After grabbing a bouquet of white lilies, Twilight walked the remaining few blocks to where her parents were.
A graveyard behind a church, with a small sign in front of it reading Silver Woods Cemetery.
Twilight sighed as she walked down the path. She didn't visit as often as she used to, but when she was younger she used to come here at least once a week. Even now, she still knew the shortest route by memory.
Eventually she came to a large gravestone with two names inscribed upon it, placed in a small shady spot under a large oak tree.
Twilight Velvet Sparkle 1970-2011
Night Light Sparkle 1966-2011
Loving Parents
Good People
Gone Too Soon
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best thing.
And good things can never die."
She let out a sad sigh as she looked at it. Hard to believe it's almost been ten years since that night. When some drunk got behind the wheel of his car and- No. Not going to dwell on that. I'm hear to say hi to Mom and Dad. Not reminisce on one of the worst days of my life.
Gently laying the lilies in front of the stones, she said "Hey Mom. Hey Dad. It's me, obviously. I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while. Freshman year at Crystal Prep was kinda rough. Something I'm sure the two of you can agree with since you both survived there.
'Spike's doing good. Still misses you, though he's not alone in that department. We all miss you." She chuckled. "You'd be proud of your granddaughter. Flurry Heart managed to throw a baby bottle hard enough to wreck one of Spike's LEGO monsters. Wish I had bee there to see it.
'Cadance and Shining are both doing great. Though sometimes I think they both could use a vacation. Can't imagine it's easy having to be the legal guardians for me and Spike while also being parents to an energetic little baby like Flurry Heart. All that while Cadance has her duties as Dean of Students while Shining's doing his best to bring down the Storm King. Yeah, if anyone deserves a vacation, it's those two."
"I doubt we're gonna be getting that vacation anytime soon."
She turned to see the familiar form of her older brother, still in uniform. His two-toned blue hair was cut a bit shorter than he usually kept it, which definitely helped show his blue eyes. She immediately noticed that he was now only a foot taller than her, as opposed to his usual foot-and-a-half. "Wow. Cadance did say you seemed to have hit a growth spurt, but I didn't believe her."
Twilight rolled her eyes, silently thanking the spider-bite for giving that growth spurt. "Good to see you too, Shiny. Any luck with your investigation?"
Shining sighed. "Nothing concrete yet. But I do feel like we're about to catch a break." Looking down at the foot of the grave he said "White lilies. Mom's favorite."
Twilight nodded. "Exactly."
Both of them stood in silence for a few minutes, their minds flashing back to some of the good memories they had with their parents. Though admittedly Shining had a bunch more than Twilight, seeing as how she was only six when the accident happened. She did remember reading a chemistry textbook late at night with her father, and asking her mother questions about her new book. She smiled sadly at the memories.
Finally, tired of the silence, Twilight asked "How's Storm Sentry doing?"
"Bored out of her mind," Shining eventually replied. "On the plus side, the doctors say she's only got one more week of rehab before she can get back out in the field." He smiled. "I wouldn't worry about her, though. She's a tough girl."
"I'm sure," she replied with a smirk. "She'd have to be tough to put up with a partner like you."
"Hey, I resent that!"
They both laughed at that, before Twilight asked "Hey, Shining?"
"Yeah, Twily?"
Figuring out in her head the best way to put it, Twilight began "Well let's say, hypothetically speaking, you could do things. Things other people would think are impossible. Things that some people would think are amazing, but others might think are incredibly terrifying and possibly dangerous."
Shining nodded, before asking "Have you been reading Spike's comic books?"
Figuring it was the best way to keep the conversation going, she nodded. "A few of the Masked-Matter Girl comics are pretty good. Except for that one where she sells her marriage to a demon to save the life of her dying aunt. That one sucked."[1]
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. So, you're basically asking me what I would do if I had superpowers?"
"Yeah. I just... I had a dream where I woke up with superpowers, really amazing ones too. I just... If it ever did happen, I don't think I'd make a good superhero."
"Why not?"
"Because, I'm a total nerd who's scared of just about everything. And because I don't really see myself able to do the whole gimmick of putting on spandex and going around fighting criminals."
Shining smirked. "Or you're just overthinking things like usual."
She rolled her eyes at that remark. "Seriously though, Shining?"
He chuckled. "Well, believe it or not, I actually had a similar talk with Dad."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Only instead of being a superhero, it was about me being a police officer." Seeing the disbelieving look on Twilight's face, he said "Believe it or not, I wasn't actually all that confident about being a cop: putting on the uniform every day, being responsible for the safety of the people of this city, and there being a very good chance of me getting shot and killed. All of that while living in a city with one of the highest crime rates in the United States, with a police department that's divided into complete rookies, total cowboys, corrupt cops taking bribes form crime bosses, and all while a bunch of lawyers and attorneys play obstructive bureaucrat and put as much red tape as possible in front of you to stop you from doing your job." He took a deep breath after getting all that out. "Don't let anyone tell you law enforcement is an easy job."
"Especially if you have a wife and kid to worry about. And me and Spike," she added.
"Exactly. I'm probably gonna end up going bald by the time I hit my forties.
'Anyway, I talked to him about it, and he said I was right. The job could be stressful. The job could put a lot of pressure on me. The job could probably come very close to breaking me. Probably would break me at one point in my life."
"But you still wanted to do it?"
Shining nodded. "Yeah, after Dad taught me a bit of his personal philosophy." Seeing he had Twilight's attention, he continued "Dad always believed that when you see someone who needs help, or if you know someone who needs help, and you have it in your power to help them, then you have a moral obligation to do it. Or to put it in much simpler terms: With Great Power, there must also come Great Responsibility.
'And he told me it was fine to be scared. Honestly, everyone feels fear. But what makes someone brave is that they don't let their fear stop them, and they keep moving in spite of it. And honestly, once I got over a few of my fears, I found they weren't really that scary to begin with."
Once she digested all of that, she asked "But... do you really think, hypothetically speaking of course, that I would have what it takes to be a superhero?"
Smiling, Shining put a hand on her shoulder and said "Twilight, you've always been the first person to put yourself down and doubt yourself. So for once, listen to your big brother. You are stronger than you think you are. Not only are you one of the smartest people I've ever met (Hell, Cadance and I haven't needed to help you with your homework since you were seven.) but whenever you're working on one of your projects you never give up on them. Even if they explode or you hit a roadblock, you just put it back together or you push right through. That is the truest strength of you, and by extension the truest strength of any comic book superhero; the will to never give up, and keep moving despite everything the world throws at them."2
She was shocked for a moment, before saying "Thanks, Shiny."
"Oh come on, you really have to use that old nickname?" They both laughed at that, before Shining said "Besides, if I did ever get superpowers, I'd be all for it. God knows this city needs a hero right now."
"I can imagine."
He was about to continue when there was a loud clap of thunder overhead. Twilight groaned. "Of course. The weatherman said it wasn't supposed to rain today, so what does it do?"
"Man, being a weatherman must be the best job in the world. You get to be wrong everyday and they can't fire you." Looking at Twilight he asked "Want me to give you a lift home?"
She shook her head. "I'll be fine. It's not that far to the nearest bus stop. Plus, you probably have other things to do, Lieutenant."
"Don't remind me. I just hope this lead ends up going somewhere. The sooner we get Storm King behind bars, the better off we'll all be." Looking back to the graves he said "Go on ahead. I'm gonna stay for a few minutes."
"Okay then. See you around, Shining."
"See you around, Twiley."
She managed to make it out of the graveyard in record time, and by that time the sky was really starting to get really dark. She could already tell that they were in for one hell of a storm.
As she passed Shining's squad car, she felt a slight tingle in her head. Her eyes were drawn to the other side of the street, wear an ordinary black car was parked.
The driver inside the car looked fairly unassuming; just a man with short brown hair and rather pale skin, talking on his cell phone. All in all, nothing that looked remotely dangerous. Granted his scorpion tattoo on his right arm kinda put her on edge, but that was just because she wasn't overly fond of bugs. Granted he might have a handgun or something in his car, but there were plenty of Manehattanites who had concealed carry permits. "Huh. Weird. Wonder if my spider-sense is just hypersensitive?"
Another clap of thunder rang out, and a few small drops of rain fell on her head. "And that's my cue to take cover."
She started walking quickly to the nearest bus stop, hoping to make it under cover before the deluge came down.
She was about a block away before her Spider-Sense flared up hard, enough to feel like a headache. "Ow! Okay, what is up with this? There's nothing-"
BOOM!!!!
She whirled around to look behind her, seeing a large fireball rising up from the street. "That came from the road by the cemetery. What's going-"
That's when she heard the gunshots.
And then she remembered that her brother was still there. "Oh God! SHINING!"
She wasn't sure what happened next. All she knew was that she was suddenly running back to the cemetery, her only thought being to make sure that Shining was okay. Any thoughts of the possibility of her being hurt or possibly killed were pushed down and/or completely ignored. She barely even registered the flashes of lightning in the sky, or the icy-cold rain lashing against her.
She was almost at the entrance when she heard one last gunshot, hearing it crystal clear despite the sounds of the storm around her.
And as she finally made it to the cemetery, she saw what had happened.
Shining Armor's squad car had been ground zero for the explosion, the vehicle now a smoldering wreck that was still spewing smoke and fire that the torrential rain didn't seem to be able to put out. Fortunately it looked like nobody had been caught in the blast.
But that was the only good news.
The gunshots had apparently come from the man she had seen talking on his phone in his car, now wearing a black coat and holding a large pistol. She ducked out of sight behind a mailbox, just to make sure he didn't see her. Not that she had much to worry about since he immediately put his gun away and moved to his car, driving away before the cops got there.
Feeling it was safe, she moved out of her hiding spot...
...and immediately felt her blood ran cold. And it wasn't from the rain.
No. Please no.
Slumped against the stone wall bordering the cemetery, blood dripping from five different bullet holes at various points on his body, was her brother.
She didn't remember running to him.
She didn't remember dialing 911 and screaming for help, screaming that her brother had been shot and was dying.
All she remembered was shaking Shining Armor, begging him desperately not to give up, to keep fighting and stay alive.
But it was all for naught.
On June 11th, 2019, Shining Armor passed away; fatally wounded by multiple gunshot wounds.
Another casualty in the war against the Storm King.
10488363
BTW, love your profile pic. King of the Monsters is my favorite Godzilla movie.
LONG LIVE THE KING!
…..
That's really really sad. Though to be fair, this is not her fault, unlike the original where Peter lets the criminal go. This time there's a totally different link to her origin...but now that I think about it, which this may sound dark, but it would be cool if she went more on a revenge path, almost losing herself trying to go after the Storm King.
Also, why did you remind me of 'One More Day'?! I thought we had all forgotten that! I thought that was over!
........ damn.
And you're right. Uncle Ben's particular death is PETER'S unique motivational moment. Each Spider deserves a different version for what motivates them. Some of them is a dead family member by someone they could've stopped. Others have someone critically wounded because of their own hubris. Others like Twi here have motivation because someone good and noble and just who were killed because they were all those things and criminals can't understand that.
I am curious on how Spike's reaction to Shining's death would be.
I be preparing for emotional scene big time when seeing it maybe.
RIP Shining Armor..
You were one of the good ones.
I knew this was coming. I spent the last few days, weeks preparing myself. And as soon as I saw you posted the next chapter, I steeled my nerves so I would be ready.
And it didn't help one damn bit.
So this was the route you decided to go. Twilight's Spider-Sense going off in the presence of Stinger and her dismissing it as just being hyper-sensitive. And because she didn't act on this warning, she lost her brother.
Damn, Defender. You know how to weave a tragic origin story. Rest in peace, Shining Armor. Gone, but never forgotten.
You just had to Uncle Ben him.. Damn it.
I knew it would happen from tbe first chapter but damn it still made me sad.
Caught a few spelling mistakes, might be worth going back through the chapter to fix em.
dang. that's to dark for the storm king to do dude.
I'm just desensitized to the "Uncle Ben" death at this point its why I don't mind stories skipping it.
Personally I'd have preferred something more unique if the idea isn't for her to be a Peter Parker expy.
Meh its a pretty standard comic book cliche.
Good chapter overall if a little unoriginal. I'd have preferred a less by the numbers origin for our hero but whatever, the origin is usually the least interesting part of any super hero story so I can let it slide.
Looking forward to getting to the good stuff.
The origin was shorter then I expected, but I can understand wanting to get to the fun stuff as soon as possible, Nice chapter overall, short and sweet. Btw at the beginning when twilight was thinking about her parents she said hear like she’s hearing something rather here like it’s supposed to be.
Oh dear.
10488461
Thank you
So did you know that Ultraman is finally in marvel?
This would be a good time for her to find her friends like the harry Osborn of this universe
Also as a thought Is Rosette Nebula the Max Model of this story?
Will Sci Twi ever show up in Equestria at one point? I think you could make some cool scenes around that if she accidentally got stuck there for a chapter or something with the pony mane 6 being super confused when they see a wingless twilight using spider powers lol.
This is going to be important later, isn't it?
Oh gosh, I hate this chapter (in a good way). You somehow took the Spider-Man backstory and made it a thousand times sadder.
10489234
I thought Ultraman was DC (being Superman's evil alternate universe counterpart). Unless I'm thinking of the wrong Ultraman, which I probably AM.
10488876
I agree with each and every word of that one. (sniff) :-C _ _ _ _
10488869
EXTREMELY well-said.
10488864
Yeah. I could see the "starting out on the revenge path" (even if that sounds more Batman than Spider-Man) off of this, too. I just hope she will be able to keep herself from going too far.
Excellent work on the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Have to admit that was a beautifully bittersweet scene where Twilight and Shining were visiting their parents' graves (at least until Stinger struck, which is where it turned straight-up tragic). Greatly enjoyed Twilight using the "hypothetical" stuff (though at least here, it makes sense because at this time, it was involving something that, at least until now, really DID only happen in comic books in this universe), particularly with the Take That to "One More Day" and Shining explaining stuff about when HE was starting out as a police officer and the mention of not only their father, but also who I'm guessing to be Flash's mother. And, yeah, I could see where Twilight would INITIALLY write off the stuff with Stinger as just her "Spider-Sense going hypersensitive" (given that she hasn't even had her powers for one full day at this point in time), even if that assumption was wrong in this case.
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
Well that was what everyone was dreading. At least Shining's final words to Sci-Twi will most likely inspire her to become Spider-Girl. It's interesting that Sci-Twi is in no way responsible for the death of her brother here, whereas it is usually status quo for Spider-Man origins for them to be somehow responsible, directly or indirectly, for the death of a friend or loved one, but at the same time the event is still able to teach her the classic "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" lesson. I can only imagine how devastated the rest of the family will be though, especially Cadance and Flurry.
I kinda liked Shining's speech to Sci-Twi about how heroes never give up. In a way it kinda felt like the opening speech from Into the Spider-Verse, when the original Spider-Man narrated that no matter how many times he got knocked down he always got back up.
The whole "villain created the hero" thing might be a bit cliche at times, but I always love seeing their reactions and impending breakdowns when they discover the fact for themselves. The irony hits them the hardest.
10489376
Um, not that jerk
The Ultraman I'm talking about is the Japanese hero who can grow big and fights giant monsters
10489647
Roger that. Thanks very much for clarifying.
Will Twilight have multiple suits in this story? Like, for special situations and stuff.
Well Rosette Nebula be Max Model?
10489922
Well, maybe in a few years (in-universe), which would be a few volumes in the future, but it's much too soon for that at present.
Shining Armor as Uncle Ben is something I never saw coming.
But still...
10488864
Nobody is allowed to forget One More Day. Those who never learn from history are doomed to repeat it. If everyone forgot One More Day, then somebody might make another comic that's just as bad, if not worse.
10488869
Thank you.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good, my friend. They either label it as naivety or foolishness on the part of the hero.
10488876
I won't spoil that.
Yes he was.
10488897
Well, sometimes you can prepare yourself for it. Sometimes you can't.
Well, ultimately it wasn't her fault. Stinger was a hitman and his target was Shining. If he hadn't been able to kill Shining there he would've tried again, possibly bringing the rest of the family into it. Plus, she had no chance to stop the guy. Like she pointed out, plenty of Manehattanites have Concealed Carry Permits. She would've come off as a paranoid/delusional teenager (And already I'm getting Canterlot Wedding vibes.) She may feel like it's her fault, but it's really not. Not like with Peter, who actually had a chance to stop the robber, but didn't. And we all know how that ended.
Years of reading comic books and comic book related media, my friend.
10488907
Different Storm King, different rules.
Plus, Storm King in the movie was basically your standard laughable MLP villain.
THIS Storm King is playing the role of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. The dude's a criminal mastermind who ain't afraid to get his hands dirty, AND he's strong enough to crush a man's skull with his bare hands (and crazy enough to do it.) He's gonna be doing a lot of stuff that he wouldn't do in canon.
10489251
No comment.
10489295
Thank you.
Hey, I hated having to write this chapter. But it had to be done.
10489394
Thank you.
Storm Sentry is basically going to be Spider-Girl's friend on the force once she gets moving. Especially after she beats Stinger the first and second times.
10489411
You'll be seeing some of that next chapter. I promise.
As for the origin, I wanted to do something a bit different compared to most Spider-Man/Girl stories. And while Twilight will blame herself at first, she'll eventually point her finger at the real people responsible.
Spider-Man is pretty much the poster child for the trope Heroic Spirit. Hell, he's the trope image on the page.
And it's also one of my criteria for what I believe makes a "True Hero." No matter how many times they get knocked down, they get back up.
Sad part is, Spider-Girl can't actually say who it was he had killed, or imply who it is least she want to get her identity exposed and have her friends and family pulled into the crossfire. So when she says that he had someone very important to her killed, he'll just say "You're gonna have to be a bit more specific."
Yeah, that'll just get Spider-Girl even more pissed. Cue the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that lands the Storm King in the Prison Infirmary.
10490227
I was sad to write it, but it had to be done.
10490459
Good news on the OMD part..... I DO BELIEVE NICK SPENCER IS ABOUT TO EITHER FINALLY BREAK IT.... OR AT LEAST DRAW PETER TO IT'S EXISTENCE SO HE CAN FINALLY BREAK THE CYCLE!
10490459
I don't care. I wanna forget it. Get it out of my Spiderman!
10490459
still .... dang dude. its still dark.
10490459
Ok.
Looking forward on what to see for Spike there in the fic.
Both Spikes pretty much.
10490471
Especially with that new villain kindred out there
Now that twilight has her powers, what’s her appetite like? Is it just above average or is it like a pregnant lady on steriods?
This music belongs in this chapter.
10497745
It's somewhere in between. Not quite as high as guys like Barry Allen or Wally West, but definitely higher than regular Sci-Twi.
Fair enough, But how high is it compared to a normal human?
You know, I got to thinking about a theme song for this series. My first thought was the classic theme, but then I realized that "Does whatever a spider can" doesn't really rhyme with "Spider-Girl, Spider-Girl", so that kinda bummed me out. But then I thought, "I should listen to the theme from Spectacular Spider-Man again. You'd need to tweak some of the pronouns from male to female, but... yeah, that could work!"
Do you have an opinion on this, and if you like it, do you know someone who'd be willing and able to cover it? My first thought was Wubcake, but I am open to suggestions.
10497982
Someone in her family will notice that she's eating a bit more than usual. Probably twice as much as she usually does.
10498289
Honestly, a version of the theme song would be nice. And the Spectacular Spider-Man theme will always be my favorite.
But I don't know anyone who would be willing to cover that. And I only know Wubcake by a few of her comic dubs on youtube that apparently got taken down because I can't find them. I got like, zero prescience on Youtube outside of the comments section.
10499557
I figured that one was your favorite. Five points for me.
Yeah, I’m not too familiar with how many YouTubers are taking requests. I could ask around, I suppose.
Do they take money for that? Like commissions?
10499701
I have no idea.
Oh if there's a Black Cat for the story
I hope he looks like this
https://cdn.statically.io/img/static.zerochan.net/Joker.%28Persona.5%29.full.2338096.jpg
Maybe with a cool name too
10501531
I do plan on having a version of Black Cat showing up in the future. Though I was debating on whether or not they'd be a boy or a girl. I certainly wasn't planning on having them be Joker from Persona 5.
I will clarify this right now, there will be no love triangle! I! HATE! LOVE TRIANGLES! I HATE THEM AND THEY CAN BURN IN THE DEEPEST PIT OF TARTARUS!
10501590
Maybe so, but A story where you know what the pairing will be...well... I don't know how to put it into words.
Plus it's a natural subject, did everyone forget that Spiderman has dated more than 10 girls?
Also if you hate love triangles, then I would wonder how you feel about archie comics
And anyway I wasn't talking about pairings, mostly because I felt like that would go nowhere. Knowing I would lose that argument
Some possible dialogue for later on:
Sci-Twi: I don't know if the police will catch the skunk that killed Shiny. But, even if they do, he'll probably be back on the streets in a matter of hours.
Spike: So you feel like you have to go after him yourself and at least delay his return to the streets for a few weeks.
Sci-Twi: Look, the only reason I'm trusting YOU with the knowledge of my powers is because you read enough comic books to know a lot more about super-heroics than me.
Spike: So you want to know what common super-hero pitfalls to avoid and what pitfalls are unavoidable but can still be prepared for?
Sci-Twi: Yes. Exactly.
Spike: First of all, you should probably set up some sort of security system for this place and provide me and Cadance with some self-defense gadgets. No matter how careful super-heroes are with their secret identities, there is ALWAYS at least two or three criminals they fight that are smart enough to figure it out.
Sci-Twi: In other words, some crook I capture could figure out who I really am and try to avenge themselves by going after my family, so I should definitely be prepared for THAT.
Spike: Yes. And, that warehouse laboratory you maintain, that could be used as your private lair. One wall for your gadgets and lab equipment, one wall for keeping spare and alternate costumes, one wall for newspaper clippings and assorted other souvenirs of your adventures. You know, to remind yourself of your victories and keep your spirits up.
Sci-Twi: Well, admittedly I DO already do the one wall for the gadgets and lab equipment, but, as for the proposed uses of two more of the walls, I must say that the ideas DO have merit.
Spike: Well, yeah. Though it WOULD be a rare case of the HERO using an abandoned warehouse as a hideout instead of the VILLAIN.
Sci-Twi: You HAVE been reading too many comic books.
Spike: Considering what business you are entering, I would say I actually read JUST ENOUGH comic books. And you are hardly one to talk about reading too much.
Sci-Twi: Fair comment.
And I profusely apologize if this dialogue idea is no good and/or if you already have other/better ideas (both of which are quite possible).
Once Again I did not mention pairings, that is a can of worms I try to avoid to prevent arguments
10503076
I get it.
10503135
Still sorry I mean no ill will
But to be honest I just hope for Twilight to avoid dating and be more in love with herself and befriending a lot of people and heroes
Hey, Twilight spider suit be white and black with the spider web being purple?
10502701
Actually with a bit of tweaking that dialogue could work. We'll have to see.
10504767
Not quite.
Take Spider-Gwen's costume, and replace the white with a royal purple, the black with a very dark midnight blue. The magenta patches on her arms and in her hood are instead black, and instead of those few patches her costume actually has silver web designs all over the royal purple parts. Finishing it all is a white spider emblem that served as the cover art.
Oh, and once she gets new web shooters, her webs will actually be purple.
Why are you making her webs purple? Is it just an artistic choice?