Iron Mare

"Okay… That's it, Dash, just take it slow..."

Rainbow Dash slowly made her way down the ramp of the plane. She wore a plain grey jacket, zipped up in order to hide the glowing crystal embedded in her chest. Though she had said countless times back in Saddle Arabia (and even once in the plane before she fell asleep) that she could walk perfectly fine, Spitfire insisted on helping her along. And that meant going slower than a snail riding on a turtle’s back in a mud pit on an icy Hearth's Warming Eve.

"Spitfire, you can let go now. I think I got it."

Rainbow Dash pulled her leg away from the other mare and continued on her own. The Wonderbolt snorted before stepping forward and walking alongside.

"So the first thing we're gonna do is get you to the closest hospital and then-"

"Whoa, whoa. Back up there, filly," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Hospital? I don't need to go to a hospital."

"Rainbow, for the love of Celestia, you've been who knows where doing who knows what for three months. On top of that, you fell on your wings from at least a mile high and-

"What did you just say?"

There was something off in Rainbow Dash's voice. Spitfire paused before repeating her sentence. "You fell on your wings from a mile in the sk-"

"No, no. Before that."

"You were gone for three months?"

She watched as Rainbow's face drained of all color before she fell on her plot and sat there, looking down at the

concrete floor underhoof. "It feels like it was just a week."

"You were gone for three months, Rainbow..."

Rainbow Dash didn't respond and just kept looking forward.

"You gonna be okay?"

Rainbow Dash smirked, quickly returning to her cocky attitude.

"You kidding? I'm ALWAYS okay, Spitfire."

Rainbow playfully popped her friend on the back of her head.

"You mule," replied Spitfire.

The two continued on over to a carriage where two stallions waited to take them anywhere they wanted. Sure, motorized carriages were gaining popularity, but there was something Rainbow preferred about a good old-fashioned pulled carriage. Besides, she paid them well.

Spitfire stepped aboard and Rainbow quickly followed suit, sitting down in the seat across from her. There was a briefcase on the floor, which Spitfire picked up with her mouth and opened to reveal a large stack of papers and official looking documents. She began shuffling through them as Rainbow made herself comfortable.

"Ma'am?" grunted one of the stallions.

"Get us to the Dash Co. factory," Rainbow said, leaning back in her seat.

Spitfire was surprised. She looked up from her papers and over to Rainbow.

"Dash Co? Really?" she inquired. "I thought you'd want to get home and do all this later."

"Oh trust me, I will. And once I DO get home, I'm gonna take a week-long nap, but right now… There's something I need to get off my chest."

Spitfire didn't quite like how she said that. Still, she trusted her friend's judgment. After all, she had never steered her (or anyone for that matter) wrong before. Deciding that it wasn't anything to be concerned over, Spitfire continued the conversation.

"You DO know that it's not possibly for a pony to sleep an entire week, right? You'd have to get up to eat and go to the bathroom," she said.

"Those don't count. Everyone is always half asleep when they do that, so it doesn't count as being awake."

"Still. It’s not possible to keep sleeping for a week."

"Just you watch me, Spitty."

"Whatever you say, Dash..."

With that, the two stallions began pulling the carriage, and were off on their way. It wasn't much later that rain slowly began to fall from the sky. Droplets of water soon became a full-on downpour as the carriage rolled along.

Rainbow stared out the window of the carriage. It was a nice, stylish wagon on the outside, but the inside was even nicer. A fine, polished wood interior with red carpeting that covered the floor, cushioned seats and tinted glass windows. It offered privacy, and it was just plain cozy. Rainbow would often come inside it on a rainy day and just stay there with some soup or coffee, thinking things over while she watched the thunder and lightning outside, as she was doing right now.

Had it really been three months? It felt like she was in that mine for no more than a week, maybe two. But three months? That was unimaginable.

What did she miss? How did Equestria remember her? Her mind brought her back to what Grass Marks had said to her so long ago. "Living off Death". The words burned into her brain. All she had given the world was a bloodbath... All she did was make things that kill and destroy.

Not anymore, she thought to herself.  She was going to change everything. She was going to make it better.

"I got a message from Lighting Dust," she heard Spitfire say.

"What's she got to say?"

"She's so happy you're safe and she can't wait to see you."

"Yep," chuckled Rainbow Dash. "That's Dusty."

"She took over Dash Co. about nine hours after she was first told you went missing. Kinda quick to jump the gun if you ask me. She almost seemed excited to get behind the wheel."

"Eh, it's just how she is," said Rainbow, sitting on the cushioned seat like a couch. "It’s the personal assistant in her. She hears something's up and she jumps to fix it. That how she's always been. Hey, what about Scootaloo? How's she been?"

Spitfire continued shuffling through the various papers, stamping some with her hoofprint and using a pen to sign others.

"She's been a wreck," she said without looking up. "But she kept your house nice and tidy while you were gone, so there's that."

"She's such a good kid."

"She looks up to you like a big sister, Rainbow. She really hasn't been herself since you disappeared."

Rainbow opened one eye and looked across at Spitfire, who was still shuffling through the papers, before closing it again and smiling.

It was about an hour later when the two stallions pulled Rainbow's carriage up to a large, concrete building with a stone statue of Princess Luna that stood in the front. She looked out the window to see a large crowd of newsponies and photographers clustered around the entrance of the building. Rainbow Dash sighed and patted her multicolored mane back into shape. She didn't exactly look her best, but she just got back from being held captive for three months. She was pretty sure that no one would care about her looks. And even if they did... She didn't.

The door was pulled open from the outside and Rainbow Dash was greeted with Lightning Dust's smiling face.

"Here she is, everyone!" exclaimed Lightning, who moved aside to allow her to step out of the carriage.

She gave Lightning a hug before beginning to trot over to the building. Cameras flashed and reporters swarmed her with all kinds of questions about her experience. Rainbow merely walked alongside Lightning Dust into the building, where she found an even larger group of reporters bunched up in the lobby. Like the mice in the story of the Pied Pony Piper of Trottingham, the reporters all followed her as she walked over to a doorway that lead into a small auditorium.

Normally, she would use this room to discuss business models with any other companies interested in becoming part of or collaborating with Dash Co. Since she didn't have the time to organize a proper press conference, she supposed the auditorium would simply have to do. Besides, she didn't plan on taking up much time.

"Rainbow Dash!" she heard a very familiar voice exclaim from the crowd.

She couldn't stop herself from smiling as a young orange mare pushed her way through the news ponies and over to the stage. Scootaloo ran up to Rainbow and gave her a lung-crushing hug.

"I was so worried!" Rainbow heard her say.

"Hey, don't worry, kid," she said, hugging her young assistant back.

She gritted her teeth at the pain in her wings that came with the hug, but held her close nonetheless. She silently prayed that she would let go soon.

Scootaloo looked up at her; a few tears welled in her eyes, and one already halfway down her cheek. Rainbow smiled and lifted one of her hooves to wipe the stray droplet away.

"Never thought I'd see someone so happy to have their boss back.”

"Well... I guess I just didn't want to have to go job hunting again."

"Let’s face it kid, you're just happy to see me again."

"Yes, I am."

"That's what I thought," said Rainbow before lowering her voice to a hush. "Listen, Scoots, I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything, Miss Dash."

"Go stand next to Lightning Dust. If any of the press come up to her and ask her questions, just let me know what she says."

"You've got it, Miss Dash."

With that, Scootaloo made her way down from the podium and over to Lightning Dust, where she stood and listened attentively.

Though she knew for a fact that Lightning Dust was just being herself by taking over Dash Co. in her absence, what Spitfire had told her back in the carriage still stuck with her. It WAS kind of strange, but really? Was she really about to think that Lightning Dust had used the situation as an excuse to take control? Besides, even if Lightning Dust had jumped at the chance to take the reins, so what? It’s not like there was anything wrong with it. She was just prepared to keep everything running, that's all. ....Still, though, it couldn't hurt to have just a smidgen of an idea of what Lightning thought about her coming "back from the dead", as everyone called her return. And the best way to do that without blatantly spying on her was to hear what she would tell the reporters. It probably wouldn't reveal anything, but hey, what's the worst that could happen?

Rainbow Dash walked up to a microphone that stood atop the podium and waited for the reporters to file in and get settled. Deciding that this was as calm as they were going to get, Rainbow held her hoof above her head, causing a hush to fall over the room. She played with the zipper on her jacket before beginning.

"So... Hey guys," she said, not quite sure how to start off.

"It’s, uh... It’s great to be not dead!"

The crowd chuckled at this.

"So, I'm pretty sure all of you know what happened a few months ago. If you don't, and you're a reporter, you seriously need to move out from that rock you're living under. Like... now."

There came another wave of laughter from the crowd. Flank-kissers, Rainbow thought to herself.

Just then, she saw a hoof raised in the air above the front row of the audience. Rainbow Dash nodded at the blue unicorn, who held a magical grip on a pencil and notepad in front of his face.

"What happened over there?"

Rainbow Dash put her face into her hooves before looking back up and pulling the microphone closer.

"Uh... I guess you would say that I uh... had a wake-up call. I learned a lot about myself. But more importantly, I learned some things about Dash Co. that really hit home."

Some of the ponies in the audience began to ask their own questions before Rainbow Dash again quieted them down.

"I was in a, uh... a convoy, I guess you could say, of those motorized carriages. We were driving along, all hunky dory... then we were attacked. .....I saw a group of brave young ponies give their lives to protect me. They didn't deserve to die like that. They didn't HAVE to die like that. But they did.  They sacrificed themselves to save me."

Rainbow paused and licked her lips.

"And I learned something else. Something I spent the last several weeks wishing was a bad dream. I found out that the killers who murdered those young mares and stallions were using my inventions. I learned that out there, somewhere, there's a group of monsters that have MY inventions. The same inventions I spent my entire life creating. The same inventions that Equestria's Armed Forces use every day. Weapons... They've got my weapons... Things I built to help protect Equestria are in the hooves- I mean paws, of a group of murderers. And that's when I decided that..."

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath

"Starting right now... I'm gonna shut down the entire Weapons Development program in Dash Co. until I can think of something else that we can put our bits into that will-"

Rainbow's voice trailed off as the crowd suddenly roared with question after question.

Lightning Dust quickly trotted up and nudged Rainbow away from the microphone.

"Woah! That's uh... that's a pretty big announcement there, Rainbow Dash! Um... So, the point is that... uh... Rainbow Dash is back! And uh... We're all very happy that she's safe and sound and home now! So, for right now, I'm going to need to have a talk with Rainbow Dash before we can move forward with anything! Thanks for coming, everybody! But for right now, that's all, folks!"

Rainbow Dash played with her jacket zipper as she stood before the massive Crystal Charger, looking at some papers in front of her and pretending to read them over, using her free hoof to pull the zipper down just a tiny bit before pulling it back up. Looking first to her left, then her right, she slowly pulled the jacket zipper down all the way and looked at her chest, where her own Crystal Charger was buried. Rainbow looked back up at the bigger crystal and sighed.

There were a lot of things on her mind. Things that happened and things that were to come in the near future. One thing was for sure: She wasn't going to spend her life building things that kill. There were so many other things she could have been doing to make the world a better place, yet all she built were Saddle Guns, Dragon Breathers, Mini Bomb Rubies… Rainbow Dash pulled the zipper of her grey jacket back up, covering the Crystal Charger and smothering the light back down to a barely visible glow. There came a familiar voice from behind her.

"You know, if you were gonna pull something like that, the least you could have done was tell me..."

Turning around, Rainbow Dash watched as Lightning Dust walked over and stood next to her, glancing at the giant crystal before them. She turned to look at Rainbow.

"I COULD have, but I didn't. If I did, you would have tied me to the bed before you let me go in front of that mic," said Rainbow Dash.

She leaned against the metal railing that surrounded the Crystal and looked back at Lightning.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't have..."

"Well... I would have hogtied you and put you in the closet, if you want me to be honest," Lightning said as she shot her a grin.

"Well either way, you wouldn't have let me near a reporter."

"Can you blame me?" said Lightning Dust. "You just told the world that we're gonna drop.... well, EVERYTHING! How's that gonna end for us? Look, Rainbow you can't just tell the world that we're not making weapons anymore. I mean, that's what your dad built this entire thing around in the first place. It’s what we do. And what we do helps keep the balance of the world in check."

"Maybe it's not just about us. Maybe it's about something bigger. Want me to be honest? I vote we start playing around with Crystals again. See what we can do," Rainbow said as she looked at the large Crystal Charger next to them.

"You're kidding me right? The Crystal Charger? THAT big old piece of junk? Come on, Rainbow, that was a one-time thing. Even your father knew it wasn't going to take off. All it does is waste hundreds of thousands of gems, costs millions of bits, and for what? Just a big Crystal that takes up half of an entire building to-"

"And it works. You gotta trust me on this one, Dusty. I know it works. Just think what ponies all over would be able to do

with- Okay, seriously, don't ever play cards. You have the worst poker face I've ever seen. Just tell me who told you. Actually, don't even. Let me guess: Spitfire?"

"She called me as soon as you got back."

Rainbow sighed. Spitfire couldn't keep a secret for her life.

"You know, if you wanted to see it, you could have just said so from the start."

"Just let me see it, Rainbow Dash."

Again, Rainbow pulled the zipper down and opened the jacket just enough for Lightning Dust to see the glowing white Crystal. Lightning Dust looked from side to side before examining it closely, bringing her face up close to Rainbow's chest.

"Oh please, Miss Dust, I'm not ready for this. It’s only my second week on the job!" said Rainbow Dash in an overly dramatic tone. "Everyone will know how I got my promotion!"

She grinned as Lightning Dust looked up and shook her head like a colt whose dad had just told a corny joke in front of his friends, and all of them found it hilarious.

"And you're SURE it works?" inquired the opal Pegasus.

"I'm pretty sure it does. I'm still alive aren't I?"

"Okay, fine. Just let me take that over to the colts down at the lab to get a good look-"

"Oh yeah, Dusty! Let me just pull the thing that's keeping me alive out of my chest!" Rainbow pantomimed reaching up and hoofing over the Crystal. "There ya go!"

"Okay, okay then… So what should we do? Dress up in maid outfits and start working in Canterlot Castle?"

"Actually... you'd look pretty cute in the outfit. Get Spitfire in and you got a deal."

Lightning Dust simply sighed and put a hoof up to her face. "Rainbow, I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Ugh... You're impossible..."

With that, Lightning Dust turned around and began trotting toward the exit as Rainbow continued to snicker to herself. Acting quickly, Rainbow Dash ran over and put a hoof on Lightning Dust's back.

"Okay, okay," she said, still smiling just a bit. "I'll be Serious Dash now. So what's up?"

"Look. Just let ME handle this. The newspapers all around Equestria are gonna go crazy with this one. All you need to do is lay low for a while, for BOTH our sake. If you let me smooth talk the press and kiss up to the Board of Directors, then I think we might be able to get through this in one piece."

"Alright, I guess... Besides, I'm not even gonna get out of bed for the next week once I get home, so you won't have to worry about me."

"Just promise me you won't go off doing this ‘do now, think later’ thing anymore."

"Alright, I promise," said Rainbow. "But you gotta promise me something too."

"What's that?"

"You have to put on a maid's outfit and clean my room after this."

Lightning Dust rolled her eyes and began walking toward the exit again.

"I'm not doing this," she huffed.

"Oh come on, Dusty! I HAD to! Take a joke!" laughed Rainbow Dash.

She continued laughing to herself even after Lightning Dust had left the room. She had been trapped in a mine for 3 months. She deserved a laugh.

It was almost nine o’ clock by the time Rainbow Dash was able to finally get back home. Several times she had been stopped by some representative of something or other who took her aside and questioned her about what had taken place. Every single one of them took up an hour or more of her time. Hours that she could have spent sleeping. Normally, Rainbow wouldn't mind the attention; in fact, she would relish in it, but all she wanted to do right now was go home and make good on that promise to take the world's longest nap.

Rainbow yawned as she finally pushed her door open and trotted inside. The house was dark, and quiet, just like she hoped it would be. Outside, the rain continued to patter down from the sky as she shut the door behind her. She used her hooves to wipe some of the excess water from her face. Not that she was complaining. Rainbow Dash had always loved the rain, it was her favorite kind of weather, even as a filly.

"Honey! I'm home!" she called out.

The house instantly came to life. Various lights began turning themselves on and the sound of an electric current running through the different rooms filled the air.

A familiar, electronic-sounding voice echoed throughout her home. "Welcome home, Miss Dash. I’m glad to see that you have returned safe and sound, all things considered," it said.

"Things could be better, but hey, it's better than being dead. All I care about now is getting to bed and taking a week-long nap," said Rainbow in reply to her virtual butler.

"Madame, with all due respect, I do not believe that it is possible for someone to sleep an entire week. There are no such records that indicate anyone ever accomplishing such a feat."

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right T.A.N.K.? Somebody's gotta be the first one to do it. Might as well be me."

"Yes ma'am. I trust you want no disturbances while you sleep?"

"Exactly right.. In fact, if anyone comes to the door, just tell them I'm in a coma or something. You won't be too far off, so I wouldn't call it lying."

"Yes, Miss Dash," said the computer. "There came a message from Miss Scootaloo earlier today."

"Make it real quick."

"Apparently, she was approached by a dragon, claiming to be an agent of an organization calling itself ‘Designated Equestrians For the Enforcement of National Security in Equestria'"

"That's... probably the stupidest name for a government agency, or whatever, I've heard in my entire life. I mean, they couldn't come up with-" Rainbow stopped midsentence. "Did you say a dragon?"

"It was a baby dragon, ma'am"

"Oh, well I guess that makes a little more sense..... kind of. Still a bad name, though... So what did they want?"

"According to Miss Scootaloo, they wish to speak with you regarding the circumstances of your escape in Saddle Arabia."

"Eh, I'm not so sure that's really something a group of ponies for 'Enforcing National Security in Equestria.' would care about  But I guess I'll talk to 'em. I mean, I don't even see why they want to hear how I got out. Does that even count as something that would fall under 'Enforcing National Security in Equestria'?" Rainbow rolled her eyes and sighed once again Whatever... I'll deal with it later. There's a soft comfy pillow upstairs with my name on it.”

"Understood, madam. I will remain online should you require anything else of me."

"Fine by me, T.A.N.K. Just don't let anyone bother me while I'm sleeping."

"Understood."

With that, Rainbow Dash made her way up the stairs and toward her bedroom. She opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief before trotting in. Closing the door behind her, she locked the knob and bolt and looked out the window where the choppy Quiet Sea sent waves crashing against the shore below.

"Heh," she said to herself.

This was exactly how her morning started off on the day she left for Saddle Arabia.

Fitting, I guess, she thought, turning toward a mirror on the other end of her room.

She slowly pulled down the zipper of her grey jacket, allowing the light from the Crystal Charger to flood out.

For a moment, she simply stood there, staring at it in silence. Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof up to her chest and tapped the crystal twice, still unsure how to feel about the entire ordeal. How to feel about herself.

In the mirror, she glimpsed a flash of lightning that reached out to touch the surface of the water before disappearing, soon followed by the sound of thunder that gently shook her house ever so slightly.

Turning back around and looking at the comfy mattress before her, Rainbow Dash trotted over to her bedside table where a small, polished wood radio rested neatly on top. She reached over and pressed a button on the side, causing a static infested channel to leak out of its speaker. Rainbow Dash sighed before adjusting the dial on its side, switching between the different radio channels in Equestria.

"Welcome back to 'Your Bits Today,' Las Pegasus' number one radio station where we keep you up to date and discuss Equestria's financial infrastructure. Tonight we are discussing Rainbow Dash's groundbreaking decision to shut down the weapons manufacturing division of Dash Co. While some might say her behavior is the result of events over the past few months, I say that she shouldn't even be making any sort of business decisions. Especially not decisions regarding a multi-billion bit international corporation and that put so many ponies’ bits at risk. Shouldn't she be in a hospital, not playing with things that she obviously has been very out of touch with for quite some time-"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and turned the dial once more.

"-lier today, world-famous inventor Rainbow Dash shocked Equestria with the revelation that she plans to shut down the weapons manufacturing division of Dash Co. Some experts claim that this highly controversial decision can be attributed to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after her experience in Saddle Arabia. Just hours later, Equestria's stock market was flooded with-"

"-experts from all over Equestria are saying that Rainbow Dash is still in shock from her experience in Saddle Arabia, and that this has clouded her better judgment, therefore leading her to come to this unexpected conclusion. More from us here at WEQR as it comes alon-"

"Hey guys, glad you stuck around for the break. So I'm hearing a lot about this whole Rainbow Dash business, right? Let me start off by saying: Give the filly a break, will ya? I mean she just got back from Saddle Arabia where she was being held captive or something for like, what was it? Three months for pony's sake. I mean seriously, everyone, calm down. She just got back. And who knows? Maybe she has a really cool plan for Dash Co. or something. You don't know. Just give her a break already. And I can't seriously be the only one in the world who noticed that weird glow coming from under that jacket, right? That was kinda weird, but whatever. Anyways, once she's all better and back in action, I'm gonna challenge that filly to a rematch. She got me once in a game of cards, but she won't be so lucky next time. So, there's my two bits on this whole thing. This is your favorite DJ, Vinyl Scratch, coming to you live from Equestria On Air. While I go get a soda from the vending machine in the hall, you ponies can take a listen to some tunes. We got a lot of good stuff coming up tonight, so hold on to your plots."

Rainbow Dash turned the dial again after a barrage of loud electronic music began blaring out of the speaker.

"Lucky, huh?" she whispered to herself. "Yeah. Keep tellin' yourself that, hun. We'll do that rematch and I'll kick your flank just like I did last time."

After some tinkering, Rainbow finally settled on a channel where a pony who had a very upper class feel to her voice spoke in a hushed tone. And for once, she wasn't talking about her.

"Such a lovely storm outside, is it not? Weather like this calls for a very soothing piece. And I believe I have just the right one for the occasion. Mares and gentlecolts, sit back and relax as we listen to Coltbert's famous String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, 'Rosamunde.' One of my personal favorites. While the rain continues on into the night, I hope you stay with me, Octavia, on Equestria's number one channel for classical music and symphony alike."

There came a very slow and tame string piece through the speakers. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sighed. She switched off the bedside lamp and laid down on her back, instantly causing her wings to scream their protests. She quickly flipped herself over, with her belly lying flat on the soft, foamy mattress. She felt the Crystal pressing up against her chest, making the position quite uncomfortable. Rainbow decided that it was simply something she would have to learn to put up with.

Just give it a week or two, she thought. That'll give everyone time to go on about some other gossip.

For the first time in months, Rainbow Dash was lying in her own bed, happier than ever to be home again. She buried her face in the pillow and sighed.

They said it wasn't possible to sleep for a week. She didn't count grabbing a snack or going to the bathroom as waking up. After all, who was even fully awake when they did that stuff in the morning?

Like she said earlier, there's a first time for everything.

Rainbow shut her eyes as the classical music rocked her gently off to sleep.