Iron Mare

"How long has she been in there?"

"Almost three days...  She hasn't left her room once.”

"It shouldn't have happened to her.  No Pegasus should ever have to lose her wings...  You're sure they can't do anything to fix her?"

"Spitfire, there's nothing to fix.  The cartilage in her wings was crushed to powder.  And the little bit that managed to stay in one piece wouldn't be enough to get even one wing working again."

Spitfire and Lightning Dust stood next to each other on the balcony of Rainbow's large wooden house, staring out into the Quiet Sea.  Scootaloo had been the first to share the news with them several days ago.  At first, neither of them were able to fully grasp the idea of one of Equestria's best flyers being permanently grounded.  All her life, Rainbow Dash had always been proud of her flying abilities, at many times to the point of overconfidence.  And now that she couldn't even get herself off the ground, neither mare could imagine what was going through her head nor did they want to.

Spitfire turned to Lightning Dust, who continued looking out at the calm, blue water.  "Do you think she's gonna be alright?" she asked.

Lightning closed her eyes and took in some of the salty sea air.  "I don't know.  Losing your wings is losing a part of who you are.  It’s-"

"It's alright, you two...  I'm fine."

Spitfire and Lightning Dust both turned around to see Rainbow Dash standing in the middle of the open sliding glass door.  Her mane was disheveled and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles, a clear sign that she hadn't slept for some time.

"Rainbow," said Lightning Dust, who trotted up to her and gave her a tight hug.  "Are you okay?"

"About as okay as I can be," said the rainbow-maned mare in a broken voice.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" asked Spitfire, who had also come to give her a hug.

"What's there to do?  My wings are gone.  I can never fly again."

"Oh, don't be like that, Rainbow Dash.  I'm sure you'll-" Spitfire's voice trailed off when she saw the hopelessness in the other mare's eyes.

"Look, if it's okay with you two, I need some time on my own," said Rainbow, yawning.

"You sure you're going to be oka-" started Lightning.

"I said I'm fine, alright?" Rainbow cut her off.  Her voice made it painfully obvious that she was fighting back the tears building up in her eyes.

Lightning Dust glanced over at Spitfire, who merely pulled her shades down over her eyes and cleared her throat.  Looking back to Rainbow Dash, she merely sighed.  Without a word, both she and the Wonderbolt turned around and began trotting back to the front door of the mansion. As they continued, Lightning Dust heard Rainbow Dash sniffling behind them.  She continued until both walked out of the front door, which automatically closed itself behind them.

"I've never seen her like this," Spitfire whispered.  "She's totally broken..."

Lightning Dust, having known both Rainbow and Spitfire since they were fillies, understood that Spitfire looked up to Rainbow much like Scootaloo did, albeit much less noticeably. Nearly everyone who knew Rainbow Dash better than what they read in the supermarket tabloids and heard on the gossipy press radio looked up to her, and often times even wanting to model themselves after her.  Not that she could blame them, either. Rainbow Dash was smart beyond words, knew just about everything there was to know about machines, a personal friend of Princess Luna herself, an inventor, rich, famous, brave, beautiful, and an amazing flyer.

Well, at least she WAS an amazing flyer...

*                *                *

Rainbow Dash sat alone, her head down and tears running down her face.  Spitfire and Lightning Dust had both left just moments ago, leaving her to wallow in depression.  She continued crying for a few moments after she heard the front door close downstairs.  As soon as she was sure the pair was gone, she sniffled one last time.  Without looking up from the ground, she brought her hoof up to her face and wiped another tear from her cheek.

"They gone?" she managed to choked out.

"Miss Spitfire and Miss Dust have indeed left the premises," came the robotic reply from inside.

Immediately, Rainbow perked up, sniffled one last time and rubbed her nose.  "Alright, good.  Let’s get to work."

With that, Rainbow Dash, patted her mane down as best she could, wiped her nose with the back of her hoof and stepped back inside.  She trotted over to her bedroom where she looked in the mirror, something she quickly regretted when the bright light of the Crystal attacked her eyes.  She squinted and turned away, feeling around for her jacket on the floor.  She felt her hoof touch the thin fabric nearby.  Less than a moment later she pulled the zipper up along her chest and covered the beaming white Crystal, smothering the light underneath to a barely visible glow.

"Gotta remember that," she whispered to herself as she pat her mane down to its normal, somewhat-neat state.

"With respect, Miss Dash, I fail to understand the reason behind feigning depression to send Miss Dust and Miss Spitfire away," said T.A.N.K.

"Simple, T.A.N.K.  With them gone, I can start working."

Rainbow walked over to the bathroom connected to her room and turned the faucet on, watching the water flow out into the basin of the sink below.  She propped herself up against the sink and began splashing water onto her face, washing away any tears left behind from her performance.

"Were the fake tears necessary?" asked her invisible butler as Rainbow began using a towel to dry herself off.

"Mmm...  nope," was Rainbow's simple reply.  She reached over for her toothbrush next to the sink, picking it up in one hoof and grabbing a tube of toothpaste on the other side with her mouth.  After dabbing some of the paste from its container onto the brush, she tossed it to the side and began scrubbing away at the inside of her mouth.  She continued brushing her teeth in silence for a bit before T.A.N.K.  once again questioned his master's motives.

"Was there any purpose behind it?"

Rainbow Dash spit the toothpaste from her mouth and examined her teeth in the mirror.  She mumbled something about them having dulled a few shades from their usual pearlescent glow as a result of her stay in the mine.  That slop she had been eating probably didn't help either.  She ran her tongue along her two front teeth for good measure before using the same towel to wipe her mouth clean.

"I was bored.  And I needed some reason to ask them to leave without sounding like I'm hiding something.  But mostly bored," she said, walking out of her bathroom.  "You're asking a lot of questions today, aren't you?"

"I meant no disrespect, Miss Dash," came the computer's voice over the speakers that lined the walls and ceilings.

"Oh please, T.A.N.K.  If I wanted a total ‘yes’ pony, I would have just hired one instead of creating Equestria's one and only computer with a personality.  There are hundreds of ponies out there who would kiss my flank and do whatever I said, even when I've had… a little too much cider, if you know what I mean."

Rainbow trotted out of her bedroom into the hall and made her way to the staircase.  She continued speaking as she descended.

"You can't find any good help nowadays," she said, reaching the final three steps and jumping the rest of the way down, just as she had when she was a filly.  "In fact, it's pretty much impossible to find a perfect butler who isn't already working in Canterlot Castle.  So I made one.  And you've worked out pretty well so far.  You can actually talk back to me, for pony's sake.  Pretty cool to have the only computer in the world that can give me lip service now and then."

Rainbow walked away from the staircase and down another hall with a single wooden door at the end.  "Got it?" she asked, coming to a stop in front of the door.

"Understood, madam," was T.A.N.K.'s reply.

"Good.  Now let’s get rolling."

Rainbow brought her eye up to the lock on the door, which cast out a small blue beam of light that ran itself up and down her eyeball before shutting itself off. Seconds later there came the sound of several different locks and latches undoing themselves before the door slowly pulled itself open to reveal a flight of stairs descending into blackness.

Rainbow Dash made her way down to the bottom, her body swallowed by the darkness of the room.  She lifted her hoof and flipped a switch on the wall that instantly activated the lights and illuminated the entire chamber, revealing it to be a large, open basement.

This was her favorite room.  The place where almost every single thing she had ever invented was conceived, planned, designed, built, and tested.  Ever since she tested the very first Dazzler Firework, the area had been affectionately known to her as her "Boom Room".  This was where she kept her favorite toys.  Things that ponies in Equestria wouldn't even begin to imagine for at least another ten years were stored here.  Rainbow Dash always saved the best inventions for herself.  Everything she ever needed was kept in this room.  Tools, drawing boards, prototypes,  supplies, old designs, records of her past creations. And most importantly, the room came with a small refrigerator that held several bottles of cider for her to drink whenever she wanted.

         A large, flat table rose up from the floor, and cast a three-dimensional projection of the room over itself, with every detail mapped out and modeled down to a small image of Rainbow Dash walking in.  Her greatest creation:  The one and only three-dimensional projector in the world, and it was hers and hers alone.  No one aside from her, Spitfire, and Scootaloo knew about it.  Not even Lightning Dust knew about the incredible machine's existence.  And for good reason.  Equestria was just getting used to the idea of computers being commonplace; there was no way that the world was ready for this.  In fact, Rainbow herself wasn't even sure she was ready for it.

The idea had come to her in a dream.  It was wild, it was amazing, it was unexpected, it was decades before its time, and it was probably the most amazing thing she ever came up with.  The next day she had designed it, planned it, and even started working on a specialized bulb that would be able to cast a three dimensional image.  Within a week, Rainbow Dash found herself turning the machine on for the first time.  It worked flawlessly.  Almost disturbingly perfect.

It didn't take very long for Rainbow Dash to begin asking herself questions about it.  If the world discovered it, how would everyone react?  Would the military want it for themselves?  What would they use it for?  If it fell into the hooves of a competitor, what would THEY use it for?  Where did its uses end?  Where did they even begin?  What would even need to be projected on a three-dimensional platform?  Would Dash Co.  be able to use this?  Was Equestria and the world even close to being ready for it?

Rainbow Dash decided that she would keep it for herself and not tell anyone in public or the government about it.  The world was going along fine without a three dimensional projector, she was sure that it wouldn't come to an end without one.  Besides, it was just so awesome to have…

Rainbow took in a deep breath, inhaling the air of her Boom Room, and all the ideas she had ever conceived.  She smiled.

Time to get to work.

*                   *                   *

Rover sat and watched as each of the Diamond Dogs stepped before him and presented whatever they had managed to salvage from the ruins of their camp.  Thus far, they had managed to assemble one Saddle Gun, two Dragon Breathers, one box of Mini Bomb Rubies, several crates of ammunition, and several pieces of the metallic armor that Rainbow Dash had used to escape their grasp.

Rover bit his lower lip as more and more pieces of her metal suit were placed before him.  It had been several days since his master had last spoken to him, yet the words his master had whispered still stuck in his head.

If he were fail one last time, then he would die a very slow, very horrible death…

At last, the final Diamond Dog placed his finding on the ground in front of him.  Rover looked down to find a large metal helmet, shaped to fit the head of a pony.  He reached down and lifted it up with a paw, staring into its black, cold, and hollow eyes.

Rainbow Dash may have been able to escape their grasp, but in doing so, she had left behind an incredible creation.  If the Diamond Dogs could somehow managed to reassemble this weapon, then there would be no stopping them.  Rover’s lips pulled back into a toothy, malicious grin as he continued to examine the helmet in his paws.

*                   *                   *

"Okay, so we know that I can't fly anymore, right?" said Rainbow Dash, searching through a large box filled to the brim with assorted tools of all kinds.

"That is correct, Miss Dash," came T.A.N.K.'s reply.

"Wrong, T.A.N.K.!" exclaimed Rainbow in a rather excited tone.  "Only my wings aren't able to work anymore!  No one ever said I can never fly again."

She lifted a hammer from the toolbox and examined it closely before deciding it wasn't what she was looking for and tossing it over her shoulder.  It clanged against the marble floor, the noise echoing throughout the vast, empty room.

"So, if I can't use my wings again – there you are!" she said, pulling out a large screwdriver and holding it up to her face.  "Anyways, if I can't use my wings to fly, then we'll just have to find another way to get me back in the air!”

She walked over to the flat table, where the three dimensional projection continued to map out the room.  "Pull up a project file, T.A.N.K.  Lets call this sucker, hmm...  V.2."

"Shall I back these files up to the Dash Co.  network?"

"And let those nosy ponies there find this?  No thank you.  Besides, this is the only machine in the world that can even do this!"

Rainbow Dash poked the miniature version of herself that stood in the middle of the protected room, causing the rest of the room to be cast away and the projection to focus in on her.

"Hey, remember that little drawing I've got up in my room?  The one next to my bed?"

"I do indeed recall you placing it there."

"Scan it for me and pull it up.  Keep everything all nice and symmetrical on both sides and make sure that it's got the same dimensions and all that jazz."

"Yes, Miss Dash."

Moments later, a three-dimensional model began forming itself in front of her, right next to her own projection.  It was a perfect recreation of the suit of armor that she and Zecora had constructed back in Saddle Arabia.  It had taken her two days to sketch up the exact drawing again, and a third day to jot down all the small details.  Now that it was finished, scanned and displayed before her, Rainbow Day was presented with a perfect recreation of her machine.

Rainbow rubbed her hooves together and took in a breath.  "Okay, let’s start off by putting that sucker back on me.  I just hope I haven't gained weight since then…"

The suit split itself apart into individual pieces, which them reassembled themselves around Rainbow's own projection.  Fortunately, it fit her just fine; no weight had been gained.

"Perfect.  Okay, now let’s get rid of all of the hefty stuff.  Get rid of that huge engine on the back… We don't need the helmet or the dragon breathers under my wings…  Keep the hooves..."

With every item she listed off, that specific portion of the suit pushed itself away from the overall structure until all that was left was the projected model of Rainbow Dash and the metal encasing her wings and torso.  She smiled as she gazed at the projection.

"Okay now let’s see if we can't get a smaller generator to replace the engine.  Something we would be able to hook up

to the Crystal Charger.  Uh, let’s try...  Oh!  Perfect!  Let’s try out the Dazzler Firework launch system.  We might be able to toy with it enough to get that sucker to hook up with the Crystal.  Once we tune it to the Crystal, we can use it to maintain the kinetic energy that we get from the initial launch.  Bring me up a model of a Dazzler, T.A.N.K."

"As you wish, Miss Dash."  Seconds later, the projection of herself was pushed away and replaced with a rotating image of a Dazzler Firework.

"Now take away the outer layer.  Let’s get a peek inside."

The outer shell of the firework disappeared, and revealed its inner workings.  A complex network of wires throughout its tube like body all led to a small cylinder on the bottom.

"Okay perfect.  Can you give me a simulation of a launch?"

"Do you wish to view the Dazzler Firework during its initial launch or during sustained flight?" asked T.A.N.K.

"Give me both.  Side by side."

"Yes, madam."

The projected firework duplicated itself into two smaller models, which shifted themselves apart from one another.  The projection on the left turned ninety degrees to its side and began to glow near the bottom, as if it were flying through the air.  The one on the right stayed where it was, shaking and rattling as if it had been fired, but was being forced to stay where it was.

"Beautiful.  Now take away anything that doesn't directly connect to the ignition systems."

All the wires quickly disappeared, leaving only the glowing cylinder at the bottom, and several wires.  It barely resembled the shape of the original tube structure.  Rainbow Dash grinned even wider than before.

"Blue skies and sunshine, here I come!" she whispered to herself.

*                   *                   *

Spitfire and a group of Wonderbolt recruits stood in the middle of the Academy field.  They weren't ready to be assigned a squadron yet or given uniforms, but they weren't fresh off the sign-in sheet either.  They had been in training for almost six months now.  Four more, and they would be ready for the final tests before being assigned to a flying squadron.

"So you've all made it through six months now," she began.  "You're really tough, huh?  The toughest of the tough?  No

one in Equestria has any idea how hard it is, right?"

She began walking along the line of recruits, inspecting their stance, their spacing, even their manes.

"Yes ma'am!" one of them shouted from the other end of the line.

“Who said that?” yelled Spitfire, spinning around and walking in the direction of the voice.  “WHO SAID THAT?”

None of the colts said a word.

“Nobody, huh?” said Spitfire.  “The fairy godmother said it…”  She walked up to one of the recruits.  “Was it you?”

“NO, MA’AM!” the scared colt replied.

“I bet it was, you scroungy son-of-a-mule!”

“Ma’am, I said it, ma’am!” piped up a voice to the left of Spitfire.  Her eyes shot over to the offending colt and glared at him through her shades.  The air went dead silent as she slowly walked over to him.  Several of the ponies in line bit their lips.  She continued walking at an intentionally slow pace until she reached the offending Pegasus, who by now was wishing that he had never opened his mouth.

"Is that so?" she said, a horrifyingly calm and warm smile on her face; the same one her face always wore before she lashed out.

The recruit said nothing, a trickle of sweat starting to run down his face.  Spitfire brought her hoof up to her face and

pulled her sunglasses away from her eyes, the absolute worst thing any of them could see her do.  She kept her horrifyingly calm smile as she put a hoof around the now silent and scared colt.

"What?  Spitfire's here, so you don't wanna say anything anymore?" she said, still very calm.  "That's fine by me."

Spitfire patted the recruit on his back, causing him to let out a barely audible whimper.  "Because now…” she said, pausing before suddenly screaming at the top of her lungs into his ear, "YOU ALL GET TO FLY TWELVE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE COMPOUND!!!"

With that, she picked up her whistle and blew it into his ear, causing him to dart off as fast as he could.  The rest of the group quickly followed suit and began to fly in a giant circle around the Academy campus.

Recruits personally trained by Spitfire were rarely subjected to the normal stream of yelling and shouting that came with being trained by other instructors.  This came as a relief to most; however, they would quickly learn that sometimes her method was even worse than being screamed at for everything.  Rather than yell, Spitfire would remain eerily calm, even friendly at times, until one thing was done wrong.  And when something was wrongly done, it resulted in an explosion of yelling and screaming directly into the ear of the perpetrating pony and a severe punishment for the entire group.  More often than not, she found her method to be more effective, as it kept the recruits on the tips of their hooves at every moment.  And since all recruits she personally trained were meant to be assigned to her own squadron, it gave them an idea of what serving under her was like:  Calm, somewhat laid back, and even friendly to an extent.  But Celestia forbid you ever mess an order up, the consequences would be dire for the entire group.

Spitfire watched as the team completed their first lap.  Of course, she didn't expect them to complete twelve hundred laps, she planned to let them stop after the six hundredth.  At this rate, they would finish those laps in about seven minutes.

"You don't seriously think they're going to pull off twelve hundred laps, do you, Spitty?"

Spitfire jumped in surprise and turned, coming face to face with Rainbow Dash.  She was sitting neatly as if she had been waiting for some time now.

"How long were you there?" She asked

"I got here around 'is that so?’" Rainbow Dash put on a voice that mimicked Spitfire's for the final bit.

Spitfire popped her friend over the head with a hoof.  "Don't like my 'Angry Spitfire' voice?" she asked, still ribbing her friend.  Rainbow merely smiled.

"That was for getting me wasted last week."  Spitfire popped Rainbow's head again, this time a bit harder.  "And THAT'S for doing a horrible impression."

“You had fun that night."

"I wouldn't know.  I don't even remember anything except waking up with a hangover that would knock Celestia off her hooves.  Why did you even want me drunk anyways?"

"Because you were SO stuffy that night!  You didn't even want to take off your glasses!"

"Rainbow, I never take off my glasses," Spitfire said, pulling them down over her eyes.  And it was true.  Spitfire might remove them from her eyes and up to her forehead on occasion, but it was a well-known fact that, aside from when she was in her own home or out on high-flying missions, those sunglasses never left her head.  Among the recruits, seeing her without them on in some form or another was worth bragging over.

Rainbow paused.  "You were still stuffy...  But I didn't come here to talk about your drunk plot."

Spitfire sat down in front of her, rolling her eyes behind the darkened shades.  "Then what is it?"

Rainbow Dash looked to her left, then to her right before continuing.  "Spitfire, I'm working on something big.  And I

need your help."

"What do you need?" asked Spitfire, her interest growing a bit.

"I’m gonna be flying again soon, and it might freak some ponies out.  I need you to make sure the Wonderbolts don't shoot me out of the sky."

Spitfire was perplexed.  How was Rainbow supposed to be flying again if her wings were gone?  And if it were going to "freak some ponies out," could that really mean anything good?  It occurred to her that Rainbow Dash might be suffering some sort of delusion in reaction to her being told that she would never fly again.  If that was the case, should she call a hospital?  Did Lightning Dust know anything about this?  After all, Lightning Dust was older than the both of them by at least six or seven years.  Surely she would have a better knowledge of if this was a normal reaction to something awful.  Question after question rolled through her mind as Spitfire remained unsure how to respond to Rainbow's claim of flying again.

"Well?" Rainbow Dash's voice cut the silence that had fallen between them.

Still uneasy, Spitfire merely agreed.  What could she do?  Saying no would do nothing but tell Rainbow Dash that she

didn't trust her, and if she really did have some sort of way to get back in the air, who was she to deny her the chance?  If anything, she would tell Lightning Dust about this encounter.  She would probably know what to do if worse came to worst.

"Spitty, you're the best." As she said this, Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around her friend and planted a kiss on her cheek, causing the Wonderbolt's face to heat up a bit.  Spitfire just stood there, watching the rainbow-maned mare walk off.  She loved Rainbow Dash, and recently she was beginning to question the extent of that love, but she couldn't stop herself from worrying about her.  Was it really a good idea to let her go off on her own like that?

Just then, it occurred to her that her recruits were still doing laps.  By now, they might actually be at twelve hundred laps!

Quickly, she picked up her whistle and blew as hard as she could into the mouthpiece.

*                   *                   *

Rainbow Dash stood in the middle of her Boom Room, a determined look on her face.  Both her front legs were covered in a thin layer of silver, glossy metal that went from the bottom of her hooves to her knees.  Under her hoof was a separate, golden-colored, short bit of metal that housed the ignition system of a Dazzler Firework.  Several wires ran from under the silver material on her hooves in a direct line to the Crystal in her chest.

If her design worked like she planned, the ignition system of the Dazzler would launch her off the ground and the initial thrust from the launch would keep her hovering in the air.

Rainbow began to think aloud as she prepped the final two wires between her hooves and the Crystal Charger.  "The Dazzler can launch a five-hundred-pound firework into the air at two hundred miles per hour at full power," she mumbled as she toyed with the blue and red cords.  "Okay, so the coolant should provide an initial thrusting force to get me in the air, and then we'll see what happens..."

"Miss Dash, might I suggest–" began T.A.N.K.

"Can't hear ya, T.A.N.K.!" Rainbow called out, finally able to direct her words at someone.  She continued to toy with the wires in her hoof before deciding she was satisfied with their position.  She trotted over to the center of a blue mat she had laid out on the floor.

"Okay, everyone!" she said, her voice echoing through the emptiness of the Boom Room.  "Get in your places!  Let’s make this look pretty!"

"But, Miss Dash.  I must insist that–"

T.A.N.K's voice was once again cut off by Rainbow Dash.  "Starting out in the center of the mat, two feet from any of the edges.  All systems are ready for launch.  Hoof thrusters are hooked up to the Crystal.  Energy flow seems steady."

Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath as she mentally pictured herself soaring through the air.  She brought her hoof up to her head and used her nose to tap a small button on the surface of the metal, causing a small beep to be emitted from within.

"We're locked!  Launch is prepped!" she cried out, growing more excited by the second.

"Miss Dash!"

"Hold that thought, T.A.N.K.!  Tell me after!"

Rainbow Dash knelt down into a sturdy stance.  "We're launching in three, two..."

"Miss Dash!"

"One!"

CRASH!

Before she was able to register what had happened, Rainbow Dash found herself lying belly-up on the floor.  Her wings ached and the pain from the impact was just starting to settle in.

"Ouch..", she barely managed to whisper.

*                   *                   *

"Okay, so last time, I was only wearing two thrusters, one for each of my hooves – ow,” Rainbow groaned as she pressed the ice pack against her head.  She gazed at her reflection on the silver leggings.  It worked just fine – beyond fine, in fact – but the problem was her initial assumption that having only one pair of them on her front hooves would be able to maintain stable flight.  Well, that and the fact that she had miscalculated the amount of thrust power that would be needed to lift her off the ground.  Rather than gently push her upwards, the force of the initial launch was enough to send her flying upwards into a back flip before crashing into the ceiling.

"As I was trying to say, madam, perhaps you should consider balance.  That way unintended airborne stunts will no longer be an issue."

"Duly noted, T.A.N.K.," grumbled Rainbow Dash.  "Next time, let's run a projection of how it'll turn out, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Dash.  Shall I take into consideration your thick skull?" chided the computer.

"Very funny..."

With that, Rainbow turned back around and began to draw up an identical pair of hoof casings for her hind legs.