//------------------------------// // Hot Pursuit! // Story: The Amazing Spider-Mare: A Long Way From Home // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// "Spider Mare!" The voice of the helicopter pilot rang out from the cockpit, its voice amplified by a microphone. "You are under arrest for crimes against the citizens of Manehattan! We have orders to apprehend you at all costs. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you." "Spare me the speech, I know my rights!" Spider Mare hollered back so as to be heard over the roar of the copter's blades. "You've got the wrong mare! This is all a big misunderstanding! I've been framed!" The plea fell on deaf ears as the pilot's voice echoed back. "It is useless to resist, Spider Mare! Orders are orders! Come quietly, or we will use force!" Reluctantly, the wall crawler groaned as she turned her back to the helicopter and its occupants. There was only one thing to do now. "Spider powers, don't fail me now!" She thought to herself, quickly rushing to the other end of the rooftop and jumping off of it! Just as she anticipated, the armored and heavily armed helicopter gave chase! The web slinging superhero just cursed under her breath. She could only hope her husband was having better luck right now than she was. It wasn't going to be easy to lose the helicopter, and she knew she couldn't get too close to it unless she wanted her webbing to be cut to ribbons by the furiously spinning blades. But she had no other choice. It would be impossible to get any more investigative work done with the royal guard on her tail (figuratively and literally). Building after building, rooftop after rooftop, Spider Mare kept on swinging. And as she did so she kept looking back, only to see that the helicopter was following her with the greatest of ease. It must've just fueled up before it had taken to the skies today, it didn't seem like it would be running out of fuel anytime soon. "Give yourself up, Spider Mare! There is no escape!" The helicopter pilot called again, breaking up the relative silence. "Not gonna happen!" Spider Mare barked back and continued to swing. But in her mind she was thinking to herself. "At this rate, I'm gonna run out of web fluid before they run out of fuel. I gotta find a way to lose 'em! Come on, Spidey! Think!" Then, suddenly, in the distance an unlikely salvation appeared! Out of the corner of her eye, Spider Mare spotted a tall building still under construction. And what luck, the work site was currently abandoned. If nothing else, if she could climb all the way to the top of that construction project, she would have a view of the entire Manehattan skyline. Then she could hopefully plan out an escape route. With her mind made up, the web slinger swung sharply to the right and straight towards the under construction tower. It was a mess of steel beams and boarded up windows that seemed to reach up all the way to the clouds. Not even the statue in the harbor could compare in size, that's how massive this construction project was. Spider Mare swung straight towards the tower with the helicopter right on her heels. She quickly attached herself to the side. "Nowhere to go but up." She told herself and began to climb, deliberately trying to move as erratically as possible so as to confuse her pursuers. The helicopter crew just responded by moving their craft closer, until they were so close that the web slinger could've swung out and touched it if she so desired. "You can't get away!" The helicopter pilot warned! "Surrender now if you wish to remain unharmed!" "I'm telling you, you've got the wrong pony!" Spider Mare yelled even as she continued climbing. "This isn't my idea of a good time! Don't you boys have better things to do?" "She's mocking us!" One of the royal guards could be heard saying. "Let's teach her a lesson! Keep this chopper steady, I'll take care of the wall crawler!" Undeterred, Spider Mare kept on crawling as fast as her hooves would let her. She was definitely getting in some exercise if nothing else. But she was unaware that, even with her fast movements, a target radical was being focused on her. Suddenly, the royal guard from before cried out. "Target locked! Taking a shot!" The wall crawler felt a tingle run up her spine and broke away from the wall, swinging rapidly to the other side just in time! A stream of gunfire rang out and hit the very spot she'd just been crawling up. "Gah! How did I miss?!" The gun stallion groaned in disbelief! "She's slipperier than she looks! But she won't get away that easily! Taking another shot! Target acquired, fire!" The same result repeated itself as Spider Mare reacted with merely seconds to spare, swinging to the other side of the building and evading the gunfire. "Enough with the shooting already!" She cried! "It's getting old! Put those toys away and back off!" But instead, the web slinger happened to look back and saw a flash come from either side of the armored helicopter! Then, almost without warning, a massive explosion engulfed the side of the building just beneath her! "Whoa!" She cried in shock! This helicopter not only had a turret, but it also apparently packed missiles. "Since when did the royal guard have so many bits to throw around on new technology?" She pondered while she kept on climbing. "Let me try!" Another royal guard insisted. "Locking on! Fire all weapons!" And suddenly, a barrage of missiles shot out from the helicopter! Realizing that she couldn't keep climbing up the side, Spider Mare made a desperate bid. She leapt off the side of the tower and shot a stream of webbing upward as she herself descended just past the missiles! "How tall is this building?" She thought as she waited for her webbing to hit something. Suddenly, the webbing went tight. That had to be a good sign! Spider Mare pulled hard and yanked herself upward lightning fast! "I don't believe it! She moves too fast!" The helicopter pilot exclaimed in disbelief! "I think maybe we oughta call for back-up." "No!" One of the royal guards manning the weapons insisted! "She can't dodge us forever! She's bound to get exhausted sooner or later, and that's when we'll have her! Just stay close, don't let her out of our sights! We'll get paid big time when we nab her!" It took every ounce of strength Spider Mare had to pull herself up onto the tower's incomplete roof. It was really nothing more than a few steel beams jutting out at awkward angles. But her hunch was right, the entire Manehattan skyline was visible for miles in all directions. Yet the superhero had very little time to rest and catch her breath. The helicopter ascended and quickly caught up to her, leaving her eye to eye with it once again. Now all its weapons were primed and at the ready. "Freeze, Spider Mare! Stay where you are and put your hooves over your head!" The helicopter pilot commanded in a stern and ominous tone of voice. "This is your final warning!" "For the last time, I'm innocent!" Spider Mare shouted as she rushed forward and jumped off the building, directly in front of the helicopter. The royal guards didn't dare fire at such close proximity, not unless they wanted their craft to be caught in the blast. But as a result they gave Spider Mare the very opening she had hoped for. She swung underneath the helicopter and out to a massive crate attached to an overhead crane. "No you don't!" One of the royal guards shouted and launched a single missile! It struck the cable holding up the crate, and it and Spider Mare began to fall to the ground! Thinking fast, the wall crawler leapt from the crate all the way across the street to an apartment complex. Once she reached the side of the building, she scaled the fire escape to get back to rooftop level. And it was there that she saw something that caught her eye. Another tower (this one finished) attracted attention with its blinking red light. In fact, it was one of two towers of similar construction. It appeared to have some kind of dish on top of it, likely to receive signals of some kind. Immediately, the gears in the web slinger's mind started to turn. "If I get close enough to that tower, my Spider Cam should be able to tap into that broadcasting frequency," She thought to herself. "I'll bet I could jam the transmissions and mess with whatever guidance system that helicopter's using. They'd have to land then." It was a risky move to be sure, but it was one that she felt she had to make. So she set out for the tower as fast as she could! The helicopter followed, suspecting nothing. And the guards kept trying to hit Spider Mare with gunfire, to no avail as she kept up her erratic pattern of movement. Suddenly, the royal guards realized too late where they were going! They saw the towers as Spider Mare jumped up and ran through the gap between them on the roof! The pilot desperately turned his craft in mid-air to try to evade the towers, but alas the left wing clipped one! A sickening scraping sound suddenly split the silence! And the helicopter's left wing began to smoke and sputter. "I... I just struck a transmission tower!" The pilot's voice suddenly became filled with panic! "Sorry, H.Q.! I gotta break off the pursuit! I need to land this thing, now, while I still have control! Repeat, I'm breaking off the pursuit! Initiating emergency landing procedures!" Spider Mare watched the helicopter slowly spin down its blades as it began its descent to street level. "Hey, you gonna pay for that tower?!" She couldn't help but tauntingly call. "At least you could write a check." Just then, a familiar male voice called out. "Hey there, honey. I see Manehattan's finest were giving you a hard time." For a moment, Spider Mare was on edge. But then she lowered her guard as she turned around and saw none other than Black Cat waiting for her. "Oh. it's just you. Sorry, little on edge from the chase." "I can tell." Black Cat chuckled. Spider Mare could only sigh. "Knowing my luck, I'll probably get blamed for that helicopter going down. Like I didn't have enough on my plate as it is. How am I supposed to get anything done when the whole city's turned against me?" "Well, I believe I can help with that." An unfamiliar voice greeted. Spider Mare immediately leapt to her hooves once again and had her wrists at the ready! "Take one more step, and my webbing's sticking you right to the wall!" She warned! "I'm not going to jail without a fight!" But the voice's owner just stepped forward as it gently explained. "Easy, wall crawler. I'm on your side. I didn't come here to arrest you." And soon, who should step forward but Shining Armor himself, the captain of the royal guard? Black Cat blinked slowly as she eyed the captain. "How did you find us?" Shining Armor grinned. "I have my resources. After all, I am a unicorn," Then he approached Spider Mare. "Listen, Spider Mare. I'm being sincere. I've been following your exploits all over Equestria for years now. I could tell from the moment I read about your supposed thefts in the city that something didn't add up. Couldn't believe you'd turn to a life of crime now." The wall crawler breathed a small sigh of relief. "Glad I've at least got somepony from law enforcement in my corner." The captain firmly nodded. "Yeah," He then explained. "I've already called off the pursuit and told all my men to stand down. We have to do this by the book, so we'll need a warrant before we can actually arrest you. And I don't suppose you'd be interested in coming in for questioning?" "Out of the question! Nopony will believe I'm innocent if it's my word against the press!" Spider Mare protested with a shake of her head. Shining nodded very slowly. "Fair enough," Then he explained. "I did pick up some intel I thought you and your... partner would be interested in," He hoofed over a strange looking contraption that was beeping quite audibly. "One of the guards managed to tag your look-alike before they gave him the slip. This tracking device should help narrow down the copycat's location." Black Cat took possession of the tracking device. "Thanks for the tip. We'll investigate. If we find anything, you'll be the first to know." Shining Armor smiled. "Good. Glad I could help," But then in a more serious tone of voice he added. "But you and Spider Mare should know this: As long as you're running around, wearing masks, ponies are always gonna be suspicious. J Jeffry Jackson's not the only pony who's going to wonder what you're hiding. And what you two are doing is operating outside the law. Princesses can only turn a blind eye to so much. So don't be surprised if stuff like this happens from time to time. It's pony kind's nature to be afraid of what they don't know." And with that, he departed from them both.