The Amazing Spider-Mare: A Long Way From Home

by SuperPinkBrony12

An Unexpected Twist!

Pinkie Pie awoke some time later (how much time had passed she couldn't possibly speculate) only to find herself encased in what could best be described as a long tube. Glass covered the top, affording the earth pony a view of the world outside. She found herself within a room at Twilight's castle, though which one was impossible to guess. And she seemed to be alone, still in costume.

That definitely unnerved the currently unmasked web-slinger, even though she knew she'd already disclosed her secret to Twilight long ago. "Where am I?" She wondered aloud as she tapped a hoof to the glass, inspecting it and finding no signs that it would shatter or crack. "How did I get here? There... there must be some mistake!" Frantically, she did the only thing she could think to do in her desperate situation, she began to pound on the glass as hard as she could! "Hello? Somepony? Anypony?"

Suddenly, the familiar form of Twilight appeared by the tube. And judging from the expression on her face, she was rather concerned about... something. "Oh, you're finally awake," She commented in a concerned, worried and anxious tone of voice. "I was beginning to think you might never wake up."

"Twilight, what are you doing?! I don't belong in here!" Pinkie Pie pleaded! "And where are Cheese and Starlight? Are they okay?"

"I'm right here, dear," Cheese Sandwich greeted as he approached the tube in the blink of an eye. "And you needn't worry about Starlight, she's resting comfortably. It looks like the cure worked as intended, no side effects."

Pinkie breathed a small sigh of relief. At the very least that was good news. "Then, what am I doing here?" She asked again, hoping for an explanation.

Twilight obliged her friend as best as she could. "Cheese brought you here almost singlehoofedly after you passed out in the sewers," A noticeable frown formed on her face as she scolded. "Why didn't you listen to me when I told you not to push yourself too hard?"

Pinkie was quick with the retort. "I had no choice! Starlight wasn't going to go down without a fight, and even then it took some clever thinking and a bit of luck on my part to save her," Locking eyes with her friend she added. "But I'm fine now, really. You don't have to keep me locked up like this. Like I'm a danger to others."

"But you are, Pinkie," Twilight unexpectedly protested. "You just haven't realized it yet."

"What are you talking about?" Pinkie stubbornly demanded of her alicorn friend. "You're not making sense, Twilight! This is all starting to feel like some kind of bizarre dream."

With a shake of her head the princess remarked. "It's no dream, Pinkie. This is real! I've locked you in that case for your own good," Then she explained. "You remember how you told me about how you got your powers? About that spider bite?"

The unmasked wall crawler nodded. "Yeah, that was back during the whole Venom fiasco. What's your point?"

The young alicorn went on in her explanation. "Obviously, that bite somehow altered your DNA. And while you were out, I finally got a chance to obtain a sample of said DNA. It was relatively easy, you were suffering from a fever and sweating up a storm. I was afraid I'd have to take you to the hospital, before your temperature miraculously came down all on its own."

Pinkie fidgeted in impatience. "Where are you going with this, Twilight? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."

"I'm trying to explain how and why I came to the conclusion I've now made," Twilight defended herself almost like she'd been giving a lecture on a subject. "There's no easy way to put this, Pinkie. But you're changing, and not in a good way. Your DNA was indeed altered by that spider bite. It's been happening slowly, but every time you've tapped into your powers you've been unknowingly advancing a transformation. And now, recently, it's begun to accelerate at an alarming rate! If this keeps up, if you continue to be Spider Mare and swing from webs, you'll cease to be a pony. You will become completely spider like!"

The captive pink party pony promptly gasped in shock! "No way! How can that be when I've been Spider Mare for so many years already?! Are you sure you didn't misinterpret the data or something, Twilight?"

Twilight could only shake her head and somberly reply. "I'm sorry. I wish I had better news for you, Pinkie. But the facts don't lie. I checked and re-checked and re-re-checked the results of every test I ran on your DNA. I couldn't believe it myself when I discovered this development, but even going back for a second opinion and then a third only confirmed it. Being Spider Mare has put you at risk of a genetic mutation! If that happens, there'll be no way to change you back. No magic spell could undo what you'll become," Her lips quivered. "And I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"So that's it?" Pinkie snorted and grumbled. "I'm to just throw in the towel and give up being Spider Mare all together just because of my DNA?! Twilight, you know I can't do that! You know why I'm Spider Mare! I don't do it because I like being a hero or because I think it's fun, I do it to make a difference! To stop the evils that others can't fight or won't be able to fight!"

Yet Twilight could only sigh as she began to frown. "But what good will you be doing to anyone if you go out there and let yourself become a mare-spider monstrosity?! After seeing what happened to Starlight, how could you risk exposing Equestria to another genetically altered nightmare?! Please, Pinkie! I'm saying this for your own sake as well as everypony else's! You had a good run, but it's time to stop. Let others fight the fights on your behalf now. You can still support them in your way, you just can't do it as Spider Mare."

"Twilight, please!" Pinkie pleaded at the top of her lungs! "This isn't about me! No matter what may happen, being Spider Mare means that I have to put others before myself. That's one thing that'll never change."

The alicorn only retorted. "Well it'll have to change now, like it or not. I took the liberty of removing your web shooters and all your gadgets, just in case you thought to try something drastic."

Cheese Sandwich then pleaded. "Pinkie, I'm with Twilight on this one. I know how much being Spider Mare means to you, I know you feel like it's your responsibility to be the hero and try to save everypony. But you're not invincible, you can't save everypony even if you try. Your own needs are important too," He went on to say. "Besides, this may only be a temporary retirement. We have Starlight back, and you can't forget about Commander Tempest and her whole secret agency. We have options. Somepony or some other creature may be able to find a way to fix your condition."

"And how long will it take to find that fix?" Pinkie demanded, swishing her tail. "I'm sorry, Cheese, and I'm sorry, Twilight. But I refuse to sit on the sidelines! Spider Mare is far too important to be kept out of the action just because of what's happening to me! If others get hurt or worse because I wasn't there, I'll never be able to live with myself. You may think it's crazy and stupid, but it's how I live my life!" Looking to Twilight she insisted. "Now let me out of this cage you've locked me in! I'm taking back my tools, don't bother trying to stop me!"

---

Just after Pinkie Pie had finished her little tirade, there came a knock at the door. All eyes turned to look as a familiar Manehattan accented voice called. "Sorry. Is this a bad time?"

"Officer Copper Top!" Pinkie and Cheese collectively gasped! If she was showing up at the castle, it couldn't be to bring good news.

Hesitantly, the pair of party ponies looked towards Twilight. Twilight in turn called back. "What is it, Officer Copper Top? Is it important?"

Officer Copper Top's voice replied. "I'm afraid it is. And it's for Pinkie Pie. My instructions were to deliver this to her ASAP. Fair warning, she won't like what it is."

"Can you just slide it under the door or something?" Twilight insisted. "Pinkie's in no shape to be seeing visitors right now, but I'll make sure she gets whatever the message is supposed to be."

A second later, a small and innocent looking envelope was slid underneath the door. Officer Copper Top then called. "Pinkie Pie, my apologies and condolences in advance for being the bearer of such bad news. Alas, I'm afraid this sometimes comes with the job." And then the sound of hoofsteps fading away could be heard.

Twilight promptly ripped open the envelope and showed it to Pinkie as her eyes went wide!

Inside the envelope was a letter that read as follows:

Dear Pinkie Pie,

We have taken your Aunt Suzanne. She is now our prisoner.

If you ever want to see her again, let alone alive, you'd better make sure to pass word along to Spider Mare. We want to see her back in Manehattan, tonight, at the Statue of Freedom!

If she fails to show, we cannot guarantee your aunt's safety. In fact, it would be highly likely that she would suffer an unfortunate 'accident' as it were.

Signed,

The Chameleon and a friend

Upon seeing the letter and reading it through, Pinkie Pie became seized with a righteous fury and indignation! She wanted nothing more than to leap up, but in her current quarters she knew she couldn't do so. Still, she firmly and in no uncertain terms demanded of Twilight! "You have to let me out! I have to save Aunt Suzanne!"

"Pinkie..." Twilight began.

The pink party pony promptly cut her friend off as she retorted. "-Twilight, do you remember the time my sister Maud saved me from being crushed by a rock slide?"

The young alicorn nodded somewhat hesitantly. "Yes, but I fail to see what that has to do with anything."

"Maud was under pressure from me to bond with you," Pinkie reminded her friend. "And with the rest of our friends too. She really didn't want to be there when I told you all I had something that would bring us all together as bestest friends. Yet in that moment, when my life was in danger, all that mattered to her was making sure I was okay. She was willing to put her own needs aside to save me. Now I have to do the same!"

Cheese Sandwich wasn't so convinced. "Honey, are you sure this is wise? I know Aunt Suzanne means a lot to you, but you heard what Twilight has said. You can't risk yourself, even if it's for a good cause."

All Pinkie had to say in response to her husband was. "What I can't risk is letting any harm come to Aunt Suzanne because of me! Spider Mare's needed now more than ever! And I'm going to put myself out there regardless of what you or anypony else says!"

Sighing deeply, Twilight reluctantly pressed a button on the tube and the top opened up. She watched as Pinkie stepped out very slowly, pulling her mask down in the process. "For the record, I think this is a very bad idea. You're in very real danger of undergoing a mutation if you use even just a tiny bit of your powers."

Spider Mare simply grabbed her web shooters and all her equipment, making sure everything was where it should be. "Come on, Cheese," She called to her partner in crime fighting. "Get suited up, and make it quick. Looks like we're going back to Manehattan to settle a score."

Author's Note:

Inspiration for this plot point is drawn from the second season of Spider-Man The Animated Series, which introduced the idea of one major story arc person season. In that season, Spider-Man is danger of turning into a man spider, and using his powers risks triggering the transformation. But he still insists on putting himself out there, because that's how he operates.

Comments

[Comickook]

Another really well done chapter with excellent exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. I admit that I was expecting/hoping for the "pregnancy" deal, but I could also see the "further mutation" deal (as you said, it DOES make sense). And now the Chameleon has kidnapped Aunt Suzanne and upped the ante. Yikes!

I know this is now on hiatus for the time being and I can understand real world concerns needing to come first, but I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this.