Iron Gal

63 hours earlier...

The young woman stepped through the various individuals gathering in the lobby of the sheik hotel as they talked about things that mostly contained subtext all about themselves. All of them seemed to have some kind of drink in their hand and she was no exception, holding a cocktail glass filled with a strange blue concoction with a slice of lime in it, though she would have much preferred a nice cold glass of her favourite beer in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. Still she had to make do with what she had she supposed.

She looked around the lobby as she took another sip of her alcoholic beverage, admiring the décor. Not that she really cared or anything. It was cool she guessed, but her condo in Cloudsdale was much more impressive by far in her own personal tastes. There was more practical style to her home than the needless sprucing up here in this hotel. In her own modest (who was she kidding she was as far from modest as anyone could get) opinion, the decorations of the building needed to be at least twenty percent cooler to hold a candle to her own home.

Iris Stark set her now empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter with a passing motion. She hated attending these kind's of events. They more often than not ended with her having to carry three heavy and useless trophies to her car, drop them in the boot and have her driver take her back home, as she'd most likely be too drunk to walk straight.

Still that didn't mean she had the excuse to not look awesome. Her prismatic hair was tied into at the end into a ponytail that came down to the middle of her back, but still leaving an attractive fringe to fall over her magenta eyes. Her attire consisted of a cyan blue ballroom dress that had a single thick strap that came over her right shoulder, the hem coming down to her left ankle  on the left leg, but stopping about knee high on the right, giving the dress an interesting balance. The hem had a fluffy white edge to it, like clouds.

The dress had cost her a bit of a pretty penny, but Iris didn't care about costs. When your name was Iris Stark, costs no longer mattered. It didn't matter if it was a car she wanted, new gym equipment, more tools for her workshop or someone to enjoy a good romp in the bedroom for the evening. All she had to do was mention her name and things practically fell into her lap. A smile played across her face as she remembered how easy she had her life, how she was more often than not the centre of attention, not only for her brilliant mind, but for her stunning looks and often outrageous behaviour. The press just ate it up. Iris wasn't afraid of anything they might print on her. There wasn't a single black mark they could use against her after all.

Well asides from the obvious.

Iris ran an engineering and weapons company named Stark Industries, a company that had been made many years before by her father, Harold Stark. Her father sadly had passed away when she was nineteen, leaving the company in the hands of Iris' mother, Susan, for a short while. Iris had, two years later, inherited the company when she turned twenty one and continued the work her father had begun, using her own genius mind to keep producing weapons and technologies that would be used to protect Equestria, its people and its soldiers. She had of course heard various nick-names and slanderous titles being used to describe her but they didn't phase her in the slightest. To her there weren't any ethics involved. This was patriotism. It just so happened she was making money as she served her country.

And so long as that didn't change Iris was a-okay.

Iris took another glance around and caught the gaze of a few fair individuals staring at her. She gave them a coy smile. She had a reputation for 'hooking up' at these sorts of gatherings, and judging by the way she was being ogled it was clear what was on each of her admirers minds. She had certainly caught the attention of a fair few men tonight, and even some women too, something Iris didn't mind in the slightest.

She rolled her eyes. She could decide who to take home later in the evening. After all Iris had a wide range to choose from tonight and she wanted to choose wisely, though she did already have her gaze on a pretty looking woman with golden blonde hair and flawless skin. Judging from the way she held herself, Iris assumed she may have been a reported of some kind. She let a sly smile slide over herself. If the night played out like she expected it to, Iris would be giving that reporter the story of her life.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as they fell upon someone in the crowd. A tall, lean man with greying, electric blue hair in military dress. General Thaddeus Soarin Ross, former Wonderbolt and now serving in the Equestrian military.

She felt her stomach curdle in disgust.

It was no secret that Soarin and Iris didn't like each other. Soarin and his ex-wife Caroline, A.K.A. Spitfire, had once been in the Wonderbolts many years ago before they had a child, got married and chose different carrier paths, Soarin pursuing a future in the army, and Spitfire a job in sciences. Spitfire had become good friends with Iris' parents, joining Stark Industries and became like a second mother to Iris herself. Iris recalled the times when Spitfire would often express feelings of malcontent about her husband to Iris' mother and when the divorce eventually came, Spitfire had spent a few days at Iris' parents house.

iris had been a teenager at the time, and so had grown up with a disliking of Soarin. She had latched onto Spitfire even more after her father passed away, the older woman acting as Iris and her mother's pillar of strength, becoming more like Iris' best friend than a mother.

Needless to say, Iris didn't like Soarin. What she had done to deserve his hatred however, was anyone's guess but she didn't care. She didn't want the man's friendship anyway. Iris made a mental note to avoid Soarin for the entire evening. A mental note she knew would mostly likely prove useless as Soarin would no doubt do the same.

She grabbed a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter and drained it instantly. This was going to be a long evening.

Three hours later

Three awards. Three. All of them clunky and heavy and stupid and useless to her. The sooner she could deposit them in the boot of her car, the better. She glanced around as people stood in front of the hotel, the flashes of the camera's bright on their faces as they spoke to various reporters about why they were here and what they would be doing in the near future. Iris was on the lookout however for the blonde bombshell she had spotted earlier. Iris had caught her staring at her several times over the course of the evening, each time getting a little bit bolder.

Iris knew however she wouldn't approach her. which she was fine with. She enjoyed being the hunter much more than the prey.

She walked from the lobby out to the front of the hotel and was almost instantly swarmed by photographers. She paid them no heed and approached her car which had conveniently pulled up right next to Iris' intended target. She smiled to herself as she approached. The young reporter pushed her hair out of her eyes and approached Iris.

"Miss Stark," she said, her voice lacking the usual professional air that might be with a reporter.

"Iris please," she replied. "Miss Stark is my mother."

"iris. Do you have time for a quick interview?"

"For you sweetie? Definitely," Iris answered, giving her a sly wink. "And you are?"

"Cloud," she replied, smiling. "Cloud Chaser."

"Well then Cloud Chaser, let's get to it."

"Yes of course. Iris, what would you say to the people who refer to you as the people who refer to you as Da Vinci of our times?"

Iris snorted. "Ridiculous I don't paint."

"And what about you're other nickname?" Cloud asked. "As the Merchant of Death?"

"That actually has a nice ring to it," Iris smirked. "Tell you what, make it say, twenty percent cooler and print that for me would you toots? Anything else you wanted to ask me?"

Cloud blushed at being called 'toots' but pressed on. "With talk that the wars in Zebrica and Griffinstan potentially coming to a close, what will happen to your company? With no wars to fight what use will Equestria have for your weapons?"

"Excellent question," Iris smirked. "How 'bout we talk about it in the car?"

"E-excuse m-me?" Cloud stammered, looking like a teenage girl being asked on her first date.

"You heard," Iris winked. "I've seen the way you looked at me all night long. So if you want a roll in the hay with the one and only Iris Stark, now's your chance."

She opened the door wide enough fro Cloud to get in past her. She raised and expectant eyebrow at the other woman.  Cloud took a quick glance around her before she clambered into the back-seat. Iris followed grinning as she closed the door behind her and the car pulled away from the curb.

Cloud Chaser gripped the pillow beside her as she slept. She gave a small mewl like a cat as she stirred, dragging herself up from the dregs of sleep. She opened bleary eyes to the white of Iris' bedsheets, most of which had ended up tangled around her like some form of robe. She yawned deeply, one hand resting beneath her, the other fumbling blindly for Iris sleeping form. When she didn't find it, she pushed herself up and rolled over into a sitting position.

While she did recall falling asleep first Iris had still been in bed with her. Now she had disappeared. Cloud bit her lip, looking around nervously. She had no idea what to do with herself and felt more than a little bit awkward just sitting there, naked aside for the sheets twisted around her.

A door opened on the other side of the room and Iris stepped back in, toothbrush in her mouth as she scrubbed her teeth. She nodded to Cloud and gave her the same sly wink that she had given her the previous night. She had taken the opportunity to throw some clothes on at the same time, a navy blue tank top and black sports shorts. She lifted a metal cup to her mouth, removed her toothbrush and took a draft. She gargled for a few moments before spitting it out and back into the cup.

"Good for you too?" she smirked, washing her brush in the water in the cup. Cloud blushed and nodded. Iris' smile broadened. "Sweet. I always like to give back in kind." She winked again. "If you know what I mean."

A knock caused Cloud to look up at the door. Iris gave it sideways glance and a raised eyebrow.

"Miss Stark?" came a voice from the other side. "Is it possible to enter?"

"Yeah sure, come on in Scoots," Iris said nonchalantly.

The door opened and a woman about Cloud's own age stepped in. She was a few inches shorter than Iris, with deep purple hair tied back into a loose ponytail, a single bang framing the left side of her face, casting a small shadow across her lilac eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and freshly pressed black trousers, with matching heels that only contributed about an inch and half to her overall height.

"Can I assume business as usual this morning ma'am?" she said, giving a quick, discrete glance at Cloud.

"Yeah, sure," Iris said smiling. "C.C, I'll leave you with Scoots. I got some things to take care of downstairs."

"You have a weapons demo in Griffinstan tomorrow," Scoots reminded.

Iris rolled her eyes before walking out past Scoots. "I know," she replied, walking down the corridor.

Scoots looked at Cloud.

"I have already taken the liberty of selecting a change of clothes for you Miss Chaser," Scoots explained. "There is also a car outside waiting to take you to a location of your specification. Is there anything else you may require?"

"Um," Cloud said quietly. "Who... who are you? Are you, Iris'..."

"I am Scootaloo Anima, Miss Stark's PA and live-in assistant," Scoots explained. "I help her run Stark Industries, organise her appointments and help her with her... guests. Will there be anything else Miss Chaser?"

"Um, some privacy maybe?" Cloud said.

"Of course," Scoots nodded, setting down a small pile of clothing on the bed, along with an envelope. "This should be enough bits to cover the cost of your dry-cleaning for your other clothes. When you finished dressing please proceed downstairs and out the front door. Have a nice day."

She smiled sweetly and backed out.

Iris breathed in deeply, sucking in cigarette smoke as she did through the small carcinogen that she held between her lips with her teeth. She let out a deep sigh of relaxation through her nose as she felt the calming effects of the nicotine seep through her. She plucked it from her lips with a practised motion and flicked the ashes off of the end and into an ashtray beside her as she set back to work on a new blueprint.

"Ma'am, Miss Chaser has left the building," said an automated voice.

"Who? Oh yeah," Iris muttered, only half-listening.

"Busy working on your latest masterpiece ma'am?" the voice asked.

"You know it Tank," Iris smiled as she continued her work, barely listening to the A.I.

"Ma'am Miss Anima is coming downstairs," Tank warned. "May I also remind you that your flight for Griffinstan has now been delayed by a total of twenty-seven minutes?"

"Yeah yeah I know," Iris muttered, sketching a curved line freehand.

The door to her workshop opened behind her and Scoots stepped in, her perfect smile gone, replaced by a slightly irritated grimace, her arms folded across her chest. She tapped her foot, waiting for Iris to turn around and face her. When she didn't she gave an exasperated sigh.

"You are supposed to be on a flight to the other side of the planet right now," Scoots said.

"You know that's the third time I've heard that this morning," Iris muttered. "And you know something? I still don't care."

"What will it take to get you to stop playing with your toys and do some work?" Scoots sighed.

"I dunno. Come back in about, thirty minutes I might have an answer."

"Nice try. You know Princess Luna herself organised this weapons demo for you Iris."

"And?"

"And, she is not going to be too pleased when she finds out you didn't show up because you were playing with another silly design."

"It's not silly. It's very serious. I don't want Soarin coming back, breathing into my face and asking when it's going to be finished." She growled and crushed he cigarette in her grip, dropping the mangled remains into the ash tray before lighting up another.

"Yeah well, I think Soarin is going to be less pleased when you blow off this demo," Scoots stated. "Need I remind you he'll be in Griffinstan too you know?"

"And that's just one more reason not to get up," Iris replied.

"I'll call Spitfire."

Iris froze.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh I would."

iris groaned, setting her tools down and grinding the cigarette in the ashtray and extinguishing it.

"It's a good job you're pretty you know that?" Iris said with a playful smirk as she got up. "I'll be down in ten minutes, need to get changed."