The Amazing Spider-Mare: A Long Way From Home

by SuperPinkBrony12

Menace to Society?

Pinkie Pie opened her eyes very slowly the next morning. She only barely remembered having made it to her bed and placing her head upon the pillow the night before.

"Good morning, dear," Cheese Sandwich cheerfully greeted his wife. "You must've been more tired than either of us thought, you slept far longer than you've ever slept before. Usually, I'm the one being woken up."

Pinkie smiled back and shook the mental cobwebs from her mind. "Well, I'm wide awake, well rested and ready to go now!" She firmly declared, and then trotted over to her discarded Spider-Mare costume hanging at the edge of her bed. It wasn't long before she had put it on.

Cheese was more than a little bit concerned. "Honey, are you sure we need to go right away? What about breakfast?"

"We'll grab something after we straighten out the mess with the Daily Bugle! I don't know why any paper would try to make me look bad, but it stops right now!" The suited up mare declared with a look that made it seem like her eyes were casting daggers at anything unfortunate enough to get in her way.

"Alright, alright," Cheese reluctantly agreed as he slipped into his suit and assumed his crime fighting identity of Black Cat. He knew that when Pinkie Pie got this serious, it was no use trying to argue with her. Oh well, you couldn't help who you married and Cheese wouldn't have his wife any other way. "By the way, I did a little bit of research on that paper and I got a name: J. Jeffry Jackson. Apparently, he has a cousin named Buried Lead. You know, the one who did that exclusive interview when Rarity opened her Manehattan boutique?"

It took but a second for Spider Mare to recall such a pony. "Oh yeah, him! He seemed nice enough. I was worried he'd make it sound like the opening of Rarity For You was an almost total disaster, but he kept the reports of mishaps to a minimum," She recalled her interactions with that reporter, however brief they had been. "Can't imagine him having any connection to somepony who'd try to run a smear campaign against me. I never even heard of this Jackson guy, I'm pretty sure I never did anything to him to warrant him slandering me."

Black Cat hopefully spoke up. "I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. He probably doesn't truly appreciate everything you've done for Equestria, or he's new in town and wasn't around the last time we saved Manehattan," He pulled out the baton that he used to shoot wires and held it up. "Well, we'd best get going, then."

Spider Mare smiled and teased. "Hope you can keep up with me!" And then with a flick of her wrists, webbing shot out and she was off! Black Cat following close behind her as the superhero couple headed for Manehattan. It never even occurred to them to just take the train, that's how used they were to traveling under their own power.

---

After traveling non-stop for almost an hour, the superheroes reached their destination of Manehattan. It was still the shining city by the bay that it had always been. The construction site that had been the scene of the epic battle against the Sinister Six had now been cleared, a magnificent and looming skyscraper now stood in its place.

And it was the good fortune of both heroes to see that this skyscraper was the headquarters of the Daily Bugle. Perched high above them was a towering neon sign that depicted the paper's logo: An earth pony carrying mailsacks and blaring a trumpet to call attention to themselves.

"We could just go in through the front door and ask the receptionist," Black Cat proposed to his partner. "I'm sure Mr. Jackson would be more than happy to give us an immediate appointment."

Spider Mare disagreed. "You know those big CEO types. They've no time for anypony or anything. Mr. Jackson's bound to be no different. I prefer the direct approach," She shot out her webbing and began to climb up the side of the building. "I'll just find his office and slip in. He'll have to hear me out then."

Black Cat reluctantly agreed even as he remarked. "At least my way wouldn't involve scaring him half to death."

The two superheroes thus scaled the skyscraper's walls, peering into every glass window they could find in order to determine which room might belong to Mr. Jackson.

At last, after scurrying up almost the entire length of the building, Spider Mare spotted a promising room through a glass window on the very top floor. Seated at a desk was a unicorn stallion with an odd looking curly horn. He had a weird brownish hue to his coat that clashed quite noticeably with his dull green eyes. He sported a mane and tail cut short and the mane styled into squares: Both featuring mostly grey locks but the very top of the mane and the tail were colored blackish-brown. Although he wore a bluish-gray suit with a white collar and a black tie, you could still see his cutie mark which depicted a stack of newspapers.

There was no doubt about it, this had to be the J. Jeffrey Jackson who owned and ran the paper. It even looked like he had a coffee mug that spelled out his name. And he appeared to be laying back in his desk chair, looking at a copy of his paper that rested on his desk.

Spider Mare didn't hesitate to crawl to the window and knock on it, hoping to get the unicorn stallion's attention.

Sure enough, the stallion rose from his desk and turned around. When he did so he immediately spotted the intruder on the other side of his office's window pane, and he frowned when he saw who it was. Still, he went over to the window and opened it. "Well, well, well," He appeared to grumble. "So we finally meet face to face, you wall crawling menace."

"Hey now," Spider Mare ignored the taunt as she climbed in through the open window, and then gestured for Black Cat to do the same. "Let's not start off on the wrong hoof. It's just me, your friendly neighborhood Spider Mare."

"And you can't forget her trusty partner in crime fighting, Black Cat." Black Cat declared as he climbed in a second later and then shut the window behind him.

The unicorn stallion only continued to frown as he looked at the two superheroes now in his presence. He appeared to be sizing them, and for about a minute or so he didn't speak a single word. But then at last he sighed and stepped back, lighting up his horn. A dull green aura quickly closed the door to his office, leaving him alone with his unexpected guests. "I suppose it's only fair to confirm what you're probably thinking. Yes, I am J. Jeffry Jackson, founder, owner and proud CEO of Daily Bugle, Manehattan's number one newspaper."

Spider Mare couldn't help but snicker. "Funny. I figured you'd be a little bit... taller, and younger."

Jackson bitterly snapped. "Save your jokes, you masked vigilante! I don't know what you're trying to pull by sneaking up to my office, but it won't work!"

Black Cat tried to defuse the tension that he could sense was building up. "Hey now, there's no need for name calling. Spider Mare and I haven't done anything, yet."

Jackson only rolled his eyes. "Well, I get the feeling you're not gonna leave until you get some 'answers' out of me. So fine, you got your audience with me!" He then trotted over to his desk and sat back down at his desk chair. "Let's get this nonsense over with. I'm a very busy stallion."

---

Spider Mare quickly moved to snatch up the copy of the paper sitting on Mr. Jackson's desk. Just as she feared, it was a copy of the Daily Bugle with a very unfaltering headline about her. "'Spider Mare: Threat or Menace?'?! Just what is it you have against me, Mr. Jackson? I'm a hero!"

Jackson snorted as he used his magic to snatch the paper out of Spider Mare's hooves. "Hey, if you want a copy you have to pay for it like everypony else! And I get the feeling your 'crime fighting' doesn't pay the bills."

Spider Mare stomped a hoof down. "I can't believe you're printing these lies!"

"Ha, shows what you know! Of course you'd say they're lies!" Jackson coldly retorted in an unconcerned tone of voice. "This isn't tabloid journalism, Spider Mare. This is the work of professionals. Dedicated ponies who've spent years, even decades honing their craft by exposing all the things Equestrian society would rather sweep under the rug. They're the true heroes, not masked menaces like you or your silly partner, Black Cat."

"You mean the whole paper's in on this scheme?!" Black Cat gasped in surprise! "Here I was hoping this was all just a misunderstanding. Guess I gave you too much credit, Mr. Jackson."

"Real heroes don't run around cracking skulls and wearing masks! That's the sort of comic book stuff I outgrew a long time ago," Jackson responded with a snort and a roll of his eyes. "Why wear a mask except to hide something?"

Spider Mare simply gestured to her mask as she replied. "It's called a 'secret' identity. Duh! If ponies knew who I was, that'd cause a whole world of problems. Innocent ponies would get hurt."

"They're already hurting as it is with you on the loose!" Jackson snapped. "Think of all the supervillains you unleashed: Scorpion, The Mane-Iac, The Rhino, Electro, those alien invaders and even that whole Mr. Negative incident. Would they exist if not for you? Would they have terrorized not just Manehattan but cities and towns all over Equestria? Heck, would Pokey Pierce have suffered his untimely end if you hadn't caused The Green Griffon to come into existence?!"

The wall crawler nearly gasped upon the mention of Pokey Pierce! Even with all the time that had passed, his death still weighed heavily on her mind.

Black Cat knew this fact as well, how much it plagued not only Spider Mare but also Pinkie Pie. Of course, he couldn't say such a thing outright. No telling what this Jackson would do if he knew of the superheroes' identities. "You've got some nerve saying things like that!" He told Mr. Jackson. "Spider Mare is a hero! She saved the city! Surely you remember that."

J. Jeffrey Jackson only responded. "I do. And I seem to remember that all those super villains were ready to unleash some kind of chemical weapon on the unsuspecting population. In the end though, it was the royal guards and Manehattan's finest that had the weapon destroyed, not Spider Mare," Then he briefly paused, opening up his desk and then throwing a photo onto it that he'd produced from one of the cabinets. "You say you're innocent, Spider Mare? Well then, how do you explain THIS?!"

The photo depicted in no uncertain terms Spider Mare as she could be seen fleeing from a laboratory of some kind. On her back was some kind of hi-tech looking cylinder object.

The wall crawling superhero was speechless! "This can't be! I never went anywhere near... wherever that is!" And she demanded of Jackson! "Who took this photo?!"

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger!" Jackson immediately responded. "I had two of my best photographers working on it, Steve and Stan. They got the photo. And thanks to our incredible editor in Jack, that photo's now due to be on the front page of Daily Bugle's next edition. And it hits the streets tonight!" With a grin he then added. "If I were you, I'd get out of town now and lay low for a while. The royal guard will leave no stone unturned in pursuit of you."

---

Spider Mare stood in silent contemplation for a bit while she looked at the photograph. There was no mistaking it, the pony in the image was her. Or at least, somepony doing a very good job of looking like her. So it was obvious that somepony was out to frame her and make her look bad in the eyes of Manehattan. And thanks to J. Jeffry Jackson and his paper, this impostor had already gotten a very good head start.

"Guess I'm gonna have to prove my innocence. Not just to Mr. Jackson but to all of Manehattan," Spider Mare thought to herself. "A tall order. But it should be a piece of cake compared to all the fiends I've had to take down. I'll find this impostor and make them talk! This town ain't big enough for the two of us."

"Well, you gonna just stand there?" J. Jeffry Jackson asked Spider Mare in what sounded almost like a mocking tone of voice. "Or do I have to call security to escort you out? It's only fair to warn you, I'd be happy to see you behind bars along with all the other criminals in this city. You and Black Cat are the last things this city needs right now!"

Spider Mare only sighed, briefly locking eyes with Jackson as she said to the stallion. "You'd better get to work on writing a public apology, Mr. Jackson. I'm going to clear my name, and you'll see that you're wrong about me."

Jackson just rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, sure. When pigs fly!"

The wall crawler ignored the remark. She just turned to Black Cat and said to him. "Come on, we're leaving. We've got work to do!' She then headed for the window, opening it up so that she and her partner could crawl back out.

Black Cat followed, though not before telling Jackson. "We didn't do anything wrong. We've left no signs of entry. Nopony's gonna believe you if you mention this meeting, so maybe you should keep it to yourself. Mark my words: If Spider Mare ends up in jail because of you, I'll never forgive you! I know she's innocent, and deep down I'll bet you know too."

"Just get out of my office already!" Jackson declared as he turned his back to the two superheroes. "I've wasted enough time talking to you two!"

Spider Mare just sighed and shook her head. "Oh brother." And it was the last thing she said before she and Black Cat crawled out the window and shut it behind them. They then began crawling down the side of the skyscraper to reach the ground. Their goal now was clear in mind: They had to find this fake Spider Mare and fast!

Author's Note:

Stan and Steve as photographers are a reference to Spider-Man's two co-creators: Stan "The Man" Lee and Steve Ditko, both of whom died in 2018. Jack as the editor refers to Jack Kirby, who drew the cover art for the first comic Spider-Man appeared in (and served as co-creator with Stan Lee for many of Marvel's most iconic superheroes and super villains).

Jeffrey Jackson, in case it wasn't obvious, is the J. Jonah Jameson expy for this story. He is based on no particular incarnation of him, seeing as Jameson tends to be a sort of "Depending on the writer" character (some portrayals have made him more sympathetic than others).

Comments

[Comickook]

Again, a great job on this chapter. Very much appreciate the effort that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Again, yeah, I kind of appreciate the touch about the family connection between Lede and Jeffrey Jackson as well as the photographer names being the same as Spider-Man's co-creators. Though, Jackson, that stuff about "When Pigs fly.", I'd be VERY careful about that - keep in mind the kind of world you live in (though he might not know about Applejack and Fluttershy encountering the Pigasus).

Again, on to the next chapter.