//------------------------------//
// Updates And A Meeting With Copper Top 
// Story: The Amazing Spider Mare: Sinister Secrets 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
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Pinkie Pie was up bright and early the next morning, she was already dressed in her spider suit and ready to leave by the time Cheese Sandwich awoke. It took all her patience not to rush out the door without him, she had to remember that he still wasn't as experienced at crime fighting as she was. And besides they were married now, that meant most things were a team effort and not a solo one.

It wasn't long before Cheese had donned his Black Cat outfit. "Shall we go?" He asked, and Pinkie nodded.

Fortunately for the two, Ponyville was mostly quiet this morning, so no one noticed as the web slinging duo made their way across town and to Twilight's castle. Twilight was quick to usher them inside. "Ah, right on time," She smiled. "Right this way, please. Your requested upgrades are waiting in the throne room."

"Where's Starlight?" Pinkie wondered aloud as she and Cheese followed Twilight through the castle. "I thought she was working on the upgrades with you?"

Twilight shook her head. "Starlight's been too busy with her own research, but she won't tell me what it is. Whatever it is, she's very passionate about it, she says it's going to revolutionize not only Equestria but the entire world as we know it."

"You're not helping her with it?" Cheese questioned.

"She's no longer my student even if she's still living here," Twilight explained to Cheese. "That means I have to trust her enough to let her work on things alone. If she needed my help I'm sure she would've asked me for it. Besides, I've had my hooves full as it is just working on the new equipment for you and for Pinkie."

A short time later, the throne room doors swung open. Resting atop the table map were a few items.

Pinkie picked up the first one. It looked like another one of her web cartridges, but she knew that such a look was deceiving. A closer inspection revealed a small blue mark on the side, and there was a similar device next to it. She inserted both into the sleeves of her outfit and raised her hooves. Massive streams of webbing formed underneath said hooves, creating small wing like appendages. "Terrific! My new Spider Glider!" She happily declared.

Cheese (who was busy inserting some tablets into his staff that could produce a quick-freezing or quick-heating solution for emergency situations) turned to his wife. He was amazed. "Spider Glider?! So this that top secret surprise you were so excited about!"

Pinkie nodded as she lowered her hooves and the webbing retracted. "Yes-a-rooni. After that close call against Carnage in Cloudsdale, I decided I needed to make some adjustments to the suit. I couldn't risk having it happen again with you not being there to save me," She smiled. "As you just saw, all I have to do is raise my hooves and presto, instant web wings! I can even fly like a pegasus, which may come in handy if I ever need to get the drop on my enemies," Then she eyed her husband. "What did Twilight make for you?"

"Mostly just a few cosmetic upgrades to the suit," Cheese explained. "Though she's also given me pellets so my webbing can quickly freeze or flame enemies as needed. That way if we run into Carnage or Venom again, we'll be ready!"

"Good thinking, Cheese. Never hurts to have a back up in case the old Spidey Armor fails," The pink coated mare replied with a nod. "Of course, my glider isn't the only thing I had Twilight fashion for me. When she saw my glider plans she got inspired, and wanted to make some changes of her own."

With a blush the young alicorn declared. "I just couldn't help myself. It was quite a challenge to come up with the right addition to your arsenal, but I think you'll like it," Lighting up her horn, she presented a metallic spider that resembled the symbol on Pinkie's spider suit. "Meet your new Spider Camera, or Spider Cam for short. It comes equipped with its own webbing, just like your glider, and it can even swap out webbing cartridges as needed. But the best thing about it is that it comes equipped with a camera and its own artificial intelligence. It can move about on its own, just like a real spider. Check it out!"

Twilight set the Spider Cam down on the floor and with a simple touch of her hoof it came to life. It crawled all around the throne room before coming to rest at Twilight's hooves.

Pinkie picked up the device. "Is it coincidence you made it look like the symbol on my suit?"

The princess shook her head. "Of course not. Hold still for a moment, Pinkie," Lighting up her horn again, she carefully inserted the camera into the center of Pinkie's spider costume. As a result, the spider on her chest was now a metallic gray in color as opposed to ash black. "With the camera inside your suit, you'll have access to everything it sees and hears. Just touch the center of it to release it. Placing it back in should be easy."

"But what if it falls into the wrong hooves?" Cheese worried. "It could lead the bad guys right to Pinkie."

Twilight shook her head. "Not a problem. I anticipated just such a dilemma, and it took me weeks to come up with a solution. A pretty clever one if I do say so myself," She chuckled a bit before clearing her throat. "If the camera should ever fall into enemy extremities, it's programmed to automatically shut down and self destruct. Fortunately, all information will be stored safely in an indestructible chip. Just retrieve it and bring it to me. I made the code, so only I can convert its findings," She then added. "But please try to avoid having it come to that. It wasn't easy to come across the metals needed to make this Spider Cam, and it could take weeks or months to build a new one."

The pink party pony just smiled. "Relax, Twilight. I'll protect that camera as if I'd made it myself," And she added. "I gotta say, you really seem to know your stuff when it comes to all this spider gear. It's way more advanced than anything I was able to come up with, and I had to build those web shooters from scratch."

"Speaking of which, please let me see them. I'm going to make a slight adjustment," Twilight instructed. Pinkie obeyed, and the unfolded web shooters were soon cast in the soft glow of Twilight's horn. There was a puff of magic smoke. "There. Now with just a slight twist of the wrist, your web shooter can shoot out a ball of impact webbing. It'll explode upon contact with an enemy or object, which should make it ideal for pinning any unsuspecting criminals to the nearest wall, floor, or ceiling. It can be used with other chemicals to make it freeze, burn, or electrify. However, it will use quite a bit more fluid than your usual webbing."

"Thanks for the warning, Twilight. This'll most definitely come in handy," Pinkie declared and giggled. "Those bad guys are gonna be in for quite a shock when they see the new and improved Spider Mare and Black Cat."

Cheese just sighed. "Maybe, but unless we can figure out who these guys are getting their orders from it's not gonna make much of a difference. You said it yourself, Pinkie, they're not like the usual criminals. Aside from last night they've been a lot more professional."

"But it seems none of them know who this 'boss' they keep referring to is," Pinkie commented. "Whoever he or she is, they must be going to great lengths to stay hidden. If only there was some sort of lead, some kind of clue. Anything at all that could point us in the right direction."

"Actually, I think I might have that. At least, sort of anyway," Twilight spoke up. "I... wasn't sure when would be the best time to bring this up, but I intercepted this letter meant for Spider Mare. It was sent this morning."

Pinkie's eyes lit up with worry. "Let me see that letter!" It was placed in her hooves a short time later and she read it aloud. The letter read as follows:

Dear Spider Mare,

I'm not exactly sure if this is the best way to do this, but it's the only way I could think of to get your attention.

I've got some information on the criminals you and Black Cat defeated last night. I think you'll be interested in what I was able to wring out of them.

But you need to come alone, our meeting must be secret. The Ponyville Police aren't exactly thrilled with what you and Black Cat are doing. They think you're trying to do their jobs for them, even though I'm pretty sure that's not the case.

If you're interested, meet me behind Sugarcube Corner this evening after dark.

Officer Copper Top

"Copper Top? I thought Manehattan was her domain." Cheese wondered aloud.

Pinkie shook her head. "Don't you remember the papers? Just after we got married it was announced that Copper Top was leaving the Manehattan force and transferring to Ponyville for a change of scenery," She then sighed. "I guess she's the only lead we've got."

"Are you crazy?! It's got to be a trap!" Cheese Sandwich protested. "I can't let you go, not alone! She's obviously plotting to have you arrested!"

"I met Copper Top in Manehattan during the last Pie Sisters Swap Day," Pinkie replied to Cheese. "She seemed like a trustworthy type of cop. An ambush doesn't seem like her style. If she says she has information, then I believe her."

Cheese shook his head. "I still can't let you do this alone. It's too dangerous, especially since we don't know who or what we're dealing with. For all we know, the criminal leader is posing as Officer Cop Top to trick you."

"Perhaps, but if it is Copper Top then I have to take the risk," Pinkie firmly declared. "You can come along if you wish, but you need to stay back and out of sight. If I'm in trouble, I'll be sure to give a shout."





It took a great deal of convincing for Cheese to go along with his wife's plan. But as was agreed on he stayed out of sight.

When night fell, Pinkie dressed up as Spider Mare and carefully made her way to the back alleys behind Sugarcube Corner. Sure enough, Officer Copper Top was there, clad in her Ponyville Police Department outfit.

"Hello, Spider Mare," Copper Top greeted, her Manehattan accent rang out clearly. "I see you got my note."

Spider Mare nodded very slowly. "I did, Copper Top. If that is your name."

If Copper Top was worried she didn't show it. "I don't know what you're implying, Spider Mare. I'm not a changeling or anything of the sort."

"But how do I know I can trust you?" Spider Mare commented. "Most police officers either don't know exist or just want me to stay out of their way. You're the first one who's ever gone out of their way to make contact with me."

Copper Top cleared her throat. "Listen, we both want the same thing, right? We want to see justice be carried out, and we want the citizens of Equestria to feel like the law works. I think we'll both have a better job of doing that if we work together."

"What do you mean? How could I possibly assist you?" Spider Mare pondered.

"You already help me a great deal by stopping those criminals in their tracks, alongside your partner, Black Cat," Copper Top commented. "Is it true what they say? Are you really an item? Or is it just an act to confuse your enemies?"

Spider Mare stuttered a little. "W-well, I... I uh..." She coughed into a hoof. "That's on a need to know basis, I'm afraid. Nothing personal, you understand. But in my line of work you can never be too careful."

Copper Top just nodded, lightly brushing her hat with a hoof. "It's alright, I'm used to this kind of treatment. It always takes a while for ponies to trust you, no matter what you say or do," Then she extended a hoof. "So, whaddya say? Partners?"

Spider Mare extended her hoof and shook Copper Top's. "Partners," Then she asked the young officer. "You called me out here for a reason, and it wasn't just because you wanted to propose an alliance. Your note said you had some information you wanted to share with me?"

The young police officer nodded her head. "It's not much, but I managed to find this in the back pocket of one of the thugs," She gave Spider Mare a piece of paper. "It's a picture of a warehouse not too far from Ponyville, Warehouse 196. Unfortunately though, there's no kind of record of any criminal activity going on there. And you can forget about asking for a warrant, a childish drawing like that is hardly evidence. But hopefully you and your... buddy, the Black Cat, can make something of it."

"Thanks! This is the kind of lead we've been dying for!" Spider Mare happily exclaimed! "We'll check it out, Copper Top."

"Just promise me one thing," Copper Top advised. "If you find anything illegal or otherwise criminal going on, bring it my way first. These guys seem pretty serious about whatever it is they're doing, and I've got a bad feeling about it all."

Spider Mare replied to Copper Top. "We'll try, but it's not a guarantee. If we can stop them and put an end to their schemes, you can bet we'll do it ourselves. In fact, that's kind of why we do things. That way you police officers just have to tie up the loose ends and put the scum bags behind bars." And with that she took off to inform Black Cat of her newly obtained lead.

Copper Top just shook her head. "I hope I'm making the right call on this," She sighed to herself. "If the chief finds out, I'll be up the river without a paddle for sure."