Ultimate Spider-Coltby Dusty Old QrowChaptersPower and Responsibility: Chapter OnePower and Responsibility: Chapter TwoPower and Responsibility: Chapter ThreePower and Responsibility: Chapter FourPower and Responsibility: Chapter SixPower and Responsibility: Chapter FivePower and Responsibility: Chapter OnePower and Responsibility Chapter One They say no heroes are born, only made. Some say it requires bravery, or being in the right place at the right time, to become a hero. Those people are wrong. It takes pain, and suffering. It takes learning, and regret. I have been through all these things. These things that make a true hero. My name is Featherweight Clover, and I am no hero. "This is the day of reckoning, Clover.... I'm delivering a message from Faust.... Faust wants this to happen." My opponent rises from the flames of the wreckage, and stares at me with hatred from her cold, angry eyes. I return the glare, and lift the nearest, heaviest object I can find. "Shut..." I then throw the piece of the carriage down on top of my foe as hard as I can. "UP!!!!" I hear a satisfying crush as the object crashes onto my dying opponent. I breath a sigh of relief, causing a pain to course through my arrow wound. The wreckage explodes, throwing me back to the front lawn of my house. Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves... My peaceful slumber is suddenly shattered by the ringing of my alarm clock, which I slam my hoof upon, stopping the assault on my ears. I groan, and look at the time after wiping the remnants of sleep from my eyes. "7:01.... I'm late!" Great, Feather. You're gonna be late for the trip to Twilight's demonstration! I flutter out of bed, and rush out of my room, saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle, and out into Ponyville. We live in the center of town, and the school was near the edge, so I had a ways to go. Even if I flew, it would take about ten minutes. Well, that's ten minutes earlier. I force my small wings to flap, and I rise into the air. Okay.... Which way was the school? Oh yeah. East. I turn and fly as fast as I can towards the school. As I turn onto the dirt path that leads to the school, I get a view of the window to see that Twilight Sparkle was already at the school, giving her "Super special" demonstration. "No, no, no..." I grumble. I'm insanely late. I push through the door, and into Miss Cheerilee's classroom. "S-sorry I'm late... I overslept...." I mumble, and make my way to my desk in the back of the room, while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started snickering to each other under their breath. "Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara. Stop that." Cheerilee ordered. The two fillies stopped and looked at each other smugly. "Now then, miss Sparkle, you were talking about your fossilized arachnids?" Cheerilee says to the purple Unicorn, who had been standing there, giving a presentation about the different types of bugs. "As I was saying..." Twilight began. "Arachnids are the special part of this presentation, as they aren't bugs. As their name says, they are a completely different family of organisms. This one," Twilight's horn glows as a spider, who was a sharp, dark purple, was levitated out of it's box. "Is the Black Widow. It is not the deadliest spider out there, but it's close. "And, what's kinda interesting, is that after the females are done mating, the eat their husband!" This prompts an eeew! from most of the class, but not me. I looked on with interest as Twilight went over more species of spiders, such as the Daddy Longlegs, and the Brown Recluse. With each spider that was demonstrated, the class became more interested in the subject. But, alas, the bell had finally rung, and school was over. I was just about to leave, when the dynamic duo themselves, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, appeared. I didn't notice them, and kept gathering my stuff. The two stood, just watching me. Then I stood up and accidentally ran my head into Silver Spoon's. We fell back with a grunt, landing on our flanks. Pain was shimmering throughout my skull. "Hey! What's you're problem?!" The fillies yell. After I stood back up, I shrink back, and start slightly shaking. My brain starts stammering for ideas of what to say. "You're just a skinny good for nothing nerd!" Diamond Tiara shouts. "What makes you think you can just come up and beat Silver Spoon's face in?!" At that moment, my brain then decided on the only logical conclusion. "Ha ha.... Bye." I stutter, before flying over the two fillies and bolting out the door. As soon as I was over the two, I drop to the ground and run out of there, tripping over my own hooves and knocking over one of the spider cages. The glass shatters onto the floor, but this doesn't affect me as I was already out of the room. I run out of the schoolhouse and leap into the sky. I take a look behind me, to see nothing. Just the clear skies of Ponyville. I let out a small chuckle, and land in front of my house. It's nothing special. It has a stone exterior and a hay roof, like most houses. It had two windows on the front, and between them is a small door that Big Macintosh will have a hard time getting through. On the inside is just like what you’d expect: Old couches, raggedy walls and floors, and bookshelves that held books, obviously, and many pictures of Aunt Shoeshine, Uncle Lucky and myself. Aunt Shoeshine is a mare with a light blue coat, and an even brighter blue mane. She even has blue eyes. Her cutie mark is of two horseshoes interlocking together. Uncle Lucky is a stallion with a darker color of blue for his coat, and a black (Or just a really dark blue) mane. His eyes were the same color as Shoeshine’s’: light blue. His cutie mark is of a four leaf clover. “Aunt Shoeshine? Uncle Lucky?” I call. Taking a look around, I discover a note on the kitchen table. I walk over to it and pick it up. It was written in messy hoofwriting: Lucky’s. Feather, Your Aunt and I went out to Sugarcube Corner to get the cake for your party tonight. Happy birthday, Uncle Lucky. "Party? Huh. I forgot today was my birthday..." I smile, and set the note down and walk upstairs to my room. Power and Responsibility: Chapter TwoPower & Responsibility Chapter Two “Alright class, today, we are going to Canterlot Laboratories,” Cheerilee exclaims as she stands at the front of the classroom. The black board has "Field trip" written on it in big letters. The walls of the room are a solid, bright yellow, unlike most teachers' green or brown. "And I expect every single one of you to be on your best behavior." The purple earth pony says, now walking between each row. I am starting to get really ecstatic. A trip to Canterlot Laboratories! That's only the one place in the all of Equestria that has the most brilliant minds from not only Equestria, but the Griffon Kingdom, and even Zebrica! I can't believe it! I thought to myself. This is gonna be awesome! "The school board has generously given us lunches for every pony. You will get them on the ride there. We'll leave in ten minutes, so make sure that all of your stuff is put away!" Twilight stood in Canterlot Laboratories, along with Spike, her faithful dragon assistant. She held one of the spiders from her demonstration yesterday with Cheerilee's class in her hoof. "Spike, are you a fan of the Mythology of the Titans?" Spike looks at the spider in Twilight's hoof. "Uh... No, Twilight." They sit in a dark room, only being illuminated by the light from various machines scattered around the room. In front of them sat a machine which displayed a 3D model of the spider. Another sat adjacent, with a blank yellow screen. The final one was just a lot of buttons, each with a different purpose. "The story goes that Twilus- You know of Twilus, right? She heard of a unicorn mare who could weave better than her. Twilus became envious, and came down to Equestria, and destroyed the Mare's creations. The mare saw what happened, and cursed the Titans. The next day, she hung herself. Twilus took pity on the mare, and turned her into the first Spider." Based on the comic book character by Stan Lee... "Twilight Sparkle, you have a letter from Celestia." One of the Laboratory's mail carriers says as she flies over. "She says it's important." The mare finally reaches Twilight, handing her the letter. "Thank you." Twilight says politely. And based on the character in the Television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic by Lauren Faust. ULTIMATE SPIDER-COLT I sit by myself at a table set in the middle of the lunch room in Canterlot Laboratories. My table is by Scootaloo's, my friend since we began school, but she is busy talking to her friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. So I sit, reading up on advances in technology since Celestia and Luna saved Equestria from Discord. I smile to myself. "Interesting... Cannons have vastly improved, and we even have bow and arrows that can fire by themselves...." As I read on, my smile grew bigger, each advancement in technology, defensive, offensive, or even home supplies, interested me even more. The most explained topic in the book was of guns, which were like mechanical bows and arrows, but with lead bullets. Then, something whizzes by my face. I let out a small yelp, and look to where the object came from. I see Strike and Dumb Bell, my ever so loving bullies since grade school. They are both unicorns, though Dumb Bell is more on the... heavy side, while Strike is more muscle. Strike is a sharp cyan, similar to Rainbow Dash, but with an orange mane and tail. His Cutie Mark is of a football flying through a field goal. His eyes are a dark blue. Dumb Bell is a brown color. He has red eyes, a silver mane and tail, and his beefy arms were, well, beefy. his cutie mark is of a football helmet. “That’s a five pointer!” Strike laughs, holding a hay sandwich in his hoof. Dumb Bell was laughing as well, only a little quieter. “No way! That was more of a three pointer, at best.” Dumb Bell argues. I decide to just leave them be. Show the bullies no reaction, they eventually stop, right? Wrong. A sandwich hits me directly in the face, covering me with the tiny straws of hay. I put down my book, and silently call for help. “Hey!” A voice calls. “Featherweight!” I look up to see uncle Lucky walking up to me, a smile on his face. “U-uncle Lucky? What are you doing here? I thought... I thought you were just dropping me off.” I hop from my seat and eagerly walk up to my uncle. Flash and Kong stop laughing, but Lucky gives them a stern glare. “Is that Scootaloo over there, Featherweight?” I look to Scootaloo’s table, to find that she was looking at me as well. “I... uh...” “Get over here, Scoots!” Lucky calls. Scootaloo’s cheeks turn a shade of red, but she gets up and trots over. “You look like a million bucks. Why’re you sitting over there by yourself, Feather?” “Well... Scootaloo has the Cutie Mark Crusaders... Rumble is off with his Dad’s secretary, and.... yeah...” Lucky laughs, and sits down between Scootaloo and myself. “So, how’d you guys do on that science thingy invento magigger?” Scootaloo looks shocked. “Featherweight didn’t tell you?” I stammer. “I... uh... didn’t want to bore him with-?” “I think we did awesome!” Lucky laughs again. “I’m sure you did great. You always do.” Uncle Lucky is always supportive of my schooling, especially in areas where I excel. “Okay class,” Cheerilee says, standing in front of the class after lunch was over. “you have one hour to explore the labs before an official will show us around the areas you won’t be able to go in otherwise. Have fun!” Cheerilee finishes with a smile, before walking off towards Rumble’s dad. I was walking through the hallways of Canterlot Laboratories by myself after Scootaloo went off with the other Crusaders again. We have about ten minutes left until we are due back at the cafeteria, so I want to explore as much as I can. I fly to every room I have the chance to, enriched by the technology, the advancements we have made ever since Discord ruled. It is all just so fascinating. That is, until somepony’s hoof decides to ram into my wing, sending me spiraling towards the ground. “Waah!!!” I cover my face as I land, doing a flip and landing on my back. I groan, starting to get up again, when Dumb Bell’s voice roars in my ears. “GOOOAAAL!!!” He laughs, patting Strike on the back. “I’d give that nine points, tops.” “What?! No way!” “Yeah.” The two bullies walk away, laughing their heads off, leaving me on the ground, with a dull ache in my wing. “Ugh...” I drag myself up, and brush some dust off my shoulders. “Jerks...” A small tear escapes my eye, but I allow no more to fall. I pick up the books I’ve been carrying, and hear a voice. “Feather!” Rumble’s voice. “Are you okay?!” I pick up the last of my books as he gets over to me. I greet him with a hug, which he returns. “I saw what happened. Just stay out of their way.” “Excuse me for walking down the hall.” “Look, I wish I could stay, really. Just the politics of being me. Stay out of trouble, ‘Kay? I'll swing by your place to help you on your research." With that, Rumble runs off towards the cafeteria, leaving me alone again. "Welcome, children, to Canterlot Laboratories! Since Celestia and Luna became Princesses of Equestria, we have been the leading developer of technology in the world!" A C.L. Official says as she leads us through a long hallway full of technology. There are sleek, silver tubes running across the ceiling, and on the walls are windows allowing us to see scientists, ranging from pony, to Zebra and even Griffon, all working on something different. "If you follow me over here, you will see-" I let out a scream as a sharp pain soars through my front left leg. I bring it up into the air, to see a huge spider on the very end. A red liquid, probably the venom, oozed from the spider, who goes flying with another swing of my leg. It lands on Scootaloo, who lets out a small yelp, and flings the spider off of her. "I GOT IT!" Dumb Bell shouts, rushing over to the spider and stomps it with the force to slightly crack the floor. My head... My vision starts going blurry, and it eventually disappears altogether. Then I faint, falling into a black void. Power and Responsibility: Chapter ThreePower and Responsibility Chapter Three As I come to, I become vaguely aware that I'm laying in a bed. There is a throbbing in my hoof and head, and my mouth is dry. My eyes flutter open, and I'm greeted with a flash of light. I groan, and bring my good hoof to my eyes. "He's awake!" A voice, that I recognize as Aunt Shoeshine's, exclaims. "Feather?" Lucky says. "Are you alright?" "No...." I groan as my head throbs even more. "Scootaloo left the lab and rode her scooter all the way to our house to get us." Lucky says warmly. "That's some friendship." He flashes her a smile, and turns to me. "Doctor Stable took some tests, and you're fine, you can go home, if you like." I laugh a little. "Me? Go home? Now? Ha, my head's killing me." Lucky and Shoeshine return the laugh, the latter giving me a small hug. "S.A.D." "What?" "Social Anxiety Disorder. I think our little Featherweight has it.” “He doesn’t have it.” “But he’s so quiet.” Uncle Lucky looks at me with a grin, which I return. “He’s thinking.” “He gets it from his father... I’m going to the library. I think this Social Anxiety Disorder would be worth looking into.” “You do that,” Lucky pats me on the back. “That oughta keep ya busy for a few hours.” “I heard you.” Lucky and I share a roar of laughter. Never a dull day. The Next Day... “Feather!” I stop in the middle of the street to see Scootaloo riding towards me on her scooter. She reaches me, and give me a hug, which I return. “How are you? Feeling any better?” “I’m feeling great, actually. My hoof still throbs a little, but other than that, I feel fine.” She smiles warmly. “That’s awesome! I’m really glad you’re feeling better.” Soon enough, we arrive at the school. We walk into Cheerilee’s classroom, where I sit in my desk, and she sits in hers. Miss Cheerilee walks into the room, with a smile on her face. “Hello, everypony! It’s so nice to see your smiling faces today!” She smiles as she talks, walking to the front of the class and writing on the chalkboard. “The other day, we took a trip to Canterlot Laboratories, where... unfortunately, Featherweight was bitten by a spider-” “Which I killed!” Dumb Bell yells, proud of himself for his “accomplishment”. “...Y-yes, which you killed. Anyway, I thought that that incident would be a great way to introduce us to our next topic in the bug unit: Effects of Venom. Featherweight, please stand and come to the front.” I look around to see everypony looking at me. “Uh... O-okay...” I slowly stand, taking another nervous glance around the room, and quietly walk to the front of the class. “Give me your hoof...” Extending the hoof that the spider bit, Miss Cheerilee take hold of it, and examines it. “You see class,” Miss Cheerilee begins. “the spot where the spider bit Feather has swollen a little. But, taking a glance at it... Your hoof seems to have benefited from the bite. That’s... strange... I don’t think there’s a spider on the planet whose Venom benefits the victim...” “Uh...” “That must have been a new species! Yes, Canterlot Laboratories must have discovered a new species and accidentally let it loose. You can sit down now, Feather.” After school, I was walking home by myself, as per usual. Scootaloo had an “Important Cutie Mark Crusaders Mission” to go on, and Rumble had something to do at his dad’s lab. So, I was left alone. I am used to it by now, however, but Rumble said he would be over today... I hope he keeps his promise. When I made it home, I immediately ran for the basement. You see, I am a really smart kid for my age. I am the son of one of the greatest scientists Equestria had to offer, Caramel Clover. He was working on something.... A cure for cancer. He was working on it with the father of my childhood friend, Shady Daze. And, when my parents died, I kinda.... inherited some of my Dad's old lab stuff. I don't tell my aunt and uncle what I do down here, I mean, come on, a young colt using some of the best lab equipment in Equestrian history. Who will believe that? Rumble did. And that's not strange. He's a smart kid, as well. He's around labs twenty-four/seven. His father owns Canterlot Laboratories, and has even contributed to a few inventions his father made. When he heard that I had a lab of my own, he had no trouble believing it. I sit down in one of the small chairs in the basement. It is dark down here, only being illuminated by a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. I am surrounded by several different machines, each having a small gap in between them, just big enough to allow me to go through them. There is also a chalkboard in the center of the circle the machines formed, scribbled with various math problems and equations. Knock, knock, knock. "Hey, Featherweight? You down there?" Rumble's voice calls. I quickly sit up. "Coming! Hold on." I run up the stairs, stopping at the door. I open it, allowing my friend to enter. He smiles at me, and pats me on the back as he moves down the stairs. "Nice to see ya." "Same to you." I close the door and fly down the stairs after him. "So..." He begins, taking a look around the lab and picking up a tube, filled with a black liquid. "What'cha been working on?" "D-don't touch that." I say, grabbing the tube from him, and placing it back into it's spot. "You see, my father... He was working on a cure for cancer. But, her signed the wrong paper to the wrong person- Filthy Rich- and he couldn't do it anymore." "How'd your parents die?" The question makes my heart drop. ".... Carriage accident. Some guy was drunk..." "I... I understand." I trot over to one machine, which has a screen in the middle of it, and several buttons and levers. “At school, Ms. Cheerilee noted that the spider’s venom had some interesting effects for me. If you take a look at where the spider bit me,” I begin, turning to Rumble and flexing the leg where the spider bit me. “You’ll see some muscular spots I didn’t have before. The same goes for my other legs. And my overall health seems to have improved, as well.” “Are we gonna work on the research, or what?” “Oh. Right. You see, my father and Shady Daze’s father were working on the cure for cancer. They signed the wrong papers to Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara’s dad, and he took the project away from them.” “What does this have to do with research?” I chuckle a bit, and run over to a desk, and pick up a folder. “In this folder, contains our fathers’ research on cancer, and how to cure it. If I can recreate the symbiote they made, I can finish what they started.” “How do you plan on doing that?” “I.... Have no idea.” Rumble sighs. “Dude, I want to help you, I really do, but you have no idea what you’re doing. I’ve gotta go, but... keep on hoping, okay?” “T-Twilight?” “Yes, Spike?” Twilight hissed, her voice higher than normal. “Featherweight Clover, a colt who goes to school here in Ponyville... He was bitten by the spider-” “Yes. I know this.” “You know?... Is this why you’ve been down here for four hours?” Spike’s words did nothing to the unicorn. Ever since Featherweight Clover was bitten by her magical spider, she had been terrified at what the effects on the boy could be. How would she even tell his guardians? “Excuse me, your nephew was bitten by a magical spider that could kill him, and I created it. You may want to take him to a hospital.” Oh, but they had, and he turned up fine. Fine? A magical spider bite turned up fine? Naturally, she had to investigate this. Featherweight could evolve in a way unimaginable, and Twilight [i[had to see what it would do. She tried recreating the spider. But every single time, she failed. Either from the spider didn’t live through the spell or wasn’t strong enough to hold it. Once, she was bitten by one of the spiders. No noticeable side effects, however, except for a darker, greener coat as opposed to her lavender one, and her voice was even more raspy than normal. She wasn’t sick, though. A quick medical check up spell confirmed this. She sat in the basement of the Library, all the lights turned off, the room only being illuminated by her spells and a green liquid in a test tube. Some jars with spiders inside could faintly be seen on shelves. “Twilight, those spells did something to you. Please, just stop and come upstairs!” The purple dragon begged. Twilight didn’t pay attention to him, and cast another spell upon a spider after letting it free from it’s jar. “Ouch!” She had been bitten again. “T-Twilight! Are you okay?!” The dragon rushed to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, we’ve gotta get you to a doctor!” He pleaded, tugging at her, trying to get her to move. His efforts proved fruitless, as she brushed his hand aside with her hoof. Her green hoof. With a snarl, she flung a hoof towards her dragon companion, knocking him across the room and back onto the first step of the stairs. With a grunt, he landed, knocking him out. Twilight’s coat was now a deep shade of green. Her eyes were yellow, and her hair grew down to her shoulders. Instead of it’s usual purple with a pink stripe, it was now green with a black stripe down the middle. Her shoulder muscles bulged, with veins visible all over her body. Overall. her appearance was similar to The Incredible Flutterhulk’s. Her horn glowed a deep red, and a fireball shot from it, burning a hole through the ceiling of the basement. With a loud roar, she leaped out of the basement, through the roof of the library, and out to who knows where in Equestria. Power and Responsibility: Chapter FourPower and Responsibility Chapter Four Ponyville Hospital Doctor Stable roamed the halls of the hospital, on his way to the room of his most recent patient. A purple and green baby dragon by the name of Spike, he recalled. Apparently, he had been beaten within an inch of his life by his caretaker Twilight Sparkle. Why in Celestia’s name she had done that was beyond him. Slowly walking up to the door containing the dragon, he gingerly touched a hoof to the stump where his front left hoof used to be. Sighing to himself, he opened the door with the same hoof and walked into the room. “Hello, Spike.” He says to the dragon who couldn’t respond. Spike was unconscious, on the bed, his body past his chest covered in a thin sheet. Doctor Stable looked over the dragon, and took notes on his clipboard, which he grabbed off a table. Slight change in heart rate in the last half hour. Condition: Stable, but only just. Placing the clipboard down on the table, he said goodbye to Spike, and left the room. A pony whisked through the darkness of the closed Canterlot Laboratories, silently making her way through the building. She eventually came to a stop at a door labeled ‘Arachnid Study’, and with a pop, appeared inside the room. Using her horn to illuminate the area, she used her magic to grab a syringe from a table, and poked it into her skin, drawing blood into the small container. Granting herself a small smile, she grabbed a pen and labeled the syringe ‘Clover’. With another pop!, she disappeared. “Featherweight? Time for school!” Aunt Shoeshine’s voice calls, piercing the barrier of sleep from my mind. Groaning, I slowly sit up, wiping my eyes with a hoof as I do so. The door to my room opens, revealing Aunt Shoeshine with an impatient look on her face. “Feather, it’s time for school. Time to get up!” She walks over to my bed, and with a mighty tug, pulls the covers off my body, sending a shiver of cold down my spine. She lightly taps my head. “Up. Breakfast. School. Now.” I flop back down and close my eyes. “Five more minutes?” “No. Now.” I moan, but she pulls me out of my bed and I fall to the floor with a thud. "Okay... School time. Got it..." "Okay, spider that bit me... You have officially screwed me over... "Even my new 'strength' that you gave me is fading..." I grab my backpack, and walk down the stairs into the living room, where Uncle Lucky is sitting in his chair, reading the newspaper. “Morning, Feather.” He says barely looking away from the paper. “How’s my favorite nephew?” “So-so.” I respond, walking into the kitchen. It’s small, with a black and white checkered floor. A table with three chairs sits in the corner, with a wall of cabinets, a fridge and stove sit on the left, and Aunt Shoeshine is cooking breakfast. “Hey, Aunt Shoeshine.” I greet her with a hug, and open the fridge. “Not so fast, Feather. Breakfast is cooking.” “Can I at least get some orange juice?” “Fine.” With a silent “Yes!” I grab the carton and start chugging it, finishing in seconds. “Okay, thanks, I love you!” I shout, flying out the door and towards the school. “Featherweight!” Scootaloo’s voice snaps me from the blue sky. I look down towards Ponyville, and see her trying her best to keep up with me on her scooter. With a grin, I glide down, landing next her as she slows her ride down. “You doing okay?” She asks. I can’t tell her about the strength enhancements the spider gave me.... Not yet anyway. “Fine.” I lie. Even if I did tell her, the enhancements are going away, anyway. “What about you?” “Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and I have finally found a way to get our Cutie Marks!” Oh, yeah. Forgot that she was still..... Ah... A blank flank. N-not that I look at her flank, but, it’s kinda hard to miss a pony without their Mark. I don’t normally pay her lack of one any mind, she’s ‘cute enough without it. See? I made a pun. ah, forget it. “Really? That’s great! What do you gals have in mind?” She takes in a deep breath.... “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BULL RIDERS!!” Her shout nearly deafens me, knocking me off my balance. “B-bull riding?! That’s kinda dangerous, Scoots!” She simply scoffs, and pays attention to the road for only a second to jump over a fruit stand, never letting go of her scooter. “Don’t worry, Feather! This Pegasus can take anything!” But, just then, a laughter erupts from just in front of us, startling us. Scoots and I skid to a halt. That laughter’s familiar. Stuck up, arrogant, and prissy. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “Really? You can take on anything?” Diamond says, the outright mockery in her voice is so high, she couldn’t sound any more obnoxious if her life depended on it. “That’s kind of a bold move, considering your... problem!” Problem? What? Silver Spoon seemed to pick up on my confused expression. “What? Does your coltfriend not know? It’s kinda obvious, at least, it is to us!” They walk closer. “You’re the only Pegasus pony...” “Who can’t even fly!” That did it. I know they didn’t do anything to me, but they messed with my Scootaloo. I punched the pair of them in the muzzles, knocking them onto their flanks, blood pouring out of their noses. “Shut your freaking mouths!” My blood was practically boiling. These stuck-up, prissy and arrogant fillies were spoiled their entire lives. Might as well give them a good scolding for the first time. “All you two care about is yourselves! You don’t care who you step on, if it means getting what you want or making yourself look good!!” My wings flare out, and I reach a hoof to strike again, but then my brain clicks. I just hit them. I hit them so hard that they started bleeding. I couldn’t do that.... Not since the spider..... The enhancements. They’re back. “I.... I’m....” I shake in fear. I hit them. Like, really hard. “I’m sorry....” I lower my hoof, and run off. I didn’t go to school after that. I currently stand in the living room, Aunt Shoeshine and Uncle Lucky stand in front of me, stern looks of their faces. When I walked in the door, the blood on my hoof was immediately noticed, so their was no point in trying to hide it. I told them everything, but not about the Spider-Enhancements. “Feather...” Lucky begins. “I don’t know what to say.... What in Celestia’s name were you thinking?! “I-” “You weren’t. That’s what. You punched two fillies- daughters of the richest ponies in Ponyville- for no good reason!” “I-” “There’s absolutely no excuse for you to do that to a filly! And Celestia damn me if my nephew is gonna grow up to be like that Thunderlane! Always beating on mares. I’ll be damned if my nephew will grow up that way.” His expression hardened. “I-” “No, Featherweight Clover. I don’t want to hear it. You go up to your room.” “But-” “MARCH.” I stand up, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. I didn’t want to hit them. I didn’t. I swear, but was he gonna let me freaking explain?! No! All I did was punch them! I didn’t mean to hurt them! “Fine!” I yelled. I didn’t want to- I mean it- but my temper broke. I was angry and sad at the same time. Angry because I was getting a freaking lecture for defending a friend. And sad because that lecture was from Uncle Lucky, the stallion I looked up to. And he was disappointed in me. “You don’t understand! You have no idea what I’m going through!” “I was young once too, Featherweight.... Listen.... Your father... he had a philosophy, and it’s one that served him... Very well..” He bent down to my eye level, and placed a hoof on my shoulder. I didn’t want to look him in the eye, so I stared down. “He said that if you did well at something.... Something you did better than anyone else.... He felt that not only should you do these things, but you do these things for others. He said...” He pulled me into a hug. “With great power, comes great responsibility.” I grabbed his arms and threw them off of me. I didn’t want to hear it. He yelled at me for no good reason. He had no idea what that spider did to me. I ran up the stairs to my room, tears flowing freely. I opened the door to my bedroom, but stopped in the frame and sat. I sit and cry. Like a little schoolfilly. Featherweight flung my arms away from him, and he rushed up the stairs. I could see the tears in his eyes as he ran. I didn’t want to make him cry. Celestia knows I didn’t. But what he did.... That just pisses me off more than anything. A colt hurting a filly. One of the many things wrong with the world. “Lucky....” Shoeshine’s voice snaps me back to the present. She embraces me in her arms, and I return the embrace. “Don’t you think you went a little hard on him?” A smirk crosses my face. “Compared to what my father did to me when I got in trouble, I just gave him a free discount on all the science books in the universe.” “Their parents... Filthy Rich and them... They’re gonna sue us.” “And we don’t have a lawyer... “.... Come on, let’s go check up on him...” I suggest, but then i hear the tell tale bang of a window slamming shut. Featherweight just made a run for it. “Never mind. Let’s just sit, okay?” As we sit down, I hear a noise coming from the back room. The sliding glass door was opened. “It’s probably Featherweight. I’ll go check up on him.” As I fly through Ponyville, the sun is starting to set. “With great power comes great responsibility. To Tartarus with those words. To Tartarus with what they meant. I don’t care if Dad said them, they came from Uncle Lucky’s mouth. I fly down towards an alley way, and lean against a wall, resting a hoof on it. “I... I didn’t mean to.... h-hurt t-them...” The tears still fall from my face, but not as freely as before. I had gotten a slight grip on my feelings, but I can’t hold it in forever. I don’t want them coming to look for me... I’d better keep going. I try to move away from the wall, but my hoof gets stuck. “What?” There’s nothing holding it there.... And no sticky substance to keep it. “What the heck?” Placing another hoof on the wall, I try to use that as leverage for a pull, but now both hooves are stuck. “Come on!” I put my hindlegs on the wall. If this doesn’t work.... I manage to raise the first hoof. “Yes!” I then start working on the other hooves, when a thought crosses my mind. I slowly raise the second hoof, and it comes off with ease. I then step it forward, and I put the first hoof forward as well. I do the same for my hindlegs. Holy Celestia.... I’m walking on the wall! I then jump off, managing to land on my feet. “What the heck did that spider do to me...?” A smirk crosses my face. “What ever it was, it’s friggin’ awesome!” Power and Responsibility: Chapter SixPower and Responsibility Chapter Eight I loom over the edge, staring at the dead body of that stallion who took my Uncle. At first, I didn’t know who he was, but now that the moonlight is shining over him.... He’s that pony named Noteworthy. I didn’t know him personally, but I’ve seen him around town before. Guess I won’t be anymore. The police ponies shine a magical light on the body, and then onto the ledge where I stand. They see me. One runs over to the body, still looking up at me, and fires a spell at me. “W-whoa!” I dodge the blast, ducking behind a crate. “I just did half their job for them, and this is how I get repaid?! This is so unfair!” I jump out from my hiding spot and shoot a web on the ground, and Zip my way down, kicking a cop in the face on the way down. I land, and look at the wounded cop on the ground. “Why isn’t he at a hospital, yet?!” I yell at them. They ignore me, and continue trying to blast at me, but I dodge every single one of them. “Would you stop that?! Those spells are making my head hurt!” Of course, I’m ignored again. “Okay, then. See ya.” I pick up the wounded cop, and swing into Ponyville. A quick stop at the Ponyville Hospital later, I swing back towards my house. The night is beginning to waver into the daylight, making it a little easier to see where I’m swinging. I land on the City Hall again, and look around. Ponies are beginning to rise out of their homes and into the streets, so I need to cut down on the web. I glance around, and notice that any strands of web I left behind disappeared. “Huh. That might be useful.” I mumble, and hop off the building, slowing my descent with my wings. I land, and make a dash for home. A few hours later... I sit on the edge of my bed, staring out of the window. A few cops had come by to inform us that the stallion who murdered Uncle Lucky had committed suicide by jumping out of a building, but I knew the truth, obviously. Nopony had been any the wiser to my disappearance, so no questions were directed towards me. Which is good. I don’t wanna talk to anypony. I lay down, and stare at the ceiling. The night’s events replay in my mind, to the discovery of my powers to Uncle Lucky’s death... “I should have been here...” I mutter. A single tear threatens to escape my eye, but I blink it away. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to fall asleep. “I’m sorry, Uncle Lucky...” Realizing that it was too late for sleep, I sit up again. ”I’m sorry, kid. No colt your age should have to go through this. Take care of your Aunt.” The officer had said. And he was right. No pony my age should have to go through what Aunt Shoeshine and I are. No pony, period. With great power, comes great responsibility. “Are you sure you want to go to school, Featherweight?” “I’m sure.” “Because you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can tell Ms. Cheerilee that you’re not well.” “I’m fine, Aunt Shoeshine. I have Scootaloo to talk to if I need to. And the other Crusaders, too. I’ll be fine.” Shoeshine sighs, and walks from the kitchen into the living, where I sit on the couch. “Okay, you win. I don’t know why you love school so much. Most colts your age would jump at the chance to stay home.” “Those colts didn’t get their Uncle murdered last night.” I say, but instantly regret it. What was I thinking? “A-Aunt Shoeshine, I-” She raises a hoof and puts a smile on her face, but the hurt in her eyes is unmistakable. “It’s fine, Feather. You didn’t mean it.” She leans in and kisses me on my head, and embraces me in a warm hug. “I’m sure Lucky would want you to go to school. No reason to dwell on it...” She sighs, and flashes a welcoming smile. “Now, off, you. Don’t want to be late. Scootaloo might be waiting for you, too.” I smile. “Yeah. Thanks. I love you.” She smiles again. “I love you, too, Featherweight.” I walk out of the front door, and take flight. My destination? Scootaloo’s usual route. I spy with my little eye: A wild Scootaloo! The orange filly is riding her scooter fast down the street, dodging ponies and doing various tricks whenever she gets any air time. She spots my shadow, and looks up, waving for me to come down. I do so, flying next to her as she rides. “Hey, Featherweight. I um... I heard what happened.” I slow a little, “Uh... It’s fine.... The guy’s dead. Can... Can we not talk about this?” She sighs. “Sorry, Feather. I’m not very good at comforting ponies.” “Neither am I.” I reply. We soon make it to the school, where we stop to chat. “School has a few more minutes to start.” I say. “You wanna talk about something?” She shakes her head. “Nah. I need to catch up with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. You don’t mind, do you?” Yes, I do. But I’m not going to say that. “No, you go ahead. I don’t mind.” I sigh. “You go catch up with the other Crusaders. I’ll see ya at lunch time.” She nods, getting back on her scooter and riding off. Leaving me alone. I watch the leaving filly until she leaves my eye sight, and turn around to find nopony other than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. And their noses are bandaged. Go figure. “Hello, Featherweight.” Diamond snarls. Silver Spoon just looks slightly annoyed. “Diamond Tiara.” I reply simply. “I heard your Uncle died last night.” Silver Spoon’s eyes widen, and puts a hoof over Tiara’s mouth. “Diamond! Don’t go that far!” Diamond Tiara smacks her hoof away, glaring daggers at the both of us. “He’s the one that hurt us! If you ask me, his Uncle got what was coming to him, raising such a barbarian!” Oh, that seriously did it. “You take that back.” I growl. Diamond smirks at my reaction. “Why? Are you going to make him stop us? Is he going to rise from the dead and scold us?” “Diamond! Stop it!” “No, Silver Spoon! He hurt us! He deserves every single bad thing that ever happens to him!” “Diamond, it’s one thing to tease somepony for not having a Cutie Mark, but insulting a dead family member is going too far!” The pink filly glares at the silver one, turning away from me. “And what are you going to do about it?” Silver Spoon stares at the ground, and takes a shaky breath. “We’re not friends any more. We’re both mean fillies, and I don’t want to be that any more.” With that, Silver Spoon walks away, not looking back. I look at the ground, and spot a small spider climbing up a wall. “Diamond Tiara, I’m really sorry that I hurt you. I didn’t mean to. But you are a real mean filly. Keep acting the way you are, somepony’s going to have to shut you up eventually.” She turns back to me, tears slowly streaming down her face. “Is that a threat?!” “Maybe. Maybe not. Just don’t insult my Uncle again, or it will be a threat.” With that, I walk into the school house, the bell ringing after I walk through the door. I walk in the front door, hanging my backpack up on the holder on the back of the door and walk straight ahead into the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab some orange juice. Diamond Tiara. At least Silver Spoon has some decency. I take out the carton of juice and begin the chug it, continuing to think to myself. My powers seem to have fully developed. I wonder what other traits I inherited from the bite, if there are any. I finish the carton and throw it away, walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room, where I sit down on the bed. I’ve let my room get insanely messy ever since I was bitten, and Lucky’s death didn’t help things. The bed sits on the left hand side of the room, behind it sat a window and to the left of that was a dresser. In the right wall is a closet, which holds basic clothes and the like. I look around the room, out the window and door, and, confident that nobody could see me, ducked under my bed and grabbed a medium sized cardboard box. I get back up onto my legs, and hurriedly open the box, throwing the top across the room. "Okay, let's get started." I mumble to myself. I'm not exactly the world's best sewer, but I shouldn't be having that much trouble with this. I grab a needle, and stick a strand of red thread through it. I then grab one piece of red cloth and another piece of blue cloth. The Next Day “Alright, class, today we are going to learn about triangles.” Ms. Cheerilee began. “There are three types, isosceles, equilateral, and scalene.” I sigh. I love school, a lot, actually, but I just can’t focus. As Ms. Cheerilee talks, I start twirling a hoof through my hair, making sure to keep my two-sizes-too-big jacket covering my hoof. I take a glance at the clock and inwardly groan. Still two hours of school. “Hang in there, Featherweight. Just get through the lesson and then I can go out and swing.” Can you blame me for wanting to get out of here? What kind of a colt with superpowers would not want to play around with them? Cheerilee erases the board of the three types of triangles and turns back to the class. “Now, I want you all to turn to chapter 3 of your textbook, page 374. We’ll do some problems, then-” A green hoof pounds on the ground as its owner charges through the streets of Ponyville, her steps causing a giant crash as they impact the cobblestone roads. “Featherweight Clover!” The monstrous Twilight Sparkle shouts. She jumps, her green form leaping high into the sky, out of the town and lands near the base of a hill. Ms. Cheerilee is cut off by a loud crash from outside that make the very foundations of the school shake. “W-what?” She stammers, her breathing becoming steadily more erratic. “Stay calm, class. I’m sure it was... one of the town pegasi having a flying accident...” She shook her head. “Anyway, triangles. Who can tell me-” I bring a hoof to my head as pain starts to course through it. I let out a small groan, and raise my other hoof to get her attention. “Ms Cheerilee, may I go to the nurse?” I mutter loudly enough for her to hear. Her eyes snap from the window to me. “O-Oh, yes, Featherweight, go-” I move to get up, but instead find myself leaping to the other side of the room just in time to see the wall next to where I was sitting previously to explode in a ball of fire and children’s screams. “Featherweight! Come out and play!” A monstrous feminine voice booms as a green blur rushes through the spot where the wall used to be, stopping in the middle of the class room, her eyes looking for me. Just before her gaze lands on me, I hop over her head, and over to Ms. Cheerilee’s desk, and cower behind it. “My head...” I think to myself. I hear my classmates screams, only making my headache worse, echoing through the chaotic air. I peek my head up from the desk, to see the green, giant pony holding Scootaloo. “Oh, heck no.” I mumble. I unzip my hoodie and toss it aside, revealing my red and blue attire. In the center of my chest is a black spider, my sides are blue, and nearly everything else is red. The entire costume is covered by a thin metal lining in the pattern of a spider’s web Time for Spider-Colt to make one heck of a test run. I reach for my discarded jacket and dig around the pockets and pull out my mask. It has the same webbed pattern as the rest of the costume, and two eyes made out of sunglass lenses make the bulk of it. I pull it over my head, and take a breath. Watch out Ponyville, here comes the Spider-Colt. Power and Responsibility: Chapter FivePower and Responsibility Chapter Five “Feather? Is that you?” I shout. I am still a little angry at him from our fight earlier, but if he is coming back here, he must be somewhat sorry. My reply goes unanswered, other than more hoof clopping on the wooden floor. “Featherweight Clover, answer me, this instant!” I say with more force in my voice, but I still go unanswered. Fed up with this, I drop my arms from around Shoeshine, and walk towards the back door. The hoof clopping has stopped, only to be replaced by a click. “Feather....?” The wind of the night blows through my hair. I made it onto the top of the Town Hall, all from not even flying! That spider..... It did something to me, and it’s freaking amazing! All the excitement finally reaches it’s max, and I can’t contain myself. “Whohoo!!” I yell into the sky, noticing a few ponies looking out of their windows a few seconds later. I let out a laugh, but then, the wind picks up a substantial amount, and my wings react, pomfing out, catching in the wind and sending me off the building. Now, the fall from Town Hall couldn’t kill me, but it would leave a few nasty scars. I don’t want that. “G-gah!” I yell as the ground goes ever closer. My wings are frozen stiff to their extended position again. Unable to save myself, I reach out a hoof. And I feel myself..... Swinging. “W-wha-?!” I snap open my eye, just in time to see that whatever I had grabbed on to was running low on length to swing. Taking a chance, I yanked my hoof away from the rope, and find myself flying through the air. “Wh-whoa!” I manage. I find myself recovered enough from the shock to get my wings to start working again, so I extend them and fly to the first house I saw. I land on the roof, and look around for the rope I somehow managed to grab on to. And see nothing but a thin strand of.... something. “What?” I fly over to the ‘rope’ that saved me. It turns out not to be a rope at all... Just a spider web. This doesn’t make any sense... It’s a strand of web. It shouldn’t be able to hold my weight.... How...? I give it a small pull, and instead of snapping in two like I thought, it holds in place. This doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way I could have.... No, that’s impossible.... Trying to shake the thought out of my head, I flew away fro the webbing and onto the ground. Then again, I did Climb up a wall without using my wings.... Sighing, I look back at the roof of Town Hall. But what if somepony sees me? Come on, it’s night time. They’re all trying to sleep. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I fly back up to the roof, and plant my hooves firmly on the wood. “Wh-o-holy Celestia!!” I yell, my excitement growing with every second. I can’t believe this. I can shoot web out of my hoof! With another yell, I break the webbing from my hoof and flick it into the air, and another strand shoots out, attaching itself to City Hall. The small buildings in Ponyville don’t give me much time in the air, but my wings can make up for that. My swing starts to head towards the ground. With a smirk, I flap my wings and fly up, avoiding the collision while still managing to keep my momentum. I jump off the web and land on a small house, making sure to land on the part made of hay to muffle the noise. “Wow...” I sigh. That was amazing. I glance up at the moon. I’ve been out for nearly three hours. “I... guess I should go home...” Another sigh. I flick my hoof towards another house, the web attaches without problem, and yank, causing me to go flying in the direction. I call this “Web Zipping”. A few more times, and I arrive at my house.... Oh no... Cops everywhere. Yellow crime scene tape surrounds the perimeter. Some press ponies, too. I jump off the neighboring house, and land in a alleyway. “What happened here...? Shoeshine.... Lucky....?” I run towards the house, but a blue stallion, one of the cops, steps in my way. “Not so fast, kid. Nopony’s allowed on the scene.” “B-but- this is my house! What happened here?!” The cop stammers. “I-gah... Look, if this is your house, let’s get your mother-” “Aunt. Shoeshine Clover is my aunt.” “Okay. Let’s get your aunt...” He turns and ducks under the yellow tape, but its high enough so I can just walk under. We walk in silence for a few seconds before we reach the front door. He opens it and we walk inside. “Mrs. Shoeshine... Your nephew is-” He’s cut off as Aunt Shoeshine dashes towards me, embraces me tight and begins sobbing. “Officer.... What happened...?” Tears begin to fall from my own eyes. My mind is piecing together what happened. Uncle Lucky isn’t anywhere to be seen.... And I can see a little red near the back door, a bullet casing.... It’s not hard to figure out. “Where’s my uncle...?” Shoeshine’s sobs begin to increase in volume. “Well, kid....” The officer hesitates. “I’m afraid.... You’re uncle has been.... wounded..... Badly.” “How badly...?” “He’s.... dead...” I knew it. Celestia knows I don’t want to know it, but I do. Uncle Lucky is dead. “What.... Happened....?” The cop’s eyes begin to water. I can tell he doesn’t like seeing ponies cry. “We... have a suspect. A stallion who’s been robbing houses in Ponyville and Canterlot. But he’s just a suspect.” My vision blurs from all the tears. “And the last time we talked....” I gently slip away from Aunt Shoeshine, and run up to my room. I intend to find that stallion. A few minutes later, I’m in a poor disguise. A hockey mask I got a few years ago for a trip to Appleoosa during the winter, a red sweatshirt and blue jeans. Its not much, but it’ll do. I open up my bedroom window, and steal a glance at my room. With a gulp, I jump out of the house and shoot a strand of web. “Here we go...!” I near the descent of my swing, so I jump off and shoot another strand, using my Web Zip to gain a higher altitude. I land on one of the neighboring houses, and scan the area. Nothing. I growl. I shoot another strand, which attaches onto the Carousel Boutique, and I Zip onto the roof. “If I was a criminal, where would I hide after I just..... Murdered..... another pony....?” Just then, I spot I trio of cops rushing towards the Everfree. “Bingo. Follow the cops...” I jump off the building and hover to the ground, a few yards away from the cops. “And find the criminal.” The stallion stands in the dark building, a ways away from Ponyville. “Oh, my Celestia...” His movements are sporadic, jittery. The obvious fear that engulfs him prevents him from calming down. “I killed that pony...” His coat is a dark blue, and his eyes a dim gold. His mane and tail are slightly darker than his coat, and his cutie mark is that of a duo of musical notes. His name is Noteworthy. Placing his newly bought gun down, he empties the contents of the stolen bag. A few bits, a glasses case, and a picture of a mare, a stallion and a colt. “Argh! Useless!” He kicks the bag and the pieces of junk away. He did not kill that stallion for a few measly bits! “Freaking.... Shit!” He yells, uncaring who hears him. Then, he saw lights flashing through the few windows the abandoned building held. Red, white and blue lights. Looking through one of the windows, he spots a trio of cops, their horns flashing the three colors. “Shit...” He looks to his gun, and sighs. Three bullets left. He kicks at the wall, sending one of the loose planks crashing to the ground from the second floor, which he is on. “Come and get me!” “Come and get me!” I look up towards the building. That voice sounded familiar. “That’s my cue. Incoming..... I’ll think of a name later.” I shoot a strand of webbing just out of the cops’ line of sight, and Zip my way behind the warehouse. “Just climb up here, and-” BANG! “He’s hit! Call for backup!” Oh, no. He must have one of those gun things. “Why couldn’t he just have had a bow and arrows?” Doesn’t matter. I jump onto the wall, and slowly make my way up. “One hoof in front of the other.... Just like walking.... Somewhat.” I take a risk, and jump off the wall, and use my wings to fly to the roof, creating a resounding crack as my hooves touch the rickety wood. “I hope nopony heard that.” I say as I slowly rip off a loose plank, and set it aside. “Come and get me! I’m right here!” I yell. A magical blast fires just above me, but I duck and aim for one of the cops, and fire. My eyes widen a little as I hear the responding grunt, followed by the sound of cops shouting. I hit one. Two more to go. Another magical blast hits the building, knocking off a big chunk of wood from the wall. I duck behind a nearby crate, and take a peek at the doorway. A shadow moves past, and I point my gun at the doorway. “Wh-who’s there?! Show yourself, or I'll shoot!” I wait a few seconds, but no response comes. A magical blast from one of the cops blazes past me, inches away from my head. I drop my gun in surprise, and it discharges, wasting a bullet. “Shit!” I yelp. I turn around, scrambling to find the gun, but I am greeted with a small colt standing in front of me. “Huh. This building’s been abandoned for a while now...” I think to myself as I walk through the building. Everything is made of wood. The walls, ceiling and floor. A few pictures are scattered around, showing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and a few Royal Guards that I can only assume were famous heroes. There is no light, other than the moon, which isn’t much, but one of the spider’s side effects was enhanced vision, so it’s not too much of a problem. Then, I see a blue light shine through a door. It was a blast. I hop onto the ceiling, and crawl through the doorway. I notice there isn’t a door in the doorway. Weird. I crawl through the way, and see the pony. That bastard pony who took my Uncle from me. He must have seen my shadow, as he turns towards me, holding a small.... pistol, I believe, in his hoof. At the sight of it, my head starts aching. Really badly. “Augh! What the-?!” I jump into the room, just as another magical blast fires, causing the pony to drop his pistol, and it fires a bullet through the thin wooden wall. “Shit!” The pony curses. He turns, and ends up facing where I stand. Which is behind him. I scowl, but he can’t see it. “Hey, there.” He scowls back. “Heh. A colt. No offense, kid, but Nightmare Night it a ways away. Go back home to your mommy and daddy.” “I don’t have a mommy and daddy.” He is visibly shocked, but not by much. “Oh. Well, who do you live with?” He sounds like he’s genuinely worried about me. He shouldn’t be. “Well, I did live with my aunt and uncle.” “What happened?” “I still live with my aunt, though. My uncle died today.” Ah, there’s that look on his face. The look everypony gets when they know what they did. At that moment, I take the chance and punch him across the face, which sends him stumbling backwards. With a warcry, I jump in the air and land on his back, sending a flurry of punches into the back of his skull. But he manages to shake me off. He grabs me, and slams me on the wall, sending a plank falling. Another magical blast from the cops fires into the room. Any minute now, they’ll be here. The pony continues to slam me against the wall, but I shoot a strand of web into his face, “Wagh! What is this stuff?!” “Now’s my chance!” I fly up, and kick him in the face, land, and shoot two strands of web to the ceiling. I then pull as tight as I can, and jump. This rockets me towards him, and I headbutt him, causing not only him, but myself, pain. What I didn’t count on, though, was him staggering too much. He rams into the wall, and it all comes tumbling down. his balance fails him, and he starts going over the edge, but I grab him with my web. “P-Please! I’m sorry! Just give me a chance!” I pull him towards me. Anger fills my vision. “What about my uncle?! Did you give him a chance?! Did you?!?!” With another punch into his chest, I let go of him, and he falls over the edge with a scream. I stand, unmoving, still simmering with anger. That pony killed my Uncle, and now I got my revenge. I walk over to the gap in the wall, and look over the edge. There he is, lying on the ground, unmoving. The fall snapped his neck. “Good riddance.” I hiss. Twilight looks over her shoulder, making sure the coast was clear. With a sigh of relief, she takes out a smile vial labeled “Clover”, and examined the contents. A red liquid, which was filled with magical spider venom. Too bad it’s contaminated... she thinks to herself as her breathing starts to hasten. She quickly pulls out a syringe and gingerly dips some of Featherweight’s blood into it, and jams the needle into her side, and injects the liquid into her body. But it’s too late now... That boy’s blood is filled with my spider's venom.... And I intend to take what’s mine. She let out a long, drawn out laugh as her appearance changed yet again, her mane becoming greener, along with her coat and tail. her eyes yellow, and her muscles began to bulge. “Featherweight Clover, here I come!”
Power and Responsibility: Chapter OnePower and Responsibility Chapter One They say no heroes are born, only made. Some say it requires bravery, or being in the right place at the right time, to become a hero. Those people are wrong. It takes pain, and suffering. It takes learning, and regret. I have been through all these things. These things that make a true hero. My name is Featherweight Clover, and I am no hero. "This is the day of reckoning, Clover.... I'm delivering a message from Faust.... Faust wants this to happen." My opponent rises from the flames of the wreckage, and stares at me with hatred from her cold, angry eyes. I return the glare, and lift the nearest, heaviest object I can find. "Shut..." I then throw the piece of the carriage down on top of my foe as hard as I can. "UP!!!!" I hear a satisfying crush as the object crashes onto my dying opponent. I breath a sigh of relief, causing a pain to course through my arrow wound. The wreckage explodes, throwing me back to the front lawn of my house. Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves... My peaceful slumber is suddenly shattered by the ringing of my alarm clock, which I slam my hoof upon, stopping the assault on my ears. I groan, and look at the time after wiping the remnants of sleep from my eyes. "7:01.... I'm late!" Great, Feather. You're gonna be late for the trip to Twilight's demonstration! I flutter out of bed, and rush out of my room, saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle, and out into Ponyville. We live in the center of town, and the school was near the edge, so I had a ways to go. Even if I flew, it would take about ten minutes. Well, that's ten minutes earlier. I force my small wings to flap, and I rise into the air. Okay.... Which way was the school? Oh yeah. East. I turn and fly as fast as I can towards the school. As I turn onto the dirt path that leads to the school, I get a view of the window to see that Twilight Sparkle was already at the school, giving her "Super special" demonstration. "No, no, no..." I grumble. I'm insanely late. I push through the door, and into Miss Cheerilee's classroom. "S-sorry I'm late... I overslept...." I mumble, and make my way to my desk in the back of the room, while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started snickering to each other under their breath. "Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara. Stop that." Cheerilee ordered. The two fillies stopped and looked at each other smugly. "Now then, miss Sparkle, you were talking about your fossilized arachnids?" Cheerilee says to the purple Unicorn, who had been standing there, giving a presentation about the different types of bugs. "As I was saying..." Twilight began. "Arachnids are the special part of this presentation, as they aren't bugs. As their name says, they are a completely different family of organisms. This one," Twilight's horn glows as a spider, who was a sharp, dark purple, was levitated out of it's box. "Is the Black Widow. It is not the deadliest spider out there, but it's close. "And, what's kinda interesting, is that after the females are done mating, the eat their husband!" This prompts an eeew! from most of the class, but not me. I looked on with interest as Twilight went over more species of spiders, such as the Daddy Longlegs, and the Brown Recluse. With each spider that was demonstrated, the class became more interested in the subject. But, alas, the bell had finally rung, and school was over. I was just about to leave, when the dynamic duo themselves, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, appeared. I didn't notice them, and kept gathering my stuff. The two stood, just watching me. Then I stood up and accidentally ran my head into Silver Spoon's. We fell back with a grunt, landing on our flanks. Pain was shimmering throughout my skull. "Hey! What's you're problem?!" The fillies yell. After I stood back up, I shrink back, and start slightly shaking. My brain starts stammering for ideas of what to say. "You're just a skinny good for nothing nerd!" Diamond Tiara shouts. "What makes you think you can just come up and beat Silver Spoon's face in?!" At that moment, my brain then decided on the only logical conclusion. "Ha ha.... Bye." I stutter, before flying over the two fillies and bolting out the door. As soon as I was over the two, I drop to the ground and run out of there, tripping over my own hooves and knocking over one of the spider cages. The glass shatters onto the floor, but this doesn't affect me as I was already out of the room. I run out of the schoolhouse and leap into the sky. I take a look behind me, to see nothing. Just the clear skies of Ponyville. I let out a small chuckle, and land in front of my house. It's nothing special. It has a stone exterior and a hay roof, like most houses. It had two windows on the front, and between them is a small door that Big Macintosh will have a hard time getting through. On the inside is just like what you’d expect: Old couches, raggedy walls and floors, and bookshelves that held books, obviously, and many pictures of Aunt Shoeshine, Uncle Lucky and myself. Aunt Shoeshine is a mare with a light blue coat, and an even brighter blue mane. She even has blue eyes. Her cutie mark is of two horseshoes interlocking together. Uncle Lucky is a stallion with a darker color of blue for his coat, and a black (Or just a really dark blue) mane. His eyes were the same color as Shoeshine’s’: light blue. His cutie mark is of a four leaf clover. “Aunt Shoeshine? Uncle Lucky?” I call. Taking a look around, I discover a note on the kitchen table. I walk over to it and pick it up. It was written in messy hoofwriting: Lucky’s. Feather, Your Aunt and I went out to Sugarcube Corner to get the cake for your party tonight. Happy birthday, Uncle Lucky. "Party? Huh. I forgot today was my birthday..." I smile, and set the note down and walk upstairs to my room.
Power and Responsibility: Chapter TwoPower & Responsibility Chapter Two “Alright class, today, we are going to Canterlot Laboratories,” Cheerilee exclaims as she stands at the front of the classroom. The black board has "Field trip" written on it in big letters. The walls of the room are a solid, bright yellow, unlike most teachers' green or brown. "And I expect every single one of you to be on your best behavior." The purple earth pony says, now walking between each row. I am starting to get really ecstatic. A trip to Canterlot Laboratories! That's only the one place in the all of Equestria that has the most brilliant minds from not only Equestria, but the Griffon Kingdom, and even Zebrica! I can't believe it! I thought to myself. This is gonna be awesome! "The school board has generously given us lunches for every pony. You will get them on the ride there. We'll leave in ten minutes, so make sure that all of your stuff is put away!" Twilight stood in Canterlot Laboratories, along with Spike, her faithful dragon assistant. She held one of the spiders from her demonstration yesterday with Cheerilee's class in her hoof. "Spike, are you a fan of the Mythology of the Titans?" Spike looks at the spider in Twilight's hoof. "Uh... No, Twilight." They sit in a dark room, only being illuminated by the light from various machines scattered around the room. In front of them sat a machine which displayed a 3D model of the spider. Another sat adjacent, with a blank yellow screen. The final one was just a lot of buttons, each with a different purpose. "The story goes that Twilus- You know of Twilus, right? She heard of a unicorn mare who could weave better than her. Twilus became envious, and came down to Equestria, and destroyed the Mare's creations. The mare saw what happened, and cursed the Titans. The next day, she hung herself. Twilus took pity on the mare, and turned her into the first Spider." Based on the comic book character by Stan Lee... "Twilight Sparkle, you have a letter from Celestia." One of the Laboratory's mail carriers says as she flies over. "She says it's important." The mare finally reaches Twilight, handing her the letter. "Thank you." Twilight says politely. And based on the character in the Television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic by Lauren Faust. ULTIMATE SPIDER-COLT I sit by myself at a table set in the middle of the lunch room in Canterlot Laboratories. My table is by Scootaloo's, my friend since we began school, but she is busy talking to her friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. So I sit, reading up on advances in technology since Celestia and Luna saved Equestria from Discord. I smile to myself. "Interesting... Cannons have vastly improved, and we even have bow and arrows that can fire by themselves...." As I read on, my smile grew bigger, each advancement in technology, defensive, offensive, or even home supplies, interested me even more. The most explained topic in the book was of guns, which were like mechanical bows and arrows, but with lead bullets. Then, something whizzes by my face. I let out a small yelp, and look to where the object came from. I see Strike and Dumb Bell, my ever so loving bullies since grade school. They are both unicorns, though Dumb Bell is more on the... heavy side, while Strike is more muscle. Strike is a sharp cyan, similar to Rainbow Dash, but with an orange mane and tail. His Cutie Mark is of a football flying through a field goal. His eyes are a dark blue. Dumb Bell is a brown color. He has red eyes, a silver mane and tail, and his beefy arms were, well, beefy. his cutie mark is of a football helmet. “That’s a five pointer!” Strike laughs, holding a hay sandwich in his hoof. Dumb Bell was laughing as well, only a little quieter. “No way! That was more of a three pointer, at best.” Dumb Bell argues. I decide to just leave them be. Show the bullies no reaction, they eventually stop, right? Wrong. A sandwich hits me directly in the face, covering me with the tiny straws of hay. I put down my book, and silently call for help. “Hey!” A voice calls. “Featherweight!” I look up to see uncle Lucky walking up to me, a smile on his face. “U-uncle Lucky? What are you doing here? I thought... I thought you were just dropping me off.” I hop from my seat and eagerly walk up to my uncle. Flash and Kong stop laughing, but Lucky gives them a stern glare. “Is that Scootaloo over there, Featherweight?” I look to Scootaloo’s table, to find that she was looking at me as well. “I... uh...” “Get over here, Scoots!” Lucky calls. Scootaloo’s cheeks turn a shade of red, but she gets up and trots over. “You look like a million bucks. Why’re you sitting over there by yourself, Feather?” “Well... Scootaloo has the Cutie Mark Crusaders... Rumble is off with his Dad’s secretary, and.... yeah...” Lucky laughs, and sits down between Scootaloo and myself. “So, how’d you guys do on that science thingy invento magigger?” Scootaloo looks shocked. “Featherweight didn’t tell you?” I stammer. “I... uh... didn’t want to bore him with-?” “I think we did awesome!” Lucky laughs again. “I’m sure you did great. You always do.” Uncle Lucky is always supportive of my schooling, especially in areas where I excel. “Okay class,” Cheerilee says, standing in front of the class after lunch was over. “you have one hour to explore the labs before an official will show us around the areas you won’t be able to go in otherwise. Have fun!” Cheerilee finishes with a smile, before walking off towards Rumble’s dad. I was walking through the hallways of Canterlot Laboratories by myself after Scootaloo went off with the other Crusaders again. We have about ten minutes left until we are due back at the cafeteria, so I want to explore as much as I can. I fly to every room I have the chance to, enriched by the technology, the advancements we have made ever since Discord ruled. It is all just so fascinating. That is, until somepony’s hoof decides to ram into my wing, sending me spiraling towards the ground. “Waah!!!” I cover my face as I land, doing a flip and landing on my back. I groan, starting to get up again, when Dumb Bell’s voice roars in my ears. “GOOOAAAL!!!” He laughs, patting Strike on the back. “I’d give that nine points, tops.” “What?! No way!” “Yeah.” The two bullies walk away, laughing their heads off, leaving me on the ground, with a dull ache in my wing. “Ugh...” I drag myself up, and brush some dust off my shoulders. “Jerks...” A small tear escapes my eye, but I allow no more to fall. I pick up the books I’ve been carrying, and hear a voice. “Feather!” Rumble’s voice. “Are you okay?!” I pick up the last of my books as he gets over to me. I greet him with a hug, which he returns. “I saw what happened. Just stay out of their way.” “Excuse me for walking down the hall.” “Look, I wish I could stay, really. Just the politics of being me. Stay out of trouble, ‘Kay? I'll swing by your place to help you on your research." With that, Rumble runs off towards the cafeteria, leaving me alone again. "Welcome, children, to Canterlot Laboratories! Since Celestia and Luna became Princesses of Equestria, we have been the leading developer of technology in the world!" A C.L. Official says as she leads us through a long hallway full of technology. There are sleek, silver tubes running across the ceiling, and on the walls are windows allowing us to see scientists, ranging from pony, to Zebra and even Griffon, all working on something different. "If you follow me over here, you will see-" I let out a scream as a sharp pain soars through my front left leg. I bring it up into the air, to see a huge spider on the very end. A red liquid, probably the venom, oozed from the spider, who goes flying with another swing of my leg. It lands on Scootaloo, who lets out a small yelp, and flings the spider off of her. "I GOT IT!" Dumb Bell shouts, rushing over to the spider and stomps it with the force to slightly crack the floor. My head... My vision starts going blurry, and it eventually disappears altogether. Then I faint, falling into a black void.
Power and Responsibility: Chapter ThreePower and Responsibility Chapter Three As I come to, I become vaguely aware that I'm laying in a bed. There is a throbbing in my hoof and head, and my mouth is dry. My eyes flutter open, and I'm greeted with a flash of light. I groan, and bring my good hoof to my eyes. "He's awake!" A voice, that I recognize as Aunt Shoeshine's, exclaims. "Feather?" Lucky says. "Are you alright?" "No...." I groan as my head throbs even more. "Scootaloo left the lab and rode her scooter all the way to our house to get us." Lucky says warmly. "That's some friendship." He flashes her a smile, and turns to me. "Doctor Stable took some tests, and you're fine, you can go home, if you like." I laugh a little. "Me? Go home? Now? Ha, my head's killing me." Lucky and Shoeshine return the laugh, the latter giving me a small hug. "S.A.D." "What?" "Social Anxiety Disorder. I think our little Featherweight has it.” “He doesn’t have it.” “But he’s so quiet.” Uncle Lucky looks at me with a grin, which I return. “He’s thinking.” “He gets it from his father... I’m going to the library. I think this Social Anxiety Disorder would be worth looking into.” “You do that,” Lucky pats me on the back. “That oughta keep ya busy for a few hours.” “I heard you.” Lucky and I share a roar of laughter. Never a dull day. The Next Day... “Feather!” I stop in the middle of the street to see Scootaloo riding towards me on her scooter. She reaches me, and give me a hug, which I return. “How are you? Feeling any better?” “I’m feeling great, actually. My hoof still throbs a little, but other than that, I feel fine.” She smiles warmly. “That’s awesome! I’m really glad you’re feeling better.” Soon enough, we arrive at the school. We walk into Cheerilee’s classroom, where I sit in my desk, and she sits in hers. Miss Cheerilee walks into the room, with a smile on her face. “Hello, everypony! It’s so nice to see your smiling faces today!” She smiles as she talks, walking to the front of the class and writing on the chalkboard. “The other day, we took a trip to Canterlot Laboratories, where... unfortunately, Featherweight was bitten by a spider-” “Which I killed!” Dumb Bell yells, proud of himself for his “accomplishment”. “...Y-yes, which you killed. Anyway, I thought that that incident would be a great way to introduce us to our next topic in the bug unit: Effects of Venom. Featherweight, please stand and come to the front.” I look around to see everypony looking at me. “Uh... O-okay...” I slowly stand, taking another nervous glance around the room, and quietly walk to the front of the class. “Give me your hoof...” Extending the hoof that the spider bit, Miss Cheerilee take hold of it, and examines it. “You see class,” Miss Cheerilee begins. “the spot where the spider bit Feather has swollen a little. But, taking a glance at it... Your hoof seems to have benefited from the bite. That’s... strange... I don’t think there’s a spider on the planet whose Venom benefits the victim...” “Uh...” “That must have been a new species! Yes, Canterlot Laboratories must have discovered a new species and accidentally let it loose. You can sit down now, Feather.” After school, I was walking home by myself, as per usual. Scootaloo had an “Important Cutie Mark Crusaders Mission” to go on, and Rumble had something to do at his dad’s lab. So, I was left alone. I am used to it by now, however, but Rumble said he would be over today... I hope he keeps his promise. When I made it home, I immediately ran for the basement. You see, I am a really smart kid for my age. I am the son of one of the greatest scientists Equestria had to offer, Caramel Clover. He was working on something.... A cure for cancer. He was working on it with the father of my childhood friend, Shady Daze. And, when my parents died, I kinda.... inherited some of my Dad's old lab stuff. I don't tell my aunt and uncle what I do down here, I mean, come on, a young colt using some of the best lab equipment in Equestrian history. Who will believe that? Rumble did. And that's not strange. He's a smart kid, as well. He's around labs twenty-four/seven. His father owns Canterlot Laboratories, and has even contributed to a few inventions his father made. When he heard that I had a lab of my own, he had no trouble believing it. I sit down in one of the small chairs in the basement. It is dark down here, only being illuminated by a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. I am surrounded by several different machines, each having a small gap in between them, just big enough to allow me to go through them. There is also a chalkboard in the center of the circle the machines formed, scribbled with various math problems and equations. Knock, knock, knock. "Hey, Featherweight? You down there?" Rumble's voice calls. I quickly sit up. "Coming! Hold on." I run up the stairs, stopping at the door. I open it, allowing my friend to enter. He smiles at me, and pats me on the back as he moves down the stairs. "Nice to see ya." "Same to you." I close the door and fly down the stairs after him. "So..." He begins, taking a look around the lab and picking up a tube, filled with a black liquid. "What'cha been working on?" "D-don't touch that." I say, grabbing the tube from him, and placing it back into it's spot. "You see, my father... He was working on a cure for cancer. But, her signed the wrong paper to the wrong person- Filthy Rich- and he couldn't do it anymore." "How'd your parents die?" The question makes my heart drop. ".... Carriage accident. Some guy was drunk..." "I... I understand." I trot over to one machine, which has a screen in the middle of it, and several buttons and levers. “At school, Ms. Cheerilee noted that the spider’s venom had some interesting effects for me. If you take a look at where the spider bit me,” I begin, turning to Rumble and flexing the leg where the spider bit me. “You’ll see some muscular spots I didn’t have before. The same goes for my other legs. And my overall health seems to have improved, as well.” “Are we gonna work on the research, or what?” “Oh. Right. You see, my father and Shady Daze’s father were working on the cure for cancer. They signed the wrong papers to Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara’s dad, and he took the project away from them.” “What does this have to do with research?” I chuckle a bit, and run over to a desk, and pick up a folder. “In this folder, contains our fathers’ research on cancer, and how to cure it. If I can recreate the symbiote they made, I can finish what they started.” “How do you plan on doing that?” “I.... Have no idea.” Rumble sighs. “Dude, I want to help you, I really do, but you have no idea what you’re doing. I’ve gotta go, but... keep on hoping, okay?” “T-Twilight?” “Yes, Spike?” Twilight hissed, her voice higher than normal. “Featherweight Clover, a colt who goes to school here in Ponyville... He was bitten by the spider-” “Yes. I know this.” “You know?... Is this why you’ve been down here for four hours?” Spike’s words did nothing to the unicorn. Ever since Featherweight Clover was bitten by her magical spider, she had been terrified at what the effects on the boy could be. How would she even tell his guardians? “Excuse me, your nephew was bitten by a magical spider that could kill him, and I created it. You may want to take him to a hospital.” Oh, but they had, and he turned up fine. Fine? A magical spider bite turned up fine? Naturally, she had to investigate this. Featherweight could evolve in a way unimaginable, and Twilight [i[had to see what it would do. She tried recreating the spider. But every single time, she failed. Either from the spider didn’t live through the spell or wasn’t strong enough to hold it. Once, she was bitten by one of the spiders. No noticeable side effects, however, except for a darker, greener coat as opposed to her lavender one, and her voice was even more raspy than normal. She wasn’t sick, though. A quick medical check up spell confirmed this. She sat in the basement of the Library, all the lights turned off, the room only being illuminated by her spells and a green liquid in a test tube. Some jars with spiders inside could faintly be seen on shelves. “Twilight, those spells did something to you. Please, just stop and come upstairs!” The purple dragon begged. Twilight didn’t pay attention to him, and cast another spell upon a spider after letting it free from it’s jar. “Ouch!” She had been bitten again. “T-Twilight! Are you okay?!” The dragon rushed to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, we’ve gotta get you to a doctor!” He pleaded, tugging at her, trying to get her to move. His efforts proved fruitless, as she brushed his hand aside with her hoof. Her green hoof. With a snarl, she flung a hoof towards her dragon companion, knocking him across the room and back onto the first step of the stairs. With a grunt, he landed, knocking him out. Twilight’s coat was now a deep shade of green. Her eyes were yellow, and her hair grew down to her shoulders. Instead of it’s usual purple with a pink stripe, it was now green with a black stripe down the middle. Her shoulder muscles bulged, with veins visible all over her body. Overall. her appearance was similar to The Incredible Flutterhulk’s. Her horn glowed a deep red, and a fireball shot from it, burning a hole through the ceiling of the basement. With a loud roar, she leaped out of the basement, through the roof of the library, and out to who knows where in Equestria.
Power and Responsibility: Chapter FourPower and Responsibility Chapter Four Ponyville Hospital Doctor Stable roamed the halls of the hospital, on his way to the room of his most recent patient. A purple and green baby dragon by the name of Spike, he recalled. Apparently, he had been beaten within an inch of his life by his caretaker Twilight Sparkle. Why in Celestia’s name she had done that was beyond him. Slowly walking up to the door containing the dragon, he gingerly touched a hoof to the stump where his front left hoof used to be. Sighing to himself, he opened the door with the same hoof and walked into the room. “Hello, Spike.” He says to the dragon who couldn’t respond. Spike was unconscious, on the bed, his body past his chest covered in a thin sheet. Doctor Stable looked over the dragon, and took notes on his clipboard, which he grabbed off a table. Slight change in heart rate in the last half hour. Condition: Stable, but only just. Placing the clipboard down on the table, he said goodbye to Spike, and left the room. A pony whisked through the darkness of the closed Canterlot Laboratories, silently making her way through the building. She eventually came to a stop at a door labeled ‘Arachnid Study’, and with a pop, appeared inside the room. Using her horn to illuminate the area, she used her magic to grab a syringe from a table, and poked it into her skin, drawing blood into the small container. Granting herself a small smile, she grabbed a pen and labeled the syringe ‘Clover’. With another pop!, she disappeared. “Featherweight? Time for school!” Aunt Shoeshine’s voice calls, piercing the barrier of sleep from my mind. Groaning, I slowly sit up, wiping my eyes with a hoof as I do so. The door to my room opens, revealing Aunt Shoeshine with an impatient look on her face. “Feather, it’s time for school. Time to get up!” She walks over to my bed, and with a mighty tug, pulls the covers off my body, sending a shiver of cold down my spine. She lightly taps my head. “Up. Breakfast. School. Now.” I flop back down and close my eyes. “Five more minutes?” “No. Now.” I moan, but she pulls me out of my bed and I fall to the floor with a thud. "Okay... School time. Got it..." "Okay, spider that bit me... You have officially screwed me over... "Even my new 'strength' that you gave me is fading..." I grab my backpack, and walk down the stairs into the living room, where Uncle Lucky is sitting in his chair, reading the newspaper. “Morning, Feather.” He says barely looking away from the paper. “How’s my favorite nephew?” “So-so.” I respond, walking into the kitchen. It’s small, with a black and white checkered floor. A table with three chairs sits in the corner, with a wall of cabinets, a fridge and stove sit on the left, and Aunt Shoeshine is cooking breakfast. “Hey, Aunt Shoeshine.” I greet her with a hug, and open the fridge. “Not so fast, Feather. Breakfast is cooking.” “Can I at least get some orange juice?” “Fine.” With a silent “Yes!” I grab the carton and start chugging it, finishing in seconds. “Okay, thanks, I love you!” I shout, flying out the door and towards the school. “Featherweight!” Scootaloo’s voice snaps me from the blue sky. I look down towards Ponyville, and see her trying her best to keep up with me on her scooter. With a grin, I glide down, landing next her as she slows her ride down. “You doing okay?” She asks. I can’t tell her about the strength enhancements the spider gave me.... Not yet anyway. “Fine.” I lie. Even if I did tell her, the enhancements are going away, anyway. “What about you?” “Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and I have finally found a way to get our Cutie Marks!” Oh, yeah. Forgot that she was still..... Ah... A blank flank. N-not that I look at her flank, but, it’s kinda hard to miss a pony without their Mark. I don’t normally pay her lack of one any mind, she’s ‘cute enough without it. See? I made a pun. ah, forget it. “Really? That’s great! What do you gals have in mind?” She takes in a deep breath.... “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BULL RIDERS!!” Her shout nearly deafens me, knocking me off my balance. “B-bull riding?! That’s kinda dangerous, Scoots!” She simply scoffs, and pays attention to the road for only a second to jump over a fruit stand, never letting go of her scooter. “Don’t worry, Feather! This Pegasus can take anything!” But, just then, a laughter erupts from just in front of us, startling us. Scoots and I skid to a halt. That laughter’s familiar. Stuck up, arrogant, and prissy. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “Really? You can take on anything?” Diamond says, the outright mockery in her voice is so high, she couldn’t sound any more obnoxious if her life depended on it. “That’s kind of a bold move, considering your... problem!” Problem? What? Silver Spoon seemed to pick up on my confused expression. “What? Does your coltfriend not know? It’s kinda obvious, at least, it is to us!” They walk closer. “You’re the only Pegasus pony...” “Who can’t even fly!” That did it. I know they didn’t do anything to me, but they messed with my Scootaloo. I punched the pair of them in the muzzles, knocking them onto their flanks, blood pouring out of their noses. “Shut your freaking mouths!” My blood was practically boiling. These stuck-up, prissy and arrogant fillies were spoiled their entire lives. Might as well give them a good scolding for the first time. “All you two care about is yourselves! You don’t care who you step on, if it means getting what you want or making yourself look good!!” My wings flare out, and I reach a hoof to strike again, but then my brain clicks. I just hit them. I hit them so hard that they started bleeding. I couldn’t do that.... Not since the spider..... The enhancements. They’re back. “I.... I’m....” I shake in fear. I hit them. Like, really hard. “I’m sorry....” I lower my hoof, and run off. I didn’t go to school after that. I currently stand in the living room, Aunt Shoeshine and Uncle Lucky stand in front of me, stern looks of their faces. When I walked in the door, the blood on my hoof was immediately noticed, so their was no point in trying to hide it. I told them everything, but not about the Spider-Enhancements. “Feather...” Lucky begins. “I don’t know what to say.... What in Celestia’s name were you thinking?! “I-” “You weren’t. That’s what. You punched two fillies- daughters of the richest ponies in Ponyville- for no good reason!” “I-” “There’s absolutely no excuse for you to do that to a filly! And Celestia damn me if my nephew is gonna grow up to be like that Thunderlane! Always beating on mares. I’ll be damned if my nephew will grow up that way.” His expression hardened. “I-” “No, Featherweight Clover. I don’t want to hear it. You go up to your room.” “But-” “MARCH.” I stand up, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. I didn’t want to hit them. I didn’t. I swear, but was he gonna let me freaking explain?! No! All I did was punch them! I didn’t mean to hurt them! “Fine!” I yelled. I didn’t want to- I mean it- but my temper broke. I was angry and sad at the same time. Angry because I was getting a freaking lecture for defending a friend. And sad because that lecture was from Uncle Lucky, the stallion I looked up to. And he was disappointed in me. “You don’t understand! You have no idea what I’m going through!” “I was young once too, Featherweight.... Listen.... Your father... he had a philosophy, and it’s one that served him... Very well..” He bent down to my eye level, and placed a hoof on my shoulder. I didn’t want to look him in the eye, so I stared down. “He said that if you did well at something.... Something you did better than anyone else.... He felt that not only should you do these things, but you do these things for others. He said...” He pulled me into a hug. “With great power, comes great responsibility.” I grabbed his arms and threw them off of me. I didn’t want to hear it. He yelled at me for no good reason. He had no idea what that spider did to me. I ran up the stairs to my room, tears flowing freely. I opened the door to my bedroom, but stopped in the frame and sat. I sit and cry. Like a little schoolfilly. Featherweight flung my arms away from him, and he rushed up the stairs. I could see the tears in his eyes as he ran. I didn’t want to make him cry. Celestia knows I didn’t. But what he did.... That just pisses me off more than anything. A colt hurting a filly. One of the many things wrong with the world. “Lucky....” Shoeshine’s voice snaps me back to the present. She embraces me in her arms, and I return the embrace. “Don’t you think you went a little hard on him?” A smirk crosses my face. “Compared to what my father did to me when I got in trouble, I just gave him a free discount on all the science books in the universe.” “Their parents... Filthy Rich and them... They’re gonna sue us.” “And we don’t have a lawyer... “.... Come on, let’s go check up on him...” I suggest, but then i hear the tell tale bang of a window slamming shut. Featherweight just made a run for it. “Never mind. Let’s just sit, okay?” As we sit down, I hear a noise coming from the back room. The sliding glass door was opened. “It’s probably Featherweight. I’ll go check up on him.” As I fly through Ponyville, the sun is starting to set. “With great power comes great responsibility. To Tartarus with those words. To Tartarus with what they meant. I don’t care if Dad said them, they came from Uncle Lucky’s mouth. I fly down towards an alley way, and lean against a wall, resting a hoof on it. “I... I didn’t mean to.... h-hurt t-them...” The tears still fall from my face, but not as freely as before. I had gotten a slight grip on my feelings, but I can’t hold it in forever. I don’t want them coming to look for me... I’d better keep going. I try to move away from the wall, but my hoof gets stuck. “What?” There’s nothing holding it there.... And no sticky substance to keep it. “What the heck?” Placing another hoof on the wall, I try to use that as leverage for a pull, but now both hooves are stuck. “Come on!” I put my hindlegs on the wall. If this doesn’t work.... I manage to raise the first hoof. “Yes!” I then start working on the other hooves, when a thought crosses my mind. I slowly raise the second hoof, and it comes off with ease. I then step it forward, and I put the first hoof forward as well. I do the same for my hindlegs. Holy Celestia.... I’m walking on the wall! I then jump off, managing to land on my feet. “What the heck did that spider do to me...?” A smirk crosses my face. “What ever it was, it’s friggin’ awesome!”
Power and Responsibility: Chapter SixPower and Responsibility Chapter Eight I loom over the edge, staring at the dead body of that stallion who took my Uncle. At first, I didn’t know who he was, but now that the moonlight is shining over him.... He’s that pony named Noteworthy. I didn’t know him personally, but I’ve seen him around town before. Guess I won’t be anymore. The police ponies shine a magical light on the body, and then onto the ledge where I stand. They see me. One runs over to the body, still looking up at me, and fires a spell at me. “W-whoa!” I dodge the blast, ducking behind a crate. “I just did half their job for them, and this is how I get repaid?! This is so unfair!” I jump out from my hiding spot and shoot a web on the ground, and Zip my way down, kicking a cop in the face on the way down. I land, and look at the wounded cop on the ground. “Why isn’t he at a hospital, yet?!” I yell at them. They ignore me, and continue trying to blast at me, but I dodge every single one of them. “Would you stop that?! Those spells are making my head hurt!” Of course, I’m ignored again. “Okay, then. See ya.” I pick up the wounded cop, and swing into Ponyville. A quick stop at the Ponyville Hospital later, I swing back towards my house. The night is beginning to waver into the daylight, making it a little easier to see where I’m swinging. I land on the City Hall again, and look around. Ponies are beginning to rise out of their homes and into the streets, so I need to cut down on the web. I glance around, and notice that any strands of web I left behind disappeared. “Huh. That might be useful.” I mumble, and hop off the building, slowing my descent with my wings. I land, and make a dash for home. A few hours later... I sit on the edge of my bed, staring out of the window. A few cops had come by to inform us that the stallion who murdered Uncle Lucky had committed suicide by jumping out of a building, but I knew the truth, obviously. Nopony had been any the wiser to my disappearance, so no questions were directed towards me. Which is good. I don’t wanna talk to anypony. I lay down, and stare at the ceiling. The night’s events replay in my mind, to the discovery of my powers to Uncle Lucky’s death... “I should have been here...” I mutter. A single tear threatens to escape my eye, but I blink it away. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to fall asleep. “I’m sorry, Uncle Lucky...” Realizing that it was too late for sleep, I sit up again. ”I’m sorry, kid. No colt your age should have to go through this. Take care of your Aunt.” The officer had said. And he was right. No pony my age should have to go through what Aunt Shoeshine and I are. No pony, period. With great power, comes great responsibility. “Are you sure you want to go to school, Featherweight?” “I’m sure.” “Because you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can tell Ms. Cheerilee that you’re not well.” “I’m fine, Aunt Shoeshine. I have Scootaloo to talk to if I need to. And the other Crusaders, too. I’ll be fine.” Shoeshine sighs, and walks from the kitchen into the living, where I sit on the couch. “Okay, you win. I don’t know why you love school so much. Most colts your age would jump at the chance to stay home.” “Those colts didn’t get their Uncle murdered last night.” I say, but instantly regret it. What was I thinking? “A-Aunt Shoeshine, I-” She raises a hoof and puts a smile on her face, but the hurt in her eyes is unmistakable. “It’s fine, Feather. You didn’t mean it.” She leans in and kisses me on my head, and embraces me in a warm hug. “I’m sure Lucky would want you to go to school. No reason to dwell on it...” She sighs, and flashes a welcoming smile. “Now, off, you. Don’t want to be late. Scootaloo might be waiting for you, too.” I smile. “Yeah. Thanks. I love you.” She smiles again. “I love you, too, Featherweight.” I walk out of the front door, and take flight. My destination? Scootaloo’s usual route. I spy with my little eye: A wild Scootaloo! The orange filly is riding her scooter fast down the street, dodging ponies and doing various tricks whenever she gets any air time. She spots my shadow, and looks up, waving for me to come down. I do so, flying next to her as she rides. “Hey, Featherweight. I um... I heard what happened.” I slow a little, “Uh... It’s fine.... The guy’s dead. Can... Can we not talk about this?” She sighs. “Sorry, Feather. I’m not very good at comforting ponies.” “Neither am I.” I reply. We soon make it to the school, where we stop to chat. “School has a few more minutes to start.” I say. “You wanna talk about something?” She shakes her head. “Nah. I need to catch up with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. You don’t mind, do you?” Yes, I do. But I’m not going to say that. “No, you go ahead. I don’t mind.” I sigh. “You go catch up with the other Crusaders. I’ll see ya at lunch time.” She nods, getting back on her scooter and riding off. Leaving me alone. I watch the leaving filly until she leaves my eye sight, and turn around to find nopony other than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. And their noses are bandaged. Go figure. “Hello, Featherweight.” Diamond snarls. Silver Spoon just looks slightly annoyed. “Diamond Tiara.” I reply simply. “I heard your Uncle died last night.” Silver Spoon’s eyes widen, and puts a hoof over Tiara’s mouth. “Diamond! Don’t go that far!” Diamond Tiara smacks her hoof away, glaring daggers at the both of us. “He’s the one that hurt us! If you ask me, his Uncle got what was coming to him, raising such a barbarian!” Oh, that seriously did it. “You take that back.” I growl. Diamond smirks at my reaction. “Why? Are you going to make him stop us? Is he going to rise from the dead and scold us?” “Diamond! Stop it!” “No, Silver Spoon! He hurt us! He deserves every single bad thing that ever happens to him!” “Diamond, it’s one thing to tease somepony for not having a Cutie Mark, but insulting a dead family member is going too far!” The pink filly glares at the silver one, turning away from me. “And what are you going to do about it?” Silver Spoon stares at the ground, and takes a shaky breath. “We’re not friends any more. We’re both mean fillies, and I don’t want to be that any more.” With that, Silver Spoon walks away, not looking back. I look at the ground, and spot a small spider climbing up a wall. “Diamond Tiara, I’m really sorry that I hurt you. I didn’t mean to. But you are a real mean filly. Keep acting the way you are, somepony’s going to have to shut you up eventually.” She turns back to me, tears slowly streaming down her face. “Is that a threat?!” “Maybe. Maybe not. Just don’t insult my Uncle again, or it will be a threat.” With that, I walk into the school house, the bell ringing after I walk through the door. I walk in the front door, hanging my backpack up on the holder on the back of the door and walk straight ahead into the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab some orange juice. Diamond Tiara. At least Silver Spoon has some decency. I take out the carton of juice and begin the chug it, continuing to think to myself. My powers seem to have fully developed. I wonder what other traits I inherited from the bite, if there are any. I finish the carton and throw it away, walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room, where I sit down on the bed. I’ve let my room get insanely messy ever since I was bitten, and Lucky’s death didn’t help things. The bed sits on the left hand side of the room, behind it sat a window and to the left of that was a dresser. In the right wall is a closet, which holds basic clothes and the like. I look around the room, out the window and door, and, confident that nobody could see me, ducked under my bed and grabbed a medium sized cardboard box. I get back up onto my legs, and hurriedly open the box, throwing the top across the room. "Okay, let's get started." I mumble to myself. I'm not exactly the world's best sewer, but I shouldn't be having that much trouble with this. I grab a needle, and stick a strand of red thread through it. I then grab one piece of red cloth and another piece of blue cloth. The Next Day “Alright, class, today we are going to learn about triangles.” Ms. Cheerilee began. “There are three types, isosceles, equilateral, and scalene.” I sigh. I love school, a lot, actually, but I just can’t focus. As Ms. Cheerilee talks, I start twirling a hoof through my hair, making sure to keep my two-sizes-too-big jacket covering my hoof. I take a glance at the clock and inwardly groan. Still two hours of school. “Hang in there, Featherweight. Just get through the lesson and then I can go out and swing.” Can you blame me for wanting to get out of here? What kind of a colt with superpowers would not want to play around with them? Cheerilee erases the board of the three types of triangles and turns back to the class. “Now, I want you all to turn to chapter 3 of your textbook, page 374. We’ll do some problems, then-” A green hoof pounds on the ground as its owner charges through the streets of Ponyville, her steps causing a giant crash as they impact the cobblestone roads. “Featherweight Clover!” The monstrous Twilight Sparkle shouts. She jumps, her green form leaping high into the sky, out of the town and lands near the base of a hill. Ms. Cheerilee is cut off by a loud crash from outside that make the very foundations of the school shake. “W-what?” She stammers, her breathing becoming steadily more erratic. “Stay calm, class. I’m sure it was... one of the town pegasi having a flying accident...” She shook her head. “Anyway, triangles. Who can tell me-” I bring a hoof to my head as pain starts to course through it. I let out a small groan, and raise my other hoof to get her attention. “Ms Cheerilee, may I go to the nurse?” I mutter loudly enough for her to hear. Her eyes snap from the window to me. “O-Oh, yes, Featherweight, go-” I move to get up, but instead find myself leaping to the other side of the room just in time to see the wall next to where I was sitting previously to explode in a ball of fire and children’s screams. “Featherweight! Come out and play!” A monstrous feminine voice booms as a green blur rushes through the spot where the wall used to be, stopping in the middle of the class room, her eyes looking for me. Just before her gaze lands on me, I hop over her head, and over to Ms. Cheerilee’s desk, and cower behind it. “My head...” I think to myself. I hear my classmates screams, only making my headache worse, echoing through the chaotic air. I peek my head up from the desk, to see the green, giant pony holding Scootaloo. “Oh, heck no.” I mumble. I unzip my hoodie and toss it aside, revealing my red and blue attire. In the center of my chest is a black spider, my sides are blue, and nearly everything else is red. The entire costume is covered by a thin metal lining in the pattern of a spider’s web Time for Spider-Colt to make one heck of a test run. I reach for my discarded jacket and dig around the pockets and pull out my mask. It has the same webbed pattern as the rest of the costume, and two eyes made out of sunglass lenses make the bulk of it. I pull it over my head, and take a breath. Watch out Ponyville, here comes the Spider-Colt.
Power and Responsibility: Chapter FivePower and Responsibility Chapter Five “Feather? Is that you?” I shout. I am still a little angry at him from our fight earlier, but if he is coming back here, he must be somewhat sorry. My reply goes unanswered, other than more hoof clopping on the wooden floor. “Featherweight Clover, answer me, this instant!” I say with more force in my voice, but I still go unanswered. Fed up with this, I drop my arms from around Shoeshine, and walk towards the back door. The hoof clopping has stopped, only to be replaced by a click. “Feather....?” The wind of the night blows through my hair. I made it onto the top of the Town Hall, all from not even flying! That spider..... It did something to me, and it’s freaking amazing! All the excitement finally reaches it’s max, and I can’t contain myself. “Whohoo!!” I yell into the sky, noticing a few ponies looking out of their windows a few seconds later. I let out a laugh, but then, the wind picks up a substantial amount, and my wings react, pomfing out, catching in the wind and sending me off the building. Now, the fall from Town Hall couldn’t kill me, but it would leave a few nasty scars. I don’t want that. “G-gah!” I yell as the ground goes ever closer. My wings are frozen stiff to their extended position again. Unable to save myself, I reach out a hoof. And I feel myself..... Swinging. “W-wha-?!” I snap open my eye, just in time to see that whatever I had grabbed on to was running low on length to swing. Taking a chance, I yanked my hoof away from the rope, and find myself flying through the air. “Wh-whoa!” I manage. I find myself recovered enough from the shock to get my wings to start working again, so I extend them and fly to the first house I saw. I land on the roof, and look around for the rope I somehow managed to grab on to. And see nothing but a thin strand of.... something. “What?” I fly over to the ‘rope’ that saved me. It turns out not to be a rope at all... Just a spider web. This doesn’t make any sense... It’s a strand of web. It shouldn’t be able to hold my weight.... How...? I give it a small pull, and instead of snapping in two like I thought, it holds in place. This doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way I could have.... No, that’s impossible.... Trying to shake the thought out of my head, I flew away fro the webbing and onto the ground. Then again, I did Climb up a wall without using my wings.... Sighing, I look back at the roof of Town Hall. But what if somepony sees me? Come on, it’s night time. They’re all trying to sleep. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I fly back up to the roof, and plant my hooves firmly on the wood. “Wh-o-holy Celestia!!” I yell, my excitement growing with every second. I can’t believe this. I can shoot web out of my hoof! With another yell, I break the webbing from my hoof and flick it into the air, and another strand shoots out, attaching itself to City Hall. The small buildings in Ponyville don’t give me much time in the air, but my wings can make up for that. My swing starts to head towards the ground. With a smirk, I flap my wings and fly up, avoiding the collision while still managing to keep my momentum. I jump off the web and land on a small house, making sure to land on the part made of hay to muffle the noise. “Wow...” I sigh. That was amazing. I glance up at the moon. I’ve been out for nearly three hours. “I... guess I should go home...” Another sigh. I flick my hoof towards another house, the web attaches without problem, and yank, causing me to go flying in the direction. I call this “Web Zipping”. A few more times, and I arrive at my house.... Oh no... Cops everywhere. Yellow crime scene tape surrounds the perimeter. Some press ponies, too. I jump off the neighboring house, and land in a alleyway. “What happened here...? Shoeshine.... Lucky....?” I run towards the house, but a blue stallion, one of the cops, steps in my way. “Not so fast, kid. Nopony’s allowed on the scene.” “B-but- this is my house! What happened here?!” The cop stammers. “I-gah... Look, if this is your house, let’s get your mother-” “Aunt. Shoeshine Clover is my aunt.” “Okay. Let’s get your aunt...” He turns and ducks under the yellow tape, but its high enough so I can just walk under. We walk in silence for a few seconds before we reach the front door. He opens it and we walk inside. “Mrs. Shoeshine... Your nephew is-” He’s cut off as Aunt Shoeshine dashes towards me, embraces me tight and begins sobbing. “Officer.... What happened...?” Tears begin to fall from my own eyes. My mind is piecing together what happened. Uncle Lucky isn’t anywhere to be seen.... And I can see a little red near the back door, a bullet casing.... It’s not hard to figure out. “Where’s my uncle...?” Shoeshine’s sobs begin to increase in volume. “Well, kid....” The officer hesitates. “I’m afraid.... You’re uncle has been.... wounded..... Badly.” “How badly...?” “He’s.... dead...” I knew it. Celestia knows I don’t want to know it, but I do. Uncle Lucky is dead. “What.... Happened....?” The cop’s eyes begin to water. I can tell he doesn’t like seeing ponies cry. “We... have a suspect. A stallion who’s been robbing houses in Ponyville and Canterlot. But he’s just a suspect.” My vision blurs from all the tears. “And the last time we talked....” I gently slip away from Aunt Shoeshine, and run up to my room. I intend to find that stallion. A few minutes later, I’m in a poor disguise. A hockey mask I got a few years ago for a trip to Appleoosa during the winter, a red sweatshirt and blue jeans. Its not much, but it’ll do. I open up my bedroom window, and steal a glance at my room. With a gulp, I jump out of the house and shoot a strand of web. “Here we go...!” I near the descent of my swing, so I jump off and shoot another strand, using my Web Zip to gain a higher altitude. I land on one of the neighboring houses, and scan the area. Nothing. I growl. I shoot another strand, which attaches onto the Carousel Boutique, and I Zip onto the roof. “If I was a criminal, where would I hide after I just..... Murdered..... another pony....?” Just then, I spot I trio of cops rushing towards the Everfree. “Bingo. Follow the cops...” I jump off the building and hover to the ground, a few yards away from the cops. “And find the criminal.” The stallion stands in the dark building, a ways away from Ponyville. “Oh, my Celestia...” His movements are sporadic, jittery. The obvious fear that engulfs him prevents him from calming down. “I killed that pony...” His coat is a dark blue, and his eyes a dim gold. His mane and tail are slightly darker than his coat, and his cutie mark is that of a duo of musical notes. His name is Noteworthy. Placing his newly bought gun down, he empties the contents of the stolen bag. A few bits, a glasses case, and a picture of a mare, a stallion and a colt. “Argh! Useless!” He kicks the bag and the pieces of junk away. He did not kill that stallion for a few measly bits! “Freaking.... Shit!” He yells, uncaring who hears him. Then, he saw lights flashing through the few windows the abandoned building held. Red, white and blue lights. Looking through one of the windows, he spots a trio of cops, their horns flashing the three colors. “Shit...” He looks to his gun, and sighs. Three bullets left. He kicks at the wall, sending one of the loose planks crashing to the ground from the second floor, which he is on. “Come and get me!” “Come and get me!” I look up towards the building. That voice sounded familiar. “That’s my cue. Incoming..... I’ll think of a name later.” I shoot a strand of webbing just out of the cops’ line of sight, and Zip my way behind the warehouse. “Just climb up here, and-” BANG! “He’s hit! Call for backup!” Oh, no. He must have one of those gun things. “Why couldn’t he just have had a bow and arrows?” Doesn’t matter. I jump onto the wall, and slowly make my way up. “One hoof in front of the other.... Just like walking.... Somewhat.” I take a risk, and jump off the wall, and use my wings to fly to the roof, creating a resounding crack as my hooves touch the rickety wood. “I hope nopony heard that.” I say as I slowly rip off a loose plank, and set it aside. “Come and get me! I’m right here!” I yell. A magical blast fires just above me, but I duck and aim for one of the cops, and fire. My eyes widen a little as I hear the responding grunt, followed by the sound of cops shouting. I hit one. Two more to go. Another magical blast hits the building, knocking off a big chunk of wood from the wall. I duck behind a nearby crate, and take a peek at the doorway. A shadow moves past, and I point my gun at the doorway. “Wh-who’s there?! Show yourself, or I'll shoot!” I wait a few seconds, but no response comes. A magical blast from one of the cops blazes past me, inches away from my head. I drop my gun in surprise, and it discharges, wasting a bullet. “Shit!” I yelp. I turn around, scrambling to find the gun, but I am greeted with a small colt standing in front of me. “Huh. This building’s been abandoned for a while now...” I think to myself as I walk through the building. Everything is made of wood. The walls, ceiling and floor. A few pictures are scattered around, showing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and a few Royal Guards that I can only assume were famous heroes. There is no light, other than the moon, which isn’t much, but one of the spider’s side effects was enhanced vision, so it’s not too much of a problem. Then, I see a blue light shine through a door. It was a blast. I hop onto the ceiling, and crawl through the doorway. I notice there isn’t a door in the doorway. Weird. I crawl through the way, and see the pony. That bastard pony who took my Uncle from me. He must have seen my shadow, as he turns towards me, holding a small.... pistol, I believe, in his hoof. At the sight of it, my head starts aching. Really badly. “Augh! What the-?!” I jump into the room, just as another magical blast fires, causing the pony to drop his pistol, and it fires a bullet through the thin wooden wall. “Shit!” The pony curses. He turns, and ends up facing where I stand. Which is behind him. I scowl, but he can’t see it. “Hey, there.” He scowls back. “Heh. A colt. No offense, kid, but Nightmare Night it a ways away. Go back home to your mommy and daddy.” “I don’t have a mommy and daddy.” He is visibly shocked, but not by much. “Oh. Well, who do you live with?” He sounds like he’s genuinely worried about me. He shouldn’t be. “Well, I did live with my aunt and uncle.” “What happened?” “I still live with my aunt, though. My uncle died today.” Ah, there’s that look on his face. The look everypony gets when they know what they did. At that moment, I take the chance and punch him across the face, which sends him stumbling backwards. With a warcry, I jump in the air and land on his back, sending a flurry of punches into the back of his skull. But he manages to shake me off. He grabs me, and slams me on the wall, sending a plank falling. Another magical blast from the cops fires into the room. Any minute now, they’ll be here. The pony continues to slam me against the wall, but I shoot a strand of web into his face, “Wagh! What is this stuff?!” “Now’s my chance!” I fly up, and kick him in the face, land, and shoot two strands of web to the ceiling. I then pull as tight as I can, and jump. This rockets me towards him, and I headbutt him, causing not only him, but myself, pain. What I didn’t count on, though, was him staggering too much. He rams into the wall, and it all comes tumbling down. his balance fails him, and he starts going over the edge, but I grab him with my web. “P-Please! I’m sorry! Just give me a chance!” I pull him towards me. Anger fills my vision. “What about my uncle?! Did you give him a chance?! Did you?!?!” With another punch into his chest, I let go of him, and he falls over the edge with a scream. I stand, unmoving, still simmering with anger. That pony killed my Uncle, and now I got my revenge. I walk over to the gap in the wall, and look over the edge. There he is, lying on the ground, unmoving. The fall snapped his neck. “Good riddance.” I hiss. Twilight looks over her shoulder, making sure the coast was clear. With a sigh of relief, she takes out a smile vial labeled “Clover”, and examined the contents. A red liquid, which was filled with magical spider venom. Too bad it’s contaminated... she thinks to herself as her breathing starts to hasten. She quickly pulls out a syringe and gingerly dips some of Featherweight’s blood into it, and jams the needle into her side, and injects the liquid into her body. But it’s too late now... That boy’s blood is filled with my spider's venom.... And I intend to take what’s mine. She let out a long, drawn out laugh as her appearance changed yet again, her mane becoming greener, along with her coat and tail. her eyes yellow, and her muscles began to bulge. “Featherweight Clover, here I come!”
