The Legend of the Arachnapony

by RaijingtheClockworkPony


Curiosity

Twilight stood in the growing darkness for a moment before she picked up the saddlebag next to her. For the briefest of moments she wondered if everything that had happened was real or just a dream. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a filly laughing, she looked in the direction of the sound and started walking towards it. She had only been walking for a few seconds when she ran into Applejack. Literally.

The farm pony picked herself off the ground. "Ugh... sorry about that Twilight."

Twilight got back up off the ground and checked the bag with the tome. "It's alright. Why were you walking this way anyways? I thought you would be up at the house."

Applejack shook her head. "Ah came looking for you after Guardian returned and started talkin' and playin' with the youngin's. Ah got a little worried that you weren't with him so Ah came lookin'. He didn't hurt ya did he?"

The unicorn shook her head and quickly told Applejack about her and Guardian’s conversation. Applejack's eyes widened as the term Arachnapony entered Twilight's story. She had heard the term somewhere before but she couldn't quite recall where. When Twilight finished Applejack was tapping her chin in thought.

The orange pony looked at her friend. "Arachnapony... Ah know Ah've heard that somewhere before. Did you know what an Arachnapony was before tonight?"

Twilight shook her head. "No. Which really surprised me when I read the tome Celestia sent me because I read a lot on myths and legends throughout Equestria when I was younger but I never came acro—"

Applejack gasped in sudden realization. "That's where ah heard it! Ah remember my Pa tellin' me stories about naughty colts and fillies bein' gobbled up by big monsters and one of them was a spider pony."

She noticed the slightly irritated look on Twilight's face and gave a cheesy smile before muttering a quick apology "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt ya."

Twilight shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Dash does it all the time and so does Pinkie now that I think about it." Twilight and Applejack shared a small laugh and Twilight adjusted the bag on her back. "So shall we go see what Guardian and the kids are up to?"

Applejack nodded and the pair set off towards the sound of laughter and screams of joy. They reached a small clearing in the woods and spotted the young fillies and Guardian being chased by Featherweight. Applejack and Twilight noticed Big Macintosh and Granny Smith sitting near one of the trees. The mares walked over to the pair and sat down with them.

Macintosh glanced over at Twilight. "Howdy miss Twilight. You seem to be rather calm for just meetin' Guardian."

Twilight placed the saddle bag down, which gave a none too subtle *Thump* as it hit the ground, and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm surprised I'm not running and screaming right now. I guess I'm just more interested in learning what he is and how he got here than being scared."

Macintosh moved closer to her and started rubbing her shoulders. "Bag sounded pretty heavy. Do you mind if Ah work the tension out?"

Twilight felt herself relaxing under the large and surprisingly gentle hooves of the stallion. "Not at all..." Twilight's eyes closed for a moment as the stallion worked her muscles into a much needed, relaxed state. Her eyes opened again as she remembered something that suddenly entered her mind. "Big Mac?"

The stallion continued the massage. "Eeyup?"

Twilight let out a small sigh as Macintosh found a knot in her shoulder. "I seemed to have misplaced my Smarty Pants doll and as I recall you were the last pony to have it when I... well, 'misused' a 'want-it, need-it' spell. Do you know where it might be?"

Macintosh slowed his massage for a moment, making Twilight regret asking the question but a second later he resumed his work. "Eeyup. Ah have it up at the house. Ah take it you want it back?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes please, but that can wait. A little to the left please."

While Twilight and Macintosh had their small conversation Applejack and Granny Smith were having a very different talk. Applejack settled down next to her grandmother and spotted the picnic basket filled with food and a few thermoses.

"Granny, shouldn't you be asleep right now?"

The aged mare looked at her granddaughter. "Yes but when Apple Bloom told me she and her friends were goin’ up to meet this here Guardian feller I wanted to meet him."

Applejack looked at her grandmother quizzically. "They just told you what they were doin'?"

Granny Smith shook her head. "I had to bribe them a little with muh special apple and caramel cookies."

Applejack reached into the basket and pulled out some of the cookies. She had a rather fond spot for her grandmothers cooking. "And you were alright with them meeting a monster larger than Big Mac?"

The older mare let out a small chuckle. "At first Ah thought that the whole spider pony thing was them playing a game. I mean really a spider pony in the forest? Then I met the big lug and discovered that they were literal when they said 'A spider pony in the forest!'"

Applejack gave her grandmother a deadpanned look. "And you just accepted him like he was nothin’ out of the ordinary."

Granny chuckled a little. "Nah. I had myself a small freakout like you did. I screamed and hollered and ran about. I even did it like this." She took in a deep breath and yelled with all her might. "THERE'S SPIDERS IN THE FEREST!"

Her shout cause Applejack, Twilight, and Macintosh to jump. However the group of ponies running around all stopped and Guardian looked over at the aged mare.

He shouted back. "Can I help you?"

The old mare shouted back at him. "Round up them youngin's and bring them over here for some grub!"

Guardian did just that. He shot web out and captured all four of the young ponies. He loaded them all onto his back and walked over to the four older ponies. He deposited the young ones down and undid the webbing. He had a difficult time with Sweetie Belle due to her constant giggling.

She reached up and tried to stop his small claws. "Stop it that tickles!"

Guardian continued untying her despite her protests. Once she was standing however he used his claws to tickle her until she was rolling in the grass with a tear running down her cheek from laughing so hard. It took the Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Featherweight jumping on Guardian to 'save' Sweetie. The instant Sweetie was back on her hooves was the same that she joined the dogpile on Guardian.

A few moments of the young ponies and Guardian playing passed before Granny Smith managed to drag them away from the fun with the offer of food. The group of ponies gathered around the basket, grabbing the surprisingly warm baked goods and cups to fill with the warm cider that was within the thermoses. Applejack noticed that Guardian was standing off to the side watching the group.

Applejack nudged her sister. "Hey, why don't you bring Guardian somethin' to eat? He looks hungry to me."

Apple Bloom looked over at Guardian then gave her sister a quick nod. "Okay, d’ya think he'll want some cookies?"

Applejack glanced over Guardian as well and noticed that his gaze had turned to the stars. She gave her sister a smile. "He'll love 'em."

Apple Bloom grabbed a few extra snacks and walked over to the now sitting Guardian. She poked him to get his attention. He glanced down at her.

"Can I help you Apple Bloom?"

She nodded and held out some of the food. "You looked kinda hungry so I brought you some food. It's really good."

He took the food she held out and looked at it for a few moments. "What is it?"

Apple Bloom giggled at him and pointed to the different types as she described them. "That's corn bread, those are cookies, that's a slice of cake and obviously that one’s an apple."

Guardian sniffed the small collection of baked goods. He found the scent to be rather pleasant and that alone helped ease the disappointment he had felt from the failed meal that was the timberwolves. He took a bite of what Apple Bloom had called cake. He was met with a heavenly taste with a faint hint of something he hadn't tasted in a long life.

"I taste... cinnamon. I haven't tasted this since I was..."

Apple Bloom noticed that Guardians eyes glazed over and his claws lowered from his mouth. "Since you were what?"

Guardian shook his head. "Nothing. It doesn't matter. Thank you for the food. I shall have to visit more often if this is what I can expect to eat."

Apple Bloom's face brightened up at the mention of more visits. "Really? Ah'll make sure you have whatever you want when you come over."

As Guardian let out a low chuckle he and Apple Bloom were joined by the rest of the younger ponies. Almost an hour passed as the group of ponies and their guest talked and ate. Soon the younger ponies had trouble keeping their eyes open. Applejack insisted that Apple Blooms friends head home but they protested saying that they had told their parents that they were spending the night.

Applejack bit her lip as she glanced at Featherweight. "You too?" The pegasus nodded. "Well... Ah know that the girls like to sleep in the clubhouse but Ah don't know if that's a good idea."

Guardian stood up with the sleeping Sweetie Belle on his back as well as the soon to be asleep Scootaloo. "Don't worry. I'll watch over them." He picked up Featherweight and Apple Bloom. "Besides you look tired as well. Get some rest."

Applejack would have argued but she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Macintosh and Twilight were walking off towards the house together with Granny Smith a little ahead of them. "Well if the family is fine with it then Ah guess Ah am too. Just keep 'em out of trouble."

With a single nod Guardian began walking off toward the clubhouse as Applejack headed for her own home.

Twilight looked around the room that Macintosh called his own. She was almost shocked at the lack of any personal items in the room. The only one she could see were the doll on his bed and the small group of photos sitting on his night stand.

Twilight walked over to one of the photos and picked it up carefully. In the photo was four ponies, two adult ponies, a colt and a foal. She recognized the small colt standing in front of the two older ponies as a much younger Macintosh. He was smiling and waving to the camera. She saw the small foal in the stallion’s legs and recognized the straw yellow mane.

"Macintosh?"

The stallion looked over at her with the Smarty Pants doll in his mouth. "Eeyup?"

She glanced over at him then back to the photo. "Are these your parents?"

He nodded and walked next to her. He took the picture from her gently and placed it back down on the night stand. He gave the doll to her and cleared his throat. "Well, Miss Twilight Ah see you have two choices right now given the hour of the night. Ah could walk you home or you could stay the night."

Twilight stood there confused for a moment as she wondered briefly which option Big Mac would like her to say. She came back to her senses quickly once she realized that Big Mac was waiting for her to answer.

She glanced up at him and blushed when she saw how close he was standing to her. "I do have to get home. I do run the library after all. So I guess a nice walk with you would be welcome."

Twilight adjusted the saddlebag but then felt the weight lift from her back. She once more looked at Macintosh and saw that he placed the bag on his back. She gave him a questioning look.

He noticed the look and gave her a polite nod. "Bag looked heavy. A mare as nice as you shouldn' have to carry a heavy bag."

Twilight felt her cheeks warm and she was certain that they were a bright shade of red. She turned on the spot and headed out of the room in hope that Macintosh hadn't seen her blushing. They left the house and reached the path to the road without speaking another word.

They reached the road when Twilight spoke up, her voice cautious. "I was wondering if I could ask you something?"

Macintosh glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. Twilight took that as a sign to continue. "When was that photo taken? I didn't see Apple Bloom in the picture but the mare looked pregnant."

Macintosh let out a long sigh and looked up at the moon. "'Bout a month or two after Ah got my cutie mark. Roughly three months after that Ma gave birth to Apple Bloom."

The stallion stopped walking and let out another sigh. Twilight walked next to him and placed her hoof on his shoulder. "Was that when you lost your mother?"

He shook his head. "Enope. Apple Bloom was four months old when Pa got sick. There was nothin' we could do for him but he never stopped workin'. Kept saying that he needed to work to make sure Applejack and Ah didn't have to. When he passed Ma got depressed. She lost her energy and rarely smiled."

Twilight felt the shoulder shudder and for a moment, she thought he was cold but when she looked at his face she could see tears in his eyes.

Macintosh continued his voice steadily but pained. "Ma went west to visit one of her sisters. She was gone a month before we got the news. She had passed away in her sleep, doctor said she died of a broken heart. My aunt moved in with us for almost a year after that. They helped with Apple Bloom and mourned with us."

He took in a ragged breath and Twilight moved even closer to him to comfort the large stallion. He continued as his voice broke a little.

"That was when Applejack and Ah got to spend a lot of time with Breaburn. He was our first real friend after everything that happened. He could make Applejack and Ah smile when nopony could." A large sniff sounded through the night air "After they left it was me and Granny to take care of Apple Bloom and Applejack. Then Applejack left for Manehatten."

Macintosh lowered his head to the ground and took a few breathes as he tried to steady himself. Twilight brought his head up so she could look into his deep green eyes. She hugged the stallion and he hugged her back tightly. She was surprised at how willing he was at opening up to her but as the hug drew on she pushed those thoughts aside and continued to comfort the stallion.

She pulled away slightly. "That must have hurt when she left... but she came back and found that her home was with you, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. She loves that farm more than anything in all of Equestria."

The stallion smiled as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Ah know she does. She reminds me of Pa some days. Ah see so much of him in her, both in attitude and in her love. Heck Apple Bloom is even starting to look like Ma did."

Macintosh cleared his throat and sniffed a few more times. He wiped his eyes one last time before he stood at his full height. "Ah'm sorry 'bout that. Ah'm bringin' ya home and here Ah am rambling 'bout myself and crying like a colt."

Twilight gave him a small smile. "It's alright. It just means you love you family. I know that they love you just as much and your friends love you as well."

Twilight and Big Mac continued on their trip in silence, and reached the Tree Library. Twilight smiled to the stallion.

"Thank you for carrying my bag." She gently took her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I hope we can talk some more soon. I think I will be visiting the farm more now that Guardian is around."

"Eyup." Mac smiled to the mare and gave her a small wave and left her.

Twilight quickly entered her home and placed her bag down, and sighed. She had a long night of studying to look forward to, and she felt exhausted. She heard a small clatter at the stairs and looked up to see Spike yawning as he walked down.

"Twi, is that you?"

The mare nodded and gave the small dragon a tired smile. "Yeah, it's me. Did I wake you?"

Spike nodded. "Well... sorta. I heard the thump of your bag... and I was on my way down to get something to drink anyways."

Twilight smiled an walked over to the stairs. "I can help you with that." The purple mare gently picked Spike up and placed him on her back, and they moved into the kitchen. "What did you want?"

Spike shuffled and smiled. "Um... some hot cocoa?"

Twilight smiled and nuzzled the baby dragon. "Done. Extra gems?"

The purple scaled baby nodded. "Thank you."

The mare began making the cocoa, her magic picking a pair of mugs out, and filling them with the warm liquid. She spent a moment searching through her cupboards to find the jewels that were Spikes and then placed a few rubies into the mug for Spike. The baby dragon quickly took his mug, and took a careful sip.

"Thanks Twilight. This tastes really good." He smiled to her and took another sip.

The unicorn smiled back and took a sip of her own rich tasting drink. The warmth rushed through her, and went from her core to her limbs. The pair drank in silence until the room was filled with the crunching noises of dragons teeth crushing gemstones. Twilight let a yawn escape from her lips and shuffled.

"Hey Twilight?"

"Yeah?" She turned to look at her friend.

"Can... can we cuddle tonight?" He shuffled a little on her back. "We haven't done that in a while."

Twilight nodded and smiled. "I would love nothing more than to do that with you."

Guardian looked at the clubhouse nestled deep in the farmland of Sweet Apple Acres then to the group of young ponies resting on his back. The clubhouse wasn't hard to find as he had gotten some mumbled instructions from Apple Bloom. He made his way up to the single room and he took a look around. It was a simple room with a few decorations and a small collection of furniture.

He looked around and spotted a small chest in the corner of the small room. He made his way over to it and opened it. Inside was exactly what he was looking for. A small collection of blankets and pillows were inside. He pulled them out and placed the pillows down on the rug. He deposited Featherweight and Sweetie Belle to one of the pillows and covered them both with a blanket. He placed the now sleeping Scootaloo down at another of the pillows and was about to place Apple Bloom beside her when Apple Bloom hugged his neck.

"Ah don't wanna sleep on the floor. Ah wanna..." She stopped to yawn. "...wanna sleep next to you."

He turned and looked at the filly on his back. "You would be more comfortable with your friend."

She shook her head and snuggled deeper into his coat on his back. "Ah'm comfortable right here with my friend."

Guardian stood there for a moment and felt his heart tighten a little. She thought of him as a friend? When did this happen? He looked at her for a moment and watched as her breathing deepened. She was already falling into a deep sleep and moving her would both annoy her and wake her.

"Very well."

He placed a blanket over the orange pegasus then placed the last one he held onto the filly on his back. He settled down on the floor and focused his eyes on a hoof made painting of a blue pegasus as his mind began to drift. Before he could really think of anything Apple Bloom spoke softly from his back.

"Guardian?"

He looked at the filly. She still had her eyes closed. "Yes Apple Bloom?"

She rolled onto her side and got more comfortable on his back. "Am Ah your friend?"

He nodded. "Yes. You are my friend. A very tired friend of a very old Arachnapony."

Apple Bloom smiled, her eyes opening slightly. "And the others... are they your friends too?"

He nodded once more. "Yes."

"Are there others like you? Arachnaponies?"

Guardian sighed and looked at the other three ponies, all of them fast asleep. "A long time ago yes. I don't know if there are many of us now but I do know of a few that are still around."

Apple Bloom wrapped herself in the blanket a little more. "Are they your friends too?"

He remained silent for a long moment then answered her in a tired tone. "Yes. They are my friends."

Apple Bloom closed her eyes and snuggled against the larger creature. "I bet they're as nice as you." She let out a long yawn. "Good night."

Guardian glanced out the window and saw the reflection of the moon in a distant pond. "A good night indeed."

Apple Bloom drifted off to sleep as Guardian began looking around the room, studying every detail. Time seemed to blur away as he gazed at the room. At some point deep into the night Scootaloo awoke with a startle. She threw the blanket off of herself in panic and was gasping for breath. She looked around the room for a moment and when her gaze fell on Guardian she jumped in fright.

She took a moment to catch her breath. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

Guardian continued to look at her unblinkingly. "You didn't wake me. I'm nocturnal." He saw her confusion. "I sleep during the day and I am awake in the night."

The filly nodded in understanding. "Oh... like a bat."

Guardian nodded and focused his attention on the scent coming from the orange pegasus. "You smell of fear. You had a bad dream?"

She nodded but remained silent as her gaze shifted away from his. "It's nothing. Just a stupid dream."

He gave a small snort. "Dreams often tell us many things we normally think of during our waking hours. Please tell me your dream."

She kept looking at the ground. "I was a clown."

Guardian tilted his head. "A what?"

She looked up at him surprised. "You know a clown. Funny wigs, big shoes, wear lots of bells, and stuff like that."

"Ahh, a jester or a harlequin. I see."

Scootaloo gave him a weird look for a moment. "Yeah... one of those, and I had my cutie mark and everything. I went to school and all my friends were really happy for me but then Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got mad and told me they didn't want to be my friend. They said we promised to earn our marks together and I broke that promise." Tears began to form in her eyes. "They made fun of me for having a talent and a cutie mark."

Guardian got up slowly, careful not to awake the sleeping pony on his back and moved next to the small filly. He sat down next to her on the rug. "It was just a dream."

She hugged him and cried softly into his coat. "I know but it still hurt."

Guardian hugged the small filly back with his claws. "It's alright. You will earn your cutie mark in time. Just be patient and find a thing you have a passion for."

Scootaloo released her grip and looked up at the unblinking eyes. "I've heard that before but still...” she looked at her bare flank “No cutie mark."

Guardian nodded. "And one day you will be giving that advice to your own fillies and colts. It is advice as old as the cutie mark itself." He lowered his head so that it was at the orange pony's eye level. "When you earn your mark your friends will not abandon you. They will be happy for you, congratulate you, and maybe even cry for you. You three have formed a strong bond and it will not break over something as simple as earning your mark first."

Scootaloo smiled weakly at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes. Now get some rest. You might need a lot of energy when you earn your cutie mark."

The filly looked over to see Sweetie Belle and Featherweight cuddling under their blanket. Sweetie had her legs wrapped around the colt and her head was resting on his chest. Her mane puffed back and forth with each breath from the colt and they both wore content smiles.

The orange filly looked at Guardian with an almost embarrassed look. "C-can I sleep next to you? Please?"

Guardian remained silent for a moment which made the filly took as a no. She began to readjust the pillow when she shuffled closer to the rug. "Fine. If it will help you sleep better."

Scootaloo grabbed the blanket and pillow and moved next to the larger creature. Guardian shifted himself so that he was laying on his stomach and his side was open for the filly to sleep against. The filly settled in next to him and snuggled closely into his surprisingly soft belly fur.

"Thanks Guardian."

As the filly got comfortable next to him Guardian felt something he had not felt in a long time. He felt his heart warm at the sight of the sleeping ponies and felt a connection to them. He was feeling a kinship with them, the likes of which he hadn’t felt in many long years. He tucked the blanket around the pegasus that was quickly falling asleep.

A good night indeed.