Enter the Spider... or Whatever I Am's Web

by Autum Breeze

Chapter 4

“You know, Napoleon,” Lilian said, holding her black cat up above her head as she lay on her bed, “I’m glad Cornelia’s been better, but, have you noticed how she’s still not the same? Does high school just make older kids weird?”

The black cat looked down at the blonde haired, blue-eyed girl and gave a deep “Meow.”

Lilian sighed, putting him down and rolling onto her side, stroking Napoleon’s back. “I mean, ever since Halloween she had this uncertainty about her, as if she was really worried about something. And now, she seems like she’s gotten over whatever it was that was worrying her but… it’s like there’s still something else there, you know? Like, something she wants to talk about, but can’t.

Napoleon looked up to her in a way that, if he weren’t just a simple cat, Lilian might’ve thought it was understanding.

“I mean, ever since that day she came home absolutely exhausted, she’s been both happier and more… uncertain, I think?” Lilian sat up, resting Napoleon in her lap. “I just wish she’d tell me what’s going on. I don’t know if I could help, but, she is my big sister.”

Napoleon smiled at her, almost as if he were proud of her.

Suddenly, Napoleon’s eyes widened, his hair standing on end and he turned to her bedroom window, hissing.

“What’s wrong?” Lilian got off the bed, walking to the window, leaning over her toys to look out, but she couldn’t see anything.

Napoleon started hissing louder and she turned to see he was looking right at her. Well, more like the window behind her.

“What’s gone you spooked, boy?” Lilian leaned down, when something banged against the window, causing her to jump.

Turning around, she frowned. Something was sticking onto the glass. It kind of looked like…

“A… frog?”

She walked back to the window and opened it. Carefully, she reached around the glass and pulled back, a small green frog laying limp in her hand.

“Ew. What’s this doing here?” she asked, before noticing something was wrapped around the frog’s waist.

It… kind of looked like a gemstone, a green one, embedded into a leather band.

Pulling the band off, she examined it.

“Who would put this on a frog? And how did it end up against my window? Did someone throw it?”

She looked the jewel over again, before a smile came to her face and she turned to face her cat.

“This would look really cool on you, Napoleon,” she said, leaning down, moving the band closer to him, intending to put it with his collar.

At once, Napoleon’s eyes widened and he hissed, louder than ever and batted the band away.

What happened next, Lilian wasn’t sure.

There’s was a mighty flash of light and she was thrown back, slamming into the carpeted floor of her room.

Shaking herself off, she looked to where the light had come from, and her eyes widened.

Ponies. Bright and colourful ponies.

There was some kind of… tear in the air and she could see lots of a bright and colourful ponies. They seemed to be having some kind of celebration.

“Wow!” Lilian exclaimed, moving towards the tear.

Napoleon shook his head, looking around blearily, his eyes adjusting just in time to see Lilian walked through the light.

“MEOW!” he yelled, rushing towards the light, before it closed abruptly.

Napoleon just starred at where Lilian had vanished, stunned with shock.

“This… is really not good,” he murmured.

“I’m… not sure about this,” I murmur as I walk through the crowds of ponies, Discord floating by my side.

After our little talk where I updated Discord on some of the current events of the Guardians has played out since he last encountered them, he teleported us here, to Canterlot, now in my clothes, where, apparently, there’s a Friendship Festival going on, with Twilight as the host.

Ponies from all over Equestria are here and even a few non-ponies too, including several Changelings… who are all multi-coloured now.

“Oh, come on, Miranda, lighten up,” the Lord of Chaos chides. “After everything you’ve been through since you got here, I’d think you’d appreciate the chance to have some fun at a party.”

“Kind of hard to enjoy a party when you’ve got both the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions and some old man on Earth after you. Plus…”

“Plus…?” Discord glances down at me, curious.

I shake my head, wrapping my arms around myself. “I dunno. Something about this Friendship Festival feels… familiar. Like, it’s ringing a bell in my head, but I don’t know why. And… and I’ve just got a really bad feeling something’s going to happen.”

Discord scoffs. “Miranda, this isn’t Ponyville. Take a break. Enjoy some gave. Have some treats. Don’t worry about— oh?”

I glance at him to see an interested look on his face.

“Oh, what?” I ask, worried. For Discord to cut himself off like that, it can’t possibly be good.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing!” he says… way too cheerfully. “Oh, that’s right. I just remembered, I forgot to leave the refrigerator running. Be back in a bit.”

With that, he yanks on his goat horn and flushes down through a non-existent plughole.

I sigh, unfolded my arms and rubbing my eyes. That guy is going to give me a massive headache.

“Miranda?” I turn to see Starlight walking through the crowd towards me, Trixie walking beside her. “When did you wake up?”

“About half an hour ago,” I say. “Discord,” I add to their confused looks.

The deadpan stares at get back tell me they fully understand. Hard to believe just one word can explain so much.

“Well, we’d better get ready for the finale,” Starlight says, indicating towards a higher area of the festival.

I cock an eyebrow. “Why? And, what finale?”

“I am the Princess of Friendship.”

The singing voice makes me glance around to see Twilight flying up into the sky, at an angle that says she just flew over us.

That bell in my head is ringing really damn loudly, but I still can’t tell why.

“The finale of the song,” Trixie says, indicating to where Starlight was pointing.

Starlight lights her horn and teleports the three of us.

A few minutes later, a song number being about the festival… I think, sung by everypony, finishes with Pinkie firing off some giant cannon that engulfs Twilight in a very gooey cake.

We watch as Songbird Serenade comes out of the crowd to speak with Twilight, before a thunderclap makes me stiffen and I whirl around to see dark storm clouds approaching Canterlot.

That bell is gonging in my head now.

As we all watch, a dark dirigible emerges from the clouds, moving closer and coming down to land, breaking several spires in the process.

The ramp falls down, squashing a pink balloon animal.

“Brian! No!” Party Favour yells in anguish,

We wait as the doors open and a… hedgehog, I think, comes down the ramp, sets up some kind of megaphone that makes the sound Transformers do when they transform in G1.

“Ponies of Equestria,” he says, his voice echoing loudly thanks to the device, “we come on behalf of the firesome, the powerful, the almighty Storm King!”

As he finishes, a banner of… a yeti is my best guess, wearing some kind of dark armour is unfurled on the dirigible.

I frown as everypony in the crowd murmurs. That was a lot of titles. Either this Storm King is really all that, or he’s seriously compensating for something.

“And now, to deliver the evil, evil message,” the hedgehog indicates to the ramp he’d come down, “put your hooves together for Commander Tempest!”

I frown. He literally just said this Tempest is about to deliver and evil message and expects us to clap for them? Gimme a break. Who is this loser?

A figure steps out of the doorway, revealing... a pony? The fuck?

Her coat is a very dark-purple and her mane, cut in a mowhawk-like style, is a redish-purple. Her eyes are a fear blue, with an obvious scar along her right one and… is her horn actually broken?

Sheesh. Instead of Tempest, she should be called Edgelord Mcgee.

“Is that a unicorn?” I hear Twilight whisper.

“Huh? Fizzle?” Starlight says, sounding shocked. “She’s here?”

I blink, turning to the unicorn. “You know her? And, her name’s Fizzle?” No wonder she changed it to Tempest.

“It’s been a long time since I was home,” she shakes her head. “Though, she left Sire’s Hollow about a year before Sunburst.” She looks to me. “What’s she been up to? She never told anypony where she was going. And, why’s she calling herself Tempest? Her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

I find myself unable to hold back a snort. Okay, that is the poniest name I have ever heard. Holy crap.

I manage to get a hold of myself after several moments of Starlight glaring at me, but, come on. That name is too freaking hilarious to be on such an edgelord looking pony.

Seconds later, Celestia, Luna and Cadance land in front of all the gathered ponies, the former addressing the unicorn. “Tempest, is it? How may we help you?”

Tempest smiles. “Oh, I’m so glad you asked. How about we start with,” her expression darkens, “you’re complete and total surrender?”

I frown. Pretty big balls to just demand someone surrender without even a fight.

Twilight steps forward. “Hi there. Princess of Friendship. Not exactly sure what’s going on,” it’s clearly an invasion, dumbass, “but, I know we can talk things out.”

“Oh, goodie. All four princesses,” Tempest says and she starts walking down the ramp. “Here’s the deal, ladies, I need your magic. Give it up nicely please, or we make it difficult, for everyone.”

“And why should we cower before you?” Luna asks sternly and, out of the corner of my eye, I notice several stallions and mares moving into position. Odd. Why would regular ponies be readying for a fight instead of the Royal… Oh! Undercover. Smart. “There’s one of you and hundreds of us!”

Tempest chuckles. “I was hoping you’d choose difficult.”

As she speaks, large biped creatures step into and out of the doorway of the balloon as more balloons start to appear out from the dark clouds.

I feel my body tense. I had a bad feeling there was more than just one balloon.

The same biped creatures, clearly the Storm King’s soldiers, start dropping from the balloons.

“Now!” Celestia yells, thrusting a foreleg out.

At once, the ponies I figured out are Royal Guards undercover rush out, several even turning into Changelings, meeting the soldiers, taking them by surprise.

A fight begins, with civilian ponies running in terror while the guards defend.

Tempest smiles. “Oh, so you do have some fight in you. That’ll make this more fun.”

Not that I’m able to pay much attention after that. I’m ducking and dodging around in the crowd, avoiding both getting trampled by the ponies running, but any of the soldiers who notice me and try to grab me.

Why am I not fighting in my spider form? I can’t use it.

The moment the fighting started, I tried to transform so I could join the battle. I mean, being able to catch our enemies in my webbing would be really helpful here.

But, when I tried, nothing happened. I didn’t change.

It had caused me to hesitant in confusion, thus resulting in my nearly getting trampled.

I can’t use my powers now. I’m no more use than any other ordinary human, which means I’m absolutely useless in this fight against an invader of Equestria.

“Gotcha!” a voice yells, followed by a both terrified and angry yell.

“Hey! This is my dream! Stop ruining it!”

I freeze in place, my head whirling in the direction of the voice to see one of the Storm King’s soldiers is holding a little human girl with blonde hair and blue eyes… wearing her pyjamas, up by her right arm.

Cornelia’s little sister?! What in the world is she doing in Equestria?!

“Starlight!” I call out, looking behind me as said unicorn blasts one of the soldiers away, causing her to glance my way and I point. “We have to save that girl!”

Starlight seems stunned for a moment when her eyes fall on Cornelia’s sister, before her expression hardens and she teleports over to them, appearing above the soldier and giving him a painful rearhoof to the face, causing him to drop the young girl.

“Cornelia’s sister!” I yell as she falls, reaching out my hand.

Suddenly, I get a weird feeling in my throat, similar to when I’m about to try spitting webs in my spider form.

At once, a string of webbing flies from my mouth, it wrapping around her waist and, on instinct, I yank back, causing the little girl to soar towards me, slamming into me and knocking us both over.

I try to sit up, disoriented from the impact and hear a grunt as the back of my hand hits something.

Glancing behind me, I see one of the soldiers on the ground, as if someone just hit him.

Suddenly, I notice the odd feeling of webbing in my mouth.

“Bleah!” I cry, grabbing it and yanking it out, before running my hands over my tongue.

I mean, I didn’t taste anything, but just the idea I somehow had the webbing in my mouth in my human form is just plain gross.

“Luna!”

Glancing around, I see Twilight some way off, holding some kind of statue that looks like Princess Luna.

“Hey!” I grunt as I’m elbowed in the face as Cornelia’s little sister gets up, her expression angry and rushes towards Tempest.

Said unicorn leaps into the air, kicking some kind of glowing green orb towards the purple Alicorn.

“I said,” she runs faster getting in front of Twilight, “stop ruining my dream—AH!”

“Twilight!” a pair of voices shout as she screams, green smoke bursting form and covering her, shielding them both from view.

Tempest chuckles as she walks towards the smoke cloud. “Easy as pie.”

“Oh, I like pie,” the hedgehog says in a way that reminds me of Homer Simpson. “Oh, you totally got the last princess.”

As he speaks, the smoke clears to reveal, not Twilight, but Cornelia’s little sister and Derpy, the former with her arms reaching up as if she shield herself… in stone.

I just stare, my eyes fixed on the scared look of the little girl, now a statue… and I don’t know what happens next.

I feel fury welling up from deep within me, then heat, before I hear I loud explosion and everything goes black.

I groan as I return to consciousness.

A gasp comes from above my head somewhere. “Somepony get the prince. She’s awake.”

Prince? What?

I slowly open my eyes to see what looks like the roof of a tent above me.

Sitting up, I find I’m in some kind of makeshift bed (basically just a mat, sheet and pillow). Looking around, I’m in what looks like a haphazardly made medical tent. Several ponies are lying in makeshift beds like the one I’m lying in.

“Are you feeling any better, dear?” I turn to the voice to see Nurse Redheart.

“Um… I guess?” I say, rubbing my neck. “I feel kinda drained, but, other than that, I’m fine. Where…?”

Suddenly, it all floods back and I grab Redheart’s shoulders. “Tempest, those creatures, Cornelia’s little sister, what happened?!”

“Easy. Easy, dear,” Nurse Redheart says gently, easing out of my grip, and lowering my hands. “One thing at a time.”

“Are… did we win?” I ask, glancing around the tent. I mean, if we lost, I doubt we’d be in this tent.

Redheart shakes her head. “Thanks to whatever you did, no, we didn’t lose… though Princess Twilight and her friends have gone missing.”

My eyes snap towards her. “WHAT?!”

“It was after the explosion,” Redheart says matter-of-factly. “Princess Twilight and her friends fell from a broken bridge into the water and down one of Canterlot’s waterfalls.”

“Are they alright?!” I cry, grabbing her shoulders again. “Have they been found?!”

Redheart looks away, shaking her head. “They’re okay, but… we don’t actually know where they are.”

I frown, my worry being momentarily replaced with annoyance. “How can you know they’re alright but not where they are?”

“Because that crazy pink one left a note,” a somewhat snooty voice says.

Turning to what I see is the tent’s entrance, a white unicorn stallion with a blonde mane and tail walks through.

I recognize him at once, my mood not being improve. Blueblood. What’s that pompous pathetic excuse for royalty want?

Suddenly, to my surprise, he bows his head to me. “I cannot thank you enough.”

Um, I’m sorry, what?

He lifts his head, genuine gratitude in his eyes. “While I certainly would’ve preferred a less destructive method, you bought us time, strange creature. For that, you have my eternal gratitude.” He bows his head again.

Um… no, sorry, can someone back up here? Isn’t Blueblood supposed to be a pompous asshole who treats others like they’re beneath him, like he did Rarity at the Gala?

I’m so lost here.

“I’ll explain,” Blueblood says, sighing. “At least, I’ll tell you what I’ve been told by witnesses. While I don’t know what caused it, after you saw that other creature like yourself turned to stone, you screamed with pure rage and you glowed with some kind of energy. It explained outward, engulfing all of downtown Canterlot. When it faded, you, everypony and all of the Storm King’s forces were on the ground, unconscious.”

I cock an eyebrow. “No, seriously, what happened. Energy? I’m a shapeshifter. That’s the limits of my abilities.” I sigh, looking down. “And, apparently, I can’t even do that anymore.”

“It’s true, dearie,” a familiar voice says and I look to the tent entrance to see Mrs. Cake walking in. “I was far enough away that I wasn’t caught in the blast, but I saw it. A bright light expanded from you, engulfing everything in its path.”

I just stare at her. I know Mrs. Cake’s character far better than Blueblood’s, so I know she wouldn’t lie like that, but…

“But, that doesn’t make any sense!” I say, shaking my head. “I’m Miranda and Miranda’s limits don’t extend beyond her shapeshifting and spider-like abilities. She doesn’t have energy powers, especially after what happened in Kandrakar.”

“Kandra-who-ha?” a voice I recognize but definitely wasn’t expecting to hear says as Cheese Sandwich sticks his head into the tent. “Oh, and we’ll need more grain for the food tent.”

“Understood,” Blueblood nods as Cheese’s head zips out of sight. “Though, I do wish to understand your meaning, especially if it is connected to how you can help us defeat the incoming invasion.”

I sigh. “That a long story, Blue—” Suddenly, what he just said catches up to me. “Wait, WHAT?!”

“He’ll be here anytime now, right?” I ask, looking to Prince Blueblood.

He nods as we both look out over Canterlot.

After I woke up yesterday, I was informed everything that had happened… and it isn’t good.

While whatever weird explosion I’d somehow set of had taken out Tempest and all the Storm King’s soldiers she’d brought with her, the Storm King himself was on his way.

The Royal Guards had interrogated several of the Storm King’s soldiers and, apparently, the Storm King was meant to arrive three days after Tempest took Canterlot in what was supposed to be the initial invasion.

The only reason Canterlot hadn’t fallen was, while partly my unexplained explosion, Celestia, had the Royal Guards taking shifts watching over the capital.

I guess, after an invasion prior and Starlight sneaking into Twilight’s unguarded castle and nearly causing the space time continuum to start choking on its own blood in this universe, she decided to start taking some actual precautions. Good for her.

Tempest herself is nowhere to be found. Apparently, as everyone was recovering from the explosion I caused, Tempest took several of her soldiers and a ship to go after Twilight.

The only reason everypony’s certain Twilight and the others are okay is because, when some guards went looking around where the waterfall the seven of them fell down come down, they found a clearly hastily written message by Pinkie.

And they knew it was from the party pony because it was on pink paper, with tons of glitter and a party cannon went off right after the guards first read the message.

We’re off to find the Queen of the Hippos so she can help us.

Be back soon.

And tell Miranda thanks for the explosion.

Pinkie Pie

PS Don’t let another happen to the Queen of Earth. I don’t want Miranda to be sad.

How does Pinkie know Cornelia’s little sister is the Queen of Earth when I never mentioned it?

It’s Pinkie Pie. I’m not going to bother even entertaining the thought of questioning it.

As for the Queen of the Hippos part… I’m just as confused by that as everypony else.

Unfortunately, the main plan Blueblood was banking on for stopping the Storm King in his tracks was a bust.

Whatever caused me to cause that explosion… I can’t replicate it.

I don’t even know what I did.

However, one thing has become clear… I’m just as strong, if not stronger now than I was when I change into my spider form.

Apparently, when I’d accidentally whacked that soldier as I was getting up after being knocked down, I’d hit him with enough force to break his helmet.

My human form isn’t supposed to possess that kind of strength. Why I’m suddenly so strong, I can’t explain.

As for the Princesses, their petrified forms have been secured in the castle as, whatever the Storm King has planned for them, needing them to be statues to do it can’t be good.

Cornelia’s sister’s, too.

A horn blares and we straighten up.

A dirigible, much like the ones Tempest and the Storm King’s army came in, is moving through the sky towards Canterlot.

“Sure you’re up to this?” I glance to the white unicorn.

He sighs. “With my aunts out of the picture, it falls to me to handle this.”

Bluey’s actually a pretty chill dude. Turns out he only treated Rarity the way he did at the Gala was because he thought she was just another gold digger, looking to marry him solely for his status.

Doubt that means there’s a chance he and Rarity are gonna end up together at any point, but it’s nice to know he’s not actually the dick many thought he was.

I follow him down to the entrance of the castle, where a contingent of Royal Guards are standing at the ready.

The dirigible doors open, a ramp coming down, the form of whom must be the Storm King sauntering down it.

The moment he sees the groups of ponies pointing spears at him, however, he pauses.

“Um, what’re you all doing?” he asks, pointing and looking around lazily. “And why aren’t you all in cages, miserable? I like seeing others miserable.”

“Storm King!” he turns as Blueblood and I walk out. “I am Prince Blueblood. I order you to leave our kingdom now or we will consider your unprovoked attacked upon our little ponies as an act of war.”

The Storm King just looks at Blueblood, before laughing.

“Okay, okay, I get the joke. Had my laugh, now, can we get serious?” he gives Blueblood a very passive aggressive smile.

“This is no joke, Storm King!” Blueblood says firmly. “You invaded our lands, attacked our capital, endangered our citizens and turned three of our rulers into stone. Your armies are defeated and captured. Leave our lands now! We will not surrender to you!”

The passive aggressive smile turns into a scowl.

He raises a hand, but I rush forward and punch him in the gut.

I can only assume my childish appearance made him and his soldiers drop their guard, as they don’t stop me and he lets out a huge gasp as he’s flung backward, slamming into the ramp of his ship.

His soldiers glance from him to me.

I blink, looking down at my fist in surprise, before I grin, getting into a boxing stance. “Come on, boys. Let’s play.”

Suddenly, a faint commotion can be heard off in the distance.

“It’s the princess!” a female guard calls, looking through a telescope. “It seems Tempest captured her and was unaware Canterlot has not fallen. She’s fighting several guards and civilians.”

I look to the Storm King’s soldiers. I crack my knuckles. “What’s it going to be, boys? Surrender unharmed, or I beat the stuffing out of you first?”

They all look to each other, before flopping forward on the ground.

I look to Blueblood and he nods, before whistling.

Another Pegasus Royal Guard, a stallion, flies down and I grab his hoof, him carrying me up over the city towards the commotion.

I narrow my eyes to study the scene. Tempest and her soldiers are fighting off ponies, with Twilight trapped in some kind of cage that I assume is magic proof, or else she would have teleported out of it by now.

“Aim me at Twilight and then throw me,” I call up to my travel.

“Are you sure, Lady Miranda?” he asks.

“Nope,” I say bluntly. “But it’s the best plain I have.”

He nods and tosses me in a way I’m falling straight towards Twilight’s cage.

She seems to notice me. “Miaranda, don’t!”

I really hope I’m not wrong and about to seriously regret this.

I get within range, pulling back my fist and aim, thrusting my arm forward the second before impact, my fist colliding with the metal, a screeching sound ringing out as the metal bends.

Holy shit, that hurt!

“No!”

Whatever happens next, I’ve no clue, as I feel like a million watts of electricity run through my body, before everything goes black.

“You’re serious, Napoleon?” Taranee. “A fold just opened up in the middle of Lilian’s bedroom and you let her walk through it?”

“It’s not like I just let it happen. I was disoriented from hitting a freaking wall,” the black cat said, before shaking his head. “But that’s not important right now. We need to get Lilian back, fast.”

“Of course we do!” Cornelia said firmly. “She’s my little sister. It’s dangerous for her in another dimension.”

Before any of them could say more, a Fold suddenly opened up right in the middle of the room.

“Who opened the Fold?” Hay Lin asked, before their eyes widened as Lilian dropped through the Fold, which closed the moment Matt caught her.

“Lilian?” Corinella asked anxiously, taking her sister from Matt and shaking her as she held her. “Lilian, are you okay? What happened?”

Lilian stirred, opening her eyes slightly. “Hey, sis. I was dreaming about ponies.”

“Ponies?” Irma deadpanned. “What, she couldn’t have a less stereotypically girly dream? Ow!” she added after Taranee elbowed her in the side.

“Ponies, huh?” Cornelia asked, smiling.

Lilian nodded. “I dreamed I was in a whole world of ponies. There were Pegasus ponies, unicorns, normal ponies. They were having a party that got crashed by a mean pony who turned their princesses to stone. And me.”

“What?” everyone looked to each other.

“But, you’re not stone now, because…?” Will asked.

Lilian shook her head. “I dunno. That’s where the dream ends.” She yawned. “Can I go to sleep now?”

“Uh, sure,” Will said uncertainty, before indicating for the others to follow as Cornelia put her sister to bed.

“So, let me get this straight,” Irma said. “A Fold somehow opens in Lilian’s bedroom and it sent her to a magical world of ponies? Seriously?”

“Well, whatever happened in that world, she doesn’t seem to realize it wasn’t a dream,” Wil said firmly.

“And it’s best we keep it that way,” Matt nodded.

“The world she ended up in doesn’t seem to be a problem, since they sent her back, so it’s not what we need to worry about right now,” Taranee said, rubbing her chin in thought.

“It’s who opened that Fold in the first place,” Irma said.

“And why,” Wil frowned.

Irma sighed. “The Guardian Business just really has no respect for the school kid schedule.”