Iron Mare

"…being universally described as a 'metal pony' was spotted over Las Pegasus last night.  No comment has been made by officials as of yet, but some have already speculated that this is some sort of secret Wonderbolt—"

"…captain of the Wonderbolts, has declined to comment on last night's strange event, saying only: ‘It sure was something—‘"

"…down, ponies.  Vinyl is back on the mic and she's ready to take on the night.  Anyways, did any of you out there catch what happened last night?  I was here playing music when this CRAZY fast... uh, thing, just FLEW past the station window!  I dunno what you think, but this DJ is going on record saying THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED ON THIS SHOW EVER!  Oh Celestia, did you SEE how fast it was going?!  I mean, Spitfire is probably over at the Wonderbolt HQ right now trying to wrap her head around the whole thing!  It was— Oh!  Wait a minute!  What time is it?  Oh jeez, I hope I'm not too late!  Hold on, guys, I gotta make a phone—”

"…last night was indeed a most unusual one.  Everypony is going on about this 'metal pony' as if it were the return of Princess Celestia herself!  Oh, that reminds me!  We must begin the call-in show!  That's right, Las Pegasus!  Starting now, I will begin to accept your calls!  Pray tell, everypony, did you happen to catch a glimpse of— Oh!  It seems as if we have our first caller already!  Goodness, you ponies must have quite a bit to say on the matter!  Hello, this is Octavia speaking, and you are live on— Vinyl?!  I know you're excited about seeing it fly past your station window last night!  What?  No!  Vinyl, I— Yes, I understand that your listeners can hear our conversation, mine can hear as well, but— Don’t you have some of your electronic music to play?  ...Well yes I do, but I was— Wait a moment!  How did YOU know I had begun the call-in segment?  Oh, please tell me you haven't been toying with our show schedule again.  ...I knew it.  Ugh, you are unbearable!  ...Oh, don't you use that tone of voice with me, Scratchy!  Just you wait until I get home tonight.  I'll give you what for!  I—"

*                               *                               *

Rainbow flipped the knob of the radio one more time, finally finding a station that was playing actual music rather than blabbering on about her stunt from the previous night

"Sounds like we're making news, T.A.N.K.," she said, turning back toward the glowing table and examining a projection of her latest and greatest invention.

"We have been the main theme of most of today's radio broadcasts, Miss Dash."

"Well, it's not the first time I've heard my name on the radio."

Rainbow looked the projection of her suit up and down.  "Okay, so we know it works.  We know it can fly.  We know that it should protect me from most outside forces.  But omnium alone isn't gonna cut it if we get struck by lightning in the air.  What can we do?"

"According to DashCo records, the material used to construct the Sparkle Satellite was a top-secret titanium-dipped omnium alloy.  It is meant to retain omnium's endurance as well as protect the satellite from any natural forces."

"Let me see what it would look like.  Pull up a model," said Rainbow, trotting over to the small fridge she kept in her Boom Room.  Opening it up, Rainbow found a green bottle of AppleFamily Classic and picked it up.  Using her teeth she pulled off the top, causing foam to leak down from the rim of the bottle.

"The render is complete, Madame."

She looked up to find a rotating image of her very same suit, albeit colored gold now.  Rainbow made a face.  "Oh yuck, it looks awful.  Give it a paintjob.  A cool color, like... red!"

"Yes, that should help keep you under the radar," said T.A.N.K.  as the image of the golden suit fizzled away.

"You know something, T.A.N.K?  Your attitude is starting to grow on me," she said before taking another sip from the bottle of cider.

The image of the suit returned, the golden hue having been reduced to a mere trim among a coat of glossy red paint that covered most of the armor.

"And I like that too!  Assemble it!"

Just then, the soft rock playing from her radio was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the front door of her mansion that played through the speakers.  Rainbow Dash glanced down at her watch before looking over at the clock on the wall.  2:55.  Spitfire must be early.

Rainbow rushed away from the table projector.  She grabbed her jacket in her mouth and zipped it over her chest, a ritual she was slowly growing used to.

*                               *                               *

Spitfire stood outside Rainbow Dash's front door, holding a mobile telephone up to her ear.  "No.  It’s not— No, the Wonderbolts don't even have the technology to build something like that.  You're not listening.  We're not— we're not involved.  What?  No!  I am not acting suspicious!  I'm not—"

She dropped the piece of hardware to the ground and kicked it into a nearby bush, deciding that it was a better than letting some conspiracy theorist get the better of her.  All day she had been putting up with calls from Canterlot and from ponies who obviously had nothing better to do than track her phone number down and try to tell her how Equestria was hiding some sort of mutant machine/pony hybrid from the public.  Quite frankly, she had heard enough about "government cover ups" and "alicorn magic," and didn't care to hear what some reporter from a newspaper named The Tattler had to say.  Had Rainbow Dash not called her over, she would probably still be at the Wonderbolt headquarters, once again explaining that neither she nor the Wonderbolts had anything to do with the anomaly from the previous night.  And, on top of all this, she was still doing her best to coordinate the latest Wonderbolt strike against the Diamond Dogs in Saddle Arabia, which in itself was stressful enough to break the back of a donkey.  At least Rainbow Dash would be able to get her mind off of the whole—

"So what do you know about what happened last night, Spitty?"

Of course.

"I know that I've heard enough conspiracies to last a lifetime."

"What?"

"Never mind," said Spitfire, choosing not to elaborate any further.  "What is it you wanted me for, Rainbow?  I have work to do."

"I need to show you something," Rainbow Dash said as she turned around and trotted back in.  Spitfire rolled her eyes and followed the cyan-blue Pegasus through the door.

*                               *                               *

It's okay, Rainbow.  Just tell her that you were the thing in the air last night.  Easy.  She's your best friend.  What's she gonna do?  Arrest you?  Can she even do that?  ...WOULD she even do that?

The thoughts raced through Rainbow's mind even as she unlocked the door of her Boom Room.

"Enough with the mysterious stuff, Dash.  I'm very busy and I have a long day—"

Rainbow pressed a button on the wall, lighting up her Boom Room and revealing the silver suit of armor in the center.

"Ahead of... me..." Spitfire's voice trailed off.

"Remember how I said I would get myself back in the air if it killed me?  Well... there it is."

Spitfire was speechless.  In front of her was not only the most incredible machine Rainbow Dash had ever built, but the fabled "metal pony" everypony in Equestria was talking about.  This was amazing!  This was perfect!  Now she would be able to get everyone off of her flank about it being a secret Wonderbolt project and Rainbow Dash would—

"But you can't tell anyone."

"What?  Why not?  This is amazing!  Do you know how much—"

"I want you to see something."

Rainbow Dash trotted over to the table projector and pressed a button, bringing up a model of the silver suit of armor facing a projection of one of the Diamond Dogs, armed with a twisted Saddle Gun on his back.  The projected dog opened fire with its gun, sending bullets flying at the suit of armor, which merely stood there.

"Now watch this."

In one motion, the suit of armor lifted up one leg and pointed at the dog.  The Dazzler Thruster on the bottom of its hoof glowed for a moment before shooting off a bright beam of white energy that hit the dog, sending it flying backwards and out of sight.  Seconds later, the word "Fatality" hovered over where the projection had once been.  Spitfire stood there, at a loss for words for the projection in front of her.

"I discovered that little side-effect last night when I was conducting a few tests with the Dazzler Thrusters," Rainbow said, turning to face her Wonderbolt friend.  "It’s not just a suit, Spitfire, it's a weapon.  That's just a simulation.  Imagine what it would do if it fell into the wrong hooves."

"So what do you want to do with it?"

"I want to end the war with it, Spitfire.”