> Equestria needs Heroes > by ultspideyfan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Life without Heroes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 Life without Heroes A mare galloped through the streets of Ponyville. The unicorn had entered the Golden Oak Library, dropping a bag in the process. "Twilight, your back!" Twilight levitated the bag over to her table, setting it down carefully, as if it were a filly. "Spike, I need to ask you a favor." "Like you always do." the teenage dragon said with a smirk. Twilight however wasn't amused by Spike's sarcastic comment. "I need you to give that bag to Applejack, tell her it's for him." Spike nodded, he grabbed the bag and walked out the door for Sweet Apple Acres. Sweet Apple Acres wasn't what it used to be. It was heavily guarded, families lived in poverty, and a black cloud seemed to hang over it, figuratively and literal. Spike made it to the barn of the Apple family, to find Applejack sitting in the mud, with three apples in front of her. "Applejack, I...I have something that you need to give to him." Applejack looked up at Spike, showing off her lack of sleep. Applejack took the bag and looked in it. Spike waited for what seemed like an eternity, before Applejack spoke. "Why did ya bring this here?" Spike looked down at the farm pony, stunned by the attitude she put behind her words. "Twilight thinks that-" "She just wants the worst to happen to him! Does she know that they will kill him on sight?! They will kill my baby brother if he puts this on!!!" Spike decided it was best to drop the conversation. He tried to take the bag away from Applejack, but the farm pony wrapped her hooves around it. "Just...just show it to him, please. Equestria needs heroes." Spike left, leaving Applejack to think about his last words. "Equestria needs heroes." 'Do we?' she thought to herself. "So, did she do it?" Twilight asked as Spike returned from his trip. "She doesn't want him going back out there anymore. She said that they'd kill him if he does." Twilight looked down at the ground. "You should've tried harder!!!" Twilight's sudden outburst startled the dragon. "Twilight, she's right. Don't you understand that?! Sombra will kill him if he comes back! He'll-" "We need him!!!" Twilight looked over to a picture that was hanging on her wall. It was her, with a unicorn stallion. Twilight stared at the picture. "I need him." > Memories > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 Memories The sun shown in the sky, but thanks to the black cloud that hovered over Equestria, no one could see it. Twilight Sparkle had been in her house, sitting on her bed, looking at old pictures of her and a unicorn stallion. She levitated one to her, seeing the stallion made her heart skip a beat, but it didn't feel the same. She wanted to see him in person, it had been far too long since she's seen him. "Why are you hiding Peter? You were the one who was never afraid of any evil you faced, yet, your hiding away on your farm." Twilight closed her eyes, wanting to recall all her old memories with Peter Pony Parker Apple. Twilight trotted down to Sweet Apple Acres, with a present for her coltfriend. Twilight finally made it to the Apple families farm, seeing her stallion, bucking a few apple trees with his sister, Applejack. "If ya buck too hard, y'all will put a hole in the tree." Applejack teased. Peter looked over to his sister with a dumbfounded expression. "Hey! I don't buck that hard!" Peter was acting like a filly again, causing Twilight to giggle to herself. "There there. It's okay." Applejack placed hoof on Peter's mane, treating like a filly. "I'm not a filly ya know." "I know that, but you sure are acting like one." If Applejack wasn't family, then Peter would have blown a fuse! 'He doesn't like it when he's treated like a filly.' Twilight took note of that. "Peter!" Twilight called out to the unicorn. Peter cocked his head to the sound of his name, only to see Twilight Sparkle. Peter trotted over to her, noticing the box. "What's in the box?" Before she could set it down, the box was engulfed in a blue aura. Peter opened the box and grabbed one of the cupcakes. "Cupcakes, for me? Y'all shouldn't have." Peter ate the cupcake, giving Twilight a hug as he stuffed another one in his mouth. "Twilight. Twilight. Twilight!!!" Twilight opened her eyes, to see Spike. "Are you okay?" Twilight looked down at the picture. "Twilight, are you crying?" Twilight looked up at Spike, her cheeks were stained with tears. "I miss him. I miss him so much Spike." Spike wrapped his arms around Twilight, comforting his friend. "I miss him too Twilight." Spike paused and looked out the window. "Come on Spike! Keep up!" Peter did a full on gallop before jumping high into the night sky. Peter fired a web-line and zipped through the streets. Spike tried keeping up with the hero, but it proved to be pointless. "Alright you win. Your faster than the Iron-Spider." Peter landed on his barn, looking out over the farm. Spike landed next to him, removing the helmet as he sat. "I want to tell you something Spike." Spike looked at Peter, the mask blocking his facial expression. "If there comes a time when heroes are gone, never lose hope. We will always return. And I promise you that Spike. If I don't return, y'all better pester me until I do." Spike laughed. He finally stopped when he noticed Peter wasn't laughing. "Promise me you'll find me if that ever happens." Spike looked at Peter. The hero's white lenses were staring deep into his very being. "I promise." Spike snapped back into reality. He looked down at Twilight, a smile plastered on his face. "Tomorrow, we bring back Spider-Mane." Twilight looked up at Spike. "How?" Spike looked at a picture of him and Peter. His words echoed in his mind. "If I don't return, y'all better pester me until I do." "We're going to agitate the spider within him." > LET ME OUT > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 LET ME OUT 'Here goes nothing.' Applejack opened the door to Peter's room. It was dark, like a nightmare. "Peter, dinners ready." Peter didn't respond with his usual grumbling. Instead, he didn't respond at all. "Peter, are you okay?" Peter didn't respond. Applejack became worried. 'Did something happen?' "Peter-" "Spike gave ya something." Applejack froze. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Like Peter knew what had happened that day. Applejack didn't want to answer Peter's question, instead she blocked that question out of her mind. "Dinner is ready. Now come down here and eat." Peter didn't move. Applejack sighed. She looked into the darkness. "Apple Bloom's here Pete. She wants to see you." "Apple Bloom?" the way he said it, sounded like he hadn't heard that name in years. Peter got off his bed and walked over to the light. Peter's mane was messy, he had a scar above his right eye, that started from his eyebrow and stopped under his eye. The scar was easily visible, to everypony who looked at Peter. "Then let's not keep her waiting." Peter said with a smile. Applejack stopped him though. "What?" Peter asked. "Your beard, don't you want to shave it?" Peter looked at his sister annoyingly. "No." Dinner wasn't any different. It was the same thing they've been eating, for the past...three years. Peter was back in his room, sitting next to his window. He looked down at the farm. 'Who's that?' Peter noticed two figures walking over to his window. Is that...Spike and Twilight? What are they doing here?' Twilight and Spike began throwing things at Peter's window. "Do you think we have his attention?" Twilight asked Spike. "Oh I know we have his attention. Twilight some soldiers will be here in a few minuets. I don't want them to hurt you." Twilight nodded her head, dropped the junk on the floor, and headed back home. Spike continued throwing things at Peter's window. "Come on!!!! You told me to not lose hope, that you heroes will come back, but you know what?! You guys never came back!!!! Why are you hiding your true self?! Why do you hide behind a mask?! Come on and break free!!!!" "Sir, we're going to give you to the count of three to stop this. One...two-" the soldier never made it to the count of three. Spike punched the soldier in the face. Another soldier came galloping over to Spike, knocking him down with a swift kick to the head. Spike fell to his knees, screaming for the spider inside his friend to take back control! The two soldiers began to beat down on Spike. Spike felt his nose go soft and his arm being popped out of place. "You through?" One of the soldiers asked. Spike's vision was blurred. His head was leaking blood. He smiled. "Is that all you got?" 'Poor Spike. He gonna be beaten to death. All over a dead hero.' "Dead you say?" Peter felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that voice. "Are ya going to just sit there and let Spike die?!" 'I don't want him to die, but-' "But what?!" 'I can't go back out there. They'll kill me!!!!' The voice in Peter's head grew silent. Peter could hear the clanging of shackles in the back of his mind. "Do y'all honestly think this will hold me???" Peter didn't answer. His body was beginning to shake, as goosebumps rolled over him. "Speechless? When was I ever speechless???" Peter didn't answer, the sounds of the shackles became louder. "Let me out." 'No.' "Let me out!" Peter wrapped his hooves around his head, the pain becoming unbearable. "LET ME OUT!!!!" Peter's mind suddenly became silent. He trotted over to the bag that he had taken from Applejack's room. He levitated a canister out of the bag, the black liquid inside of it seemed to be alive. Spike took another punch to the face. Spike's blood had stained the soldiers hooves. "I'm...I'm sorry." "Sorry for what. throwing garbage at somepony's property?" One soldier said. "Or for attacking a soldier?" the second one said. Spike ignored the two soldiers. "I'm sorry for bringing you out!!!" the soldiers became confused on Spike's statement. "Leave him alone." a dark voice sent chills down the soldiers spines. It sounded as if a demon was talking to them. The two soldiers turned around, to see a figure in black, perched on top of the Apple families house. "Remember me?" the dark figure said. His voice echoed in the ears of the two soldiers. > Spider-Mane Returns > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 Spider-Mane Returns Spike smiled. 'Show them what ya got.' As if Peter heard his thoughts, he jumped off his house. The two soldiers fired up their horns, but webbing covered them, shorting them out. Peter landed on one of the soldiers, using his strength and sticky hind hooves to lift him up into the sky. Peter webbed him onto the wall of his house. Peter landed back down on the ground. The soldier decided it was best to run, but he didn't get far. Peter fired a web-line at the soldier, the line attached itself to the hind legs, causing the soldier to trip. Peter pulled on the web-line, dragging the soldier towards him. 'We can smell his fear Apple.' Peter smiled to himself. 'Does it smell good?' Peter could feel the symbiote thrive on his fur. 'Smells so good.' Peter let out a laugh. The soldier was shaking as Peter lifted him up off the ground with his magic. "Time to feed." Peter said. Spike smiled as he watched what Peter had done to the soldier. The suit transformed him into a more monstrous form of him. Peter was bigger, the suit now had a mouth, a tongue, and teeth. Peter now looked like Venom. 'That's new. He never used fear before.' Spike didn't mind though. Spike got up off the ground placing one of his claws on his head. Peter changed back into his normal Spider-Mane form. He had webbed the soldier to his house. "What did you do to him?" Spike asked. "I might have "accidentally" used the symbiote to make him go, night night. Spike smiled. Spike's head became engulfed with magic. "What are you-" "Healing you." the magic aura around his head disappeared. Spike placed his claw on his head, nothing. Not a scratch. It was just like this morning. "No need to thank me." Peter turned to the soldiers webbed to his house. "What are you going to do with them?" "I'm gonna send a message to Sombra." Peter's horn lit up, the two soldiers glowed. "Are you-" before Spike could ask the question, the two soldiers disappeared. Peter jumped onto the wall of his house, scaling it to his window. "Wait!!!" Peter stopped, and looked back at Spike. "Does that mean Spider-Mane is back?!" Peter looked at down at him. Peter climbed into his bedroom. He came back seconds later. "Give this to Twilight. Tell her to give it to Celestia." "Peter, no one has seen your older sisters." Peter laughed. "Tell Twilight to gather her friends and go straight for the news station in Manehattan. Tell her to read this when she's there." "Why?" "So everypony can know that their heroes are back." It took Spike a minute to register the last part. He looked up to Peter. "Do ya honestly think that I'm the only hero that returned? I want everypony to know that we're ready to take on Sombra." Peter climbed into his room, closing the window. Peter's lifeless body was lying in his bed. He hadn't noticed an owl fly into his open window. Peter woke up to the sudden noise of wings. The first things that Peter had noticed was, one: his window was open, and two: Owlicious had given him a letter. Peter used his magic to open the letter. Dear Baby Brother It seems like you and Bruce's little "invasion" turned out to be a success. Me and Celestia are back in Sweet Apple Acres. It turns out, because of Spider-Mane's and Batmane's "little party" you brought more heroes out of hiding. Even Iron Pony is back. Keep this up and maybe you'll have all the heroes return. From, your sister Luna Peter smiled. 'So, that's why my window's open.' Peter left his room and trotted downstairs, to see Applejack, Big Mac, Celestia, and Luna, all sitting on the family couch. "Peter, your awake. Have you seen the your most recent changes?" Celestia said, causing Peter to raise a brow. "Changes???" Peter asked, unsure of what his sister had meant. "Y'all look much younger without the beard." Applejack said with a smirk. Peter was even more confused. He trotted over to his restroom and saw that his beard, was completely gone! Peter also noticed that his mane was also shorter. Peter left the restroom and walked back over to his family. "Before y'all ask what happened, we want to give you something." Luna's horn lit up. "It was Applejack's idea to give you this." Luna levitated an all to familiar red and blue costume. "We couldn't find your old one, so we asked Rarity to make you one from scratch." Applejack stated. The costume was much different from his original one. It wore a more serious expression. The spider on the chest was far more better than his old one. "We also fixed up these." Celestia levitated Peter's web-shooters over to him. "So, are ya ready to go be The Spectacular Spider-Mane again?!" Peter smiled as he levitated the mask over to him. "Look out Sombra, here comes Spider-Mane."