Iron Mare

Rainbow sighed and pushed open the door of her carriage, squinting her eyes as the flashes of countless cameras went off in her face.

As Rainbow Dash stepped down from the stallion-pulled carriage and onto the soft, red carpet underhoof, she quickly scanned the area for anypony she recognized.  Up ahead she saw Lightning Dust, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with a news pony she wasn't able to fully make out before her eyes were bombarded with several more camera flashes.  Not quite sure where else she should go, Rainbow began making her way across the red carpet in the general direction of where she had seen Lightning Dust seconds ago.

"So tell me, Dusty," said Rainbow as she trotted up to her friend, who looked legitimately surprised to see her.  "What's the world coming to when a mare has to crash her own party?"

Lightning Dust grinned and wrapped both hooves around her in a warm hug.  "Didn't expect to see you here, Rainbow."

"Yeah, well, even I need to get out of the house sometimes."

"Just don't do anything stupid, Rainbow.  I think I finally have the Board of Directors where we want them.  The last thing EITHER of us need is for something to mess it up."

"Lightning, come on," said Rainbow, confidently puffing out her chest.  "It’s me!"

"That's what I'm worried about..."

Rainbow only smiled at the remark and pushed her way into the lobby.

* * *

Truth be told, the DashCo Firefighter Fundraiser was more a public relations stunt than an actual gesture of goodwill at the time of its conception several months ago.  The idea was simple:  Gather a collection of Equestria's richest and most famous ponies under one roof in the name of a good cause, and gain instant publicity for it.

“So far,” Rainbow thought, “it's working.  Now where's the bar?  A-ha, there it is!”

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief.

A nice mug of cider will do the trick, she thought.

"Cider.  Apple Family, if you got it," she said, putting three golden bits into a nearby tip jar.

It wasn't that she disliked DashCo events, it was...  actually, that was exactly the case.  Rainbow disliked her own company's

events, ironically enough.  They always felt so uptight and very droll, which was a direct contrast to her very laid back and easygoing attitude.

The bar colt placed a mug of the fizzy liquid before her, which she promptly took a sip from.

At least Lightning Dust has those board of director ponies where we want them,Rainbow thought.  I guess that's-

"Miss Dash?" came an unfamiliar voice from off to her right

Turning to look at whomever it was who had pulled her from her thoughts, Rainbow was faced with a rather strange sight.  Sitting on the stool next to her was a small light-purple dragon, about half her height, with green spines running down from his head to the tip of his tail.

"Hi.  My name is Spike, I'm from—"

Scootaloo's mention of a previous encounter with a baby dragon came to mind as Rainbow took another sip of cider.  "Oh yeah, aren't you with the, uh..."

"Designated Equines For the Enforcement of National Security in Equestria," finished the dragon, sipping from a glass of what Rainbow assumed to be juice.

"Yeah, I remember, now.  Dear Celestia, couldn't you have come up with a better name?"

"I didn't exactly come here to discuss the name of the ponies I work for, Miss Dash.  I'm here on very serious business.  Time can be of the essence with these things.  Can we make an appointment?  Something close?  Say, this Thursday at DashCo HQ?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and looked Spike over.  He was obviously a baby dragon, but he certainly knew what he was after.

"Thursday, you got it," she said with a grin as she took another sip.

"Thank you," replied the dragon, returning the smile before reaching over to drop several bits in the same tip jar and walking off.

"Designated Equines..." Rainbow scoffed to herself, bringing the mug up to her mouth.

"Rainbow?" came a more familiar voice, to her left this time.

Rainbow turned and found herself face to face with Lightning Dust.  A concerned look on the older mare's face told Rainbow

that whatever she was about to say wasn't good news.

"We need to talk.  Right now."

Lightning pointed off to a less populated corner of the large ballroom and tilted her head for Rainbow to follow.  Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed her mug and fell into step alongside her friend.

"We have a major, major situation," she said, obviously trying to keep her calm in spite of whatever the "situation" was.

"What's up?"

"I just got off the phone with the Equestrian Coast Guard.  They found one of our ships drifting in the Quiet Sea.  Crew gone, and cargo entirely missing," she whispered.

Rainbow slowly pulled the mug away from her mouth as Lightning continued.  "That's not even the scary part:  It was carrying the final shipment of recalled DashCo weapons from Saddle Arabia, including..." Lightning's voice trailed off.

"Including what?"

"A Rainboomer."

Rainbow's heart stopped cold as her eyes met Lightning Dust’s.

"I thought we halted all production of weapons months ago," she whispered.  "Why do we have  a Rainboomer in Saddle Arabia?"

"It was part of the two you had shipped over for your demonstration four months ago.  You detonated one, and we were going to bring the second one back to Equestria for safekeeping.  The crate we had it shipped in was unlisted, so whoever did this must have found the Rainboomer by accident."

"Do we have any idea who did this?"

"They're still working on it, but they reported finding pawprints all over the deck."

Rainbow felt the mug drop out of her hoof and heard it shatter on the ground below.

* * *

"The zebra citizens of a small Saddle Arabian town woke up this morning to the sound of gunfire and explosions outside their homes in what officials have described as a 'hostile takeover' of the town.  A group of insurgents, calling themselves the Diamond Dogs, are clearly on a mission of some sort.  A mission that is proving fatal to anyone who—"

Rainbow Dash turned off the radio.  She couldn't bear to listen anymore.  As she sat in her Boom Room, thoughts of guilt

quickly filled her mind.

She knew she was responsible for the situation that countless innocent zebras in Saddle Arabia currently found themselves in.  Even though Lightning Dust had managed to keep the story from making headlines all over Equestria, Rainbow knew deep down that, at the end of the day, she was ultimately responsible for whatever the Diamond Dogs did with her weapons.  She had invented them, she had built them, she had tested them, all with maximum destruction in mind.  And now, they were in the hands of terrorists and being used against innocent civilians.

Rainbow grit her teeth in frustration, downing the final sip of cider from her mug before tossing it over her shoulder where it crashed on the floor behind her.

"T.A.N.K.!" she called out.

"Yes, Miss Dash?" came the immediate reply.

"Time to suit up.  We're going on a little field trip."

"Miss Dash?"

"Upload yourself into the newest suit and lets get moving."

Rainbow trotted into the center of the room and took a deep breath as the red and gold suit of armor began to assemble itself around her for the first time.

* * *

Over the mountain, a Rainboomer bomb went off, sending a large, multicolored cloud out in all directions that quickly swallowed the entire village.

The attack had started earlier that morning when Zecora had first seen the Dogs lining up along the surrounding mountains.  As time went on, their methods of assault grew more destructive.  From the feared Saddle Guns to the dreaded Rainboomer, the Diamond Dogs had used all of their resources to bring the entire village to its knees.  Houses burned and buildings crumbled to the ground in a cloud of sand.

A young zebra colt Zecora had come across while leading others to relative safety began coughing as the cloud from the

Rainboomer explosion swallowed the shack they hid in.  It wasn't long before Zecora found herself and the five others with whom she shared the tiny room struggling to breathe as well.  Zecora squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the younger zebra pull her close.

"Do not fear, little one," she whispered to him.  "Better things are sure to come."

Just then, the door was kicked in, causing all of them save Zecora to cry out in fear.  In walked a large Dog, wearing what

appeared to be a gas mask and a Saddle Gun on his back.  In one movement, he grabbed Zecora by the scruff of her neck and began to drag her out.  The others were soon forced to follow suit.

Zecora found herself thrown into the sandy earth under hoof and the metal barrel of a gun pressed against her head.  By now, the rainbow-colored cloud had dissipated, allowing her to see all the Dogs surrounding her.

"You..." she heard one of the Dogs whisper.  "You were the one who destroyed our home!"

The sand rubbed roughly against her face as she was pushed deeper into the ground.

"Yes, I was.  Rainbow Dash and I both escaped your filthy-"

She felt the wind kicked out of her before she could finish.

"Shoot the mongrel!" another dog barked in his native tongue.  "This time she will not escape!"

Just as Zecora felt the barrel of the Saddle Gun press even harder against her head, the air was filled with a deafening roar.  Both she and the Diamond Dog looked to the sky just in time to catch a glimpse of a red and gold metal being flying down from the heavens and crashing down into the sand in front of them.

* * *

Rainbow Dash turned her head around, finding every dog and zebra staring at her in awe.

A Diamond Dog opened fire with his twisted Saddle Gun, causing her to barely flinch before she raised her hoof and took aim at the offending mutt.  A bright white beam of energy shot out from her hoof and struck him directly in his chest, sending him flying backwards and into the wall of a nearby shack.

Rainbow Dash turned her body to face the next dog and sent him flying with another burst of energy.  Within seconds, the Diamond Dogs had all opened fire with their weapons, none of which were able to pierce the omnium shell that covered Rainbow's body.  She turned again and fired another beam of energy at a Dog off to her right.

By now, the Diamond dogs were beginning to get the message that their modified guns were having no effect on Rainbow's armor.  Despite this, they continued firing in hopes that they would be able to slow her down.

"Aww..." yelled out Rainbow, in a mocking tone.  "Having trouble?"

Two small flaps opened on both of her shoulders, revealing several small tubular devices under each of them, There was a beep, and within seconds, each of them fired a small bullet directly at the group of the Diamond Dogs, downing a majority of them instantly.

"Chew on that," she said as the air went silent.

The sound of gunfire had stopped and Rainbow stood silently over the remaining Diamond Dogs.  She stared at them through her mask.

"Get out," she said simply.

The dogs simply cowered, shaking in fear.

"I said..." Rainbow raised her hoof, pointing it directly at the group.  "Get out!"

She smiled as each of them dropped their weapons and ran away as fast as they could.   “Mangy mutts…” she thought to herself.

"Miss Dash, according to the Wonderbolt Intel balloons above you, there are several carriages full of Equestrian Guards on their way now.  ETA is five min—"

"So it's time to get out of here."

Rainbow turned to the zebras, all of whom still stared in shock.

"Its been fun, kids, but I gotta go!"

With that, Rainbow braced herself for takeoff and within moments was flying high above the clouds once again.

* * *

Rainbow hummed to herself as she zoomed through the air.  A small image of Spitfire's face suddenly popped up before her eyes, followed by the sound of her voice.

"Alright, Rainbow, what are you up to?" said the Wonderbolt in a rather serious tone.

Rainbow though for a moment.  "Uh...  just out for a stroll."

"What's that noise?"

It suddenly occurred to her that the fact that she was a good several miles in the air would have an effect on the sound quality of the telephone she had implemented into the suit of armor.

"I'm....  on the roof of my house."

"I thought you said you were out for a stroll."

"Yeah, I am," Rainbow said, trying to quickly piece together an alibi.  "I'm just out for a stroll on the roof of my house."

"Have I ever told you that you are probably the weirdest mare I've ever met?"

Spitfire bought it.  She actually bought it.  Rainbow let out an audible sigh of relief before replying.  "A couple of times, yeah."

"I got a question for you."

"What's that?"

"There was some sort of Diamond Dog incident that some of our colts in uniform were about to take care of in a town right by where you were being held captive.  When they got there, the zebras were talking about a 'metal pony savior' who liberated the town from the dogs.  Rainbow...  what did you do?"

Rainbow's heart sank as she realized that the game was up.  Still, she tried to play it off.

"Me?  Spitty, I'm offended!  I’m at home, just walking around the roof."

"You're sure you don't need to tell me anything about what just happened?  Because my Intel balloons picked up a small flying object several miles from the area and I have two Wonderbolts out to investigate."

"Nope!" said Rainbow, a little too quickly.

Just then, Rainbow heard the unmistakable 'woosh' of wings creeping up behind her.

"Good," she heard Spitfire say, "because we're about to blow that thing out of the sky."

"You what?!"

The image of Spitfire's face suddenly disappeared and was replaced with two smaller projections of a pair of Wonderbolts flying side by side.

"They're behind me, aren't they, T.A.N.K?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Peachy.  Alright, put all available power into the thrusters and lets get going!"

Rainbow spun in the air as she felt herself speed up.  The Wonderbolts were quick to catch up, however, and soon were keeping pace with her while they zoomed through the air.

Rainbow felt a small pop in the back of her armor.  It didn't take her a second to realize she was being shot at.

"Saddle guns!" she exclaimed.

There was no immediate threat.  Just like the Diamond Dogs, the Wonderbolts had no hope of piercing her armor.  However, if one of their bullets were to happen to hit her hooves, the fragile balance of flight would be thrown off or even worse, the thruster would fail.  The last thing Rainbow needed was to crash land into the sand again.

"Alright, call Spitfire, T.A.N.K!"

The image of Spitfires face returned, soon followed by her voice.

"Yeah?"

"Hi, Spitty," began Rainbow in a cheerful tone.  "Remember when I said I was walking around the roof of my house?"

"Yes"

"I lied.  That thing you're trying to blow out of the sky?  It’s the same thing I used a few nights ago when I—"

"Look, Rainbow, you do not send civilian technology into a war zone when—"

"Gee, Spitfire, I'd love to hear a lecture about all of this, but I've got two Wonderbolts shooting heavy bullets at me right now!  Call them off!" Rainbow yelled the last bit as she felt several more bullets strike the back of her body.

"You and I are going to have a long talk about this when you get back to Equestria."

"Fair game, Spitfire.  Now get these Wonderbolts off my flank!"

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" asked Lightning Dust.

Rainbow sat down in the middle of her living room and stared at the floor below while the older mare continued.  Spitfire, who had been pacing behind Lightning Dust, stopped in her tracks and opened her mouth to continue where she had left off.

"You could have been killed, or worse, captured again, Rainbow!  Do you even understand the magnitude of what you just did?”

Rainbow looked up, having heard enough.  "What was I supposed to do?  Let them murder those zebras?  Zecora was in that village; she would have been killed if I didn't step in!"

Spitfire trotted over and removed the sunglasses from her face, glaring at Rainbow with her orange eyes.

"I needed to,” finished Rainbow.

"You didn't need to do anything.  We had it under control."

"Oh, and you were doing an amazing job with that, Spitfire.  Look how well you stopped that Rainboomer from going off."

Spitfire huffed and turned back around.  "You're impossible," she said, glancing over at Lightning Dust.

Lightning put a hoof on the Wonderbolt's shoulder before looking back at Rainbow Dash.

"She's right, Rainbow.  You can't just fly off into a war zone like that."

"What don't you two get?  I did what I felt was right.  I saw zebras suffering, dying.  Because of me.  Because of the things I built.  I needed to stop those Dogs before they destroyed the entire village."

Rainbow Dash stood up from her chair.  "You two stood around while I reaped the benefits of death and destruction.  Now that I'm trying to do something good for once, you tell me I'm wrong.  Well you know what?  I know what I'm doing is right."

She paused and looked at Spitfire.  "Tell me, how many soldiers could have been killed if it were just them vs.  the Dogs?  How many lives did I save?  How many families don't have to be sent a letter telling them that daddy didn't make it?"

Spitfire wordlessly looked down at the floor.  Lightning Dust stepped forward and looked Rainbow in the eye.

"Rainbow Dash, don't be stupid.  The Equestrian Soldiers can handle themselves.  They've been trained exactly for this kind of thing and—"

"That's not what I saw when the Diamond Dogs attacked my convoy.  They were caught totally off guard.  They needed someone to help them.  I can be that pony.  I'm sick and tired of being known for death and destruction.  I want to be known for being something better than that.  And now, I can be.  I can be somepony who saves lives instead of destroying them!"

"Rainbow, you might be smarter than anyone in Equestria, and you might have a new toy, but that doesn't make you a superhero," said Lightning Dust.

"I can be!  But I need both of your help to make it possible!"

Spitfire, who had been silent for a good few moments suddenly spoke up.  "I'm in."

"You are?" said the other two mares in unison.

"I might not like it—in fact, I hate it—but Rainbow Dash is right.  How much longer will this war go on?  How many have been killed?  It’s all so stupid.  And I'm tired of signing condolence letters to families who've lost someone.  How can the three of us have a tool that we can use to end an entire war and not use it?"

Spitfire looked over at Rainbow Dash, pulling her sunglasses down over her eyes once more.  "I'm in..."

Rainbow Dash couldn't stop a smile from growing on her face as she stepped over to give her friend a hug.  Lightning Dust was left across from them, unsure if Spitfire had lost her mind or had a massive revelation.

"Spitfire, you can't be serious..." she said, still shocked.

"I'm dead serious.  I want this stupid war to end as much as the rest of Equestria.  If there's any pony in the world who would be able to end a war all by herself, it's Rainbow Dash.  And if she needs my help, then, by Celestia, I'm going to help her."

Rainbow Dash turned to face Lightning Dust and reached out her hoof.

"We still need one more pony to help, Dusty..."

Being older than both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash automatically made Lightning Dust a sort of authority in Rainbow's eyes, quite possibly the only one she listened to.  After her father had died, she had been the closest she had to any sort of parental figure in her life and, up to now, had always been there to keep Rainbow's constant shenanigans in check.  To gain the support of a mare who had always meant so much to Rainbow Dash would mean to gain her permission in a metaphorical sense.

Lightning Dust sighed.  "You're sure you can't be hurt in that thing?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of the red and golden suit of armor.

"Dusty, nothing they throw at me will ever break through."

After another moment, Lightning Dust reached her hoof out and took Rainbow's.