The Awesome Spider-Dash: Origins

by Flufux

2) A lecture in Heroism, Part 3

Episode 2
A lecture in Heroism, Part 3
A Valuable Lesson

Firefly had been through quite a lot in her 38 year old life.

She had passed military school and the Wonderbolt Academy, flown fighter jets into hostile territories, survived the Yakyakistan war, and most trying of all: managed to raise a daughter...a daughter that happened to be Rainbow Dash.

Despite Rainbow's brash attitude and enormous ego, Firefly had more respect and love for her than anyone else in the world. Over the years, she had learned to trust her daughter to make her own decisions on what to do in life. If she wanted to be a top class athlete, then Firefly would do what she could to get her into shape, if Rainbow wanted to become a pilot, then her mother would teach her everything she would need to know to become one, and if Rainbow Dash wanted to start dating a girl, then Firefly would gladly welcome that girl with open arms.

However, there were some things her daughter did that ended up crossing the line, and this was one such occasion.

When Principal Cadence called and told her of Rainbow's fight with Gilda, Firefly couldn't decide if she was surprised or not about what had happened. She was most certainly disappointed though. While she had expected her daughter to still be at odds with Gilda, and would probably not forgive her anytime soon, Firefly thought she was at least mature enough to not resort to physical violence because of it.

Truthfully, she didn't even know what to think when she looked at her daughter staring off into nothingness in the chair next to her. A part of her was undeniably angry, no furious, at what Rainbow had done...while another part of her wanted nothing more than to just give her a big hug and tell her that it's all going to be okay.

Rainbow Dash herself happened to be just as unsure on how to think about this situation as her mother. She knew when she had overstepped her bounds, and she wasn't dumb enough to not see that she had gone way too far when she attacked Gilda.

However...if there was one thing that Rainbow really hated, it would be to be seen as the villain, the bad guy, the one who did wrong, and the one that caused all the pain to those around her. She knew that none of the things that had just happened would have happened if it wasn't for her actions: it was Rainbow Dash who made the other players mad at her by abusing her superpowers, it was Rainbow Dash who provoked Gilda into accidentally hurting Scootaloo, and it was Rainbow Dash who nearly put someone in the hospital by letting her anger get the better of her. Still, she just could not find it in her to admit that she was the one who did anything wrong, she just couldn't.

And as the irritatingly obnoxious noise of the clock on the wall kept ticking, it only made the extremely uncomfortable silence in the Principal's Office feel a lot worse than it already was. Even if she hadn't gotten her spider-sense, Rainbow still found little things like that annoying...especially when it was so unnervingly quiet.

She tried not to notice the glares that the other people in the room were giving her, but it was not easy. While Gilda's threatening and aggressive nature was not nearly as prominent given the black eye, bruised lips and defeated pose, her hatred for Rainbow Dash could still be felt in the look she gave her from the other corner of the room. The old man sitting next to Gilda was no happier about what happened either, and his glare at Rainbow from his one functioning eye was nearly as terrifying...especially considering the fact that he was once a supervillain.

Not everyone was looking at her though, and strangely enough, that was also a problem. Her own mother's refusal to look her in the eye made it perfectly clear that she was very disappointed in her, and that made Rainbow feel even more uncomfortable.

The ones that bothered her the least in the room were actually the ones who's judgement would affect her the most. Principal Cadence was clearly trying to be as diplomatic and neutral about the situation as possible, while the police officer standing next to her (who happened to be Cadence's husband), was trying to be the same.

For Captain Shining Armour, these kind of assignments were usually way below his pay grade, but as a personal favour to his wife, and the fact that the one involved happened to be a close friend of his younger sister Twilight, he decided to handle the situation anyway.

At first glance, it would be very hard to guess that he and Twilight were related at all, since they looked nothing alike. Twilight was a short and lanky girl who could barely run ten metres before getting winded, while Shining Armour in comparison was tall, had an excellent build and could run down and tackle any would-be-burglar to the ground with little effort. Strangely enough, Shining didn't even have Twilight's dark skin colour, though that was mostly because of their parents having different skin tones. The one thing they did have in common in terms of appearances were the fact that both of them had dark blue hair with colourful streaks in it...yet in slightly different tones.

Unlike pretty much everyone else in the room, Shining Armour's stink eye was not on Rainbow Dash...or even Gilda, but instead on the man Gilda was sitting next to: Gruff Tomb, AKA the Vulture, AKA Canterlot's very first supervillain. While it was true that he had gone through years of rehabilitation and was released on good behaviour, Shining, being a cop, could easily tell that it wouldn't take much for old Gruff to relapse into becoming the Vulture again. Honestly, the only reason why he was even allowed on school grounds was because he was the only one of Gilda's next of kin who could come. Cadence couldn't reach Gilda's mother no matter how hard she tried, and Gilda's father outright refused to have anything to do with his own daughter anymore, so...they had to settle for her ageing, and possibly still evil, grandpa instead.

Even out of his costume, Gruff was not really someone you would like to be around. His thick eyebrows were constantly cross, almost as if he had few expressions other than anger, and the scar running down his pale and glassy left eye made him just a bit more scary. However, it was also clear that he was not in his prime: he was mostly bald, he limped a little when he walked and he could spontaneously burst into coughing fits on a dime. Also, as the years went by, he got more and more scatterbrained, and tended to forget things every now and then.

About the only person in the room who wasn't glaring at someone else (or deliberately avoiding eye-contact in a dismissing way) was the principal herself. It would only take one glance at Principal Cadence to know that she was not really used to her job just yet. After all, until just a few weeks ago, she was just an ordinary teacher at the school, teaching students social studies, philosophy and a few other things...including sex ed. However, when the previous principal Spoiled Rich was fired due to several confirmed reports of verbal child abuse and encouraged bullying, particularly concerning her own daughter Diamond Tiara, Cadence was forced to take over. And all things considered, she had so far been a lot better at making sure her students were treated fairly...even though she was not nearly as good as her predecessor when it came to dealing with finances.

For a principal though, Cadence was fairly young, being only in her early thirties, and few people would deny that she was a beautiful woman. She was a bit taller than most women (but not nearly as tall as Celestia), had very long hair that was toned in several different nuances of pink, yellow and purple, and her clothing made it very clear that her favourite colour was pink, though she preferred the slightly more darker version of the colour.

After the increasingly uncomfortable silence in her office was beginning to go on for way too long, Cadence eventually decided that it was her duty to end it.

"So...could someone please tell me what happened at the soccer field earlier today?"

Neither Rainbow Dash nor Gilda said anything. Rainbow just stared blankly into a wall with a distant look in her eyes while Gilda simply snorted and looked away.

Trying to sound as sympathetic as possible, Cadence added, "If you tell me now, things will be a lot easier for you, I promise."

They were still not responding.

"Look..." Cadence began with sigh, "...I am not here to put blame on either of you. I just need to know what caused this. I cannot help you if you won't talk to me."

Still...no response.

That was when Shining stepped up and said, "If you don't want to talk about this here you will have to talk about it at the police station. Your choice."

While Rainbow was still unresponsive, Gilda rolled her eyes and finally uttered, "Fine, let's just get this lame thing over with."

That answer made the others, including Rainbow Dash, look at her curiously. And after releasing a sigh, she explained her side of what happened.

"Me and Dash had a...messy breakup...to say the least. The details are none of your business, but we had a fight both before and after the game, and I got a bit...mad at her, and may have thrown a ball at her that accidentally hit that Scootaloo kid in the face. Next thing I know I'm bleeding on the ground while feeling like I was hit by a car."

"So you're saying that what happened to Scootaloo was an accident?" Shining asked.

Gilda nodded.

The blue-haired police officer then looked at Rainbow, "Do you agree about that?"

"Yes, she did not try to hurt Scootaloo..." Rainbow answered in a quiet voice...before accusingly adding, "Instead, she was trying to throw that thing at ME!"

With another roll of her eyes, Gilda stated, "Puh-lease, you could have taken it easily."

"Hey, getting hit with a soccer ball in the face is really painful!" Dash insisted.

Gilda gave her another angry look, "So is getting manhandled by your ex!"

Gruff, who had been silent until now, spoke up in a strained and raspy voice, "You're lucky she wasn't seriously injured by what you...(cough, cough)...did to her, Rainbow...Smash? Flash? or was it Crash?"

"It's Dash." Rainbow corrected.

"Whatever! The point is that Gilda is my favourite granddaughter...only granddaughter I have actually, but that's beside the point! And if you or anyone else do anything to hurt her, the Vulture will be ready for you!"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at that, making it perfectly clear how terrified she was...which was to say 'not at all'.

Cadence had another reaction to that statement however. "Gruff, I do not appreciate death threats to be made at these meetings. So can we all just try to keep this civilised...please?"

Shining Armour leaned in towards his wife's ear and whispered, "Is this a good time to remind him that I'm carrying a loaded weapon?"

The principal whispered back, "I think that will only provoke him, so...better not."

Gruff's bad hearing made it impossible for him to make out what they were saying, but he figured it wasn't anything nice, so he grumbled to himself and tried to avoid eye-contact with them (which was a bit easier to do when you only had one eye that worked).

Shining Armour then looked at Rainbow Dash, "So...what's your side of the story, Dash?"

The teenager ran her hands through her prismatic hair and let out a deep sigh, "Well...I guess its mostly the same as Gilda's version: We did have a messy breakup, and she was angry with me for dumping her."

"To say the least." Gilda interrupted.

"And we ended up fighting a bit. After a while, I was getting more and more riled up, and...and when she threw that ball at me and hit Scootaloo, I stopped thinking, I just reacted. I was just so...angry, I didn't think about the consequences at all, and I took it out on her. After I saw how hurt she was though, I...well, you know the rest."

Silence filled the room again, as everyone was processing everything that had been said so far. Shining Armour wrote down a few notes on his standard police issue notepad while Cadence kept a hand on her chin and her eyes looked away absentmindedly. It was clear that they were both thinking really hard about what to do about this situation.

Eventually though, the pair of them made eye-contact and seemed to make some kind of silent agreement between each other. Cadence though, was the first to say anything out loud.

"Now, the good news is that nobody is being sent to jail or being expelled, but...I'm afraid that I cannot just let this go. There will be consequences for this."

Gilda and Rainbow Dash didn't really like the sound of that, but they both stayed silent and waited for their inevitable punishment. What that punishment was though...while expected, wasn't something that was easy for Dash to take.

"First of all: you are both off your respective soccer teams."

Upon hearing that, Rainbow exclaimed, "What?! But...I started it! You can't just kick me out of my own team!"

Cadence gave Dash a sympathetic look, "I am sorry about this, Rainbow Dash, but I'm afraid my hands are tied."

"What happened here was not acceptable," Shining added, "and would under most circumstances be taken to court. The two of you can consider yourself lucky that the punishment isn't worse than it is."

Rainbow wanted to say something else, to argue that it wasn't fair, that she couldn't just leave her soccer team, that she practically considered them family and losing them would be kinda the worst thing ever, but...she then came to realise that...she was wrong. Considering what she'd done at the soccer field earlier today, she probably deserved it.

So, instead of arguing any further, she bit her tongue and looked down on the floor dejectedly. Just because she could come somewhat to terms with understanding the decision, that didn't mean she would have to like it.

Gilda's reaction on the other hand...wasn't nearly that extreme. If she was bothered by the news at all, she didn't show it much.

However, Shining Armour had two more rules that needed to be enforced. "Also, until further notice, you two are not allowed to participate in any joined activity unless you manage to get over your differences. The school's counsellor will decide when that is. Lastly, as per the law, you will both be subjected to at least a month of community service."

Rainbow Dash did not like the sound of that. Community service, being sent to the school counsellor regularly, and what amounted to a restraining order for her ex-girlfriend, all on top of being kicked off the soccer team? This was definitively not her lucky day. Yet, she supposed, it was better than being sent to jail...like Rarity had been. Well, if that happened, she would have at least one friend in there with her.

While she didn't even pretend to be okay with any of this, Rainbow chose not to protest out loud this time either, and grumbled curses under her breath instead. Only Firefly was close enough to her to hear what those curses were, and normally, she wouldn't have let her daughter get away with such language, but this time, such things were the least of her worries.

Gilda had heard enough, and frankly, she couldn't stand being in this room anymore. It had way too many judgemental eyes, disapproving tones and one too many Rainbow Dashes for her liking. She didn't even bother waiting for someone saying she could go before she stood up and said, "Come on, Gramps, we're leaving!"

Gruff looked at his granddaughter with a raised eyebrow but didn't move from his perch.

Shining began to say, "You can't just-"

But was cut off when Gilda repeated, "We're. Leaving!" punctuating both words to get her point across.

The cop kept his eyes on her for a moment, meeting her glare with his own. The similarities her attitude had to several people he had put away were striking, and it made him uneasy. However, he was forced to let her go when Cadence put a hand on his arm to get his attention before giving a trusting nod.

A bit reluctantly, Shining Armour looked back at Gilda and conceded, "You're free to go."

Gilda nudged her grandpa on the shoulder to get him moving, which he did...eventually. He just needed to glare at everybody in the room one more time for no apparent reason first.

The need to glare at people before leaving appeared to be genetic though, as before she and her grandfather left, Gilda looked at Dash and quietly warned "Don't even think this is over."

Only after she had left the room did Rainbow mutter, "I'm not."

---

Since this whole meeting took place after school hours were over, the halls of Canterlot High were mostly empty. It could be received as being either very relaxing without the usual noisy chaos around...or it could just be incredibly awkward...or even feel like a spooky ghost town...or possibly all three at once.

While they weren't allowed inside the principal's office during the duration of the meeting, there was nothing to stop a concerned group of girls from waiting just outside it.

The group consisted of some of Rainbow's closest friends, including Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and even Scootaloo. While the early teen did have a bandage over her nose, she was otherwise in good shape...aside from the amputated leg of course. Her mood on the other hand...was a different story.

None of the girls could come up with anything useful to say, which only served to make the atmosphere a bit more awkward than it had to be. Their sullen expressions certainly didn't help either. Heck, even Pinkie Pie was more glum than normal, as was noticeable by the fact that her hair was a bit less poofy than it usually was.

Eventually, Fluttershy of all people tried to break the silence, "So...what are we supposed to-"

However, before she got to continue that sentence, Gilda stormed out of the door with her grandfather following suit. While Fluttershy and the others looked at her curiously, she ignored them as best she could and just kept on walking.

When she was far enough away that the only one around was Gruff and herself, she took out her inner rage on the first object she could see...which happened to be a poor defenceless trashcan. With no signs of mercy, she kicked it again, and again, and again, so much so that it was buckled and broken with all of its contents spilled out on the floor by the time she was done with it.

While she assaulted the inanimate object, she screamed, "AAAAARGGHHH! STUPID, STUPID, DASH AND HER STUPID, LAME, AAAAAARGGGHHHHH! What the hell is so freaking wrong with her!? Why does she have to be such an evil bitch to me!? I HATE HER! Next chance I get, I'LL TEAR HER APART!"

After she was finished with her rather loud rant, she just stood on the spot while letting out a couple of slow angry breaths. Gilda had never been good at managing her own rage, and that was mostly because she had way too much of it in her. The fact that she still had feelings for Rainbow Dash made her even more angry at her. There were few words she hadn't already spoken (or rather, shouted) about how betrayed she was feeling at this moment, and how much it felt like Dash had ripped Gilda's heart right out of her chest.

Her anger turned to curiosity though when Gruff suggested, "That...might actually be possible."

Cautious about what he was on about, Gilda slowly turned around to face him, "Uh, what are you talking about?"

Gruff's facial expression turned into a slightly mischievous smile, "Hehehe...you know back in my days we didn't just let someone get away with hurting us so much, oh no. Instead...we hit them back even harder!"

That suggestion only made her groan, "Yeah right, because that worked out so well for me when I tried it. How did you tell, by the bruises or the black eye?"

Gruff looked positively insulted by that remark and stubbornly declared, "Did I teach you to talk that way to your elders!?"

"Whatever," Gilda muttered while crossing her arms.

"Don't 'whatever' me, because I have something important I need to say...(cough, cough)." After clearing his throat a little, he revealed, "I know of a way for you to become even stronger than you are now. Strong enough to teach your...urggh...ex-girlfriend some manners, teach her what happens when you tick off a member of our great family!"

Gilda was starting to grow suspicious about where this was heading, and narrowed her eyes while asking, "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, dear child, is that my nest wasn't reserved for just me. The 'Wings of the Vulture' has been in need for a new bearer for years now, and I think that you might just be the one...(cough, cough)...to, eh, to bear them once more."

"Are you insane!?" Gilda asked incredulously, "Wait, stupid question, of course you are. After all, what sane person would ever dress up like a giant vulture and rob a bunch of banks even though you had all the money you could possibly need! Why the hell would you ever think I would humiliate myself by putting on such a stupid costume anyway? I got better things to do with my life than to throw away what little I got left of it on some old buzzard's delusions!"

"How dare you speak with that tone at me after all I did for you?! I was the one who gave you a roof over your head when your father kicked you out of your own home, and without my money you would have been living on the streets, you ungrateful whelp!"

"Yeah, and who was it that raised dad to be a homophobic asshole in the first place? And could that be the same guy who put the rest of our family's reputation in ruins by becoming some crazy supervillain?!"

Gruff grumbled a little under his breath, but then offered, "No matter. I offered you a way to get back at your ex, and you can take it or leave it if you wish. All I'm saying is that if you want a way to get back at those you're angry with...go to my old tower and set the clock: three, six, eight, in that order, and you'll find exactly what you're looking for."

Gilda quickly ran his insane idea and what good it could possibly give her through her head, and then decided, "No. I'm not going to become your little sidekick or continue your lame supervillain legacy, and I don't need your help either, I don't need ANYONE!"

In an angry huff, she turned away from him and stormed away, not even bothering to look back or listen to what else he had to say.

However, she did make sure to memorise that code...

---

Back inside the Principal's Office, Rainbow Dash and Cadence were still discussing the consequences of the situation. With Gilda out of the room, it was actually a lot easier for Rainbow to say anything out loud. She was still not much happier than before though.

"So how long will it be before I can get back on the team?" Dash asked.

The principal paused a little to consider that before replying, "Well, I am not entirely sure. That depends."

"On what exactly?"

"Mostly it has to do with what Zecora, the school counsellor, thinks, but also...well, what your team decides." Seeing Rainbow's perplexed look, she elaborated, "After the way you acted during the game, I have received a lot of requests that you'd be dropped off the team. Some even believe that you were using some kind of substance to...um...'improve' your performance."

"Which is illegal in most cases by the way." Shining Armour added.

"But I didn't take anything!" Rainbow defended, "I have played many games in my life, and some of them I've lost, sure, but I have never in my life resorted to cheating, not once! You've got to believe me!"

"While I want to believe you-"

For the first time during the entire meeting, Firefly spoke up. "She's telling the truth, and I'm not saying that because she's my daughter, I'm saying it because I know her better than anyone else. While she may have had problems with both trespassing and shoplifting in the past, using cheap methods just to win a game goes against everything I know about her. So unless you have any proof that she did such a thing, I will not let you or anyone else continue with these accusations. Are we clear?"

Firefly's voice held no deceit or doubt, making it clear that she meant every word she said. Having spent years in the air-force, and even had a stint as a fully fledged Wonderbolt pilot, Firefly was not someone to take lightly. And when she told you to do something, you would most likely do it.

Even Shining Armour was a bit intimidated by her, and the tone in his voice betrayed a tiny bit of nervousness. "Okay...um, then I guess that's settled. But about what happened with Gilda-"

"I will have a talk with her about that later. She does not need to hear it from a police officer or the school's principal. No offence."

Cadence and Shining thought about that and once again made eye-contact to communicate something to each other silently. After reaching some kind of agreement, Shining looked back at Firefly and said, "Well...then I suppose my work here is done."

He tipped his police cap, said, "Good day to you." and walked out the door, leaving only Cadence, Rainbow Dash and Firefly left in the room.

---

Outside the office, the four girls gathered there peaked up after hearing the door opening, but were then disappointed to see that it was only Shining Armour. They had been waiting for Rainbow to come out of there for close to an hour now and were starting to lose their patience.

However, when Shining Armour saw the group, his attention focused on one of the girls in particular.

"Applejack, glad that you're here. I need to tell you something, but...it's a bit...sensitive."

The country girl raised an eyebrow, "What do ya mean 'sensitive'?"

"The kind that I can only talk about in private. It's about the farm." His tone was serious, so she knew this was important.

While still being a bit apprehensive about what this was all about, she walked up to him and said, "Well...I guess that would be a heck of a good thing to know. Lead the way, officer."

With a nod, the policeman began to lead her away from the others in search of a place he could be sure neither one of them would be overheard. The way he went about it though showed that it wasn't just for convenience, it was way more serious than that.

After a short search, Shining found a currently unused classroom and did a quick check to see if it was indeed empty. When he was sure that it was, he motioned for Applejack to come inside and closed the door behind her.

Applejack sat down on one of the benches in the room and noted, "Alright then, we're alone. Now what was this here important thing you wanted to tell me about?"

The policeman paced back and forth a bit before he asked, "You remember when you told me about your family's problems with Rex Storm?"

The mention of that issue peeked Applejack's curiosity, and she had a feeling that she was finally about to get some well-deserved answers. "Yeah...I remember."

"Well, I started an investigation to find out the identity of his anonymous business partner, you know the one who has been sending him all that money to run your family out of business? The thing is, after a bit of scouting and searching I eventually got a name, and that's...where things get a bit complicated."

Applejack crossed her arms, "'Complicated' how?"

"The name was...'Kingpin'."

The way he said that name alone made it clear that this was no laughing matter. However, it was not a name Applejack was familiar with.

"And who in tarnation is that?"

"Right, you probably wouldn't have heard of him, but...he's seriously bad news. If there is one person in this city you do not want to piss off, it's him. From what we can tell, he practically owns all organised crime in Canterlot, and has done so for almost twenty years now. We believe he came to power about the same time Captain Jupiter disappeared. After she exposed Tirek 'Silvermane' Manfredi as the leader of the Maggia and had him arrested, it created a power vacuum in the criminal underworld...which the Kingpin decided to fill. He has ruled over the criminal underworld unopposed ever since."

"No offence, but isn't it your job to put people like that behind bars? I mean, shouldn't someone have tried to do somethin' about him durin' all that time?"

"It's not that easy!" Shining insisted. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to see that scumbag locked away for the rest of his life...but I can't."

"Why the heck not?!" Applejack angrily questioned.

"I tried! I tried to track him down once. I was getting close, closer than anyone else to finding the evidence I needed, but then...he found out I was after him."

"And I take it he didn't appreciate that?"

"No...he didn't," Shining answered with a sigh. "Just as I was about to meet up with an informant who had the last piece of evidence I needed, a woman came to my office and introduced herself as a representative of some kind of law firm. However, I recognised her immediately as Abacus Cinch, the Kingpin's right hand woman. She told me that if I didn't shut down my investigation at once, there would be consequences. I was not intimidated though, and made sure to let her know that. Then...she took out her laptop and showed me a live camera feed of Cadence, in our home, feeding our daughter Flurry with a baby bottle, and said that this would be the last time I saw either of them if I didn't cooperate." In a defeated voice, he finished, "I shut down my investigation that very evening, claiming it was a dead end."

"Oh..." Applejack said understandingly. "...that sounds mighty awful. If my family was threatened like that I would do the same."

"Doesn't make me feel any better about it though. I really want to help you with this, but if he's involved, there's really nothing I can do, not without putting my family at risk. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologise, Shining, I understand plenty of what you're goin' though," she said politely, though under her breath, she swore, "Horseapples."

The situation had just become a lot more complicated...

---

Meanwhile, the meeting in the principal's office was about to draw to a close. Though they had covered most of the things they needed to talk about, Rainbow Dash was still trying to argue about her punishment.

"But my team were counting on me to help them win, how are they supposed to make it now?"

"I suppose we will have to hope that they will manage." Cadence offered.

"And what am I supposed to do?! Playing soccer is about the only thing I like about this school!"

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, but that is the punishment. It's not all bad though. Now you can focus more on your other assignments instead."

"How wonderful..." Rainbow sarcastically muttered.

"Yes, I know that doesn't sound very fun. But from what I've heard, you seemed to have a lot of skills with a camera, and it is not too late to sign up for the new photography class before it starts."

"Taking pictures is just a hobby, being an athlete is who I am, and you can't just take that away!"

"You do know that you're just out of the soccer team, right? You still have PE classes like everyone else."

Dash was about to reply to that, but then realised that the principal had a point. "Oh...yeah, I guess that's true."

Cadence sighed, "Look, I really don't like taking away something you love to do, but the rules are what they are. You will just have to accept that."

"Fine..." Rainbow finally conceded through gritted teeth.

Growing just a bit impatient, Firefly asked, "Is there anything else that needs to be discussed here, or can I take my daughter home now?"

Cadence tapped her fingers on her desk a few times, and made eye-contact with both mother and daughter before she gave an affirmative nod, "Yes, for now at least. I will come to you with information about the school counsellor and your required community service later. For now, why don't you head home and get some rest? I'm sure it could do you some good."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that..." Rainbow Dash agreed, until she spitefully finished that sentence with, "...anything to get out of this stupid meeting!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Her mother scolded.

Dash ignored her and just got up and left the office without another word, her body language showing very clear signs of anger...and the desire to get as far away from here as possible as fast as possible.

As soon as she was out of the room, Firefly let out a long sigh and then looked at Cadence, "Teenagers. In a few years you'll deal with them too..."

"I already am." the principal answered, "As you can see, I'm apparently in charge of a whole school of them."

"Trust me, its a lot different when they're your own."

---

After the three girls outside the office had waited patiently for Rainbow Dash to come out of the meeting for over an hour, and were a bit disappointed when apparently everyone else got out before her, they were relieved when Rainbow finally came out through the door.

However, whatever they were about to say fell flat when they saw just how grumpy Rainbow appeared to be at the moment.

While Pinkie Pie was an expert at cheering people up when they were sad, she didn't really know what to do with someone who was angry, which she could tell Rainbow was. Scootaloo always liked to cheer for her honorary big sister whenever she could, but she was far more used to Dash comforting Scootaloo than the other way around. Lastly, Fluttershy was...well...Fluttershy. So all three of them were pretty much stumped on how to even begin this conversation.

Rainbow Dash saw their cautious, but inquisitive, looks directed at her, and decided to spare them the indignity of asking by answering for them.

"I'm kicked off the soccer team, has to go meet the school counsellor from now on, and am currently stuck with a ton of community service. So yeah...it didn't go well."

"That's a bit of a bummer." Pinkie Pie commented.

"Gee, ya think?"

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Fluttershy tried, "I suppose it could be worse...somehow."

"Yeah..." Scootaloo agreed, "...at least I'm okay...mostly."

With a slightly concerned look, Rainbow asked, "How's the nose?"

Scootaloo rubbed her bandaged nose a bit, "It still hurts, but it'll pass. This is nothing compared to what it was like when...you know..." she looked down at her artificial leg, "...this happened."

A glimpse of Dash's sensitive side was shown when she said, "I still don't like seeing you get hurt, Scoots. Especially not because of Gilda."

"But...was it really necessary to...you know, attack her?" Fluttershy questioned apprehensively.

Even if it was Fluttershy asking, Rainbow had just about enough of people criticising her for her mistakes, "Come on, Fluttershy, don't tell me you think I was just going to let her get away with what she said to you!"

"It just seems so...violent. I would never do such a thing, not even to Gilda."

However, even with how frustrated she was feeling, Rainbow could still not bring herself to stay mad at Fluttershy. So she softened her tone just a bit, "Look, I didn't mean to hurt her...that much. I just wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine."

"Uh, you didn't give her medicine, Dashie," Pinkie helpfully informed, "you punched her in the face."

Rainbow facepalmed, "Pinkie, that was just an expression."

Pinkie almost looked insulted by that remark, "Well duh, of course I know that. I'm just bringing up that it wasn't all that bad."

"And how did you figure that?!" Dash asked with her anger instantly restored.

"Because giving her medicine would be even worse! Seriously, am I the only one who realises how dangerous taking the wrong medicine is!? Those pills the doctor gave me and my sisters when we were younger still gives me nightmares...when I'm not having nightmares about cupcake ingredients, the teacher's garden or a colourful factory. Don't ask. But mostly I just have happy dreams where we're all colourful talking ponies living in a magical land."

"Yeah, because I'm so in the mood to hear about your weird dreams, Pinkie!" Rainbow said with a groan, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"I was just trying to cheer you up with some-"

Rainbow got up right in Pinkie's face and shouted, "Well if it wasn't obvious before, I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS!"

Pinkie shrunk down from Dash's shouting and uttered a very meek version of her catchphrase, "Okay dokey lokey." in response.

"Rainbow Dash!" a stern voice demanded from behind her. After turning her attention away from her friends she was met with the tranquil fury in her mother's eyes. She was looking at Dash with a narrowed brow and her arms crossed. "A word."

Firefly really didn't need to say anything else to convey her intention. The intensity in her voice was enough to make Rainbow Dash, someone who rarely listened to anyone and preferred to loudly voice her own opinion, to instantly fall silent and follow her mom out to the corridor away from the others.

Before leaving, Rainbow looked at her friends and said, "I'll see you guys...later."

Just after she left, Fluttershy asked, "Um...weren't we supposed to cheer her up?"

Scootaloo answered, "I tried to."

"Me too!" Pinkie added, "But I guess she's too much of a grumpy-pants to be cheered up right now."

---

For a few minutes, Rainbow followed her mother to her car in an uncomfortable silence. She could tell that Firefly had something to say, but Dash's fear of what that might be made her a bit hesitant about bringing it up.

Instead, Rainbow tried to occupy her mind on other things...like...say that one badly beaten trashcan she spotted on the way or the distant echoing voices of Applejack discussing something with what appeared to be Shining Armour.

Still, no matter how hard she tried, all that she could think about was what happened at the soccer field earlier.

She wondered just how much her spider powers were responsible for what happened, and how much was just her own fault...or Gilda's. Would the fight have still happened? Most likely. Would it have ended up the way it did? Probably not. If Rainbow didn't just happen to get bitten by that spider it might as well have been herself who was beaten and bruised, not Gilda.

By the time Firefly and her daughter were seated in her car, she decided now would as good a time as any to talk about what happened. She didn't put on her seat belt or even insert the key into the ignition. Instead she just sat there for a moment and tried her best to figure out what to say.

Eventually, she turned to where her daughter was sitting in the passenger seat and said, "Rainbow...we should probably talk about this."

Rainbow Dash didn't answer, and just stared at the school through the window silently.

"Rainbow?"

She didn't answer.

"Rainbow Dash, talk to me!"

"What is there to talk about?" Dash questioned in a slightly depressed voice while still looking out the window, "What's done is done."

"While that may be true, that doesn't mean we're supposed to forget it ever happened. Like it or not, what happened today was not something you can just sweep under the rug, not by a long shot. You need to understand that, and more importantly, take responsibility for your actions."

Rainbow Dash looked her mother in the eye, "Maybe I did take it too far, but after all she'd done, she deserved at least something. You can't just expect me to just let her get away with giving Fluttershy death threats and hurting Scootaloo, do you?"

"I get it. I get that you're angry with Gilda. When I was your age I went through exactly the same thing."

"Well, not exactly." Rainbow cryptically pointed out.

Firefly misinterpreted what she meant by that and said, "Okay, I had never dated the guy I was angry with, but he hurt me just as much as Gilda did to you, and I too tried to get back at him. The point is, I made a lot of mistakes back then, and I'm not proud of a single one of them. Sure, I had my reasons, but those reasons were not enough to excuse my actions. It wasn't until after I joined the military that I learned that just because things are understandable, it doesn't mean that they're acceptable."

"So what was I supposed to do, politely tell her that she should be nicer?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But tell me: what good do you think beating the living tar out of her will do in the end?"

Rainbow had fair bit of venom in her voice when she answered, "Maybe it will teach her a lesson about what happens when she messes with my friends."

"So you want to scare her so much she wouldn't dare to do anything against you? Is that what you're saying?!" Firefly asked, clearly appalled by what Rainbow just said.

"Well, what if I am? That's what she was trying to do to Fluttershy!"

"And that's the problem! You spend most of the time after your breakup complaining about how horrible of a person she was, and now you're starting to become just like her."

"What?!"

"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! 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? 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 Dash thought about those words for a moment. There was no doubt that they held a certain amount of wisdom, and they seemed strangely fitting considering her situation. It was true that she had been given great power, and judging by what happened at the soccer field, she had not been acting very responsibly. Maybe her mother did have the right idea...but damn if Rainbow was gonna let Firefly win yet another argument against her. Also, mentioning that war brought back a lot of painful memories.

"Yeah, and how responsible were you when you left me and dad all alone to fly away and fight a war on the other side of the planet, huh!?"

Firefly did not expect that to come up again, and was a bit confused over what brought this on. Still, the answer to that question had not changed. "I had a duty to my country to fulfil, and I was not happy about having to leave."

"But what about your duty to your own family?" Rainbow questioned, "Shouldn't we be more important than your stupid job!?"

"Rainbow..." Firefly warned.

But Dash didn't want to hear it, and instead revealed, "I couldn't sleep for months because I thought that you...you...weren't coming home! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I mean, what kind of mom would leave her twelve-year old daughter alone for six months knowing that she might not come back? Didn't you think that it was your responsibility to be there for her instead?!"

"We've been over this-" She began to say, but was immediately cut off.

"Yes, we have, but you have never apologised for leaving me behind! Never! Not for over four years have you taken responsibility for how you made me feel! Not once! I may have gone too far today, but I did it because I give a damn about the people I care about! I would never leave them hanging! So don't you DARE lecture me on responsibility when you don't even know what that word means!"

By the time Rainbow had finished her rant, her face had turned red of rage, and there were signs of tears building at the base of her eyes, revealing over four years of bottled up resentment.

Firefly just stared at her daughter with wide eyes, her emotions very difficult to decipher. She had an expression on her face that either spoke of someone who's heart had been shattered into a million pieces, or someone who was in complete disbelief...or both. It was clear though that she couldn't come up with anything to say, judging by her intense silence.

Dash couldn't stand looking into that face for long though, and angrily got out of the car and slammed the door in her wake, her superhuman strength making the slam even louder.

For over a minute, Firefly just...sat there...pondering over Rainbow's and even her own actions. She was surprised to hear that Dash was still angry at her for leaving her behind during the war, and that she was still waiting for the apology that Firefly had been too stubborn to give at the time. A trait that seemed to possibly be genetic.

She knew that her daughter needed time to calm down, so she didn't follow after her. For now though, what she could do...was say, "I'm sorry, Dashie."

---

Rainbow Dash was definitively not sticking around to hear that though. In fact, she didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. What she knew she needed was somewhere she could be alone and sort out her feelings. Somewhere no one would disturb her, or worse, try to talk even more sense into her already very confused mind.

She knew running into the streets would probably give her a lot of stares, though not because she stood out that much aside from the rainbow hair, but because she was crying, and that always made people look. She couldn't go inside the school either, for she knew there were still a few more people in there, most of them her friends, and she was not in the mood for their pity.

However, there was one place she could think of that she was certain no one would be able to follow her to.

After running out of view from her mom's car, Rainbow used her newfound powers to leap up onto the wall of the school house and climb up on the roof. And when she had found a place up there that seemed to be enough out of sight, she sat down and began to sob in peace.

---

What Rainbow Dash didn't even bother to take notice of though was that just by the field next to the school, Gilda was also looking for a secluded spot to wallow in self-pity. However, when she saw Rainbow run past her and then climb up on a solid wall like an insect in under ten seconds flat, Gilda had only one thing to say.

"What the hell?"

Author's Note:

You all knew that line was coming, didn't you? All I had to do was write a conversation where it fit and didn't feel too forced in.

Also, the reason Canterlot High's principal is Cadence is mostly because I couldn't think of any other role she could have, and also because Celestia and Luna are running a company in this story rather than a school.

And yes, even more foreshadowing of the coming villains. I can tell you right now that the Kingpin is going to play a very big part later on in this story.

Okay, I know Grandpa Gruff isn't a villain at all, but come on, can you think of any My Little Pony character who fit the role of the Vulture as much as this guy does?

Oh, and if you want to actually see some of these villains show up, well you don't have to wait long. It's Halloween soon after all...

By the way, I've been thinking...a lot.

The thing is...that the more I think about the name 'Spider-Dash', the more I cannot get over how incredibly silly it is. In the beginning I thought it would be ironic, or just be a funny gag with how obvious it was. And to be honest, my original idea was that Rainbow would have a more realistic name in private but then call herself 'Dash' in costume, but that...didn't work out for a number of reasons.

However...there may be a way to salvage this mess. Case in point: the 'Spider-Gwen' comics...which I haven't read yet but it's definitively on my list for when I do start reading Marvel comics. From what I know about the series is it a 'what if?' story for what would happen if Gwen Stacy got bitten by the spider instead of Peter Parker. Despite the name though, the titular character doesn't actually call herself 'Spider-Gwen' in public...because that would be stupid, and goes by 'Spider-woman' instead.

So what I'm suggesting is that while the name of this story stays the same, Rainbow Dash decide to use a slightly less glaringly obvious name in public...while perhaps calling herself 'Spider-Dash' privately or to people who already who she is. To me, that makes a lot more sense, but what do you think? Let me know in the comment section below.

Comments

[ElCazadorDeHistorias]

Wow, a new chapter with a nice load of informations!

Now that Dash has passed from the adrenalic "I have superpowers" phase to the arrogant "I have superpowers" one and received the famous speech about responsability, the things are going to take a turn for the worse, I suspect...

And from what I've read here Rarity is something like the Black Cat of this universe?

For the name thing, yeah, better use another superhero name for Dash' s secret identity. Spider-Dash can be perfect as friendly nickname between friends.

[ponylover2]

I love this chapter a lot finally u uploaded a new chapter to the story can u at least add more chapters and upload more chapters a little faster when u find time

[Flufux]

7672726 Gah! Will you please stop stressing me!? Like I said many times before, writing these chapters takes time, and I have other things to do in my life than write new chapters 24/7.

However, you are in luck, for the next one will be up as soon as Halloween...since its Halloween-themed.

[ponylover2]

7672840 I'm sorry I wont pester u any more

[Flufux]

7672672 I guess we all know how the story goes by now...but what matters is how that story is told.

I was wondering when someone would figure out what role Rarity would have

So what do you think sounds best? Spider-Girl or Spider-Woman? I haven't decided yet.

Also, stay tuned for the Halloween Minisode that's coming soon!

[ElCazadorDeHistorias]

7672913 Well, as I seriously doubt that Dash would like to feel herself older, I'd suggest Spider-girl. Maybe using it just for a bit, then, after a big, character-deepening, moment make Dash do a moving speech about maturing and change the name to Spider-woman!

As for the Halloween chapter, hope that won't give me any... "nightmares"!

Oh, I forgot in my previous comment: nice touch making Pinkie's nightmares referencig certain stories.

[dragonfang33]

Given the way Gilda acts she has more incommon with this villain then the Vulture

[Flufux]

9375109
I completely disagree about that actually. The Thousand seems to me like a grade-A sociopath with no redeeming traits whatsoever and who's sole motivation only seems to be to torment people just for the hell of it. That is pretty much the opposite of my version of Gilda, who I have gone out of my way to portray as a sympathetic anti-villain. Also, I have no plans to use The Thousand in this fanfic, period (mostly because he's just waaaaay too disturbing for a T-rated story)...and even if I did, then I would probably use a lot more evil character than Gilda for the role, perhaps Garble.

Also, Gilda is kinda taking the role of several Marvel characters in this story, mostly Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson, with a hint of Micheal Keaton's Vulture as well.