Criminally Stupendous

by dudenotactive

A Heartless Stallion

Roman Torchwick.
Menace Or Hero?

Roman scoffed as he read the headline of the newspaper as he used his scroll's flashlight to read since it was already dark. The sun had disappeared over the horizon and the only source of light other than his scroll was the crackling campfire that had one of the mares that worked for Trixie was sitting close to the fire. The pink haired pony was heating a kettle of water, Roman had no clue for what she had planned for dinner. It is worth noting that the mare had discarded her disguise for comfort. It had only been a few hours yet every news company had flocked to Ponyville for some eye catching news.

The paper in his hooves was inaccurate, yet the truth was still there. Reports of his good deed were everywhere, eyewitnesses claimed many things. A few were just absurd, but most are pretty close to the truth.

There were a few statements from a number of people, one was even from the mayor herself. Meh, I don't like politicians. Roman scoffed as he skipped over to the next one. His eyes landed on a picture of Rarity, and below it was her own statement. It retells her experience with Roman and how he had masterfully deceived Rarity and the rest of her friends. Yet the way it was written was strangely odd. But seeing that the fashionista had something to say, Roman started looking for a particular name.

As his eyes skimmed through the page, he found himself at the end. Roman sighed. Guess Blondie doesn't like to be bothered.

Roman looked away from the newspaper and set his eyes on Trixie in the distance, she was practicing her combat skills with her weapon. She moved across the grassy field gracefully, she mimicked Roman's stance and held the cane with her hoof instead of her magic. Trixie used the weight of the orb to deliver powerful swings as she skipped along the field. Roman smirked proudly.

Then his eyes landed on the mare near the fire. "So what's your deal?"

The mare across him winced when Roman spoke, she eyed him carefully as she leaned back. "W-what?"

"Who are you exactly? Never really got your name." Roman smiled. "And I'm curious about what exactly you are doing here."

"Oh... um..." She scratched the back of her head. "I'm Fuchsia Blush, I work as Trixie's assistant."

"A little bit more details, Pinky, I want to know more about you and the other one."

"W-well, Lavender Lace and I are responsible for counting and managing Trixie's earnings from her heists as well as some work around the hideout. Like cleaning and cooking. Miss Trixie is a talented mare, but her skills with cooking is..." She held a hoof over her mouth to whisper. "not that great."

Roman snickered a little. "Tell me, why are you working for some wanted criminal like her?"

"You see mister Torchwick-"

"Please, just call me Roman, or Torchwick. I'm fine either way."

She smiled sheepishly. "Alright, Roman. You see, Lavender and I met at Candlewick Corp for an interview for a job opening. We were supposed to meet with the two ponies in charge, but miss Trixie had burst through the doors wearing a sombrero and a fake moustache. She just went straight into the room where the two were holding the interviews then out in a matter of seconds, and she just kidnapped us right then and there."

"And then she gave you both a job offering."

Fuchsia nodded. "Yes, and she had offered us an amazing pay! We would be stupid to decline her offer! Especially when I really need the money right now..."

Roman sighed, then smiled. "So what is it, college debt, or loan sharks?"

Fuchsia looked away dejectedly. "I... t-the latter..."

"Heh, alright, I know how you feel Pinky."

"Really?" A glint of curiosity flashed in her eye.

"Yup, during my days of thieving, I worked for a loan shark and was the damn best debt collector in the street!" Fuchsia shrunk a little after learning a little about Roman's past. He smiled with pride as he held his head high. "Heh, people used to call me the Cyclops, not because I only show one of my eyes, but because I liked to give people a little reminder."

"T-that's interesting, Roman..." She sat silently as she waited for the kettle to boil.

"I'm back!" Lavender made herself known as she trotted to Fuchsia's side. A bowl of freshly peeled and chopped potatoes laid on top of her back. "I got the potatoes!"

Roman smirked. "So Lisa, can I call you Lisa? So Lisa, why did you accept Trixie's job offer?"

Lavender smiled. "Well Trixie's partner, I was new to Manehattan and was jobless. When I heard that Candlewick Corp was looking for ponies, I just thought I should try! But who knew that I'd find gold when I was looking for copper!" Lavender sighed softly. "This is honestly far better than working in some cubicle, I even got to see a Shadow- I mean- a Grimm up close!"

"And how can I trust you both?" The mares went quiet, both stared at him with obvious confusion. Roman stood up and leaned on his cane, his eye gave them a judging glare that pierced their souls. "How can I trust you two? For all I know, you could have been talking with some very annoying type of people."

Fuchsia stared at him with widened eyes, but in a split second, her expression hardened. "I may not like the danger that comes with my occupation, but I would never ever stab Trixie in the back! Because of her, my debt is starting to lighten, and soon enough I'll be free of it!"

"Like I said, miss Trixie's partner, I love my job! Even if I just bake a few cookies, at least I would have fun doing it!" Lavender frowned. "And I would do anything to keep it."

Roman eyed them both carefully, then smiled. "Guess she picks them better than me." He said before sitting back down. "I mean, did you girls meet the Flim Flam brothers? Those guys just accepted my offer because I have really great ideas stored in my head. And all they want is to use those ideas for profits."

Lavender tilted her head to the side. "So, they're just doing it for money? They seemed really loyal when Fuchsia and I talked with them..."

"Well Trixie says that we should just kick them both out of Candlewick!" Trixie chimed in, her assistants were caught off by surprise. "Trixie is sure that we don't need those two idiots and we can run the company on our own!"

"Hey get back here!" Roman and the mares looked away from Trixie and stared at... Trixie as she rushed towards them. "Quit randomly leaving, we were supposed to be training!"

"But Trixie is bored, and tired!" The obvious clone whined, then she wrapped her hooves around Roman's foreleg. "Roman~ please tell her that it's time to rest..."

Roman pushed the mare away with a disinterested look on his face. "Trixie, when will Greeny be here? I'm already tired of waiting."

"She said she'd be here later tonight, I think around midnight." Trixie explained to him before glaring at the clone. "Now let's go back to training!"

"But Trixie is hungry!"

"By Celestia, am I that annoying?"

"Yup." Roman grinned.

Trixie groaned loudly. "Fine... Lavender, Blush! What are we having?"

"Potato stew, miss Trixie!" Lavender informed her. "It'll take a while though since we are waiting for the kettle. So could you hold on a little longer miss Trixie's clone?"

"Fine..." The clone scoffed.

The three regular ponies and the two oddities sat quietly as they all waited for dinner. Roman gave both of Trixie's assistants a watchful eye. It was not because he did not trust them yet, but he was curious about the mares. He can find a way for them to be useful in the future.

---

The soft muffled voices spoke, Twilight's eyes fluttered open and was greeted by the sight of friends sans Applejack and an Iron Legionnaire chatting with a grey stallion in a white uniform. Though her vision was still blurry, her eyes had quickly recognized the stallion, she shot up on bed and gasp, alerting everyone in the room that she was awake.

"Easy there Twilight," Dash gently pushed her back onto the bed, the pegasus showed no better than Twilight. Her body was covered in bruises and bandages.

After scanning the room, Twilight had concluded that she was in a room at the hospital. "Rainbow Dash, what happened?"

"There was this big giant wolf! Big as a castle!"

"It wasn't that big, darling, don't over exaggerate the whole thing!" Rarity interrupted the pegasus. "The wolf was large, yes, but it wasn't colossal."

"Then I used my lightning magic to fry the monster, but the wolf was tougher than I thought!" Dash completely ignored Rarity. "And Roman-"

"That would be enough," The stallion put a stop to Dash's ranting before it got out of control and made his way towards Twilight. "all you need to know is that the pegasus you were with is a criminal, guilty of his crimes. And I need everything that you know about Roman Torchwick."

Twilight gasped upon the discovery. "Criminal!?"

"Just a few days ago, a bank in Manehattan was robbed, and the culprit was none other than Roman Torchwick himself. Slippery crook had managed to get away."

Bronze Oak the Captain of the Iron Legion took a step forward. "And there was also his accomplice, Trixie Lulamoon. She was just here as well as two unidentified ponies, we have no leads on them both. Not even on the criminals."

"And though he had saved my cousin, I cannot just let that thief go." The stallion sent a disappointed yet understanding glare at Oak.

"Yes sir, I will not let his action affect me either way and will see justice upon this criminal." Oak promised.

"Roman Torchwick, a pony that came out of nowhere. There is no information about him, no one knows who he is or where he came from. All I could say is, that this guy is a ghost that came out of nowhere." The nameless stallion spoke calmly. "His partner, Trixie Lulamoon, was a different case. It was easier to find information about her, but Roman is a tougher problem."

"I... I'm sorry..." She said as she realized that whatever crimes Roman had committed was because of her. "I'm so sorry..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, you didn't know who this pony was, it is understandable." He cleared his throat for a second. "We have reports from a few of my guards saying that every news outlet in town was bribed by an orange maned pegasus. The description that they received is connected to Roman himself. From what I understand, the criminal had been keeping anything from Manehattan out of everyone's reach, this giving him a sense of anonymity in this town. Now, I don't know what exactly he had wanted here in Ponyville, but I'm sure it was something sinister."

He turned to leave, a few steps were taken before the stallion paused just as he reached the door.

"I will come and see you for questioning as soon as you recover. Until then, I'll leave everything to you Bronze Oak." With that, the stallion left.

The room was silent, Dash waited for a minute until she was sure the stallion was out of earshot. "So who's mister tough guy, and what's with that piece of metal on his head?"

"You don't know?" Twilight asked her friend, surprised that Dash did not have the information of who the stallion was. "Dash, he is the Iron Legion!"

"Who what now?" Pinkie tilted her head as she was confused just like Dash.

Bronze Oak cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "I may be Captain of the Iron Legion regiment, but that stallion that had just left is the direct descendant of Thorn Hoof, the founder of the Iron Legion." Oak stared off towards the door. "General Iron Hoof the Terminator." Oak said with pride in his chest.

"Pfft!" Dash attempted not to laugh, a smile crept up on her face. "The 'Terminator'? W-what kind of title is that!?"

Twilight glared at the pegasus. "You don't understand Rainbow Dash, Iron Hoof is proficient against Grimm, his tactics and plans never failed him once. Every mission he had been sent to, he always comes back with no casualties. And he was the youngest pony to join the Iron Legion at the age of twelve!"

Dash's smile dropped as she realized something. "Wait, does that mean he fought Grimm at a young age?"

"Oh dear," Muttered Fluttershy. "he must have gone through so much..."

Rarity couldn't help but feel pity for the pony in subject. "I'm beginning to understand a little bit about him now."

"Some may say that he was too young," Bronze Oak spoke. "but there is a rumor that is backed up by numerous ponies, even his parents support this rumor. They say that at the age of six, he popped a Grimm wolf's head clean off its shoulders. And I'll be honest, I believe it all after my first few years in the regiment and what I've seen on the field." Oak smirked. "And that small plate above his right brow? It's a communicator that connects him to every Iron Legion outpost, every single one would quickly report to him when the first sign of danger is sighted."

"Dang, he's really hardcore..." Dash had to be honest, she was surprised to hear about the real leader of the Iron Legion. "So why does he want Roman anyways? He kept asking so much questions about Torchwick, that I'm pretty sure Iron Hoof wants something from Roman."

Twilight raised a brow, but before she could even open her mouth to speak, Rarity had beaten her to it. "Why not? Roman is a criminal that needs to be captured, and the General needs all the information he could get." Rarity answered. "I just can't believe that he had the nerve to lie to us."

"No, not just that." Oak cuts in. "Roman showed knowledge about the Grimm, so much that he knew better than anyone in this town or even those armchair Generals in Canterlot. The Iron Legion was made to fight against these monsters, and for countless years we have not been able to find out where these monstrosities come from. None of us even knew that these beasts were attracted to negative emotions. Roman holds the key that would give us the advantage to fight these monsters and the General wishes to get every information he can find to fight against the Grimm."

Oak glanced out the window, the darkness of the night greeted him.

"Well then, since we're all settled in, I'll be heading back now." He nodded towards them. "Take care of yourselves and rest well Rainbow Dash." Bronze Oak then left the mares to themselves, his steel armor clattered as he walked out of the room.

"Anyways, where is Applejack?" Twilight inquired about the farmer since she was not in here.

Rarity sighed dejectedly. "I think that the truth about Roman had affected her the most, the poor girl was really mad about it."

"Yeah, and I hundred percent understand!" Dash scoffed. "Thought he was kinda cool, but then he just turned sour! Leaves a bad taste in my mouth just thinking about him."

"Don't worry Dashie, some good old sweet cupcakes will wash it off!" Pinkie cheerfully chimed in.

"Thanks Pinkie, at least I can trust you."

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing... Anyways!" Dash hovered over Twilight. "So there I was! Charging up my semblance, over 2,000 volts of energy ready to-"

---

Applejack breathed heavily, sweat ran down her face, soaking her grime filled hair. She grunted loudly as she threw her fore hoof at the tree in front of her, the bandages that wrapped around them were torn from continuous use. Applejack huffed as she struck the tree once more.

After a few more jabs, she stopped.

Applejack sighed deeply as she leaned forward and rested her head against her training partner. The farmer huffed as pain flowed through her body. Her hind legs were tired, her back aches because of her training. Her body is not used with the way she stands, Applejack tried to mimic Roman's combat stance, but it was foreign to her.

Ever since the truth was made known earlier this afternoon, Applejack had been training nonstop. There was only one reason, it was to get stronger.

Unlike Rainbow Dash, Applejack was an ordinary earth pony, heck, before Dash even had aura Applejack was physically the strongest in her group of friends. Now, Dash could snap a Grimm in two with ease. It was unfair, and if she faced Roman off in the future, then he had the advantage.

Applejack felt a shiver as the cold wind breezed pass her. The leaves around her shifted, the only other noise besides her breathing and her own heart that thumped in her chest loudly. Sweat dripped down and off her face, she wiped some off with her hoof before pushing herself away from the tree. The farmer glared at the tree, she took a second to breath, then she charged forward with a grunt.

"Trying something new, miss Applejack?" Applejack's hoof stopped an inch away from the bark of the tree, her eyes snapped over to a grey stallion in a white uniform.

"Oh, it's you..." She huffed and frowned, her hoof was planted against the tree to keep her standing. "Mister mystery... How'd ya know Ah was here?"

"Your brother." He answered.

"Oh... So what do you want?"

"I'm just here to tell you that your friend Twilight Sparkle is awake, I'm sure she would be happy to see you. It's not too late to check on her, visiting hours is still open." He explained his reason to be here. The stallion approached the tree she was using and examined it.

"Ah'm busy..." She glared at him as he eyed the damage she made.

"Why are you doing this?"

She scoffed. "To get stronger."

"Why?" He asked calmly.

"None of yer business."

"Is it because of Torchwick?"

"What about him?" Applejack growled.

"Reports say that he possesses a power unknown to anyone, and not only that, he gave your friend Rainbow Dash this power. So I believe that you don't stand a chance against Torchwick."

"Are you tellin' me to give up?" Applejack took a step back, her fore hooves hung limply on her sides.

"As an earth pony like you, I hold a disadvantage against Shadow Beasts. I don't have wings or a horn on my head like the other races." He traced the surface of the tree with his right gloved hoof. "But you don't need magic or wings, there are reasons why swords and spears or any weapons were invented. We use whatever we can to fight the horde of Shadow Beasts."

He took a few steps back, and lowered himself close to the ground with his right hoof raised close to his chest.

"Cannons, bombs, even nature itself. We use what we can." In a blink of an eye, the stallion pounced on the tree and swung his hoof at it. Applejack's mouth was agape as he tore a chunk out of the tree with nothing but his gloved hoof. "We are the Iron Legion, anything useful against the Shadow Beasts are welcome." He turned to face her, determination on his face as she witnessed such a powerful attack. "You can train if you want, but if you want to deal some real damage, then come to the headquarters tomorrow."

The stallion walked off towards town, he had done what he wanted, maybe even more than he wanted.

"Hold on sec'!" He paused and turned to face her. "Who are you?"

"I'm the one making sure things are running normally with the Iron Legion regiment, General Iron Hoof. Though I much prefer to be called by my birth name..."

"Ironwood."

Author's Note:

I just want to make sure this is known to everyone because I feel like some might not know, Lavender Lace and Fuchsia Blush are from Equestria Girls. They were in Trixie's band "Trixie And The Illusions"

I just figure they would make great addition to Trixie's character.

And now for the elephant of the room, yes, Ironwood has a doppelganger in Equestria in this fanfic. Not only that, he is a General as well and he practically owns the Iron Legion.

But the question is: Is he as good as James in a fight?

Comments

[MLPMekarm]

so ironwood is in here to. wow. who's next?? neo???

[Voltaje]

OK, now things start going good, the players are almost set, we only need NEO to complete the team, and perhaps cozy? mmm, welp, will see.

[dudenotactive]

10350449
Yeah, my friends suggested I "study" on things to help, I'm starting to believe it didn't work.

[Animatorsnake]

So we got a mention of doppleganger of the founder of the Schnee Dust Company, and now James Ironwood's pony equivalent?! I wonder what other known RWBY characters also have their dopplegangers here in Equestria?