MLPU: Spider-Mare: Cat's Clawsby TheInvincibleIronBronyChaptersFrustrationsTiredNot a HeroResearchMr. FiscalFinal ChoicesIs it Worth it?FrustrationsScootaloo swung through the buildings of Manehattan, a black topless muscle car racing through traffic below her. The stallion in the passenger seat turned around and pointed a pistol at the costumed mare above him. He fired three shots and Scootaloo ducked and flipped out of the way of each of them. "Really?" Scootaloo asked as she swung low and landed on the back of the car. She knocked the gun out of the stallion's hoof. "I handle armed thugs almost everyday. You really thought you'd be the first to put a bullet in me?" the young mare asked. Before the stallion could answer Scootaloo shot a glob of web at his mouth. "That was rhetorical," she confirmed turning to the driver. "Hey pal think you can just pull over?" she asked. The driver swerved the car trying to dislodge the extra passenger. "Guess that's a no," Scootaloo said. She jumped onto the hood of the car and started shooting webs at the road in front if the car. She then leaped skidding as her hooves hit the asphalt. Scootaloo pulled on the webs in her forehooves and the car quickly slowed to a stop. Scootaloo walked around to the drivers side of the car and webbed the drivers hooves to the steering wheel before he could get out. The passenger clambered out of the other side and Scootaloo jumped over the car after him. She had just finished webbing the second stallion to the car when she heard sirens coming down the street. "Hey, they finally caught up. You two stay outta trouble alright?" Scootaloo told them as she took a step back. "Way to go Spidey!" a passerby shouted as Scootaloo jumped onto a street lamp. "Just another day for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Mare!" Scootaloo yelled back as she swung away. ///////////////////////// Scootaloo climbed in through her bedroom window almost an hour later. She quickly took off the red and blue costume she wore most of the time when she was out. She then stuffed the outfit under her bed and left her room. Scootaloo entered the living room and was surprised to see her Aunt Cup Cake and her twin children, Pound and Pumpkin watching the television set with rapt attention "Oh, Scootaloo take a seat. Rainbow Dash is having a press conference about that attack last night," Cup said, knowing Scootaloo was a huge fan of the rainbow maned mare. Scootaloo quickly took a seat next to her aunt. Rainbow Dash spoke for a moment about the attack until the yellow pegasus behind her whispered in her ear. "Sorry. Right so I'm just gonna tell the truth here. The truth is," Rainbow said, and then she seemed to freeze for a moment. The pegasus behind her nudged Rainbow. Rainbow recomposed herself. "The truth is," Rainbow set down the cue cards and looked right at the cameras. "I am Iron Mare." Scootaloo's jaw dropped at that statement. Rainbow Dash, her idol, was a super hero. "That's awesome!" the young mare shouted catching her family off guard. "If you say so," Cup said sitting up from the couch. "That mare has had more drunken outbursts on the internet than any pop star I've heard of," the blue mare stated, skeptical about the statement Rainbow Dash had made on live television. "To be honest I'm skeptical about all of this super hero buisness." Scootaloo frowned at that. "As I recall a pair of heroes saved you and the twins from the Lizard," Scootaloo pointed out. "And blew up the kitchen," Cup countered. The mention of that incident seemed to distract Cup Cake. The older mare shook her head. "My point is Spider-Mare and now Rainbow Dash are walking a fine line between hero and public menace, with all of the property damage," the earth pony said as she walked downstairs. Scootaloo watched her leave, her aunt's words weighing heavily in her mind. "I think super heroes are cool," Pound said, agreeing with his surrogate sister. Scootaloo smiled at the small comfort. /////////////////////////// "But daddy, it's the new winter line. If I don't get it I'll be wearing all my clothes from last winter," Diamond Tiara pleaded with her father. She had been trying to get Filthy Rich to fund a shopping trip for her and her best friend, Silver Spoon. "No Diamond. You'll have to make due. Things aren't going well at work, so we'll have to make due with a tighter budget," Filthy explained as he sorted through some files on his desk. He and his daughter were talking in his home office. Daimond began to pout and her father sighed in frustration. "I'm gonna be the laughing stock of the whole school," she said, looking away from her father. Filthy chuckled. "I'd be a lucky stallion if being teased at school was all I had to be worried about," he countered. Diamond rolled here eyes, knowing one of her fathers lectures on principles was coming. "When I was your age my father hadn't even gotten the family buisness up and running yet," Filthy explained, referring to the shipping company he had inherited from his father, Stinkin Rich. It transported cargo all over the world for companies that didn't want to take the expense to ship their own products. "I had to make my own fortune. Accepting whatever jobs I could get. I wasn't doing too bad either," Filthy continued. "So why did you take over Grampa's company?" Diamond asked, curiously. Filthy sighed. "My work at the time involved a lot of travel and I wanted a more stable life," Filthy explained. "Sounds boring to me," Diamond commented, trying to find an interesting decoration in her father's office. She couldn't spot anything noteworthy. Filthy smiled. "Well I got a beautiful daughter out of the deal, so I'm not complaining," he said. Diamond rolled her eyes. "Alright I get it. Be grateful for what I have or something," Diamond replied as she made her way to the door. "Diamond don't forget your gymnastics class is in an hour. I don't want you to be late," Filthy said as Diamond opened the door. "I haven't been late to a class ever. And I've been going since I was three," Daimond said as she left the room. //////////////////////////////// Scootaloo munched on hay fries, nervously watching her best friend, Dinky, across the diner table they usually sat at on these meetings. The unicorn was busy reading a news paper article from the latest issue of the Daily Bugle. "Did he say anything good about me yet?" Scootaloo asked, stuffing more hayfries into her mouth. Dinky looked up and sighed. "Do you consider 'wall crawling menace' a compliment?" Dinky asked, trying to make light of the article. Scootaloo ran a hoof through her mane. "I suppose that's better than 'Manehattan's terror' or 'criminal mastermind'," the Pegasus joked, shoving the rest of the fries to Dinky. "Celestia, what did I ever do to this guy?" "Namby Pamby is just a news editor trying to sell papers. He doesn't really care how it effects the ponies he writes about," Dinky reasoned. Scootaloo gave a forced laugh at that. "Really cause Spider-Mare is old news compared to... what did that Canterlot paper call her? Oh, right the 'Invincible Iron Mare'," she said, clearly unhappy with how the press treated her. Dinky gave her friend a sympathetic look. "I think the main difference is Rainbow Dash doesn't have a secret identity. If she causes millions of dollars in property damage, there's somepony to pay the bills," Dinky explained. Scootaloo sighed in annoyance. "And if I blow up, say a bakery, the cops can't pin it on me," Scootaloo guessed. "Basically," Dinky confirmed, frowning Scootaloo's frustration. "I know it sucks, but you had to expect a few naysayers. I mean what's one paper slandering your name compared to an entire city of fans?" Dinky asked, eliciting a smile from her friend. "I guess things could be worse," Scootaloo agreed, grabbing another hoofful of hayfries. "I mean what's worse than a ten foot lizard?" she asked jokingly. //////////////////////// Diamond Tiara arrived home, sweaty and exhausted from her gymnastics class. She'd been top in her class for years. Her teacher even said she was ready for the Equestrian Games. Something she was extremely proud of. "Dad! I'm home!" she called out into the upper class condo, she and her father lived in. The door to her father's office opened to Daimond's left and her father appeared, seeming nervous. "Sweet heart, I'm sorry. I'm meeting a potential business partner at the moment," Filthy explained. Diamond peered past her father into his office and saw a rather thuggish looking earth pony stallion sitting in a chair. "You'll have to feed yourself tonight. Sorry," Filthy said apologetically. "No problem," Diamond replied, weary of the stallion in her father's office. Filthy gave her a nod before reentering his office, shutting the door behind himself. Curious, Diamond walked over to the door and put her ear to it. "You have a very beautiful daughter, Mr. Rich," an unfamiliar voice said, obviously the thuggish stallion. "Don't go there," Filthy replied, a dangerous edge in his voice. "I meant nothing by it," the stallion replied. "But I might start getting a little more threatening if you don't come up with the money you owe. Mr. Fiscal isn't a very patient stallion," the earth pony said. "I'll get the money. I just need a little more time. Dash industries ended their contract with us over the shipment to Saddle Arabia and they were a big portion of our yearly income," Filthy explained. The earth pony groaned in frustration. "I'm willing to give you another few weeks," the stallion relented. "Please don't give me a reason to be threatening," he finished. Diamond heard the stallions start to move towards the door and quickly ran to the hallway a few feet away. She peeked around the corner and watched the unknown stallion leave without another word. Filthy stood by the door and scratched his head, frustrated. "Everything okay dad?" Diamond asked, stepping out of hiding. Filthy turned startled by his daughter. "Yeah. I was just... setting up a new contract is all," he lied, smiling at Diamond. "I need to go to the office and get a few things. Don't wait up," Filthy said as he moved towards the door as well. Diamond only nodded in understanding and waited for her father to leave. Once he was gone the pink mare walked into her father's office and started searching through the bookshelves. She knew her father had a security camera hidden somewhere. She had been caught playing in the room several times when she was a filly. Her plan was to get the tape of what she had just heard and take it to the police. Nopony threatens my dad, she thought angrily. After about ten minutes of searching, Diamond found the lens and started following the wire that sprouted from the back. She knew it wasn't connected to the desk top computer on the desk, because she had looked through it's many files before and never found anything. Diamond was surprised to find the wire feeding through the wall, that she had always thought connected to the out of service elevator shaft that should have been there. The doors had never worked on this floor as far as Diamond knew. Diamond tried to peek through the small hole and put a hoof on a row of books for support. She felt her hoof start to slip and accidentally pulled a book out of place. The book froze halfway out of place and to the young mares surprise part of the book case swung inwards toward the abandoned elevator shaft. Cautiously, Diamond peeked into the surprisingly well lit room and her jaw dropped at the contents. The walls were plastered with old news clippings, detailing the actions of a famous cat burglar from several years ago. The rooms centerpiece was what caught Diamonds attention though. A black leather suit that looked like it might have fit her father many years ago, was draped on a mannequin. A wooden box lay at the foot of the pedestal. Diamond opened the box and she pulled out a black face mask and a very long whip. "What the hell is all this?" Diamond asked herself in wonderment. TiredScootaloo ran through the halls of her school, grumbling as she stuffed her costume in her backpack. "Stupid crooks. Why can't they wait til after school to rob convenience stores," she mumbled as she adjusted her bag on her back. The halls around her were empty and she knew she was late for homeroom. A stallion had been holding up a store on Scootaloo's way to school and he'd taken up a good twenty minutes of her morning. Scootaloo arrived at the door to her homeroom and slowly pushed it open. Everypony in the class turned at the disturbance. Scootaloo guessed she'd missed roll call. "Umm... sorry, I'm late. Had to make a pit stop," she explained, hoping she wouldn't be questioned further. The teacher rolled her eyes. "Just take your seat Scootaloo and try to be on time tomorrow," the yellow mare stated, returning here eyes to the papers on her desk. Scootaloo spotted Dinky and Babs sitting towards the back of the room and joined them, taking the seat next to Dinky and behind Babs. "Keep showin’ up late and I'll look like a teacher's pet," Babs said smiling. "Babs you could do all your homework for a month and not look like a teachers pet," Scootaloo countered, jokingly. Dinky rolled her eyes at the banter. "Well at least you aren't the only one who's late today," the unicorn said, pointing a hoof at the door. Scootaloo and Babs glanced over to see Diamond Tiara entering the room. The pink mare had shadows under her eyes and shuffled tiredely across the room. "I overslept. I was up late doing homework," she mumbled, shuffling to a seat next to Silver Spoon before the teacher could reply. Scootaloo watched with interest. "Is it bad I'm a little happy?" she asked looking away from the earth pony. "Nah," Babs answered simply, leaning back in her chair. Dinky glared at Babs. "It is frowned upon to take pleasure in the misery of others," she told her friends with a frown. Scootaloo sighed. "I know. Kinda hard though when she's caused us so much trouble," Scootaloo replied. Dinky looked at her desk and twiddled her hooves. "What would Spider-Mare do?" Dinky asked avoiding looking at Scootaloo. Scootaloo's eyes went wide. "That's low," she said, slightly angry. "How?" Babs asked. "She's a super hero. Whatever she does has to be good right?" she questioned. Scootaloo snorted. "Everypony makes mistakes. Shouldn't put her on such a high pedestal," she argued, resting her head on her desk. Babs quirked an eyebrow. //////////////////////////// By the time lunch came around Diamond was even more exhausted than she'd been that morning. Several times she'd been caught sleeping by teachers in class. Diamond rubbed her eyes as she made her way to her locker and started stuffing books and binders in it, dropping her open backpack on the ground by her side. "Hey Diamond," a familiar voice called. Diamond looked up to see Silver Spoon approaching her. "Hey Silver, what's up?" Diamond asked, blinking tiredly. "Not you. Why are you so tired?" Silver asked with concern for her long time friend. "I already explained that. I was up late doing homework," Diamond explained again, turning to go to lunch, shutting her locker with her tail. Silver Spoon glared at the pink mare. "You may have fooled the teacher with that excuse, but I've known you longer. What's going on?" Silver asked, stepping into her friends path. Diamond huffed. "I'm... dealing with some personal stuff," Diamond said, getting a glare from Silver who was obviously unsatisfied with the answer. Diamond simply glared back. After several long seconds Silver rolled her eyes. "Fine, keep your secret. Just remember you can tell me anything, okay," the gray mare said, trying to be reassuring. Diamond sighed heavily as her friend walked away. "Not sure I can ever tell you what I'm about to do," she said looking at the black material in her open backpack. ////////////////////// Diamond awoke to shouting. She'd gone to bed as soon as she had arrived home, trying to make sure she'd be awake for her plan tonight. From the sound of the shouting, she needed to get ready now. She jumped out if her bed and grabbed her bag from next to the desk on the other side of the room. She opened it and started pulling the suit she'd taken from her father's secret room and started putting it on. The whip and mask now sat exposed at the bottom of the bag. The shouting increased in volume and Diamond moved to the door out of curiosity. "And you have no idea who got in there?" the stallion from the previous day asked. "No, but if Fiscal still needs me to move his shipment, then I need that suit found. It ties me to several burglaries that would put me away for a life time," Filthy explained. Diamond smiled at this. Don't worry too much dad. I'll take care of everything, she thought. "Fine. I'll start asking around and get back to you when I find something," the thug said. "Next time, though don't keep incriminating evidence. Burn it," the stallion said forcefully, the front door slamming a few seconds later. Diamond moved back to her desk and was about to grab the whip when she heard hoofsteps coming down the hall. She shoved the bag under her desk and jumped back in her bed, pulling the covers over the suit and she pretended to be asleep. Seconds later the door opened and her father stepped into the room. "Diamond? Are you awake?" Filthy asked. Diamond didn't answer. "I'm sorry," Filthy said, sounding as if he were in tears. "I've made so many mistakes in my life. I prayed you'd never have to know, but it looks like my secrets will be out soon," the stallion said, moving closer to his daughter's bed. Diamond felt him run a hoof through her mane. "I just hope you know, that whatever happens, you were always the most important part of my life," Filthy admitted, tears staining the bed sheets. Diamond had to fight the urge to throw her hooves around her father and tell him she'd always love him, but she knew she had to stay put to protect him. Filthy got up from the bed and walked to the door. "I love you," he said softly as he shut the door quietly. Diamond sat up in her bed and looked at the door for a moment. She got out of the bed and walked to her bag, grabbing the whip and mask out of it. She slipped the mask over her face as she moved over to the window, opening it and climbing out onto the fire escape. Diamond looked back at the door across her room. "I love you too dad," she said, shutting the window and making her way down the fire escape. Once she was at the bottom she spotted the stallion exiting the building. He looked around for a moment before he started walking down the street, an annoyed look on his face. Diamond immediately found a flaw in her plan. She didn't know how to follow the thug without being on the ground. She looked up at the next building and saw a flag pole extending from the side, another fire escape just past it. She glanced at the whip in her hoof and then back to the pole. "Worth a shot," she muttered as she swung the whip as hard as she could aiming at the flagpole. The whip wrapped around it and Diamond jumped, swinging to the next fire escape. She landed with the grace years of gymnastics gave her and smiled. "This could be more fun than I thought," she told herself as she caught sight of the stallion rounding a corner. "Oh crap," she cursed as she jumped onto a window ledge and started skillfully following the stallion along the sides of buildings. ///////////////////////////// Scootaloo swung through the night air, scanning the streets below for signs of trouble. She'd already stopped three muggers, four vandals and stopped a robbery in progress. Nights like this had become routine for the teenager. "Just another night," she told herself as she swung down to street level. Several ponies patted her on the back and asked for autographs. She smiled beneath her mask. Being a hero had been easy at first, but naysayers hadn't wasted any time springing up soon after the final battle with the Lizard. Chief among them, Namby Pamby, editor in chief at the Daily Bugle. The stallion had been turning every good deed Scootaloo did against her. He'd even gone as far as to say Scootaloo had been responsible for Cheerilee's transformation. He was technically correct, but it still hurt to hear. Scootaloo stopped at a newsstand and glanced at the headline on the Bugle. Wall-Crawler Still At Large. Scootaloo sighed. "What's your deal Pamby?" she asked herself. Scootaloo jumped off of the sidewalk and started heading for home. Before she'd rounded the next block a police car drove beneath her, sirens blaring. Scootaloo cursed her luck as she reversed her swing and started following the squad car. "I thought the wicked weren't supposed to rest," she muttered to herself. Not a HeroDiamond Tiara watched from a nearby balcony as the thuggish stallion entered what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She'd followed him at least a dozen blocks from her home and she was starting to lose her strength. It had become more and more difficult to follow her quarry, but years of conditioning had paid off. "Don't think this is what daddy meant for me to do when he sent me to gymnastics, but it's a handy skill," she told herself as she used a light post to swing onto the top of the building, landing with a dull thud. "What was that?" a panicked voice asked from below. Diamond found a rusty hole in the roof and peered into the building. A small group of stallions, five total, were meeting in the warehouse, each one armed with a gun. They were all alert and had their eyes on the ceiling where she'd landed. Gotta work on my subtlety, Diamond thought, not liking the idea of being bullet ridden. "Forget about it," the stallion Diamond recognized told the others. "We're done here anyway. Just see what you can find out about that suit. It needs to be found or Mr. Fiscal's shipment won't get sent. Understood?" he explained. The other stallion's nodded. "Alright then meeting adjourned," he told them. "Can't let them leave," Diamond said as she kicked the roof, making a much louder noise. The stallion's looked to the ceiling again. "Okay somepony is up there!" One shouted as he pointed his gun at the roof and started shooting. Diamond jumped out of the way and landed on a rusty part of the roof. The weak metal gave way beneath her and she found herself hurtling towards the floor of the warehouse. She flung the whip at the rafters and found herself swinging a little lower before the line pulled free over a shipping crate. Diamond landed on the container with a grunt and just barely avoided rolling off of the edge. Before she had time to recover she heard shouting heading in her direction. "They fell over here, come on," one stallion shouted. Diamond stayed still where she was and waited. She heard hoof steps on the ground below her as the stallions passed by. Once they'd passed her she peeked over the edge if the container and saw one stallion head in a different direction than the others. She quietly slid off of the container and followed the stallion, staying in the shadows. Once she felt they were a good distance from the others, Diamond pounced on the unsespecting thug, kicking and punching the surprised stallion. "Ah! What the hell?!" he shouted, trying to dislodge the aggressive mare. "Get the hell off me you crazy- AHH!" the stallion yelped as Diamond punched him in the back. She made to hit him again when another hoof grabbed hers. "Well look at this? We got ourselves a superhero," the stallion that had snuck up on Diamond said, pulling her off of his comrade. The rest of the thugs soon joined them and two of them grabbed her and pinned her on her back to the ground. The stallion Diamond had attacked, pulled a knife out if his jacket and walked up to her. "You're gonna regret hittin’ me from behind," he said as he brought the knife closer. Diamond started struggling, a look of fear in her eyes. When the knife was only an inch from her face the group heard the sound of sirens outside. "Cops. We need to bounce," one thug said. "You got lucky little filly. Next time don't be a hero," the knife wielder said as the group started to turn. Diamond heard a dull thud behind her and the stallion's turned their up heads in shock. "So what did the gangster say when he met Spider-Mare the first time?" a voice called mockingly. Diamond turned and her eyes went wide as well. "It's Spider-Mare!" one thug shouted in shock only to have his mouth webbed shut. "Guess you heard that one," the costumed mare said as she jumped into the middle of the group. She grabbed one stallion by the leg and tossed him into one of his buddies. "How about this one. How many thugs does it take to squish a spider?" she asked as she tripped another thug and webbed the last one to a shipping container. "I'll let you know when one actually does," she finished, the knife wielder got up and attacked from behind. "Look out!" Diamond shouted, having watched most of the spectacle in shock. Spider-Mare readily dodged the knife and kicked a back leg at the stallion's jaw, knocking him out. The wall crawler surveyed her work before turning to Diamond. "Well they're already for the cops. You need anything else?" she asked. Diamond gave the mare a questioning look before she spotted the stallion that had spoken to her dad lying unconscious under one of his friends. "No I'm fine," she assured as she got up brushing the dust and dirt from her costume as walked past the hero. "I'll just take this and go," she said as she started dragging the stallion away. She was surprised when she couldn't budge the criminal. She turned to see if he was caught on something only to find Spider-Mare holding a leg. "Ya know, I've only been a super hero for a little while myself, but I don't think this is something we do," Spider-Mare said, tilting her head in confusion. Diamond sighed in frustration. "Well I'm not a superhero. So let go," she demanded, growing annoyed. The costumed hero shook her head. "I can't. Its kinda my job to make sure he goes to jail," she said, a note of disappointment in her voice. "I can't let you kill him," she finished. Diamond's eyes went wide. "I'm not gonna kill," she defended, angrily. "I'm just gonna ask him politely to tell me where his boss is," she explained. "And if he doesn't tell you?" Spider-Mare asked sternly. Diamond rolled her eyes. "Look this guy threatened my family. I'm gonna make sure he never does that again," she asserted. Spider-Mare shook her head again. "Then tell the cops," she suggested. Diamond growled in annoyance. "I can't. You don't get it. I'm just trying to protect my dad. What's wrong with that?" she asked angrily. "Does he know you're out here?" Spider-Mare asked, making Diamond cringe. "No," the pink mare admitted. "But he still needs to be protected and you're too busy going after muggers to bother taking on any organized crime," she accused. Spider-Mare seemed shocked at this. Just then they heard hoof steps rushing toward them. "Cops," Spider-Mare said, yanking the stallion from Diamond's grasp and grabbing her hoof. Diamond felt her hooves leave the ground as Spider-Mare carried her while swinging to the ceiling. The superhero latched onto the roof near the hole Diamond had made earlier and crawled through it still holding her passenger. Diamond had been too shocked by the actions to protest, but she quickly came to her senses. "Hey! I needed that guy!" she shouted. Spider-Mare didn't seem to hear her. "Just leave this stuff to superheroes," she replied, distractedly before jumping off of the roof and swinging away. Diamond watched her leave before looking back through the hole to see the cops already cuffing the thugs. She sighed angrily as she too jumped from the roof and started making her way home. //////////////////////// Scootaloo crawled in her window an hour later and flopped onto her bed, the words of the mare she saved ringing in her ears. "She's right. I need to cut off the head of the snake," she told herself as her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep. ResearchSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Mr. FiscalSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Final ChoicesSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Is it Worth it?Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
FrustrationsScootaloo swung through the buildings of Manehattan, a black topless muscle car racing through traffic below her. The stallion in the passenger seat turned around and pointed a pistol at the costumed mare above him. He fired three shots and Scootaloo ducked and flipped out of the way of each of them. "Really?" Scootaloo asked as she swung low and landed on the back of the car. She knocked the gun out of the stallion's hoof. "I handle armed thugs almost everyday. You really thought you'd be the first to put a bullet in me?" the young mare asked. Before the stallion could answer Scootaloo shot a glob of web at his mouth. "That was rhetorical," she confirmed turning to the driver. "Hey pal think you can just pull over?" she asked. The driver swerved the car trying to dislodge the extra passenger. "Guess that's a no," Scootaloo said. She jumped onto the hood of the car and started shooting webs at the road in front if the car. She then leaped skidding as her hooves hit the asphalt. Scootaloo pulled on the webs in her forehooves and the car quickly slowed to a stop. Scootaloo walked around to the drivers side of the car and webbed the drivers hooves to the steering wheel before he could get out. The passenger clambered out of the other side and Scootaloo jumped over the car after him. She had just finished webbing the second stallion to the car when she heard sirens coming down the street. "Hey, they finally caught up. You two stay outta trouble alright?" Scootaloo told them as she took a step back. "Way to go Spidey!" a passerby shouted as Scootaloo jumped onto a street lamp. "Just another day for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Mare!" Scootaloo yelled back as she swung away. ///////////////////////// Scootaloo climbed in through her bedroom window almost an hour later. She quickly took off the red and blue costume she wore most of the time when she was out. She then stuffed the outfit under her bed and left her room. Scootaloo entered the living room and was surprised to see her Aunt Cup Cake and her twin children, Pound and Pumpkin watching the television set with rapt attention "Oh, Scootaloo take a seat. Rainbow Dash is having a press conference about that attack last night," Cup said, knowing Scootaloo was a huge fan of the rainbow maned mare. Scootaloo quickly took a seat next to her aunt. Rainbow Dash spoke for a moment about the attack until the yellow pegasus behind her whispered in her ear. "Sorry. Right so I'm just gonna tell the truth here. The truth is," Rainbow said, and then she seemed to freeze for a moment. The pegasus behind her nudged Rainbow. Rainbow recomposed herself. "The truth is," Rainbow set down the cue cards and looked right at the cameras. "I am Iron Mare." Scootaloo's jaw dropped at that statement. Rainbow Dash, her idol, was a super hero. "That's awesome!" the young mare shouted catching her family off guard. "If you say so," Cup said sitting up from the couch. "That mare has had more drunken outbursts on the internet than any pop star I've heard of," the blue mare stated, skeptical about the statement Rainbow Dash had made on live television. "To be honest I'm skeptical about all of this super hero buisness." Scootaloo frowned at that. "As I recall a pair of heroes saved you and the twins from the Lizard," Scootaloo pointed out. "And blew up the kitchen," Cup countered. The mention of that incident seemed to distract Cup Cake. The older mare shook her head. "My point is Spider-Mare and now Rainbow Dash are walking a fine line between hero and public menace, with all of the property damage," the earth pony said as she walked downstairs. Scootaloo watched her leave, her aunt's words weighing heavily in her mind. "I think super heroes are cool," Pound said, agreeing with his surrogate sister. Scootaloo smiled at the small comfort. /////////////////////////// "But daddy, it's the new winter line. If I don't get it I'll be wearing all my clothes from last winter," Diamond Tiara pleaded with her father. She had been trying to get Filthy Rich to fund a shopping trip for her and her best friend, Silver Spoon. "No Diamond. You'll have to make due. Things aren't going well at work, so we'll have to make due with a tighter budget," Filthy explained as he sorted through some files on his desk. He and his daughter were talking in his home office. Daimond began to pout and her father sighed in frustration. "I'm gonna be the laughing stock of the whole school," she said, looking away from her father. Filthy chuckled. "I'd be a lucky stallion if being teased at school was all I had to be worried about," he countered. Diamond rolled here eyes, knowing one of her fathers lectures on principles was coming. "When I was your age my father hadn't even gotten the family buisness up and running yet," Filthy explained, referring to the shipping company he had inherited from his father, Stinkin Rich. It transported cargo all over the world for companies that didn't want to take the expense to ship their own products. "I had to make my own fortune. Accepting whatever jobs I could get. I wasn't doing too bad either," Filthy continued. "So why did you take over Grampa's company?" Diamond asked, curiously. Filthy sighed. "My work at the time involved a lot of travel and I wanted a more stable life," Filthy explained. "Sounds boring to me," Diamond commented, trying to find an interesting decoration in her father's office. She couldn't spot anything noteworthy. Filthy smiled. "Well I got a beautiful daughter out of the deal, so I'm not complaining," he said. Diamond rolled her eyes. "Alright I get it. Be grateful for what I have or something," Diamond replied as she made her way to the door. "Diamond don't forget your gymnastics class is in an hour. I don't want you to be late," Filthy said as Diamond opened the door. "I haven't been late to a class ever. And I've been going since I was three," Daimond said as she left the room. //////////////////////////////// Scootaloo munched on hay fries, nervously watching her best friend, Dinky, across the diner table they usually sat at on these meetings. The unicorn was busy reading a news paper article from the latest issue of the Daily Bugle. "Did he say anything good about me yet?" Scootaloo asked, stuffing more hayfries into her mouth. Dinky looked up and sighed. "Do you consider 'wall crawling menace' a compliment?" Dinky asked, trying to make light of the article. Scootaloo ran a hoof through her mane. "I suppose that's better than 'Manehattan's terror' or 'criminal mastermind'," the Pegasus joked, shoving the rest of the fries to Dinky. "Celestia, what did I ever do to this guy?" "Namby Pamby is just a news editor trying to sell papers. He doesn't really care how it effects the ponies he writes about," Dinky reasoned. Scootaloo gave a forced laugh at that. "Really cause Spider-Mare is old news compared to... what did that Canterlot paper call her? Oh, right the 'Invincible Iron Mare'," she said, clearly unhappy with how the press treated her. Dinky gave her friend a sympathetic look. "I think the main difference is Rainbow Dash doesn't have a secret identity. If she causes millions of dollars in property damage, there's somepony to pay the bills," Dinky explained. Scootaloo sighed in annoyance. "And if I blow up, say a bakery, the cops can't pin it on me," Scootaloo guessed. "Basically," Dinky confirmed, frowning Scootaloo's frustration. "I know it sucks, but you had to expect a few naysayers. I mean what's one paper slandering your name compared to an entire city of fans?" Dinky asked, eliciting a smile from her friend. "I guess things could be worse," Scootaloo agreed, grabbing another hoofful of hayfries. "I mean what's worse than a ten foot lizard?" she asked jokingly. //////////////////////// Diamond Tiara arrived home, sweaty and exhausted from her gymnastics class. She'd been top in her class for years. Her teacher even said she was ready for the Equestrian Games. Something she was extremely proud of. "Dad! I'm home!" she called out into the upper class condo, she and her father lived in. The door to her father's office opened to Daimond's left and her father appeared, seeming nervous. "Sweet heart, I'm sorry. I'm meeting a potential business partner at the moment," Filthy explained. Diamond peered past her father into his office and saw a rather thuggish looking earth pony stallion sitting in a chair. "You'll have to feed yourself tonight. Sorry," Filthy said apologetically. "No problem," Diamond replied, weary of the stallion in her father's office. Filthy gave her a nod before reentering his office, shutting the door behind himself. Curious, Diamond walked over to the door and put her ear to it. "You have a very beautiful daughter, Mr. Rich," an unfamiliar voice said, obviously the thuggish stallion. "Don't go there," Filthy replied, a dangerous edge in his voice. "I meant nothing by it," the stallion replied. "But I might start getting a little more threatening if you don't come up with the money you owe. Mr. Fiscal isn't a very patient stallion," the earth pony said. "I'll get the money. I just need a little more time. Dash industries ended their contract with us over the shipment to Saddle Arabia and they were a big portion of our yearly income," Filthy explained. The earth pony groaned in frustration. "I'm willing to give you another few weeks," the stallion relented. "Please don't give me a reason to be threatening," he finished. Diamond heard the stallions start to move towards the door and quickly ran to the hallway a few feet away. She peeked around the corner and watched the unknown stallion leave without another word. Filthy stood by the door and scratched his head, frustrated. "Everything okay dad?" Diamond asked, stepping out of hiding. Filthy turned startled by his daughter. "Yeah. I was just... setting up a new contract is all," he lied, smiling at Diamond. "I need to go to the office and get a few things. Don't wait up," Filthy said as he moved towards the door as well. Diamond only nodded in understanding and waited for her father to leave. Once he was gone the pink mare walked into her father's office and started searching through the bookshelves. She knew her father had a security camera hidden somewhere. She had been caught playing in the room several times when she was a filly. Her plan was to get the tape of what she had just heard and take it to the police. Nopony threatens my dad, she thought angrily. After about ten minutes of searching, Diamond found the lens and started following the wire that sprouted from the back. She knew it wasn't connected to the desk top computer on the desk, because she had looked through it's many files before and never found anything. Diamond was surprised to find the wire feeding through the wall, that she had always thought connected to the out of service elevator shaft that should have been there. The doors had never worked on this floor as far as Diamond knew. Diamond tried to peek through the small hole and put a hoof on a row of books for support. She felt her hoof start to slip and accidentally pulled a book out of place. The book froze halfway out of place and to the young mares surprise part of the book case swung inwards toward the abandoned elevator shaft. Cautiously, Diamond peeked into the surprisingly well lit room and her jaw dropped at the contents. The walls were plastered with old news clippings, detailing the actions of a famous cat burglar from several years ago. The rooms centerpiece was what caught Diamonds attention though. A black leather suit that looked like it might have fit her father many years ago, was draped on a mannequin. A wooden box lay at the foot of the pedestal. Diamond opened the box and she pulled out a black face mask and a very long whip. "What the hell is all this?" Diamond asked herself in wonderment.
TiredScootaloo ran through the halls of her school, grumbling as she stuffed her costume in her backpack. "Stupid crooks. Why can't they wait til after school to rob convenience stores," she mumbled as she adjusted her bag on her back. The halls around her were empty and she knew she was late for homeroom. A stallion had been holding up a store on Scootaloo's way to school and he'd taken up a good twenty minutes of her morning. Scootaloo arrived at the door to her homeroom and slowly pushed it open. Everypony in the class turned at the disturbance. Scootaloo guessed she'd missed roll call. "Umm... sorry, I'm late. Had to make a pit stop," she explained, hoping she wouldn't be questioned further. The teacher rolled her eyes. "Just take your seat Scootaloo and try to be on time tomorrow," the yellow mare stated, returning here eyes to the papers on her desk. Scootaloo spotted Dinky and Babs sitting towards the back of the room and joined them, taking the seat next to Dinky and behind Babs. "Keep showin’ up late and I'll look like a teacher's pet," Babs said smiling. "Babs you could do all your homework for a month and not look like a teachers pet," Scootaloo countered, jokingly. Dinky rolled her eyes at the banter. "Well at least you aren't the only one who's late today," the unicorn said, pointing a hoof at the door. Scootaloo and Babs glanced over to see Diamond Tiara entering the room. The pink mare had shadows under her eyes and shuffled tiredely across the room. "I overslept. I was up late doing homework," she mumbled, shuffling to a seat next to Silver Spoon before the teacher could reply. Scootaloo watched with interest. "Is it bad I'm a little happy?" she asked looking away from the earth pony. "Nah," Babs answered simply, leaning back in her chair. Dinky glared at Babs. "It is frowned upon to take pleasure in the misery of others," she told her friends with a frown. Scootaloo sighed. "I know. Kinda hard though when she's caused us so much trouble," Scootaloo replied. Dinky looked at her desk and twiddled her hooves. "What would Spider-Mare do?" Dinky asked avoiding looking at Scootaloo. Scootaloo's eyes went wide. "That's low," she said, slightly angry. "How?" Babs asked. "She's a super hero. Whatever she does has to be good right?" she questioned. Scootaloo snorted. "Everypony makes mistakes. Shouldn't put her on such a high pedestal," she argued, resting her head on her desk. Babs quirked an eyebrow. //////////////////////////// By the time lunch came around Diamond was even more exhausted than she'd been that morning. Several times she'd been caught sleeping by teachers in class. Diamond rubbed her eyes as she made her way to her locker and started stuffing books and binders in it, dropping her open backpack on the ground by her side. "Hey Diamond," a familiar voice called. Diamond looked up to see Silver Spoon approaching her. "Hey Silver, what's up?" Diamond asked, blinking tiredly. "Not you. Why are you so tired?" Silver asked with concern for her long time friend. "I already explained that. I was up late doing homework," Diamond explained again, turning to go to lunch, shutting her locker with her tail. Silver Spoon glared at the pink mare. "You may have fooled the teacher with that excuse, but I've known you longer. What's going on?" Silver asked, stepping into her friends path. Diamond huffed. "I'm... dealing with some personal stuff," Diamond said, getting a glare from Silver who was obviously unsatisfied with the answer. Diamond simply glared back. After several long seconds Silver rolled her eyes. "Fine, keep your secret. Just remember you can tell me anything, okay," the gray mare said, trying to be reassuring. Diamond sighed heavily as her friend walked away. "Not sure I can ever tell you what I'm about to do," she said looking at the black material in her open backpack. ////////////////////// Diamond awoke to shouting. She'd gone to bed as soon as she had arrived home, trying to make sure she'd be awake for her plan tonight. From the sound of the shouting, she needed to get ready now. She jumped out if her bed and grabbed her bag from next to the desk on the other side of the room. She opened it and started pulling the suit she'd taken from her father's secret room and started putting it on. The whip and mask now sat exposed at the bottom of the bag. The shouting increased in volume and Diamond moved to the door out of curiosity. "And you have no idea who got in there?" the stallion from the previous day asked. "No, but if Fiscal still needs me to move his shipment, then I need that suit found. It ties me to several burglaries that would put me away for a life time," Filthy explained. Diamond smiled at this. Don't worry too much dad. I'll take care of everything, she thought. "Fine. I'll start asking around and get back to you when I find something," the thug said. "Next time, though don't keep incriminating evidence. Burn it," the stallion said forcefully, the front door slamming a few seconds later. Diamond moved back to her desk and was about to grab the whip when she heard hoofsteps coming down the hall. She shoved the bag under her desk and jumped back in her bed, pulling the covers over the suit and she pretended to be asleep. Seconds later the door opened and her father stepped into the room. "Diamond? Are you awake?" Filthy asked. Diamond didn't answer. "I'm sorry," Filthy said, sounding as if he were in tears. "I've made so many mistakes in my life. I prayed you'd never have to know, but it looks like my secrets will be out soon," the stallion said, moving closer to his daughter's bed. Diamond felt him run a hoof through her mane. "I just hope you know, that whatever happens, you were always the most important part of my life," Filthy admitted, tears staining the bed sheets. Diamond had to fight the urge to throw her hooves around her father and tell him she'd always love him, but she knew she had to stay put to protect him. Filthy got up from the bed and walked to the door. "I love you," he said softly as he shut the door quietly. Diamond sat up in her bed and looked at the door for a moment. She got out of the bed and walked to her bag, grabbing the whip and mask out of it. She slipped the mask over her face as she moved over to the window, opening it and climbing out onto the fire escape. Diamond looked back at the door across her room. "I love you too dad," she said, shutting the window and making her way down the fire escape. Once she was at the bottom she spotted the stallion exiting the building. He looked around for a moment before he started walking down the street, an annoyed look on his face. Diamond immediately found a flaw in her plan. She didn't know how to follow the thug without being on the ground. She looked up at the next building and saw a flag pole extending from the side, another fire escape just past it. She glanced at the whip in her hoof and then back to the pole. "Worth a shot," she muttered as she swung the whip as hard as she could aiming at the flagpole. The whip wrapped around it and Diamond jumped, swinging to the next fire escape. She landed with the grace years of gymnastics gave her and smiled. "This could be more fun than I thought," she told herself as she caught sight of the stallion rounding a corner. "Oh crap," she cursed as she jumped onto a window ledge and started skillfully following the stallion along the sides of buildings. ///////////////////////////// Scootaloo swung through the night air, scanning the streets below for signs of trouble. She'd already stopped three muggers, four vandals and stopped a robbery in progress. Nights like this had become routine for the teenager. "Just another night," she told herself as she swung down to street level. Several ponies patted her on the back and asked for autographs. She smiled beneath her mask. Being a hero had been easy at first, but naysayers hadn't wasted any time springing up soon after the final battle with the Lizard. Chief among them, Namby Pamby, editor in chief at the Daily Bugle. The stallion had been turning every good deed Scootaloo did against her. He'd even gone as far as to say Scootaloo had been responsible for Cheerilee's transformation. He was technically correct, but it still hurt to hear. Scootaloo stopped at a newsstand and glanced at the headline on the Bugle. Wall-Crawler Still At Large. Scootaloo sighed. "What's your deal Pamby?" she asked herself. Scootaloo jumped off of the sidewalk and started heading for home. Before she'd rounded the next block a police car drove beneath her, sirens blaring. Scootaloo cursed her luck as she reversed her swing and started following the squad car. "I thought the wicked weren't supposed to rest," she muttered to herself.
Not a HeroDiamond Tiara watched from a nearby balcony as the thuggish stallion entered what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She'd followed him at least a dozen blocks from her home and she was starting to lose her strength. It had become more and more difficult to follow her quarry, but years of conditioning had paid off. "Don't think this is what daddy meant for me to do when he sent me to gymnastics, but it's a handy skill," she told herself as she used a light post to swing onto the top of the building, landing with a dull thud. "What was that?" a panicked voice asked from below. Diamond found a rusty hole in the roof and peered into the building. A small group of stallions, five total, were meeting in the warehouse, each one armed with a gun. They were all alert and had their eyes on the ceiling where she'd landed. Gotta work on my subtlety, Diamond thought, not liking the idea of being bullet ridden. "Forget about it," the stallion Diamond recognized told the others. "We're done here anyway. Just see what you can find out about that suit. It needs to be found or Mr. Fiscal's shipment won't get sent. Understood?" he explained. The other stallion's nodded. "Alright then meeting adjourned," he told them. "Can't let them leave," Diamond said as she kicked the roof, making a much louder noise. The stallion's looked to the ceiling again. "Okay somepony is up there!" One shouted as he pointed his gun at the roof and started shooting. Diamond jumped out of the way and landed on a rusty part of the roof. The weak metal gave way beneath her and she found herself hurtling towards the floor of the warehouse. She flung the whip at the rafters and found herself swinging a little lower before the line pulled free over a shipping crate. Diamond landed on the container with a grunt and just barely avoided rolling off of the edge. Before she had time to recover she heard shouting heading in her direction. "They fell over here, come on," one stallion shouted. Diamond stayed still where she was and waited. She heard hoof steps on the ground below her as the stallions passed by. Once they'd passed her she peeked over the edge if the container and saw one stallion head in a different direction than the others. She quietly slid off of the container and followed the stallion, staying in the shadows. Once she felt they were a good distance from the others, Diamond pounced on the unsespecting thug, kicking and punching the surprised stallion. "Ah! What the hell?!" he shouted, trying to dislodge the aggressive mare. "Get the hell off me you crazy- AHH!" the stallion yelped as Diamond punched him in the back. She made to hit him again when another hoof grabbed hers. "Well look at this? We got ourselves a superhero," the stallion that had snuck up on Diamond said, pulling her off of his comrade. The rest of the thugs soon joined them and two of them grabbed her and pinned her on her back to the ground. The stallion Diamond had attacked, pulled a knife out if his jacket and walked up to her. "You're gonna regret hittin’ me from behind," he said as he brought the knife closer. Diamond started struggling, a look of fear in her eyes. When the knife was only an inch from her face the group heard the sound of sirens outside. "Cops. We need to bounce," one thug said. "You got lucky little filly. Next time don't be a hero," the knife wielder said as the group started to turn. Diamond heard a dull thud behind her and the stallion's turned their up heads in shock. "So what did the gangster say when he met Spider-Mare the first time?" a voice called mockingly. Diamond turned and her eyes went wide as well. "It's Spider-Mare!" one thug shouted in shock only to have his mouth webbed shut. "Guess you heard that one," the costumed mare said as she jumped into the middle of the group. She grabbed one stallion by the leg and tossed him into one of his buddies. "How about this one. How many thugs does it take to squish a spider?" she asked as she tripped another thug and webbed the last one to a shipping container. "I'll let you know when one actually does," she finished, the knife wielder got up and attacked from behind. "Look out!" Diamond shouted, having watched most of the spectacle in shock. Spider-Mare readily dodged the knife and kicked a back leg at the stallion's jaw, knocking him out. The wall crawler surveyed her work before turning to Diamond. "Well they're already for the cops. You need anything else?" she asked. Diamond gave the mare a questioning look before she spotted the stallion that had spoken to her dad lying unconscious under one of his friends. "No I'm fine," she assured as she got up brushing the dust and dirt from her costume as walked past the hero. "I'll just take this and go," she said as she started dragging the stallion away. She was surprised when she couldn't budge the criminal. She turned to see if he was caught on something only to find Spider-Mare holding a leg. "Ya know, I've only been a super hero for a little while myself, but I don't think this is something we do," Spider-Mare said, tilting her head in confusion. Diamond sighed in frustration. "Well I'm not a superhero. So let go," she demanded, growing annoyed. The costumed hero shook her head. "I can't. Its kinda my job to make sure he goes to jail," she said, a note of disappointment in her voice. "I can't let you kill him," she finished. Diamond's eyes went wide. "I'm not gonna kill," she defended, angrily. "I'm just gonna ask him politely to tell me where his boss is," she explained. "And if he doesn't tell you?" Spider-Mare asked sternly. Diamond rolled her eyes. "Look this guy threatened my family. I'm gonna make sure he never does that again," she asserted. Spider-Mare shook her head again. "Then tell the cops," she suggested. Diamond growled in annoyance. "I can't. You don't get it. I'm just trying to protect my dad. What's wrong with that?" she asked angrily. "Does he know you're out here?" Spider-Mare asked, making Diamond cringe. "No," the pink mare admitted. "But he still needs to be protected and you're too busy going after muggers to bother taking on any organized crime," she accused. Spider-Mare seemed shocked at this. Just then they heard hoof steps rushing toward them. "Cops," Spider-Mare said, yanking the stallion from Diamond's grasp and grabbing her hoof. Diamond felt her hooves leave the ground as Spider-Mare carried her while swinging to the ceiling. The superhero latched onto the roof near the hole Diamond had made earlier and crawled through it still holding her passenger. Diamond had been too shocked by the actions to protest, but she quickly came to her senses. "Hey! I needed that guy!" she shouted. Spider-Mare didn't seem to hear her. "Just leave this stuff to superheroes," she replied, distractedly before jumping off of the roof and swinging away. Diamond watched her leave before looking back through the hole to see the cops already cuffing the thugs. She sighed angrily as she too jumped from the roof and started making her way home. //////////////////////// Scootaloo crawled in her window an hour later and flopped onto her bed, the words of the mare she saved ringing in her ears. "She's right. I need to cut off the head of the snake," she told herself as her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.
