“Applebloom, where are you taking me?” Iron Man asked. “And are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?”
“Ah’m fine. This ain’t the first time ah’ve broken a limb and ah doubt it will be the last,” Applebloom said with a smile. Tony tried to ignore the pain in his heart.
She led him into a small forest at the edge of Ponyville, where a treehouse hung in a tree and a few familiar faces waited outside with something covered in a cloak. Tony recognized Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but the pink filly with the tiara on her flank was new to him.
“Hey girls! Look, ah got him!”
“Good job! I would hate for us to put in all of this work and it to be for nothing,” Scootaloo said, flicking her head towards the covered…thing. “I mean, we nearly killed ourselves six times when trying to make it, so thanks for showing up Tony.”
“I’m glad to see that you’re alright. We heard that you had been hurt pretty bad by Tirek,” Sweetie Belle said, checking over his armor. “You seem to be alright, though.”
“Yeah, I’m a superhero. It takes a lot more than a blast of magic stronger than a nuke to keep us down,” Tony chuckled, trying to smile. He then looked at the last filly, who was looking up at him with awe in her eyes. “And I don’t think I’ve met you, little empress. What’s your name?”
“I’m Diamond Tiara. We would have met sooner, but I’ve been out of town,” she replied, looking up and down Tony’s armor. “Alright, how much do you want for the suit? I need something like that.”
“More than you could ever make. Well, now that introductions are out of the way, what say we see what’s under here?” Tony said as he went to grab the covering, but Bloom slapped his hand. After she was done snarling in pain, she glared up at Tony.
“Don’t just go and ruin the surprise like that! Ya know how hard we worked on this?!” she yelled at Tony, before backing up with her friends joining her. “Eh’m, Iron Man, after seeing ya suit and all of the cool stuff ya could do with it, ah really wanted to see if we could duplicate yer suit. And in doing so, ah hope…ah hope to become yer apprentice.”
“Oh Bloom, listen…”
“But knowing how foolish it would be for her to do something like this by herself, we all got together to help her,” Scootaloo cut in, lifting a hoof that had a bandage on it. “I mean, she’s already got a broken leg, and her she is trying to build a flying suit of armor.”
“But thankfully, we can do anything when we work together,” Sweetie continued. “So with her smarts, my magic, Scootaloo’s muscle and Tiara’s funding…”
“Hey, I did more than just fund the thing!”
“We actually managed to make this!”
The three ripped down to cover as they said this and Tony’s eyes went wide. There, standing on a box, was a filly size version of his Iron Man armor. It was designed for a filly instead of a human, but the rest of it made it look like it was something that he could build. The armor moved and shifted the way his did, Applebloom’s propulsion tech was worked into the hooves, a magic crystal in the chest powered the rest of it and it was even the same red and gold coloring as his suits.
“Well, what do ya think?” Applebloom asked.
Tony walked past her, patting her on the head before he knelt down next to it, examining it closer. The armor was woven together and inter layered, giving it strength without compromising durability. Thin fields of magic lined the wires and hydraulics, so they wouldn’t be the first thing to go in a fight. And finally, there was the fact that the crystal, according to his scanners, allowed them to draw power from the very magic in the air. Had he ever tried that? Drawing power from the planet? Why hadn’t he?
“This…this is incredible,” he said at last, turning to look at the four fillies with a baffled look on his face. “Just…replicating my suit would be one thing, but to have it be…improved in these regards. Magical shielding for the weakest parts. The woven armor underneath the folding plates…it’s brilliant.”
“Ya really think so?! Ah spent days trying to get it right!” Applebloom exclaimed.
“Days. You built this in days?” Tony asked, amazed.
“Well, we had yer suit as the base design, so we didn’t design it from scratch. Ah just built it based on what ah remembered of yer suit and made a few…adjustments.”
“Improvements.”
“Ah didn’t say that.”
“Well that’s what they are,” Tony replied, looking over the suit once again. She had to have a photographic memory. That was the only way she could have replicated it so well. Of course, the energy system was a mess and he wagered that if she tried to fire off those thrusters the whole thing would explode. But still, to come so far in such a short time…she might even be a better inventor than him.
“You’re all incredible. All four of you are,” Tony said, looking down at the CMC, before he turned his head towards the crystal in the center. “Especially your idea to use this crystal to take the magic from the air. That’s something even I’ve never thought of before. Genius.”
“Well I’m glad you like it, because it was my idea,” Tiara said with a smile. When Tony gave her a look, she looked offended. “What, it was! When those three wondered where they would get enough magic to fuel their suit, I asked why they just didn’t take it from the air. Faust knows that there’s more than enough magic there.”
“You thought of that? Are you a genius yourself?”
“Not in the traditional sense, but I know how to manage resources,” Tiara said, before smiling at the other three. “What would you three do if I hadn’t joined your group?”
“What’s that?”
“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know, but for a while Diamond here was our most bitter enemy,” Sweetie explained. “She constantly belittled us, ruined our plans and made us feel like crap.”
“Wow, way to paint such a nice image of me.”
“Well it was true,” Scootaloo said, before smirking. “But now look. We buried the past, became friends and now together we can do things we thought were impossible together. Enemies to friends to beyond. Kinda sappy.”
“Enemies to friends to do the impossible…” Tony muttered.
“What was that, Tony?” Applebloom asked.
“Nothing. Hey, how about I look over your suit and make sure that it doesn’t blow up and kill all of you?” Tony asked. “Jarvis can even tell you four what I’m doing so you can make these improvements on your own.”
“Really?! You’d do that?!” Applebloom asked.
“Sure…anything for my apprentice.”
The look of sheer joy that took up Applebloom’s face made Tony’s words worth it. With a squeal of delight she bounced over next to him, watching as he explained how to properly wire their propulsion system while teaching her all of the tricks to avoid when making a suit of war. Especially about how to install cupholders in the suit.
=====----=====
Tony watched with his helmet down as Scootaloo gently flew through the sky in the Iron Mare suit they had made. Applebloom couldn’t fly with her broken leg, Belle had agreed to go second and Tiara didn’t want to be stuffed into a sweaty suit. But all of them were laughing. And that was what was important.
‘Sir, may I ask you something?’ Jarvis said.
“You just did.”
‘Don’t be that guy.’
“Fine. What is it?”
‘Sir, considering what our plan is to save humanity…did you agree to take her on as an apprentice to make her happy before you undo this future? Leave her with a happy memory? Because if you did sir, I would consider that cruel. Considering…what you’ve-‘
“I can’t do it.” Tony sobbed slightly and placed his head in his hands “I can’t do it, Jarvis. I can’t erase them. They didn’t do anything wrong. They shouldn’t be punished.”
‘Sir…while noble…we are still left with a dilemma. Even if you spare them, you will be stuck here. If you go back to your own time, the past will be changed. Even if you do nothing to stop Gaea, the past will be changed. Things will be different. These ponies you care for…may not come to be regardless. If you truly wish to keep them safe, you must stay here. And to be honest…I do not think that is the right choice. Humanity…our allies…they deserved to be saved as well.’
“I can’t, Jarvis. Look at those four. Look at this world. Yeah, it was built on violence, but they managed to make it a world of peace. A world where friendship and kindness is valued more than money and power. They did what we…what I never could. They saved their world.”
‘Perhaps. But perhaps we could too. But humanity’s chance was taken from it.’
“They’re children, Jarvis!”
‘So were the children Gaea killed.’
“What are you asking of me?!” Tony screamed at Jarvis. “Every time I think I have an answer, you make an argument for the other side! Why can’t you just tell me what to do?!”
‘Because I want you to fully think about what you’re doing, before you end up doing something you will regret’.’ Jarvis hadn’t raised his voice, but Tony felt like Jarvis had just screamed at him. ‘I want you to consider every angle, every possibility, weigh both sides equally. We are not talking about a few people or some aliens. This is trillions of lives, possibly more. And my prime directive the one I have held steadfast to over all these years, is to make sure you don’t do something you regret. So yes, I am not giving you a clear answer because there is no clear answer. There is just an impossible choice. But you must make it. Do not let Doom or the ponies sway you. The choice must be yours…and like all the other times you’ve been here, I know you’ll pick the right one.’
“I need more time. Maybe…maybe after years of research, I can find a way to bring back everyone,” Tony thought. “Maybe I can…I don’t know, create robot bodies or something?”
‘…I see where you are coming from sir, but sadly you must make a definitive choice…or Doom will make it for you,’ Jarvis reminded Tony. ‘He gave you a few days of reprieve. He will not give you longer. The fact that he has not waged war on pony kind out of revenge is proof that he respects you. But that will not last. You have seven days to decide. Do what you think is right. And I will stand by you. As I always will.’
Tony closed his eyes and lowered his head, thinking it over once more. The robots wouldn’t work. Vengeance ran deep. And Jarvis was right. If he returned home, it would most likely erase all of these ponies. That was how time travel worked. He couldn’t figure out a solution.
For the first time in his life, he wasn’t smart enough.
====----=====
Doom stood alone overlooking the village of the deerfolk. Down below him the entire village was racing around, each of them using the abilities that Doom had granted them for fun. Some used their super strength to toss rocks around. Others used their telekinesis to lift others into the air. Some teleported around. And one, Ashgrove, stood beside him, radiating a power that Doom had given to him and him alone.
“You’ve brought peace to our village,” Ashgrove said to Doom. Doom looked down at the deer, who looked like himself. Then he flickered for a second and he became a she. The Ashgrove flickered again and he was a pony. He flickered once more and he was returned to normal.
“Of course. Doom promised he would, did he not?” Doom asked. “With these powers, you should fear threats from beyond no more. A single deer in your village would be strong enough to slay even an Ursa. Together, you are all unstoppable. Especially you. You who received the greatest gift.”
“You’re our hero, Doom. You saved us.”
“And you can be your own heroes, now,” Doom replied, before he sighed and looked over at a giant device the super genius deer were building.
“You’re thinking about the forbidden lands, aren’t you?”
“I am indeed. I am worried. I know Stark. I know that he values humanity over everything else. I know that saving it became his personal mission. That saving the is what drives him. But I cannot shake the feeling that he will do something I could never predict.”
“But aren’t you the smartest man in the multiverse? How could he do something you couldn’t predict?”
“Because despite being a scientist, he will always follow his heart. Even if he knows that will lead him to ruin. And in doing so, he will achieve something I could never dream of,” Doom replied, before he slightly shook his head. “No matter. I will be ready. If he joins me, we shall save humanity together. If he does not, I simply must best him once more before saving humanity. Easy.”
“Do not worry, Doom. I will be by your side, no matter what happens!” Ashgrove promised, now nearly the same size as Doom. “Always.” Doom looked at the deer for a moment, before he nodded his head.
“Yes…yes you will be. You have proven to be a most trusted ally. A…friend,” Doom said, before he looked towards the horizon and the rising sun. “Thank you.”