The Superiffic Spider-Mare

Pinkie Pie galloped across the pearly floors of the palace. To her right was Applejack and to her left flew Rainbow Dash.

The three passed the stairs leading up to the hallway of stained glass. At the end of the hallway was the Canterlot Tower vault, which housed the Elements of Harmony.

Pinkie stopped, skidding forward slightly on the polished floor. "Girls! Come back!" she called, before trotting up the stairs and to the royal vault. She sat on the ground and stared at the magically sealed door. Something didn't seem right.

"What is it?" asked Rainbow, landing on the ground beside Pinkie "Do ya think we'll need the elements?"

"No, it's not that." Pinkie replied, keeping her gaze locked on the door "Doesn't something seem off to you?"

The three stared at the vault. After a few seconds, Applejack shook her head.

"We haven't got time for this!" she exclaimed "We need t-"

Pinkie put a hoof over the ponies mouth.

"Can't you see that?" she asked, still keeping eye contact "It's like a shadowy aura. Something's wrong."

Rainbow and Applejack looked back at the vault, scanning over it with their eyes

"Pinkie, I think it's fine." Rainbow said "Come on! We need to get to Celestia!"

She gestured to the hallway, anxiously hovering in the air.

"We were going to the princess?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head "I thought we were finding Twilight."

Dash facehoofed and sighed.

"We need to tell the princesses first!" Applejack shouted "Now come on!"

Pinkie turned and bolted for the front entrance of the palace.

"You do that while I go find Twilight!" she yelled as she dashed off.

Once she was sure she was out of sight, she reached into her puffy mane for her costume.

"Don't worry, Twilight!" she said to herself, firing a web to the top of a nearby tower "I'm coming!"

After a few minutes of flying across the skyline, Pinkie's search hadn't made any progress. Ponies filled the streets below, pushing and shoving eachother to get past. None of them seemed to notice the costumed mare swinging above them.

"Nothing over there." Pinkie muttered "Nothing over here."

The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky orange. Suddenly from below, Pinkie heard a shrill scream. Looking down, she saw the source of the scream. It came from a young mare, roughly Pinkie's age, who was cowering at the back of an alley. Before the mare stood a stallion, carrying a large crowbar in his magical grip. He was advancing on the mare, talking as he did so.

Pinkie leapt down, watching from the top of the building beside the alley.

The stallion was thin but muscular. He had a dark blue coat and a short, white mane. His cutie mark was of a burlap sack, overflowing with gold coins.

The mare had a creamy yellow coat with a purple and red streaked mane, which was long and straight. Her cutie mark was a pink berry. Both ponies were unicorns.

"I told you it would come to this." said the stallion, stepping closer to the mare "Now, what's it gonna be? My money, or your knees?"

The mare stepped back, her rump colliding with the brick wall.

"I told you that I paid what I could! I haven't got another bit to my name!"

The stallion grinned, taking a step closer.

"Option two it is."

Pinkie had seen enough. She jumped down, landing between the two ponies.

"Who-"

"The names Spider-Mare!" Pinkie said, interrupting the shocked stallion "And you are in a lot of trouble!"

The stallion charged turning to buck Pinkie's face. She dodged left, avoiding the attack. She dodged right, avoiding another blow.

Her Pinkie sense began to tingle, alerting her to duck. The crowbar, still encased in a red aura, whizzed past and hit the attacker's horn. The aura dissipated and the crowbar fell to the ground, followed by the stallion.

Pinkie fired a web onto a nearby crane, pulling herself up and swinging away.

"Thankyou!" called the mare, waving.

"Okay," Pinkie murmured "I got a little side tracked, but now I have to find Twilight."

Looking below, she noticed that some ponies where looking up at her and pointing.

"Oh boy..." she muttered.