Trust
Chapter Twenty-Six "Trust"
Twenty-eight days remain.
Shining Armor paced through the room with his eyes slammed shut. Twilight, his darling sister, had just briefed him on the details regarding her newly-formed relationship with Peter, who happened to be the masked vigilante, Spider-Mane,andan alien from another dimension. It was almost too much for the pony brain to take in at once, worsened by the news Discord had already left moments ago, yet the idea of his sister dating wasn't what perturbed Shining. If anything, it was surprising.
Ever since she was a foal, the only thing ever to pique Twilight's interest were her studies, and that fascination morphed into an obsession over the years. This, in turn, led the mare to become the socially-awkward, eccentric bookworm she was today. If not for Princess Celestia's influence in pushing for her apprentice to learn the values of friendship, which she was still completing to this day, Twilight, more than likely, would have lived the life of a hermit, spending every waking moment with her muzzle in the books.
The fact there was somepony in the world that made his sister happy romantically filled Shining with a great deal of happiness, but there were several key elements that prevented the stallion from completely trusting Twilight's love interest. Surprisingly, Shining didn't have a problem accepting Peter was not from their world, or even their dimension, in the first place. He nodded inwardly; Shiningdidfind it odd, but it was hardly surprising, considering how weird his sister could be. However, despite being an outsider, Peter seemingly had no quarrel with risking his life for the sake of others, and Shining couldn't help but respect such nobility.
While Shining did not want his sister to lead a dangerous lifestyle, he knew there was no valid point in attempting an argument. Twilight had already proven capable of defending herself when she dealt with the likes of Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Sombra, and to this day, Shining had his sister to thank for saving Cadance (and himself) from Queen Chrysalis. As Princess Celestia's apprentice, it was clear Twilight was meant to face adversity.
Even Shining Armor had been destined for a similar fate as Captain of the Canterlot Guard, but he managed to smile, knowing at least now there was a pony fully capable of protecting his little sister and who would give everything in doing so.
Stopping in his tracks, the stallion's royal blue gaze fell to the ground. Yes, Peter was strong, but was he truly trustworthy? Initially, he assumed Peter was, but considering there was somepony from his world bent on destruction on his way to Equestria, Shining only wanted to be certain for the sake of his kingdom that Peter was not a rogue in disguise. Surveillance seemed like a logical choice to test Parker's intent, but that notion was immediately thwarted by Princess Celestia, who already had Twilight act as Spider-Mane's guide since the day of his arrival.
Bringing his hoof over his forehead, Shining considered the information to the best of his ability, but his migraine made it rather difficult, prompting the stallion to release a disgruntled groan. There was somepony, a male somepony, living with his sister. It may have been innocent for a while, but now that she was dating him, Shining questioned if it was appropriate for Peter to remain under Twilight's observation.
Of course, Twilight insisted that she would have no difficulties carrying out this task despite her blossoming relationship with Peter. Unfortunately, much to Shining's dismay, everypony in the room backed his sister's statement. Twilight's friends were steadfastly loyal, stating how much of a friend Peter had become to them and several others in Ponyville. While they hid it well, Shining could sense some of the mares harbored deep feelings for Parker and were caught off-guard by the revelation. Despite the circumstance, however, they remained supportive.
Spike rose to Peter's defense as well. Twilight had always been something of a big sister to the baby dragon, but despite forming a friendship with everypony around him, Spike still felt like an outcast. However, ever since Peter moved in, the dragon found somepony he could relate to. Although he was magically altered with an Equestrian pony appearance, Peter was still an outsider trying his best to fit in. Through that, Spike was easily able to call Parker a friend.
Shining grinned. Spike didn't want to be direct, but because of how similar he was to Twilight in terms of personality, Peter was the closest thing the baby dragon had to a big brother.
Princess Celestia weighed in her opinion, and much to Shining's chagrin, she offered nothing short of praise for Peter. According to her, he was an earnest, humble, and caring individual, and his influence served as a beacon of hope to those around him. Once the news of her student falling in love with such a pony reached her ears, Celestia couldn't contain her excitement. Peter led a difficult life back on his world, and this certainly seemed like an award for his acts of valor and sacrifice.
Twilight was in good hooves, and a relationship would prove to be an invaluable learning experience.
Eight out of ten. Surely these odds were not in Shining's favor, but there was a slight chance that the last two mares would offered some form of counterpoint to this debate. However, to his shock, awe, and horror, Princess Luna, without a hint of hesitation, aligned herself with Twilight. Shining stood with his mouth agape, amazed by the fact. Princess Luna, in her short time back in Equestria, made it clear she was not nearly as lenient as her devoutly, patient sister.
Trust was not earned easily from the Moon Goddess, yet Luna stood confident in her belief in Peter, not as 'a means to an end' or 'the lesser of two evils', but...
"As a friend," Luna said bluntly, something Shining thought he would never hear from the iron-clad, ice princess. He inwardly begged for an explanation, but his mind yielded, not daring to question Her Highness.
Last and certainly not least was Shining Armor's beautiful wife, Cadance. As his life partner, surely she would have seen her husband's plight and taken his side. 'For better or for worse' was the saying, but like everypony else in the room, Cadance declined, siding with her sister-in-law over the love of her life. Shining's head and shoulders fell in a slump, the cruel aura of defeat seeping into his being.
Cadance was an excellent judge of character, gifted with the ability to sense sincerity in one's heart. With a moniker as prestigious as 'the Goddess of Love', it was hard to argue with the alicorn's instincts. Although, evident by the blank stare he gave his wife, Shining chided himself for not realizing sooner Cadance played a role in pairing Twilight and Peter together. The Goddess of Love did her job well, it seemed.
Shaking his head, Shining stopped in his tracks and shifted his gaze to the ceiling. It was all but unanimous with a ten-to-one result. Peter was trusted despite his alien background and would continue to live with Twilight. Deep down, the stallion felt his heart grow light, a sense of relief lifting the strain from his chest.
A romance in life was not something to be taken lightly. If mishandled or poorly judged, somepony leaves with a broken heart, and that was something Shining never wanted his sister to experience. By divine intervention, he was lucky. Cadance was his first love, and to this day, Shining was happily married to the only girl he'd ever dated. The feat was rare, but the stallion knew from observation that girls would often fool themselves into believing in any relationship, even with a sketchy or lowdown scoundrel.
Meeting such a pony would not have sat well with Shining, and he knew great bodily harm would fall upon anypony who might try to break his little sister's heart.
However, never did he imagine the fates would play into his favor like this. Twilight's closest friends, each in their own way vouched for Peter. Princess Celestia supported her apprentice's choice in a male. Princess Luna deemed Peter her friend and seemed to approve wholeheartedly. Even Shining's loving wife had nothing bad to say about her sister-in-law's coltfriend. If somepony could garner that amount of support from some of the most important figures in Twilight's life, it had to mean something.
At the very least, Shining could rest easy knowing his sister was with a good pony, but for the sake of his protective nature, the unicorn wanted to test Peter himself personally.
"Okay, Twily. Since everypony trusts Peter, I'll try my best to do the same," Shining stated, earning smiles from the mares in the room and a wide grin from his sister. However, before anypony could hope to celebrate, the stallion raised his hoof, not allowing his stern expression to leave his features. Twilight stammered, unsure of what to make of her brother's behavior, but once Cadance approached his side, Shining brought his hoof over hers and smiled, albeit roughly. "There's something the three of us, Spike, and Peter need to do tomorrow. Is that okay, Twily?"
Ecstatic, the purple unicorn clapped her hooves together. "Sure, Shining!" What seemed like a troubling situation diminished, meaning everything was in the right. Whatever her brother wanted now surely couldn't have been too outrageous, and it would be a great time to have Shining and Peter, easily the two most important stallions in her life, get properly acquainted. "What do you want us to do?"
Twenty-seven days remain.
Twilight paced across her room erratically, pausing to occasionally tackle a menial task in between steps. Unfortunately, the request her brother made, while simple and innocent in most eyes, carried an unbearable amount of weight for the mare, threatening to crush her spirit. It was something she considered, but due to the importance of other matters, it got swept away into the back of her mind. For one who often prioritized situations with ease, Twilight seemed to have grown unnaturally careless in the span of a few days.
Her relationship, as much as she loved it, was altering her mindset. Twilight sighed lowly, praying to the stars that she would adjust to these emotions much sooner than later.
The plan was to meet in Canterlot at noon. Twilight stole a glance at the nearest clock, which read 8:15 A.M., and exhaled. 'The early bird gets the worm' was a saying she followed diligently, perhaps to a fault, but because of her ethics, the unicorn had already taken her shower, combed her mane, and was left with the chore of finding suitable attire for the approaching event. Despite having a limited selection of choices, Twilight groaned, finding it impossible to pick an appropriate dress.
However, her ears perked as an idea came to mind. She had woken Spike and Peter before taking her shower, which was roughly an hour ago, giving the stallion plenty of time to get situated.
Nodding, Twilight left the sanctity of her room and trotted downstairs. She could ask Peter for his opinion on what dress she should wear. The temperature in her face rose, leaving the mare's cheeks a dewy shade of pink. Never had it crossed her mind to ask anypony such a thing with the exception of Rarity, whose sense of style was in a league of her own. It made little sense, considering Peter wasn't exactly a fashion guru. His tacky costume was enough evidence to point out that fact.
She was better off asking Spike, who was still upstairs brushing his teeth, but the mare was more comfortable wanting to know what her stallion thought was cute on her. Twilight chastised herself for thinking so childishly, even more so for not understanding why this became an issue suddenly.
'I'll ask Cadance about that later,'her mind stated, grumbling afterward as her heart begged to find Peter.
Unfortunately, the stallion was easy to find, and not in the way Twilight had hoped. Peter was on the couch with his hooves wrapped soundly around his pillow, sound asleep as the drool from his mouth seeped into the cushion. Twilight's brow twitched madly at the sight. Peter was not tidying himself up in any manner or searching through his wardrobe for something suitable. Granted, the latter seemed unnecessary since the stallion literally only had three sets of clothing, from his Gala suit, to his Crusader's scarf, and the pair of tights he wore to death.
Instead, Peter was wasting time, sleeping while he could have been preparing. Twilight inhaled, taking in as much air as her lungs could hold, before it reached its capacity, forcing the mare to exhaled to the greatest of her ability.
"Wake up!" She yelled, simultaneously snatching the quilt from the stallion's body.
However, Peter didn't budge, replying with a sleepy smile instead. "Aw, do I have to go school?"
"Peter..." Twilight edged closer to the stallion until her face was only inches away from his. It was a contrast. Somepony so powerful should not have been so cute or innocent. At another time, she would have watched the stallion, allowing him to roam the carefree world of dreams, but today was not such a time. Biting down on her lip, Twilight reared her head and lunged it forward with great force. "WAKE UP!"
Peter's heart raced to match the velocity of lightspeed, and the world filled his mind just as rapidly. He remained still, mentally trying to stabilize his rattled nerve, but Twilight's voice echoed throughout his ears, making the task impossible. His muscles shivered involuntarily as he finally managed to peer down on Twilight's furious gaze, which was upside down apparently. Peter's eyes widened. He glanced at his hooves, finding them imbedded in the ceiling.
Sadly, Twilight scared him so soundly that he jumped, tremendously, but before he could hope to react, his powers failed, leaving the stallion to fall from his position, bounce off the sofa, and crash face-first on the hardwood floor. A stray tear fell from his eye. The physical pain he was experiencing proved to be quite great, but his crushed pride took a heavy toll on his psyche. Twilight did things to him that were unusually cruel, and being the sap that he was, Peter was destined to take such abuse until the end of time.
"Is it time to go already?" Peter sarcastically asked, running his hoof through his mangled mane. "Or is it the apocalypse? I get them both mixed up sometimes."
"Neither, but it will be the apocalypse if you don't get everything together!" Twilight blankly replied before clapping her hooves together. "Come on! Chop, chop! We have to be on schedule!"
"Right, ri-." Peter broke into a yawn as he forced himself back to his hooves. "Right. Don't want to be late. What time is it by the way?" His senses were slow to return, perhaps due to the migraine he had, but once Peter stole a glance at the clock across the room, he turned around, giving the mare a slack-jawed look of plea. "Twilight! It's not even nine o'clock yet!"
Twilight's stony frown lightened, matching one of exasperation. "No, it's not, but we need to make sure you look your best. Now let's go."
Peter prevented himself from devolving into a childish argument. His mind droned. It would have been easy to simply respond with a 'make me' or 'just five more minutes', but the stallion dared not to test Twilight's patience this morning. After receiving a pair of scoldings, one for being lazy and the second for ignoring her plea earlier, Peter followed Twilight upstairs past Trixie, who stood at her doorway with bags under her violet irises.
The former magician brushed the sleep from her eyes. "What is with all the commotion?"
"Not sure, really." Peter dumbly responded, stopping in his tracks. He aimed his hoof at the mare standing behind him without taking his attention away from Trixie. "Something about Canterlot. I don't know the details, and Twilight's being really secretive about it."
"For good reason. She told me everything last night while you were sleeping." Turning on her hoof, Trixie made her way back into her bedroom. "I wish you the best of luck, Parker."
What little enthusiasm Peter had diminished, turning into uncertainty. "Luck? What do I need that for?"
"Let's just say you'll be in for an exhausting experience. Just don't do anything stupid," Trixie added before slamming her door shut.
Peter's eyes widened. Trixie was not one to mince words, and the fact that Twilight told her what was going on while keeping it a secret from him only added to the stallion's befuddlement. Twilight continued to drag him along to her room, giving Peter no time to figure things out. However, his mind continued to run. Perhaps there was a chance Twilight only wanted to surprise her special somepony with something nice. Considering how high-strung the mare got over the smallest of things, like girls in general, the possibility of that being the scenario was great.
A wide grin formed on the stallion's face, but Trixie's unusually, villain-like laughter echoed from her room and reached his ears. Then again, there was a chance Twilight was leading Peter to his doom. After all, he was the stooge who fell for the simplest of traps despite having a sixth sense for danger, and it wasn't like he had much good luck in his life.
'I hate being the good guy sometimes.'
Peter started to grimace before he caught Twilight's eye and straightened his position. The golden exterior of many of Canterlot's buildings were bright enough to bring light to the night, and it was worsened during the day, threatening to blind those with poor vision who ventured carelessly. It was an exaggeration, but Peter truly felt blind walking through such a bright city as he weakly used his hoof to shield the sun from his eyes. Celestia's influence on the world was both spiritual and physical, it seemed.
Twilight's dress seemed to have gone perfectly with the surrounding environment, and to make matters worse, her stallion was the one who picked it for her. The bright, yellow design was simple with a light streak around the waist, but Peter felt it was perfect, especially with the pink neck strap that matched the perfect strand of hair in the middle of her violet mane. It was his own fault, yet Peter was fine with the choice for Twilight's beauty made the simplest of things look gorgeous.
"So, are you going to tell me what's going on now?" Peter asked, leaning his head over until his cheek brushed against Twilight's. Sadly, like the twenty times before, the mare ignored his question, replying with a flustered frown. She trotted ahead, just enough to avoid contact, but Peter sighed lowly, frustration beginning to run its course. "Okay, it's enough you wake me up and drag me out of bed. That happens every morning. I'm used to that at this point, but what I don't get is why you don't want to clarify things with me? I mean, this is kind of unfair what you're doing."
Silence was golden in some cases, but Peter begged for the opposite, especially in this case. Twilight even refused to give him eye contact, making certain her back faced him instead. Peter scowled slightly and gritted his teeth before exhaling under his breath. However, as if she finally heard, or felt, his frustration, Twilight stopped in her tracks, cuing Spike and Peter to follow her example. The mare inhaled deeply before bringing her hoof over her face.
"We finally made it," she whispered, shifting her head to face the building on her right, all while keeping her back turned to the dragon and pony behind her. "Spike, you go on ahead. Let everypony know we're here. I want to talk to Peter alone for a moment."
Spike shared a glance with Peter, who only gave an affirming nod. The baby dragon took the hint and followed Twilight's instruction, running through the yard. It was at that point Peter realized how large the abode was. Nearly every building in Canterlot was an exceptional size, but this one in particular seemed larger than most by a story or two. It's design was intricate with snow-white and golden bricks patterned with prestigious care.
"Man, whoever lives here must seriously be rich. I think I saw this place once in the 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Snooty'," Peter whispered, scratching the side of his cheek.
Before he could analyze the abode further, Twilight suddenly turned to face him, albeit while keeping her gaze fixed on the ground. Peter tilted his head and furrowed his brow. It felt like an eternity since the girl actually acknowledged his presence, and the stallion's mind begged for his mouth to unleash a verbal thrashing. However, the inside of his chest tightened once his hazel irises spotted the saddened frown on the mare's face.
"I'm sorry, Peter," she said softly, closing the gap between herself and the stallion until they were only inches apart.
The young male blinked dumbly, attempting to piece together the puzzle behind the mare's sudden three-sixty. When the morning started, she was furious, frightening Peter so hard that he hit the ceiling, literally. Then, minutes after that, Twilight turned into an innocent angel, asking for his opinion on which dress he thought looked the cutest on her figure. Not to mention, he received a small gift for being 'sweet', but the moment eleven o'clock struck, she devolved into a new attitude and gave her stallion the silent treatment for an hour.
Looking somewhat flabbergasted, Peter only shrugged. Angels one moment then banshees the next. Girls were a plethora of emotions in any world, and he only wished they'd learn to make up their mind. However, Twilight wrapped her hooves around Peter's neck, washing away any shred of anger the stallion may have held against the mare. Sighing, he also wished that he wasn't a complete wimp for the opposite sex, too.
"I didn't mean to treat you so badly." Her voice cracked, causing Peter's ear to twitch. "My brother wanted me to keep this a secret from you." Relinquishing her grip, Twilight took a step back, using her hoof to wipe her eyes clean of any building tears. "You know I'm not good at keeping secrets."
Peter grinned. Now everything was making some form of sense. "Explains the silent treatment." Twilight looked away shamefully as she brushed her hooves against each other. However, her eyes widened once Peter's lips pressed onto her forehead, prompting the mare's cheeks to burn. "Next time, justsayit's a secret. It's a lot easier than the silent treatment." His voice was light, matched only by the warm smile he bore. "Save the silent treatment for when you're mad or whenever we argue. That's what most girls do, I think."
"Okay." Twilight's lips curled into a smile. Her stallion, once again, found a way to remain positive when given all the reasons to act the opposite. She loved him so much. Rearing forward, the mare pressed her forehead against Peter's, shivering involuntarily as her horn brushed the side of his. "Let's argue later. I want you to stay on your best behavior today."
Their eyes remained centered on each other, but Peter managed to place his hoof over Twilight's. "You said your brother wanted to keep this a secret? I guess he wanted to surprise me." He lowered his head to kiss her. "Don't worry. I won't embarrass you in front of your brother. If I wanted to do that, I would have worn my costume."
"My brother's here, but..." Twilight broke away, hesitantly, and led Peter through the yard. Once she reached with door, the mare used her free hoof to give a series of knocks. Afterward, Twilight's smile faded, a worried frown taking its place. "...it's not him I worried about."
Before Peter could ask for an explanation, the door opened, revealing a stallion and mare. The blue-coated male's yellow irises softened upon falling on Twilight, yet they hardened the moment they fell on Peter. Parker chuckled nervously at the reaction, quickly averting the stallion's gaze by shifting his own on the mare by his 'aggressor's' side, but Peter's eyes widened at an unusually, familiar sight. While her large, blue irises and gray coat were different, the streaks of violet and white in her mane were nostalgic, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
Peter shook his head, shifting his sight from the mare in the house to the one by his side. There was a resemblance, a strong one even. At first, Peter figured the mare was Twilight's older sister. It was clear there was a bit of age difference between the two, evident by the gray mare's thicker physique and mature smile, but the stallion's mind sunk, playing into the other possibility.
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" Twilight happily said, causing Peter's face to turn a pale shade of white. Wrapping both of her hooves around one of his own, she managed to hold her smile. "This is Peter! My coltfriend!"
The muscles in his body grew stiff. Waving his free hoof robotically, Peter forced a smile onto his face. "Ha... Hi." His mind sighed.'Dinner with the parents. Way to go, Parker. Twilight set a trap, and I sprang it gloriously.'
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Nice batman reference at the end
As much as I love the whole meet the parents deal, need I remind you...WORLD ENDING!!!!
9122820
Ya but meeting the parents is way werse then the world ending
WOW. Went from the "elder sibling confrontation" straight to the "dinner with her folks".
9122820
Okay... I get it. Really. But think about it this way.
With what they know now, aside from just coming up with a plan of attack... what exactly could they do?
Yes, they have the imminent doom over their heads. But unless you can actually do something about it, why wouldn't you do something like this?
Peter does not have his powers back, and his only idea right now is just to wait for them to return, since that's what he always does. There's no way for him to train right now, and at this point, we know only a cutie mark will let his powers return.
That's either going to come back right at a climactic moment (like at the final fight) or doing these exact activities - taking time to get to know himself and his friends/loved ones. The people (ponies) he wants to protect.
Though from a writing standpoint, I kinda understand. The undercurrent of tension needs to be prevalent despite the individual activities. It still needs to be felt. But it doesn't feel overly jarring, in my personal opinion.
Spike says that he feels a connection with Peter and calls him a friend, but compared to the Mane Six, Spike has the least amount of interaction with Peter in this story, so this comes off as lazy.
10086144
Agreed.
Ah, hello Arkham Asylum references.
You could've just kissed him. I'm sure that would have woken him up reaaal quick.
good chapter,good luck Peter😉