Chapter 3
Her eyes fluttered open, revealing only darkness. From the feeling of cloth around her head, she was blindfolded. She made an attempt to levitate the cloth off her head, but was cut off by a sharp pain coming from the base of her horn. “Grr, magic suppressor...” she mumbled, breathing heavily. Twilight’s sense began to come back to her, starting first with a throbbing headache, then a dull, constant pain in her chest. She made an effort to stand, but found her legs bound together by heavy rope.
“Think, Twilight, you can get out of this...” she said, struggling against the ropes, but to no avail. “You’ve gotten through worse. Nightmare Moon...” She ground the material against the floor, hoping to weaken it. “Discord...” The same maneuver was done with her hind legs. “Grr... Queen Chrysalis...” She grit her teeth now, fighting through the pain surging through her chest. It wasn’t long, though, until she wore herself out. Sweat coated her body, and she knew that no significant progress had been made trying to break the rope. She went limp and just laid there, taking deep breaths and thinking about what was to become of her.
Then, her ears perked up as muffled voices began to sound through the walls. She couldn’t identify or understand them, but they were getting closer. The two voices hung outside the room for just a moment before silencing. Then, the click of a lock sounded, followed by a mechanical hiss. She dared not move a muscle.
“By the King... I told you to capture her, not kill her!” a smooth, masculine voice came.
“She ain’t dead, but she came close. The doc did all she could, but still couldn’t get all the shrapnel out,” another voice said, deeper than the other.
“Wonderful,” the first voice replied, thick with sarcasm. “Now what does that mean for us?”
“It means, well... she ain’t got more than a week. The bits that are still in there are just gonna keep going until they get to her heart.” A flurry of feathers was heard, followed by dull thud and a cry of pain.
“Get out of my sight!” the first voice yelled, quivering with rage.
“Y-yes boss,” the second voice replied, presumably leaving the room. The remaining creature sighed, then closed the door behind him. “Idiot,” he hissed. His footsteps brought him closer to Twilight, and after a few moments she felt a claw grab the blindfold and take it off.
The bright light above her caused her to squint, but once her eyes adjusted, she looked up to see a dark-feathered griffon with forest green eyes staring back at her. There was a visible scar across his left eye, which forced him to always squint slightly. “Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle.”
She frowned and gave him a cold stare, refusing to say a word. After several seconds of silence, he took a breath. “Not very talkative, I see. That’s fine. It’ll make it easier for me to explain.” He circled around her, the two of them never breaking eye contact. “You might not know, but I’m a very big fan of yours, Miss Sparkle. Always impressed by every new invention your company creates, and every technological advancement that graces Equestria.”
He then paused and shook his head, chuckling. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten my manners. Here I am, praising you, when I haven’t even introduced myself.” He outstretched and a claw near Twilight. She looked at it, then looked back to him and narrowed her eyes. “Oh, my mistake,” he said, leaning down and untying the ropes around her forelegs. Then, he offered his claw again. A few moments passed before he retracted it and shrugged. “No? Fair enough. Anyway, you may call me Garrett,” he said, continuing his pacing.
“What do you want with me?” Twilight croaked, staring daggers into the griffon. He merely gained a look of surprise and smiled.
“Ah, she speaks! Excellent.”
“Answer the question.”
“Fine, fine. In short, Miss Sparkle, I’d like you to share your magnificent technology with us in the Griffon Kingdom.”
Twilight’s look softened a bit as she began to seem curious. “And what do you want my magitech for?”
Garrett reached her hind legs, untying them as he passed. “Well, how do I say this... We’d like your technology for, ah, self protection.”
“Not a chance,” she replied, rubbing her hooves where the ropes had been. “What would you even need ‘self protection’ for? I thought the Griffon Kingdoms had a peace treaty with the other nations.”
The griffon chuckled. “You can never be too careful, Miss Sparkle. Just whatever would we do if you ponies decided you needed more land one day? Surely, you wouldn’t expect us to let you sail on over and start living amongst us, would you?”
“No, I’d expect a diplomatic meeting between your King and Princess Celestia,” Twilight spat, as she started to stand up.
“Conflicts are rarely settled with words, Miss Sparkle,” Garrett stated matter-of-factly. “Even in the business world, you need to take action.”
“I’m still not doing it,” Twilight said, looking into Garrett’s green eyes.
“Hmph. Then perhaps an ultimatum will change your mind.” His smile disappeared, and now he looked upon Twilight with impatience. “You can either build us your technology and be released when you’re done, or we can have you executed. The choice is yours.”
Twilight gulped, her stalwart look faltering. She refused to agree to his demands, but what would she do otherwise? She also knew that he was lying. He would have told her about the shrapnel if he truly meant to release her. No matter what choice she made, she was going to die by the end of it. Twilight needed a plan.
“I’ll do it.”
A sly smile crawled across Garrett’s face. “Now, that’s what I like to hear. Thank you for your cooperation.” He then pointed behind her. “You’ll find supplies on the workbench, and if you need more materials, don’t be afraid to call. The room is monitored, so we’ll hear you.” He pointed to a bulky device on the far wall that was just visible in the light, which panned across the room.
The griffon then turned and walked to the door, opening it. Before exiting, he looked back to Twilight. “Oh, and please, don’t try anything funny. This entire room is magic proof, so the only thing getting in or out are Griffons with passkeys. Now, enjoy your stay.”
Garrett left the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. As he did, the magic suppressor around her horn beeped and the rest of room lights came on. Twilight looked around in awe as piles of materials and blueprints stuck to the walls were revealed. They ranged from commonly available plans to private ones she thought only Sparkle Industries had access to, but those were the least of her problems now.
The truly important issues were lodged deep in her chest.
- - -
Twilight turned to the workbench and walked towards it, ignoring the pain throbbing throughout her body. When she got there, she turned the two overhead lamps on and sat down, observing the bandages wrapping her chest. “At least they were courteous enough to pull the metal out...” she mumbled, peeling the cloth back to reveal the damage.
Her eyes widened as she saw just how much damage had been caused. There were multiple deep cuts and gaping wounds, though they had stopped openly bleeding. Twilight picked up a small mirror and looked through it, trying to see where most of the damage was caused. Just as she feared, it all of the wounds were near her heart. With a gulp, Twilight casted a spell to scan her chest. As she saw the results, she felt herself beginning to hyperventilate as panic swept over her.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “You can save yourself, Twilight. You just need to stop the slowly advancing metal shards from reaching your heart. But how?” She opened her eyes again and looked around for pieces. There was plenty of wiring and metal bits lying around, and in the corner of the room she thought she saw a metalworking station. “An arcanomagnet,” she stated, pulling a long strand of copper wire towards her.
Twilight wrapped the bandages back around her chest before grabbing several scraps of metal and a sheet of paper. She leaned over the desk, hastily scribbling out a collection of diagrams and measurements. “Coil the wires here... attach to a power source...” she mumbled, scratching the lead against the parchment.
Finally, she had a basic design in front of her. It was a simple creation, but it would keep her alive. The only problem was keeping it powered. A MECC with enough energy to sustain the arcanomagnet would be too large to carry around, so she needed to invent something smaller. Something more efficient. Something out of wire and scrap metal.
“Efficiency, Twilight. Small, but powerful. Come on... you can do this...” She took another piece of parchment and began to brainstorm. “Too big,” she said, crossing out her first idea. “That won’t give enough power...” Another was erased from the page. “What if...” she pondered, starting to draw. A circle enclosed several different wiring arrangements, feeding back into the center and through the main power circuit. It was an idea she had briefly pondered, but never had the time to put into practice. Now, she needed it to work.
After a few more notes and adjustments, she floated the design in front of her and looked it over. Her eyes scanned over the notes, looking for any inconsistencies or issues. “If this works... I may have just invented a self sustaining energy source. I hope I’m right.” Pinning the design on the wall, she started to work.
Bits of metal and various wires floated through the air, being bent and twisted into one another. A thin metal circle was crafted and wrapped in sections of wiring, which left off on a thin piece of copper wire. She soldered a plug to the end of it, then added finishing touches to the frame. “That should work,” she said, slowly spinning the new magnet in front of her. All that was left was to test it.
Looking through one of the piles of pieces, she found the casing to one of her smaller MECC units. Quickly inscribing patterns and symbols into it, she made the necessary adjustments to the frame. With a quick burst of magic, she had provided the core of the device and snapped it together. After mere minutes of work, she had a working MECC.
Elsewhere in the building, Garrett patiently watched Twilight work on a small monitor. “Such speed and efficiency...” he mused, looking at the unicorn’s progress. “And with nothing but stolen parts and scrap metal. She certainly is a bright one.”
“What is she doing?” another griffon asked, standing behind Garrett. “That doesn’t look like any weapons I’ve seen.”
“Give her time, Greger. I’m sure she’s concocting something brilliant.”
“Hmph. If you say so, but I don’t trust ‘em. Those ponies, that is,” Greger said, turning away.
Garrett continued staring at the monitor. “Build me something great, Miss Sparkle,” he near whispered.
In the room itself, Twilight had finished wiring the arcanomagnet to the MECC. She brought over a small piece of metal, and to her satisfaction, it skittered across the table and stuck like glue to the magnet. “Now, for the hard part.”
She looked over the plans for her power source and grabbed several pieces of metal. It was going to take a bit of metalwork to get this design work, and she needed all of the precious metals that she could get her hooves own. Digging through the scrap, she pulled out several of the casings for the MECCs and began to disassemble them. At their core was a thin sliver of arcanium, a rare metal that magic flowed through as easily as water through a stream.
After pulling out as much arcanium as she could, she moved to the metalworking station. With a flick of her horn, a fire had started, and was heating the forging plate. Taking a ruler, several pieces of metal and a melting plate, she began to boil down the scrap and alter it into a mold for the power sources frame. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, both from concentration and from the heated metal in front of her.
Moving to the cool bucket, she dipped the mold in for several seconds, then brought it back out and observed it. Twilight took several measurements and filed it down to perfection and set it aside. She then floated the arcanium slices over and dropped them into the melting plate, waiting until they had been completely liquidated. Carefully, she took the molten arcanium and poured it into the mold, watching as it filled the shape out perfectly.
She let it set for several moments before cooling the new piece as well, and soon enough she was floating a precisely structured ring of arcanium in front of her. She brought it back to the work bench and put it against the blueprint for comparison. “A perfect fit.”
Twilight sat down at the bench and started cutting wires into precise lengths. After soldering a ring of supports to the arcanium ring, she began to wrap the wire tightly around each of the supports, then lead the wire to the middle. Twilight repeated the process several times and bound the wires together, then floated a magnifying glass in front of her to do the intricate detail work.
The smell of burning metal hung in the air as she combined the thin wires together and fused them. Finally, after strenuous attachment and precise adjustment, the main core of the source had been completed. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead before embedding the core in a thin casing, then capping off the central coil.
“Alright... here goes nothing.” Twilight leaned forward and shot a small burst of magic at the coils of the reactor. Magic energy sparked through the reactor before blue energy surged between the coiled wires and into the main core. A smile began to slowly spread over Twilight’s face as she observed the power source she just created. “I thought you couldn’t exist,” she whispered. “But now... anything is possible. The Mage Reactor is a complete success!”
Her grin lasted up until the point where she realized that she was going to have to get the arcanomagnet inside of her body and the reactor in place. With a gulp, she looked down at her chest. Slowly, her eyes trailed up to the nearby scalpel. “Oh no...” she said, looking at the blade’s sharp edge. “No, no, no. I can’t.”
She knew, though, that it was the only way.
Twilight breathed heavily, floating the scalpel in front of her. “Remember Twilight... three inches. Too little, it won’t fit. Too much, you’re dead. Three... inches...” She gulped and looked back down at the outline she had drawn on her chest. It was wide, and showed exactly where the reactor would sit. Twilight took a deep breath, and with a burst of magic, sank the blade into it’s target.
She screamed.
Her vision was blurry and her entire body felt numb. Looking down, she saw a slab of flesh on the ground, and a large, bleeding hole in her chest. On the table in front of her laid the arcanomagnet and mage reactor. She reached a hoof out to grab them, but quickly found her head spinning, and before she knew it, she was on the ground.
Through half lidded eyes, she noticed Garrett and two other griffons rush into her cell. Garrett ran over to her and leaned down, lifting her head up slightly.
“What are you doing?!” he yelled, frantically looking between the hole in her chest and the puddle of blood on the ground. He was barely audible to Twilight, who was struggling to stay conscious.
Her eyes glanced up to the table and she mumbled, “arcanomagnet... has to go in my chest... stop the shrapnel.”
Garrett shouted something to one of his lackeys, and soon found both the arcanomagnet and mage reactor in his talons. “This? You need this in you?” He waved the magnet in front of Twilight’s face.
“Power it... with the reactor,” she said, glancing to the mage reactor.
The griffon looked between both items. The magnet plugged easily into the reactor, but the reactor was unlike anything he had ever seen. Just that technology alone would be useful to him, but she needed it to survive. Then again, it wasn’t a very big device. It was probably just meant to power the magnet, and he had no use for a glorified battery. He needed her mind.
Taking a breath, Garrett stuck the magnet in her chest, followed by the reactor.
Twilight thought she heard something about an emergency room before she passed out.
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Painful. I'm not certain I could do something like that to myself
im left wishing i knew more comic cannon facts about iron man, it would help me with a proper translation prediction. however with my limited knowledge i like this story.
The End.
On a serious note... i love this fic, now to wait and see if she turns into a playmare like Stark
That's the part of the comics/movie I wondered about. How did Stark get that thing in his chest without screaming bloody murder?
Nice details on the construction, even if my knowledge of circuitry is limited.
Keep it up!
1284320 Well according to the movie, it was installed by a hostage doctor, while he was unconscious. A much preferable route I would say.
Let me guess...You're going to shamelessly self promote this story on EqD, right?
1284320
If I remember correctly, he had the professor ( Ysen ?) with him in the cell.
It was Ysen who saved him in the first place.
Yes!
) story
I'v been waiting for a iron-man(mare?
1284512 Yes, Yensen did the surgery.
The biggest problem I have with this story are the EoH.As the bearers of the Elements, the Mane 6 would be forever in each others lives until such a point that they are no longer the bearers, be that until they are dead or the EoH move onto a more fitting group. This is all conjecture however.
1280142 I feel that it will be somepony closer to heart than Filthy Rich.
Including this story, I am currently tracking two MLP/Iron Man stories. This one makes much more sense in my head, and I see it going far. A few reasons; it is not a carbon copy of the movie, it's actually got Twilight in a believable position for her to make the Iron Man (or Iron Mare in this case) Armor, and the antagonists are believable.
A few observations I want to make sure I'm right on though:
1) MECCs (I don't really remember what the acronym stands for) are basically batteries that use magic instead of electricity. Correct, incorrect, partially right and/or missing a few important points?
2) The Mage Reactor is different from MECCs in that it doesn't just output energy, but also creates more than/same amount that it outputs, thereby making it a source of infinite magical energy. Correct, incorrect, partially right and/or missing a few important points?
Now for a fan question that you can feel free to ignore all you want. What role does Trixie play into this? Is she a good guy, bad guy, or simply an important side character? The evil Trixie is kinda predictable (though I'm not trying to shoot that idea down), and stories that have Trixie turn out for the good are actually kind of refreshing in my opinion (Not trying to tell you how to do your story here, and I am honest-as-Applejack not being sarcastic), but this is your story (which is turning out awesome) and evil Trixie or good Trixie, I am going to enjoy it.
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/24520424.jpg
1284224 Not many could, even in desperation.
You've made a very brave Twilight, Alex! I'm happy on that.
maybe Twilight, with her smarts, can find a way of removing those bits of metal where Stark failed. but in keeping with the "Iron Mare" thing, maybe the magic in the device will have an unforeseen side-effect on her body.
Iron Mare?
Can't..................hold it..................anylonger.
I'm sorry this is too much.
I want to see Spike or Shining Armor... maybe Big Mac as War Machine...
She stabbed herself. Just flat out stabbed herself. No specifications to whether or not she got those 3 inches. Sooooooo, I'm assuming the scalpel was 3 inches wide.
That's a pretty big scalpel! Either that, or it's my little-to-none experience with them. 
Still, scary.
One Question. This may seem a little stupid, but...... Why is Twilight afraid to die? She gave hints earlier suggesting she didn't care very much anymore. And her death was kinda inevitable anyway.....
Oh, wait, I'm forgetting this is a crossover. Twilight no die.
Yeah, that was a stupid question...
Yeah, it has to be said how Tony Stark ends up with a hole in his chest big enough for the reactor is kinda glazed over in the film.
Still, I do miss the days when he had to plug himself into a wall socket to recharge.
Ignoring my ramblings, this is a really good story.
Interesting different take on Tony's kidnapping from the first IM movie. Now, is Garrett's mob 'official', 'disavowed' or geniunely rogue/independent in terms of the Griffin Empire's intelligence service? That alone will determine a lot of how Twilight is treated.
Damn talk about bucking painful and Big Mac as War Machine? Bad ass! I don't trust that Giffion and she give in a little to easily where as Tony fought and then some before he said yes, and even then he built a metal suit of armor...wonder what Iron Mare would look like......and Trixie as a villian? BUCK YES...in all honesty she is my favorite villian though so I can't wait to see more of this.
Cutting yourself open and putting metal in. Suddenly I'm reminded of this:
antisocialjournal.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/tetsuo-the-iron-man-cover-1.jpg
My one problem with this idea is that a third of the population can already fly. Other than that, great fic
~Dess
It's certainly an interesting take on the Iron Man series, I'll give you that, and it only makes me want to read more of it. :D
1285002
Yeah... that has to be one of the freakiest movies I've ever seen.
1285128
"Sewer drill!"
1280242 what game is that? I want it
I think I'm now going to re-watch Iron Man a few times. Great story.
Just when I start my own set of Marvel Pony Hero stories...
WHY ME!!???!
1284978 Ouch that would be painful! also i have another theory for who war machine would be.. Rainbow Dash. if this story is going taking specific parts from the movie iron man (which i belive it will but idfk) then Rainbow Dash would be in the closest thing to an air force, she is on the most advanced team of flyers in their world so i'm going out on a limb here and saying she would be the pony version of rhodey (think i spelled his name wrong
) in this story.
1285386 Tell me about it and I love that idea, that's just to bucking perfect...but it's not up to me or you
sucks right? Hopefully the author will take our ideas into thought though.
1285421well either way we both know we are going to love his story anyway!
Cutting yourself open for that... -ouch-.
Poor Twilight.
1285430 True that! Brohoof! I just hope he creates a bad ass suit of armor for Twilight and we get to see some awesome villian(s)
3.bp.blogspot.com/-SqHhi6nVt8g/TuENJZcIMnI/AAAAAAAABcA/VzbNgyb-luY/s1600/mlp_omg.jpg
Oh I'm loving this!
Yay!
I can't wait for more of this! I love Iron Man and I love ponies and your take on a crossover is the best I've seen so far!
It's SO AWESOME!
Currently reading two fife. One has a garret as a good guy. This is the bad guy
1284490
Since when would that be a bad thing? No one else promotes your own stuff.
Where's my Equestrian Hearts update?
1284490
Pft, not until it's completed and edited.
I like. it's nice to see a good Iron Man crossover fic.
1284702
At least one more element will pop up.
1284796
You're correct on both accounts. MECCs are batteries that output magic and the Mage Reactor is a device that continuously generates magic energy.
As far as your fan question, you'll see in... two chapters? Yeah, I think it's two chapters.
1284809
I like to believe the business world has hardened her a bit. She's still the lovable bookworm that we know and love, but now she's older, more mature, and she can put up with a lot.
1284978
I have a slightly different idea for War Machine. A pony who can fly... A pony who might want to join Equestria's equivalent of the Air Force. 1285386 has the right idea.
1285919
Where's my A Fire on the East update?
1286125
I'm certainly influenced by the movie. That's sort of the flow this fic will have, but there's noticeable differences as you might have seen already.
1284796
It should be obvious. Trixie, by the fandom, is twilight's rival. She has a giganormous ego.
Who in the marvel universe, who clashes with Tony stark/iron man on a regular basis could that be?
I'll give you a hint. Ten mystical rings of power.
1285650
The iron man rogues gallery:
Whiplash
Grey gargoyle
Back lash
Crimson dynamo
Titanium man
Stilt man
The Mandroids
Justin hammer
This is just to name a small number of iron man specific villains.
1284832 I was actually thinking Big Macintosh would make a great Warmachine analog (though to fit more with the story he should be called War Horse). Maybe Twilight goes back to Ponyville to recuperate and ends up in a relationship with Big Mac (yes, the dredded shipping, bite me). I also picture his mech suit to be colored like the original Iron Man colors because they already come close to matching his natural colors (red and gold), but with a metallic green apple on it.
Who is Obadiah Stane???!!! Other than that question, awesomeness approved.
1286532 Seeing as Spike seems to have taken on the role of Pepper Potts, he 'might' (I cannot stress this word enough) end up realizing that he cares about Twilight alot more than he initially realized whilst waiting for news of her (soon to be) escape?
YEA!
IRON SPARKLE MARE!
WOO HOO!
1280013
Lol, Nice one