//------------------------------// // The Greatest Show // Story: Spiderman Equestria's Hero: Season 3 // by Adamverse //------------------------------// All was dark, not a noise could be heard; the one thing that could be seen was a man standing in the dark, on a large stage. This man looked human, he wore a sort of modern day detective outfit; with the hat and everything. This man reached over to the side, next to him was a record player; he played the record that was already spinning on the machine. As soon as the music started playing, people could be heard. original “Woah!” The man then began a song. “Ladies and gents.” “This is the moment you've waited for.” The crowd cheered again. “Woah!” The man kept singing, “You've been searching in the dark.” “Your sweat soaking through the floor.” One more time, “Woah!” The man keeps singing his verse. “And buried in your bones.” “There's an ache that you can't ignore.” “Taking your breath.” “Stealing your mind.” “And all that was real is left behind.” The man could now be seen because of the lights that illuminated the stage, he walked up the stage as if he was talking to each member of the audience. “Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya.” “It's only this moment.” “Don't care what comes after.” “Your fever dream.” “Can't you see it getting closer?” “Just surrender 'cause you feel the feeling taking over.” He stopped in the middle of the stage. “It's fire, it's freedom.” “It's flooding open.” “It's the preacher in the pulpit and your blind devotion.” “There's something breaking at the brick of every wall.” “It's holding all that you know.” “So tell me do you wanna go?” All the light suddenly came on, the whole stage could be seen; the audience could see the rest of the performers, doing their tricks and dancing in the background. “Where it's covered in all the coloured lights.” “Where the runaways are running the night.” “Impossible comes true.” “It's taking over you.” (Oh, this is the greatest show!) The performers danced in tune with the man’s singing. “We light it up, we won't come down.” “And the sun can't stop us now.” “Watching it come true.” “It's taking over you.” (Oh, this is the greatest show!) The other performers suddenly came up behind the man; they all started jogging on the spot, the music in sync with the movements. “Colossal we come.” “These renegades in the ring.” (Woah) “Where the lost get found.” “And we crown 'em the circus kings.” The performers stop and go back to what they were doing, the man keeps singing. “Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya.” “It's only this moment.” “Don't care what comes after.” “It's blinding.” “Outshining anything that you know.” “Just surrender 'cause you're calling and you wanna go.” “Where it's covered in all the coloured lights.” “Where the runaways are running the night.” “Impossible comes true.” “Intoxicating you.” (Oh, this is the greatest show!) “We light it up.” “We won't come down.” “And the sun can't stop us now.” “Watching it come true.” “It's taking over you.” (Oh, this is the greatest show!) The rest of the performers join their leader in clapping to the music, it was the big finish. “Where it's covered in all the coloured lights.” “Where the runaways are running the night.” “Impossible comes true.” “It's taking over you.” (Oh, this is the greatest show!) “We light it up.” “We won't come down.” “And the walls can't stop us now.” “Watching it come true.” “It's taking over you.” (Oh, this is the greatest show!) When the song ended, the clapped for the performers; everyone on staged bowed to the main singer, and his backup dancers. The time came for the singer to give his speech, the speech to show grateful he is to his crew. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And please give it up for my wonderful performers; weren’t they just amazing.” He attention was then drawn to the other side of the room. “And please give it up for the woman behind all the great catering we served here tonight; the woman I’m marrying tomorrow night.” The caterer came out onto the stage and revealed herself to the audience; the finished his her introduction, “My fiancé, Fluttershy.” The town of Manehattan, a large yet simple part of Canterlot city; the year was 1909, and the town had been lucky enough to be visited by a travelling circus. The owner called it ‘The Greatest Show’; he was known for his incredible performances. His name was Mr Knightmare, and his performers were the most amazing that had ever been seen in the world. His first act would usually be performed by a female magician, named Twilight; she claimed to use science to make her trick look more incredible. But secretly, she was actually born with magical powers; but she hides this through her science. He also had a strong woman, named Applejack; she was the most powerful one out of all the performers. I mean, she could lift a car over her head; and throw in across a wide range. The clown was also pretty funny, Pinkie Pie could make the most glum people laugh; some would even say she was the show’s star attraction. Then there’s the acrobat, Rainbow Dash; bit of an ego, but can still perform the greatest of air tricks. She also has her husband, Soarin, to perform with her. The two of them could never perform without each other. And of course, behind the scenes; we have Fluttershy, who makes and serves the food at the food stands. And Rarity, she makes the costumes and does the show makeup. Yeah, this crew works like a family; but as we all know, every family has one member that doesn’t fit in with the others. One member that doesn’t play by the rules; a sort of rogue member if you will. Mr Knightmare has his own personal jobs for this guy; and with his ability to climb walls and avoid getting caught, he has him going around the towns they visit and picking some things up. If you get my meaning. “Stop thief!” a police officer yelled. The entire police force was chasing a young man through the streets, the young man’s pockets were full of necklaces and wallet, and other things he’d stolen from the people of the street. Using his unique ability, he climbed up the wall to the rooftops; there, he turned back to the police to try and make some small talk. “Hey, gentlemen; you wouldn’t arrest a guy for taking things from the rich. They don’t need it, they’re rich.” the thief stated. The police then revealed they were holding their clubs, the thief realised he had to run; but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy it. He ran across the roof while the police climbed up the fire exits to go after; when they reached the roof, they began the chase after him. When the thief reached the end of the roof, he saw his way down was a bunch of stacked up boxes; he turned around and saw the police coming, it was time to go. original “Gotta keep…” “One jump ahead of the breadline.” “One swing ahead of the sword.” “I steal only what I can't afford.” (That's Everything!) The boy reached the street, and ran across the road; all while dodging the people and the cars. “One jump ahead of the lawmen.” “That's all, and that's no joke.” “These guys don't appreciate I'm broke.” While he was running, the police were catching up behind him; they began calling him names. “Riffraff!” “Street rat!” “Scoundrel!” They then had to duck as the thief threw something at them. “Take that!” “Try a different tac’, guys.” However, the police replied, “Rip him open.” “'Round the back lines.” The thief boy climbed up a wall, all while singing, “I can take a hint, gotta face the facts.” “Could really use a friend or two.” (huh?) He then climbed into a window, where he found a group of maids cleaning the room he’d landed in; they then took up their verse. “Oh, it's sad, Adam's hit the bottom.” “He's become a one-man rise in crime.” The head maid then came into the room, with a whipping stick. “I'd blame parents, 'cept he hasn't got 'em.” ‘Adam’ then sang, “Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat.” “Tell you all about it when I got the time.” Adam jumped out the window and landed on his feet, on the street; the police noticed him and began the chase all over again. While the thief ran, he kept singing. “One jump ahead of the slowpokes.” “One skip ahead of my doom.” “Next time gonna use a nom de plume.” The thief then summersaulted of a car that drove past, giving him some distance between him and the police. “One jump ahead of the hit-men.” “One hit ahead of the flock.” “I think I'll take a stroll around the block.” The chase had led them to the market place, where people would come to sell the fruit, veg and other market items. Adam tried to out run the police, mainly by running across the top of the stalls. The people and the police were all shouting things at him. “Stop, thief!” “Vandal!” “Get him!” “Scandal!” When Adam was cornered on top of one of the stalls, he said, “Let's not be too hasty.” Then, the owner of the market; a woman stopped the police from getting him. “Still I think he's rather tasty.” Just before Adam jumped away, “Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat.” “Otherwise we'd get along.” (Wrong!) Adam managed to leap away from the scene, he made it back onto the rooftops; the police climbed up another exit, they continued the chase. “One jump ahead of the hoof-beats.” “One hop ahead of the hump.” “One trick ahead of disaster.” “They're quick, but I'm much faster.” At the edge of the roof, Adam finds a rope hanging from a crane near the building. “Here goes.” Adam holds the rope with both hands and gets ready to step off the roof. “Better throw my hand in, wish me happy landin'.” “All I gotta do is jump!” Adam leaps off the roof and swings on the rope; the rope was long it carried him all the way to the other side of the street and onto the other rooftops. The police were unable to go after him, he had finally got away. Now he just had to make it home, to his boss. Adam came out of his hiding place and ran towards the theatre; his boss was waiting for him inside. When the boy worked through the door, he asked the ticket seller where to find the boss; he asked, “Hey, where’s Mr Knightmare?” The ticket seller pointed to a door to the right, Adam understood and made his way through the door; once inside, he was surrounded by Mr Knightmare’s performers. As he walked towards the office in the back, Adam would greet the performers and workers. “Hey Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash and her husband, Soarin were standing against the wall drinking water; they were just practising their act. Rainbow then replied, “Hey Adam, get anything good for Mr Knightmare?” Adam then revealed two of the stolen items he had in his pocket, Rainbow seemed impressed, as did Soarin; since Adam had to get going, he waved goodbye to the couple. Pinkie Pie then walked passed Adam, she wasn’t in her clown makeup, but everyone still knew who she was. She saw Adam and said, “Hi Adam, get anything good?” Adam showed her a pearl necklace he took from a woman’s purse. Pinkie then said, “Nice. Next time, can you get me a fancy fork; I want to look good while I eat my next snack.” Adam nodded to her request and promised to see what he could do in the future. Finally, Adam made to Mr Knightmare’s office; he knocked on the door. He was met with a kind, “Come in.” which allowed the thief to enter the room. Adam saw his boss sitting at his desk, counting the money he made from last night’s show. “Ah, Adam; glad to know you made back. What’d you get?” Thief emptied his pockets onto the desk; Knightmare liked what he saw, small amounts of gold, jewellery and some wallets. Adam stated, “That’s everything I could snag, before the police showed up.” “Police?!” “Don’t worry, sir; I left no trace, nothing that they could use to trace me back here.” Adam tried to convince him of this; Mr Knightmare settled down, he knew Adam wouldn’t leave any evidence. “Well done, lad; sit down, and let’s see what you have here.” Knightmare put on a monocle and took a closer look at the items. Meanwhile, in a world that was set in the twenty-first century; a red and yellow haired girl walked through the doors of a building her friends were at. She’d been out of touch with them and wanted to catch up. “Hello, guys I’m back. Hello.” Sunset called out, but no one seemed to answer. Sunset Shimmer made her way to the control room, she wanted to see her friends; she had just gone through something rough and wanted to be with loving friends. However, when she arrived, she didn’t expect to see what she found. Sure her friends were there, but they were asleep; just lying on the floor or sitting at their desks, sound asleep. “What the what?” Sunset asked. She looked around, Adam was there; he was wearing his suit but without the mask. Soarin to, wearing his suit but no helmet. Sunset couldn’t figure out what was going on; so she tried waking her friends up. Sunset tapped the table, trying to get Twilight out of it; she said, “Twilight, wake up; come on girl, snap out of it.” She tried everything to wake them up; making loud noises, shoving their shoulders, tapping the table some more. But nothing worked. There was one last thing she could try; she placed her hand on Applejack’s forehead, using her psychic-powers to see into her mind. Her eye’s glowed bright white, but then turned to a shade of black; all she saw was someone standing the middle of a dark room. This person, or whatever he was; his eyes were the colour of blood, his smiled revealed a row of sharp teeth. All this thing did was chuckle; almost like he could see Sunset seeing him. When Sunset Shimmer let go of Applejack’s head, she began panting; like she was terrified. She couldn’t explain what she just saw, but seeing that man made all her fear thoughts come together. She explained to herself, “I’m not gonna be able to do this on y own; I need help.” Sunset ran to her desk and opened one of the draws, there she found something she hasn’t seen in a while; a book, the book that friend of her’s gave her so they could keep in touch. She got out a pen and wrote on one of the pages, “Dear Princess Twilight…” When Adam left Mr Knightmare’s office, he had a few extra notes of cash in his pocket; his payment for a job well done. He was just about to take the money out and count it, but then something else caught his eye. Across the room, the thief boy saw Fluttershy, baking with the cooker; Adam has been in love with that girl ever since he joined Mr Knightmare’s crew. Even though she was engaged to Knightmare, he couldn’t help but love her every day. “Just go and tell her how you feel, boy.” Adam turned around and saw Twilight and Applejack coming up behind him; they stood by his side and the three of them started talking. “Why don’t you just tell her?” Applejack repeated. Adam replied, “Because if Mr Knightmare sees me with her, he’ll either fire me or kill. And they both don’t sound too nice.” He joked. But Adam couldn’t deny that talking to Fluttershy would be a dream come true. But it wouldn’t work, she hardly even notices him; Adam says to the girls, “I guess I should head to my room; the wedding is tonight and I can’t be in your way, come show time.” With that said, the hired thief walked off; Twilight said, “You kind of have to feel sorry for the lad; everyone deserves love.” However, there was nothing they could do; so the two girls went off and got ready for the show. Sunset Shimmer walked back into the room, full of the sleeping heroes; this time, with some help. “Thank you for helping me, I don’t know what’s happened to them.” Sunset said to her friend. “Don’t worry, I’m always here to help you, Sunset.” Twilight replied. It was Twilight Sparkle, not the Spider-Girl Twilight; Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship from the world of ponies, Equestria. Twilight asked, “What exactly has happened to everyone?” “I don’t know, I just came back from some time away; as soon as I walk in, they’re all asleep. I’ve tried waking them up, but nothing; it’s like they’re under some kind of sleep spell.” The princess looked around the room, her human friends were all asleep; she the noticed the one guy sleeping in a strange looking outfit. The outfit had a spider on the chest, leading Twilight to believe this was Adam; the super-hero Sunset had mentioned in a few of her messages. “This must be Adam, or is his name Spiderman?” Sunset replied, “Both actually.” Twilight got out some books she had brought with her, she turned to her friend and asked her some questions about what she saw when she used her powers on Rarity. “Tell me exactly what you saw.” It took some thinking, but Sunset then remembered the creature that she saw in her friend’s mind. “He was horrible; he was as dark as a shadow, his eyes were blood red and he was wearing a sort of… detective outfit.” One of the books that was brought was called ‘Monsters and what they do’, Twilight skimmed through the book; until she eventually found the monster. “Of course, a Darkconian.” “A what?” Sunset asked. Twilight explained, “A creature with similar powers of a Changeling; instead of feeding of love, this creature feeds of fear. The have the power to transform themselves into the thing you fear the most, to then feed of your fear; they can also enter your dreams, turning them into nightmares and gain more power from the fear. They try to look like humans, to avoid detection; the only question is, what’s one doing here.” Sunset just shrugged her shoulders, not knowing the answer to that question; but suddenly… “I could answer that.” The two girls turned to side, there they saw the one behind all this; Mr Knightmare was standing against the wall. The girls put their guard up, this guy didn’t look friendly. Twilight asked, “Who are you?” “My name is Nightmare, the lord of fear, the creature of chaos, the ruler of the dream world. And as of now, the keeper of your friend’s minds.” The creature chuckled at his own comment. “Are you draining them of their fear?!” Sunset demanded to know. Nightmare sat down in a chair and replied, “No, I’m just getting even with your shy friend’s boyfriend over there.” The villain narrowed his eye when he looked at Adam. “He of course, is the reason for most of my misfortune.” “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked. “You’re saying you’ve met Adam before?” He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light; “That’s right.” The girls jumped when he came out of nowhere, but was standing behind them. Twilight recognised that kind of magic, Chaos Magic; the most powerful and most dangerous.” Since he believed there was no way for these two girls to stop him, he thought he might explain his plan. “I’ve trapped Adam and your friends in a dream world; they believe they are completely different people, but it’s all an illusion.” The girls understood his words, but were completely again them. “Once I make Fluttershy my bride, Adam with finally suffer for what’s he’s done.” The girls then were shocked to hear that, he didn’t say anything about marrying Fluttershy; Sunset stepped forward and stated, “Not a chance buddy. If Adam is unable to stop you, we’ll do it; we’ll send you back where you came from.” Nightmare then pushed a button on the computer console, music then began to play; before he started what he was about to do, she said, “Oh please.” Original “I must admit, your parlor tricks are amusing.” Nightmare snapped his finger and the room changed, they were on a stage and the girls were dressed up as magicians. “I bet you've got a bunny under your hat!” He appeared next to them, and sang, “Now here's your chance to get the best of me, Hope your hand is hot!” “C'mon, girls! Let's see what you've got!” They then appeared in a boxing ring, Twilight and Sunset were wearing tank tops and boxing gloves; they saw Nightmare appear in the ring as well, wearing a boxing outfit. They went to punch him, but they missed as he kept singing. “You try to slam me with your hardest stuff.” “But your double whammy isn't up to snuff.” “I'll set the record straight, you're simply out of date; You're only second rate!” After another flash, they were in a circus ring, as lion tamers; Nightmare was riding on the tiger’s back. “You think your cat's a meanie, but your tiger's tame.” “You've got a lot to learn about the magic game.” “So for your information, I'll reiterate; You're only second rate!” A hole then opened up underneath the girls, they fell down into the palm of Nightmare’s giant hand. “Men cower at the power in my pinky.” They then turned around to see the thumb with Nightmare’s face on it. “My thumb is number one on every list.” Next, they were in a dark room; with the villain standing in front of them. “But if you're not convinced that I'm invincible, Put me to the test!” “I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest!” He sang as he pushed the two of them into open graves; they climbed out and tried running. But Nightmare appeared everywhere as they ran. “Go ahead and zap me with the big surprise.” “Snap me in a trap, cut me down to size.” “I'll make a big escape, it's just a piece of cake; You're only second rate!” Twilight and Sunset stopped when Nightmare appeared in front of them, they even fell to the floor. “You know, your hocus-pocus isn't tough enough.” “And your mumbo-jumbo doesn't measure up.” “Let me pontificate upon your sorry state; You're only second rate!” Nightmare then took them to a hall of mirrors, he appeared in one of them and sang, “Zaba-caba-dabra!” Then they went to an old lady’s house, where the villain appeared in a dress and wig. “Granny's gonna grab ya!” Finally, the girls were running through a tunnel, with all sorts of craziness going on around them. “Alakazam-da-mus; And this thing's bigger than the three of us!” The girls kept running, that’s all they could do. “So spare me your tremendous scare!” “More horrible than me, in my underwear!” “And I can hardly wait to discombobulate, I'll send ya back and packing in a shipping crate, You'll make a better living with a spinning plate, You're only second rate!” When the singing stopped, the two girls were suddenly back in the control room of the HQ; they looked around, their friends were still asleep. Nightmare then appeared, in front of them; he gave them a warning, “Now that you’ve seen my power; stay out of my way.” He snapped his fingers again and disappeared in a flash of light. Sunset then said, “Not a chance.” Twilight agreed with her words, they had some work to do; they were gonna get their friends back. Adam was sitting on his bed, counting the money had made from stealing stuff off the streets; he was still thinking about Fluttershy, and how he’s now lost the chance to be with her. “Oh well, all’s well that ends well.” He stated. The boy was about to stand up, when something happened; something that was supposed to happen. The wind picked up, the money was blown out of his hands; before he could reach out and grab it, a bright light began forming on the wall. It glowed brighter and brighter; up until the point there was a large flash, it pushed Adam to the ground. When he looked up at the light, he saw something different; it was a girl, with yellow and red hair. Sunset Shimmer was looking at Adam through a small portal. Back in the real world, Twilight and Sunset had found a way to amplify Sunset’s power; allowing her to get a message to Adam. “Adam, I found you. Are you alone, where are the others?” The boy didn’t understand, he didn’t know who this girl was. “Look, whoever you are, demon; leave me alone.” Adam curled up into a ball on the floor, waiting for her to go away. Sunset concluded, “That’s right, Nightmare said you were completely different people in this world; you have no memory of who you were.” She to try and convince him that what she was saying was true. “Adam, what was that line that your dad taught you; it was about using your gifts for good and using them to help people. Come on Adam, fight the spell.” Something was pulsing in Adam’s head; like memories coming back. Sunset thought of one final thing that could convince him, “Adam, what’s your name; your other name.” “I…I…” It was all coming back to him, the memories, the thoughts, and the power. In strong words, Adam stated, “My name is Spiderman; and it’s time to close the curtain on Nightmare’s show.” Adam then ran off, Sunset had done it; now it was time to do the rest for the others. The audience all arrived at the theatre for the show; they bought their food and tickets and made their way to the main hall. They were all excited to see tonight’s show; the wedding of Mr Knightmare and his beloved Fluttershy. Backstage, Rarity was doing Fluttershy’s hair, she was already in her dress and had her makeup on; even though she believed she loved Knightmare, she couldn’t help feeling she was making a mistake. In her quiet tone, she asked, “Rarity, do you think I’m doing the right thing?” “Of course you are, darling; Mr Knightmare is the most handsome man on Earth. Any young woman would be happy to have him as a husband.” Rarity finished tying the knot, Fluttershy’s hair was done. “There, you look beautiful Fluttershy.” Fluttershy stood up and looked at herself in a mirror, she liked how pretty she looked; well this was it, it was time to get married. She picked up her bouquet of flowers and turned towards the door; Rarity almost cried out of how happy she was. The music started playing, the audience was ready to watch the show; the curtains lifted and revealed Fluttershy and Knightmare standing at the altar, with a priest standing in between them. Once the audience had halted the clapping, the priest began the ceremony. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to unite these two in holy marriage; they have committed to be with each other in love and marriage in the site of our mighty g…” “Stop!” The audience and the people on stage got a shock when someone ran down the path between the audience seats towards the stage. It was Adam, here to stop this wedding and save his beloved Fluttershy. Adam said, “Fluttershy, stop; you can’t marry him.” “How dare you interrupt my wedding!” Knightmare yelled. The hero ignored the demon and explained to Fluttershy, “Listen, this isn’t real; it’s a dream world, and were trapped here.” Fluttershy was trying to process what she was hearing, she hardly knew this guy. Adam tried to explain, “You have to believe, deep down, you know this isn’t real.” Knightmare had then had enough this; he held his hand behind his back and snapped his fingers, the police then stormed into the theatre. “There he is, get him!” one officer yelled. The police stormed the stage and grabbed Adam by the arms; before they could pull him away, Fluttershy stop them. “Wait, let’s hear what this person has to say; it might be worth a laugh.” She tried to say in a confident tone. The police let go of Adam’s arms; he then thought about what he was going to say, it didn’t take long for the words to come to him. original “It's a big bright beautiful world, With happiness all around.” “It's peaches and cream, If a dream comes true.” Fluttershy turned away from him, she still wouldn’t believe it. “It's a big bright beautiful world, With possibilities everywhere.” “If true love is blind, Maybe you won't mind the view?” Adam tried his best to explain things to her, but she kept her back to him; but that didn’t mean she wasn’t listening. “I know I'm not the handsome prince, For whom you deserve.” “I don't have a fancy house, And I'm not sophisticated.” “An angel and a weirdo, I admit, is complicated.” “You've never read a book like this, But fairy-tales should really be updated.” Fluttershy finally turned to face Adam, the spell was lifting; she was remembering. It's a big bright beautiful world.” “I see it now, I'll let it in.” “I'll tear down a wall.” “And clear a spot for two.” “To be with you.” That did it, Fluttershy blinked her eyes, and her mind flashed; she remembered everything. Adam was the one she loved, and no one else. “Oh Adam.” She dropped her flowers and wrapped her arms around his neck, she squeezed him in a tight hug. Adam hugged her back, he had missed this; the love of his life was back in his arms. However, the moment was broken up when Nightmare snapped his fingers; Fluttershy disappeared and reappeared in Nightmare’s arms. The demon villain looked at Adam and stated, “Did you not here me, back at your apartment? I want her, and gods always get what they want.” Adam turned to his enemy and said, “You’re no god, you’re just a creature who doesn’t play fair.” “What are you going to do? You’re all alone, no one is coming to help you.” Nightmare chuckled at his easy victory, until some said… “We’re here to help him.” Nightmare turned to the side and saw his performers and workers, all standing against him; Applejack stepped forward and said, “What Sunset did for Adam, she did for the rest of us.” “Yeah, you can’t control us anymore.” Twilight stated. The demon snapped his fingers, all the people in the audience and police disappeared; even though in reality, they were never really there. Nightmare hovered into the air, he floated over to the audience door; Fluttershy was in his arms, she struggled to get free. He began saying, “In that case, I’ll need some more performers.” Nightmare snapped his fingers, the ground cracked open like ice; from those cracks, rose up shadow men. People made out of darkness, and they didn’t look friendly. Nightmare flew higher into the air and flew away towards the audience entrance, he carried Fluttershy away with him; Adam tried to stop him, but they were cornered by the shadows. Pinkie Pie looked at the shadow men walking towards them, she asked, “What are we going to do?” Adam looked back at her and replied, “This is a dream right?” the rest of the group nodded. “So let’s dream.” The hero pulled a napkin out of his pocket; he put the napkin on his head and pulled it over his face, after a blink second, Adam was wearing his Spider-Suit. Spiderman wasted no time punching his way through the shadows, they seemed to react like normal people; the gang just had to fight its way through. Twilight, Rainbow, Soarin & Pinkie closed their eyes and concentrated; when they opened them, they were all in their hero suits. Spider-Girl, Nova, Quicksilver and Ms Marvel; they all charged into battle. Adam punched a path through the shadows; he’d made it to the other side, he had the opportunity to go after Nightmare, but he couldn’t leave the team. Spidey turned to the team, Twilight turned to him as she fought; all she had to do was nod, saying Adam should go. Adam shot a web and swung after his most hated enemy. Spiderman landed outside the theatre when he let go of the web, he was out on the streets of this make-believe town. Across the street, he saw Fluttershy chained to a lamppost; before he could run over to her, he heard laughing. “Can I just say, Adam, it’s really nice to see you again.” Nightmare said as he walked out of the shadows, wielding an Asian sword. The demon pointed the sword at the hero and stated, “Now, it’s time to put this dog to sleep…” Adam narrowed his eyes, Nightmare finished with, “...for good!” Spiderman got ready, Nightmare’s hands were charged with dark magic; this was going to be on heck of a fight. Nightmare charged the sword with his magic and stabbed it into the ground, the move created a wave of dark magic that was sent towards Adam; the hero flipped backwards and dodged the blast. Spidey tried rapidly shooting webs at Nightmare, but the webs vaporised once they hit his body; his magic was protecting him. So Adam countered the attack by webbing an object from the street, he then threw it at the villain. While Nightmare was dazed, Adam web-zipped towards him and started attacking him; punched and kicking him. But the demon recovered fast, faster than other have recovered from Spidey’s attacks; he used the darkness to blast Adam away. However, the blast drained some of his power, dazing him again; Spiderman swung towards him again and kicked him to the ground. As a finisher, he punched Nightmare into the air and web-pulled him to the ground. Nightmare used the sword to help himself up; but then used it to slash at Adam, one slash cut the hero’s wrist. While they fought, they started talking about some things from their history together. “We’ve had some good times, haven’t we, Adam?” Nightmare asked. “I mean, if hadn’t of let me in; I never would have done any of those terrible things. You’re the one who had that nightmare about me, you created me.” Adam replied, “That dream had nothing to do with you, you chose me because I was a scared little twelve-year-old. Easy prey for someone like you.” “And even after all these years, you still can’t get rid of me.” The demon chuckled. “Even on a different Earth, we will always be linked.” When the talking stopped, the fighting continued. Spiderman saw that it worked last time, so he web-grabbed another object from the streets and threw it at Nightmare; but this time, the demon slashed the object away and released a blast of darkness at the hero, knocking him to the ground. “It’s time Adam, it’s time to face your demons.” Nightmare stated. He then generated a cloud of dark magic, the cloud covered Nightmare and formed the large torso of a giant demon monster. “And I am your demon!!” The beast sank it’s claws into the ground, the scratch marks it left sprouted more of Nightmare’s shadow men. Adam raised his fist and began punching his way through the demons, he made his way to Nightmare and his giant monster form. Not that it bothered Nightmare, but he would slash his claws on the ground, trying to hit Adam; the times he missed, he would end up taking out his own shadows. The hero jumped up into the air and kicked Nightmare out of the chest of the demon; when Nightmare left it’s body, it disappeared, as did the shadow men. But the fight wasn’t over, Spiderman jumped towards Nightmare and began kicking the air out of him; but like before, he recovered from the daze and fought back. Spiderman had one final chance to defeat this guy; Adam swung towards him and prepared for the final attack. Nightmare once again generated the demon torso, its claws swung at the hero; but Spidey dodged the slashes and shot two web-lines. He pulled himself forward and delivered a powerful kick to Nightmare’s face; if he was mortal, it would have broken his jaw. The demon was hurled across the area, his hat fell off as he tumbled to a stop. With the threat dealt with, Adam ran for the love of his life. Adam used his strength to rip away the chains, once her arms were free, she wrapped them around Adam’s neck. Fluttershy smiled as she looked into the lenses of his mask; she lifted the mask and said, “How do you normally break a curse.” “I think I know.” The hero replied. The couple locked their lips in a long passionate kiss; when Nightmare got up and saw the couple kissing, he cried, “No!!!” The ground started cracking, Adam and Fluttershy could hear strange music coming from the cracks. Nightmare looked at the cracks, there was a sudden flash of light and three spirits appeared in front of the demon. For the first time in his life, the lord of fear was terrified. The spirit in the middle spoke, “With no souls to pay your debt, you must come with us.” He and the other two smiled, “So…. “Are ya ready?” Nightmare tried to plea for his life, “No, I’m not ready at all; in fact, I’ve got lots more plans.” “Are ya ready?” “This is just a minor setback in the plan.” Nightmare said, he back up until he was on the edge of the crack. He jumped forward to get away and said, “Once I put them back under my spell, we’ll be back in business.” Adam and Fluttershy watched the whole event. “I still have these fools trapped here.” The moment Nightmare said that, the sky began cracking; the dream world was coming apart. “I just need… a little more time.” Suddenly, a shadow hand reached out of the crack and grabs Nightmare by the ankle; it starts pulling him towards the crack, which was in fact a gate to the Netherworld. “Just a little more time.” Adam covered Fluttershy eyes as pressed her head against his chest, she didn’t want to see what happened next. Nightmare cried out, “I promise I’ll pay you all back. I promise!!” But it was too late, the spirits dragged the demon to the Netherworld; when the crack ceiled itself, there was a flash of light, then all was dark. Back in the real world, Twilight and Sunset were sitting in the control room, waiting to see if their plan had worked; had they been able to save their friends. They got their answer when they heard yawning from around the room. The Rainbooms, Adam and Soarin were waking up from the dream-world; they’d done it, it was over. The whole gang came to together for a group hug, but then Pinkie Pie realised something; something she should have realised when she sent them the dream message. “Sunset, you’re back.” The party girl then gave one more hug to Sunset Shimmer. Applejack also said, “Glad to have ya back, sugar-cube.” Sunset blushed at all the attention she was getting, but then the cowgirl noticed who else was here. “Twilight, you’re here too.” “Yes, of course I am, why wouldn’t I be…?” Spider-Girl then realised AJ was referring to the princess Twilight that was here. The gang came together and began talking and catching up, Fluttershy took Adam to the side; they needed to talk about some things. “What’s the matter, Fluttershy?” The pink haired girl breathed in and replied, “Yes.” “What do you mean?” Adam asked. Fluttershy took his hands and repeated, “Yes, I will.” It took a moment for him to realise, but this was an answer to the question was going to ask her before this whole thing started. His heart sank when he realised what this meant. He asked her, “Are you sure? I’m not exactly easy to live with for the rest of someone’s life.” She caressed his face, then she said, “Oh, Adam. I love you.” The two came together in a passionate kiss; the other noticed the couple together; Rainbow Dash asked, “What’s this about?” Adam asked, “Should we tell them?” Fluttershy replied with, “Why don’t you ask me again, now that we’re all together.” Spidey agreed with her idea. He took her hands and got down on one knee, the other girls gasped at the sight, they knew what was coming; Rainbow wrapped her arms around Soarin’s neck and smiled. Adam began, “Fluttershy; when I first came to this universe, I’ll admit, I was just looking for someone to replace the Fluttershy in my dimension. But the more time I spent with, it made me realise that there is no other Fluttershy, only you.” A tear leaked out of the girl’s eye, Adam finished with, “Fluttershy, will you make me the happiest man in the multiverse, and marry me?” All Fluttershy could say was, “Well, I already said ‘yes’.” Adam lifted her in the air by her waist and they both spun around, the rest of the team clapped for them. Pinkie Pie thought this could end with a better ending, she pushed a button on the console and some music started playing; Adam knew just what to do. He started singing… original “It’s a big, bright, beautiful world, I'm happy where I am, with my friends; I've got all I need, And soon I’ll have a wife.” He gestured to Fluttershy. It’s a big, bright, beautiful world, I’d party with this crew, any day; Doing what I can with a Rainboom conga line. But then, Adam pulled something up on the screen; it was images of all the villains he’d faced on this Earth. “Yeah, it’s a big, bright, beautiful world But there’s evil and villainy; Take all that glum, And shove it where the sun don't shine.” The whole gang came together, Fluttershy hugged close to Adam. “I prefer a life like this, It's not that complicated; I thought I was fated to be lonely, And destined to be hated, In the papers it said It's why I was created.” “But I don't care; 'Cause being here, Is all I’ve ever wanted.” Adam took Fluttershy’s hands and sung the final verse. “It’s a big, bright, beautiful world, I've got my own little part of the world; It's a big, bright, beautiful world. “And it's ours, The world is ours; And it's ours, All ours!” To end this little adventure, the newly engaged couple came together for one final kiss; before their lips joined, Adam said, “I love you, Fluttershy.” She replied, “I love you too, Adam.”