Heart Forged of Iron

by Crack-Fic Casey

Under my Iron Skin (6)

Okay, Sunset thought. I know this looks bad.

The situation didn’t strictly look like anything, because she'd decided to pursue a fugitive while blindfolded without any backup.

I’m not some rough-and-tumble circus brat anymore. I’m a SHIELD agent and I can handle this.

She crept down the corridor, listening to the echo of her hoofsteps as she moved. Based on that, she had a solid idea of how long the hallway was, and that the door at the end was shut. Sunset carefully opened the door and listened for any response. She didn’t hear the sound of breathing or weapons being shifted and began creeping forwards. She froze when she heard distant shouting.

“—What are you dolts paid for anyway! Tell everyone to grab what they can and get out the back way! Do you know what she’ll do to me if—”

Sunset smirked. The room was longer than the last one, and she could feel light on her fur from the windows. That meant she was right outside the cargo bay and Hypnotia was making this easy. She put her field on the door and thought for a moment.

Fighting blind was all about finding ways to supplement your eyesight. This meant you needed to know your terrain well and have a clear idea of what your opponent is fighting with. Sunset remembered how big the cargo bay was, but she didn’t know the layout or even how many guards were even inside. The circumstances demanded caution.

She kicked open the door and smiled. The voices immediately stopped talking as everyone stared at her. “Hey,” she said.

Her first arrow was a flare she ignited in front of her body, prompting curses and pained cries. She rolled to the side, careful to keep her horn clear of the floor, and fired a Plunder Vine arrow at the main exit. She leaped back again, finding a large crate and ducking behind it.

The shouts and weapons fire echoed in the metal chamber, but it was large enough that Sunset could make out each sound. She flinched at the smell of burned metal and crouched down tighter, hoping she had decent cover.

There were three additional voices in addition to Hypnotia. One of them sounded oddly muffled and none of them had been ensnared by the slowly dissolving vines. She pulled a Thundercloud arrow from her quiver and fired it at the ceiling. There was a boom as lightning began to seek out targets.

Sunset winced as the thunder drowned at all other noise, leaving her briefly both blind and deaf. She couldn’t do anything but hope she was out of sight until her thundercloud was finished.

She felt in her quiver as she waited in the dark, grateful she didn’t need to read labels to recognize her arrows. Thunder kept booming and rattling the cargo, and she had no way of fighting back. There were homing spells, but Sunset never bothered because she’d seen them as a crutch.

Finally, the cloud began to wind down. The ringing in her ears faded and she heard a sizzle as the vines fell apart. “Alright guys,” she kept her voice confident, but it took some doing, “who wants to surrender first?”

“Your tricks ain’t gonna be enough,” the muffled voice bellowed. “I’m gonna find you—”

Sunset flicked her ears as she listened. The ozone in the air made it impossible to smell now, but she could hear that the voice was right underneath her first arrow, and furthermore that no one else was moving. That meant she’d hit the group, and logically the only one still standing was wearing armor of some kind—

She heard hoofsteps from behind her. She grabbed the crate with her forehooves and vaulted over it, charging across the cargo bay. She tripped without warning, the surprise forcing her to drop her bow or risk hitting her lit horn against the floor. Sunset turned the fall into a roll and leaped back up, tackling the AIM soldier.

Grappling blind was much easier than fighting blind because your sense of touch could help track your opponent. This would be great if her opponent wasn’t wearing armor. Sunset had expected him to rear up and try to trample her, and been proven right. She hit him under the ribs and drove him on his back. He kicked her into the air, not high enough to reach the ceiling but close. Sunset grabbed an arrow from her quiver and threw it towards the ground, hoping it would land before her.

A fwoosh temporarily covered an outburst of swearing from below, and Sunset fell into the results of her foam arrow. It covered the target in sticky goo to render them immobile, it was porous to allow the victim to breathe, there were enchantments that allowed her to use it to put out fires and the enchantments recognized her and wouldn’t stick to her. Twilight couldn’t make an arrow more complex than this one, and Sunset was forced to blow it on some random goon who happened to be wearing armor.

She landed and took a moment to get her bearings. There was a quiet scraping sound somewhere in the back that Sunset immediately threw an arrowhead towards. She jumped when her arrow went off early, much closer than she wanted. It’s a cargo hold. There’s no telling what stuff is laying between me and the door. Aloud, she said, “I’ve had a long day, showfilly. If you give up now I promise I won’t beat you up before I turn you over to SHIELD.”

Hypnotia laughed. It was a good laugh, but Sunset caught the tinge of panic that lay under it. “Finding me won’t be as easy as you think,” she said. “I’m a stage performer. My voice can come from anywhere.”

Sunset took a step backward and was gratified to find the exterior door where she thought it was. Mental bearings taken, she fired a net arrow at the other door and was gratified to hear Hypnotia squawk in dismay. She tracked and fired a second arrow at a series of scuffling noises and waited to hear if she’d hit anything.

A nervous chuckle, from somewhere to the left. “That was a lucky guess.”

Sunset shrugged. “Fine. Then you shouldn’t have a problem walking past me and getting outside.”

“And why would I do that?” The voice was beginning to smooth out now, sounding calmer. “I’d rather talk to you than leave with no prize at all.”

Sunset held her tail still and concentrated on her voice. “You’re not getting to me.”

“Twilight doesn’t need a blindfold, does she?” Hypnotia asked. There was a quiet thump to her left that she fired at, but Hypnotia kept talking. “You mustn't be as confident as she is if you’re wearing one. Do you even remember what I told you?”

“Of course I do!” Sunset snapped. Her memory was a little fuzzy, but there’d been something about trusting Hypnotia and…

She floated another trick arrow to the top of the bay doors and set it off, transmuting the air behind her into a solid plane of glass. Sunset’s arrows didn’t have the power to create a barrier stronger than that, but Hypnotia would have to make a lot of noise breaking through it.

She frowned as she took a tentative step towards the center of the room. What did Hypnotia say? It went “I love her, I trust her, and what?”

“You can’t even find me if you don’t really want to,” Hypnotia said. “You're scared of my words.”

Sunset kept calm, keeping her shoulders loose and grasping another arrowhead from her jacket. “I’m not going to let you bait me.”

What else was there? ‘I love Hypnotia’s something, I trust something else, and third thing.’ What was third thing? Something about her spirals?

“You haven’t even found your bow yet!” Hypnotia crowed. “You can’t focus on all of this at once, but if you let your concentration slip—”

“Shut up!” Sunset shouted. She bumped her face against a metal shelf and paused, taking stock. I have to remember the rest of what she said. It went…

“You’ve got to pick what’s most important, and focus on that,” Hypnotia said. Sunset flicked her ears in her direction but otherwise ignored her.

It went ‘I love Hypnotia’s spirals!’ And I trust her words and her voice makes me feel... heavy?

Satisfaction crept along her face. I can’t forget it again. I love Hypnotia’s spirals. I trust her voice, and my limbs feel heavy.

“So heavy,” Hypnotia whispered.

Sunset jerked, spinning around to grab her. Her magic was unfocused, and she lost the arrowhead. She took a step back, and something fell across her back, pinning her. It didn’t hurt, so it couldn’t be very heavy, but when she tried to push it off her legs were shaking…

“Shaking and aching from all that fighting,” Hypnotia said. “I bet you need to rest for a moment before you can catch me again.

Sunset took a deep breath in, trying to calm down. She can’t do this. I love Hypnotia’s spirals and I trust—

“No,” she said. “They’re counting on me.”

—Trust the sound of her voice. And my limbs are too heavy to move.

“And you can break free eventually.” Hypnotia’s magic reached down, tugging part of her mane free from the blindfold and straightening it. Her field buzzed pleasantly against her skin. Sunset let a deep breath out. “After all, you're a SHIELD agent.”

Sunset nodded limply. She could handle this. She just needed a minute to think of something.

I love Hypnotia’s spirals and I trust the sound of my voice. My body is too weak to move.

“But you can’t keep track of me with that blindfold on.” Sunset frowned, but a quiet twinkling filled her ears as it was pulled away. She tried to close her eyes, but a flicker of red caught her attention.

“Look me in the eye when I’m talking to you.”

Sunset’s mouth hung open. She tried to turn but—

“Both eyes, if you please.”

And there were rings of red and orange and all the colors she remembered, centered around gentle lavender eyes. Sunset concentrated, remembering that she could stand up but she couldn’t bring herself to move away. With an effort, she closed her mouth.

“Don’t you want to listen to my voice?”

“No…” Sunset said.

Hypnotia waited.

“...Miss,” Sunset finished.

She could feel Hypnotia’s smile. It made her happy, and that happiness pissed her off. “Stop,” she said.

“But you don’t want me to stop,” Hypnotia said in mock outrage. “You don’t want to put Twilight in danger, do you?”

Fear and submission hooked her like talons in prey. “I’m not—”

“You let Iron Mage getaway.”

Sunset blinked.

“Iron Mage hates Twilight,” Hypnotia continued. “And I’m the only one who can save Twilight from her, we already agreed? You remember. So if you really care about Twilight—”

Pow!

Hypnotia stopped talking as Sunset lashed out, backhanding the mare off her hooves. She stared as Sunset stood up, effortlessly shoving the light metal shelves away. “You hit me. You’re not supposed to hit me.”

Sunset didn’t say anything. Her anger took hold and she charged.

The spirals brightened again. Sunset didn’t feel pulled towards them, but they blocked her vision. She felt something slap her, too weak to hurt but it threw her off-balance. She heard a pounding of hoofsteps and threw another arrowhead with her magic.

Where’s my bow?

Her vision cleared as she looked away, and she immediately found and grabbed it. She drew and fired an arrow almost immediately, only to watch a blue light smack her across the bay and spoil her aim. An arrow struck the spot she’d been in, growing a pillar of ice that caught the armored figure before she could catch up to Hypnotia. Sunset drew another arrow and fired it, but Hypnotia slammed the door closed just in time.

Sunset charged down the ramp after her, knowing she’ be long gone by the time she got there. She halfway across the bay when Iron Mage shattered the icey pillar. “What was that?” Sunset demanded. “You ruined my shot!”

“You shot me!” Iron Mage took a step forwards and stumbled to one knee.

Coming closer, Sunset could see that the armor was wrecked. One wing was missing, the whole side was dented, and cracks were formed across some of the larger plates. “What happened to you?”

“The specialized golems,” Iron Mage said. She was wheezing in a way that deeply bothered Sunset. “AIM still has at least one.” She pushed herself upright with an effort that Sunset winced at. She moved to help, but saw Spike coming and held still.

“I’m going after Hypnotia,” Iron Mage said as Spike landed. Her voice sounded different through the helmet, but Sunset knew the mare well enough to hear her mask pain. “You’re staying here.”

The dragon shook his head. He didn’t look hurt at all, just extremely upset. “We’re between her and the ship,” he said, “why do we need to go after her?”

“We aren’t,” Sunset said. “I have to round up as many AIM soldiers as I can and call backup. ”

“You can’t fight something like this on your own,” Iron Mage said. “I’ll go—”

“You can’t fight at all!”

“And,” Spike broke in, “We’re not letting you escape either!”

“Spike’s right,” Sunset said. Iron Mage stared at her, and Sunset almost rolled her eyes at the offended expression she knew was under her mask. “We still haven’t found Twilight Sparkle, and if we don’t, we’ll know who to blame.”

Iron Mage carried on glaring for a few seconds, which didn’t work when Sunset could see her face. She pushed herself upright and lit up a spell.

Spike had time to try and grab her horn, but Iron Mage was still strong enough to hold him back until the spell was done. With a flash of light, she was gone.

Comments

[Crack-Fic Casey]

This should have been a part of the last chapter, looking back, but I didn't know exactly how the scene was going to go so I posted part 5 early.

Originally, Sunset was going to use her Truth-of-the-Matter Sunglasses to render herself immune to Hypnotia's powers but assuming all of her powers were based on being able to see her seemed like too big of an assumption for them to make. They are, but how diffrent her powers are from norMal spells is a plot point.

Only one chapter left, and it's just a wrap-up. I plan to have it released by next week!

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

This was a great chapter, and I really enjoyed the use of Sunset-Hawkeye in this!

Looking forward to the next installment, with eagerness! XD

[Starlight Nova]

So... Who's going to be the Mandarin?

[Crack-Fic Casey]

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I'm not sure at this time if I'll use the Mandarin, as in Equestria he looses his unique Chinese ancestry and I have to figure what I'm supposed to do with the rings. (Maybe ponies wear them on a necklace?) He's an option, but there are a number of villains who can fill the same void. And regardless, it'd definitely be a spoiler!

[Crack-Fic Casey]

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Glad I finally got Hawkeye working!

[DavisSentoV5]

Wow, even blindfolded Sunset almost fell into Hypnotia's spell. Lucky she snapped out of it in time. Great chapter

[Crack-Fic Casey]

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Actually oh, you gave me a really great idea! The Mandarin will show up later, but I'd still like to avoid announcing which character will he playing him. I try to avoid revealing casting decisions ahead of time, because it let's me suprise people. There are three people in this story set to become super heroes, and because they're fused with ponies, when they do it'll be a terrific suprise.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Great showcase of just how good Sunset is... and how dangerous Hypnotia can be. No mesmerist worth her patter relies on just one sense, after all.

And Twilight's in pretty desperate straits at this point. This is going to be tricky from several angles.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

Gaaaah sorry I didn’t comment sooner, this whole virus thing has actually increased my workload since my job is apparently “essential”.

Still, good chapter. Nice to see that Hypnotia doesn’t just need her freaky spirals to control people. I also dig that Sunset thought to herself “I should be cautious” right before she more-or-less went in with all guns blazing.

[Crack-Fic Casey]

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I'm sorry if you have to put yourself in danger; I'm a restaurant worker so our business is also essential, but it's been slow. Which is good for everyone really.

It's worth noting that Sunset is actually taking a calculated risk when she goes in; the first thing she does is blind her opponents to level the playing field and she provokes them to action, letting her figure out where they are.
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About Hypnotia: her voice isn't hypnotic by itself. She planted a trigger in Sunset's mind to be receptive to her voice, and then leveraged strengthen the hold she still had over Sunset. I have a passing interest in hypnotism so I lm enjoying getting to use that with Hypnotia.