//------------------------------// // The Once Grim Future // Story: Spiders and Magic: Edge of Time // by MetalJrock //------------------------------// Pinkamena placed the orb on the table, looking at Peter with a concerned look. "Are you sure about this, Peter?" she asked. "You don't have to do this." "Yeah..." he faced the Spiders. "I've been dodging the topic ever since O'Hara arrived. I think they have a right to know about what happened to deserve such a response from me." Miguel shook his head, "Parker. What are you talking about? What even is this thing?" "I used this years ago. I accidentally showed Twilight and the others my entire life ever since the spider-bite. I've only ever used it once after that, when I wanted Twilight to see what happened. It kept me up at night for years until I told her." Future Sweetie's eyes widened, "You even told her about...?" she slowly asked awkwardly. Peter sighed, "Yeah, I did. She... understood." he replied, fidgeting in his spot. "What do you two mean?" asked Ben, curious upon hearing the dialogue shared between the two. "It's best if you see for yourself." exhaled Peter, bending down so that his horn touched the orb. The Spiders got closer to see what projected within it. A white light projected out of his horn, the magic of the orb creating an image that Peter wanted them to see. "What the shock...?" Kaine frowned, "What's this?" An image appeared on the orb. They saw Peter awaken in the dusty remains of his cellar. The watchers could hear his every thought, as his mind tried to scramble around to figure out what happened to him mere moments ago. The only sound that was heard was the wind once his brain eased his worries. "The experiment," Peter was heard murmuring. He looked at the gems scattered on the desk, all of them lost their color. He held one, the gem disintergrating in his grasp. "That's the experiment?" Miguel wondered. "What happened to it?" "Age." Kaine answered. "This must be how he ended up here." They remained silent as they watched Peter wander, "What's going on? Twilight! Are you upstairs?" he asked, with no response heard. He tried to call out again, "Honey? Mayday?" he shouted, him getting more frantic each time he spoke. He inhaled sharply, now concerned about his family's well being. Peter rushed upstairs, seeing the door to the basement still sealed. He noticed a blue light scan his eyes as he lowered his gaze, then the door opened. "At least the retinal scan still works." he sighed. The tumblers on the door unlocked, but the door stopped halfway as it opened. The stallion grumbled, "What else can go wrong...?" he forced the door open, pushing it farther away to allow access. His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. The sky was a dull gray, no longer clear blue. Smoke filled the area, and his stomach turned at the sight of the withered skeletons that lied upon the ground of his home. Buildings were torn apart, and the Treebrary was in ruins, possibly vacant at this point. "Holy crap..." muttered Kaine, seeing the world through the orb. "What the hell went wrong?" mumbled Ben. Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, "You're about to find out." "I don't what's going on, but I have to find out." he rushed back to the cellar in his supply closet, and grabbed his costume and web-shooters, refilled just in case, but as he dug around the dusty, dirty remains, "Oh come on. My mask was just here. Where could it be?" Spider-Mane stepped out, ready, yet afraid to explore the remains of Ponyville. "I hope I can find some answers." Miguel crossed his hooves, "Same here, Parker. This must be a lot to take in at once." "Yeah. His thoughts are racing on. I can tell he's freaking out." the First Spider replied. Peter explored Sugarcube Corner finding it abandoned, before turning his attention to the center of town. A bright light glowed from the roof to his body as a swarm of buglike creatures started to appear. They looked like ponies, but they were black, buglike, and had holes all around their bodies. Some had wings similar to pegasi, while others had crude horns like unicorns. The stallion deduced they were changelings, which he researched sometime ago. "What the shock are changelings?" Miguel questioned. "A race of shapeshifting creatures. They're powerful, and they dominated Equestria for years in this timeline." Pinkamena explained. They turned their attention back to the projection, where Spider-Mane was getting ready to fight off the growing swarm, his Spider-Sense tingling as they hissed. Before Peter could do anything though, a changeling was dragged into the shadows. A loud snap was heard as the creature's now lifeless body was tossed aside. "Who did that?" asked Ben, now curious. Kaine turned to his brother, "Looks like we're about to find out for ourselves." The figure almost revealed themselves as the now angered changelings. And they hopped to the roof of the nearest building, the creatures ignoring the stallion and chasing them instead. The mysterious pony revealed a sword as the army came for them and began to slice them apart. Green blood splattered as Peter finally figured out who his mysterious savior was. "Woah, Pinkie. Am I glad to see you! Where'd you learn those moves--" he was cut off by Pinkamena swiping her sword at him with bloodlust. Luckily, Spider-Mane avoided it thanks to his Spider-Sense, and he ducked underneath the blade. The three Spiders faced Pinkamena, who shrugged in response to the stares. "A lot happened while he was gone." she elaborated. "It's best to keep watching." Ben nodded, "Makes sense. Times must have been hard for survival." "Pinkie! Will you stop? It's me!" pleaded Peter, avoiding each sword slice, while trying to avoid conflict. "Liar!" snarled Pinkamena, "I'm sick of you changelings impersonating my friends, especially the ones that are dead!" she continued, "Die!" Peter's eyes went wide, ducking under the blade once more. "Dead? Die? What the heck are you talking about!? I'm still trying to figure out when you started using swords! It's like you became a samurai overnight! Did you read a manual or something!?" he asked. The Spiders listened in, hearing and seeing Pinkamena stop after hearing the joke, and explain the situation to Peter. The stallion of course noticed how his friend had changed so suddenly to him. "How!? Just how did I send my self two-and-a-half decades forward!?" he asked in disbelief. The orb skipped ahead, where Pinkamena led Peter to the desired destination. "Where are you going?" asked Miguel. The pink mare in the projection was explaining what was happening while he was gone, about how the group fell apart and how Equestria fell to the changelings. "You'll see..." said a disheartened Pinkamena. Then they took notice of Peter fasing out in a static blue aura, which he shrugged off of course, continuing to trail Pinkamena. "The timestream must have been in flux for him. The experiment must've had a recoil attached and was trying to send him back to the miment he left." Miguel suggested. "Why?" asked Kaine. "Would that even be possible?" "Perhaps." Miguel replied. They watched as Peter and Pinkamena reached their destination: a barren forest meadow. "Twilight?" asked Peter, wondering where his wife was at. "She's right there." Pinkamena pointed. Peter's eyes looked upon a small stone, 'Here lies Twilight Sparkle-Parker. A wonderful wife, mother, and friend.' the inscription on the stone read. He collapsed on his knees, looking at the tombstone with tears in his eyes, as he began to sob. "You mean Twilight is...? No!" "Oh my God..." Ben whispered. "Poor guy." said Kaine, feeling sorry for Peter. Miguel shook his head, "Parker suffered worse than I thought. How do you shocking recover from that?!" They heard Pinkamena explain that she treasured this place and decided it'd be the best spot for a burial. But they also heard Parker's thoughts. How he had failed Twilight like he failed Gwen. "To lose the ones you love... Twice. It must be a hard burden." Ben spoke up, a lone tear falling from his eye. Pinkamena sighed in the image, "About three years after you disappeared, Chrysalis and the changelings invaded Canterlot... They slaughtered so many, including Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Twilight gave her life so the rest of us could escape." The projection skipped ahead, and Peter stood up with determination in his eyes, "...I know I'm in the wrong timeline. Nothing's set in stone. I may not be able to change the past, but that doesn't mean I can't change the present and save this future. I'll find a way back to my timeline later. Right now, we're going to stop Chrysalis and the changelings." "That's Parker all right." chuckled Kaine. "He'll never step down from doing what's right." Miguel nodded in agreement, "He's a legend in my time for a reason." "Peter's a legend back on Earth?" Future Sweetie asked in disbelief. "That's amazing!" Ben chuckled at that, "It really is." The orb skimmed through Spider-Mane's memories again, this time he and Pinkamena were in a small complex buried under the Everfree Forest as a hideout. Peter decided to stick to the shadows until the time was right while Pinkamena spoke to the leader of the changeling resistance. "This was your base? Clever." admitted Ben. "It should be out of sight." "Should have." Future Sweetie exhaled. "You'll see what happened later on." "Come on down. It's clear." Pinkamena said in the memory. Spider-Mane hopped down from his spot, landing on his hooves. "Peter? Is that really you?" asked the leader. "Sweetie Belle? Woah! I just saw you yesterday, and you were so tiny. You've really grown-" he was cut off by Future Sweetie pulling him into a hug, tears running down her face. "Everypony said you were dead..." she sobbed. The memories skipped ahead, to where Future Sweetie revealed to Peter what happened on the day of the takeover. And how Rarity and Fluttershy also died in the battle before Twilight made her sacrifice. Peter then decided to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had split apart after that day. "Son of a glitch..." mumbled O'Hara, hearing the story. "Parker has to take in all this information in a day... How did he shocking cope?" Ben looked at Parker's successor. "His heart's in the right spot. He's able to push those thoughts aside when others need him. I share his memories to a certain point, so I felt what he experienced." "Same here." Kaine admitted, "It's a tough job. But who said that he coped? Remember how afraid he was to even talk about this?" "True." Miguel nodded. "He never told you of this?" Future Sweetie questioned. O'Hara waved a hoof, "No. He's always dodged the topic whenever his experiment gets brought up. Now I see why." The heroes looked back at the orb, where Peter watched Rainbow Dash and Applejack argue over leaving Twilight behind that day, leaving her to die. Spider-Mane decided to hop down, revealing himself. Of course, they doubted it was him. Applejack had trimmed her hair, wore a scarf as well as sports bandages around her hooves. Rainbow Dash had a scar on her chin and metal wing as well as a vest. "How do we know this isn't a changeling?" Rainbow Dash whispered. Peter said, "Would a changeling call you girls 'Skittles' and 'Applebutt'?"  "Really, Parker?" Kaine wondered. Ben chuckled at the nicknames, "Yeah, sounds about right for him." The memories skipped ahead once more, showing Spider-Mane, Pinkamena, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack make a getaway from the remains of the Royal Castle using the Spider-Mobile, Peter wearing the gauntlets that Future Sweetie and Pinkamena are wearing at that very moment. "What the shock are those things he's wearing?" asked Miguel. "Peter calls them Twilight Arms. They enhanced his strength while wearing them." Future Sweetie explained. The First Spider crossed his forehooves, "Twilight Arms? Good name, I say." Scarlet Spider nodded, "Yeah. But what's with the crystal?" The image skipped, where they discovered that the crystal was Celsius. And Luna appeared out of it, her time growing limited. She had said her final goodbyes before her spirit faded from the crystal for good. "So, that's why..." Spider-Mane 2099 sighed. They watched as Future Sweetie planted a kiss on Peter's cheek to cheer him up after seeing Luna vanish for good. Though, the clones chuckled at Peter's stammering, Future Sweetie awkwardly moved in her spot, feeling uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" asked Kaine. "Y-You'll see..." Future Sweetie mumbled. In the orb, Peter had reunited with Derpy's daughter, Dinky, who had joined the resistance. Although, the three Spiders sisn't know who they were, they could tell Peter was relieved to see her. They then cut to Peter facing Trixie, who's eyes were glowing red, and a strange amulet was worn around her neck. They could tell he was trying to avoid any more unnecessary conflict. "Trixie..." Peter began to say softly, "Do you remember me?" Trixie whispered, "Peter Parker... I only know that you are... My enemy..." Miguel shook his head, "Trixie was evil? Oh shock, it was that amulet probably..." "Yeah, her eyes were glowing blood red." Ben noticed. "The Alicorn Amulet did that to her. She grew distant after Peter disappeared, and Twilight and Mayday died. She wanted her family back, and was drawn to Chrysalis's side through both the amulet's dark power and mind control." Pinkamena explained. Peter and Trixie fought in the memory. The mad unicorn pointing out Spidey's hesitance to battle, which the stallion pointed out he didn't want to hurt her. The unicorn of course having no such qualms about hurting him. "She's gone for now..." Kaine grunted. "But there's still a chance for redemption. I learned that lesson." "Same here." Ben agreed, "To be put under someone's control... And become their slave... There's always a moment, one that change that perspective." The fight ended when Spider-Mane used Twilight Arms to punch the Alicorn Amulet off Trixie, splitting it in half. "Trixie..." whispered Peter, grabbing the mare lying on the ground, "Oh no, why are you cold!?" he asked. Trixie coughed with half a laugh, "That's because... I'm dying you idiot." "Oh shock... He didn't mean to..." Spider-Mane 2099 muttered aloud. The Spiders learned that the Alicorn Amulet was connected to her life, and only she could remove it. When Peter shattered it, he unknowingly killed her. "Oh God. No... Trixie, I, I..." he studdered, holding Trixie, "Damn it! No! I was supposed to save you, not--" He was cut off, "Listen to me, Peter. You did save me. I never would’ve… been able to remove the amulet myself. Chrysalis took over my mind. I lost all of my will. I couldn’t control myself, but I was still aware of what was happening. I-I... I’ve done so many unspeakable things, Peter. I was trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up. I’m just... so happy that it is finally over, and that I can at least die as myself. My only regret..." tears began to run down both of their faces, Trixie holding back a sob as she continued, "Is that I couldn't be here with you longer." "I'm so sorry," whispered Peter, choking back a sob as well. "At least she could die in peace." Ben muttered, "Peter did something good, even at the cost of her life." "That much is certain. I'm sure he deeply regrets acting on impluse like that though. But he didn't know." Kaine admitted. The Spiders saw the hideout get raided by the changelings, and the group got split up. They had to watch as Peter was forced to see Dinky get squashed by a brute as she attempted to distract the army ambushing them. By the time Spider-Mane got to rescueher, it was too late. Future Sweetie told him to hep find a hideout, to which Peter suggested his cellar. "Everyone I let down... Dies..." muttered Peter, now traumatized by everything that's been happening the past few days. "How did he do it?" Miguel questioned, "How does one shocking pick themselves up after witnessing so many of your loved ones dying at almost the same time? Parker is tougher than I thought." "I'm so sorry for what comes next..." Future Sweetie apologized to Peter and the others. "What? Why?" Kaine wondered. The memory orb skipped ahead, showing Sweetie attempt to cheer Peter up. When Sweetie noticed how distraught Peter had become, she placed a hoof on his cheek. Then closed the distance between the two of them as their lips met. Peter's mind at that point went into a frenzy, moreso than earlier. "What the shock!?" O'Hara blurted out. Even Pinkamena went wide-eyed at the sight. Despite his better judgement, Peter melted in the embrace, allowing the two to lie on the floor. Deep down, they needed this. Something to take away all the misery, even for a moment. "I love you, Twilight..." whispered Peter. Future Sweetie galnced at the ground, "I'm sorry you had to witness that." "No... I get why you did it." Kaine revealed. "You do?" Ben questioned. The First Spider nodded, "I do. Peter was a broken shell of a man. This wasn't an act of lust, or willing infidelity. This was supposed to cheer him up. It was an act meant to bring his senses back together. Even if it was against his better judgement." "He did call you Twilight. So that must mean that he knew what it really was as well." noticed Miguel. "What you did may have been wrong, but you had good intentions." "Thank you both." Future Sweetie whispered, "I just hope Peter feels the same way. I broke a vow for him..." Peter awoke in the memory, his mind filled with guilt and rage over what he had done. Looking at Mayday's bear only helped to trigger his emotions. He gritted his teeth as he slipped on the costume and Twilight Arms over his hooves in rage, "No more... No more!" he yelled, "This ends today!" "Well, he wasn't happy about it that moment. Makes sense. I'm sure he'll forgive you." Ben assured. Peter manages to regroup with the others and managed to find Ursa, who had obviously grown over the years. They all climbed on top of her and began to march to the final battle. "That shocking bear." grunted O'Hara. "She really grew. Now it's a turning point." "It was." Future Sweetie hinted. Ben sighed, "Now I regret not bringing popcorn. Now the drama's gone, I can enjoy the final battle." "Yeah... Chrysalis doesn't stand a chance. I've known anger, and Parker doesn't hold back when he is. He can be worse than the Hulk." the First Spider smirked. "Who dares!?" Chrysalis hissed, hearing the commotion getting louder in the castle in the Crystal Empire. Spider-Mane yelled as the Ursa Major roared, "Can Chrysalis come out to play!?" "Oh man... Peter is ready." Ben observed. The stallion hopped off his Ursa Major, slamming his hooves on the ground as he landed, "Knock, knock!" "He's cutting the crap. He's not going to restrain himself this time. It's do or die this time." Kaine observed. "It really is dire." Ben replied, "Let's see how he handles it." They skimmed ahead, seeing that the final battle had begun, the changeling swarm attacking the rest of the group while Spider-Mane fought off Chrysalis. "Do you miss your lovely Twilight Sparkle? Well, don't fret. You'll be seeing her again soon enough!" "just shut up!" Peter uppercutted the changeling queen in the jaw after shouting, "You don't deserve to say her name!" "No more joking around for Parker. She's shocking doomed." Miguel said. Pinkamena lowered her head, as she knew what was coming next. The changelings separated her, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. While Applejack was distracted, Chrysalis materialized behind her, and raised a black blade, stabbing the earth pony in the back before her or Peter could react. "No..." Kaine whispered. "That..." Ben was at a loss of words. In her rage, Rainbow Dash created a sonic rainboom, blowing apart the crystal castle's upper half and causing a number of changelings to disintergrate in the shockwave. Tears ran down her eyes, clearly angered by the loss of the friend she had just made amends with after nearly twenty-years. "Rainbow! No! Stop!" Spider-Mane pleaded, as Rainbow continued to pummel Chrysalis. The empress managed to deflect her attack, tossing her through a wall, removing the metal wing from her body. With one last effort, she shot out its metal feathers at Chrysalis.  "Nice!" Ben complimented. The changeling queen jumped out of the way, in the air, she managed to slash the pegasus, creating a wide gash on her body, blood began to pour out of her, and she was sent flying. She tried crawling next to Applejack's unmoving body, but as she neared the earth pony, something impled her, killing her on the spot. "Oh come on! Now that's just dirty!" grunted Kaine. "I hope that bitch got what she deserved." They saw Peter's rage, and the two continued to fight, the hero no longer holding back and giving it his all. Then while he was distracted, Pinkamena saw a ghost of her past. "Maud..." she whispered, before the mare revealed herself to be Chrysalis, who stabbed her as well. "Using one's loved ones against them. That's a dick move." Scarlet Spider huffed in disbelief. "Somehow I made it out alive." Pinkamena shook her head, "I'm not too sure how I did myself." In the memory, Spider-Mane had managed to trap Chrysalis's entire body in a cocoon of webbing. As she tried to escape, Ursa's large paw was raised upon Peter's whistle, "I AM EMPRESS CHRYSALIS! NO!" she declared as the paw crushed her, killing her then and there. "Good." Kaine smiled softly. "The kind of fate she desevrved." Ben nodded, "I'm not one to agree with your bloodlust, bro. But for once, I'm with you." "Parker did what was necessary. Even if it meant breaking his one rule. I'm proud." Spider-Mane 2099 admitted, "Now I remember why he's the hero our world needs." As Peter watched with tearful eyes Pinkamena struggle for life in Future Sweetie's grasp, he began to vanish. He told them to care for his weapon, Twilight Arms and to protect the future. Then he vanished, finding himself back in his time moments after vanishing. The orb got dark and Peter woke up. "Oh man. That still throws me in for a loop." he said, shaking the cobwebs out of his mind. "So... Did you see what happened?" The three Spiders nodded, "Yeah... Chrysalis broke you, Parker. How did you manage emotionally?" Ben asked. "I had to. I'm Equestria's protector. I can't just stand by while the world's in danger." Peter explained. Future Sweetie managed a smile, her eyes starting to water at the sight of the pain they endured. "I'm sorry for what I did, Peter. You said Twilight knows? How did she take it?" "Y-You don't have to worry about her, Sweetie. We both know what you were trying to do. I forgive you." Peter assured. Ben smirked, "That's good. So what do we do now?" "We'll take you around Neo Canterlot. I'm sure the ponies would love to see the hero who brought them salvation." Pinkamena suggested. Miguel shrugged, "While we're out we have to find Warren as well. Who shocking knows where he could have gone?"