessons you and Spike gave me really are starting to pay off."
Spike took a sip of his glass of juice before arching a brow at the stallion. "So, who's this friend of yours?"
"You'll see as soon as she wakes up," Peter replied, pausing to stir a small slice of butter into Mayday's oatmeal momentarily. "She's probably still getting her bearings. She's visiting… from Earth."
Everypony's eyes widened at the statement, turning their attention to Peter. Aunt May managed a smile. "Now, I'm very curious, but I can understand. If your friend was a human, then I can assume that when she turned into a pony, it was surprising for her, yes?"
Peter chuckled sheepishly. "Very much so."
Trixie chuckled to herself. "As if my circle of family and friends wasn't bizarre enough, here comesanotherfrom a distant world," she added dryly, shrugging as she returned her attention to her breakfast. Trixie's mood sharpened suddenly, with her stoic demeanor morphing into that matching concern. "My sincerest apologies, but there is apressingmatter that we must discuss! My livelihood is at stake!"
Twilight furrowed her brow. "What is it, Trixie?"
"Well…" Trixie paused, slowly turning her blank stare to the side. As if on cue, her spoon magically levitated from its bowl before flicking its contents into the mare's face. Ben squealed in delight while Trixie snatched the silverware from the air and wiped her face down with a napkin. "You two failed to warn me that your devil of a son started using magic yesterday! This information would have been excellent to have before you left him with mealone."
Peter waved his hoof dismissively. "What's the big deal? Twilight says that Ben will grow out of that in a few months. It's sporadic."
"A fewmonths?!" Trixie blurted out, placing her hooves on the table and abruptly standing up from her seat. Before she could continue, her bowl of oatmeal hovered from the table, hoof-lengths into the air. She grabbed the item before holding it against her chest. "Heresy! Treason! I will absolutely not tolerate this!" Ben cooed playfully and relinquished his magical hold on the bowl, prompting Trixie to exhale before placing it back down. She rubbed a hoof over her eyes. "Your son is quite attached to me, so he sees fit to show his affection in his own… special way."
Peter could only chuckle in response at the cheerful squee Ben gave Trixie's response. She wasn't exactly wrong. Ben had been known to be quite the friendly baby, enamored with anypony willing to give him some attention. While the infant adored his parents beyond measure, especially his mother, there was something that drew Ben to Trixie like a moth to a flame. It seemed he knew exactly how to annoy the mare specifically, whether it was chewing on her hat, nibbling on her mane, or just being as much of a nuisance as possible.
The baby colt appeared to love the reactions and attention it elicited from the mare. Trixie had gone on the record several times declaring that Ben was channeling his father's playful nature and aimed it solely at her. If anything, this further cemented that the baby colt was vastly intelligent for his age, perhaps too much so, and Trixie was more likable than she was led to believe, particularly in the eyes of youth. Peter was forced to stifle a chuckle, biting down on his lip and snorting involuntarily. Both ideas brought him much amusement.
Trixie narrowed her eyes at the stallion, crossing her forelegs. "And just what's so funny about my plight? This is serious!"
Peter smiled with a shrug. "What can I say? You can never love too much, Auntie Trixie."
Trixie paused for a moment before growling under her breath and glancing off to the side, her cheeks flushing to a soft shade of pink. Mayday poked the mare's side with a grin while Aunt May and Spike smiled widely. Twilight's demeanor straightened as she narrowed her gaze at the doorway across the room. Gwen walked into the room in an upright stance on her hind legs, staring intently at everypony around the table before letting out a defeated sigh.
"So, last nightwasn'ta dream. I really am in a world full of sapient ponies," Gwen chided, lowering her head. "Right when I thought my life couldn't get any weirder,thishappens. It makes about as much sense as the Lions winning the Super Bowl."
Peter chuckled, patting the available seat next to him. "Or the Jaguars having a winning season."
Gwen laughed lightly, awkwardly accepting the stallion's gesture before leaning into the seat as a bipedal creature would. The mare slipped, managing to catch the side of the chair with a hoof. An awkward silence filled the room as Gwen alternated her bright blue gaze between Peter and herself. A crimson blush filled the mare's face while she straightened herself into the seat like everypony else around her did.
"This feels… a little awkward," Gwen sheepishly groaned.
Peter nodded. "I've been a pony for over ten years now, and itstillfeels awkward at times. Try not to think about it too much."
"Don't be rude, son," Aunt May politely interjected, holding a stern smile. "Who's your friend? She's just as hapless as I was when I first got here!"
Peter was slow to respond, scratching the back of his head. "You're not going to believe this, but this… is Gwen Stacy."
Aunt May dropped her silverware, staring wildly at the green earth pony. She quickly left her seat and walked to Gwen until they were mere hoof-lengths apart. "Oh, my, God," she whispered, her mouth agape as a stray tear streamed down her cheek. May brought a hoof over the black band holding Gwen's blonde mane in place. "You're right, Peter. Gwen always wore her hair like this!" Before Gwen could react, May wrapped her hooves around her neck with a warm embrace. "It's so good to see you again, Gwendolyn!"
Gwen stared blankly at nothing in particular, holding a befuddled expression. "It's good to see you, too, Miss…?"
"Aunt May," Peter muttered, nodding. "Since you're from a different dimension, you might not even know—"
"Mrs. Parker?!" Gwen blurted out, pulling away from the mare's embrace long enough to hold eye contact with her. "No way! You're here, too? I don't know if it's the pony thing, but you look so young."
May smiled. "I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but when I first came here, my age regressed quite a bit. I never questioned it. It just happened."
"This is so weird. You could pass for Peter's older sister now," Gwen declared, shaking her head. The mare retook her seat, holding a bewildered expression. "We have a lot to talk about. Madame Web was pretty vague when she said that I had to help someone." She blinked before sharing a glance with Peter. "But first things first. Ihaveto start with you. How exactly did you become Spider-Man in the first place?"
Peter leaned back into his seat. "It happened during a school field trip to a science expedition. They were experimenting on genetically-enhanced spiders in one of the rooms. Nobody knew that one of the spiders had escaped from its cage."
"Shut up!" Gwen exclaimed, her eyes and smile both widening. She held out her hoof, tapping its backside with her free one. "Let me guess. It bit you here, and it escaped after you shook it off?"
Peter blinked as his mouth fell agape. "When you got home, you suddenly felt sick before passing out?" Gwen nodded, leaning close until their faces inches apart as both ponies' glee heightened. Peter nodded eagerly in response. "And right when you woke up, you found out you could stick to walls, had super strength, and developed a sixth sense for danger?"
Gwen fell back into her seat and brushed a hoof through her mane. "I don't believe it… Our roles are totally reversed!"
Trixie smirked, glancing between the two. "That is irony in its purest form."
"Hey, um, Miss Gwen?" Mayday called out, raising her hoof.
Gwen blushed involuntarily before waving a hoof dismissively. "It's just Gwen. The 'Miss' makes me feel old."
Mayday tilted her head to the side. "It sounds like you and Daddy are pretty good friends where you're from. What's he like in your world?"
Twilight lifted her gaze at the question, staring at the green mare from the corner of her eye. Gwen held a glance at Peter before responding. "Peter's really awkward, and kind of a wimp, but he's the smartest person I know. He even had the highest GPA in our school's history. I knew him since middle school. Peter was always very nice, but he was bullied nonstop. We dated up until…" she trailed off, her voice wavering.
The two paused before Peter frowned, giving Gwen a knowing stare. "I died... didn't I?"
Gwen forced the lump in her throat down with a swallow. "Yeah. Peter just… lost it one day. All of those bullies pushed him over the edge. He tried an experiment to exact revenge on them. On one hand, it worked. Peter crossed his genes with a lizard, but it cost him his sanity. He just started calling himself the Lizard."
"Woah hold on!Iwas the Lizard?!" Peter blurted out, slack-jawed.
Gwen arched a brow at the stallion. "That sounds familiar? Who's the Lizard in your universe?"
Peter shook his head in disbelief. "Dr. Curt Conners."
Taken aback, Gwen coughed. "My old college professor?! Seriously?"
Mayday alternated her gaze between both ponies, holding her silence for a brief duration. "So, what happened after Daddy transformed?"
Gwen's eyes softened as she placed a hoof over her aching chest. "He started terrorizing those around him. I had to stop him before he could hurt anyone." The mare's demeanor shrank while her gaze grew melancholic. "Right before he died, Peter said he wanted to be as special as me." Gwen narrowed her gaze on Peter. "That's why I do this. I want to be half the person my father is and make up for what happened to Peter."
Trixie shuddered, slamming her eyes shut before taking a sip of her juice. "How awful…"
Mayday leaned closer to Gwen. "So, what's your hero name?"
Gwen offered the filly a smile. "Well, the locals call me Spider-Woman, but I prefer the White Widow." She gestured a wink. "My friends who know also call me Spider-Gwen."
Mayday exhaled, playfully punching Peter's shoulder. "Eh, considering how much Daddy name-drops 'spider' into everything, I'll just call you Gwen."
Trixie nodded in agreement. "You're certainly more original than Peter."
Spike's eyes held a gleam. "The White Widow? That's so cool!"
Twilight watched the conversation unfold with a quiet gaze, frowning as Peter and the others flocked cheerfully towards Gwen. The low feelings she harbored resurfaced, leaving a lingering sense of resentment, but the alicorn brushed those thoughts to the side, chastising herself for thinking such things right afterward. She would not let such emotions drive her judgement, not when they were so unwarranted.
Gwen held a nervous smile, nudging Peter. "So, like, I take it that I kicked the bucket in your world, too? Were we an item? What happened tomein your universe?"
Peter's complexion paled, his blood growing cold as Trixie, Spike, and Aunt May avoided his line of sight. The stallion sheepishly glanced to the side once Gwen tilted her head. "Uh, well…"
Deep within the pits of Tartarus, Sonata sat with a softened gaze while leaning against the wall. She stepped away, shaking her head. "There has to be another way that's better than…this." Sonata paused before walking over to Aria, poking the mare as she rested. "Hey..."
"What do you want, Sonata?" Aria weakly questioned, rubbing her eyes.
Sonata couldn't help but frown while looking over her friend's desolate state. Aria seemed to only sleep lately, spending hours on end in bed after learning what had happened to the sirens. "You really should at least eat something. It'll make you feel better. I promise."
Aria simply lowered her head, closing her eyes. "I'll be fine. I'm just not hungry right now." She rolled onto her side. "Besides, I don't really feel like feeding, either."
Sonata's eyes widened a little at Aria's words. "Feeding… That's it!"
Aria groaned at Sonata's high enthusiasm and how it contrasted her own so greatly. "What's that?"
Turning to take her leave, Sonata smiled to herself. "You'll see soon!"
"What's she going on about?" Aria asked herself, slowly lifting herself up as the other mare sped away. With a defeated shrug, she retook her resting place and curled up on the top of the bed. "I swear, that girl lives in her own world sometimes."
Elsewhere, Discord materialized into existence by Tirek's side, pausing to smile as he watched Sonata run off from the corner of his eyes. "Ah, things are progressing as scheduled. Venom did his part. Now, we must carry on to the second stage of our plan."
Tirek huffed, brushing his hands together. "Indeed. We will not have much success with the Elements of Harmony in place. Along with the power of Spider-Mane and the princesses, our enemies still hold the advantage."
Discord chuckled. "Indeed. The Elements would make things too easy. However, we do have an interesting development. It seems young Twilight's developing some… hostility towards their new guest. I do believe we could exploit that in our favor."
"Is that so?" Adagio questioned as she approached the two individuals from behind. "I would certainly love to help in any way that I can."
Tirek arched a brow at the mare as she took position between Discord and himself. "This is quite surprising, Adagio. It's rare for you to show such initiative in our plans."
The mare narrowed her gaze, glancing off to the side before a look of determination formed in her eyes. "Let's just say I have some newfound motivation in light of recent events." Adagio grinned. "And what better place to start than against that stupid princess?"
"Sensible enough," Tirek replied, his wrinkled features managing a smile. "Very well then. Discord, what do you have planned to take advantage of the situation?"
"It's about time I use a contingency plan that I made over a thousand years ago," Discord grinned, holding out his talon as a small crimson orb materialized over it. "Adagio. I'll allow you the honors for this one." The draconequus walked up to the mare before offering her the item. "I want you to take this to the Everfree Forest."
Adagio reached out, furrowing her brow as the orb solidified into a gem in the mare's grasp. "Sure, but what exactly am I supposed to do with it?"
Discord faded from sight, appearing behind the mare before nudging her. "It'll make sense when you get there. Now, hurry along, my dear."
Adagio hesitantly nodded, eyeing the orb with a furrowed brow before setting out to do as the draconequus instructed. "Right. Well… I'll get right on that, then."
Discord's smile widened as he clenched his paw and talons excitedly. "Oh, I certainlydohope Peter loves my Plunder Vines! They're certain to bring a newsparkleinto his relationship!" The draconequus chuckled under his breath as an astral image of Gwen materialized into existence before fading from sight. "Doubt has already been set. Now, we simply sit back and watch as the wedge slowly drives them apart."
Discord vanished before materializing on the edge of Tartarus, propped in a chair. Putting on a pair of 3D-glasses, a projection appeared before the draconequus, and a slideshow of the Parker-Sparkle household began to start across the screen. "The best part is that I don't even have to do anything! I really should thank Madame Web for giving me so much wonderful entertainment!" Discord erupted into laughter as the next scene played out.
To be continued...