To say Blueblood was miffed was equivalent to saying the surface of the sun was a bit warm.
Not even a full minute since reading the article passed before the prince made his way to his MkII armor.
Rarity, who was in the middle of trying to pull Blueblood back, attempted to calm her fiancé.
“Blueblood! I understand your anger, believe me I’m tempted to let you go and teach the thieving ruffian a lesson. But if you barge in, repulsor beams flying, you’ll cause more harm than good. You need to be smart about this.”
Blueblood had just placed his hoof on the armor when Rarity’s words halted him. Thunderlane saw this and joined in the mare’s attempts to calm the enraged Avenger.
“She’s right. As far as the public is concerned, all an assault on the demonstration would do is make ponies believe you’ve gone insane.”
He stepped forward and looked straight into Blueblood’s eyes. He was still angry, but each word being said calmed him more and more. “Remember, I have direct access to S.H.I.E.L.D.. I can get into contact with Princess Luna and inform her that Hammer might have stolen the designs for the Titanium Ponies from your tech. That will convince her to start an investigation and bring Hammer’s theft to the public.”
Blueblood was silent for a good few moments before he finally relinquished his hold on the armor. “Okay… That… That would be preferable.” He said. Blueblood turned around to give Rarity an apologetic hug before turning back to Thunderlane.
“Thank you.”
Thunderlane simply shrugged. “It’s like you said, I have a job and I intend to do it.”
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Directly north of Manehattan rested a completely unremarkable quarry. The place was once the home of a mining facility to extract metal ore from the caves that littered the quarry’s exterior. Since then the ore veins have dried up leaving no reason for anypony or anything of importance to be there, making it the perfect location for a live-fire weapons demonstration.
Especially if the weapons in question were as potent as Steel Hammer made them out to be.
Despite the fact that both princesses of Equestria were attending the demonstration, the setup wasn’t all that extravagant. Something the princesses actually preferred.
Two ornate chairs were placed on a ledge overlooking the wide open area where the actual demonstration would take place. A wall of safety glass was all that separated the two monarchs from any stray fire. Sitting to the left of the princesses in a far more mundane chair was Steel Hammer himself, a proud grin never leaving his face. To the right of the princesses sat a pony that could only be described as surly.
He was a tan earth pony with a bright orange mane and handlebar moustache. You wouldn’t be able to see his mane though, due to the black bowler hat sitting atop the tan pony’s head. The bowler in question was pulled so far down that it actually obscured the pony’s eyes from sight.
This was Captain Howler, the newest captain of the Canterlot Guard since Shining Armor’s transfer to the Crystal Empire. Unbeknownst to the ponies of Equestria, he was also a high-ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Bullhorn, covered in the green and white Titanium Pony armor, waited in the center of the quarry for Hammer to give him the go-ahead to ‘show his stuff’ as Hammer said.
Celestia turned to the white unicorn to her left. “Mr. Hammer, are we ready to begin?”
Steel Hammer gave the princess his best smile before standing up. “Why yes, I believe we are.” he said as he turned to face the princesses and the captain. Hammer cleared his throat and began his speech.
“With each passing day the threat of rogue meta-ponies, or supervillains as the media would call them, gets worse and worse. It has even gotten to the point where many of these villains have assembled into groups with the sole purpose of terrorizing Equestria. Organizations like the Wrecking Crew and the Brotherhood of Mutants.”
As Hammer continued to speak he noticed that the captain was starting to lose interest. Although the princesses were kind enough to give Hammer their undivided attention, he knew that since this was all for the purpose of gaining a military contract it was Howler he needed to impress.
‘Very well, we’ll get straight to the point.’ he thought to himself.
“Hammer Industries is proud to introduce to you all an answer to these threats.” Reaching into a pocket in his blazer, Hammer pulled out a remote control before gesturing into the empty field.
“For your consideration… I give you the Eq-Droids.” Pushing a button on the remote, the signal went out to the legion of robotic ponies waiting in the caves for their master’s call. Celestia nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw the dozens of mechanical drones march single-file out of the cave mouth that dotted the quarry. Luna and Howler watched with interest as the Eq-Droids marched into formation, standing at attention in front of their audience.
Bullhorn watched the display with bemusement. His part in the demonstration was coming soon, until then he was to simply watch and ready himself.
Hammer smile tripled in size as he saw he now had Howler’s attention. “These Eq-Droids, as I call them, are fully automated golems of metal outfitted with the latest weapons technology. Observe.” With another button on the remote pressed, a series of wooden targets, both stationary and moving, sprouted from the ground. Looking closer, Luna noticed that half of the targets displayed the image of a snarling pony wielding a switchblade and the other half were adorned with the image of a shocked mare holding a baby.
‘Clever. Show us that not only can they shoot, but they know who to shoot.’ Luna thought.
Hammer cleared his throat before addressing the assembled robotic soldiers. “Eq-Droids, command code 5928. Eliminate hostiles!”
The Eq-Droids suddenly tensed as they readied the repulsor gems mounted on their shoulders and set fire to the wooden targets. Mere seconds passed before the carnage was over and shards and splinters laid scattered across the quarry.
Hammer, smiling triumphantly, turned back to his guests. “Any questions?”
Surprisingly, Howler lazily raised a hoof. Hammer meant his inquiry in jest, believing the captain would jump at the chance to add the Eq-Droids to the guard’s arsenal. Still, he had to play the good Samaritan weapons dealer and ease any problems they might have.
Hammer gave a slight gesture to the hat wearing soldier, indicating he may speak.
Captain Howler tipped his bowler hat up so that his eyes could fully scan the aftermath of the Eq-Droids demolition. “Ya gizmos need tah work on der aim.” He said in a heavy Horston accent. Noting Hammer’s confusion, Howler pointed down below them. “Dey got all a’dem switchblade ponies, but dey got more den a few cryin’ mommas as well.”
Howler, despite themselves, smirked at the blushing Hammer. “Unless bringing a liddle bundle a joy to da worl’ is suddenly a crime, I doubt these things will be much use to the guard.”
Hammer was starting to sweat. ‘Is this stallion for real? Who cares if a couple of dumb ponies get in the way? We’re at war! Like he can tell me with a straight face none of his guards have ever screwed up and hit a civilian with a stray arrow.’
Of course, Hammer didn’t say a word of this out loud. “Well… yes, I can see how that would be a concern. But keep in mind the Eq-Droids are specifically designed to bolster the royal guard against supervillains. You wouldn’t have to worry about a stray repulsor blast hitting a civilian while trying to catch a purse-snatcher.”
Howler’s smirk left his face immediately. “Ya do realize it’s durin’ supervillain attacks dat we gotta be da most careful about civie safety?”
Hammer started to sweat profusely when Celestia also interjected. “You said these… Eq-Droids were fully automated, correct?”
Not sure where she was going with this, Hammer merely nodded. Celestia scrunched her face as she looked down on the mechanical warriors with disdain.
“I can’t say I’m thrilled to put the lives of my little ponies in the hands of soulless machines. Part of what makes the royal guard worthy to be the defenders of my kingdom is that each and every one of them cares for the ponies who live in it. Can your droids say the same?”
Hammer couldn’t believe it! ‘This is what you get for trying to sell weapons to a bunch of bleeding hearts. I should have contacted Griffonia.’
Strangely enough, Luna was being unusually quiet as Hammer started to shrink under Howler and Celestia’s questions. Her eyes never left the Eq-Droids that still stood in attention.
Despite the circumstances, Hammer forced his smile to stay on his face. “I… I’m glad you brought that up Princess Celestia. The second part of this demonstration actually addresses that very issue.”
Hammer reached back into his blazer and pulled out a simple headset. “You’re absolutely correct your highness. All the power in the world matters nothing without an actual pony soul to wield it, and that’s the true treasure Hammer Industries is offering.”
Turning his back for a split-second, Hammer placed the headset over his ear. “Bullhorn? Do you read me?”
Bullhorn smiled as he stretched out the kinks in his armor. “‘Bought time. I figured you forgot about me.”
“Are you ready for your part?” Hammer asked. He saw the green and white armored head of Bullhorn nod as his voice spoke in his headset. “Set em’ up doc. I’ll knock em down!”
Hammer’s smile returned as he turned back to the princesses and Howler. “What you are about to see is one pony in a suit of high-tech armor go up against impossible odds. Will he come out on top? Hammer Industries says he will.”
Hammer turned back to the Eq-Droids. “Command code 5928! Target Titanium Pony!”
The second Hammer’s words registered to his audience, each and every Eq-Droid opened fire on Bullhorn. Reacting in seconds, Bullhorn activated the repulsors underneath his hooves to jump far above the firing line.
Falling back to the ground, he let loose a volley of repulsor blast that ripped apart the Eq-Droids one after the other. When Bullhorn hit the ground, directly in the middle of the gathered machines, he had already reduced a good chunk of them into scrap-metal.
Firing a steady beam from his right shoulder, Bullhorn turned on his heel and spun around creating a cutting circle slicing all the Eq-Droids surrounding him.
Two Eq-Droids remained that fired at the armored pony decimating their brethren. Bullhorn merely stood there, soaking up the blasts with his shields before grabbing one of the Eq-Droids and, with his augmented strength, threw it into the other crumpling them both into slag.
Bullhorn stood triumphantly as Hammer smiled with pure glee. Surely this would convince Howler…
“Well now how useful could dey be if dey could get busted dat easily?” Howler mused. Hammer’s smile fell immediately.
“All dis shows is dat any supervillain worth his salt would tear through dees bots in seconds.” The two princesses nodded at the captain’s words.
Luna gave the remains of the machines a pitying look.
Hammer tried to keep himself composed as he felt the desire to slap the idiotic captain grow more and more. ‘Can they not recognize genius when they see it?! I created these hulking beasts with metal and wires! Can they do the same!?! They should be at my feet, begging me to give them the marvels of my mind!!!’
Hammer’s eyes twitched as he tried his best to calmly alleviate Howlers concerns. “Well… In order to create enough Eq-Droids to bolster the guard, we used basic materials that would allow us to mass-produce them by the hundreds. Hammer Industries can make far more Eq-Droids where these came from.”
Howler merely shrugged at this. “So I get ta spend millions ah bits on a bunch of metal ponies that will break as soon as dey come across something tougher den a drawing on wood?”
Hammer’s anger grew with every single one of Howler’s words until… he laughed.
“Captain Howler, you are absolutely right. So let’s just forget these buckets of bolts, they were really just the opening act anyway. Let’s talk about the real star of this little show.”
Hammer gestured dramatically to Bullhorn, still standing tall after his display.
“Tell me what you think about the Titanium Pony?”
Oddly, it was Luna who answered the question. “Mr. Hammer, may I see the specifications for the Titanium Pony armor.”
Hammer froze at the princess of the night’s words. Unless he was mistaken, this was the first time the mare had spoken during the whole demonstration. Up until now she was content just to observe.
“Wh… Why would you…?” Hammer stuttered.
Luna shrugged. “I was impressed by Sergeant Bullhorn’s skills and I would like to see just how much of what we saw was the armor itself.”
‘It was just the armor.’ Hammer thought coldly. ‘Bullhorn is just the meat sack riding around in it.’
Still, he offered the friendliest smile he could to the princess. “Your highness, I can assure you that the armor’s specs are highly advanced. I doubt you would even understand them.”
While Celestia and Howler both winced at the decidedly condescending words Hammer just said, who seemed oblivious to having just insulted a princess of Equestria, Luna merely nodded.
“I’ll be the judge of that Mr. Hammer. Now please, if you would be so kind, the specs.” She said.
Hammer gulped before he walked, slowly as he could, towards his computer bag which he left next to his seat. Booting up his computer and accessing the file that held the Titanium Ponies blueprints, he handed the laptop to Luna who gazed at the screen for merely a second before turning behind her.
“Thunderlane? Blueblood? You can come out now.” She said.
Hammer stared in shock as the infamous prince walked into view, having hidden from sight behind a well-placed boulder. Immediately following Blueblood was a black pegasus with a sea foam military-cut mane.
Luna, not even bothering to ask Hammer’s permission, handed Thunderlane the laptop as Blueblood pulled a scroll of paper from a saddlebag on his side.
“Well Blue?” Thunderlane said. “Is it a match?”
Hammer looked between the two newcomers and decided now was the time to speak up. “Princess Luna what is the meaning of this?!”
Luna looked away from Blueblood and Thunderlane, who were comparing the specs on the laptop with whatever was on the scroll of paper Blueblood brought with him. “Sergeant Thunderlane has recently brought me interesting information regarding your company’s… off-the-record practices.”
Hammer started to worry, the nervous twitch returning full force ever since Blueblood made his presence known. “What kind of information?” Although he had a good idea.
Blueblood nodded, apparently satisfied with the comparisons he and Thunderlane made. “Outright theft for one thing. The Titanium Pony is a complete copy of the specs for my Iron Pony armor.”
Hammer wanted to be anywhere but here. “Wh-What a baseless accusation! Have you any proof?” Hammer knew they did but if he could stall long enough...
“You mean other than the fact that a pony just has to look at the thing and all they’ll see is a green Iron Pony?” Thunderlane said with a raised eyebrow. “Blueblood and I just finished comparing your specs with the Iron Pony’s.”
To prove their point, Thunderlane placed Hammer’s laptop on the ground with the screen facing the princesses and the captain. Blueblood draped his scroll, containing the blueprints for the MkII armor, on the ground next to the computer. Even a passing glance from somepony who knew nothing about robotics could tell you what everyone there was thinking.
They were exactly identical.
Hammer, needless to say, didn’t wait for whatever fallout was about to occur. He simply ran as far as he could… which was about three feet before Howler clotheslined him across the chin. Falling on the ground like a sack of potatoes, Hammer rubbed his chin as the former circus strong-pony soldier lifted him up and shackled him with a set of hoofcuffs.
“Steel Hammer, you are unda arrest for corporate theft. Anythin’ you say can an’ will be used against you inna court a’ law.”
“No… NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! I’M A GENIUS! THE ONE TRUE GENIUS IN EQUESTRIA!! NOT SOME DISGUSTING MUTANT LIKE… LIKE… LIKE HIM!!!” Steel Hammer ranted and raved, his mouth foaming a little as his eye started twitching a mile a minute.
“All you are is a thief.” Thunderlane said.
Bullhorn, needless to say, was completely confused as he witnessed the spectacle above him. Activating his hoof-repulsors, he flew up to the ledge where everypony was gathered. “What the heck is going on?!” When he saw just who exactly was up here, needless to say it didn’t clear things up for the green unicorn. “Thunderlane? What in the seven gates of Tartarus are you doing here?”
Bullhorn looked at the princesses who were nudging themselves further and further from the raving CEO. His gaze turned to Hammer himself before Bullhorn decided it might be best to get out of the armor. Willing the plates to open up, Bullhorn stepped out into the fresh air as Thunderlane tried to explain the situation.
“We’re placing Steel Hammer under arrest for stealing the Titanium Pony’s specs from Blueblood’s Iron Pony blueprints.”
As Bullhorn processed this, he stared accusingly at Hammer. “Stealing? You STOLE the armor?!”
Hammer snarled. “Don’t you dare judge me! Hammer Industries is going bankrupt because we can’t keep up with all those ‘hyper-intelligent’ muties who don’t deserve that level of genius! Where is their hard work?! Where are their years of study?! I needed this military contract just to keep Hammer Industries going! IT’S NO MORE UNFAIR THAN BEING A MUTANT FREAK WHO DOESN’T DESERVE THAT KIND OF GENIUS!”
Bullhorn just gave Hammer a cruel glare. “I may not have any respect for muties. I may believe their given unfair advantages. But I don’t use that as an excuse to break the law!”
Bullhorn huffed and turned to leave. “Take him away Captain Howler. I ain’t gonna stop you.”
As Howler dragged the kicking and screaming Hammer away, Luna turned to Blueblood and Thunderlane.
“Thank you again for bringing this farce to light Thunderlane. I’m glad you’ve taken to your duties as liaison so quickly.”
Thunderlane saluted. “Just doing my job, your highness.”
Celestia walked up to the three, giggling at Thunderlane’s military bravado. “No need to be so formal Thunderlane.” She glanced towards the path Howler went with Hammer, still hearing his screams. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to set up a proper court for Mr. Hammer.” She turned back to Blueblood with a caring look in her eyes. “I promise you nephew, he will answer for this.”
Blueblood gave a short bow to Celestia. “Thank you Auntie.”
Luna glanced towards her sister. “Tia, if you wouldn’t mind I’d like to speak to these two alone.”
Celestia simply nodded. “Of course.” She said before taking flight towards Canterlot.
“I hope this little… episode hasn’t made you think any less of my desire to gain armor from you nephew.” Luna said to Blueblood.
The prince merely shook his head. “Of course not Auntie.”
Luna nodded. “Good.”
Blueblood shrugged. “But it certainly didn’t help.”
Luna sighed as she pressed her hoof up to her head. “Thunderlane, I hope you spoke with him about allowing S.H.I.E.L.D. access to the armor.”
Thunderlane nodded, yet Luna noticed how uncomfortable he looked. “Yes, but…”
Luna stood eye level with Thunderlane. “It’s alright Sergeant. Please speak freely.”
Thunderlane looked out to the quarry and saw the smoldering remains of the Eq-Droids Bullhorn left behind.
“You hired me to be the Avenger’s liaison because I would be looking out for both parties interests. My decisions and actions as liaison would have to benefit not just S.H.I.E.L.D. and not just the Avengers but Equestria as a whole. With that in mind… I have to agree with Blueblood. I don’t think mass produced Iron Ponies will make Equestria any safer. After seeing… that, I can’t help but think having that many armors out there is gonna cause some kind of trouble. Hammer can’t be the only power-hungry nutjob who would go cause mayhem if they got their hooves on something like the Iron Pony armor”
Luna once again brought her hoof to her head. ‘Wonderful. He’s gone native.’
“But…” Thunderlane continued. “I can think of a compromise.”
Both Luna and Blueblood looked at Thunderlane with interest.
The black pegasus took a deep breath, knowing this idea was a long shot. “Blueblood’s apprehension to giving the Iron Pony specs to S.H.I.E.L.D. is because he doesn’t trust anypony to have that kind of power without something to keep it in check, like the Avengers for himself. Fair enough, right?”
Blueblood nodded and Luna, despite herself, admitted there was some credence to Blueblood’s fear.
Thunderlane continued. “So what if you two work together to create a more foolproof failsafe that ensures absolute safety for civilians. I admit, I’m not enough of a tech-head to come up with anything specific but between the two of you, I’m sure you can find something.”
Thunderlane knew he had the two thinking so he gave it one last push. “And Blueblood, we don’t have to go straight into Iron Pony armors. Maybe you could do some… lighter tech for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a sort of field test? Something that shows you that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be willing to work with you on any safety issues you might have?”
Blueblood rubbed his hoof under his chin. “That… would actually be acceptable. Under the conditions that S.H.I.E.L.D. follows my lead with my tech and absolutely nothing is used in the field without my go-ahead… as well as the other Avengers.”
The two stallions turned their gaze to the princess of the night, waiting for her answer.
Luna closed her eyes as she thought long and hard about Thunderlane’s offer.
“It’s not what I wanted… But it’s a decent first step.” She extended her hoof which Blueblood slowly, but surely, accepted. “I expect you both to be in Canterlot no later than two weeks from now to finalize a proper arrangement.” Luna flapped her wings and took to the skies but not before saying this to Thunderlane. “In the future Thunderlane, try to remember exactly who you work for.”
Thunderlane shrugged. “With all due respect your highness, I work for Equestria.”
Luna nodded. “Indeed.”
And with that she flew away, leaving the two stallions alone in the quarry.
Blueblood was the first to make for the exit with Thunderlane following close behind him. They walked in silence for a while before Blueblood spoke up. “Okay, I guess Spitfire owes Caramel fifty bits.”
Thunderlane raised an eyebrow at this. “Why is that?”
Despite his best efforts, Blueblood couldn’t help the smirk that traced his lips. “They made a bet on whether or not you would just be another S.H.I.E.L.D. toady.”
Thunderlane stopped, scrunched his face, and then laughed. Blueblood found himself laughing as well.
After a good few seconds, the giggles subsided as Blueblood gave the Sergeant a pat on the back. “I want to thank you for setting up that little sting back there. Don’t tell Rarity, but I have a hidden compartment of bourbon in my workshop. When we get back to the mansion, how about we crack open a bottle?”
Thunderlane smiled, it would be nice to just have a cold one and relax. “That sounds great.”
As the two continued to walk, Thunderlane’s smile started to die as a question suddenly popped into his head:
Where did Steel Hammer get the specs for the Iron Pony armor anyway?
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Steel Hammer sat dejectedly in the prisoner transport cart. He felt every single rock and pothole shake the cart and every attempt to tell the guards pulling him to prison to go easier on the road was met with deaf ears.
Hammer sighed, resigning himself to his fate, when he heard a thud next to him.
“So this is what happens to giants when their cut down to size.”
Hammer was startled as he tried to locate the source of the voice but saw that there was nopony near him.
He refused to believe he was going mad, which means his eyes were deceiving him. That brought Hammer to the answer he was looking for.
“Hello Ghost.”
At the mention of his name, a pony suddenly appeared out of thin air sitting across Hammer in the cart. The pony was adorned entirely in white. He wore a white hooded robe with a set of white boots as well as a white skull shaped mask covering his face. His tail, if he had one, was tucked into his pure white outfit leaving absolutely no indications as to what he really looked like.
Hammer knew this pony because he had very recently done business with him, the same business that landed Hammer in this cart heading for prison.
Ghost was a pony-for-hire working in the ‘apprehension of valuable objects’ field. Not only was he a master thief with quite an astounding record but he, like many ponies, was gifted with a special power from the magical singularity following the defeat of Loki.
Ghost, true to his name, was capable of turning invisible and move through solid objects, two abilities that no doubt came in handy during his ‘jobs’.
And it was because of Hammer hiring Ghost to perform such a ‘job’ that granted him access to the specifications to the Iron Pony armor and all that entailed.
Hammer stared daggers into Ghost, his presence a clear reminder of his impending incarceration. “What do you want?”
Ghost held up a hoof. “Save your venom for those who have it coming. I’m here because I recently found a new employer who offered an… exuberant amount of bits for my skills.”
Hammer scoffed. “For what?”
“A break-out.” With that, Ghost lunged forward and grabbed Hammer before pulling him down towards the floor of the cart. Hammer braced for the hard wood to hit his face but felt nothing at all.
Deciding to risk a look, Hammer saw he was inside the earth! He felt a sense of weightlessness as he realized the only thing keeping him from getting stuck in the Equestrian ground was that Ghost still had him in his hooves. Allowing the mutant thief to guide them back to the surface, he felt fresh air hit his fur as they phased through the ground.
Hammer looked around and saw they were in the middle of a dirt path connecting Canterlot to Ponyville. He even saw that the guards escorting him to the palace were far away, still moving forward believing their charge was still in the cart.
Ghost tugged on Hammer’s foreleg, trying to get the CEO to follow him. Hammer shook his head to regain his bearings and get over the disorienting feeling of moving through solid matter.
“I don’t know how you can stand that.” Hammer said as he started to follow Ghost to Celestia knows where.
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Ghost pulled away the panel on the side of the warehouse, gesturing for Hammer to go ahead of him. Hammer hesitated but he knew Ghost wouldn’t really give him a choice. Walking into the hole, Hammer saw it opened into a narrow passageway that seemed built into the side of the warehouse. If Ghost was following behind him, Hammer didn’t hear his hoofsteps.
After walking for about half of a minute, the passage opened into a green room that was completely empty save for a large wooden crate sitting beside the left side wall and a monitor on the far end.
Wondering whether or not this was some kind of joke, Hammer was surprised when the monitor suddenly activated and showed… nothing but static.
Thoroughly confused, and more than a little afraid, Hammer turned to go back through the passageway but saw that Ghost was already there, blocking the only way out of the room.
“I suggest you stick around for the proposal.” Ghost said. “You might even like what you hear.”
Hammer raised an eyebrow at this. “Proposal?”
Instead of answering, Ghost merely gestured back towards the monitor. Just as Hammer turned again to face the static filled screen, he saw something appear on the monitor.
While the screen still mostly showed static, Hammer could just make out the outline of a pony’s head behind the waving black and white lines. A voice, altered so as to sound deep and distorted, began to speak.
“Steel Hammer, I pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The voice said.
Hammer gave a short nod. “Am I correct to assume you’re Ghost’s new employer?”
The outline nodded on the screen. “Yes. And our mutual friend has told me quite the interesting story about the work he did for you.”
“So much for professional confidentiality…” Hammer muttered under his breath. He turned his attention back towards the shrouded face. “And why does my business with Ghost interest you? Who are you?”
The outline nodded once more. “I’m sure you understand if I choose not to give my real name. For now, you may call me… The Fixer.”
Hammer smirked in amusement. “The Fixer?”
“So named because I make it my business to… Fix problems.” The Fixer said, his distorted voice becoming slightly clearer.
“At least for those whose problems can’t be fixed by the law.” He added.
Hammer scoffed. “Let me guess: Because their problems are the law.”
If the image wasn’t so obscured, Hammer might have made out the Fixer’s small smile. “Very astute Mr. Hammer. Only I’ve recently come across my own problem that requires another’s aid to fix. You’re aid.”
Hammer began to pace across the room, his eyes never leaving the monitor. Behind him, Ghost observed the conversation with quiet bemusement.
“I suppose I should ask what problem you’re referring to and why you require my aid.” Hammer said. “Oh! Let us not forget the most important question: What’s in it for me?”
The Fixer was quiet for a moment, the only sound coming from the static on the monitor. “Well, I suppose I could offer bits. As I understand, you are a little tight right now due to your company’s… misfortune.”
Hammer winced a little.
“Or…” The Fixer paused. “We could both realize that giving you an exuberant amount of money would be no different than cutting out a cancer tumor. So let’s just go straight to the source of your turmoil.”
“Blueblood…” Hammer seethed, every syllable of the prince’s name laced with venom. The former CEO stopped pacing as he stared daggers at the wall, as if said Avenger were standing there in front of him.
“That pompous… arrogant… privileged… mutie!” Hammer was now boiling with rage.
“Exactly.” The Fixer said. “And as it just so happens, I also have a degree of hostility to Blueblood as well as the other Avengers. Their continued existence will be too much of a hindrance on my business.” He paused, allowing Hammer to calm himself, before continuing his proposal. “In short Mr. Hammer, your payment for your aid is the satisfaction of grinding Blueblood into the ground.”
Hammer closed his eyes as he thought about this. “Let’s say I was to agree to your proposal. What exactly would you have me do?”
Once again, the Fixer smiled without Hammer knowing. “I think you’ll like this part. All you need to do is prove your superiority by finishing your little ‘demonstration’.” The Fixer paused for a second. Hammer could have sworn he heard a tapping sound coming from the other end of whatever signal was projecting the pony’s voice through the monitor.
“In that room you should see a crate. Everything you need is inside. Call it… a present from our mutual friend, Ghost.”
At the mention of the thief’s name, Hammer turned back towards the entrance only to find that Ghost had disappeared. Though given his abilities, Hammer wasn’t quite sure that meant he was gone.
Paying it no mind, Hammer made his way to the wooden crate and attempted to pry off the lid. To his surprise, the lid gave with very little effort. Peeking over the lip of the now open crate, Hammer saw something that made his mouth turn into a wicked grin.
“Mr. Fixer, I believe we have an accord.”
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“And so… Heheh… And so the Wrecking Crew starts coming at us one-on-one.” Blueblood said, recounting the Avenger’s many exploits to Thunderlane as both stallions held half-empty shot glasses in their hoofs.
Thunderlane was listening with rapt attention. Part of the reason he accepted this job was the excitement that would come from working with superheroes (albeit, in what basically amounts to a desk job). And if Blueblood’s stories were any indication, Thunderlane would not be disappointed.
“Their leader, a big bruiser creatively named the Wrecker decided to take on Thor. The two have a bit of a history you see.” Blueblood said as he finished his shot. “Piledriver and Bulldozer somehow got into a tag-team match with Cap and Firestar, don’t ask me how that happened, which left me to fend off Thunderball.” Blueblood refilled his shot glass before offering some to Thunderlane who held up his own glass graciously.
“Not to brag but my fight was certainly the shortest, though not because of skill.” Blueblood said as he started to chuckle. “Thunderball fights with this large ball and chain, you see. It’s kind of a gimmick, but when he attempted to hurl the iron ball towards me.”
Blueblood had to stop as his chuckles started to interrupt the story. “The ball actually bounces off my armor as if it were made of rubber and goes right back to Thunderball. It drops right on his head, knocks him out cold in ten seconds flat!”
Thunderlane couldn’t hold in in anymore. As the pegasus’ laughter joined the prince’s, Blueblood finished his tale. “I mean, the Wrecking Crew had already built up a bit of a reputation of being pushovers compared to other supervillains but, by Celestia, I just felt so bad for the poor boy!”
With the slightly inebriated giggles filling the workshop, neither pony noticed the door open as Spitfire walked in on their private party.
The two looked up at the smirking mare while Blueblood attempted to hide his bourbon with minimal success.
“Please don’t tell Rarity.” He said as though he were a foal hiding a bad report card.
Spitfire raised a hoof. “Don’t even worry about it. That kinda stuff is between you two.”
While Blueblood calmed a little by his teammates assurance, Thunderlane was beginning to tense up as he remembered how his last interaction with Spitfire went.
Spitfire, noticing that Thunderlane was being very silent, rubbed the back of her neck as a tinge of red covered her muzzle. “Ah… Your name’s Thunderlane, right?”
Thunderlane nodded, still feeling tense around the pyrokinetic.
Spitfire sighed as she looked up at the Sergeant. “I… I heard from some of my old Wonderbolt buddies what you did for Blue. I just wanted to say… I’m sorry for, y’know, attacking you when you first came here.”
Thunderlane eased up a bit as Spitfire continued. “I obviously have my problems with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I doubt you’ll really help much in that regard but… It’s good to know you’re not just one of their toadies.”
Despite himself, Blueblood smirked at Spitfire’s word choice.
Thunderlane stood up and extended a hoof towards Spitfire. “As I said before, I’m here to help both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. I do hope we can work together to help you understand S.H.I.E.L.D. is an ally but make no mistake, I’m just as much your ally as well.”
Spitfire nodded and grabbed Thunderlane’s hoof, giving it a solid shake. “If you guys don’t mind, don’t say anything to Cap about this when we get back. I would never hear the end of it.”
Blueblood’s ears perked up as he noted what his teammate said. “Get back? Where are you going?”
Spitfire shrugged. “Mandrill’s causing some problems in Manehattan. Cap and I are gonna go down there and handle it. It really shouldn’t take long.”
Blueblood got up and proceeded to walk towards his display of armors. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Spitfire smirked. “Against a C-Lister like Mandrill? Kinda overkill, dontcha think?”
Spitfire waved her hoof. “Nah, Cap and I can handle it. Honestly, once he finds out he’s against two Avengers he’ll probably just give up.”
Blueblood shrugged as he knew that Caramel and Spitfire could no doubt handle this problem. Plus, he certainly didn’t mind the excuse to not part with his bourbon.
Thunderlane raised an eyebrow as Spitfire turned to leave. “That reminds me, where’s Thor? I just realized I’ve yet to meet him since I came here.”
Blueblood shrugged. “He was enlisted by Doctor Sparkle a few weeks back for a solo mission up in the arctic. As far as I know, he’s just wrapping up and should be back soon.”
Thunderlane’s eyes widened. “Sparkle? You mean Twilight Sparkle! The Sorceress Supreme!”
Blueblood nodded. “Twilight has helped us a number of times during our more… mystically-inclined escapades. You could call her an honorary Avenger.”
Blueblood smiled as he leaned against one of his workstations. “In fact, we even offered her an official position within the team more than once but she always turned us down. Said she was scholar not a superhero.”
Blueblood chuckled a bit. “She just happens to be a scholar who wears a brightly colored costume and fights supervillains. I think somepony is in denial.”
Thunderlane shook his head as he thought about the events of the day. The day.
Thunderlane just realized that he hasn’t been the Avenger’s liaison for more than a single day! And yet here he was, downing shots with one of the greatest heroes of Equestria, as well as a member of the royal family, as if he were an old college roommate.
“I want to thank you.” Thunderlane said to the prince. “For being so quick to accept me into the mansion.”
Blueblood merely shrugged. “You were chosen to be our liaison by my auntie Luna. A princess of Equestria. You were coming here whether we wanted you to or not. I wasn’t going to make things easier for anyone involved if I treated you like dirt just for being affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Blueblood placed a hoof on Thunderlane’s shoulder. “Aside from that, you’ve more than proven to be an ally today. From here out Thunderlane, you can consider yourself a friend to the Avengers.”
Blueblood smiled as he poured the two of them one last round. “...And to me.”
Thunderlane accepted the glass from Blueblood as he held it up for a toast. “Here’s to the Avengers.” the pegasus said.
“And to our new liaison.” Blueblood finished, clinking his glass to Thunderlane’s.
But before they could bring their glasses to their muzzles, a loud, booming sound echoed throughout the mansion. The vibrations that followed made Thunderlane drop his shot glass as it shattered on the workshop’s floor.
Blueblood paid the broken glass no attention as he focused towards the direction the sound came from.
“Was that an explosion?” Thunderlane asked.
Blueblood made his way to a terminal on one of his workstations. “Bring up external security camera.”
Responding to the vocal command, the terminal fizzled to life as an image of the courtyard just outside the mansion appeared in front of the two ponies.
Sure enough, they saw the source of the explosion, as well as more explosions following it, was from the repulsor weapon of a pony in green and white armor.
“Is that the Titanium Pony?” Thunderlane asked, not believing what he was seeing.
“Three guesses as to who the pilot is.” Blueblood said. The prince turned away from the monitor as he made his way towards the red and gold armor of the MkII.
“Stay here. The mansion if heavily armored, the workshop most of all. It will take him a while to blast his way in.” Blueblood said to the worried Sergeant as the armor opened up to welcome its master. Metal plates folded over the white unicorn’s body and snapped into place with a chorus of hisses and whirring. “And I don’t plan on giving him that long.” He said as the armors faceplate came down. Without another word, Blueblood activated the thrusters underneath his hooves as a panel in the ceiling opened up above him.
Flying straight up, Blueblood emerged out of the tunnel into the courtyard outside the mansion.
Titanium Pony ceased his assault on the mansion when he noticed the company he now had.
“Am I correct to assume that’s Steel Hammer in that suit?” Blueblood said through the filters in his helmet.
The green and white faceplate opened to reveal the snarling unicorn underneath. “Blueblood! You’ve ruined me! Destroyed everything I built! Hammer Industries was a beacon of my genius that would shed light across Equestria. But then you mutants came in and darkened it all.”
Blueblood folded his forelegs across his chest. “Quit blaming mutants for all of your problems. You stole my tech! You copied my schematics!”
“What else could I do!?” Hammer screamed. “Because of your mutant intelligence, normal ponies like me can’t even keep up. Where is my recognition for all the hard work that you never bothered with!”
“I’ll tell you where.” Hammer said with a wicked grin as his faceplate came back down. “RIGHT HERE!” With that, Hammer raised his hoof and fired a repulsor blast straight at Blueblood.
Flying back from the force of the blast, Blueblood stabilized himself in the air before flying straight for Hammer, dodging his volley of blasts. As Blueblood collided into Hammer, the prince pushed his adversary straight down towards the ground.
Hammer felt a gasp of pain escape his lungs as the impact left a small crater in the courtyard.
Blueblood stood over the gasping villain.
“Enough of this Hammer. You know your knockoff armor can’t beat mine.”
Despite the pain, Hammer forced a chuckle. “There’s one thing my armor has that yours doesn’t.” With that, Hammer thrust his forehoof straight towards Blueblood’s Core Diamond. While Blueblood jumped away to avoid the punch, merely punching the diamond was not Hammer’s plan. Fast as a blink, a series of cables shot out of the Titanium Pony’s hoof which grafted themselves onto the Iron Pony armor, focusing primarily on the Core Diamond.
Before Blueblood could even react, a blinding pain came over him as felt himself being drained. The HUD in front of him showed that his magic was being depleted and fast.
Merely seconds passed before Blueblood was on his knees and Hammer was back on his hooves. “A gift from our mutual ‘friend’ the Fixer.”
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Thunderlane was watching the whole fight from within the workshop. He winced as he saw the weakened Iron Pony get kicked around by Hammer who was laughing cruelly at the prince’s pain.
‘There’s gotta be something I can do to help!’ Thunderlane looked around the workshop, trying to find anything that could rejuvenate Blueblood and get him back into the fight.
After a few moments of frantic searching, Thunderlane found what looked to be a cache of gems pulsating with magical energy. ‘He must use these to power his inventions. If I can get these to him, maybe he could recharge or something.’ Thunderlane thought. He admitted to himself that it wasn’t exactly the grandest of plans but time was of the essence.
‘The only problem is if I go out there, I’ll be blasted to bits. I need some… kind of… protection.’ Thunderlane’s thoughts trailed off as his eyes landed on a certain device that would make bringing the gems to Blueblood much easier.
With no real plan in mind other than ‘Help my new friend’. Thunderlane walked up to the black and silver prototype armor. “Hang on Iron Pony, help’s coming.”
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Blueblood rolled a good few feet from Hammer’s last hit. “I can’t believe how easy this is! One little drain of your magic and you’re completely helpless!” Hammer gripped Blueblood’s head in his hooves. “This just goes to show. There is no true intelligence in that head of yours. Just a gift from your auntie that you took for granted.” Hammer started to squeeze Blueblood’s head in between his hooves. “I may have stolen your tech but you stole my future. You stole your genius when you should have earned it.” Hammer laughed as he continued to press Blueblood’s head. “Say goodbye to your filthy mutant brain Blueblood!”
Blueblood winced in pain from the pressure. It would take too long to recharge his magic to counterattack before his head would pop like a grape. ‘Have… too... hold… on!’
Hammer was so focused on ending his rival once and for all that he failed to notice the black blur barreling towards until he already felt the impact of something large and heavy hit his side. Relinquishing his hold on Blueblood’s head, Hammer flew fast and hard into the walls of the mansion.
As Blueblood tried to regain his wits, he looked up to see who his savior was and was surprised by what he saw.
Standing tall and proud was the gargantuan War Machine armor. Easily beating the Iron Pony in height by at least two feet, the black and silver armor was decked with a shoulder mounted minigun and missile launcher. Each forehoof possessed a fetlock mounted repulsor cannon with about three times the kinetic force of a standard repulsor gem.
As Hammer stirred himself back to consciousness, he saw the intruder in full for the first time.
“What’s this? Another Copy?” Hammer said.
“No” The newcomer said. “I’m the War Machine.”
With that, War Machine lifted his giant hoof and blasted Hammer with a massive payload of repulsor energy. Hammer was drilled through the walls of the mansion and buried underneath a good sized pile of rubble.
However, Blueblood and his new ally saw that Hammer was already working his way out of the rubble. With little time to act, War Machine turned towards the weakened Avenger and dropped a number of gems in front of him.
“Use these to replenish your magic. I’ll keep him away from you for as long as I can.”
Blueblood looked up at his prototype, the armor he never managed to get working, as he recognized the voice coming through its speakers.
“Thunderlane?”
The mech gave a salute as it flew off to meet Hammer who had just finished digging himself out of the remains of the mansion’s walls. Hammer had only a scant few seconds to react as Thunderlane charged into him, the silver mech gripping the green armor around the midsection.
Hammer once again felt the wind get completely knocked out of him as Iron Pony’s gargantuan cousin lifted him high into the air. Hammer managed to break free from the War Machine’s grip only to find himself directly in the sights of the mech’s minigun. The Titanium Pony armor managed to protect Hammer from the hail of concussive pellets but the force behind the projectiles still managed to knock Hammer senseless.
As the Titanium Pony drifted aimlessly in the air for a few scant seconds, Blueblood went to work in siphoning the magical energy from his battery crystals into his armor. While he still wasn’t at full-power, he had enough to aid his newly armored ally.
‘But I don’t understand.’ Blueblood thought. ‘How is the War Machine armor even active? I was never even able to keep it on for more than a few seconds.’
Blueblood shook these thoughts from his head as the last bit of magic was absorbed from the crystals. ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’ would have to wait. Right now, there was a power armored menace fighting his new friend.
Not a second after regaining his senses, Hammer shot a blast of energy straight towards War Machines Core Diamond. Lacking time to perform the surgical process of grafting a Core Diamond into his chest, Thunderlane was forced to use a weaker Core Diamond Blueblood kept as backups in case his ever failed. Because it was not an actual part of his own magical field, Thunderlane couldn’t regulate the energy as it blasted him almost to unconsciousness.
Still he held out as he launched another blast from his repulsor cannons at Hammer. Unfortunately, this was the point Hammer figured out one of the key differences between the Iron Pony armor (and by extension, his own armor) and the War Machine: Speed.
Hammer turned his thrusters at full force as he easily dodged the blast, sending his own volley of energy towards Thunderlane.
Thunderlane learned from the last blast and did what he could to protect his Core Diamond. But the hulking size of his armor meant he could not avoid all of the blasts as they pelted his armor leaving black smoky scorch marks all over his chassis.
The HUD in front of Thunderlane showed that his armor’s integrity was about to fail. If this volley of repulsor energy didn’t stop soon, they would eventually pierce the armor and Thunderlane’s position as the Avenger’s liaison would end much faster than he thought it would.
Suddenly the barrage of energy stopped. As Thunderlane looked up, he saw the iconic red and gold of the Iron Pony armor surrounded by a violet energy shield. With Iron Pony’s shield protecting them from the bombardment of energy, Blueblood turned his head towards Thunderlane, straining to keep the force field up. “He has some kind of magic-draining cable. I don’t know where he got the tech but I think we can use it against him.”
“When I drop my shield…” Blueblood began, knowing his shield was going to drop soon regardless of his desire. “I need you to keep the pressure on with your missiles. You need to let me get in close.”
Thunderlane nodded as he prepped the launcher on his shoulder. “On my mark!” He shouted.
Blueblood nodded as he waited for Thunderlane to lock his sights on the Titanium Pony armor.
“NOW!”
In the span of a second, Blueblood dropped his shield and cut the power to his thrusters. As he dropped, Hammer’s blasts sailed over him towards Thunderlane. The pegasus risked a couple shots hitting him as he let loose a salvo of missiles. The rockets flew straight towards their green and white target as they bombarded Hammer with explosive force.
Not wanting to give Hammer the chance to recover, Thunderlane fired another salvo, and then another and another.
Countless missiles flew towards the Titanium Pony and kept him pinned down, unable to counter or evade in any way. Hammer’s HUD told him his armor’s shield was doing an admirable job stopping the non-energy based weapons from severely hurting him, but the force from the explosions were keeping him from really doing anything.
Thunderlane was getting worried. The HUD in his helmet was informing him that his launcher’s supply of missiles was running low from the constant salvos. Whatever Blueblood planned to do, he needed to do it quickly.
Fortunately, Blueblood had just finished recalibrating his shoulder’s repulsor gem. With careful aiming, Blueblood fired an extremely narrow and precise beam of energy towards the Titanium Pony.
The white-hot beam sliced through the metal on the Titanium Pony’s back as the wiring underneath sparked and crackled. Blueblood smiled as Hammer seemed to not notice, distracted as he was by the onslaught of missiles.
Sadly, the distraction was over as War Machines supply of missiles was now completely used up. Thunderlane looked towards Blueblood as the red and yellow suit of armor nodded, giving the signal that it did what it needed to do.
Hammer was at his boiling point. Every single missile striking against his armor was a personal insult to the CEO. “THAT’S IT!!!” He screamed. “I AM DONE WITH YOU ALL!”
He turned his attention towards Blueblood, never once forgetting that he was the reason for this attack. “NO MORE GAMES BLUEBLOOD!”
Hammer locked his sights on the Iron Pony armor and channeled nearly all of its energy into the Core Diamond in his armor’s chassis. “UNI-BEAM! FIRE!!!”
With a loud booming noise, a wave of green energy erupted from the Titanium Pony’s chest. With barely any time to dodge, Blueblood watched helplessly as the Uni-Beam headed straight for him. That is until he saw a mass of black and silver appear before him. With a pained scream, Thunderlane took the brunt of the blast hoping against hope that the reinforced metal of the War Machine armor would protect him from the torrent of energy. With the sound of his armor creaking from the pressure of the Titanium Pony’s attack, Thunderlane gritted his teeth and held fast against the barrage.
With barely seconds before his armor would completely fail, the blast started to wither in strength and dissipate as Hammer felt his magic start to wane from the constant taxation of using the Uni-Beam.
Blueblood smiled, both at seeing Thunderlane was still alive as well as Hammer playing right into his trap. “That blast must have taken quite a bit out of you Hammer!” Blueblood yelled towards his self-proclaimed rival.
Hammer huffed as his body was starting to feel the sudden loss of magic yet his eyes were still filled with rage at seeing Blueblood still alive.
Blueblood floated up next to Thunderlane and spoke to him through a private channel. “How much energy does your armor have left.”
Thunderlane winced in pain as he viewed his HUD, seeing his Core Diamonds energy reserves were only at 52%. “I’m running at about half-strength. You?”
“51% myself.” Blueblood stated. “Between the two of us, that should be enough.”
Thunderlane cast an aside glance at the armored prince. “Enough for what?”
Blueblood kept his eyes on the Titanium Pony, not wanting to clue Hammer into the fact that they were talking. “I’m going to try and get him to use his magic-drain cables on both of us, when he does, divert all power to your Uni-Beam and fire it.”
A look of confusion struck Thunderlane’s face. “Won’t the cables just absorb the energy?”
Blueblood closed his eyes. He knew that if his calculations were even a little bit off, that’s exactly what would happen. Then Hammer would be fully charged and their armors would be running on empty. Still, he steeled himself as he knew this was their best chance for victory.
“Do you trust me?” Blueblood said.
Thunderlane thought the question over. “Do you trust me?” He offered in return.
The question surprised Blueblood, to say the least. What surprised him even more was how quickly he responded. “Yes.”
Thunderlane nodded. “Then I trust you.”
With his own nod, Blueblood turned his external speakers back on. “Looks like we have this fight in the bag now that you’re out of magic.” Blueblood snarked. “Honestly, you’re probably not even worth the effort. We could just get some guards here and they can take of you.”
Hammer’s eye started to twitch. “Not… NOT WORTH THE EFFORT!!!” He screamed as specks of saliva hit the inside of his helmet. “How dare you… you… arrogant… self-centered… overly privileged… MUTANT!!!” With a scream of rage, Hammer launched his cables yet again towards both armored ponies. As the cable’s latched onto their Core Diamonds, Hammer started the leeching process as he already felt his magic being replenished.
Blueblood and Thunderlane winced in pain as they felt their energy being drained from their bodies. Yet, through the pain, Thunderlane did exactly as Blueblood asked as he mentally willed all power in his armor into his Core Diamond.
As Blueblood did the same, the two ponies yelled out simultaneously: “UNI-BEAM! FIRE!”
Twin spheres of energy, one blue and one red, started to shine out of Iron Pony and War Machine’s chests. However, instead of the built up energy releasing into a single wave, the energy was pulled into the cables. The energy travelled along the length of the cables as they entered the Titanium Pony’s armor. Hammer started to laugh as the massive amount of magic entered his armor but the laughter stopped as a loud beeping rang in his ears. His HUD started flashing red as the words ‘ERROR’ appeared over and over again.
Hammer felt the joints in his armor lock up as he saw sparks of electricity shoot out of him. The HUD in his helmet now read ‘SYSTEM FAILURE’. Hammer looked towards the readout that showed his energy levels and saw it hit 100%. But it just kept going.
110%
130%
170%
Finally, with a blinding pain hitting his chest, the Titanium Pony’s Core Diamond exploded.
With all power cut to his thrusters, Hammer started to fall like a rock back towards the mansion’s courtyard. Landing painfully, though not mortally wounded thanks to the armor’s shock-absorption padding, Hammer groaned as he tried to move any part of his body. His attempts were in vain as the armor was completely locked up. He couldn’t even see anything other than pitch blackness due to the HUD in his helmet being off.
Fortunately for Hammer, he did start to see the outside world once again when he felt his faceplate being ripped off. Unfortunately, the faceplate was in the hooves of a smiling Blueblood, still in his armor sans his own faceplate.
War Machine floated down next to Blueblood as his own faceplate and chassis opened up revealing a much smaller pegasus standing on what looked like mechanized stilts. The pegasus dropped down from his harness and looked down at the broken and beaten Hammer.
“Steel Hammer, as a Sergeant of the Royal Guard I hereby place you under arrest… again for the theft and assault of Prince Blueblood.”
Hammer thought about screaming, he thought about raving and ranting, but instead just sighed.
“How?”
Blueblood’s smile widened. “Even if you add a few toys, my tech is still my tech. Any apparatus designed to drain magical energy would need some kind of secondary regulator to keep the armor from overloading since your Core Diamond could only regulate your own magic.”
“All I needed to do was find out the most likely place the secondary regulator would be stored in your armor and destroy it. Without it, your armor couldn’t handle the massive intake of magic.”
Hammer closed his eyes as he thought about this flaw in his armor.
“It’s not fair. You only won because you’re a mutant. How could I possibly keep up with you? How can any of us?”
Thunderlane shook his head in disdain. “Well, I’m not a mutant. And I just kicked your butt.”
Thunderlane shrugged. “Take that for what it is.”
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“Thank you again for helping me Big Mac.” Twilight said as the two walked towards the mansion. While she could just teleport Big Mac home, she decided to see how the Avengers were doing herself.
“Ain’t nothin’ Twilight. Ah’m just happy to help.” Big mac said.
“Well, you were a big help. Without Mjolnir’s lightning, I never would have been able to stabilize that portal. Now that Scorpan can travel to and from Hala more easily, we can more effectively set up a peace treaty between the realms.”
Big Mac raised an eyebrow. “Are the Halans really trying to justify Tirek’s attempt to steal all of Equestria’s magic?”
Twilight sighed. “Hala’s Supreme Elder has stated that Tirek was acting independently from the Halan military and that he’s been officially labeled a terrorist. They are being quite slow with a formal apology however.”
Big Mac nodded. “Ah imagine they will be.”
Twilight’s face took a grim expression. “For thousands of years, Equestria’s only interaction with Hala was Tirek and Scorpan. Now that there is an entire realm of their people open to us, it’s completely up in the air on whether it’s even possible for peace to exist between us.”
Big Mac placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “If anyone can broker peace between the realms, it’s the Sorceress Supreme.”
Twilight blushed. “That’s what the princesses believe. Unfortunately, Hala isn’t the only realm with bad blood. Many ponies, especially those in the guard, feel that Tirek was a deliberate attack from Hala and that we need to ‘fight back’. Celestia and Luna are doing all they can to calm them but if tensions get any higher, war could break out before a peace treaty can even be drawn up.”
Twilight sighed. “I would hate to have their job right now.”
Big Mac nodded. “Well, the Avengers and I certainly ain’t gonna pick a fight and cause any more problems. But If the worst happens, we’ll have your back.”
Twilight smiled. “You always do.”
The two continued to walk until Twilight stopped in her tracks. “Is that… smoke?”
Big Mac stopped as well and saw the plume of smoke Twilight pointed out. He also saw it was coming from the same direction as the mansion.
“Oh no.”
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A flash of violet appeared across from Blueblood and Thunderlane as Twilight and Big Mac teleported onto the courtyard of the mansion, Big Mac holding a stick in his hooves.
Big Mac’s eyes widened as he saw Blueblood fully armored, a black pegasus standing next to a giant-sized black and silver Iron Pony armor and a white unicorn inside a battered and broken green and white armor sprawled on the ground.
The mansion’s courtyard was an absolute mess with ceramic pots destroyed, tiles of concrete shattered, scorch marks in the grass. Big Mac even saw a sizeable hole in the mansion’s wall.
“Hello Big Mac.” Blueblood said with a cordial bow. “Glad to see you back safe and sound.”
The prince nonchalantly gestured towards Thunderlane who was trying to make himself look as small as possible. “This is our new liaison to S.H.I.E.L.D., Thunderlane.”
“Personally…” Blueblood said. “I think he’s doing an admirable job so far.”
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After the Royal Guard came to haul Steel Hammer away (again) and Blueblood gave a much needed explanation to Big Mac and Twilight, the four decided to retreat into the Central Command room. Mostly because Big Mac didn’t want to see what became of his garden during Hammer’s attack.
Spitfire and Caramel returned from dealing with Mandrill near the middle of Blueblood’s explanation but managed to get the context well enough.
And so, all four members of the Avengers plus one Sorceress Supreme and one liaison were gathered around the pedestal as the day’s events sunk in.
“What I don’t understand is why the War Machine armor suddenly started to work.” Caramel said. “Didn’t you say you never managed to keep it on for more than a few seconds?” He asked Blueblood.
Blueblood nodded. “I thought that very same thing myself. Thunderlane? How did you manage to activate the War Machine?”
Thunderlane kept his head down, more than a little intimidated that he was surrounded by the five most powerful ponies in Equestria. “I honestly don’t know. To be honest, I’m not sure why I went for the War Machine since I knew Blueblood never got it to work properly.”
Twilight hummed to herself as she thought this over. “Blueblood, your Iron Pony armors run off the pilot’s own magical field, correct?”
Blueblood nodded, allowing Twilight to continue. “How exactly does the War Machine armor differ from your other armors?”
Blueblood thought the question over for a little while. “Well… It has much more firepower for starters. It’s more heavily armored too. It lacks in speed and mobility and it doesn’t possess a shield emitter crystal but its arsenal and heavy armor is meant to make up for that.”
Spitfire raised an eyebrow at this. “That seems… almost like the exact opposite of all your other armors. Even the Hulk-Buster has a shield and is fast on its feet.”
Blueblood nodded. “True, this was precisely the point of the War Machine. It’s designed to fight heavily armored supervillains. Against those types, speed wouldn’t really matter and the greater amount of weapons could pierce through their defenses more easily.”
Twilight smiled, believing to have found a solution to this conundrum. “But it’s still vastly different from all of your other armors, at least in terms of how you use it.”
Blueblood nodded as Twilight continued. “This is just a theory, but you are all already aware that each pony’s magic is unique to them, correct?”
The assembled ponies nodded at this, even Thunderlane who took some magic classes as per requirement to become a Royal Guard.
“It could be that because Blueblood is not the kind to charge in fast and hit hard, his internal magic was incompatible with the War Machine armor. Whereas Thunderlane, a military soldier trained to strike hard and fast, his magic would be more compatible than yours.” Twilight stated, waiting for Blueblood and the other Avengers to mull over her theory.
“So what you’re saying…” Blueblood began. “Is that Thunderlane ‘fits’ the armor better than I ever could?”
Twilight nodded. “As I said, It’s just a theory. Your armors are powered by magic and even I know very little as to how each pony’s own personal magic field interacts differently than from others.”
Twilight shrugged her shoulders, her large red cape bobbing up and down. “But yes Blueblood. I do believe it is simply because Thunderlane ‘fits’ the armor better than you.”
“I see.” Blueblood said as he got up from his chair. He began to pace around the pedestal for a few seconds before a smile graced his muzzle. “Well then, I see no reason why he shouldn’t keep the armor then.”
Thunderlane’s head shot up upon hearing this. “What?!”
Thunderlane wasn’t the only one confused by Blueblood’s statement, the other Avengers were also flabbergasted by this.
“Are you kidding? We hardly know this guy and you want to just give him one of your most powerful suits?” Spitfire said.
“I know what Twilight said about how he can use the armor but that doesn’t really mean he has to.” Caramel stated.
Big Mac looked back and forth between Blueblood and Thunderlane before letting his own voice be heard. “Why do you want to give him the armor in the first place?”
Blueblood’s smile never left his face as he answered Big Mac’s question with utter honesty. “Because I trust him.”
Spitfire and Caramel merely looked at each other with raised eyebrows as Big Mac took in Blueblood’s words. Twilight was watching the whole thing with bemused curiosity.
Blueblood shrugged his shoulders. “Of course, I’m not offering him a position within the team. Not right away at least. If he wants to be an Avenger, he’ll have to go through the Initiate Program just like everypony else. But should we ever need the War Machine armor, I would be much more comfortable knowing that there is somepony I trust who can pilot it.”
Blueblood turned his attention towards the object of their discussion as Thunderlane took all of this info in. “This is all, of course, if you even wish to continue wearing the armor.”
Thunderlane thought of every word spoken in this room since they came in. He thought of how close he came to death fighting the Titanium Pony in that armor. Then he thought of how close Blueblood almost came to death if he hadn’t put the War Machine armor on. And despite himself, Thunderlane thought of Luna’s desire to get all of her soldiers into their own Iron Pony armors.
Blueblood was vehemently against the idea and yet here he was offering him exactly what he denied the other guards.
Why?
Because he trusted Thunderlane.
Thunderlane smiled as he looked expectantly at the other three Avengers. “If… If it’s alright with the rest of you.”
Big Mac was silent but eventually nodded, deciding to trust his fellow Avenger. Caramel followed shortly afterwards. Spitfire came the closest to actually verbalizing another complaint but instead sighed and nodded as well.
Blueblood smiled as he placed a hoof on Thunderlane’s shoulder. “You’re still a long way from getting your own chair, but I’d say you’ve officially taken your first step… War Machine.”
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One month later
“So how does it feel?” Blueblood asked. Rarity was beside him hoping her latest design did what it needed to.
Thunderlane moved around in his armor. The massive frame of the War Machine was responding to his movements much more smoothly now and Thunderlane didn’t feel as much of a tax on his own body.
“It feels a lot more natural now. Used to be just moving around was extremely tiring but it’s much easier now.” Thunderlane said within the mech.
“Good. Why don’t you come out so we can get the final measurements.” Rarity said.
Thunderlane nodded as the cockpit for the mech opened up, allowing the pegasus to hop down.
Now that he could see his own body again, Thunderlane gave another look to the suit Rarity and Blueblood designed for him. It was a skintight gray bodysuit with a network of glowing blue wires placed all over it. The wires themselves were connected to a Core Diamond located on Thunderlane’s chest.
This ‘Magi-Suit’ as Rarity called it was designed to connect the Core Diamond to Thunderlane’s own magical field without actually implanting the diamond in his chest. Something Thunderlane was very grateful for.
“Not to sound ungrateful Rare’ but I think you got my size wrong. It’s a little tight on the haunches.” Thunderlane said, tugging the fabric on his flank for emphasis.
“Classy.” Blueblood said with a snicker.
Thunderlane wiggled himself out of the suit and placed it into the basket Rarity was holding out for him. “Don’t worry darling.” She said. “Come back to my boutique sometime later today and well see if we can’t fix it.”
Thunderlane nodded. “Thanks Rare’. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” With that, Thunderlane turned towards the door to the workshop, leaving Blueblood and Rarity alone.
“He really has improved with the armor.” Blueblood said. “Yesterday, Caramel told me he’s started the ‘Veteran’ class simulations in the Danger Room and he’s doing rather well.”
Rarity smiled, glad to know the sergeant was on his way to becoming a full-fledged Avenger. “It’s only a matter of time before he’s flying alongside you during missions.”
Blueblood’s smile faltered a little but didn’t leave his face. “Very true. But… I do hope he won’t be the only one flying beside me.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Blueblood glanced aside as he thought of how best to tell his fiancée. “Rarity… Could you make another of those Magi-Suits?”
Rarity was still confused but nodded. “Yes, but I don’t see why you would need one. The whole point of a Magi-Suit is to connect a pony to a Core Diamond. Considering your Core Diamond is inside your chest, you really can’t be anymore ‘connected’ than you are right now.”
“It wouldn’t be for me.” Blueblood said. “Come here, I want to show you another project I’ve been working on.”
Rarity shrugged as she followed Blueblood to one of his workstations. She saw that whatever was on the table was covered in a thick tarp. Blueblood grabbed the corner of the tarp with his magic and pulled it away causing Rarity to gasp at what she saw. “Blueblood… Is… Is this what I think it is?”
Blueblood nodded. “Thunderlane taking the mantle of War Machine… It’s got me thinking. While I will never go as far as to mass-produce my armor for the military, It has opened my eyes to... other possibilities.”
Rarity shook her head, as if she was almost afraid of what was in front of her. “But Blue this is… this is…”
Blueblood raised a hoof to calm his fiancé. “I’m not going to force you to do anything, and if you ask it I will destroy this machine right now. I just feel it would be best that if something ever happened to me, I would feel better knowing that there is somepony…” Blueblood turned towards the door. “Who could come to my rescue.”
Blueblood left the workshop, leaving Rarity alone with the new suit of armor Blueblood designed. The armor was violet and white and covered in cyan gems. But what Rarity noticed almost immediately was that it was far too small for Blueblood to wear… but it would fit her just fine.
“...Rescue…”
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“Captain Howler.” Luna said, seeing the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent walk into her quarters. “I assume you’re here to give me the report on our scientist’s progress.”
Howler nodded. “Yes Ma’am, an’ Da eggheads seem ta’ think dat we can get da salvaged Eq-Droids workin’ better than Hammer ever did.” He said as he passed the manila folder to the princess.
“Good.” She quietly said, more to herself than to Howler. As she perused the folder of its contents she noticed that Howler was still standing in front of her keeping a respectful silence.
“You have something on your mind Captain?” She asked.
“Forgive me if’n I step outta line Ma’am but… Da Eq-Droids are based on Prince Blueblood’s Iron Pony tech, Correct?”
“Mm-hm.” Luna nodded, her eyes barely leaving the folder.
“Well…” Howler started. “Won’t he be… a little angry dat we’re using his tech behind his back?”
Luna raised her head at this and gave Howler a hard stare. “He would be if we were going to use the Eq-Droids as they are. But I have something… different in mind for them than Hammer or even Blueblood did.”
Howler raised an eyebrow. “Different?”
Luna nodded. “In short Captain Howler, what my nephew doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Understood?”
Howler knew better than to pry deeper than he already had. S.H.I.E.L.D. was an organization built on secrets and to unravel too many would weaken the organization. “Yes Ma’am.” He said with a salute.
“Good.” Luna said, handing the folder back towards Howler. “Tell our scientists the research phase is over. It’s time to initiate Project L.M.D.”