//------------------------------// // A Ride to Canterlot // Story: A Canterlot Wedding // by ultspideyfan //------------------------------// "So what did that do?" Peter asks as he watches Spike's game. "That allowed me to level up my character. See; they're much stronger now. It'll help with getting through missions." Spike answers with a toothy grin. He's never been able to really find someone who had at least a little interest in gaming. There was Rainbow but she became more and more busy over the years. "Do you play much Peter?" "I dabble in the realm of mobile games. Couldn't really play any PC games though, never could build a better computer than the scrap at home." Peter stared in amazement at the screen. "Well uhh...why don't you give it a go!" Spike hands Peter the laptop. "I've already selected a mission for you. It's rather simple if you've been paying attention. Just move the cursor to an enemy so you can select them, then click on one of your characters and choose an action. The people you're working with are mostly attackers. This mage right here does range attacks but also heals your other characters." "Interesting. So I'll have our brute...go on over to this guy and attack." Peter brings the command to life with a few clicks, his brute dealing -30% damage to the enemy. "So what else do you tend to do Spike? On your free time I mean." Peter asks whilst commanding his mage to perform a range attack on the enemy from before. "Oh, uhh...I cook, read comics, play video games, and hang around Rarity." "Cool. How often do you get to do those things?" "Only when Twilight doesn't need me. Or when she's at work. Cooking is an all day thing though. I get to hang out with Rarity like two times a week, three if I'm lucky." "Nice nice. So, just between us, why do you hang out with Rarity?" Peter asks in a whisper. "Well...umm....we're friends and all so it's normal to want to hang out with your friends right?" Spike replied with a nervous chuckle. "I mean sure, but I just noticed a twinkle in your eyes when you mentioned Rarity.  Do you perhaps have a crush on her?" Peter asks with a smirk. Spike stays silent, rubbing his claws together as sweat slides down his face. Peter simply chuckles at this. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He gives Spike a rather cartoonish wink, which knocks the nerves out of the young dragon. The train finally begins to move, the sudden motion drawing excitement from the party pony in the back. "Attention ladies and gentlecolts, we are now on our way to Canterlot! We hope you enjoy your ride. If any of you lovely attendees need anything, press the small red button in front of you. One of our prestigious workers will be with you shortly to handle any of your needs. We aim to make your experience the best experience! I will say again we are now departing for Canterlot! Enjoy yourselves everypony." "We're finally going. I still can't believe this. Me, going to Canterlot! May would flip. May....I should check in on her." Peter hands the laptop back to Spike, thanking him for allowing him the opportunity to play his game. Parker pulls out his phone to quickly shoot a text to aunt May. "Me and my new friends are going to Canterlot for a wedding. Just wanted to let you know. I hope you're doing well!" After a few moments he received a reply from his beloved aunt. "Wow, that's amazing! Make sure to be yourself. Stay safe and stay out of trouble if you can. Love you." "Aye aye cap'n! Take care May. Love you too." And with that Peter tucked away his phone returning to his previous conversation with Spike. An hour had ticked by. Spike had decided to shut off his laptop and catch a few extra zzz's. Peter sat there with Spike's head resting on his shoulder. Lost in thought Peter hadn't noticed or even sensed the presence of Rainbow Dash. Not till she brushed her wing across his snout. “What was that for?” he asks. “You weren’t responding. You're a heavy daydreamer.” she says, chuckling. Peter scoffs.  “Anyways, what did you want?” “Come here. I wanted to talk to you about something.” Rainbow ducks behind the seat afterwards. Peter could only smile, thinking about the possible hero questions she had for him. Ever since learning of his identity Rainbow Dash had been learning about his past endeavors as Spider-Mane. After gently positioning Spike’s head on the window, Peter swapped seats.  “Alright Dash, what more do you want to know?” Peter asks in a hushed tone. “What?” she looked at him confused. “You wanted to talk about hero stuff right?” “Yeah, but like…in the now.” “Oh, okay.” “Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to possibly show up to this little event the Cutie Mark Crusaders are having after school. Because I kinda told the little ones I knew you and that I could get you to make a surprise appearance. So could you please show up to this event? It would mean so much to them.” Rainbow looked at him with these pleading puppy eyes. Peter took a minute to process what had been barfed into his ears. After letting everything register he took in a deep breath before whispering back. “Sure I’ll do it.” “Yes! Thank you! They’re going to be so happy dude!” A grin rested on her face as she squirmed in her seat thinking about the bright faces of the foals.  “Now can I ask you something?” “Huh? Uh yeah sure.” “Who are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Peter asks, chuckling nervously. Rainbow’s reaction didn’t help much either as it looked like his question stabbed her through the heart. “How do you not know who they are?” Peter could only shrug. “Hmph. For a friendly neighborhood hero you sure suck at knowing who’s in your neighborhood.” “Okay that’s not fair I know Velvet, Ditzy, you guys, Mr. Uchiha—” “You know Derpy and her sister?” “Velvet’s her sister!?” Rainbow nods. “Oh sweet Celestia I crashed through her shop when I first got here.” Peter groans recalling that painful memory. “Anyway yeah I know Velvet. I just met Ditzy today.” “Oh okay. Cool. They’re good ponies.” Peter nods in agreement. “Are you going to tell me who the Crusaders are or not?” “Right, sorry. The Crusaders are a trio of foals. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. You already know Apple Bloom I’m sure. Sweetie Belle is Rarity’s sister and Scootaloo is kind of like mine. Anyhow they call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders because they’re trying to get their cutie marks.” “Hence the name.” “Right. Most of the time you’ll find them doing something incredibly dangerous and stupid in order to get their cutie marks. Other times you’ll see them doing something harmless. They’re a small batch of chaos those three, but I love em to bits.” “Yeah I can tell. You have a glint in your eyes when you talk about them. Seems like you’ve been around them for a while now.” “Yeah, way before you ever showed up. They’re great. Keep your eyes peeled the next time you go zipping around. I’m sure you’ll spot them. And if not, you can find them in their treehouse the next time you visit Aj.” Peter nods, taking a mental note of everything said. “I’ll be sure to stay alert and be more of a neighborly hero.” he chuckles. “Stop, I was just messing you with man,” a laugh escapes her, “you’re doing a wonderful job dude. Everypony that I’ve talked to has felt safer with you around. Especially now that you’ve ditched that dark suit you were wearing beforehand.” “I’m glad to hear it.” Rainbow nods as she digs through her bag. She pulls out a Daring Doo book before zipping up her bag. “It’s gonna be a long ride man. Hope you brought something to keep you occupied.” Rainbow says whilst cracking open the book. “Oh don’t worry I did. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get more acquainted with our fellow passengers.” “I left Pinkie just a few seats up ahead.” “Cool. Why aren’t you sitting with her anymore?” “Can’t read a book if your friend is bouncing around with excitement.” Peter couldn’t help, but chuckle. He gets up from his seat and moves forward in the train. Sure enough, Pinkie Pie was five seats in front of Rainbow Dash. Parker plopped his rear in the seat next to the party pony, taking her by surprise. Again, being near her triggered a slight tingle in his cranium. Pinkie twitched in her seat in a bizarre way for a few seconds before calming down. He looked at her with a worried expression. “You good?” Peter asks. “Mhm!" Pinkie answers gleefully. "Does that happen often?" "Yeah, but this was a new one. Had it earlier today when you came into the shop." "And why's that?" "I'm not sure yet. My Pinkie Sense has never really done this before. It's like that time when Twilight accepted my sense as what it was. I reacted in a similar way to how I'm reacting to you." "So you have your very own Peter radar now." "Yup! And you have your very own Pinkie radar!" a bright smile stretched across her face as she stared at Peter, the latter of which could only give a nervous laughter. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Oh don't give me that. Every time I show up you always look like you get a headache. Now I would be hurt, but it only happens when we've been apart for a while. Then we meet up and it happens again. So, you have a Pinkie radar!" "Maybe I do have a Pinkie radar. My spider-sense only goes off before I'm about to see her. Like this morning. Before I entered the shop it kicked in as if alerting me to her presence. Why is this one power never simple?" "Anyways we're good now. So, I've been meaning to ask. Do you like my cooking?" and with that, Peter was kicked out of his head. "Huh?" he blankly asks. "My cooking. You come by the pastry shop as much as Eddie yet you always eat on the go. I don't get to know if you enjoy it, but I'd assume you do considering you keep coming back for more, but you can't be too sure ya know. For all I know you could be giving it all to Trixie or handing it off to some foal that's giving you the puppy eyes—" "Your cooking is amazing Pinkie!" Peter exclaims. "Sweet mother of Luna I've never a met a pony who talks that fast!" "I'm so glad you think so!" she gives him that innocent smile again. "I'm guessing you really like cooking." "I like making ponies happy. Cooking is my second favorite thing. What do you like to do outside of the science stuff?" "Oh, well I like to build things. When I was in Manehatten I'd go dumpster diving for parts when I was free," realizing what he said, his face turned red, "maybe I shouldn't have said that hehe." "No it's fine! No judgment here. Heck, when we get back from this wedding I'll show you what I've scrounged up after my shifts." a cheeky smile plants itself on Pinkie's face. Peter on the other hand had this foal like twinkle in his eyes. "You'd be amazed with what ponies are willing to throw out because they deem it as unusable." "Yeah! I mean, I was able to make my computer out of the scraps in my local dumpster." "Oh that's small compared to what we'll be making later. You know that party cannon I use..." Peter and Pinkie had continued their talk for a good thirty minutes before they parted ways. Now, Peter was busy pulling himself out of the restroom. They had been on the train for about three hours now. The orange hue of the sun beamed through the windows. Peter yawned as he began heading back to his seat.  “Peter?” a voice called out. Peter stopped and turned to find somepony he honestly didn’t expect to see after his departure to Canterlot. “Ditzy! Wh—what are you doing—are you heading to the wedding too?” He quickly takes the seat next to her. “Oh no. I’m here to meet a friend of mine. He was very adamant that I hurry over.” Peter nods. “I almost missed the train hehe.” The two share a chuckle. Silence befell the two afterwards. Ditzy rubbed her hands together whilst Peter looked at the floor. There would be the occasion where one of them would steal a glance at the other. Ditzy bit her bottom lip, cursing herself for being trapped in her shell. All she had to do was talk to him. He seemed nice. So far he hadn’t made any remarks about her. “Then again, it’s not like he can see my other eye. Maybe he’ll be different? Or he could just—” “So how long have you been in Ponyville?” Peter’s voice breaks through Ditzy’s thoughts. She looks back at him before responding. “For about four years. It was the only place I could afford…and the only place willing to give me a job.” Ditzy said, keeping the last part to herself. Peter however picked up on it. He decided to steer clear from that talk, at least for now. “What do you do outside of work?” he asks. “Well I…umm…spend time with my daughter Dinky…” she pauses as if expecting Peter to interject in surprise of the news. Parker would’ve if he hadn’t picked up on Ditzy’s earlier statement. Instead he opted for a different approach. “What’s she like?” To say Ditzy was taken aback would’ve been putting it lightly. Her gaze lingered on the stallion sitting beside her. Questions flooded her mind. Why wasn’t he surprised by her having a daughter? Why hasn’t he mentioned the style of her mane? It was clear she was hiding her eye with this style. Did he not know? Why wasn’t he like everypony else? “She’s amazing. Outgoing, kind, smart, she’s my pride and joy. I’d do anything for her.” “She sounds like a good kid. And you sound like a good mother.” “Th—thanks,” her face heats up at the compliment, “she’s with my sister Velvet while I’m away. If she didn’t live here I don’t think I’d be able to go on this trip on such short notice. I owe her one.” She looks to Peter again. “Do you have any siblings?” “Trixie. She’s the closest thing I got to a big sister.” Ditzy nods. “Without her I wouldn’t have a place to stay back in Ponyville. She really saved my hide.” Peter smiles as his mind races back to old memories of his foalhood. Ditzy could only smile as she watched him. Maybe this time wasn’t going to be like the others. "Hey I'm gonna move back up front, get to know the others a bit more. I hope to see you around." "Yeah, me too." Peter got up and began making his way back up to the front. Ditzy looked out the window, her lips curling into a smile. "Ditzy," she turned to see none other than Peter again, "could you uhh..." He handed his phone over to her. "I almost forgot to ask hehe." She took his phone in her hands as her face was turning red. She tapped away at his phone before handing it back. He quickly shoots her a text. "Alrighty; you should've gotten a message from me. I'll see you around." He said, nervously. As Peter left, Ditzy quickly added him into her contacts under Petey. Her heart raced as she read his text. It was just a simple text, but to her it felt like the first step in a new direction.