The Superific Spider-Mare

by Rabuiods


Chapter 3

“Pinkie, can you come out here, please? Somepony is here to see you!”

“Sure thing Mrs. Cake!”

The pink pony stopped decorating a fresh batch of cupcakes as she made her way to the front of the store, wondering who paid her a visit.

I bet its Twilight checking up on me. No matter how many times I tell her I feel fine, she always-“

Once Pinkie opened the swinging door that led to the front of the bakery, she didn’t see Twilight. In place of the lavender mare stood a gray stallion.

“GRAY SHADE!”

Realizing the volume of her voice was louder than usual, she cleared her throat.

“I mean…Hiya Gray Shade, what’s up?”

“Hi Pinkie, I was hoping we could talk for a moment, if you weren’t too busy.”

“Sure thing!” The bubbly mare turned to the Cakes. “Mrs. Cake, isn’t there a pie in the oven?”

“Oh, you’re right Pinkie!” Mrs. Cake clearly understood what was going on, so she left for the kitchen. “Carrot, can you give me a hand with the pie?”

“Can’t you get it yourself? It’s one pie sweetheart.”

“CARROT!”

The startled barker leapt to his hooves, joining his wife in the kitchen. Once the older ponies were gone, Gray Shade turned to the mare next to him.

“How have you been Pinkie? Still busy baking treats?”

“You have no idea! There are always so many orders to fulfill, it’s almost like I need more legs to keep up!”

“Too bad you’re not a spider!”

Pinkie became nervous at the word spider.

“Why would you say that?!”

“Because you said you needed more legs to keep up…and spiders have a lot of legs. It was a horrible joke.”

Realizing her secret identity was still a secret, the mare laughed at her friends attempt at humor.

“How have you been, Gray Shade?”

“I’ve been pretty busy as well, dealing with work…and Flitter.”

“Oh, I thought you guys broke up?”

“Well, I ended the relationship, but she can’t seem to get over it. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about her, I came here to ask you a question.”

Pinkie Pie struggled to keep her poker face intact.

HE’S GOING TO ASK ME OUT! I CAN’T BELIEVE HE’S FINALLY GOING TO ASK ME OUT!”

“Pinkie Pie, do you know if Twilight Sparkle is seeing anypony?”

The effervescent mare suddenly deflated.

“Did you say Twilight?!”

“Yeah, I have always found Twilight very attractive. You think she would ever go out with me?”

Through a forced smile and gritted teeth, Pinkie told the stallion that Twilight would surely go out with him. To her surprise, Gray Shade started laughing.

“I’m joking Pinkie! I was hoping you would like to go out with me tonight!”

Relief washed over Pinkie like a wave.

“And I thought I was a prankster…nice one Gray Shade.”

The gray earthpony reminded his pink counterpart that he was still waiting for an answer.

“I’d love to go out with you silly! It’s going to be so much fun, I can’t wait to see what you have planned!”

“Great, I’ll pick you up around seven.”

***

“So then I said Oatmeal, are you crazy?!”

“Pinkie, you are too much! I never knew you were so funny!”

Not only was the pink pony on a date with the most handsome stallion in town, but she was having the time of her life.

This is better than the Grand Galloping Gala, Hearth’s Warming Eve and the Summer Sun Celebration all wrapped up in a big surprise party!

“I’m having so much fun Gray Shade, I’ve thought about this moment for a long time!”

“What moment is that exactly?”

Pinkie couldn’t believe she just said that out loud. In an effort to cover her tracks, she noticed a pony pushing a dessert cart.

“I’ve been waiting for desert, silly!” She quickly grabbed a piece of cake, quickly shoving her face into the chocolaty treat. Delicious!”

Gray Shade laughed at his chocolate covered date.

“Oh Pinkie, you are so random!”

“It’s funny you say that! My friend Rainbow Dash says-“

Before Pinkie could finish the story, she felt her Pinkie Sense kick in.

I don’t see anything dangerous in here, everything seems to be okie dokie lo-

Her train of thought was derailed when she looked out the window of the restaurant. An explosion from the building across the street sent shards of brick and mortar hurtling towards the two ponies. Before Gray Shade knew what was going on, he was thrown through the floor as shrapnel shattered the window above his head.

“Pinkie! Are you ok?! Are you hurt?”

Fearing the worst, the concerned stallion crawled to the pink pony he was laughing with a few moments prior to the explosion. To his surprise, Pinkie was gone.

***

Why would somepony blow the wall of the Ponyville Bank? Oh…right.

Spider-Mare was perched on the roof to the restaurant, watching the hole in the side of the building, waiting for the perpetrator to make his escape. Seconds later, a massive figure emerged from the smoky ruins, with two large saddlebags filled with bits.

There he goes! He better beware, here comes the Spider-Mare!”

The hero began running on the rooftops alongside the thief. Already running at full speed, the mare leapt from the roof and landed in front of the escaping pony. He stopped and looked at the pony in front of him.

“Hiya! I’m Spider-Mare, what’s your name?”
“I’m RAWHIDE!”

The super powered mare examined the criminal in front of her. Unlike the apple thieves, he looked like a bad pony. He was twice her size and weight, and he had the biggest horn she had ever seen.

“Well Rawhide, that money doesn’t belong to you, so I’m going to give you one chance to return it!”

The crook laughed in Spider-Mare’s face.

“What are you going to do if I don’t?”

Spider-Mare sprinted toward the massive pony. When she was in striking distance, she pulled her hoof back and connected with Rawhide’s head. To her surprise, he didn’t even flinch.

“Is that the best you got? Let me show you a REAL punch.”

As his hoof connected with the hero, she was propelled backwards into a collection of trashcans.

Holy smokes, that pony can really pack a punch.

Watching his opponent slowly crawl to his hooves, Rawhide lowered his horn and charged. With the assistance of her Pinkie Sense, she was able to avoid his devastating attack, and apply a counter of her own. Unfortunately, the results were the same.

This is like a parasprite fighting a manticore! I’ll never beat him like this…I need to do something else…

“HOW DARE YOU! I’M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY, SPIDER-FREAK!”

He seems awful angry…

The unicorn recklessly charged at Spider-Mare once again, but this time, he caught a piece of the super powered mare. But in his frantic attack, Rawhide lost control and crashed into a building.

That’s it! When he gets made, he loses control! I just need to keep him angry!

“How did you like that, Spider-Freak?”

“That was pretty good Rawhide, but I have one question. Why is your horn so big?”

“I was born with it…why do you want to know?”

“I figured you were making up for something smaller…like your brain!”

“You little pest! I’ll show you who has a small brain!” The villain jabbed at Spider-Mare, but her quick reflexes made evasion simple.

“What kind of name is Rawhide anyway? Personally, I like the name Mr. Pointy instead.”

Mr. Pointy didn’t seem to like his new name, and he wanted to make sure this costumed pony knew it. He took another wild swing at the costumed pony, but missed once again.

“Wow Mr. Pointy, is that the best you got? Because I have to say-”

In a final act on desperation, Rawhide charged at Spider-Mare, successfully pinning her against a wall.

Aw nutmeg, he has me cornered!

“Any last words before I crush you to dust, Spider-Freak?”

Looking into the eyes of her captor, the trapped pony smiled.

“I hope you like taffy!”

Managing to get her hooves free, Spider-Mare shot two stands of webbing into the face of her enemy. In the commotion, the unicorn dropped the hero. Swinging to the middle of the town square, she waited for Rawhide to regain composure.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, SPIDER-MARE!”

Lowering his horn, the attacking unicorn galloped at full speed toward the pony directly in front of him.

If this doesn’t work, I’ll be one holey pony…

She shot a single strand of webbing into one hoof, while she gripped the other end. She patiently waited for her foe to get closer.

Almost there…almost there…NOW!

Jumping onto Rawhide’s back, the agile mare looped the taffy strand around the infuriated unicorn’s neck.

Now I know why Applejack loves the rodeo so much!

“Yee HAW!”

Using the strand to steer the rampaging pony, Spider-Mare carefully chose her target…the sturdy oak tree that housed the Ponyville Public Library.

Twilight is going to kill me…

Rawhide ran full speed into the tree, his horn penetrating the side of the building. Before he could escape, Spider-Mare secured his horn in the tree, preventing him from escaping.

“Boy Rawhide, I bet I’ve been quite a horn in your side this evening!”

Before she could swing away into the night, Twilight Sparkle emerged from the library.

“Who are you, and what have you done to our library!?”

“I’m Spider-Mare! I’m sorry, but it was the only way to stop this bank robber! I’ll pay for whatever was ruined.”

“Well, this was the thing that was seriously damaged.” Twilight held up a book. From the looks of it, Rawhide’s horn went right through it.

“I will buy you a new copy” the hero vowed. “What is the name of that book?”

“Holes.”

Pinkie ran back to the restaurant, hoping to continue her date with Gray Shade. To her dismay, he was nowhere to be found.

“Excuse me waitress, have you seen a stallion with light gray fun and a dark gray mane?”

“Yes, he was on a date with somepony, but I guess she left him hanging. He paid the bill and left…poor guy.”

***

The groggy pink earthpony made her way downstairs the next moening. Her entire body hurt, but to her, it was worth it. She fixed herself a muffin and joined Mr. and Mrs. Cake at the table.

“It’s not the point sweetheart! There is a reason why we have laws against vigilantes, they only make matters worse!”

“Well Carrot, she did stop that bank robber…”

“What are you two talking about?”

Mr. Cake showed Pinkie the front page of the morning paper.

“The pony who calls herself, “Spider-Mare” destroyed part of the library, the restaurant and other various things in town.”

“She didn’t destroy them to be a Meanie McMeanerson. That stuff happened to get destroyed during the fight.”

Both Cakes’s turned to Pinkie.

“I uh…read it when you showed me the paper...”

Satisfied with her answer, Mr. Cake continued his explanation on why vigilantes were menaces to society.

“If we let one pony believe that she is above the law, then others will start doing it.”

“But if she’s doing it to help other ponies, what’s the big deal?”

“We have rules Pinkie, and everypony has to follow them. The police would have captured the robber, and there wouldn’t have been any property damage.

“How do you know? The police didn’t show up while the whole fight was going on! He would have been long gone by the time they got there. Plus, there would have been causalities! Spider-Mare had a hard time with Rawhide, so what makes you think a cop could capture him just like that!”

Once again, both Cakes’s directed their full attention to the frustrated mare.

“Pinkie dear, how do you know all this?”

Great…what have I gotten myself into?

“Well…Gray Shade and I watched the fight from the restaurant last night, I saw the whole thing.”

At that moment, Pinkie remembered the night before. A disappointed and lonely Gray Shade left the restaurant during her fight with Rawhide.

He probably never wants to see me again! I need to go apologize…

When her muffin was finished, Pinkie left the bakery. She quickly made her way to the store, hoping to catch Gray Shade on his break and apologize for leaving. During her walk, she noticed that everypony was outside, standing around and talking.

“…menace? Spider-Mare is a HERO! If it wasn’t for her, my life savings would be GONE! I would have NOTHING!”

“Maybe she stopped that pony because she wanted the money for herself! Never trust a pony in a costume…that’s what I always say!”

Everypony had taken sides on the issue of Spider-Mare. The more conversations she overheard, the more anxious she became.

I’m not doing anything wrong…am I? I thought I was helping everypony…

Arriving at the store, she asked the nearest employee if Gray Shade was working. He pointed to an aisle, so the pink pony headed in that direction.

“Hiya Gray Shade!”

“Oh…hi Pinkie.”

“Look, I’m really sorry about last night. I was just really scared, once the glass shattered and the bricks started flying, I panicked!”

“Really? That’s the only reason you left?”

“Of course silly!” The stallion in front of her looked relieved. “Why do you think I left?”

“I thought you didn’t like me for some reason, or maybe I said something wrong.”

“I would never ever do that to a friend!” Pinkie placed a hoof around her friends neck, giving it a small squeeze. “I would never intentionally make another pony sad!”

To her surprise, Gray Shade wrapped both arms around her waist, and gave her a hug.

“You know Pinkie…I don’t think we officially ended our first date. How would you like to give it another try?”

“I would love to!”

The two ponies made a date, set for later that evening. As she left the store, Pinkie was back to her bubbly self. Bouncing into the bakery, her bubbly personality was popped once again. Filthy Rich was back. His calm gentle demeanor was gone, and replaced with an angry businesspony.

“Carrot, you’re a fool if you don’t take this offer. It’s DOUBLE what its worth!”

“Rich…I told you last time I wasn’t interested. Nothing has changed in the past couple weeks.”

“What if I offer TRIPLE? Three times more bits than you paid for it!”

“I’m sorry Rich, the answer is still no.”

The businesspony angrily swept everything off the table. He placed both front hooves firmly on the table top and leaned into the property owner. Being a true gentlecolt, Carrot Cake motioned for his wife to get behind him, in order to protect her.

“Rich, what’s wrong? You’ve never acted this way before, is there something else I can help you with?”

“I NEED this place Carrot! This will put Rich’s Barnyard Bargains on the map!”

“If that’s the only reason, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Flipping his chair over, Filthy Rich grabbed his things and left the bakery. Pinkie Pie stood in the doorway, glaring at the stallion.

“That wasn’t very nice, Mr. Rich. You should apologize to the Cake’s right now.”

Scoffing at the idea, he pushed the pink mare out of the way. As he stomped passed her, Pinkie heard him mutter under his breath.”

“You’ll all be sorry. You’ll all be sorry, and this place WILL be mine.”