I entered the alley and approached the body, my fedora pulled low and my hands shoved in my trench coat, due to the cold winter I had forsaken the leather vest. There wasn’t any snow yet, but with the chill in the air I wouldn’t be surprised if there was in the next few weeks.

I looked over the dead Griffin corpse. The body was a mess of blood and stab wounds, the eyes were gouged out and the wing had been plucked and severed. I looked at the wall and unsurprisingly there was a derogatory message scrawled on the wall with the victim’s blood. This time about being a half breed freak.

There was no doubt, it was done by the same serial killer that had been stalking the streets for the past month. I'd made both Aunt May and Cat promise not to leave their homes after dark without protection, I couldn't bare to have them come to harm.

I looked around for any clues, starting with the victim’s claws. Griffin claws can get a lot of fabric caught in them, it was usually annoying, but it might help me tonight. There were a few dark blue hairs scattered about her left claw, it was looking more and more like a pony did this. I opened up her right claw and pulled up the strip of bloody fabric she had. I pulled off a glove and felt the fabric. It was silk, no way that it belonged to her, I could count the number of Griffins able to afford silk on one hand, and the rest of her attire had a poor look to them. It might have been the killer’s, although she might have just stole it as well. Pulling my glove back on I stuffed fabric into my pocket as well as a few of the hairs. Right before I left I spotted a red stain next to the body, yet a small distance away from the rest of the blood. I bent down and dipped my fingers into it, it was thinner than blood. I sniffed it and frowned before lifting my mask so my lips were exposed and licked the liquid. It was wine. Strong too. I pulled my mask down, who could have access to wine? I pulled out a small vial and scooped some wine into it.

With that I took off to the rooftops before the cops showed up. As I ran across the rooftops I heard a yell to stop. I looked back and saw a some pegasi cops chasing me. I quickly shot some webs at them and grinned as their wings were hit by the gunk and they smashed, face first, into the rooftops. Up ahead there was a gap in the rooftops, where the street was and I dropped onto street level, right in front of a group of unicorn cops, to their shock. I leapt above them, kicking one in the face as I landed on top of a passing carriage.

The rest of the cops stared at me for a few seconds before chasing after me. I looked to the driver of the carriage and he grinned, “Nice to see you, Spider! Anywhere you want to go?”

“Around the corner.” I said, crouching down.

“STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!” One of the police yelled as they raced after me. I shot a few webs their way, most of them missing, but two hit their targets and were stuck to the ground. As the carriage turned the corner I leapt off and into an alley. As the cops ran passed I watched silently from the alley for several moments before deciding it was safe to leave.

I almost immediately came face to face with a pony. He looked terrified. “IT’S THE SPID-!” He started to scream before I webbed his mouth shut and threw him at a wall inside the alley and webbed him to it before knocking him unconscious with a punch.

“Take a nap.” I spat, walking out of the alley, pulling my hat low. Everyone ignored me as I walked down the streets, either too scared or too unconcerned to say anything. It was strange, before I gave up my old ways I was always having stones thrown at me or being attacked by the ponies. After I stopped holding back as much they instantly backed off. I scoffed at the ponies glaring at me as I walked.

After spending a good hour walking the streets to make sure I’d lost the police I made my back to the rooftops. The police were combing the streets for me again. I leapt across the rooftops and tackled a pegasus cop in midair, slamming her onto the rooftop and knocking her out cold. I’d taken out ten out the police’s lookouts tonight alone. I paused at a rooftop and sighed, my mind was cluttered, I needed to get my thoughts straight.

I leapt across the street and perched on top of a gargoyle sticking out of a building and rested, thinking to myself while watching the streets for any signs of trouble.

I was used to the ponies hating me. They didn’t throw things at me anymore, but I could tell. The ponies hated me, all but the really good, but rare, ones. But to the Griffins, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs and other non-pony outcasts? I guess I was a hero, or at least that's what they saw me as. I wasn't a pure, incorruptible person, but I was what they needed. Someone who would stand up for them when no one else would. So what if a few of the ponies I put down ended up drinking through a straw for the rest of their life? So what if they ended up with brain damage after my attacks? So what if a few of them ended up dead because of their injuries? It was a lot less then they’d do! They kill off the other species for good! I tried just knocking them out for five damn years! Nothing came of it! But the moment I let my anger speak through my fists things changed. Before the criminals of this city were scared of me, now they’re terrified, running scared at the mere sight of me. I don’t regret those that’ve died because of my attacks, in the end they deserved it.

All the racism, all the hatred. Living in this city takes a toll on you. On your soul. I don’t think I’ve met a single soul who wasn’t cynical. I had once looked into the reasons for all the hatred against non-ponies and after weeks of researching I found my answer

It all started after the fall of Griffonstone a hundred or so years ago. The Griffins of the time decided to abandon their home and take parts of Equestria by force. The eventual war it led to was quick yet brutal. The Griffins got their new home, but at the cost of having to work as servants and lower class citizens for twenty years. Celestia thought that it would teach them humility, but things quickly spiraled out of control. Ponies held a grudge and it all started with just insults, but before long the large cities had regular beatings going on. That was all it was, light beatings, all until a night where a pony teenager was found dead, killed by a Griffin in self defense. The Griffin was executed, right before the execution law was abolished, and the Griffins started the violence up in retaliation. After being beaten down again, the Griffins decided to keep to themselves, the ones that first attacked now being old and dying off, yet the ponies, seeking revenge kept attacking them. Over time the attacks stopped before raising up again after several years along with racism and the oppression of non-ponies in large cities. The small villages and towns didn’t get involved passed the first wave of violence. Years passed and the occasional murder of a non-pony became common, and it all just grew from there.

Now non-ponies find it hard to get proper jobs in cities, and they sure as hell can’t enter law enforcement. Sure, they could all move to towns and villages, but there are hardly any jobs available there, the cities are where there’s money to be made. Now the racism and hatred is just been passed down for so long the modern ponies don’t even know why they hate other species. The issue has been subtly raised a few times before being ignored, even after Celestia herself brought it up, the cities just got better at hiding the hate. In the end the hatred of other species has just become a part of our world, and it’s never going away.

Deciding I’d spent enough time sitting still I leapt off the gargoyle and landed on a rooftop before running across the tops of buildings, making my way towards Cat’s before I started heading home as my nightly patrol was coming to an end. I was about halfway to The Kitten when I heard a yell. I landed on top of a fire escape and scanned the streets before I saw a Griffin child be pushed by two cops. I watched as one of the cops shoved the kid into an alley. No. Not this time. I leapt into action, springing from my spot crouched on the top of the fire escape and letting myself freefall until I caught onto a lamp post and swung around, building up more momentum before flinging myself across the street and into the alley. I grabbed onto a loose brick and a windowsill, flipping myself around to observe what was really going on. Who knew, maybe it was a real crime for once, despite how unlikely the that was.

They were already yelling, "Leave me alone! I didn't do anything to you!" The kid shouted as he backed into a corner.

“Shut up, you little freak!” The cop yelled, raising his baton. Yeah, this was real honest police work.

I leapt off the wall. "Get the hell offa him!" I yelled, landing next to one of the cops and delivering a powerful uppercut to his jaw, knocking him into the trash.

"Get out of here, kid." I said as the other cop gave a roar and charged me.

"Th-thanks, Spider!" He stammered, running off as I jumped over the charging cop and delivered a swift kick to his face before breaking his leg.

I webbed the cops up and was about to make my way back up to the rooftops when my Spider-Sense flared up. I sprung into the air and grabbed a low hanging fire escape rung as a metal baseball bat swung through the air where I’d been standing a second before. I dropped down and hopped backwards. There were six stallions there, each one muscular and holding some kind of weapon. “You’re going down, Spider!” One of them yelled as he charged me, swinging a crowbar.

Not feeling in the mood, I just dodged him before smashing his face into the wall. “That’s it?” I snarled as his body crumpled to the ground. “Thugs like you idiots are a dime a dozen. Run away before you piss me off.”

“GET HIM!” The lead thug yelled before they all rushed me.

“Oh, boy.” I muttered as my Spider-Sense went crazy. I dodged a flurry of weapons as the group swung at me wildly before delivering a punch to one of the thugs. I dodged a knife but in return a bat bashed me across the ribs. I growled and jumped up into the air and delivered a brutal kick to another thug before landing on someone’s head and kicking them into the remaining two punks. I dodged to the side as a blast of magic came my way. I grabbed the nearby dumpster and, sick of them, threw it at them.

I held my ribs and winced, nothing seemed broken. “Should probably get to Felicia’s quick though.” I muttered, hauling myself up to the rooftops, crawling up the wall rather than using parkour, as much as I didn’t trust it, I needed the speed right now.

It didn’t take long to get to The Kitten. I flipped onto Cat’s balcony and came face to face with Brutal Violence, a large, bulky earth pony, almost as tall as Princess Celestia, he gave off an aura of intimidation which his lack of a mane and constant five o'clock shadow didn’t help, and the small scar over his right eyebrow made him look even more thug like.

He held out his hoof and passed me a coffee. “Good to see you, sir, Lady Scratch is waiting for you in downstairs. No disguise needed tonight.” Brutal was also Cat’s second in command and was a complete gentleman.

I took the coffee and gave him a nod, “Bad night, Brute?” The fact that Cat wanted me to meet her downstairs meant that she was closed early for the night. She never did that unless something went down.

“It could have been worse.” He admitted with a sigh, “Lady Scratch will fill you in.”

I gave him another nod and lifted my mask above my lips and sipped the coffee as I headed down the stairs. Say what you want about Brutal, he makes a mean coffee. As I pushed the door open. The large room was empty, chairs and tables were around but the only person around was Cat. I headed towards the stage she was stood on, as I got closer I noticed she had blood on her hooves. As I approached Cat she finished wiping the last of the blood off her hooves. “Trouble?”

She shook her head, “Not really. One of the customers got a little heavy hooved with one of my girls. Had to take him out back and personally teach him a lesson. “You need something, Spider? It’s a little late for you to just drop in.” She smirked.

I passed her the vial of wine. “Can you find out where this came from?”

“What’s the deal, Spider? I thought you were more of a whiskey kind of guy.” She chuckled.

“It might be a lead on the killer.” I said as I finished my coffee.

Her eyes hardened, “I’ll get on it.” She said, walking off. “Spider…” She stopped and turned to me, “If you find this bastard...are you going to kill him?”

I hesitated for a minute before speaking. "I won’t lie. It’ll be hard to restrain myself.”

“Then don’t. After what he’s done...he deserves to die.” She spat.

“Cat?”

“That bastard killed an old friend.” She shook her head, “Look, it’s not important, I’ll get back to you when I find something out.”

Something was bugging her, but she’d tell me in time. I couldn’t force it out of her even if I wanted to. “Right. I’ll see you around, Cat.” I put the mug down on the stage before leaving. I had the feeling that we’d be seeing each other soon enough.

I landed in the alley and looked around. It was empty as usual. I hid behind a dumpster and pulled off my mask and hid it in my pocket before reaching under my coat and squeezing the black stone on the pendant around my neck. A slight glow came from my coat and my costume disappeared and I felt myself shrink. I dropped down onto all fours as my body changed in an instant. I groaned and rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck before practicing smiling a few times. I sighed before leaving the alley, almost bumping into a pony as I did.

“Watch it, beaky!” He snapped. Ah, Manehattan, ain’t it a wonderful place? He went on his way, muttering about how Griffins thought they owned the place.

I rolled my eyes and headed home, getting used to my Griffin form again after the long night. The whole thing was Uncle Ben’s idea. He knew that adopting an unknown species would cause trouble, get me targeted worse than other non-ponies, so he contacted some old friend and had them make the magic stone I had around my neck. With a simple squeeze and thought of what I wanted to be I could change forms between my own body and my Griffin one. Made it easier to get into places the Spider couldn’t get.

I looked both ways before crossing the street, still almost getting hit by some carriage drove by some lunatic. I headed to my home. It was a small, white, two story, detached house. The little porch was a little run down, but I had a few plants growing to brighten up the place. I headed in and called out, “Aunt May, I’m home!”

“Peter!” Aunt May called back, rounding the corner. Her dull yellow coat was starting to grey yet her blue eyes were just as bright as ever. “You’re late, young man!” She scolded. Even in her mid fifties I still wouldn't want to tangle with this earth pony.

“Sorry, had to take care of business.” I shrugged, “What can you do?”

She shook her head, “Just try to get home early tomorrow, dear. I don’t like you staying out too late, you hardly get enough sleep as it is. And what if the police catch you? I know you’re doing a good thing...but I don’t want to wake up and find the morning newspapers are claiming they’ve captured The Spider.”

I smiled warmly, “Alright, Aunt May, I promise.”

Author's Note

Just a few notes down here.

Cat isn't Black Cat nor another Displaced, just a pony born in Equestria.

The same goes for Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Not their actual names, but they're close enough to be nicknames. As for Aunt May knowing about her nephew being the Spider...I really didn't want to do the whole 'hiding the secret identity' from her.