> MLPU: Spider-Mare: Cat's Claws > by TheInvincibleIronBrony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Frustrations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo swung through the buildings of Manehattan, wearing her Spider-Mare costume, as a black topless muscle car racing through traffic below her. The stallion in the passenger seat turned around and pointed a pistol at the costumed mare above him. He fired three shots and Scootaloo ducked and flipped out of the way of each of them. "Really?" Scootaloo asked as she swung low and landed on the back of the car. She knocked the gun out of the stallion's hand. "I handle armed thugs almost everyday. You really thought you'd be the first to put a bullet in me?" the young mare asked. Before the stallion could answer Scootaloo shot a glob of web at his mouth. "That was rhetorical," she confirmed turning to the driver. "Hey pal think you can just pull over?" she asked. The driver swerved the car trying to dislodge the extra passenger. "Guess that's a no," Scootaloo said. She jumped onto the hood of the car and started shooting webs at the road in front if the car. She then leaped skidding as her feet hit the asphalt. Scootaloo pulled on the webs in her hands and the car quickly slowed to a stop. Scootaloo walked around to the drivers side of the car and webbed the drivers hands to the steering wheel before he could get out. The passenger clambered out of the other side and Scootaloo jumped over the car after him. She had just finished webbing the second stallion to the car when she heard sirens coming down the street. "Hey, they finally caught up. You two stay outta trouble alright?" Scootaloo told them as she took a step back. "Way to go Spidey!" a passerby shouted as Scootaloo jumped onto a street lamp. "Just another day for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Mare!" Scootaloo yelled back as she swung away. ///////////////////////// Scootaloo climbed in through her bedroom window almost an hour later. She quickly took off the red and blue costume she wore most of the time when she was out and replaced it with an orange t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. She then stuffed the costume under her bed and left her room. Scootaloo entered the living room and was surprised to see her Aunt Cup Cake and her twin children, Pound and Pumpkin watching the television set with rapt attention "Oh, Scootaloo take a seat. Rainbow Dash is having a press conference about that attack last night," Cup said, knowing Scootaloo was a huge fan of the rainbow maned mare. Scootaloo quickly took a seat next to her aunt. Rainbow Dash spoke for a moment about the attack until the yellow pegasus behind her whispered in her ear. "Sorry. Right so I'm just gonna tell the truth here. The truth is," Rainbow said, and then she seemed to freeze for a moment. The pegasus behind her nudged Rainbow. Rainbow recomposed herself. "The truth is," Rainbow set down the cue cards and looked right at the cameras. "I am Iron Mare." Scootaloo's jaw dropped at that statement. Rainbow Dash, her idol, was a super hero. "That's awesome!" the young mare shouted catching her family off guard. "If you say so," Cup said sitting up from the couch. "That mare has had more drunken outbursts on the internet than any pop star I've heard of," the blue mare stated, skeptical about the statement Rainbow Dash had made on live television. "To be honest I'm skeptical about all of this super hero business." Scootaloo frowned at that. "As I recall a pair of heroes saved you and the twins from the Lizard," Scootaloo pointed out. "And blew up the kitchen," Cup countered. The mention of that incident seemed to distract Cup Cake. The older mare shook her head. "My point is Spider-Mare and now Rainbow Dash are walking a fine line between hero and public menace, with all of the property damage," the earth pony said as she walked downstairs. Scootaloo watched her leave, her aunt's words weighing heavily in her mind. "I think super heroes are cool," Pound said, agreeing with his surrogate sister. Scootaloo smiled at the small comfort. /////////////////////////// "But daddy, it's the new winter line. If I don't get it I'll be wearing all my clothes from last winter," Diamond Tiara pleaded with her father. She had been trying to get Filthy Rich to fund a shopping trip for her and her best friend, Silver Spoon. "No Diamond. You'll have to make due. Things aren't going well at work, so we'll have to make due with a tighter budget," Filthy explained as he sorted through some files on his desk. He and his daughter were talking in his home office. Diamond began to pout and her father sighed in frustration. "I'm gonna be the laughing stock of the whole school," she said, looking away from her father. Filthy chuckled. "I'd be a lucky stallion if being teased at school was all I had to be worried about," he countered. Diamond rolled here eyes and crossed her arms, knowing one of her fathers lectures on principles was coming. "When I was your age my father hadn't even gotten the family business up and running yet," Filthy explained, referring to the shipping company he had inherited from his father, Stinkin Rich. It transported cargo all over the world for companies that didn't want to take the expense to ship their own products. "I had to make my own fortune. Accepting whatever jobs I could get. I wasn't doing too bad either," Filthy continued. "So why did you take over Grampa's company?" Diamond asked, curiously. Filthy sighed. "My work at the time involved a lot of travel and I wanted a more stable life," Filthy explained. "Sounds boring to me," Diamond commented, trying to find an interesting decoration in her father's office. She couldn't spot anything noteworthy. Filthy smiled. "Well I got a beautiful daughter out of the deal, so I'm not complaining," he said. Diamond rolled her eyes. "Alright I get it. Be grateful for what I have or something," Diamond replied as she made her way to the door. "Diamond don't forget your gymnastics class is in an hour. I don't want you to be late," Filthy said as Diamond opened the door. "I haven't been late to a class ever. And I've been going since I was three," Diamond said as she left the room. //////////////////////////////// Scootaloo munched on hay fries, nervously watching her best friend, Dinky, across the diner table they usually sat at on these meetings. The unicorn was busy reading a news paper article from the latest issue of the Daily Bugle. "Did he say anything good about me yet?" Scootaloo asked, stuffing more hayfries into her mouth. Dinky looked up and sighed. "Do you consider 'wall crawling menace' a compliment?" Dinky asked, trying to make light of the article. Scootaloo ran a hand through her mane. "I suppose that's better than 'Manehattan's terror' or 'criminal mastermind'," the Pegasus joked, shoving the rest of the fries to Dinky. "Celestia, what did I ever do to this guy?" "Namby Pamby is just a news editor trying to sell papers. He doesn't really care how it effects the ponies he writes about," Dinky reasoned. Scootaloo gave a forced laugh at that. "Really cause Spider-Mare is old news compared to... what did that Canterlot paper call her? Oh, right the 'Invincible Iron Mare'," she said, clearly unhappy with how the press treated her. Dinky gave her friend a sympathetic look. "I think the main difference is Rainbow Dash doesn't have a secret identity. If she causes millions of dollars in property damage, there's somepony to pay the bills," Dinky explained. Scootaloo sighed in annoyance. "And if I blow up, say a bakery, the cops can't pin it on me," Scootaloo guessed. "Basically," Dinky confirmed, frowning at Scootaloo's frustration. "I know it sucks, but you had to expect a few naysayers. I mean what's one paper slandering your name compared to an entire city of fans?" Dinky asked, eliciting a smile from her friend. "I guess things could be worse," Scootaloo agreed, grabbing another handful of hayfries. "I mean what's worse than a ten foot lizard?" she asked jokingly. //////////////////////// Diamond Tiara arrived home, sweaty and exhausted from her gymnastics class wearing her workout clothes. She'd been top in her class for years. Her teacher even said she was ready for the Equestrian Games. Something she was extremely proud of. "Dad! I'm home!" she called out into the upper class condo, she and her father lived in. The door to her father's office opened to Diamond's left and her father appeared, seeming nervous. "Sweet heart, I'm sorry. I'm meeting a potential business partner at the moment," Filthy explained. Diamond peered past her father into his office and saw a rather thuggish looking earth pony stallion sitting in a chair. "You'll have to feed yourself tonight. Sorry," Filthy said apologetically. "No problem," Diamond replied, weary of the stallion in her father's office. Filthy gave her a nod before reentering his office, shutting the door behind himself. Curious, Diamond walked over to the door and put her ear to it. "You have a very beautiful daughter, Mr. Rich," an unfamiliar voice said, obviously the thuggish stallion. "Don't go there," Filthy replied, a dangerous edge in his voice. "I meant nothing by it," the stallion replied. "But I might start getting a little more threatening if you don't come up with the money you owe. Mr. Fiscal isn't a very patient stallion," the earth pony said. "I'll get the money. I just need a little more time. Dash industries ended their contract with us over the shipment to Saddle Arabia and they were a big portion of our yearly income," Filthy explained. The earth pony groaned in frustration. "I'm willing to give you another few weeks," the stallion relented. "Please don't give me a reason to be threatening," he finished. Diamond heard the stallions start to move towards the door and quickly ran to the hallway a few feet away. She peeked around the corner and watched the unknown stallion leave without another word. Filthy stood by the door and scratched his head, frustrated. "Everything okay dad?" Diamond asked, stepping out of hiding. Filthy turned startled by his daughter. "Yeah. I was just... setting up a new contract is all," he lied, smiling at Diamond. "I need to go to the office and get a few things. Don't wait up," Filthy said as he moved towards the door as well. Diamond only nodded in understanding and waited for her father to leave. Once he was gone the pink mare walked into her father's office and started searching through the bookshelves. She knew her father had a security camera hidden somewhere. She had been caught playing in the room several times when she was a filly. Her plan was to get the tape of what she had just heard and take it to the police. Nopony threatens my dad, she thought angrily. After about ten minutes of searching, Diamond found the lens and started following the wire that sprouted from the back. She knew it wasn't connected to the desk top computer on the desk, because she had looked through it's many files before and never found anything. Diamond was surprised to find the wire feeding through the wall, that she had always thought connected to the out of service elevator shaft that should have been there. The doors had never worked on this floor as far as Diamond knew. Diamond tried to peek through the small hole and put a hand on a row of books for support. She felt her hoof start to slip and accidentally pulled a book out of place. The book froze halfway out of place and to the young mares surprise part of the book case swung inwards toward the abandoned elevator shaft. Cautiously, Diamond peeked into the surprisingly well lit room and her jaw dropped at the contents. The walls were plastered with old news clippings, detailing the actions of a famous cat burglar from several years ago. The rooms centerpiece was what caught Diamonds attention though. A black leather suit that looked like it might have fit her father many years ago, was draped on a mannequin. A wooden box lay at the foot of the pedestal. Diamond opened the box and she pulled out a black face mask and a very long whip. "What the hell is all this?" Diamond asked herself in wonderment. > Tired > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo ran through the halls of her school, grumbling as she adjusted her clothes over her costume and stuffed her mask and gloves in her backpack. "Stupid crooks. Why can't they wait til after school to rob convenience stores," she mumbled as she adjusted her bag on her back. The halls around her were empty and she knew she was late for homeroom. A stallion had been holding up a store on Scootaloo's way to school and he'd taken up a good twenty minutes of her morning. Scootaloo arrived at the door to her homeroom and slowly pushed it open. Everypony in the class turned at the disturbance. Scootaloo guessed she'd missed roll call. "Umm... sorry, I'm late. Had to make a pit stop," she explained, hoping she wouldn't be questioned further. The teacher rolled her eyes. "Just take your seat Scootaloo and try to be on time tomorrow," the yellow mare stated, returning here eyes to the papers on her desk. Scootaloo spotted Dinky and Babs sitting towards the back of the room and joined them, taking the seat next to Dinky and behind Babs. "Keep showin’ up late and I'll look like a teacher's pet," Babs said smiling. "Babs you could do all your homework for a month and not look like a teachers pet," Scootaloo countered, jokingly. Dinky rolled her eyes at the banter. "Well at least you aren't the only one who's late today," the unicorn said, pointing a hand at the door. Scootaloo and Babs glanced over to see Diamond Tiara entering the room. The pink mare had shadows under her eyes and shuffled tiredly across the room. "I overslept. I was up late doing homework," she mumbled, shuffling to a seat next to Silver Spoon before the teacher could reply. Scootaloo watched with interest. "Is it bad I'm a little happy?" she asked looking away from the earth pony. "Nah," Babs answered simply, leaning back in her chair. Dinky glared at Babs. "It is frowned upon to take pleasure in the misery of others," she told her friends with a frown. Scootaloo sighed. "I know. Kinda hard though when she's caused us so much trouble," Scootaloo replied. Dinky looked at her desk and twiddled her hooves. "What would Spider-Mare do?" Dinky asked avoiding looking at Scootaloo. Scootaloo's eyes went wide. "That's low," she said, slightly angry. "How?" Babs asked. "She's a super hero. Whatever she does has to be good right?" she questioned. Scootaloo snorted. "Everypony makes mistakes. Shouldn't put her on such a high pedestal," she argued, resting her head on her desk. Babs quirked an eyebrow. //////////////////////////// By the time lunch came around Diamond was even more exhausted than she'd been that morning. Several times she'd been caught sleeping by teachers in class. Diamond rubbed her eyes as she made her way to her locker and started stuffing books and binders in it, dropping her open backpack on the ground by her side. "Hey Diamond," a familiar voice called. Diamond looked up to see Silver Spoon approaching her. "Hey Silver, what's up?" Diamond asked, blinking tiredly. "Not you. Why are you so tired?" Silver asked with concern for her long time friend. "I already explained that. I was up late doing homework," Diamond explained again, turning to go to lunch, shutting her locker. Silver Spoon glared at the pink mare. "You may have fooled the teacher with that excuse, but I've known you longer. What's going on?" Silver asked, stepping into her friends path. Diamond huffed. "I'm... dealing with some personal stuff," Diamond said, getting a glare from Silver who was obviously unsatisfied with the answer. Diamond simply glared back. After several long seconds Silver rolled her eyes. "Fine, keep your secret. Just remember you can tell me anything, okay," the gray mare said, trying to be reassuring. Diamond sighed heavily as her friend walked away. "Not sure I can ever tell you what I'm about to do," she said looking at the black material in her open backpack. ////////////////////// Diamond awoke to shouting. She'd gone to bed as soon as she had arrived home, trying to make sure she'd be awake for her plan tonight. From the sound of the shouting, she needed to get ready now. She jumped out if her bed and grabbed her bag from next to the desk on the other side of the room. She opened it and started pulling the suit she'd taken from her father's secret room and started putting it on. The whip and mask now sat exposed at the bottom of the bag. The shouting increased in volume and Diamond moved to the door out of curiosity. "And you have no idea who got in there?" the stallion from the previous day asked. "No, but if Fiscal still needs me to move his shipment, then I need that suit found. It ties me to several burglaries that would put me away for a life time," Filthy explained. Diamond smiled at this. Don't worry too much dad. I'll take care of everything, she thought. "Fine. I'll start asking around and get back to you when I find something," the thug said. "Next time, though don't keep incriminating evidence. Burn it," the stallion said forcefully, the front door slamming a few seconds later. Diamond moved back to her desk and was about to grab the whip when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She shoved the bag under her desk and jumped back in her bed, pulling the covers over the suit and she pretended to be asleep. Seconds later the door opened and her father stepped into the room. "Diamond? Are you awake?" Filthy asked. Diamond didn't answer. "I'm sorry," Filthy said, sounding as if he were in tears. "I've made so many mistakes in my life. I prayed you'd never have to know, but it looks like my secrets will be out soon," the stallion said, moving closer to his daughter's bed. Diamond felt him run a hand through her mane. "I just hope you know, that whatever happens, you were always the most important part of my life," Filthy admitted, tears staining the bed sheets. Diamond had to fight the urge to throw her arms around her father and tell him she'd always love him, but she knew she had to stay put to protect him. Filthy got up from the bed and walked to the door. "I love you," he said softly as he shut the door quietly. Diamond sat up in her bed and looked at the door for a moment. She got out of the bed and walked to her bag, grabbing the whip and mask out of it. She slipped the mask over her face as she moved over to the window, opening it and climbing out onto the fire escape. Diamond looked back at the door across her room. "I love you too dad," she said, shutting the window and making her way down the fire escape. Once she was at the bottom she spotted the stallion exiting the building. He looked around for a moment before he started walking down the street, an annoyed look on his face. Diamond immediately found a flaw in her plan. She didn't know how to follow the thug without being on the ground. She looked up at the next building and saw a flag pole extending from the side, another fire escape just past it. She glanced at the whip in her hand and then back to the pole. "Worth a shot," she muttered as she swung the whip as hard as she could aiming at the flagpole. The whip wrapped around it and Diamond jumped, swinging to the next fire escape. She landed with the grace years of gymnastics gave her and smiled. "This could be more fun than I thought," she told herself as she caught sight of the stallion rounding a corner. "Oh crap," she cursed as she jumped onto a window ledge and started skillfully following the stallion along the sides of buildings. ///////////////////////////// Scootaloo swung through the night air, scanning the streets below for signs of trouble. She'd already stopped three muggers, four vandals and stopped a robbery in progress. Nights like this had become routine for the teenager. "Just another night," she told herself as she swung down to street level. Several ponies patted her on the back and asked for autographs. She smiled beneath her mask. Being a hero had been easy at first, but naysayers hadn't wasted any time springing up soon after the final battle with the Lizard. Chief among them, Namby Pamby, editor in chief at the Daily Bugle. The stallion had been turning every good deed Scootaloo did against her. He'd even gone as far as to say Scootaloo had been responsible for Cheerilee's transformation. He was technically correct, but it still hurt to hear. Scootaloo stopped at a newsstand and glanced at the headline on the Bugle. Wall-Crawler Still At Large. Scootaloo sighed. "What's your deal Pamby?" she asked herself. Scootaloo jumped off of the sidewalk and started heading for home. Before she'd rounded the next block a police car drove beneath her, sirens blaring. Scootaloo cursed her luck as she reversed her swing and started following the squad car. "I thought the wicked weren't supposed to rest," she muttered to herself. > Not a Hero > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond Tiara watched from a nearby balcony as the thuggish stallion entered what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She'd followed him at least a dozen blocks from her home and she was starting to lose her strength. It had become more and more difficult to follow her quarry, but years of conditioning had paid off. "Don't think this is what daddy meant for me to do when he sent me to gymnastics, but it's a handy skill," she told herself as she used a light post to swing onto the top of the building, landing with a dull thud. "What was that?" a panicked voice asked from below. Diamond found a rusty hole in the roof and peered into the building. A small group of stallions, five total, were meeting in the warehouse, each one armed with a gun. They were all alert and had their eyes on the ceiling where she'd landed. Gotta work on my subtlety, Diamond thought, not liking the idea of being bullet ridden. "Forget about it," the stallion Diamond recognized told the others. "We're done here anyway. Just see what you can find out about that suit. It needs to be found or Mr. Fiscal's shipment won't get sent. Understood?" he explained. The other stallion's nodded. "Alright then meeting adjourned," he told them. "Can't let them leave," Diamond said as she kicked the roof, making a much louder noise. The stallion's looked to the ceiling again. "Okay somepony is up there!" One shouted as he pointed his gun at the roof and started shooting. Diamond jumped out of the way and landed on a rusty part of the roof. The weak metal gave way beneath her and she found herself hurtling towards the floor of the warehouse. She flung the whip at the rafters and found herself swinging a little lower before the line pulled free over a shipping crate. Diamond landed on the container with a grunt and just barely avoided rolling off of the edge. Before she had time to recover she heard shouting heading in her direction. "They fell over here, come on," one stallion shouted. Diamond stayed still where she was and waited. She heard footsteps on the ground below her as the stallions passed by. Once they'd passed her she peeked over the edge if the container and saw one stallion head in a different direction than the others. She quietly slid off of the container and followed the stallion, staying in the shadows. Once she felt they were a good distance from the others, Diamond pounced on the unsuspecting thug, kicking and punching the surprised stallion. "Ah! What the hell?!" he shouted, trying to dislodge the aggressive mare. "Get the hell off me you crazy- AHH!" the stallion yelped as Diamond punched him in the back. She made to hit him again when another hand grabbed hers. "Well look at this? We got ourselves a superhero," the stallion that had snuck up on Diamond said, pulling her off of his comrade. The rest of the thugs soon joined them and two of them grabbed her and pinned her on her back to the ground. The stallion Diamond had attacked, pulled a knife out if his jacket and walked up to her. "You're gonna regret hittin’ me from behind," he said as he brought the knife closer. Diamond started struggling, a look of fear in her eyes. When the knife was only an inch from her face the group heard the sound of sirens outside. "Cops. We need to bounce," one thug said. "You got lucky little filly. Next time don't be a hero," the knife wielder said as the group started to turn. Diamond heard a dull thud behind her and the stallion's turned their up heads in shock. "So what did the gangster say when he met Spider-Mare the first time?" a voice called mockingly. Diamond turned and her eyes went wide as well. "It's Spider-Mare!" one thug shouted in shock only to have his mouth webbed shut. "Guess you heard that one," the costumed mare said as she jumped into the middle of the group. She grabbed one stallion by the leg and tossed him into one of his buddies. "How about this one. How many thugs does it take to squish a spider?" she asked as she tripped another thug and webbed the last one to a shipping container. "I'll let you know when one actually does," she finished, the knife wielder got up and attacked from behind. "Look out!" Diamond shouted, having watched most of the spectacle in shock. Spider-Mare readily dodged the knife and kicked a at the stallion's jaw, knocking him out. The wall crawler surveyed her work before turning to Diamond. "Well they're already for the cops. You need anything else?" she asked. Diamond gave the mare a questioning look before she spotted the stallion that had spoken to her dad lying unconscious under one of his friends. "No I'm fine," she assured as she got up brushing the dust and dirt from her costume as walked past the hero. "I'll just take this and go," she said as she started dragging the stallion away. She was surprised when she couldn't budge the criminal. She turned to see if he was caught on something only to find Spider-Mare holding a leg. "Ya know, I've only been a super hero for a little while myself, but I don't think this is something we do," Spider-Mare said, tilting her head in confusion. Diamond sighed in frustration. "Well I'm not a superhero. So let go," she demanded, growing annoyed. The costumed hero shook her head. "I can't. Its kinda my job to make sure he goes to jail," she said, a note of disappointment in her voice. "I can't let you kill him," she finished. Diamond's eyes went wide. "I'm not gonna kill him," she defended, angrily. "I'm just gonna ask him politely to tell me where his boss is," she explained. "And if he doesn't tell you?" Spider-Mare asked sternly. Diamond rolled her eyes. "Look this guy threatened my family. I'm gonna make sure he never does that again," she asserted. Spider-Mare shook her head again. "Then tell the cops," she suggested. Diamond growled in annoyance. "I can't. You don't get it. I'm just trying to protect my dad. What's wrong with that?" she asked angrily. "Does he know you're out here?" Spider-Mare asked, making Diamond cringe. "No," the pink mare admitted. "But he still needs to be protected and you're too busy going after muggers to bother taking on any organized crime," she accused. Spider-Mare seemed shocked at this. Just then they heard hoof steps rushing toward them. "Cops," Spider-Mare said, yanking the stallion from Diamond's grasp and grabbing her by the arm. Diamond felt her feet leave the ground as Spider-Mare carried her while swinging to the ceiling. The superhero latched onto the roof near the hole Diamond had made earlier and crawled through it still holding her passenger. Diamond had been too shocked by the actions to protest, but she quickly came to her senses. "Hey! I needed that guy!" she shouted. Spider-Mare didn't seem to hear her. "Just leave this stuff to superheroes," she replied, distractedly before jumping off of the roof and swinging away. Diamond watched her leave before looking back through the hole to see the cops already cuffing the thugs. She sighed angrily as she too jumped from the roof and started making her way home. //////////////////////// Scootaloo crawled in her window an hour later and flopped onto her bed, the words of the mare she saved ringing in her ears. "She's right. I need to cut off the head of the snake," she told herself as she pulled off her costume, her eyelids drooping. > Research > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo arrived at the warehouse she had first explored her powers in, her costume in the bag on her back. She and Dinky had been coming here twice a week and using the open space within to test the limits of Scootaloo’s powers. They’d set up a small obstacle course, and had tried to test the maximum weight Scootaloo could lift, but there wasn’t anything in the warehouse that was heavy enough. Scootaloo’s webs were the only thing they’d found a limit to. The entire warehouse had become a maze of webs by the end of the experiment, but by the next day all that was left was mostly dry webs and dust on the floor. Dinky had explained that the webs probably dried overnight. “Hey Scootaloo,” Dinky greeted as Scootaloo entered the building. The unicorn was reading a newspaper at a table they’d set up in the center of the warehouse for taking breaks. “Hey,” Scootaloo replied as she joined her friend. “Anything new in there or just the same ‘Menace of Manehattan’ headlines?” she asked looking at the frontpage, sure enough seeing a blurred photo of herself from last night. Dinky shook her head. “I didn’t even bother reading the front page,” she answered, flipping another page. “I did find an interesting article on some birds in Canistan though,” she commented as she set the paper down. Scootaloo stared at Dinky blankly. “I don’t think that’s much of a concern for me right now,” she said standing up and looking at the ceiling, searching for a way to broach the topic she wanted to discuss. Dinky seemed to take notice of Scootaloo’s distraction. “What’s up?” she asked, concerned. Scootaloo turned back to the table and looked at Dinky. “Last night I followed some cops to the shipping district and found these thugs about to kill a mare in a costume,” she informed, watching Dinky’s eyes widen in shock. “Did you stop them?” she asked, hoping the mare was okay. “Yeah she’s fine,” Scootaloo assured. “But she told me that some mob was threatening her dad,” she continued, earning Dinky’s full attention. “She told me she had to protect him herself cause heroes like me were too busy catching muggers,” Scootaloo finished her eyes on the ground. Dinky thought for a moment. “What are you thinking?” she asked curiously, suspecting where this was going. Scootaloo huffed. “I’ve been at this for nearly a month now and I’ve stopped muggers, murderers, crooks and carjackers. Plus the Lizard, but what does all that accomplish if there’s still someone pulling everyone’s strings?” Scootaloo asked returning her gaze to Dinky. Dinky looked her friend in the eye and smiled. She saw determination in Scootaloo. Determination to make a major change in the world around her. To use her powers for a noble crusade. “So what? Are you gonna try to take down the mob?” she asked, leaning forward. Scootaloo looked at the table for inspiration. “Might be a good place to start,” she replied. Dinky couldn’t hide her grin anymore. “What?” Scootaloo asked, quirking her eyebrow at Dinky’s smile. Dinky laughed. “Sorry, it’s just great to see you taking the initiative with this. You weren’t so happy with being a superhero at first,” Dinky explained. “Well that was before I really got the hang of swinging from roof tops. It almost feels like flying,” she said with a sad smile. Dinky looked down. “Speaking of which,” she started catching Scootaloo’s attention,” I was wondering if you’d let me have a go at it?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye at the thought. Scootaloo smiled as she rolled her eyes. “Maybe in a bit. Right now we need to figure out where to start fighting organized crime." Dinky beamed as she got up. “Sure. We can do some research at my place. Come on,” the unicorn said as she headed for the door, Scootaloo not far behind. ///////////////////////////////////////// Diamond Tiara sat at the desk in her room, her laptop open and displaying several articles on organized crime in Manehattan. She grumbled to herself in annoyance, unhappy that she hadn’t thought of this in the first place. “Could have saved myself some bruises,” she told herself, grumpily as she searched through the articles. After several minutes of searching she groaned loudly and leaned back in her chair. She stared at the ceiling and thought to herself. Just the other day all I cared about was keeping my winter clothes in fashion. Now money seems so meaningless, she thought as a thought struck her. “Money,” she spoke out loud, something the stallion who had met with her father came to mind. “Mr. Fiscal,” she said to herself, returning to her computer. She quickly looked up the name and several articles came up. Each article revolved around various business deals and companies all owned under the same name. A buffalo by the name of Fiscal Year. Diamond Tiara wondered how a buffalo had become a crime boss in Manehattan. She saw an article mentioning an arrest and clicked on the link. ‘Fiscal Year, a local business tycoon was arrested on murder charges, following the investigation on the death of a police informant. The police have made no statement at this time, Mr. Fiscal gave the following statement. “This isn’t the first time the police have tried to pin something like this on me and I don’t think it will be the last. I can assure you though that these unfortunate events are not my fault,” the tycoon told one of our reporters on his way into his building downtown.’ Diamond stopped reading and searched Fiscal’s building. She smiled when an address was displayed under the link. “Gotcha,” she said saving the page for later. She was startled as her door opened. She quickly closed her computer and turned to see her father enter the room. She tried to look as innocent as possible. “Hey Diamond. Silver Spoon is here,” he said, taking notice of his daughters look. “What are you up to?” he asked, suspicious. Diamond shrugged. “Oh nothing, I was just doing some homework,” she said as she stood up from her chair. “Uh-huh. Well if you ever need to talk about anything you can trust me,” Filthy said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I know,” Diamond replied. “I gotta go. Me and Silver are going shopping,” she explained as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door, leaving her father in her room. Filthy was about to follow her, but looked back at her computer. He approached it opening the top and looking at the article on screen. He sighed as he closed it again. “Diamond what are you up to?” he asked himself as he exited the room, unsure of what to make of his daughter’s research. ////////////////////////////////////// “So this is the guy?” Scootaloo asked, looking at a picture of a Fiscal Year on Dinky’s computer. “Looks like it. The cops have been trying to get him for years, but they either lose the evidence they need or their key witness disappears,” Dinky explained. She turned to the pegasus a worried look on her face. “Are you sure about this? Fiscal is pretty well connected.” Scootaloo thought for a moment, letting the magnitude of what she was about to do sink in. “These powers are pretty useless if I just keep putting away street criminals,” she answered, turning to Dinky. “I’m sure,” she finished. Dinky nodded and smiled as a knock come from the door. “Come in,” Dinky called, the door opening to reveal her mother, Derpy. “Dinner is almost ready,” she announced. “Do wanna eat with us?” she asked Scootaloo. “There’s plenty to go around.” Scootaloo looked at Dinky who shrugged. “Sure,” Scootaloo replied. “Just let me call my aunt. Let her know where I am,” she said reaching into her bag for her phone. “Sure thing. I’ll let you guys know when everything is ready,” she said smiling as she left. Dinky looked at Scootaloo. “So when are you going after this guy?” she asked looking back at the computer. Scootaloo considered her options for a moment. “Tonight,” she answered. Dinky was about to argue. “I know it seems too soon, but I have to try something,” Scootaloo said. Dinky looked at her friend, worried. “Okay,” she replied, earning a smile from Scootaloo. “Just be careful,” she said, praying for Scootaloo’s safety. ////////////////////////////////////////// “Oh this looks great,” Silver Spoon said excitedly holding up a coat for her friend to see. “What?” Diamond asked, looking up from the ground. She had spent the last half hour trying to figure out how to get to Fiscal and hadn’t been paying attention to Silver Spoon at all. Silver Spoon frowned. “Okay you’ve been acting like a zombie all day. Whats your deal?” she asked annoyed. Diamond rolled her eyes. “Nothing I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now,” she replied, turning to look at a rack of scarfs. Silver glared at her friend. “You’re doing it again,” she said starting to get angry. “Doing what?” Diamond asked, turning to Silver with a quizzical look. “Dodging questions like you were yesterday at school,” Silver pointed out. “I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but whatever it is you can trust me,” Silver said, her expression softening. Diamond sighed. “I know, but.. it’s personal and I don’t want you to get hurt,” she explained, looking away. “Hurt?” Silver asked, shocked. “Why would I get hurt? You aren’t doing anything illegal are you?” she asked, starting to panic. Diamond wasn’t sure how to answer that without saying too much. Silver became annoyed again when her friend didn’t answer. “Fine don’t tell me. Obviously you don’t trust me as much as I thought you did,” she said angrily as she started walking away. “Hey where are you going?” Diamond asked, surprised at her friend’s sudden departure. “Home,” Silver said, huffily. “The ponies there trust me,” she finished as she walked away. Diamond didn’t try to follow her. Her father wouldn’t be expecting her until much later. She could use the time she had to scope out Fiscal’s building and see what kind of security he had. I’ll make it up to her later, Diamond told herself as she started for the front doors of the shopping center. > Mr. Fiscal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal Year scowled as he read that days issue of the Daily Bugle. Spider-Mare Working With Manehattan Crime Syndicate? He set the paper on his desk and stood up, looking out of his window, observing the skyline of Manehattan as the sun slowly sank below the horizon, straightening the tie that completed the expensive white suit he always wore to work. The buffalo was large even by the standards of his species. Standing almost three times the height of the average pony. Fiscal looked down at the streets below and could barely make out the citizens as they milled about on the ground. Fiscal smiled as he remembered the days when he had first moved to the city from his ancestral home in the desert. This city had been run by ponies in those days. Fiscal was filled with pride, knowing that his own success had brought thousands of immigrants to the great country, greatly diversifying the more heavily populated cities. These days nobody looked twice at the Diamond Dog walking down the street or gave the gryphon messengers unneeded hassle. This diversification was great for business as well. The phone on Fiscal's desk starting ringing, breaking the buffalo's train of thought. He strode back to his desk and pressed a button on the receiver. "Speak," he said in a commanding tone. "Sir we have unauthorized activity on the roof top," the security guard informed. Fiscal took a calming breath as he pressed a button on his desk. A television screen slid out of the ceiling and flickered to life. Fiscal smiled at the red and blue clad hero walking across the helicopter pad, bathed in the orange light of the fading sun. "Well, well. This is an unexpected visit," he said to himself. "Should we take care of her for you sir?" the security guard asked, making Fiscal chuckle. "Oh, please. You're hardly a match for her. No I think it would best to simply show her to my office," he ordered. "But sir," the guard began. "I've been meaning to speak with her, I just couldn't get a hold of her," he told his henchpony. "Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth," he finished, hanging up without giving the stallion a chance to reply. "This should be fruitful," Fiscal told himself as he turned back to the window. //////////////////////////// Scootaloo scanned the rooftop for any signs of activity as she made her way to the door she intended to enter the building with. After all, who expected an intruder to came in through the roof access. She'd left Dinky's house right after dinner and decided that tonight was as good as any other night to checkout what Fiscal might be up to. Scootaloo smiled as she approached the door, taking note of the keypad on the right side under the handle. "This might be a little tricky," she told herself as she placed a hand on the panel, intending to try to open the door without raising the alarm. Right as Scootaloo placed her hand on the panel, a click sounded from the lock and the door swung inward, much to the heroes shock. "Great. Guess quiet isn't an option anymore," Scootaloo told herself as she shook off the surprise and entered the building, staying aware of her surroundings as she wearily entered the building. //////////////////////////////////// Diamond Tiara looked up, towards the top of the building owned by Fiscal Year. No doubt the buffalo paid for top notch security. "So how do I get in?" she asked herself as she approached the doors, adjusting the bag on her back. Diamond trotted up to the security desk as a plan started to form in her mind. "Excuse me," she called, catching the attention of stallion behind the desk. She guessed he'd been looking at security footage. "Hi. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you have a bathroom I could use?" she asked, giving the guard an embarrassed smile. The guard gave her a bored expression. "Down the hall right there," he said, jerking a thumb at the hallway that lead to the elevators behind him. "This way?" Diamond asked, moving around the desk towards the hallway, being sure to move directly behind the guard. "Yeah it's on th-oof!" the stallion grunted as Diamond slammed his head into the desk knocking him out. "Easy enough," Diamond muttered to herself as she pushed the stallion under the desk, using the handcuffs on his belt to keep him chained to the desk. She turned to the various computer screens displaying different parts of the building. She quickly found Fiscal sitting at his desk in his office. "Bingo,"she said as she noted the label under the screen, telling her Fiscal was on the twentieth floor. She slipped her bag off and opened it, taking out the black costume and putting it on. Diamond had just slipped the mask over her face when a figure on one of the screens caught her eye. Spider-Mare was walking down a flight of stairs that lead up to the roof. "Dammit," Diamond said, trying to figure out why the wall crawler was in the building. "Gonna have to move fast," she told herself as she started scanning the various controls that the guard had behind the desk. Diamond smiled when she read a label under a switch that read Front Door. She flicked the switch to the side that was labeled locked. "Alright then, let's see what you've got for me," she said, turning to the guard and searching his belt. The only useful thing she could find was a set of keys. She took those and noticed a gun on the guards belt. She gave it a hesitant look before reaching for it. Diamond hefted the weapon in her hand. It felt heavy and Diamond gulped as she stuffed it in her bag and made a dash for the stairs. ///////////////////////// Scootaloo reached the twentieth floor and pushed on the door, hoping this one would open unlike the previous four doors. To her surprise the door opened and a stallion was standing on the other side standing straight with his eyes on the door the super hero had just come through. "Am I getting an ambush or an escort?" Scootaloo asked, tensing up as she readied herself for an attack. The stallion visibly gulped, but remained still. "Mr. Fiscal would like to speak with you," he said tilting his head down the hall. "Fifth door on the left," he instructed. Scootaloo glanced down the hallway before turning back to the stallion. "Right. Don't suppose he's in there waiting with a shotgun is he?" she asked stepping towards the guard. "Cause if he is, I'll know," she told him, placing her face near his. She stepped back and chuckled at the shivering stallion. "You thugs are too easy," she said, smiling as she walked down the hallway, hearing the guard breath a sigh of relief. Scootaloo stood in front of the door the guard had specified, a name plate reading Fiscal Year. "Might as well," she told herself as she wearily opened the door, keeping an eye out for anything out of place. As the door opened fully, she spotted the buffalo on the the far side of the room, staring out of the floor to ceiling window. Fiscal Year turned to the door and smiled. "I was wondering when you'd drop by for a visit," he said calmly as he took a seat behind his desk. Scootaloo began slowly approaching the desk. "I'm not here for a meet and greet," she said flatly, keeping her eyes open. "Oh of course. You're here to be a hero, right? Stop the crime boss in his villainess tracks?" Fiscal asked, an amused smile on his face. "In that case you either have some vital piece of evidence that would result in my arrest or you're a child with the stars in her eyes. I'm inclined to think the latter," the buffalo told her. Scootaloo was about to reply, but Fiscal kept going. "I am not a petty criminal. Even if you strung me up in front of a police station, I'd be out in time for bed," he said with a smile. Scootaloo stopped in front of his desk. "Actually, I came here to snoop, but I guess you've got some tight security," the masked mare informed, making Fiscal smile in pride. "I'll have to keep that in mind next time. For now I suppose I'm mostly just curious about you," she said, staring into the buffalo's eyes. Fiscal continued smiling. "You could have just watched the news reels. They'd tell you anything I would," he stated, simply. Scootaloo smiled under her mask. "Good. You're confident. I can work with that," she said as she turned to leave. "I don't suppose I could simply pay you to leave me be?" Fiscal asked, smiling when Scootaloo froze. "You keep doing your hero thing and I keep my business in order. Everyone wins," he offered, mistaking her stillness for interest. Scootaloo turned back to the crime boss. "I'm not the kinda mare you can buy. So in case you wanna offer me anything else, save it. I may be a-" Scootaloo stopped mid-sentence as she felt the tingle of her spider sense. She grabbed Fiscal's desk and placed it between herself and the door just as the bullets started ripping through the door. "Really? An ambush while you're still in here?" she said, looking at Fiscal as the shooting came to a stop. The buffalo gave her a concerned look as he sat in the cover of the desk. "This wasn't my plan," he said calmly as the door on the other side of the room opened. Scootaloo peeked out from behind the desk, her eyes widening in surprise. "Why can't it ever be simple?" she asked as the mare in the cat suit from the previous night entered the room, gun at the ready. > Final Choices > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond stepped further into the room and started looking around for Fiscal. Seeing the desk upturned gave her a hint where he was and she started moving towards it quietly. Just as she came around the other side Spider-Mare leaped out of hiding and yanked the gun from her grip. "Not exactly a pop gun is it? You could’ve killed someone with this thing," the hero scolded as she tossed the gun away. "That was the idea," Diamond replied as Fiscal came out from behind the desk. Diamond glared at the crime boss and looked like she might attack him. "So you work for him then?" she asked turning her glare to Spider-Mare. "What?! No!" the masked mare shouted, insulted by the accusation. "You told me I was wasting my time with muggers, so I stopped wasting my time," she defended. Diamond shook her head as she turned back to the buffalo. "You're lucky the filly scout is here or you'd be dead by now," she threatened before turning to leave. Fiscal rolled his eyes. "If it hadn't been for her, my security wouldn't have been so preoccupied setting up for her," he replied. Diamond wondered what Fiscal meant as Spider-Mare turned to him. "Setting up? You only had one guard- look out!" the hero shouted grabbing Diamond's hand and pulling her away from the door, as Fiscal dove behind the desk again. Seconds later machine gun fire ripped through the front of the office. Spider-Mare tossed Diamond behind the desk and then left to deal with the security. Diamond grunted in pain as she hit something large and muscular. She turned around and saw Fiscal rolling up the sleeves of his suit. "Would you like to know how I've accomplished everything I have?" he asked as he pinned Diamond to the desk with one hoof. "If you want to succeed in life you have to get your hooves dirty sometimes," he told her. Diamond cringed as she watched the buffalo prepare for a devastating blow. ////////////////////// Outside in the hallway Scootaloo was dodging gunfire and taking out Fiscal's goons as quickly as she could. She'd counted about fifteen when the fight started. Now she was left with five. The remaining guards retreated down the hallway and fired from the safety of the office doorways. Scootaloo jumped up to the ceiling just as one stallion jumped out of cover to shoot, only for Scootaloo to flip down from above and land on him. Then she felt that tingle again and shot a web at the next doorway, gobbing up the barrel of the guards gun. The stallion threw the gun away and charged the super hero just as one of his allies popped out of hiding. Scootaloo turned just as the first guard jumped at her and kicked him in the stomach sending him crashing into his friend. "That leaves two," Scootaloo told herself. "If you guys just wanna surrender and run that's fine!" she called out, quietly crawling onto the wall as she went. She heard a click through the wall she was on and smiled. Scootaloo punched her fist through the wall and grabbed the guard, slamming his head into the wall on the other side. The last guard jumped out of hiding to attack and Scootaloo shot a web at his leg and pulled hard, tripping the stallion and slamming his head on the ground. "Way to go guys. You lasted almost five minutes," Scootaloo told the unconscious guards as she walked back to Fiscal's office. Just as she passed the first window, her spider sense went off. Scootaloo turned just in time to catch the masked filly as she was tossed from the room. The red and blue clad mare was surprised that the force pushed her back against the opposite wall. "You have excellent reflexes," Fiscal said as he approached the pair as they picked themselves up, the pink filly rubbing her head. "A shame you didn't go into show business. I think you would have made a great clown," the buffalo finished as he charged the pair. "Really?" Scootaloo asked as she pushed the other filly out of the way and jumped on Fiscal's back. "Cause nopony ever laughs at my jokes," she continued as she shot webs over the charging buffalo's eyes. "I could be an acrobat though watch- oh right, my bad," the hero laughed pretending she'd forgotten, Fiscal's temporary blindness. "What is this stuff?!" Fiscal shouted angrily. He started slamming his body into the wall in an attempt to shake off his passenger. Scootaloo dismounted and chuckled. "Don't worry it'll dissolve... in an hour or so," Scootaloo joked as she started walking away. She stopped as soon as she'd turned to the door though. The black clad filly stood in the way, pointing the gun at Fiscal again. "Don't stop me this time. He deserves this," the pink mare told Scootaloo. Fiscal seemed to be aware he was in danger again, but his blindness made him helpless. Scootaloo started trying to figure out if she could be fast enough to get the gun before the filly took her shot. "Let's just take it easy," Scootaloo started. "No! Nothing about this is easy!" the filly shouted angrily. "If he doesn't die, my dad will. I won't let that happen," she said, steadying her hoof. "And then what?" Scootaloo asked, confusing the filly. "Fiscal has the cops in his pocket. They're probably on their way by now. If they catch you, your dad is gonna be alone for long time. Long enough for someone else to take Fiscal's place and have your dad killed. You can't protect him from jail," Scootaloo reasoned. The pink mare looked like she was having trouble deciding. She didn't lower the gun, but Scootaloo took it as a good sign that the filly hadn't fired yet. "If you really want to protect your dad then walk away from this and go keep an eye on him. It sounds like he needs somepony watching his back," Scootaloo finished, not having anything else to say. The masked filly's face seemed to switch between anger and confusion. Then she screamed in frustration and started shooting the wall next to her, away from Fiscal. Scootaloo sighed in relief. "Your mistake!" Fiscal shouted as he blindly charged the filly. Scootaloo sprang forwards slamming a fist into the buffalo's body and hurling him into the wall. Before his body fell Scootaloo webbed all four of his limbs to the wall, keeping him up. "Listen up Fiscal. I don't know who her dad is and I doubt you do. So instead of asking her I think it might be a good idea to just leave any pony with a daughter out of your business. Got it," Scootaloo demanded as the other filly simply watched in shock. Fiscal laughed. "And what are you going to do? You don't seem like the type to kill anymore than your friend," Fiscal said smiling. Scootaloo leaned in close to the buffalo's head. "That's because no ones ever given me a reason to really hurt them. Don't be the first," she threatened, taking a step back. Fiscal remained calm, but they all knew he couldn't take the risk. "We got a deal?" Scootaloo asked. The buffalo was silent for a moment. "Fine," he begrudgingly replied after several minutes. "Good," the hero asked turning to her companion as the sound of police sirens sounded from the street below. "You need a lift? I don't think the cops are you gonna let you walk out," she offered, as she walked over to the only window in the room that looked like it opened. The other filly shook her head, as if she were confused. "Umm... sure. Maybe a couple roof tops over," she suggested, following as Scootaloo opened the window. "Sounds good. Just hop on my back and hold on," Scootaloo said, taking one last look at Fiscal. Seeing him strung up like that made her think about the stallion that killed her uncle. She'd left him in a similar position, but Scootaloo was happy she wasn't leaving Fiscal dead. Scootaloo felt the other filly wrap her arms around her neck and shot a web at the building across the street. "Hold on tight," she called as she jumped out of the window and started swinging herself and her passenger away from the scene. > Is it Worth it? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond Tiara watched nervously as Silver Spoon looked from the news paper headline to the black suit in shock. "Okay, c'mon Silver, say something. You're starting to freak me out," Diamond pleaded, when the tension became unbearable. Silver looked away from the suit. "Say what? This is a lot to take in. I mean my best friend is a super hero and I guess that's cool," the grey filly began, trailing off. "I'm sensing there's a but coming," Diamond pressed. "But, this is extremely dangerous," Silver pointed out. "Is this worth it?" she asked, seeming unsure of the whole thing. Diamond thought for a moment. She thought about the trouble she could get in if she got caught and about how much danger she'd be putting her dad in. Then she thought about the people she could help. She knew she couldn't tackle criminals the same way Spider-Mare does. Not having powers is kind of a drawback. Diamond was considering more of a stealth approach. If she could take away some of Fiscal's power by keeping him on his toes, he'd be too busy to try and bother Filthy. "In the long run," Diamond began, looking her friend in the eye. "Its more than worth it." /////////////////////// "This is so not worth it," Scootaloo complained as she passed that days issue of the daily bugle back to Dinky. "Spider-Mare and Black Cat working for the King Pin of crime?" Dinky questioned as she read the headline. "They didn't waste anytime naming her," she commented, turning her attention back to her brooding friend. "Any idea who she is?" "Who?" asked a familiar voice. Both mares turned their heads in surprise as Featherweight joined them at their usual lunch table. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you all week," Scootaloo asked, ignoring the stallion's question. "I've been trying to get a job recently. Trying to save money for college," he explained. "Now who are we talking about and where's Babs?" Featherweight asked, not seeing the dark orange filly anywhere. Dinky rolled her eyes. "She got detention for being unsafe with a Bunsen burner in chemistry," Dinky explained as she slid the newspaper to the colt. "And we were talking about her," she finished, pointing at the black figure that was riding on what looked like Scootaloo's back. Featherweight squinted at the picture. "Who is she?" he asked, curious. "Black Cat. Don't have any other name for her," Scootaloo answered. "Hopefully she helps me bring down the crime rate around here. I could use some down time," the pegasus said as she started to get up. "I'm gonna go get a little more to eat," she said, turning and immediately running into Diamond Tiara, who was carrying a tray full of food. Both fillies grunted as their heads collided, the paper tray crumpling between them and splattering mashed potatoes and salad on the pair. Diamond growled at the accident, glaring at Scootaloo. "Watch where you're going loser!" she shouted as she pushed past Scootaloo and ran to the bathroom. "What a brat," Scootaloo seethed as she wiped the potatoes from her shirt with the news paper.