There was no "second chance" for The Green Griffon this time around. The royal guards, led by Captain Shining Armor, arrested her and deported her with extreme vengeance. The royal guard hated being humiliated, even more then they hated repeated felons and murderers.

The Green Griffon, for her part, shouted protests, and fought with the guards every step of the way. But after last time, they had learned not to be so careless, and they made sure to keep The Green Griffon under constant watch at all times.

Upon returning to The Griffon Empire, The Green Griffon was quickly tried and convicted for the crimes she had committed while in Equestria. She was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, but there were those who argued that she should've been given the death penalty.

With The Green Griffon captured, and locked up for good, Pinkie Pie could finally start looking forward to the future again. Both as a baker's assistant, and as a crime fighting super-hero. Even so, she knew things would never truly be the same. The Green Griffon had left deep emotional scars in her heart that would never fully heal, even with time.

But the past was in the past, and like it or not there was nothing Pinkie Pie could do to change it. If so, she would've ensured Uncle Al was still alive, she would've made sure that Diamond Tiara's mother had never gotten stuck in that scorpion suit, and most of all, she would've corrected her greatest mistake.

Despite this, Pinkie Pie was convinced that, in the end, Spider Mare was something that Equestria could not live without. For without her, it was quite possible that The Green Griffon and The Mane-iac would've been much more serious threats then they had been. And Equestria would still be dealing with the type of criminals that could commit acts as harmless as robbery to as deadly as murder.

Being Spider Mare came with a price, and now Pinkie Pie was willing to do what she felt was necessary, to ensure that those she loved more than anything else would (hopefully) never have to pay the same price that Pokey Pierce payed. Her Aunt Suzanne had already learned of Pinkie's secret just before The Green Griffon first stormed onto the scene. It wasn't that hard for her to put two and two together, but even so Pinkie Pie made her promise to keep quiet about her discovery.

Now, she was about to reveal her secret to her closest friends, as well as the ponies who were pretty much her foster family. She could only hope they wouldn't be too mad with her for keeping such a big secret. If the roles were reversed, she was certain she would be upset. Depending on what the secret was, and who had kept it from her of course.

It had been hard enough just deciding to let Cheese Sandwich and Mrs. Cake in on the whole secret, but there was no turning back now. She was certain her friends wouldn't just take her word for it, so she made sure her costume was out and ready to put on at a moment's notice in her room. Part of her still felt very uncertain about all of this, and who could blame her? But this was something that she knew she needed to do, and she needed to do it now before it started to eat away at her. Not to mention, it was getting hard to keep up that balancing act.

Pinkie Pie sighed, this was it. The moment she had dreaded, but knew would have to come eventually. After a quick double check, just to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything, Pinkie Pie made her way downstairs. All of her friends were there to greet her, including Cheese Sandwich, who (along with Mrs. Cake) gave Pinkie a glance of encouragement. The Cakes were there as well, though Pinkie doubted Pound and Pumpkin Cake would really understand that their favorite foalsitter, and surrogate big sister, was also a superhero.

"I'm glad you've all come." Pinkie Pie said, after a moment of awkward silence "I suppose you're wondering why I called you all here today. It's because, there's something that I have to tell you, but I'm not certain if you'll believe me."

"Well, don't just stand there, get on with it!" Rainbow Dash encouraged "We're all ears."

"And whatever it is, I'm sure we'll believe you." Applejack said "After all, you've always been pretty good at telling us what's on your mind, even if we don't always understand it."

"Really?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"You don't have to ask, we mean it." Twilight replied "Whatever it is I'm sure it's fine."

"Indeed, after all we all have our secrets." Rarity nodded.

"Not one as big as this." Pinkie Pie said reluctantly.

"Go on, tell us. We're all ears." Fluttershy said sweetly.

"Well, since you really want to know." Pinkie Pie said, a hint of worry in her voice "The thing is, I-I-I"

"You what?" Spike asked.

"It's not something embarrassing, is it?" Mr. Cake asked.

"No, no. It's not that." Pinkie Pie chuckled before quickly calming herself "This is gonna sound crazy, but the thing is. Well, you all know about Spider Mare, right?"

"Yes." everyone replied.

"You're not gonna believe this, but Spider Mare is actually me." Pinkie Pie confessed. Everyone gasped (Cheese Sandwich and Mrs. Cake already knew so the news didn't catch them by surprise.)

There was a rather pregnant silence that fell over the room after Pinkie Pie's confession. It lasted for quite a while. Finally. Applejack broke the silence "You're right, I don't believe it." she said bluntly "I know that you and Spider Mare are never in the same place at the same time, but it seems way too obvious that the two of you are one and the same."

"I agree with Applejack." Rainbow Dash added "It's just way too obvious, there's no way it can be true."

"Not to mention, if you were Spider Mare, don't you think we would've noticed by now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Perhaps, but I took a lot of steps to ensure noone suspected anything when I wasn't around." Pinkie Pie explained "I'm pretty sure I pulled it off."

"Even so, if you really were Spider Mare we would've noticed something by now." Twilight said "I get that you greatly admire Spider Mare, but pretending to be someone you're not will only get you into trouble."

"None of you believe me huh?" Pinkie Pie asked, everyone (except for Mrs. Cake and Cheese Sandwich) shook their heads.

"As much as we'd like to believe you we can't." Rarity explained.

"Yeah, if you expect us to believe you you're going to have to show us proof." Spike said "And on that note, proof that's actually believable."

Pinkie Pie sighed, she had figured it would come to this. "You want proof huh?" she asked.

"Yes, if it isn't too much trouble that is." Mr. Cake replied.

"Very well then, if it's proof you want, just follow me." Pinkie Pie said, and motioned for everypony (except for Mrs. Cake and Cheese Sandwich, who already knew) to follow her up to her room.

Time seemed to pass slowly for everyone, but especially for Pinkie Pie, as they made their way upstairs. Finally, after what felt like forever, but had only been a few minutes, they had reached their destination. Pinkie Pie's room above Sugarcube Corner didn't look like any sort of place where a superhero might dwell. But everyone had learned by now that looks could very easily be deceiving.

"Here we are." Pinkie Pie said reluctantly "If you follow me I'll show you all the proof you want so badly."

"Well, don't mind us, go right ahead." Spike encouraged.

"Yeah, show us something convincing and we'll buy every word of what you've been saying." Rainbow Dash added.

"Alright, if you're sure." Pinkie Pie sighed, and opened the door to her room. She then motioned for everyone else to come inside. They did just that.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary from what the others could see. Pinkie Pie's room looked exactly like how it had always looked. Balloons, streamers, and other party decorations were everywhere. Portraits, of various parties of importance in Pinkie Pie's life, were hung on the wall, by the staircase leading to the balcony. And in one corner rested Pinkie Pie's trademark party cannon, polished and ready for action.

But there was still nothing that seemed to suggest that Pinkie Pie was actually Spider Mare. At least not yet.

"So far I'm not seeing anything Pinkie." Applejack commented "Where's that 'proof' you promised us?"

Pinkie Pie sighed once again. This was it, the moment of truth. This scene must've played out in her head a million times already, but it didn't make it any easier. There was no turning back now however.

"Well?" Rainbow Dash asked "Are you gonna show us anything?"

"Yes." Pinkie Pie said "Just give me a moment." She went over to her closet and began to move various outfits around. She knew what one she was looking for. Before long she had found what she was looking for, her spider suit. Without hesitation, she pulled it out. "Ah-ha! Here we go!" she proclaimed, and brought it over.

Everyone was shocked. Some of them rolled their eyes, just to make sure they weren't possibly seeing things. And indeed they weren't.

"Well?" Pinkie Pie asked "Is this proof enough for ya?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It all depends." Applejack quickly commented.

"Depends on what?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"On whether or not you can actually fit into that costume, and make it do the things that Spider Mare always does." Applejack explained "That shouldn't be too hard for you to do, right?"

"Of course not. No sooner said than done Applejack." Pinkie Pie replied, and quickly slipped into her costume. Before long, the familiar figure of Spider Mare stood before the crowd.

"That costume is simply dazzling." Rarity commented "Did you make that yourself?"

"Not really, I had help from your mom. I just made a few modifications." Spider Mare explained.

"Modifications?" Twilight asked.

"Modifications. What, is there an echo in here?" Spider Mare replied. That got everyone laughing.

"Well, you've got the humor down. I'll give you that much." Rainbow Dash said, regaining her composure "But seriously, what sort of modifications did you make?"

"The web shooter for one thing." Spider Mare explained "Though the webbing was all me, with a little help from a hoof me down chemistry set. I also added the belt where I can safely store my cartridges of webbing. When fighting crime it always helps to be prepared."

"No kidding." Fluttershy said.

"Well, all that's left for you to do is to fire that web shooter of yours." Applejack said firmly "If you can do that, I'll believe you truly are Spider Mare, and not some wannabe."

"You asked for it." Spider Mare said, and swiftly shot out a stream of webbing. Said webbing landed right in front of Applejack, who now had no reason to doubt that the figure standing before her was Spider Mare. And when Applejack believed it, so did everyone else.

"Why didn't you just tell us sooner?" Twilight asked.

"I was afraid." Spider Mare said, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Afraid of what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Afraid that, if you knew who I was, my enemies could use you to get to me." Spider Mare explained "But I've come to realize that, such a thing will happen even if you're kept in the dark. It is far better for you to know, so you can be prepared. That way, hopefully, you will avoid the terrible fate that befell Pokey Pierce."

"I see." Spike said.

"Well, at least you told us now." Applejack said sternly "And that's what matters most. But next time, if it's something really important, like this for example. Please don't keep it a secret from us, tell us as soon as you can so we can help you."

"I'll try Applejack." Spider Mare replied "That's all I can promise."

"And that's all we can ask for." Mr. Cake said.

"Thank you, all of you." Pinkie Pie said, removing her mask, and embracing everyone in a hug.

"Don't mention it Pinkie." Twilight said happily.

"It's funny really when you think about it." Pinkie Pie said solemnly, talking to a tombstone "How time just seems to fly by. It seems like only yesterday you were still alive, and everything seemed right with the world. And yet, it's already been so long. I know I'll never fully be able to overcome my guilt for the role I played in your death. But I know that you would want me to be happy, and continue on with my life. Your death will always remain my greatest failure, and I will continue to work hard to make sure I do not repeat it ever again. But at the same time, I know that I must move on and focus on the future. I cannot change the past, for if I could I would see to it that you survived. All I can do at this point however is beg one last time for your forgiveness, and pray that you watch me over until the day when I shall no longer be of this world. I am truly sorry, and I wish there was another way for me to express how I feel. It still hurts, thinking about what could've been. But there's nothing I can do about that."

There was a long silence, and Pinkie Pie just sat beside the tombstone the whole time, clutching a recently purchased bouquet of flowers. She planned to place those flowers besides said tombstone, to show her respect for the pony who lie buried beneath it. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional gust of wind, from the gentle summer breeze that was common in Ponyville at this time of year.

At last Pinkie Pie broke the silence and said "Well, I can't stay here for much longer, even if I wish that was the case. I have those who love me dearly, and care about me deeply. And I do not want to make them worry. I appreciated talking to you, and I hope you have forgiven me for what I failed to do in your moment of need. I will never forget you, but I believe the time has come for me to move on." Pinkie Pie placed the bouquet down beside the tombstone, and left the cemetery without saying another word.

On the tombstone Pinkie Pie had been sitting besides there was a small inscription. And it read as follows:

Pokey Pierce

A kind young soul, and would be husband, whose life was cut tragically short just when it seemed he was most happy.

Born: Year 974 of Luna's Banishment

Died: Year 4 of Luna's Return