//------------------------------// // 3) Power and Responsibility, Part 3 // Story: The Awesome Spider-Dash: Origins // by Flufux //------------------------------// Episode 3 Power and Responsibility, Part 3 A Spider's Wrath 'It's raining... Like some stupid movie cliche, it's freaking raining...' These were the thoughts currently going through Rainbow Dash's head while she was staring out her window. It was night, and the never-ending sound of raindrops hitting the glass was all that she could hear right now. She had tuned out everything else. She had tuned out the sound of her friends constantly trying to reach her on her phone, she had tuned out the sound of her dad's crying downstairs, and she had also tuned out the words of comfort Captain Shining Armour was trying to provide him. She didn't even care about the pain emanating from the newly-bandaged wound on her left forearm. 'Why couldn't it just be sunny, you know? Rain...why did it have to fucking rain?!' She didn't move a single muscle. The only thing she could do was sit in her bed and stare at the recently repaired bedroom window. A window that she once broke, and that her mom had to pay a lot of money to have replaced. 'It's not stopping...it won't stop raining... Why can't it just go away?' The only movement she showed were the very few times she allowed herself to blink... ...the few times she temporarily rested her bloodshot eyes... ...and the few times she forced more tears to pour down her face. 'I know why it won't stop.... I know why it won't stop raining...' The small drops of saltwater that slowly made their way out of her tear ducts and across her cheeks eventually fell down and gathered on something she was holding onto. It was a framed photograph...and there were many tears currently covering its glass surface. The picture within...was of herself at the age of four...being carried by Firefly...her mother. 'It's because I made a mistake...' Seven Hours earlier... Rainbow Dash was on a roll! Not only had she successfully introduced herself to the world as the Awesome Spider-Girl, but she had also managed to defeat the previously undefeated wrestling legend Iron Will the Minotaur himself in an one-on-one confrontation. By all accounts, she had more than earned the reward of 3 000 dollars that she had been promised. However, Gladmane, the hotshot billionaire who had promised her that reward in the first place, was at the moment a bit preoccupied with a phone call of some kind while Rainbow had to wait in the corridor just outside his office until he would let her in. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem...except he was taking forever! As someone who had lived with ADHD her entire life, Rainbow was not a fan of waiting...to put it mildly. Even worse, in the quiet and boring hallway she was stuck waiting in, there wasn't even a chair or a bench or anything at all to sit down on, nor really anything worthwhile to do. If she had her phone on her, Dash could have watched something on YouTube, or texted her friends, or at least pass the time with some silly phone game. But as it would have it, Twilight was the one who was currently holding onto her cellphone...and that was just because she herself couldn't take it with her into the wrestling arena. 'This suit could really use some pockets...' she silently noted. Plus, with Twilight and Pinkie Pie waiting for her outside, and the only other person in the room being some shady guy with a golden tooth in his rather unsettling smile who was suspiciously just standing around for some reason, she didn't even have someone to talk to either. Still, once she had the money, it would all be worth it...at least as long as she could stay awake long enough to recieve it. With nothing better to do, Rainbow ended up listening in on the snippets of conversation she could pick up from Gladmane's conversation on the other end of the door. "...While I get the idea, Miss Cinch, I'm still waitin' to hear how this would benefit me in the long run. In case y'all didn't notice, I stand to lose more money than..." 'Urgh, he's talking business. As if this couldn't get any more boring...' "...Ah, I see, I see. Well then, I will admit that offer sounds mighty temptin'. But first, I want you to put in a good word for me with the Kingpin now, you hear? Nothin' too fancy, but a little recognition from the Big Man himself would be much appreciated." Dash rolled her eyes, 'Seriously? How long is this conversation gonna take?' "...He-heh, well I guess that's for me to decide, then. Anyway, now I gotta handle some business, but thank you for callin', thank you very much." 'Wait, is it finally over?' The door to Gladmane's office promptly opened, and the man himself was quick to offer an apology. "Sorry I had you waitin', Spider-Girl. When you're runnin' as big of a business as I am, you need to make an awful lot of calls every now and then to keep it all afloat." Rainbow shrugged, "Eh, as long as I get what I came for, it's no biggie." "Glad to hear it. Speakin' of which, would you come in one second?" Gladmane requested while he headed back to take a seat at his desk. Once comfortably sitting in his expensive leather chair, he added, "Now, that was some fightin' alright! No offence, but I never expected someone like you to take down the Minotaur that easily." After she had followed him in, Dash answered that with, "What? Didn't the 'Awesome' in the 'Awesome Spider-Girl' give you a hint?" "He-he, well I hear names like that all the time in my line of work, but I've never seen anyone live up to them quite like you did. Colour me impressed!" "Yeah, yeah, that's nice and all, but about that prize money..." Rainbow urged while rubbing her fingers in a gesture usually translated into 'gimme money'. That's however...when Gladmane's affable expression began to turn into something a bit more sinister. The smile on his face may have seemed at first to be that of a friendly guy enjoying a happy life as he went along...but now it started to hint that it more likely belonged to a greedy manipulator seeing an opportunity. "Say...what was the prize sum again? Three-thousand dollars, right?" "Uh, yeah." Gladmane reached under the table, pulled up a briefcase and placed it on his desk where she could see it. "How would you like over twice that much, right here, right now, with interest?" "Wait, you serious?" Rainbow voiced in surprise, her eyes lightning up behind her mask. "Are you seriously gonna do that or is this just a joke? Because if you're not joking then that would be super-awesome!" "No joke, my friend. I'm dead serious about this," Gladmane assured. "I'll give you the seven-thousand dollars in this briefcase as your reward, and then I'll leave you to decide what you wanna do with 'em." "AH YEAH! That's what I'm talking about!" Rainbow shouted while giving the air a punch. "That would make this way better than-" however, she then stopped herself when she realised something, "Wait, wait, wait! Hang on a minute...there's gotta be a catch to this, isn't there?" "Well...I'm afraid there is, but it won't cost you all that much." Now a slight bit suspicious, Rainbow crossed her arms and gave him a sceptical look. "Then what will it cost me?" Gladmane positioned himself a bit more comfortably in his chair while clasping his hands together. "Well, your performance in the ring was nothin' short of stellar, uh-huh-huh. However, we both know you didn't win solely because of your wrestlin' skills, did ya?" "Your point being?" "Well, forgive me for pryin', but I couldn't help but notice those clever little web-shootin' things on your wrists. Now, if I'm right in sayin', then they're not exactly somethin' you would just find in the store some lucky day, huh?" Rainbow looked at the web-shooter on her left wrist and then back at him, "...I guess not. But why do you care?" Gladmane leaned forward a bit, "Look, I got a few 'friends' out there who would love to get their hands on any kind of advanced tech there is, and those little gizmos you used to create those spectacular webs seems like just the sort of thing I need to make 'em happy. You hand 'em over to me, and in return, I'll pay ya way more than I would have for just winnin' this silly little contest. A fair trade, don't'ya thi-" "No deal!" Rainbow suddenly declared, leaving Gladmane with a look of surprise on his face. "Come again?" "No. Deal." Rainbow repeated with a bit more emphasis. "Not interested, not wanting to give away my web-shooters, no deal." Clearly confused over why she would turn away such a tempting offer, Gladmane could only stutter, "But, but...why? That was more than twice the money you thought you'd get for goodness sake!" "Look, I appreciate the offer and all, but giving away these babies," she pointed at one of her web-shooters, "no way! I'll just take it at the normal prize, thank you very much." Gladmane gave the masked woman in front of him a frown, making it very clear he wasn't happy about her refusal. After all: he was Gladmane, and nobody said no to Gladmane...especially not when there was an opportunity this big for him within his reach. "You know what, Spider-Girl, I'm makin' some changes to this deal!" He declared in a tone that lacked his previous charm and now displayed the anger hidden underneath. "Either you hand over one of them web-shooters or you're not gettin' any money at all!" "What!?" Dash questioned while her eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't do that!" "Oh really? And why's that?" Rainbow let out a sharp groan, "Look, you said whoever beats Iron Will in the game wins three-thousand. I won, that means you have to pay me. That's the deal, end of story!" "Yeah, but its still my money," Gladmane insisted. "And from the way I see it, I don't have any obligation to pay you a single dollar unless I get somethin' for it." "No obligation?! My ass you don't have any obligation!" Angered by her attitude and unwillingness to cooperate, Gladmane rose up from his chair and looked her straight in the face. "Listen to me, ya little punk! I'm Gladmane, the fifth richest person in the state, and no one is gonna stand in my way to becomin' number one, no matter who it is! Now, I want those web-shooters and I won't give you any of my money until they're mine, you hear?!" Rainbow stared him back with equal intensity, "I need that money." "Yeah, and how exactly is that my problem!? I don't give a damn what you need! What I need are the web-shooters, and you will hand 'em over right now or get the hell out of my office and never even think about participatin' in a wrestling match ever again!" A more practical person might have taken the deal by now. Twilight could easily make replacements for the shooters she gave away, and both her and Dash would get a lot more money than either were initially expecting. Walking away like this would mean that she ended up coming here for nothing, and would have to find some other way to get her hands on the money she needed. Sure, one might argue that Gladmane wasn't exactly trustful, and that he would no doubt have some less than honest use for the web-shooters if she gave them to him...but that thought never actually crossed Rainbow's mind. No, the reason she could not agree to his offer was because Rainbow Dash was at her core stubborn, arrogant, and not a fan of losing. She couldn't give in to his demands, he had to give in to her demands. She had to win, damned the consequences! So faced with an ultimatum like this, Rainbow really only had one response. "FINE!" she shouted with contempt, then turned around and stormed out the door without another word...leaving her with no money, and Gladmane with no web-shooter. After having slammed the door behind her for good measure, she let out a slightly suppressed scream of frustration while she clenched her fists and stomped on the floor a few times. Even with her mask concealing her face, it was still very easy to guess her mood at the moment...which was exactly what someone else in the hallway actually ended up doing. Just as Rainbow was about to get out of this place and change back to her regular clothes, that someone ended up asking her, "So that Gladmane fella refused to pay ya, did he?" She stopped in her tracks, then turned around to see who was talking. It turned out to be that one creepy guy with the golden tooth who were just standing around there before for some reason or another. 'Is he spying on me or something?' A bit apprehensive about talking to this shady stranger, Dash urged, "Yeah, what of it?" The man made a quick look around, as if to make sure no one else were listening in, then said, "Well, I dunno about you, Missy, but I'd want a little payback if he pulled a fast one on me." "Payback huh?" Dash voiced, now a bit intrigued by what he was offering. "Exactly. Look, you wanted the money, I get that. But I guess now that you're not getting any, you wouldn't want him keeping it either, right?" "No...I definitively wouldn't," she agreed with a snarl. "Lucky for you, I'm gonna go in there and...well...borrow it for a while...if you catch my drift." Despite the fact that her face was hidden behind a mask, she raised an eyebrow while asking, "So...you're just gonna go and steal it?" "Yep," he replied with a grin that really showed off his sparkling golden tooth. "Huh," Dash started to smile at the sound of that. "Well...I'm not stopping you." The man gave a small chuckle. "Hehe, Good to know, buuuut...I might need a little of your help." Rainbow put a hand on her hip, "Help in what way?" "Nothing much. Just that as soon as I take the money, Gladmane will definitively already have switched on that pesky alarm and the guards will be all over this place. However, I've heard I'm a pretty fast runner, and if you could just keep the elevator doors open when I make my escape, then that will take care of both our problems." Rainbow took a second to consider his proposal. ‘Well it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve stolen something...and now it wouldn’t even be me doing the stealing. Besides, that jerk has it coming anyway.’ She then gave him a nod and said, “Consider it done! Just...don’t tell anybody I helped you. I kinda got a reputation to uphold.” “No problemo," the man said with a grin. "Appreciate the assist.” With that settled, Dash started to make her way over to the elevator at a normal, slightly slower pace to avoid seeming suspicious. A trick she learned back in her shoplifting days, in fact. ‘Things were so simple back then. Just me and Gilda against the world. Dash and Griffon, Partners in Crime! Man, she used to be so fun to hang out with...ya know, back before she became a bitch, when we ran about stealing worthless stuff just for the hell of it, or played pranks on the teachers, or spray-tagged about every corner in the block! ‘Okay, maybe in hindsight she was kind of a bad influence or something, but eh, at least no one was hurt. Well, at least not by me anyway. I mean, it’s not like it’s my responsibility what Gilda does in her free time, right?’ Rainbow then heard the alarm go off and a door being slammed open. ‘That’s my cue!’ she noted to herself before she did her part of the bargain and clicked the button on the elevator door, opening it to clear a path for the burglar to escape. As expected, the golden-toothed guy did come running out of Gladmane’s office with a briefcase in his hands, followed by a distraught Gladmane as well as a couple of security guards who came out of the other doors in the hallway. The thief had a head start though, and the guards didn’t have any chance of catching up to him before he ran past the Spider-Girl, even giving her a wink as he did so, and straight into the elevator, clicked the lobby button and smiled at his own fortune when the doors closed before anyone could stop him. The guard who was closest on his tail practically slammed into the door just after it closed. He grunted in anger, then turned to his fellow guards and ordered, “Dammit! Call the guys downstairs and tell them to catch him before he escapes!” Unperturbed by the commotion, Rainbow hid a small smile behind her mask and nonchalantly pressed the button to summon another elevator. “Hey, you!” she then heard Gladmane call out, with him sounding no happier than she would expect after what just happened. Only this time, he had an air of panic about him as well. “What were ya doin’, just standin’ around there!? You could have taken that guy easily, or at least trip him or somethin’! Now because of you he’s gettin’ away with my money, you hear!?” Spider-Girl looked at him...then she echoed, “Yeah, and how exactly is that my problem?” Rainbow clenched the framed photo a bit tighter, its glass surface now covered almost entirely with her tears. ‘How could I have been such an idiot?!’ If her throat wasn’t completely sore from all the screaming she had already done, then she would have screamed right now. If for nothing else, than it would be to vent the anger and guilt that was boiling underneath her skin. ‘Why couldn’t I have seen it sooner?!’ Her hold on the picture eventually became too hard for the glassed frame to handle...and it broke when she least expected it, spreading sharp shards of glass on the floor and creating a painful cut on her hand. ‘If I had just...just...just not been such a stupid moron!’ Despite the pain and the small amount of blood coming out of her hand, she couldn’t bring herself to care about that. The pain she felt inside was just too much... ‘If I had just listened to her when I had the chance...’ Six hours earlier... "Well that was total bust!" Rainbow Dash commented when she passed Twilight on her way out of the building. Having been waiting in the lobby for her friend to collect the money and change back into her regular clothes for more than an hour now, she was a bit startled by the sudden comment, and it took her a moment to process what she just said. Seeing that Rainbow was practically storming out towards the door with a grumpy expression on her face, Twilight ran to catch up with her. "What happened?" "That jerk didn't pay me anything!" Dash answered with a grumble. Twilight gave her a puzzled look, "Didn't pay you? But you won the match, right?" Rainbow stopped. "Yeah, I did. But then that stupid Gladmane guy said he wanted my web-shooters, and wouldn't pay me until I handed 'em over." "Wait...he wanted the web-shooters I gave you?" Twilight asked, starting to sound a bit worried. Dash crossed her arms and sighed, "Yep, something about selling it to some people, I dunno." A bit more worried, Twilight suddenly grabbed her friend by the shoulders, "Did you give them to him!?" "Of course not!" she replied before she pushed Twilight away from her. "But I couldn't even get the normal prize unless I-" Their conversation was cut short when, all of a sudden, the front door was slammed open and a panicking Pinkie Pie came in shouting, "Rainbow Dash! Twilight! Come quick!" Rainbow pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned, muttering, "Not in the mood, Pinkie." without even bothering to turn around to look at her. Twilight on the other hand did look at Pinkie as she came in, and she immediately knew that something had happened as soon as she saw her. Pinkie Pie was probably the happiest person Twilight had ever met, and had many ways to make fun of and enjoy pretty much any situation, no matter how bland or bleak. But right now...she showed none of that. Right now, she wasn't smiling, she wasn't joking around, and she wasn't laughing. Right now, she looked scared, her hair wasn't as puffy as it used to be, and Twilight was sure she could see tears start to form at the base of her eyes. Seeing her like this, she immediately asked, "Pinkie?! What is it? Are you okay?" Pinkie stuttered a lot when she tried to answer, "It's...it's...it's Firefly, I just wanted to say hello to her, but she's been...been...SHOT!" Rainbow Dash's heart stopped the moment she heard that...and she immediately forgot all about the situation with Gladmane and the money she didn't get. Instead, she sharply looked at Pinkie and screamed "WHAT!?" Pinkie began to tear up, "She...she...there was this guy who showed up and...and...oh god, it's horrible..." In a clear tone of voice, Rainbow asked, "Where is she?!" “She’s...she’s...” Now raising her voice loud enough to silence the entire lobby, Rainbow repeated, “WHERE IS SHE?!” To her credit, Pinkie was trying to hold in her sobbing as much as she could...but being as emotional as she was, she really had a difficult time doing that. Still, she made an effort to calm herself enough to answer, “I’ll...I’ll show you.” Rainbow Dash fell down on her bed while she dropped the broken frame on the floor. ‘I wish you were here right now, mom...’ In the position she was currently in, all Dash could do was stare at the boring featureless ceiling. It wasn't as if the stupid pitter-patter of raindrops on the window was any interesting to look at either. ‘I wish you could just come and give me a hug like when I was little...even though I pretended to hated it.’ She thought she had used up all the tears she had by now, but that still didn’t stop her from starting to cry all over again. ‘Mom, please...just...please tell me this is just a nightmare or something... ...please tell me that you’re still alive.’ Rainbow ran as fast as she could... She could see the commotion that had started at the parking lot, as well as all the police officers, paramedics and curious onlookers who had gathered around to see what was going on. “Mom?” Rainbow didn’t care about any of them. She ran right through the crowd as fast and as desperately as she could. She didn’t even care for her two friends who were trying and failing to catch up with her. “Mom!” Anyone who stood in her way, she pushed aside without a pardon or apology...and that included the cops who had formed a perimeter around the person she was seeking. “MOM!” Rainbow’s heart twisted even further when she finally got through the crowd and her eyes set on the bloody, quivering and frightened face of her mother. Firefly had been shot with a handgun at very close range in the gut, and her pink sweater was stained in blood...blood that kept leaking from her wound despite the valiant efforts of the paramedics who had arrived far too late to help her. Her body was trembling as she was desperately trying to breathe, and her eyes were opened wide in shock. Dash fell on her knees before her while frantically shouting, "Mom, mom, mom, please, please, please, tell me you're okay, please!" Upon hearing the distraught voice of her daughter, Firefly tried the best she could to look her in the eyes. Rainbow assisted her efforts a little by gently lifting her head up a bit. Firefly tried as hard as she could to stay awake...to stay conscious...to stay alive...but...she knew that it was fruitless. As a trained soldier, she knew when a wound was fatal, and she knew that she was hit in a place that she would not survive unless she had been treated immediately. Faced with such odds, Firefly knew that she was going to die...and in front of her own daughter no less. She needed to say something, anything to make this moment count...but she could already feel her vision slipping away from her no matter how hard she tried to push back. "Da...Dashie..." Firefly managed to croak out. Rainbow Dash's eyes were watering, slowly but steadily, her composure crumbling with the tears that were building at the frames of her eyes. She would not believe what she was seeing, she could not believe what she was seeing, she couldn't accept that this was happening right in front of her. "Mom, I'm here. You're gonna be okay. Stay with me, please stay with me, mom!" "Dashie, I...urgh, I’m...uhg...uhh...uhhhh..." But Firefly couldn’t finish that sentence...for she did not have the strength to do so. The image of her daughter, Rainbow Dash, bursting into tears while begging her to stay was the last thing she saw...and then everything went black. "Mom, no, don't go...no, no, no, no..." Rainbow saw her mother's eyes stop moving, she felt her heart stop pumping, she felt her stop breathing, she witnessed her mother die in her own arms. The woman who took care of her, the woman who raised her, protected her, taught her everything she knew, and the family member she loved the most...was dead. "Don't leave me..." Gone...gone forever...never coming back...ever. "I don't want you to go!" Rainbow's walls completely broke down, and she began to cry into her mom's shoulder. She knew that this wasn't just some horrible nightmare, or a temporary problem that would be forgotten over time. No, this was a tragedy that would change her life forever, no matter what she did. Even with all of her powers, Rainbow Dash was completely and utterly powerless in this situation. She couldn’t go back in time and prevent this from happening, she couldn’t whip up a healing serum to make her bounce back and be her regular self again. All she could do was accept one simple fact... Her mother was dead, and there was nothing she could do to change that. However...that didn’t mean there wasn’t something she could do. With her keen perception of her surroundings and her still active spider-sense, Rainbow scanned the crowd around her for the information she needed to know. The first thing she picked up on was Twilight trying her best not to puke after seeing so much blood. This must have been the first time the poor girl had ever seen something as gruesome and morbid as this in real life. ‘Useless’ She also sensed the heartbreaking wailing of Pinkie Pie who couldn’t even bare to watch. ‘Useless again.’ Then she noticed that some jerk was taking a picture of the crime scene on his smartphone. ‘I would kill you right now if I didn’t have someone else on my list first. Also useless.’ However, then she focused on a nearby police officer, and tuned her ears to listen in on his radio. “...suspect’s heading north-east towards Saddle Row...officer’s DeWolf and Skies in pursuit...” ‘That was just what I needed to know.’ Her eyes focused, switching out sadness for boiling tranquil fury, her mouth straightened to become a single thin line, and she slowly and steadily stood up straight while staring straight ahead. ‘The son of a bitch who did this...’ she clenched her fist in anger, ‘...he is not getting away with this!’ Rainbow Dash stopped her endless stare at the dark ceiling and turned over on her side, letting the tears coming out of her left eye gather on her pillow. 'All those soccer games we had that I always won, all those crazy adventures we shared...they're all gone.' She clenched her bed sheets in frustration and self-loathing, memories of what happened earlier in the day still haunting her. 'I'm never gonna see you again, am I? ...we're never gonna have that match you promised me... ...because...because you're dead.' The streets of Canterlot were in turmoil that night, as a heated car chase was in effect. A stolen vehicle, Firefly's car to be specific, was speeding through the city at maximum velocity, with no intention of stopping or even slowing down for anything. Pedestrians crossing the street were shown no mercy and had to leap out of the way if they didn't want to end up as road kill, and drivers who didn't want to get their cars wrecked had to try to stay clear of the maniac as best they could. Heck, even the driver of the stolen vehicle himself could be considered to be in mortal danger from his own reckless driving. In fact, the only reason he was risking his life and the lives of others by driving this fast in the first place was to shake off the three awfully persistent police cars that were tracking his every move. The sound of their sirens were like annoying flies that he just couldn't get rid off, and the flashing red and blue lights that he could make out in the car's mirrors were stressing him out more and more. It was actually a goddamn miracle that no one had as of yet gotten hurt by his frantic driving. Though for every second that passed, the risk of that happening increased exponentially. Still, not even the risk of a catastrophic accident would stop him from trying to shake off the cops pursuing him. Though, when it came down to it, they were not what he should have been worried about. Too focused was he on what was pursuing him on the streets...that he had no way of knowing of the masked figure following him on the rooftops above. Rainbow Dash...or rather...the Spider...was after him. All things considered, it wasn't hard for her to track him down. All she really had to do was follow the sirens...and then follow the familiar car that he had stolen. While she didn’t have the time required to change into her spider-outfit completely, she made sure to strap on her web-shooters as well as her mask to make sure no one recognised her. The last thing she needed in her life right now was Rainbow Dash being accused of the crime she was planning to commit. With one eye focused on the car at all times, Rainbow meticulously jumped, swung and climbed from rooftop to rooftop, coming closer and closer to him with every passing moment. And then...when she felt in her gut that the time was right...she took a running leap from the roof she was on and aimed right for the speeding car on the street below. For any normal person, a jump like this would no doubt be suicidal. But Rainbow Dash...she didn't care in the least. Not just because her superhuman physiology and reflexes made any potential fall damage mostly a non-issue in many situations, but also because her own safety and well-being were the least of her concerns. Right now, her body was running on pure rage as well as an endless supply of adrenaline. Any restraint or compassion or even basic logic was out the window. All she wanted, no, needed, was revenge. He was going to pay, and there was no stopping her from making him do just that. Or...at least, that was what she thought at the time. She landed on the hood of her mother's stolen car on all fours so hard that she dented the metal plating underneath her. It was a painful landing, even for her...but her anger made it easy to push past it. Rage turned out to be one hell of an anaesthetic when it really came down to it. Her sudden appearance caught the driver completely off-guard. He had been stressed out enough as it was, but when the masked woman came out of nowhere and dropped down upon him like that...he completely lost it. All sense of what he was even doing vanished the moment she showed up, and he desperately tried to turn the vehicle around in a foolish attempt to shake her off...while driving way too fast for such a move to be even remotely safe. As a result, the car flipped over entirely, sending both of them crashing towards certain doom. However, just as that happened, Rainbow's spider-sense kicked in. The world around her seemed to slow down to a crawl as her very perception of time itself changed right before her eyes. It was almost like watching a scene in slow motion. Only, when she was doing this, she also could sense the world around her more acutely than she had ever been able to before. Dash could even 'feel' that if she didn't do something within the next two seconds (which, to her, was a lot longer than it sounds), she would no doubt be crushed into mush by the one-ton car falling on top of her. If she wanted to survive, she would have to act inhumanly fast. However, if there was one thing that Rainbow Dash excelled at, it was speed. She quickly attached both of her feet on the roof of the car while spreading them evenly to maintain balance, then she aimed both of her arms to her sides and released a sling of webbing from each one that eventually both found their mark on the wall of a nearby building each. This took most of those two seconds. Now, to make sure her extremely quick thinking paid off, she grabbed the web-lines and held on as hard as she could, while she used all the strength she had left to push the car back with her legs. Miraculously...it actually worked. While Rainbow was subjected to searing pain in her arms and legs (enough that it felt like they were all going to snap out of their sockets), her superhuman spider-strength, as well as the impressive tensile strength of the webs she was using, turned out to ultimately be enough to stop the car's momentum. She held that pose for a moment in order to take a deep breath and come to term with the fact that she was, indeed, still among the living. Once she had properly done so, Dash gave the vehicle another powerful push with her legs and flipped it back to its proper position. That is, with all four wheels on the ground. Now, this would seem to be a perfect opportunity for the car thief to start driving again...but he was in no mood for that anymore. While it had been brief, the car flipping over was quite the roller coaster for the frail human being trapped inside it. Since he didn't bother putting the seat belt on, he pretty much rolled around along with it. Fortunately for him though, he managed to avoid any fatal injuries. Although that was more dumb luck than anything else. In fact, he probably owed his life to the vehicle's airbag if anything. Dazed, frightened and confused, the man deliriously pushed open the door and fell to his knees on the sidewalk. A small stain of blood dripped down a bit from his forehead, likely due to him at some point slamming his head on the car's ceiling some time during his near-crash experience. His heart was beating faster than it had ever done before, and his breaths were quick and desperate. He didn't even have a clue as to what just happened or what was going on right now. He was given no time to recover and figure that out though, as a sling of webbing attached itself to his back and forcefully yanked him off the ground. With a pained whelp, his back was slammed into a brick wall, then harshly pulled by the string higher and higher up a building. Now on the verge of panicking, the man shouted, "Wha-what's happening'!" "It's called payback, you creep!" the enraged and unforgiving voice of Rainbow Dash answered from above. "Who are you!? Let me go! PLEASE!" "LET YOU GO!?" she nearly screamed. "After what you did to her!?" "What? No, it was an acci-" Before he could even hope of finishing that sentence, Rainbow threw him over the edge and made him land on the hard concrete roof of the building they were on. "Save your excuses! All I want to hear are your screams!" she threatened while she menacingly started to approach him. Fearing for his life, the man scrambled to his feet and pulled a gun out of his jacket, then aimed it at Rainbow with his shaking hands. Dash's eyes narrowed when she saw it. 'That's what he used to kill Mom with!' An almost painful tingle from her spider-sense then rang out in her head...just before the burglar sent off three badly aimed bullets flying in her direction. With her enhanced reflexes and speed, she barely just managed to move her head out of the first bullet's trajectory in time before it hit her...while the second bullet missed her completely and the third one graced her arm and gave her a painful surface wound on her skin...that she did her best to ignore. Had he been a better shot, Rainbow Dash likely wouldn't have survived this encounter. To prevent him from shooting her again, Dash quickly sent a sling of webbing into the barrel of his gun, conveniently just in time to block the next bullet's path and stop it from leaving the weapon. With a hard yank on the line connecting her web-shooter with his pistol, she pulled the weapon out of his hands and landed it right into one of her own. She didn't make an attempt to use it however, and instead took a firm grip with both hands on the infernal metal contraption before she bent it so hard that it literally broke in half. The broken pieces of the weapon were thrown away like garbage, and the man was given no opportunity to flee when Rainbow closed the distance between them and lifted him off the ground by the hem of his shirt. She stared him mask to face and then...she froze. 'Wait...' Rainbow had been so full of anger that she hadn't even bothered to pay any attention as to who she was actually chasing, but...when she got this close to him, she noticed something. 'That face...' The terrified mess of a person in front of her...the same man who she knew had been the one to shoot her mother in the gut, and who then tried to do the same to her...had the face of someone she had met before...rather recently in fact. The part that really caught her attention was when she spotted the shiny reflection of a single golden tooth in his mouth. "No...it can't be you..." she stuttered in horror. "I let you go...and then you..." Her eyes widened. Realisation hit her like a freight train. "No...no...no, no, no..." She let go of him and took a few steps back as she realised what she had done. "No...no, no, no..." Under her mask, more tears began to form behind her eyes, and she even fell on her knees from the weight of the guilt that was started to overcome her. She clasped her skull in her hands and mumbled, "What have I done...what have I done?" then she smashed a hole into the concrete beneath her with her fist, "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?" The killer didn't dare to move, and he didn't dare to say anything either. And worst of all, her reaction made him begin to realise just what he had done. Rainbow let out a loud and heartbreaking scream filled with anger and despair. One that was so loud even the people on the streets below could hear it. Then...her guilt turned into pure unfiltered rage. She got up and grabbed the man by his shirt again, but now she used her strength to lift him up and drag him over to the edge of the roof. Once he realised where she was dragging him, he pleaded, "No! Please, don't do this! I'll do anything! Please!" Just as she reached the ledge, Rainbow pulled him close and said, "I should drop you. After what you did to an innocent woman, to a woman with a loving family, to a woman worth far more than a pathetic piece of trash like you! A quick death is the least you deserve!" "Wait, you do-don-don't wanna do this!" "That's where you're wrong," she pulled him closer, "I do wanna do this!" Someone was knocking on her door. It was a gentle knock. So gentle in fact...that Rainbow could even make a good guess as to who it was. ‘It’s my fault this happened...’ She didn't open the door though, nor did she attempt to lock it or tell the person on the other side to leave...or even to enter. She just laid where she was, and stared out the window in silence. ‘...they say it was the burglar who was responsible, but they’re wrong...' Not even when the door eventually opened did she move or even attempt to look at who it was...she just continued staring at the infuriating rain outside. ...it was all my fault.’ The truth was that Rainbow Dash very much wanted the man to die. He had taken her mother away from her...he had shot her dead for no other reason than wanting to get his hands on an escape vehicle...he had killed a good woman just because she was in his way. There was no way Rainbow could ever forgive him for what he had done, no way she could ever forget...and no way in hell she was letting him get away with it either! However...when she looked into the frightened eyes of the man she held dangling off the ledge of an eight-story building and knew that his life was literally in her hands...she somehow knew that what she wanted to do right now...was wrong. Her mother once told her something...and the memories of what she said that day started to come back to her... "Beating people down to get them to do what you want is a bully's way of dealing with things, and I know you're better than that, Dashie!..." 'But, mom...he...he killed you. I can't just let him get away with that.' "When I was in the airforce, I saw good people, even friends, get gunned down by our enemies, and for a time I wanted nothing more than to return the favour. But...when I finally had the power to do that, I refused, and instead forced the enemy into a surrender, even though there was no tactical reason for doing so." 'Why? Why can't I just let this asshole get what he deserves?' "Why? Because I knew that they didn't deserve it. And if they did, it was not for me to decide. For with great power, there must always be an even greater responsibility to go with it. Always remember that." Rainbow closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. 'I...guess you're right, Mom. No matter what happens...I'll never be a killer like he is. I'm better than that.' The person who had just opened the door didn't say anything...they just stood there...watching...waiting... Then they closed it, and took a few slow steps toward the bed. The steps were light, and were taken with extreme caution. This already ruled out any possibility of it being her father. He was always more quick on his feet, no matter the situation. Rainbow then felt something weigh down on her bed a bit as the other person had just sat down on it. She could also hear that person's very feminine-sounding breaths softly grace her ears. So far...nothing had gone to contradict her first suspicions about her identity. The final nail in the coffin came when Dash felt a soft smooth hand gently begin to stroke her shoulder. A left hand. And there was only one lefty she knew who would be here for her at this time and place. "Fluttershy?" she croaked out from her tired throat. "I'm here for you, Dashie..." Fluttershy assured in her motherly tone, while she continued to gently stroke Rainbow's arm. "For as long as you need me, I'll be here." Dash moved her head just enough to catch a glimpse of the face of her oldest and most supportive friend, and the sight of Fluttershy's beautiful, yet sad, blue eyes. It was a sight that told her at least one thing. She was not alone. And while she was a long way from being happy, or even remotely okay for that matter...it still made her feel just a tiny bit better. Fluttershy laid down on the bed next to her, and then slowly wrapped an arm over Dash's waist while burying her head in Rainbow's neck. "There, there, Dashie...it's gonna be okay..." she whispered. After a moment, Rainbow said, "Th-Thanks, 'Shy." Nothing more needed to be said between them...so the room fell into silence as Rainbow cried herself to sleep in the comfort of Fluttershy's arms. Earlier that night, the police found the burglar trapped in a silk cocoon hanging off a street lamp...yet he was still very much alive and mostly unharmed. While many questions remained as to how he ended up that way or who the mysterious woman who caught him was, the man was ultimately arrested for his crimes, and was now well on his way to spending the next couple of years behind bars. It was as much of a punishment as Rainbow could inflict upon the man right now. Justice was served... ...but...it was not going to bring Firefly back. Nothing would.