Chapter 5
“Here! I’m over here!” Twilight screamed, flailing her forehooves in the air. The colors in the distance began to take shape, turning into a V-formation of pegasi. In their wake were stormy trails which briefly crackled with energy before fading off, except for the pegasus in the middle, who had the seven colors of the rainbow following her.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled again, stumbling over herself and landing in the snow again. She was quick to regain her footing, and by then the Wonderbolts were nearly upon her.
Dash landed a short ways away from Twilight, but that didn’t slow the pegasus down at all. She skirted across the snow, kicking up powder behind her, until she had gotten within several yards. “Twilight!” she called back, flaring her wings in attempt to stop herself. She dug her hooves into the ground and tripped, rolling along the snow. With an athletic kick, she jumped upright just in time to grab Twilight in a hug. “I never thought I’d see you again, egghead!”
Twilight wiped her eyes and returned the hug, ignoring whatever sprains and injuries she had. “I didn’t think I’d see you again either, Dash.”
Dash briefly shook the snow off her wings and flight suit, then pulled her goggles up to reveal her moistened eyes. “Don’t go scaring us like that, Twi. You’re just lucky that we were able to recognize those griffons at the party.”
Twilight smiled, then winced as the pain in her leg came back. “You can tell me all about it on the way, Dash, but can we get out of here?”
The pegasus nodded, then tapped the small device in her ear. “Get that airship over here, stat! We have a unicorn to bring home.”
- - -
The airship landed against the dock with a thud, which woke Twilight from her well-deserved rest. It was a medium-sized craft, meant for holding several ponies, but this time it only contained herself and the pilot. The Wonderbolts guarded the vessel closely during it’s rescue mission, patrolling around the hull. Luckily, they hadn't met any resistance on the return trip; griffon or otherwise.
The mare looked out the window, watching the Equestrian sky. She laid on one of the few sitting cushions in the cargo area of the ship, covered in a military blanket. It was all the had for her, but she appreciated it.
Several moments passed before the door opened, and Rainbow Dash poked her head inside. Her goggles hung limply around her neck, sitting alongside the pulled down head section of her suit. She quickly brushed a lock of messy, multicolored hair away from her eyes before speaking. “Come on, champ. You're back home.”
Twilight sat up, already missing the feel of the soft cushion under her. Instead, she found solace in the fresh suit they had prepared for her. She limped forward, taking care with the cast around her left foreleg. Dash raised a hoof as the unicorn approached, which Twilight took eagerly. “Thanks, Dash,” Twilight said, with a smile.
“No trouble at all, Twi. Just doing my job.” Twilight wrapped her foreleg around Dash's neck and the two of them stepped out of the airship and into the bright sun.
There was a small crowd gathered around the docking platform, who began to stomp their hooves on the ground and cheer as they spotted the purple unicorn. Amongst them were Princess Celestia and Spike, the latter dabbing his eyes with a tissue as he smiled brightly in Twilight's direction.
“Wow, there's a lot of ponies here...” Twilight mumbled, scanning over the crowd.
Dash chuckled, shaking her head and looking over to Twilight. “You're kinda popular, kiddo. You know, richest pony in Equestria, revolutionary of the century? That kinda thing. A lot of ponies care about you.”
Twilight could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and glanced down, attempting to fend off the shower of compliments. “I guess so.”
The two made their way to Celestia and Spike, who stood in front of the same personal carriage that brought Twilight to Fancypants's party. As they approached, Spike made an audible sniffle and ran to Twilight, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
“Gosh, Spike, you really must have missed me.” She put her working hoof around his waist, returning the gesture. After a moment, Spike pulled back and wiped his reddened eyes again.
“More than anything, Twilight!” He then noticed the cast around her leg and stepped back, looking her over. “Jeeze, are you alright?!” More injuries like small cuts and bruises became apparent, and judging by his expression, Twilight could tell he saw them.
“Oh, I'm fine, really Spike. It's just a sprained leg, that's all.” She gave a smile to comfort him, which seemed to work.
“Are... are you sure? I mean, shouldn't we get you to the hospital?”
“We can do that later, Spike,” she said, a new tone of resolve in her voice. “First, everypony needs to know that I'm okay.”
“And I'm more grateful for that than you could ever imagine.”
Twilight and Spike both snapped their heads up to look at Princess Celestia, who had quietly approached them during the conversation. She leaned down and nuzzled against Twilight's neck, and the unicorn returned the affection. “Princess Celestia! I mean, uh, Celestia,“ Twilight said, correcting herself. “Thank you for being here.”
The sun princess merely smiled, looking over her former student. “Think nothing of it, Twilight. Even if you've moved on in life, I still care greatly for you. In fact, I sent out investigations as soon as I heard you went missing.”
Twilight sighed, looking up to Celestia. “I don't know what would have happened if the Wonderbolts hadn’t gotten to me in time...”
Rainbow Dash nudged Twilight's side and grinned. “Good thing we're awesome, huh? Soon as we got the intel, I had the team out in a jiffy. I wasn't gonna let any griffon scumbags make a captive out of one of my friends!”
The four of them chuckled for a moment, then a brief silence fell over them. A few seconds passed before Celestia spoke up. “As much as seeing you safe pleases me, you should get home, Twilight. Get some rest. You've no doubt had a stressful week, so have some personal time.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “I, on the other hoof, need to contact a certain griffon king.”
Twilight nodded, then looked to Spike. “Pr- Celestia is right. I just... need to sit down and have a drink or something.” She then sighed, feeling the exhaustion beginning to wash over her.
Dash took her foreleg off of Twilight and nodded as well. “I gotta get back to HQ and report our success.” She spread her wings and gave them a light flap. Then, she saluted the three of them. “Princess. Spike. Twi. Catch ya later.” With a powerful flap, she took to the air and sped towards the rest of Canterlot, leaving a multicolored trail in her wake.
After Rainbow had gone, Celestia nuzzled Twilight's neck again. “Be safe, Twilight Sparkle. We'll talk soon.”
“Farewell, Celestia.”
The princess stepped back as her horn lit up, and a moment later, she disappeared with a flash, leaving Twilight and Spike by themselves. Spike held the door of the carriage open and helped Twilight inside. After the two had taken their seats, Spike opened a small panel between themselves and the driver, then said “Bring us to Miss Sparkle's estate.” Twilight cringed at that particular form of her name, thoughts of Garrett coming to mind. Then, she looked down at the very faint blue glow emitting through her suit. Luckily, none of them had noticed it.
The carriage began to move and Spike sat down next to Twilight, taking a deep breath. He opened his mouth to say something, but Twilight spoke before him. “Actually, Spike, take us to Sparkle Industries and call the press. I want to make my announcement now.”
Spike blinked a few times. “Really? I mean, you just got back to Equestria. You don't want to take a nap or something?”
“Not yet. Ponies need to know I'm alright before anything.” A loud gurgle then sounded through the carriage, and Twilight glanced down to her stomach and blushed. “On second thought, go to the nearest fast food place. I need some Equestrian hay fries.”
The dragon shrugged, then told the driver the new instructions. Afterwards, he pulled out his phone and began to make a few calls.
- - -
A crowd had gathered outside of Sparkle Industries, many with notepads, cameras and microphones. Barely held back by the various security ponies, they eagerly looked about for any sign of Twilight. They murmured to each other about her disappearance, with the occasional “how did she escape?” and “is she okay?” It wasn’t long before a gasp and a pointed hoof had them look in the direction of Twilight’s approaching carriage.
As the shiny black vehicle rolled to a stop in front of the building, Spike opened the door and hopped out, then motioned to the security team. “Move it, move it!” he yelled, trying to push the crowd out of the way. “Press ponies, move inside to the meeting room. Sparkle Industries employees, you’re free to greet your boss. Everypony else,” he looked at the remaining ponies, consisting of various passerby and confused onlookers. “Eh, you can stick around I guess. Just don’t cause any trouble!”
Spike then turned back and reached a paw out. Twilight grabbed it and stepped out of the carriage and was met by a round of applause from her coworkers. One of them in particular, the words “Head of R&D” adorning her suit, trotted over to Twilight and wrapped a foreleg around her neck. “Twilight, we were worried sick about you! Thank goodness you’re okay.” She stepped back, looking over the cast and various scrapes. “Well, mostly okay.”
Twilight chuckled, looking back to the blue mare. “Glad to know you cared, Trixie,” she said, with a smile. “How have things been since my capture?” Twilight began to walk forward, Spike and Trixie walking alongside her.
Trixie sighed. “In a word, stressful. However, Spike has been doing a great job covering for you.” She gave Spike a smile, while the dragon merely nodded in agreement. “The R&D sector is running on schedule, and we’ve started assembling prototypes of the self defense units you designed.”
A cold sweat fell over Twilight as she heard ‘self defense.’ It was the same moniker the griffons had given their weapons, and now that she thought on it, she was doing the exactly the same. “Right... about those...” Twilight began, eliciting a curious glance from Trixie.
“Yes, Twilight? Is something the matter?”
The gentle hiss of sliding door came as they walked through, giving Twilight just a moment more to think. “I... Well, you’ll hear in just a bit.”
Trixie nodded. “Right, your sudden press conference. I’m certain the media is just dying to hear what you’ve got to tell them.” They then entered a crowded room full of photographers and journalists, who were quick to start stomping their hooves in applause.
“I don’t think the company will like it...” Twilight muttered under her breath. Neither Spike nor Trixie heard her, so she put on her best smile as the cameras flashed and she was hounded with question after question.
“Twi, I’ll see you after you’re done!” Spike said over the crowd, right before disappearing into it. Twilight nodded in his direction, then approached the podium with Trixie at her side. Her horn briefly glowed as she levitated her body just enough to lift her working leg up, tap the microphone and gain everypony’s attention.
“Good afternoon, everypony. Now-” She cringed as a spike of pain went through her foreleg. Trixie gave her a concerned glance, yet tried to keep her smile on. Twilight cleared her throat, then continued.
In the back of the room, behind the crowd, stood Spike. He patiently watched Twilight and gave the occasional glance at his wristwatch. It was then that he felt a tap at his shoulder, and glancing over, found an orange maned mare standing next to him. “Sir Spike?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s me,” he answered, fully turning his head to look at her. She wore a black, professional looking suit and an earpiece. Spike felt like he knew this pony from somewhere, and a quick look at her flank revealed it. It was a bundle of three carrots, though the pony standing in front of him looked like she hadn’t worked with farming in years. “Don’t I know you from Ponyville?”
“It’s possible, but it’s been a very long time since I stepped hoof in that town,” she replied. “I’m agent Harvest of the Battle Readiness Intelligence Division of the Lunar Echelons.” She took out her badge and flashed it in front of Spike before tucking it away.
The dragon blinked. “That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?”
“We’re working on it. I’m here to discuss with Miss Sparkle the details of her escape from Griffon territory.”
Spike frowned and crossed his arms. “She’s a pretty busy mare, which I’m sure you can understand.”
The agent didn’t falter. “I understand, but it’s an important issue. Can you make an appointment for when she’s free?”
“I suppose I can,” Spike said, with a sigh. “I’ll write something in and we’ll see what Twi- er, Miss Sparkle can do.
Agent Harvest nodded. “Thank you. I look forward to our meeting.” She reached into her jacket and took out a business card. “You’ll be needing this.” Spike took the card from her outstretched hoof and put it into his own pocket, then nodded. After the brief exchange, the agent turned and walked away, leaving Spike alone. A few moments passed before he looked back to Twilight and started listening.
“...and as you can see, I’ve come out of it a little worse for wear, but am otherwise fine. The offending griffon group is being investigated and will hopefully meet Equestrian justice, sooner rather than later.” Twilight paused, taking a brief glance at Trixie, then looking back to the crowd. “And... because of the circumstances and new information I’ve discovered, Sparkle Industries will be cancelling its self defense division, effective immediately.”
The room ignited into questions, chatter and camera flashes as Twilight stepped back from the podium. She motioned to Trixie, who was doing her best to maintain her composure, and walked off of the small stage, ignoring the torrent of attention aimed at her. The blue mare nodded back and took Twilight’s place, in an effort to diffuse the commotion.
- - -
Twilight sighed as the elevator doors slid open, revealing her untouched office. Spike must have cleaned it while I was away, she thought, looking at the polished surfaces and general cleanliness of the room. As she approached her desk, her horn glowed and the drawer opened, producing her cherished bottle. Pouring a small amount into a glass, she brought it to her lips and downed it instantly. She closed her eyes as the fiery liquid went down her throat and made her hair stand on end.
Eyes still shut, she put the glass down and capped the bottle, then breathed out. After the burning had subsided, she opened her eyes and undid her suit. She looked down at the softly glowing mage reactor and put a hoof over it, feeling the soft warmth it was emitting. The organic tissue around it was still scarred and damaged, but it was working. She was alive.
Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard the elevator doors hiss open. She quickly buttoned her undershirt and jacket up before turning around and finding Trixie entering, with a less than pleased look on her face. “Hello, Trixie,” she said, opening the bottle again without looking. “Drink?”
“Twilight,” Trixie began, the stern look on her face never faltering, “Shouldn’t you have consulted the rest of the board before making your little announcement today? Or at the very least, consulted me?”
“I did what I felt was best for the company, and for Equestria as a whole,” Twilight replied, taking a sip of her drink.
“So you cancel an entire division that thousands of pony-hours and millions of bits has gone into, completely unannounced? Pardon me if I feel you’ve made a mistake, Twilight.” Trixie adjusted her suit, but never took her eyes off of the pony in front of her.
Twilight finished her second drink and set the glass down. “I saw things when I was out there, Trixie. Awful things. My own work was being turned against me. My own designs were being... being cannibalized, and twisted into something they shouldn’t be. I don’t want that sort of thing ever seeing Equestria. Not now. Not ever.” She shook her head and walked behind her desk, then slumped into her chair.
“But Twilight, why aren’t you using this experience as a lesson?” Trixie protested, approaching the desk. “With self defense technology, you wouldn’t have been captured in the first place! And think of all we can accomplish, and the profits we can produce from providing other cou-”
“No!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming a hoof on the table. Trixie stopped speaking and merely looked at the enraged mare with widened eyes. Twilight paused and took a breath, then spoke more softly. “No. That’s exactly what I want to avoid. I don’t want this technology being handed out across the world, where it can be used against us.”
Trixie glanced to the side and quickly levitated a chair over. She pulled it up to the desk and sat down, resting her forelegs on the polished surface. “Look, Twilight... I don’t know what happened over there. Nopony does, really. But you have to take everything into consideration. The company was going in a good direction with this new division, and a lot of investing has been done. If you keep it cancelled, a lot of ponies are going to back out, and Sparkle Industries isn’t going to be reliable. Surely, you can see that?”
“I thought long and hard about this, Trixie,” Twilight began, touching her forehooves together. “I know what can be done with our technology when put into the wrong hooves. I know because I was forced to build it.” She sighed and leaned back in the chair. “If the company needs to take a loss so that the rest of the world is denied this... evil... then so be it.”
“Twilight... I’ll say this one more time...” Trixie began, sitting up. Twilight narrowed her gaze.
“Trixie...”
“You need to consider the options here, and think about the potential...”
“Trixie.”
“And the good of the company, and for all the investors, I’m asking you to reconsider your stance...
“Trixie!” Twilight exclaimed, abruptly standing up. “This decision is final. I’m not changing my mind!” The blue mare furrowed her brow and stood up as well.
“Well who else is going to knock some sense into you, Twilight?!” Trixie yelled back. “Since when does Twilight Sparkle throw thousands of hours of research out the window? Since when does Twilight Sparkle set back Equestria’s technology because it might be harmful? Since when does Twilight Sparkle... give up?!” She sputtered, staring daggers into Twilight. The opposing mare merely leaned back and narrowed her eyes.
“Get out.”
“So that’s it, then?” Trixie asked, stepping back. “That’s how you’re going to handle this?” Her eyes trailed to the bottle on Twilight’s desk, which she pointed a hoof towards. “Your drinks aren’t going to numb the blow this company is about to take, Twilight, and it’s going to be us picking up the pieces.”
“I said, get out,” Twilight snarled, turning away from Trixie. She blew a lock of silver mane out of her face and opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t find the words.
“As you wish, Miss Sparkle,” Trixie said, turning around. She walked towards the elevator and stepped in, then silently left.
Twilight shook from sheer rage and did her best not to scream in frustration. Behind her, the cap to the bottle softly squeaked as it twisted open.
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Aw great. I think I know who the villain is. Or will there be a plot twist?
Yeesh. I get the feeling that Twilight is holding the idiot ball here. She could have handled that whole thing with Trixie so much better.
...I have a feeling there will be combat soon...
Awaiting further releases.
Woohoo, it's back! Is this following more closely to the comic or the recent movie?
Awesome dude, just awesome.
I'll reserve judgement on the whole 'Trixie is the villain' thing, 'cause its a little obvious. If I remember correctly, Pepper Potts was just as shocked by Tony's about-face as Obidiah...although, the idea of Trixie being the voice of reason would be hilarious in this instance!
Although, if Trixie is 'substitute romantic interest' then...gasp! Spike is Obidiah! Spike is evil!
Evil Mustache! Evil I say!
1908140
This one is drawn from the first Iron Man film. I haven't actually read the comics, but I want to! I'll have to go look for them.
finally, an update! great chapter. hope to see more soon.
Spike as Pepper, called it!
Nice work.
otherwise, good chapter!
1908168
I haven't read them either but I did a lot of reading about them. In the comics Stark is much more of an alcoholic than in the films.
Carrot Top: Agent of B.R.I.D.L.E., I love it!
Wait, if she's Coulson...
I was just starting to like Trixie too, bu then the knowledge that she becomes Obadiah? It's just too much! I mean Oh my stars, darling!
I am not entirely sure if I want to know who the antagonist is in the 5th chapter already, but I think I like it, in a way. Awesome new chapter.
1908196
Thanks for pointing those out.
1908205
Yep.
Thankyou sooo much for continuing this
When I looked at the publish dates I thoufht this story was a goner for sure! 
finally no offense!
Yeah, definitely hoping Trixie isn't going to be the villain, but it does seem like that is the setup here.
B.R.I.D.L.E., I like it!
This update was worth the wait. Keep up the good work.
I'd personally prefer Trixie to not be the obvious evil master villain there, and I wouldn't see Twilight shipped with another mare. Just my thoughs, though.
okay so forget what i said in a previous chapter. Now Obidiah is either going to be Rarity or Trixie
So why can't Twilight call Celestia 'Princess'?
So Trixie is Obadiah and instead of S.H.I.E.L.D there's B.R.I.D.L.E. I like this
Looks like I came along at just the right time
Enjoying things thus far. I just have one request; don't follow the films too closely. It's less fun when we all know the twists ahead of time
1908180 assets.diylol.com/hfs/a5e/811/293/resized/history-channel-alien-guy-meme-generator-aliens-565563.jpg
Personally, I'm hoping that Diamond Tiara's the villain.
and here I thought that this fic had died, thanks for surprising me!
Anyways great chapter and i'm interested to see how closely you follow the events of the movie
1908332 why do people like trixy in the first place...she is just a spoiled little brat who thinks she is better than everyone else...
Pepper was the love interest and Spike is Pepper ...
Is SPIKE the love interest?
Please oh Please Celestia let it NOT be Trixie!
All that's left now is finding out who Rhodes (Rodie) is in this, and life will be amazing.
1908653 Wait are we talking about Trixie or Rainbow Dash?
WWWWOOOOO!!!!! AN UPDATE! This, plus two other stories I been waiting to see update almost makes up for the new episode thatgnever came today on live tv
You are doing amazing, I lovwe how you have my favorite villian and pairing in this and Golden Harvest/Carrot Top as the agent? You sire are genuis
This story is beast! I keep expecting Gilda to appear though
ON TO THE NEXT AMAZING, AND VERY WELL WRITTEN CHAPTER!!!!
...BRIDLE. Of course.
Now, what ARE the Lunar Echelons? MOON PONIES, HRRRM?
1908653 She's hot.
I regret nothing.
B.R.I.D.L.E. takes the place of S.H.I.E.L.D. wow... Very witty. And Trixie is Stane. Totally saw that coming.
Oh thank god! It actually updated! I was sure this was dead, what with it being under "Garbage" and being described as "Just my trash fics.".
1908094 indeed, but you have to give her (and by technicality tony stark) credit for one thing, if something like that had happened, i wont be surprised if corporations start making more weapons. If something is causing more harm then good, then its a good idea to cut it away.
SWEET, I was worried this wasn't going to continue...
*wakes up* URRGH! NO UPDATES!
*puts contacts in* OH LOOK! AN UPDATE!
1908978 Moreso than any/all of the mane 6?
1909232 Maybe... Maybe not.
*see's B.R.I.D.L.E acromym and drops dead from pun overdose
Darn it, I was kind of hoping Twi was going to get to say the "cheeseburger first," line (or at least the pony equivalent of it), as that's probably one of my favorite lines from the movie, but oh well.
Nice to see an update.
1908236
I could easily see her being asked about the eyepatch. "I'm getting long overdue treatment for that condition."
-Kiryu
Woot, it updated, yay! Also, found a small error.
Missing a "what" in there.
Trixie going to turn out to be the traitor??? Well I hope not, because that'd just follow the plot of the iron man movie WAY too much.
"Hmm... lets check if there's any new updates."
*Click and scroll*
"The Spread of Darkness mhmm... Iron Mare k... RvB: Friendship... S-... wait..."
*Scroll back up*
"IRON MOTHERFUCKING MARE?!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
1909692
FFFFFFFFFFF
1909762
You're probably going to be disappointed, then.
B.R.I.D.L.E. Most people use S.A.D.D.L.E but I think that this sounds much better, and makes more sense. I usually prefer Rarity as Iron Mare (Twilight I envision as being more like Stephen Strange-the Sorcerer Supreme) but I gotta say I am really enjoying this fic. Can't wait for more!
WAIT! I just realized that BRIDLE means that Luna is going to the equivilant of Nick Fury! You have made my wondeful godess the head of this worlds SHIELD! I LOVE YOU!!!!
I really. Really. Hope that trixie isn't the villian. Otherwise half of the fun of the story is gone already.