//------------------------------// // Not the First Goblin // Story: Spiders and Magic: Edge of Time // by MetalJrock //------------------------------// Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Trixie looked at the stain-glass window. It showed the heroes who saved Equestria from the changeling takeover all those years ago. "About time we got some recognition." said the pegasus in a boastful tone. "Yeah. Pinkie and I made sure that your memory would live on." Sweetie said. "Thank ya fer that." Applejack replied. "Now that we're back, ah think it's time we help ya with what remains in restoring society." "I wish to help as well. I don't deserve forgiveness for what I've done under Chrysalis's control, but I wish to begin my redemption." Trixie added. "We already believe you did... But the rest of the world may not think the same thing." Pinkamena spoke up. "It will take time for you, but you will be trusted among them in due time." "Wow, Pinkamena. Not only are you a samurai, apparently you're also a wise master." Peter joked. "You're way more different than the Pinkie in my time than I remember." "Age and war changes somepony, Parker." Pinkamena chuckled lightly at his comment. "That's the truth." Kaine agreed. "Now, do you three know of Warren's hideout here? He's gotta have one in this timeline if he managed to clone you three." "Not really..." Rainbow Dash shook her head with a sigh, "All we know is that its in or nearby Canterlot at least considering how fast we got here... Like that's a problem for me anyhow. The fact these two kept up with me and made it around the same time speaks matters." "Or maybe yer just gettin' slower in your old age." Applejack teased her with such a suggestion, which the pegasus scoffed as a response. "I'm just sayin'!" "Yeah, right! As if I will get slower!" Dash laughed. Peter laughed, "I don't know, because..." his eyes were drawn to something, "Wait... Is that your wing? As in, the one that was clearly metal and robotic the last I saw of it?" Rainbow paused, turning her head and looking at both of her wings. "Oh my gosh! I didn't even notice! My other wing is back!" she cheered aloud, earning smiles from the group. "Professor Warren's regeneration tube must have done more than bring you back. It healed you completely, like when Peter needed it to get his powers back." Ben explained, "So, it seems he's getting better at the cloning thing. That would explain why we all share memories of sorts. Kaine and I share Parker's mind to a certain point. While you three are pretty much back from the dead." Peter put a hoof on his chin, "Reminds me of a friend of mine from that other Capcom world, Zero I think his name was. He also got his mind stuck in a different body, but that was somewhat different because he was a robot and not organic. Man, if the heroes from that world came here, they'd probably know what to do." he added. "Or maybe we'll fight again, who knows?" "How many shocking worlds have you seen, Parker?" Miguel asked his predecessor. "A lot both mentioned and seen personally. Next thing you know, I'll be meeting the blue hedgehog or plumber Mega Man told me about last time we met." Peter shrugged. "I heard they were cool." "I can confirm that much." Ben replied, knowing what his doppelgamger was talking about. Kaine huffed, "God damn it, you're life is seriously beyond normal." he said, seeing the memories they shared of the Capcom universe and their many encounters. "Oh, I accepted that a long time ago." Peter assured. "But I do my best to make sure others can peacefully." "And we can't thank you enough." Sweetie Belle said. "Heck, at this point we might as well." Rainbow pointed out, "As much as I like kicking butt, even I wanna kick back, especially after fighting for twenty-years straight." "Same here." Trixie said. "Well we'll worry about retirement plans later. Right now, we have to get back on track." First Spider responded, "So, he should be near or in this city. That'll make the search easier." "Yeah, less travelling." Ben added. Sweetie Belle looked at the clones, "What should we do about him once we find him?" The First Spider smirked, "Simple." he revealed his stingers, earning a gasp from the ponies, but not the Spiders, "We'll get him to spill Sloan and Ock's whereabouts. Whether we do it the easy way or the hard way will be up to him." "That's... Rather vicious." Trixie said. Kaine rolled his eyes, "It'll get the job done." Peter cleared his throat. "I think I speak for everyone's stomachs when I say we'll probably handle it the normal way." "Or the semi-difficult hard way." Ben said. Miguel groaned, "Whatever gets him to jam talk!" "Jam talk? I didn't bring the PB, O'Hara." Peter chuckled again. "Future swears seem to be a pain. Heh, I don't blame you. I wish we had something like that." Pinkamena responded to the outburst. "No you don't." Peter corrected. "I can live with them." Kaine shrugged. "Sweet Celestia! How does my younger self put up with you four! Make it stop!" Trixie aighed in annoyance. "Well you should be glad!" Spider-Mane turned around, a familiar tingling sensation running down the back of his neck. "Alright, how is Mark Hamill--" he paused upon seeing the purple creature standing in the hallways, the doors broken without a single sound heard by them. The creature almost looked like a troll of sorts, it had wings and fangs. "Never mind." "Hobgoblin?!" Spider-Mane 2099 asked in disbelief. "How'd you get here!?" "Ah, Spider-Man! You look so adorable!" Hobgoblin taunted, "I was rebuilt by Doc Ock of course, with a little assistance from Professor Warren just to be safe." "You have a Hobgoblin too?" Peter wondered. Ben and Kaine looked at him, "You know one as well?" "Yeah. He showed up like a week after I thought Osborn died when he was impaled. He got a hold of Norman's tech from the looks of it and tried to be another Goblin. I never did figure out who it was. I was deciding between Ned Leeds or that Roderick Kingsley guy. But I'll leave that discussion for later." Spider-Mane explained. "Oh yes... Just like I said last time we met! Every Spider needs a Goblin!" Hobgoblin 2099 laughed. "I'll be sure to make your deaths painless." "Like that'll ever happen!" Rainbow Dash boasted. "Oh, it will!" Hobgoblin snarled. Spider-Mane 2099 grunted, hovering in the air and shooting a web-ball at the robot, the Hobgoblin using his claws to break apart the webbing. As Rainbow and Miguel flew toward him, the robot Goblin flapped his wings hard enough to create a gust of wind powerful enough to blow back the pegasi. "That was fun!" "Yeah, and so will this!" Pinkamena shouted, grabbing her sword from where she left it, holding the hilt in her mouth. She sliced downard, trying to slice the Hobgoblin, who seemingly tanked the strike. When the pink mare noticed it failed, she kicked the Hobgoblin's face, his head rearing backwards as a result. Pinkamena flipped, landing with a hoof placed on the ground. "See?" she inquired. "Not really." yawned Hobgoblin. Scarlet Spider and Sweetie decided to take the offensive. Sweetie Belle was the first to attack, punching Hobgoblin's torso with the hoof she wore Twilight Arms with. The Hobgoblin managed to grab her and slam her facefirst onto the ground. Ben reached him next, tying some webbing around his arms to give himself a push. He managed to deliver a powerful kick to the robot Goblin's leg, making him move his knee. Scarlet Spider then rolled outmof the way as Hobgoblin attempted to strike with his claws. "Eh. I'm getting bored already..." he sighed, revealing three pumpkin bombs in his hands as he began to fly.  Spider-Mane noticed them as he tossed them into the air. In the blink of an eye, he and First Spider hopped up, using their webbing to grab the bombs and tossed them back at the retreating Goblin with perfect precision. The future Hobgoblin fell as he reached the door, allowing Applejack and Trixie to attack next. The blue unicorn used a concussive spell she learned years ago while Applejack simply stood up and repeatedly punched with her bandaged forehooves. "Stay down!" hissed the earth pony. Hobgoblin smirked, finally getting his bearings on the ground. He unfurled his wings and flapped them, stunning Applejack and Trixie in their spots. Before he could hurt them, a rainbow trail sped by his face. "We're not done yet!" declared Rainbow, landing another hit on the Hobgoblin, who seemed to not care. While he was distracted, Sweetie Belle leaped from behind, grabbing Hobgoblin's neck and holding him down. During the scuffle, he managed to grab a few more bombs and tossed them far. Before they could reach anypony, Spider-Mane 2099 flew in, grabbing them and tossing them back, making sure his allies were out of the way of the small combined explosion they made. "This is too easy." Kaine muttered, finally getting to the doors next to Ben and Peter. "Yeah, it's all of us against him. Warren's probably using this as a distraction." Peter nodded. Scarlet Spider ran out to the battle, "They're probably running out of ideas!" he shouted. He sprinted up a wall before hitting Hobgoblin with his backhooves. The Goblin grabbed his limb, "Oh crud..." he whispered, before being tossed aside. Pinkamena and Trixie leaped back in, combining their efforts to attack the Hobgoblin. Pinkamena gritted her teeth, kicking the robot in the torso while Trixie used a fire spell to burn the wings, but nothing happened. "They're made of nanofiber." O'Hara said, "The wings are near indestructible." "Exactly!" Hobgoblin corrected. "I'm glad you remembered!" he threw more bombs in the heroes' directions. Scarlet Spider threw two of them back, but First Spider, who ran ahead, got caught in the fire, feeling the force of the small explosion push him away. Spider-Mane decided to use his webs for something different. 'I told myself I'd do this more often.' he thought. His webs dug into the ground and he spun around, using the stones he dug up on his webbing to hit the Hobgoblin hard. While he was stunned, Sweetie used her magic to grab any remaining bombs he had in his possession. The Spiders got together. "I see what you have in mind." Peter said to the unicorn, "Trixie. Light 'em up!" he ordered. The former villain nodded, performing a spell to ignite the bombs. Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkamena joined forces to weaken Hobgoblin and divert his attention while the Four Spiders used their webbing to tie Hobgoblin in a large cocoon of webbing. "Ha! You think I'd be defeated with this?!" "No. But this will!" Spider-Mane 2099 grunted. Suddenly, a barrage of bombs hit Hobgoblin hard. They all ran away as the explosion nearly hit them. Once the smoke clear, they saw that they destroyed the Hobgoblin for good. His circuits exposed and the metal dented. "It's shocking over for you. Again." "That was too easy." Sweetie said. "Yeah. It was." First Spider grunted, "Hopefully this can get us closer to finding Warren." "How?" "Simple. We begin searching. The first place he'd most likely hide out at is where we hid out when we had missions in Canterlot so mamy years ago." Pinkamena said. "Then let's head there. You guys still got the notes so we can find our way home?" Spider-Mane wondered. "It's all in the castle." Ben answered, "We're all good." he refilled his web cartridges. "Good! Let's kick some butt like old times!" Dash cheered. "I'm with ya on that!" Applejack nodded. "Seems that they're on their way here..." the green figure hummed, "Finally... They will have no choice but to deal with you." he turned to the symbiote creature. The monster roared, "Good. I'm happy to see you're excited. Parker will pay for taking the one I love away from me so long ago. With his life!" "What do you think?" Sloan asked, the villains all having watched the events. Discord smiled, "We'll perform a test run. Once we see how it can handle the Spiders, then I'll give it that small boost of power I promised you. Time itself will be at your mercy by the time I'm done." "Perfect! We'll be gods!" Serena boasted. "Now you're starting to sound like that bald scientist when he thinks he's won. I'll get back to him once this is over." the draqonequss whispered.