//------------------------------// // Terror from the Skies Part 3 // Story: Spectacular Spider-Mare // by spideremblembrony //------------------------------// Pinkie made her way to Equestrian State University, or ESU. She scampered as she made a mad dash for the lab of Dr. Moral. Oh, no! Way to make a first impression, Pinkie! You are so late! Cheerilee told her to be at the lab by 4:00. She was just now arriving at 4:35. She wouldn’t have been so behind if it wasn’t for the mysterious flying Vulture. Pinkie didn’t know why he was committing a crime in broad daylight, but she could say something for this feather head. He was bold. Not to mention fast. It was no wonder the police were having a hard time catching him. Those wings made him faster than most Pegasi could fly. Even she, as Spider-Mare, had a hard time keeping up with him. Though it was a good excuse, she couldn’t tell Dr. Moral that without exposing her secret identity. So, she decided to use the old excuse. She burst through the doors, heaving in deep breaths. “Sorry, I’m late.” She made her way in when a large white pegasus with a yellow mane appeared in front of her. “Well, little cuz. Not a good way to make a first impression.” Pinkie smiled as the her cousin greeted her with a smirk. Pinkie Pie bounced into her big cousin, wrapping her front hooves around her. “Surprise!” Pinkie shouted. Surprise gave a chuckle. “Still as energetic as ever, huh, Pinkie?” Surprise wrapped her hooves around Pinkie. After a moment, they separated. Pinkie looked up into her cousin’s eyes. “What are you doing here?” Surprise stood up proudly, placing her hoof on her chest. “I’m the lab assistant here for Dr. Moral. Started working here a few weeks ago.” Pinkie smiled. “Awesome! I work here too!” She bounced up in the air. “As an intern!” Then a loud rumbling sound came from the pit of her stomach. That sound caused her to sink to the ground, holding her belly. Surprise giggled. “So I hear. But I bet you’re missing me at Midtown.” She looked down at Pinkie, who could only reply with a weak smile. “Lightning stole your lunch again, didn’t she?” Pinkie nodded. Despite her best efforts, she hadn’t had a bite to eat all day. She was really regretting not taking her friends’ offer for food. Surprise cleared her throat as she motioned to a stallion in the lab. “Pinkie, this is Star Bright. Husband of Dr. Moral.” Star Bright made his way to Pinkie with a smile. “The new intern?” He held out his hoof to shake, which Pinkie took. Pinkie shook it vigorously, causing Star’s greeting smile to sink to a nervous one. Finally, Pinkie released his hoof with a smile. He gave a slight chuckle as his hoof felt numb for a moment. “I’m pleased to me you.” “Nice to meet you, too!” Pinkie cheered. Star Bright nodded as he shook his hoof, still stinging from Pinkie’s excited hoof shake. “I’ll go grab my wife. She’s in her lab right now.” Star Bright trotted towards the office on the other side of the room and disappeared behind the door. Pinkie turned to a display case that housed several different lizards. She gave an ‘oohing’ sound as she closely monitored the cases, examining the lizards closely. Her mind then began to wonder, as she recalled the same examination cases a few months ago. However, instead of housing lizards, they housed genetically altered spiders. And one of those spiders changed Pinkie’s life forever. “Well, I see somepony is admiring my collection of lizards,” a voice came from behind Pinkie. Pinkie turned around to see a violet mare welcoming her. Surprise made her way to Pinkie’s side. “Pinkie Pie, meet your new boss, Dr. Moral.” Pinkie held out her hoof for Dr. Moral to shake. However, it was only when Dr. Moral stretched out her left hoof that Pinkie noticed something about Dr. Moral’s right hoof. There was a plastic stub where Dr. Moral’s hoof should have been. Pinkie started to frown as the two gently shook hooves. Her heart began to sink as she had been so inconsiderate not to notice Dr. Moral’s prosthetic leg. “I’m sorry, Dr. Moral,” Pinkie started. “I didn’t know you-“ Dr. Moral shook her head. “It’s quite alright, deary. I get that all the time.” Moral then broke free of the hoof shake and made her way to the lizard display. “Magnificent, aren’t they?” Moral said, eyeing the reptiles. Pinkie couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, they remind me of Gummy!” Moral turned to her and raised her eyebrow. “Who?” Pinkie, face hoofed, feeling silly. She should have known that Moral wouldn’t know who Gummy was. “Gummy’s my talking pet alligator.” Moral looked to Surprise who merely shrugged and gave a nervous smile. She cleared her throat and then turned back to Pinkie. “Well, I’m glad you could join us, Pinkie Pie.” Pinkie gave a bounce of joy as she squealed with delight. Moral placed her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Now, we’re not going to have you work on your first day. I just want you to get familiar with the lab.” She then turned towards Surprise “Would you mind showing her around?” Surprise nodded and gestured Pinkie down the main lab. “Any questions, little cuz?” Pinkie leaped up with an excited expression on her face. “Oh, I’ve got lots of questions!” Surprise giggled as she continued to trot forward. “How about one question at a time then?” Pinkie Pie made her way in front of Surprise with a large smile on her face. “How much do we get paid for this?” Surprise snickered. “Pinkie, you’re a high school kid. You’re not being paid.” Surprise continued towards the main lab, speaking about the lab’s equipment and all the rules. She even included a couple of things that will keep Dr. Moral and Star Bright happy. But Pinkie wasn’t listening to any of that. Her mind was sent spinning in a whirlwind. She was counting on this internship to bring in some income for her family. Her family needed money and her mother couldn’t afford to get a second job, not with Limestone. She could get a second job, but then who would be around to babysit Limestone? She couldn’t do it all the time, not with her responsibilities as Spider-Mare. Her mind began to panic over the next coming weeks. And without a paycheck, how could Pinkie help? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flim returned to his office through a skylight. He could scarcely believe what had happened only an hour ago. He had the perfect plan. A simple knockout gas would paralyze the police long enough for him to zip in and steal what he desired. He would be in the sky and out of sight before anypony could realize what happened. He recalled himself perching himself high above the city streets and eying the truck with its bags of bits. It was all in his grasp. Certainly, it wasn’t a lot, but it was free. And it would be more than enough to keep the income high. However, because of a single mare, his plan was foiled, his earnings none, and he was nearly captured in the process. The harness retracted the wings as he placed his hooves on the ground. He removed the harness from his back and set it on the ground. He moved towards his desk, plopping himself down in the chair. He held his head, rubbing it in irritation. His mind thought back to his battle with her. She was so fast and agile. Strong and durable. He was thankful that he could use his weapon to melt the support from the billboard sign. Otherwise, Spider-Mare might have caught him. But why was she trying to catch him? What was she? Some kind of superhero? The opening of a door distracted him from his thoughts. Flim looked up to see his brother. Flam smiled as he greeted his brother. “Well, how did our ‘scavenging’ go?” Flim gave him an annoyed look. Flam raised his eyebrow. “What’s gotten into you?” “There was a little problem with the strike.” Flim turned his chair around and diverted his eyes to the small window behind him. “I ran into a snag.” Flam came to the desk and stood beside his brother. “What kind of snag?” Flim stood up. “Spider-Mare.” Flam gave a puzzled look at his brother. “Spider-Mare? That flying spider pony? “ He put his hoof on the chair, leaning against it. “Isn’t she just a rumor? A myth?” Flim turned around towards his brother. “She is real. And she nearly caught me. I barely escaped.” “I see.” Flam made his way to the harness lying on the floor. “I can see how that would upset you.” “Upset met?!” Flim snapped to his brother. “I am outright furious! The plan was perfect and nopony would have been able to stop me!” Flam put up his hoof and spoke, trying to calm his brother down. “Perhaps it is wise for us to lay low for a while? Let this… Spider-Mare… move on before we strike again.” Flim shook his head. “No! I’m not going to just let this go!” But Flim recalled the battle with Spider-Mare in his mind. Alone, he was overmatched. But with two Vultures? He gave a sinister smile to his brother. “I need you to help me brother!” Flam raised his eyebrow. “Me? You are going to drag me into your vendetta?” He shook his head. “I won’t do it, brother. We have an opportunity to expand our empire.” He made his way to Flim and placed his hoof on his shoulder. “Let’s not waste it.” Flim shoved his hoof away. “Don’t you see? If we take out Spider-Mare, the Vulture will be a name that is respected and feared.” He swiped the harness from Flam’s hoof and started to adjust it to his back. “Imagine the fame we would earn if they learned that we have the power to take out a superhero!” Flam put his hoof on his chin. “And what would happen if the Vulture attracts the attention of other superheroes?” Flim smiled. “That’s why we disappear. The Flim-Flam brothers are still in business and nopony would know that we are the Vultures.” Flim placed his arm around his brother. “Imagine the business we would gain if ponies knew that a powerful super villain was on the loose.” Flam began to crunch the numbers in his head. And the profit would be extraordinary. Especially if the two could pull it off. Flam nodded and made his way to a bookcase. He pulled out one of the books. The bookcase then started to turn completely around revealing an armory. Hung on the wall were razor sharp discs, grenades, heat guns, and another harness like the one connected to Flim’s back. “Looks like we finally have an excuse to use these.” Flam turned to his brother with a cruel smile. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pinkie left the lab of Dr. Moral with her head hung down. Her whole day seemed to be going wrong. First, her family was desperate for money. Second, her attempt to stand up to Lightning Dust ended with her being a laughing stock, like always. Third, a flying nutjob tried to kill her. Fourth, her job at ESU wouldn’t pay her for the work she did. And fifth, she still didn’t have any idea what she was going to do for Gala’s party next week, or how she would afford it. Her stomach started roaring as to reminder her of something. And sixth, she was starving. Parties cost money and with her family’s financial situation, Pinkie wouldn’t be able to give her friend the party she deserved. The more she thought about it, the more it tore her up inside. Gala had been such a good friend over the years. She felt that she deserved something. Pinkie made her way to the local party store on her way home. She didn’t know why she did. She convinced herself that it was to look for inspiration for Gala’s party. She took in her surroundings. They certainly had a much larger selection than what was at the party store closer to her home, but there was no pony there she recognized. Her thoughts went to her local party center. Ms. Candy Mane was always so nice, even if she was a little odd. She remembered Candy Mane telling her about her adventures in acting and special effects, but never talked about why she was in a party store. Pinkie wished she was back at Candy’s place instead of here, but she decided to look around. She thought about a costume party, but it would be far too expensive. The decorations, the candy, the costume itself. Not to mention Nightmare Night was coming soon. Just as her mind was about to come up with another idea, a loud explosion caused her to look outside. Ponies from inside the store trampled out to the street to see a fiery explosion in the sky, followed by a flying figure with long wings. Pinkie Pie recognized it instantly. It was the Vulture from earlier. While the ponies below started panic, Pinkie slipped out of the crowd and behind the store. She quickly donned her Spider-Mare costume and took to the air after the Vulture. --------------------------------------------------------- Spider-Mare swung after the flying menace, but he was picking up speed fast. She knew it wouldn’t be long before she lost him. She needed to slow him down somehow. She aimed one of her hooves towards him and fired a web-ball at the Vulture. Unfortunately, Spider-Mare’s aim was slightly off, sending her attack straight past the Vulture’s head, rather than hitting him square in the back. However, it did catch the Vulture’s attention, causing him to turn his head towards her. The Vulture gave a cruel smirk as his eyes met with hers. He reached to the side of his outfit and revealed a disc-like device. He hurled it as hard as he could. It flew towards Spider-Mare, giving off a whirling sound as it soared through the air. Spider-Mare wondered what kind of damage it could do until five-sharp edges burst from the disc to resemble a ninja star. Spider-Mare quickly pulled herself up on her web-line, causing the blade to soar beneath her. She fired another web-line. However, before the line could connect to the side of a building, a disc sliced it in two. She felt her body slowly descending as gravity started to take hold of her. She fired another web-line as her eyes caught the rooftop beneath her. It was still a long drop and she wasn’t looking to hitting it. But again, the disc had other plans, as it cut her web-line once more. She felt gravity’s grip once more and finally the rooftop as she hit her back against it. Spider-Mare rolled to her chest, her back flaring up with pain. She looked up to the sky to see the Vulture diving straight for her. Their eyes met as the Vulture gave a threatening grin. Spider-Mare couldn’t put her hoof on it, but there was something odd about the face of the Vulture. As he came down upon her, she figured out why. That wasn’t the same face that she had seen before. It wasn’t the same Vulture she had fought or the one she had chased. She never forgot a face and this one was different. The Vulture flew towards her, with his hind legs revealing two sharp talons. Spider-Mare bent her knees and leaped over the flying foe. As she ascended over him, she fired two of her webs, sticking to the Vulture’s wings. The speed of the Vulture’s path dragged Spider-Mare with him. Spider-Mare placed her hind legs on the rooftop and followed the Vulture’s course. As they left the rooftop, another disc sliced through the web connecting Vulture to Spider-Mare. The event happened so quickly that Spider-Mare wasn’t able to stop herself from landing on the rooftop directly below them. She shook her head, attempting to rid herself of the pain throbbing through her body. She looked up to see the Vulture and… the Vulture? Two figures in green suits with different faces glared at her as they hovered above. A menacing smile appeared on their faces. One of them reached for a small orb at his belt and tossed it at Spider-Mare. Something in her head told her that it was deadly. She leaped backwards with all her might, hoping she was right. As it turns out, she was. The orb exploded like a grenade, making a thunderous roar. “Wow, you guys really have it in for me, don’t you?” Spider-Mare quipped. “You brought all your toys!” She quickly performed a backflip to avoid another grenade. She performed another to stay out of reach of the razor disc that came her way. She leaped off the rooftop, firing a strand of web. As before, the web-line was cut before it could reach the target building. Spider-Mare stretched out both her front hooves and fired her webbing to two different points. Fortunately, only one of her web lines was cut, allowing her to escape in the other direction. The second Vulture quickly moved to intercept her. Using her Spider-like speed and agility, she grabbed his shoulders and vaulted over him. Twisting in mid air and maintaining her grip, she tossed that Vulture at the first one, causing them to collide. By the time they had reoriented themselves, Spider-Mare was a rooftop away. They struggled as they soared forward, letting loose a volley of discs. “These buzzards are really well coordinated,” Spider-Mare told herself as she leaped over one of the disc-blades. She quickly turned around and fired a web-ball at the flying pair. The two split off their pattern to evade the projectile. “I’ve got to find a way to split them up!” Spider-Mare flipped over another of the disc blades and fired another strand of webbing at the closest of the Vultures. Unfortunately, he floated higher than she expected, avoiding her attack. Spider-Mare felt gravity snatch her again and she started to fall to the earth. She quickly shot a line to the rooftop below her. She pulled herself towards it with all her might. As she flew for the rooftop, a disc flew past her, scratching her shoulder. Spider-Mare yelped in pain as she landed on the roof. She landed on her front hooves and rolled, following her acceleration pulled her forward. When she stopped, she looked at her shoulder. The blade had ripped the costume and scratched her skin, but the incision didn’t look too deep. The cut was bleeding down her foreleg, but it looked like it would heal rather easily. “Ow… that hurt more than I thought it would.” Spider-Mare looked upwards as one of the Vultures started to dive bomb towards her. “Do you know how long it will take me to sew this costume up?!” Spider-Mare shouted. The Vulture grinned as he soared straight towards her. Spider-Mare leaped to the air. However, the second Vulture was coming straight for her as well. He waited for his brother to get out of the way before throwing a grenade straight for her. Spider-Mare quickly twisted her body, so that the grenade would fly past her. Within a few seconds after, the grenade exploded. The force of the explosion sent Spider-Mare soaring wildly through the air. Spider-Mare quickly recovered her senses and unleashed her webbing towards the second Vulture. The webbing connected to the second Vulture’s hind leg. Spider-Mare allowed the Vulture to drag her through the air as she hung onto her webbing. The Vulture turned his head and glared at her. Spider-Mare couldn’t help but give a saluting gesture, which only seemed to make the Vulture even angrier. The Vulture dove forward, dragging Spider-Mare through the air like a water skier tied to a boat. The Vulture swayed up and down, left and right, trying to shake off his unwanted passenger, but still Spider-Mare wouldn’t let go. Spider-Mare held on with all her might as she was jerked around by the extreme speed that the Vulture demonstrated. She looked behind her to notice the second one coming on her trail. She started to feel the first one slowing down; no doubt to make sure that the second one would hit her. In that second, Spider-Mare let go of her web-line and flew towards the second Vulture. The Vulture’s expression went from confident straight to fear as Spider-Mare flew straight for him. He tried to change direction, but before he could, Spider-Mare rammed her hind legs into his body. Using the Vulture as a platform, Spider-Mare pushed off with her hind legs, performing a backflip. The force of the kickoff sent the Vulture soaring towards the ground. Spider-Mare quickly unleashed a barrage of webbing at the dazed Vulture. Within a second, the Vulture was coated like a cocoon in spider webbing, stuck to the side of a building. He struggled and struggled, but the webbing wouldn’t break. “Only one more to go!” As gravity began to grab Spider-Mare once more, she unleashed another strand from her hoof. She turned back towards her last opponent. The Vulture flew towards her with incredible speed, aiming his razor sharp wings at her. Spider-Mare dove out of the way, forcing herself to let go of her web-line. She fired another to keep her airborne as she swung back towards the Vulture’s elevation. Spider-Mare noticed another disc coming straight for her. She leaped off her web-line and higher into the air. Another disc came towards her, but she was able to twist her body to avoid the blades. She fired a strand of webbing at the oncoming Vulture, but he was quick to move to the side. Another strand was discharged, this time connecting to a building as Spider-Mare quickly swung towards the rooftop below her. She landed on the building as the Vulture came straight for her. He tossed another disc at her. She leaped into the air, avoiding the blades. However, before she could react again, the Vulture rammed into her, dragging her into the air. The Vulture pulled up from the rooftop, drawing another disc from his suit. “How many of those things do you have?” Spider-Mare asked as the Vulture readied the disc to swipe towards her. However, she quickly fired webbing into his face. Vulture let out a grunt as he let go of Spider-Mare in shear panic. Spider-Mare quickly grabbed onto the Vulture’s hind leg. She fired another blob of webbing at the Vulture’s body, encasing his wing and bonding it to his body. “What are you doing?!” the Vulture shouted. “If I can’t fly, we’ll both die!” Spider-Mare raised her eyebrow, not that it could be noticed through her mask. “Really? You're kidding right?” She unleashed another glop of webbing towards the Vulture’s other wing, tying it to his body. He flailed around and struggled as gravity took a hold of them. He screamed as they began to accelerate towards the ground. “Whee!” Spider-Mare shouted as they began their free fall. The Vulture screeched in terror as the ground below began to grow closer and closer. He struggled with all his might, tears coming from his eyes, begging Celestia not to let him die. Spider-Mare smiled through her mask. “Okay, I think I’ve milked this enough.” She shot a web-line towards the buildings, swinging into the air, keeping a tight grip on the Vulture. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After dropping the Vulture off at a light pole near the police station and making sure that they both couldn’t get away, Spider-Mare made a mad dash for her home and changed into her normal pink self. She checked her shoulder, examining the cut. The wound was already closed and it didn’t look like it would leave a scar. She thanked Celestia. The last thing she needed was to explain to her mother how she got it. She quickly cleaned off the blood marks running down her foreleg and sneaked into her backyard. She silently climbed the wall of the house, keeping her eye on her bedroom. It had been a long day and she looked forward to nothing more than slinking into her bed and falling to sleep. However, she noticed a light was on in her room. She poked her head into the room and saw her mother, sitting on her bed, waiting for her. Pinkie felt a hole in the pit of her stomach. “Uh, oh. Now, I’m really in trouble.” Pinkie leaped down from the side of the house and made her way to the front door. She quietly opened the door and snuck into her home, trying not to make a noise. She focused primarily on her bedroom, taking a glance up the stairs. However, her way was blocked by the image of her mother. Pinkie gave a nervous smile. She then looked at her hoof as if she had an imaginary watch. “Hi, mom. Wow, it is late. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” As she started up the stairs, Cloudy wrapped her hoof around Pinkie. “Pinkie, come with me. We need to talk.” Pinkie sunk her head as she followed her mother into the kitchen. Pinkie sat herself down at the dining table with her mother sitting across from her. Cloudy took a deep breath and fixed her eyes on Pinkie, who was looking straight at the table in front of her. “Pinkie, I know you are a good young mare,” she started. “And I know you want to have fun with your friends.” Pinkie couldn’t help but look away from the table as if she was trying to keep her secret even more hidden than it already was. How could she tell her mother what she was really doing this late at night? And so shortly after losing her husband? The stress alone would kill her. “But I can’t have you out past mid-night on a school night.” Cloudy gave a firm, but caring look towards Pinkie. “You are to be home by ten o’ clock. Sunday through Thursday.” “Mom-“ Pinkie moaned, but her mother interrupted. “If you are going to be late, I want you to call me. And it had better be to tell me you are on your way home.” Cloudy stood up. “That is what I expect.” She then put her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Is that fair?” Pinkie gave a surrendering sigh. She knew better than to argue with her mother. Cloudy wasn’t much of a fighter, but she was always strong willed. And that, coupled with her kind heart, made her impossible to argue with. Pinkie smiled. “Yes, mom. That’s fair.” A rumbling sound then came from the pit of Pinkie’s stomach, followed by an aching pain. Pinkie held her tummy and gave a low moan. Cloudy shook her head and gave a smile. “Oh, Pinkie. You need to take better care of yourself.” Cloudy went straight to the fridge and pulled out a plate with a slice of pastry. She then set it in front of Pinkie. “Luckily, I have a slice of banana cream pie with your name on it.” Pinkie’s frown turned upside down as she stared at the pastry. She found it funny how almost nothing went right for her today. From the minute she woke up to the near moment she went to bed, everything was the opposite of what she wanted. And yet, still, she was smiling. It was because she knew that she was still Spider-Mare. And Spider-Mare was still undefeated. She looked up to see the smiling face of her mother as she placed a fork in front of her. She had another reason to smile. Well, two reasons. Her little sister, whom she loved, and her mother, who loved them both. “All in all… Not a bad day.” Pinkie picked up her fork and dug into her pie, taking a huge bite out of it. She moaned in satisfaction as the pie tickled her tongue.