//------------------------------// // Battle // Story: Spider-Pip: Origins // by ZombieBrony22 //------------------------------// A day had passed since the Dazzling’s little performance, as most people described it... if people weren’t smitten with them before, they definitely are now. The police scanner was barely activated and if it was, the police answered it, meaning that there would be no point in me going out there for about four hours today... I decided to pay my aunt Celestia a visit, but Mom stopped me, wanting to tell me something. “So... following the Dazzling’s little song in the cafeteria, I decided on merging the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands—mixing it up for a change.” She told me. Great... “Now there’s only one thing the Rainbooms can win this year, instead of two...” I accidentally mumbled. She didn’t like that, and I sensed it. Well, not with my powers, but... you know what I mean. “Hey. This year’s going to be different... they aren’t going to take this away from the people this time...” She told me. “How? Auntie Celestia admires them, and the students are too scared to fight back. Things won’t change, mum... it’s just gonna be like this until they graduate.” I told her. Mom sighed, seeing my point. “Well, I’m going to try, regardless. The Dazzlings seem ambitious enough, all they need is the proper support.” Mom said, with confidence. She had no idea what they were truly capable of—she just knew that they were a problem and she needed the evidence to have them expelled, or hopefully arrested... “I know you have history with the Rainbooms... they took you under their wing, right?” Mom asked me, unintendedly bringing up bad memories. I sighed, wishing that I went out and looked for criminals to beat up and web up instead. “Yeah. Sunset took me under her wing and the others... I grew on them. Most of ‘em tought me somethin’ that I use as Spider-Man—Rainbow taught me how to free-run, Applejack taught me how to threaten the right people and how to use an accent, Fluttershy taught me how to fight, and Rarity taught me... how... to... sew.” I quickly covered. I mean... she did, but she mostly taught me... other activities. If you catch my drift. “Really? How to sew?” My mom saw right through it. “Yeah... how do you think I made that suit?” I asked her. She went to say something, but stopped and nodded, seeing my point. “Fair enough.” She replied. A knock on the door ended our conversation and Mom opened it to see Flash. “Oh, Flash! How are you?” She asked him. “I’m doing fine, Ms. Luna. Is Pip here? I was hoping we could hang out for a bit.” He said. “He sure is. Please, come in.” She offered. Flash came inside and took off his shoes, glancing at me at the table, fiddling around with an app I was trying to develop for my Spider Suit. An in-suit AI would be cool, but it’s a lot of work for a voice to talk to... “Hey, man.” Flash told me, taking a seat. “How’re you doin’, bruv’?” I asked, hoping he didn’t know what ‘bruv’ meant. “I’m doin’ good...” Damn... he’s done his research. “Except for, y’know, everything with Sunset and her little buddies.” Flash said, my mom listening in. “All I need is hard evidence, and they’re gone.” She said with determination. We sat in silence until Flash remembered something. “Hey, so... I’ve been doing research on Oscorp, I was thinking on getting a job there--” “Don’t. Just don’t-- there’re better places that give you better wages and have better employers. Please, just trust me.” I warned him. Flash’s look of surprise said everything that I needed to know. If anything, I was saving him from that horrid place... it looks all nice and posh on the outside, but once you get inside, it’s rotten to the core. “...Noted. Anyway, I had a friend who worked there and she sent me this out-of-the-blue last night.” Flash held out blueprints that made me turn pale. The blueprints for my Spider-Man mask that me and... “Who’s this friend, Flash?” I desperately asked. “Does it matter? Look at this! This is Spider-Man's mask, Pip—and your name was on the document. Curse the need of Oscorp identification to save files. “Listen to me, Flash: We can talk about this later, but first, I need you to tell me who sent you this document.” I pleaded him. After looking into my eyes and possibly seeing my desperation, he cracked. “Okay... her name is--” A bright flash out of the corner of my eye cut me off... I turned to see that the high-school statue had seemingly been flashed by something... and a cloaked was on the ground, holding a bag in their arms. “What is it?” He asked me. I tried to see who it was, but the fact that it was dark and the person was cloaked kept me from seeing much of anything. “I don’t know... heat lightning, maybe? It’s been real warm the last few days, that could’ve been it...” I tried to reason, but even I didn’t believe it. The light from the statue faded, and everything seemed to simmer down, Luna coming back inside and breathing a sigh of relief. “Good news... it doesn’t seem to be a break-in. Bad news, you should stay for the night, Flash. It’s not really safe out there—let me give your parents a call--” Mom stopped and gasped slightly, Flash somberly glanced at the floor and then turned to her. “It’s alright... I’m sure you're not used to cases like mine.” He said, almost cracking a smile. Mom sighed and left us be... and I had no idea what just happened. “Okay... wanna play some GameStation or somethin’?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “...Yeah. I could use that, actually.” Flash smiled slightly. I never really talked about my parents... did I? I have no clue what they’d think of me, now—especially after what I did with Sunset... and for her. Would they be disgusted with me for my past sins, or would they be proud that I’m trying to “redeem myself”, as the school counselor put it. If they even knew the things that she made me do... and the ones that I enjoyed... There’d be no question about redemption. I parked in the student parking lot after staying at Pip’s for the night and began walking into school when I saw Celestia storming to me, her face red with anger. Here we go, already... “Flash Sentry, I want you to actually tell me where your delinquent acts end!” She shouted. Okay, so I stopped doing these “delinquent acts” since Sunset and I broke up, but would Celestia let me live that down? Luna opened the door as Celestia kept on ranting and gently pulled her away. “Sister, back off! He’s innocent, in this.” Celestia scoffed—a sound I barely hear her use on her sister. “Where was he last night? Do you even know?” Celestia asked her. “Yes-- he came over to talk to Pip, but when that flash came around, I saw a hooded figure on the premises, so I chose that it’d be best if Flash stayed for the night. He was in my kitchen when that light hit.” Luna defended me. “This juvinile, ‘talking’ to Pip? How do you know that he’s not recruiting him, or some--” Luna stepped between us, her presence resonating with rage. Celestia's scared face said everything I needed to know about Luna’s anger. “Never... make such a suggestion about any my students-- least of all my son-- ever again, is that understood? I am his parent, not you. Now, what are you carelessly screaming at one of my students about, sister?” I felt the sting in that comment, so much so that Celestia’s destroyed face didn’t put a smile on my face, like normal. “I... the Formal Battle of the Bands Crown went missing...” She calmly responded, staring her sister in the eye but showing a hint of embarrassment. “The crown... is right in my--” Luna looked in Celestia’s hand and saw another one of the crowns... a professionally made one compared to one made of plastic and possibly aluminum. “Did the district send this one? There can’t be two of the same crown by coincidence...” Celestia wondered. Luna took a moment to think, glancing at the two crowns in her hands. “We’ll take them both—if no-one from the district claims it by the end of the Fall Battle, we use it.” Luna gestured to the professionally made one. Celestia then turned to me, that look slightly returning in her eyes. “I’m... sorry for accusing you. Your track record, and all...” Celestia muttered. I nodded and that chat ended, me walking to my class, Luna and Celestia returning to their office. I turned to see Rarity bolt off as she saw me... I did the logical thing and ran after her—she knew something, and I needed to find out what. The hallways were crammed from students moving from one class to another or to their lockers or just to the bathroom I stuck behind, waiting until she was alone... but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pip catch up to her, going through the crowd faster than me. I managed to break through the crowd in order to catch up faster. I found Pip simply talking to Rarity, pressing her for answers, but never raising his voice. “What’s so important about that crown, Rarity? Why do your friends want it so badly?” I heard him ask. “It’s... it’s something Sunset brought with her... something from her home.” She said, trying to look around desperately. “From her... home?” Pip asked, completely clueless... I knew what she meant—Sunset talked to me about her home... “Equestria? That crown’s from Equestria?” I asked, stepping out of the shadows. Rarity turned to me, her pupils dilated, and nodded ever-so-slightly. “She said that she was going to finish what she started... whatever that meant. She came back... different, furious—she hit Fluttershy, for God’s sakes! Whatever she did... it changed her. And she’s not going to stop until she gets what she wants... and none of us know what that is, anymore.” Rarity whispered. “Then why help her? Why not just run?” Pip asked her. Rarity sighed and held her necklace. “Sunset calls these... Geodes—they give us our powers. Before we met her, we were just low-tier... but now, we’re something else. These powers... they’ve changed us, they made us different, made us... worse.” Rarity said, still holding her “Geode”. Pip seemed to understand what she meant, and took a seat, gesturing her to take a seat by him. Not understanding his motive, she sat. “That power... do you like it?” He asked. She nodded, still misty-eyed from before. “Do you want to lose it?” He asked her again. She shook her head. “So, you accept the power, and you can’t handle the responsibility?” She stopped, clueless. “Okay... what does that mean?” She asked. Pip sighed and leaned forward, ready to add his input. “Someone... very close to me once said that if you have the power to do or stop something... then you have the responsibility to. You and I... we have the power, now it’s time to take on the responsibility.” Pip stated, mystifying even me, who had an idea as to what he meant. Wait... if I was right, then my formerly scrawny, short friend who had no strength or “power” before, was Spider-Man... Huh. “I... think I see what you mean. But they’re my friends, Pip... they just took a bad deal that they can’t get out of.” I scoffed, much to Pip’s offense. “So... let me get this straight: You went from some low-level bullies to making all of our lives a living hell because you took a ‘bad deal’?” I asked, my anger showing. Rarity stood up, her anger forming an aura. “You, of all people, should know exactly what that feels like!” Rarity shouted. I sighed, knowing that she was right... but at the same time... “So, you think you and the others can redeem yourselves? If I can’t, why can you?” I asked, letting out my own anger. Their faces said it all—they were shocked at what I just insinuated. “Flash, you only--” “My record is stained with what I did. I can’t take any of it back... so why should you be able to when you’ve done far worse than me?” I asked. Pip stood up, ready to break us up. “I’m not saying they can... I’m saying they should try... so should you.” Rarity paced off from us, ending the conversation. Silence kicked in as Pip turned to me, still shocked from what I had said. “She has a point, man... I don’t know what she meant by you knowing how she feels... but trust me, she’s wrong.” I blocked him out, heading out before my eyes began to water again. I’ve already let out a tear too many.