Just like when her own illusion had been shattered and dispelled, Pinkie Pie (as Spider Mare) entered into Mr. Negative's with a similar sensation. For a moment it felt like she was falling, but with no end in sight. Nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see.
But then suddenly a surface appeared, and Spider Mare slammed into it before she had a chance to stop herself or even slow her descent. Surprisingly, the impact didn't hurt at all. It felt more like being bounced off a soft cushion.
The web slinger was slow to get to her hooves and take in the sights around her. The entire world appeared to consist of alternating blacks and whites, a floating void with only the surface she currently stood on for protection. "What is this place?" She asked herself.
"The Negative Zone, my home," The familiar voice of Mr. Negative called from above. "And you, Spider Mare, are trespassing! Begone or be removed!"
"Never! I don't take orders from you, Mr. Negative! Heck, I don't take orders from criminal scum period!" Spider Mare vowed. "I'm here for Martin Lee! I know he's in here somewhere, and I'm not leaving this place until I've freed him!"
Mr. Negative's voice only taunted. "You won't find him here anymore, Spider Mare. Martin Lee is gone forever! He was too weak to stop me, not that he ever could."
"That's only what you want me to think!" Spider Mare replied to Mr. Negative. "This place rightfully belongs to Martin Lee, and I'll find him no matter what it takes! As long as I'm here, you can't stop me!"
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, bug girl," Mr. Negative's voice taunted before there came a crackle of electricity, and from the bolt emerged Mr. Negative himself in all his glory. "I can take physical form at will! And here I am strongest! You will not stop me, though I'd love to see you try."
"Then I guess it's time you said hello to my little friend, the old, trusty Spidey Armor!" Spider Mare declared as she pressed a button on her suit, soon encasing herself in the familiar glimmering white with black lines. "Perhaps a good old fashioned beat down will knock some sense into you, maybe even free Martin Lee if he's inside!" She declared, before encasing her front hooves with webbing.
Mr. Negative only laughed. "Pathetic fool. You'll never get the chance! In this realm, I have power over reality itself! Observe!" He sank beneath the surface, and a moment later it gave way!
Spider Mare quickly shot out her webbing, hoping to grab hold of something, anything that could stop her descent! To her surprise, she suddenly snagged on a piece of furniture. A giant drawer. She pulled herself up onto it, and saw more objects that appeared to falling and yet floating amidst the emptiness. "Ah, a test of reflexes. I see how it's gonna be." She declared, leaping from one object to the next and using her webbing whenever she was just a little bit short on distance.
But as Spider Mare kept leaping and swinging, it seemed like more objects appeared while the ones behind her faded away. It was like a never ending chain!
However, when she landed on what looked like some kind of couch she was surprised to see something float out from one of the cushions! She threw out her webbing and pulled it close. It appeared to be some kind of photo, except the faces were all warped and distorted, the faces impossible to make out.
"Do you see now, Spider Mare? There is no dark secret to Martin Lee's past. He has always been a vessel for Mr. Negative, a vessel that is no longer needed," Mr. Negative taunted. "You're wasting your time! We can keep doing this for all eternity, but that's time your precious town of Ponyville doesn't have!"
"What do you mean?!" Spider Mare vowed. "Does it have something to do with that red smoke from the bomb?"
Mr. Negative's laugh split the air. "Like I'd tell you! You want the answers?! Well you'll have to wring 'em out of me! Good luck trying to catch me, though. I can be anywhere and everywhere at the same time. And all I have to do is wear you down. Then you'll be mine again!"
"Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?" Spider Mare quipped. "I swear, most bad guys are never this talkative even before they meet me. Usually it's only when they think they've got me backed into a corner with no way out that they tell me their plans. And then they act surprised when I beat them."
Mr. Negative growled! "Silence! Your attempts to distract me won't work! You're an annoying little insect, and I think it's time I squashed you like the bug you are!" A giant hoof suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, clearing trying to strike at Spider Mare's location!
However, Spider Mare leapt out of the way and with some quick thinking she swung round and jumped onto it. Then she proceeded to run it up until she was gazing up at a giant Mr. Negative's face. "I'm still here, Mr. Negative! Be honest, did you really think you could do me in that easily?"
"Why you!" Mr. Negative hissed as he brought his giant hooves together! "How did all your previous opponents tolerate your nonsense?! It's like you never shut up!"
"Hey, I already said that!" Spider Mare remarked as she jumped up to dodge the hooves. "Leave the bad jokes to me. I swear, you actually start spinning a web and I'll sue you when I get out of here! I mean it!" Then she swung round to the back. "This is one spider you won't shake off, Mr. Negative! I'm going to find Martin Lee!"
Mr. Negative squirmed as he shook about, trying to shake off Spider Mare (who hung on for dear life). "I already told you, you won't find him! That weak hearted, weak minded simpleton was too big a threat to be left in charge!"
"We'll see about that! I have a feeling he's inside you, somewhere," Spider Mare declared. "There's only one place I can think of where he might hide!" She dove into Mr. Negative's back, shoving her way through the darkness with her hooves as if she were swimming. All the while she was humming a little tune to herself to keep her spirits up and keep the negativity from latching onto her.
Suddenly, a bright glow attracted Spider Mare's attention. "Could it be?!" She thought to herself and pushed on through!
The glow grew brighter, almost blinding! The wall crawler kept on pressing though, hoping beyond hope that her hunch was correct.
"Hello? Who's there?" A familiar, gentle voice called as the glow slowly faded.
"Martin Lee?" Spider Mare hopefully called out as she drew closer to the voice.
The glow faded completely, replaced by the familiar darkness of Mr. Negative's dimension. Yet Spider Mare and a very recognizable yellowish-green coated unicorn stallion appeared to be standing inside a bubble that was shielded from it all. "That's the name I adopted for myself, a name that belonged to someone else," The stallion answered. "I don't even remember who I was before all of this."
"Come now, that's crazy talk. Everypony has to remember who they were when they started out," Spider Mare insisted. "Even I can remember my early days."
Martin Lee only shook his head. "The events of my past are too horrific. I don't know whether I was born with this curse, or if it found me. All I know is that I have twisted and destroyed my memories, the ship wreck is the earliest thing I can remember. Even then I only remember taking the name of Martin Lee, and becoming Mr. Negative."
Spider Mare insisted as she trotted forward. "But Mr. Negative isn't who you have to be. Heck, I'm the only one who's ever found out about your dual identity. So many ponies have nothing but praise for you."
"Because they don't know the real me," Martin Lee sighed as he stepped back. "It's nice that you want to help, Spider Mare. But I'm too far gone. My fate is now intertwined with that of Mr. Negative's, so just leave me to suffer and be forgotten!"
"Come on, Martin Lee! You can't give up that easily!" Spider Mare pleaded to the stallion. "If not for your own sake, then surely for the sake of that homeless shelter you have to try and fight! Mr. Negative may have power, but that power doesn't make him stronger than you! It doesn't mean he can just control you! Having power isn't the same as being powerful!"
"How would you know about power?! You have powers you'd probably never trade for anything in the whole wide realm of Equestria!" Martin Lee stubbornly protested with a shake of his head.
But at that Spider Mare somberly answered. "You're wrong, Martin Lee. I've been tempted to give up my powers on more than one occasion. These powers have come with a high price tag, there are days when all I've ever wanted to do was give them up and go back to how things were before," And then she added. "But I've come to learn time and time again that with great power, comes great responsibility. A responsibility to use said power for good. Not for my own sake, but for the sake of others," She proceeded to trot forward again. "You think I asked for these powers?! To have ponies who think I'm scum or that I'm hiding something from them?! But even if I'm not a miracle worker, even if no one ever throws a parade or takes back all the nasty things they've said about me, I still stay. Because in the end, there are those who out there who need me. And the same is true of you," Offering a hoof, she encouraged. "You don't have to do it alone! I can help you! You just have to let me!"
"But... it's so hard! I'm not sure if I can, or even want to," Martin Lee somberly remarked. "I've already let Mr. Negative cause so much destruction and devastation. The truth will have to come out eventually."
"And when that time comes, ponies will hopefully see that you've strived to change yourself for the better and that you deserve another chance," Spider Mare insisted. "It's never too late to come back to the light, to say you're sorry. It won't magically wipe the slate clean, but it's still a chance for you to become a better pony than what you once were. But only if you're willing to take that first step, to make that commitment. I can't fight that battle for you, you can."
"I... I..." Martin Lee began, before hesitantly withdrawing his hoof. "No... it's too late for that! Mr. Negative's plans are already in motion, even if I take back control now I can't stop him. The devil's breath will have surely spread by now, if not at least infected everypony at Town Hall. He wins no matter what!... Unless..." He reached behind his hooves, producing some kind of vial. "This is the antidote. I developed it in case Devil's Breath was accidentally released before it was ready. Take this to somepony who can mass produce it, and be quick about it."
"Why? What is Devil's Breath?!" Spider Mare demanded.
Martin Lee gulped. "It's a chemical that was supposed to bring out the worst in others, to amplify their negative emotions. But in doing so it causes their entire body to turn against them, destroying them from within. Mr. Negative wasn't even going to use it for ransom. He was gonna unleash it on every city and town in Equestria once he made enough. Ponyville was a testing ground, he was hoping to get you and Black Cat!"
Spider Mare quickly took the vial, storing it inside her suit for safekeeping. Although she was shocked to hear all of this, right now she knew that all that mattered was getting back to the waking world! "Thank you, Martin Lee. I promise, I'll find someway to help you when this is all over. But you've gotta promise you'll fight for me!" She insisted. "I know you can do it!"
"I'll..." Martin Lee paused, before he gritted his teeth and vowed. "I'll try, Spider Mare! Believe me, I'll try!" And that was the last thing Spider Mare saw before she exited the bubble, and everything went dark again.
Spider Mare opened her eyes very quickly, finding herself on the floor of Martin Lee's office! She quickly checked her suit as she powered down her Spidey Armor. Sure enough, the vial containing the antidote was still stored safely inside.
"What is that?! What happened with you and Mr. Negative?!?" Black Cat frantically inquired of his partner.
"No time to explain!" Spider Mare insisted as she dashed out of Martin Lee's office! "I've gotta get this to Twilight before it's too late!"