Equis, Ponyville
It was the day of Nightmare Night, and Ponyville was in full preparation mode. Creepy bats, ghosts, spiders, and other spooky things seemed to hang from every single building, along with carved pumpkins dotting the ground. As he strolled through the streets of the small town, carrying the backpack that contained his Spider-Man costume, Peter Parker couldn't help but be struck by just how much it resembled Halloween on planet Earth.
Most of the ponies thankfully didn't gawk at the human in their midst. Peter wouldn't have held it against them, but to say it wouldn't irritate him would be lying. Fortunately, Ponyville's population was used to humans by this point, and they were wrapped up in the beginnings of their spooky celebration.
"Peter!" came a familiar voice, filled with unmistakable joy.
"Hey, Pinkie," he responded, bracing his feet against the ground for the familiar flying tackle he knew was coming. He managed to catch Pinkie this time, giving her a friendly hug. "Glad you invited me."
"Well, I wanted to invite you to help with one of my parties, and this one seemed like the best fit for you!" Pinkie happily proclaimed, jumping off of him and bouncing along the ground. "Nightmare Night is tonight, and you could make some spooky spider webs to help set the atmosphere!"
"Scary party, huh?" said Peter. In retrospect, it was odd that he'd never thought of using his powers for that purpose, even before becoming a crime fighter. It probably wouldn't have made him a ton of cash, but it would've been entertaining at least. "So how far are we going with the scare factor?"
"Not too far. We—that is, I—have to have a sort of scary/funny balance," Pinkie admitted, looking down, sheepishly. "A couple years ago, I scared some foals pretty badly on Nightmare Night, and I don't wanna repeat that."
"So you want some funny stuff, huh?" asked Peter, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. He turned to the house across the street, where Twilight was busy hanging up some ghostly curtains. "Yo, Twilight! Pull my finger!"
After Twilight was finished admonishing him, Peter donned his Spider-Man suit, which was oddly appropriate for the occasion, and got to work setting up a massive web net. Normally, the webbing would dissolve in two hours, but Peter had tweaked the formula a bit, resulting in a web that was far weaker than his normal variety, but would last much longer, perfect for decorative occasions such as this. By the time he was finished, Celestia's sun was setting, and Ponyville was draped in a massive, thin blanket of artificial spider webbing, dotted with plastic spiders Pinkie had supplied.
"Looks great, Peter," said Twilight, flying down beside him on a Ponyville rooftop, as Peter observed his handiwork. She'd used temporary dye on her coat and mane, along with a sticker over her Cutie Mark, to dress up as Princess Luna. "Pinkie was right, inviting you was a great idea."
"I aim to please," Peter said, with a mock bow. He looked over the small town, where ponies were already coming out in droves, dressed in all manner of costumes. "I suppose Fluttershy's staying in? This doesn't seem like her thing."
"Yeah," Twilight replied. "We actually did get her to try it, once. Believe it or not, she managed to set up a really scary event for us, to the point where even Rainbow was afraid, but she just felt bad about scaring us."
As Peter tried to comprehend Fluttershy coming up with anything even remotely scary, Pinkie scurried up to them, bouncing off a few wooden crates and landing right next to them on the rooftop. She'd made a rather simple looking cupcake costume, with her legs, tail, and head poking out of the bottom, but the top had real frosting and sprinkles, a fact shown by Pinkie reaching back and licking it every once in a while.
"Nightmare Night, what a fright!" sang Pinkie. "Spooky, isn't it?"
"Considering what we've been through, with Sombra and Toomes and all that, not really," Peter admitted. "After having a building dropped on me, not much scares me anymore."
"Hey! Don't say that, you'll jinx it!" Pinkie scolded. "Next thing you know, there'll be some big planet-eating alien we have to fight!"
"Pinkie, that's just supersti—never mind," Twilight started, but gave up, realizing how futile it would be.
"So is Princess Luna gonna be here for real?" Peter asked, turning back to Twilight. "Or are you here in her stead?"
"Ha ha, very funny," Twilight replied. "No, Princess Luna's on her way now. Ever since her first Nightmare Night, not long after she was freed, she's loved spending the holiday in Ponyville. Even if it's about Nightmare Moon, it makes her feel appreciated."
"That is kind of odd, how—" Peter started, only to freeze in mid-sentence. A faint tingling on the back of his neck cut him off, and he rolled up his sleeves, finding that the hair on his arms was sticking straight up. "Uh oh..."
"What? What is it?"
"Spider sense. Something—" Peter started to say again, only for another interruption to cut him off. This one took the form of Pinkie's entire body suddenly shuddering, bouncing up and down, to the point where she almost fell off the room. Peter managed to get a grip on her tail before she did.
"Pinkie?" Twilight asked, suddenly concerned. "What is it, new Pinkie Sense?"
"It's a doozy!" Pinkie managed to get out through the vibrations. "But one of the bad doozies, not the good doozies!"
Peter was about to ask exactly what they were talking about before yet another interruption cut him off. Unfortunately for everyone, this interruption was far less pleasant.
The earthquake started as a small shaking beneath the town, which eventually began to spread across Ponyville. Nightmare Night decorations tipped over as ponies began to rush out of buildings, galloping over to wide open areas where they'd be safe. A large crashing sound, followed by the cracking of wood, resounded in the distance. Peter grabbed Twilight and Pinkie with one arm, holding onto the shaking roof with the other. As quickly as the quake began, it faded away.
"Well, that was unexpected," said Peter, relaxing as the shocks faded. "I thought you could control the weather in Equestria."
"Earthquakes aren't weather," Twilight responded, annoyed.
"Earthquakes are definitely bad doozies," said Pinkie. "At least nopony got hur—Oh no!" She gasped, pointing over at the other side of town.
Peter and Twilight followed Pinkie's hoof, directing their gaze over to the Ponyville schoolhouse. Or rather, what was left of it, as the entire building seemed to have sunk into the ground, leaving only the tip of the roof poking above the earth.
"Oh no! Cheerilee! The kids!" Twilight gasped, spreading her wings, but Spider-Man beat her too it. He leaped off of the roof, firing a strand of webbing at an adjacent building, and yanking on the line, catapulting himself across Ponyville. He landed a few feet from the school, rushing towards the ruins.
Thankfully, the situation was better than it could've been. Cheerilee was covered in dust, as were her students, but they seemed mostly unharmed, gathered outside the ruins. Peter came over to them, joined shortly by Twilight and Pinkie.
"Miss Cheerilee! Are you alright?" Twilight asked, holding onto the teacher's shoulders.
"I *hack* think so," she answered. "I got everypony out when the shaking started...at least I think..." Cheerilee looked around at the children, doing a quick head count. "Oh no! Pipsqueak!" She whirled around, pointing at the ruined school. "He was in the bathroom when it started! He's trapped under there!"
"Got it!" said Twilight, igniting her horn. The entire chunk of wreckage was enveloped in her magenta aura, and began to rise off the ground. Unfortunately, after a few seconds, the ascension stopped, and Twilight grunted in pain as the effort of trying to lift up the school got to her. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to pick up the entire thing.
"Stop!" said Peter, as he reloaded his web shooters with regular fluid. "You can't do it! Just hold it open, I'll go down!"
"Are...are you sure?" Twilight panted.
"I'll do it!" Peter insisted, scurrying under a small hole under the roof. Twilight's magic finally gave out, and the refuse thumped down onto the ground. She gasped as she looked at the wreckage.
"Knock on the top when you've got him!" she shouted, praying Peter heard her.
Being a human spider, Peter was able to navigate the ruined school fairly easily. His spider night vision kicked in, something he was grateful for. He didn't even need Karen's assistance for this. He dragged pieces of broken wood out of the way, searching for the bathroom.
"Pipsqueak!" he shouted, as he punched through a toppled blackboard. "Pipsqueak!"
"Here...ack!" came a weak cough from his right.
Spider-Man turned, tossing a desk over his shoulder as he rushed through the now exposed doorway. Inside was a small, brown and white spotted earth pony colt. He was pinned under two long beams of wood, though thankfully, they seemed to have shielded him from broken glass and porcelain.
Spider-Man ran up to Pipsqueak, lifting the wooden beams off of him. Peter ran his hand over the small pony's body, checking for broken bones, but not finding any. Sighing in relief, Peter reached down to pick up Pipsqueak, when a large crack resounded behind him, and another group of support beams dropped down on them from above. Fortunately, Peter's spider sense kicked in again, and he leaped to the side to avoid the debris.
Well, that was fantastic, Peter thought to himself. Now there's crap blocking the exit, and I've got a pony. How do I carry him and keep both hands free to...Peter looked down at Pipsqueak, as a thought occurred to him. Spiders carry their babies on their backs. I can stick to walls with my hands, but I haven't tried...
He lifted Pipsqueak over his head, arranging the colt so that the pony's front legs would be over his shoulders. A sensation, just like the one whenever he adhered himself to a wall, tingled down his back, as Pipsqueak settled onto the surface, adhering to his skin through his costume.
Huh. Neat.
Twilight was getting antsy. Spider-Man had been inside for several minutes, and he hadn't knocked on the wood. Nopony was sure what they could do, as earth pony strength would probably make it start to collapse further inward, no doubt making things worse for Peter. And there weren't enough unicorns to lift the ruins.
"Twilight Sparkle!" came a familiar voice. Twilight turned, discovering Princess Luna flying directly towards them, wings spread wide. "What happened?! Is everypony alright?!"
Before Twilight could answer her, Pinkie, shaking with stress. "The schoolhouse collapsed and Pipsqueak is trapped inside and Spider-Man went inside to save him but he hasn't come back out!"
"Pipsqueak?!" shouted Luna.
She turned on her hoof, horn beginning to shine as she prepared to levitate the ruin, but before she could, a faint tapping sound came from beneath the wood. Twilight gasped in surprise, lighting up her horn and lifting the top part of the ruin, the wood rising to reveal a dusty Spider-Man covered with wood chips, Pipsqueak sticking to his back.
Cheerilee rushed up to the human, as he took Pipsqueak off his back. "He's okay," he said, holding the small colt out to the teacher. "I looked him over, I think he's okay."
"Oh, thank the gods," Luna breathed, galloping over to Cheerilee and Peter. She lit up her own horn, enveloping Pipsqueak in a transparent blue light. She looked nervously at the colt she'd befriended on her first Nightmare Night, scanning his body for any injuries. "You are correct, he is safe."
Luna threw her front legs around Spider-Man's shoulders. "We are in your debt once again, Peter Parker."
"Um, you're welcome," said Peter.
Twilight smiled with relief, but a thought occurred to her. She had something she definitely needed to ask Spider-Man.