Iron Mare

by Bahamut Omega

Escape

"When faced with death, every alternative is preferable."

Twilight, Night Light, and Yinsen looked at the design before them.

"How will we build it without them taking notice?" Yinsen finally asked.

"We'd need some way to hide it," Night Light said.

"As much as it pains me to say it," Twilight began, looking at them. "The only way to hide it... is to do what they told us to do. Make weapons."

"Yes..." Night Light said, a pondering look on his face. "We'll hide the production among what we make, and then destroy the stockpile when we get out."

"Given our circumstances, that seems like the best we can do," Yinsen agreed.

"It's settled then," Twilight said, separating the sheets and going over to the forge. A sheet of metal being put into the fire while she grabbed a hammer in her telekinesis. "Let's get to work."

Night Light watched as Twilight worked the bellows to make the fire burn hotter and heat the metal faster. Then he shared a glance with Yinsen. Nodding to each other, they too set to work.

Pulling the red hot metal from the fire, Twilight set it against an anvil and started hammering it into shape. Each blow slowly but surely shaped it into what she needed it to be. Several times it was placed back in the fire to be heated again, the heat of the forge causing her coat to become matted with sweat. But still she worked. When she was satisfied with the shape, she used her magic to cut out a pair of holes and a row of four vertical slits below them. Dipping the crafted metal into a barrel of water, she closed her eyes as the sound of rapidly heating water heralded the cloud of steam.

Pulling the metal from the water, she looked at the mask of the suit as water dripped from it. Turning it around, she looked through the eye holes at the room in front of her. They could do it. This mask was the first piece. They would be free, and they were going to make these terrorists suffer.

Across the room, Night Light and Yinsen worked together to assemble the components of a missile. With each they made, some fuel from the stores would be siphoned off and hidden for their own use. Gears, hinges, motors, the armor itself. The process would be slow, but they had no reason to doubt Twilight.

---

Hours became days. Days became weeks. Each day followed a similar routine. Wake up with ideas, discuss them over breakfast, put together weapons for their captors while pilfering components for the suit, have a Chess game over lunch, work on the suit in the evening before dinner, and then finally go to sleep. Every week, their captors came in to get a requisition list and to check up on their progress. It was tricky, with more than one close call, but the suit's production was hidden as the days rolled by.

As their 89th day in captivity rolled into day 90, the trio sat around their table working out the final details of their escape plan.

"Alright. We stall them with the bomb Dad built, give the suit time to charge," Twilight said. "While it charges, you two take cover on either side of the door and hold the line. Once it's charged, I'll take point and clear the way. Once we're outside, we light up the explosives and get out as it all blows."

"Then it's just a matter of crossing the desert and finding help," Yinsen said.

"A tall order, but we can do it," Night Light said. "I have faith in you, Twilight."

"No matter how this ends, it ends today," Twilight said, a determined look on her face. "We stick to the plan, and we'll all walk out of this alive." Following the end of the conversation, the three retired to bed, needing to be well rested for their plan. Twilight still couldn't quite quell a feeling of dread. Like something would go wrong. After all, as the old saying goes, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

It seemed only moments later that Twilight awoke, seeing Yinsen and her father awake as well. They all shared a gaze as they got out of bed. Nodding, they set to work. Twilight put up a barrier so they could hide from the camera while Night Light attached the bomb to the door, which had been left a blind spot for the camera.

---

In the security room, the Commander looked at the feed of his prisoners in curiosity. They had done good work in the past three months. But something seemed off. They were ordering materials in a somewhat larger amount than what they were providing, and now they wanted to have privacy from the camera. Frowning, he sent several guards to check it out.

---

Twilight's telekinesis lifted the suit pieces onto her body. First she covered her chest, the ARC reactor shining through the hole that had been cut out for it. The she covered her flanks, making sure her tail was safely tucked in and not in the way of anything. Then the limbs. First her hind legs, then her forelegs were covered. She checked and double checked the flamethrowers mounted on her shoulder armor, able to be directed via her magic. On the forelegs she had mounted an RPG each for some added firepower. Finally, she put on the head covering, with the face plate coming last. She'd had to design it carefully to be able to fit her horn inside.

As Twilight suited up, Yinsen was typing away on their computer, preparing the charging program that would siphon all the room's power into the suit. "Alright. The suit's charging," the griffon said as a progress bar appeared on the screen. "So far so good." He had just gotten behind cover when the door was pushed on and the bomb detonated. "Four guards, two dead, two maimed. More are sure to come, but the blast knocked out the camera."

Yinsen and Night Light each grabbed a gun and made ready to repel an assault.

"How long?" Night Light asked.

"About three minutes," Yinsen answered before shooting a guard with a three round burst. "We should be able to last."

Night Light picked off two guards while making another retreat with a wounded leg. "We have to."

Twilight struggled to keep her breathing in check as she watched her father and Yinsen take shots at any who approached. Something wasn't right. This was going too well. They were civilians against battle hardened terrorists. Something had to go wrong at some point. She couldn't shake that feeling of dread. And then, in the final thirty seconds of charging, her bad feeling came true. As he moved to reload his gun, Night Light was struck twice in the chest by a pair of bullets before Yinsen could gun down the shooter. "Dad!" As her distraught scream left her throat, the suit finished charging and the room was plunged into darkness. Gripping the doors in her magic, Twilight slammed and held them shut as she stomped over to her father, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Dad!"

Night Light was bleeding badly, and to Yinsen's trained eyes, it was clear that he wouldn't make it. But Twilight didn't have that trained gaze. "Carry him, Yinsen. We can get help for him." She grabbed any clean rag she could in her magic, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

"He's not going to make it, Twilight," Yinsen said sorrowfully. "There's nothing we can do."

"Don't say that!" Twilight snapped as she finally caught her father's gaze with her own. He was unable to speak thanks to the blood flooding his lungs, and some was trailing from the corner of his mouth. Lifting a trembling hoof, he tapped it twice against the ARC reactor in his daughter's chest. A silent message that she immediately understood. She gave him a tearful nod, which he returned with a loving smile before his head and hoof fell limp, his chest no longer moving. "Dad?" Her voice trembled as she looked at him. "Daddy?" Her tears flowed faster as the reality sank in.

---

Outside the door, the guards were getting ready to bust their way in and deal with their prisoners when the hinges gave a loud groan as they were torn free. Then the doors suddenly flew back and smashed several against the wall, the rest being fast enough to retreat. As they recovered from the shook, a loud scream echoed through the tunnels. A scream that carried sorrow and rage. A scream that promised bloody vengeance, and it made them quake in terror. Slow, loud, heavy footfalls sounded as they saw the creature approaching them. A pony shape covered in metal that their bullets bounced off of and doing nothing to hinder it. They frantically reloaded as the monster stood before them. They quickly regretted that as a magenta aura engulfed the guns and tore them away, turning them back on their users. "DIE!!!" That scream echoed all the way to the cavern entrance before gunfire erupted.

Twilight didn't acknowledge the tears in her eyes as she mowed down any that stood in her way. Blood splattered all over the walls as she perforated her enemies, leaving their bodies to rot. Behind her, Yinsen was carrying Night Light's body on his back, wrapped securely in bedding. In the end, Twilight had refused to leave her father behind, insisting on bringing his body home so that he could receive a proper burial.

As she reached the entrance to the tunnels, Twilight paused and looked over the rest of her former captors. She no longer saw people. Just monsters that had taken her father from her. Loosing another scream, she started up the flamethrowers and began advancing, lighting everything on fire as she passed it. The RPGs took out their anti air guns so that Yinsen could escape with Night Light in the chaos. Once she was positive everything was burning and about to blow, Twilight started up the thrusters in the suit's legs and took off, clearing the huge explosion that destroyed the facility. Her feeling of triumph was cut short as she ran out of fuel and started falling with a scream. Acting quickly, she used her magic on herself to soften the landing in a sand dune.

She heard Yinsen land beside her and lifted the helmet off with a groan. After extricating herself with some aid from Yinsen, she looked into the distance. "We need to get moving."

---

Okay. Twilight could admit that perhaps she hadn't thought this all the way through. They had escaped, but were now trudging through the desert with no idea where they were. "Are we going to die out here?"

"Don't give up hope yet, Twilight," Yinsen said. "We can still find civilization. And remember, we griffons are used to extremes like this. Granted, I'm more used to cold than blazing heat, but we evolved in deserts. Shouldn't be much different than surviving the winters of Clawberia."

Twilight nodded and saw something in the distance. Shapes in the sky that were moving fast. Against the wind. "Pegasus scouts!" Her horn's tip shining, Twilight shot a light into the air that exploded and shone brightly as a makeshift flare. Sure enough, the pegasi turned and flew toward their location. Seeing them better, Twilight saw that they were Wonderbolts. And she recognized one of them quickly. "Rainbow Dash!"

The chromatic pegasus landed near Twilight and galloped over to her. "Twilight!" She engulfed her friend in a tight hug as Soarin and Spitfire landed. "You okay, Twilight?"

"I'll live," Twilight said, a tear cutting through the sand matting her fur as she looked at her father's wrapped body on Yinsen's back. "But... my dad..."

Spitfire uncovered Night Light's face and closed her eyes, a sorrowful look on her face. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Soarin worked his radio. "This is Soarin. We've found Twilight Sparkle. Repeat, we've found Twilight Sparkle."

"And Night Light?" the voice on the other end inquired.

"He didn't make it," Soarin answered somberly. "Have a casket ready."

"Understood," the radio operator answered. "We'll have medical personnel ready too."

"Copy that," Soarin said.

Dash did her best to wipe Twilight's tears away. "Let's get you home."

Author's Note:

Apologies for the long wait. Had writers block and was working on some other stuff. But hopefully I can get this series rolling again. I thank you for your patience.

Comments

[VampDash]

On the one hand. Poor Twilight. On the other hand.... WELCOME BACK LOBO!