Iron Man didn’t waste any time starting the fight.
Fire erupted from his boots as he launched himself towards Doom, fists outstretched to knock the tyrant off the throne. Yet with an almost bored look on his mask, Doom watched as the Iron Avenger slammed into a barrier of green magic that conjured around Doom.
Iron Man snarled as he floated backwards, firing up his repulsor beams and unloaded them into the barrier. Despite having enough power to knock the Hulk on his ass, the beams did nothing to the green shield. Twilight let out a yell as she fired a blast of magic strong enough to burn the color from the air, yet it fizzled harmlessly against the shield. From the look of sheer disbelief on her face, Tony guessed that was her strongest spell. Not a good sign.
Her friends tried to join in, but Stark knew how that would end. So he flew forward ahead of them, crossing his arms over his chest as he prepared to bring out the big guns. Doom then raised a hand to stop the “fight”.
“Enough, Stark. If Doom had come here to destroy you, you would already be dead,” Doom told Tony, who had to bite his tongue to keep from disproving Doom. “I am not here to fight. I am here to open your eyes.”
“Look Doom, if you’re trying to get me to convert to the Church of Doom, you’re too late. I’m more of a believer in Norse Mythology,” Tony replied. Doom ignored him.
“You have been in this world for a few days, same as Doom. A world which I am certain you believe is in another dimension,” Doom began. The ponies began to advance on Doom, but Iron Man held out a hand to stop them. “That is what Doom thought at first, but Doom quickly learned the truth. This is not another dimension. This is our own…in the very distant future.”
The ponies let out a gasp at the reveal while Tony narrowed his eyes behind his faceplate. “Doom does not expect you to believe his words. That is why Doom has brought proof.”
Doom tapped a button on his wrist and the room was filled with a holographic projection of what Doom had seen. To the ponies, all they saw were a bunch of large shapes and a dark cavern, filled with ruin and nature.
But Tony had seen what Doom had seen. Ruined skyscrapers, streets now cracked and choked by weeds and, worst of all, the ruins of Avengers Mansion. Jarvis even picked up in the holographic recording the code that the mansion would send out to summon the Avengers. Despite the horror of what he was looking at, Tony felt a small sense of pride that the mansion had managed to keep transmitting even to this day.
“But…but how can this be?” Twilight asked, stepping up next to Iron Man. “Suppose what you’re saying is right, and this is your distant future, how is it we’ve only just now uncovered evidence that humans once lived in this world? You think we would find your cities or records or other things like that. And we’ve used our magic all over the-“
Iron Man caught on to Doom’s intent just in time and threw himself between Doom and Twilight, taking a blast of energy that erupted from Doom’s eyes right in the chest. The impact hurled both him and Twilight backwards, where they crashed into her friends.
“You dare to stand before Doom, peasant? You, who are not worthy to look upon Doom, dare to speak to him? After all you and your kind have done?” Doom asked, now rising to his feet.
Iron Man pushed himself back up and fired blast after blast at Doom, but Doom’s barrier was far too strong. In fact, if Tony were to wager a guess, he would say that it was even stronger than when they had fought at castle Doom a couple of days ago. That was cause for concern. But there were other matters Tony needed to clear up first.
“What they’ve done? What are you talking about, Doom?” Iron Man asked, his shoulder armor popping open to fire a volley of mini missiles towards Doom. The barrier dealt with those while Doom dealt with Tony’s question.
“Is it not obvious, Stark. I have pieced together what happened to our world, why humanity is gone and these creatures now take our place,” Doom snarled. “For we did not die out million or even hundred of thousands of years ago. Humanity vanished…exactly ten thousand years ago. When the first of these ponies appeared. Yes Stark, these ponies…wiped out humanity.”
Iron Man came to a dead stop in the air and slowly lowered himself down to the ground, keeping his eyes glued to Doom the entire time. “So let me get this straight. You’re saying that these ponies, ten thousand years ago, wiped humanity off the face of the Earth.”
“Correct.”
“And, judging by the markings on the buildings you found, you’re saying that our extinction was due to their magical power?”
“Truly you are Reed’s equal in intelligence.”
“So what you’re telling me is these ponies, who panic at the first sign of a strange creature or if they chip a hoof, based on Rarity, managed to defeat and eradicate all of the heroes and villains on Earth that we’ve both fought, including Thor, Doctor Strange and Sentry?” Iron Man finished. Doom nodded in response and for a moment there was nothing but silence. Then Tony threw back his head and began to laugh.
“You find this funny?” Doom seethed as Tony fell to his knees, pounding on the floor hard enough to crack it. His face plate opened and allowed Doom to see that Tony’s face had tears streaming down it and his mouth was in a full smile.
“Oh god…oh…Doom, never let it be said that you don’t have a sense of humor,” Tony wheezed, struggling to get his laughter under control. “Flung to a distant future where humanity has been wiped out and a civilization of crayon box ponies have taken our place. Sure, I can believe that. Bad futures are kinda our thing. But you honestly expect me to believe that these Saturday morning cartoon horses are the ones responsible for our downfall? Ugh, if you’re trying to kill me by getting me to laugh myself to death, let me tell you it’s working.”
‘As much as it surprises me to say, Doom, I cannot understand how a man of your intellect came to such a conclusion,’ Jarvis added in. ‘While the ponies and alicorns do posses strong magic, nothing that we have seen them use would lead to any thought that they could defeat Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and it’s most dangerous villains. Then there are the other alien races and the Asgardians. Would they not be here if this was the far future?’
“Doom is never wrong. I have seen the buildings. I have studied what remains of our records and history. And I know that these ponies are the cause of our demise,” Doom said. He then raised a hand towards Twilight and her friends, but once more Tony stepped between them. “You would save them? These creature that you have no attachment to?”
“To answer your question, yes. As a professional curtesy. But even though it’s only been a few days, I’ve grown rather fond of these ponies,” Iron Man smirked, raising his arms towards Doom. Twilight and her friends stepped up beside Tony and even the princesses managed to get back to their hooves as well. “And while you may have a better suit and stronger magic than me, I’ve got them backing me up. And if you’re right and they did wipe out the most powerful beings we’ve ever known…then you’re screwed, Victor.”
Doom narrowed his eyes behind his mask and for a moment Tony thought Doom would call his bluff. As strong as the ponies magic was, Doom was far stronger, smarter and a better spellcaster. He also had far superior tech and was even more ruthless than Tony. Even together, Tony didn’t like their chances of having to go up against Doom. But to his relief, which was hidden by his faceplate, Doom lowered his arms and floated towards the window.
“Doom came here to bring you the truth, Stark. Nothing more. But know this, in the future, when you have finally accepted Dooms words, we shall meet again. Whether it be as enemies who seek to destroy each other or as allies who wish to prevent the destruction of humanity, that is on you. But Doom will undo what has been done…and he will strike down all of you to do it.”
Doom turned and flew out through the window, Tony smirking when he saw that Doom’s suit traveled even faster than his. Rainbow Dash snarled and prepared to take off after him, but Tony held out a hand to stop her, shaking his head.
“Trust me Dash, he’s not a foe you want to take on by yourself,” Tony warned. “Hell, even with all of my allies I’d still rather not take him on unless I have to. The only thing greater than his ego is his skill. And coming from me, that’s saying something.”
When none of the ponies said anything, Tony turned to see that they were all giving him a look of uncertainty. “What’s the matter with you guys? We just confronted Doom and didn’t get our colorful asses kicked. This is a win in my book.”
“Tony…weren’t you listening to what Doom said?” Fluttershy asked. “He said that this is the future of your world. A world in which we…in which ponies wiped out humanity.”
“Yeah, I heard him and I’ve come to the conclusion that Doom is full of shit,” Tony replied. “His story was believable up until that point. Could you guys be the species that takes over long after humanity is gone? Sure you could, I’ve seen weirder. But do I believe that any of you would be able to defeat the heroes of my world? Hell no. And I mean that in a nice way.”
“Hey, we’re pretty powerful!” Rainbow said.
“I don’t doubt that. What I doubt is that any of you, all of you, even with your magic would stand a chance against the people I work with. Even on his worst day, Doctor Strange would still mop the floor with your entire species. I don’t mean that to be rude, but it’s just true. Guy kicks my ass on any day that ends in y.”
“Then why would he say any of that if it wasn’t true?” Pinkie asked.
“That’s just who Doom is. He’ll look for any excuse, any chance to gain the upper hand or maybe turn heroes against one another. It’s not the first time he’s tried to get me to side with him against a common enemy and I doubt it will be the last,” Iron Man said with a shrug.
“And there is evidence against his claim,” Celestia said, having regained enough strength to speak. “Doom said that the buildings he found date back to being destroyed ten thousand years ago, but we have records going back well over five thousand before that. The timeline just doesn’t add up.”
“See, another point against him. He’s just up to his old tricks,” Tony said with a smirk. “Best not to put too much stock into what he says. But just to be safe, Celestia and Luna. You two have access to all records across history, right?”
“That is correct, Tony. So long as the records were saved and preserved, we should have them in the castle library,” Luna confirmed.
“Good. Go through them and see if you can find anything that collaborates Doom’s story or disproves it further,” Tony said, stretching his arms. “While they’re doing that, I need to find a way to upgrade my suit.”
“Why’s that?” Twilight asked. “It’s already a marvel of engineering.”
“It is, but it’s not enough to contend with Doom. I need to find a way to get around his magic.”
“Well, in the Crystal Empire there are crystals they use to make jail cells that are said to be able to drain a being of its magic,” Celestia said. “Perhaps you could use those to upgrade your suit?”
“And just like that all is forgiven, Celestia,” Tony said, before smiling at the ponies. “So, who wants to take me to meet an empress?”