I Think, Therefore I am
Tony Stark had grown used to life in the public eye. At age 8, heâd built his first motorcycle engine and of course, being the son of the great Howard Stark -great being a loose word- itâd made the papers.
Age 21, he came back from years of boarding school to take over Stark Industries.
Age 39, heâd outed himself to the world as the now practically mythical Iron Man. He knew how the press worked, and heâd figured heâd better jump on the goodwill train before it pulled to a screeching, horrible halt. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye heâd be back to being the Merchant of Death and not the Da Vinci of Our Time. Horrible title by the way, he didnât paint. He also knew that in the digital age of social media? Nobody would believe the bodyguard angle for five minutes.
So, yes, Tony Stark knew the press were like hungry vultures.
âThe truth isâŚâ heâd paused for a moment, and in hindsight, heâd think it strange how four little words changed the world. â...I am Iron Man.
So yes, those rare times when he got complete peace and quiet were welcomed. Such as now, when he was making his way down to his mansionâs personal garage. Times used to be, he could descend down here and not come up for days. Sadly, between fending off SHIELD -pretentious bastards- , awesome superheroics and running a Fortune 500 company? It really kinda put a damper on âme timeâ.
So when those rare moments of peace came, he took them.
His mental health was a mess after Afghanistan, that much was blatantly obvious. After all, good intentions or not, nobody in a healthy state just suddenly decided to take up a personal crusade to right their own companyâs wrongs in a metal suit.
He needed help, and thankfully with Rhodey keeping the press off him and a little thing called doctor-patient confidentiality, he got it. He hated the idea of little pills keeping him functioning as a human being. But whatever worked⌠Slowly but surely, Tony adjusted to the new normal.
Anyways, the garage! He knew what was down there, and what he expected to see. Half-finished projects, and a multitude of awesome cars. What he did not expect to see was a little pony levitating various tiny bits of metal, with a magazine on mechanical engineering in front of⌠well, he assumed it was a her. She was⌠well, she was pretty close to being pink. No real answer yet as if she actually understood the book in front of her.
Tony looked at the drink in his hand, and then back at the pony. Then back at the drink. Then back at the pony. Then back at the⌠well, you get the idea. Tony did the only rational thing that came to mind. He tossed his drink behind him. Yep, okay, that was it. Heâd officially finally gone crazy.
But all the sameâŚ
Right, what was that saying? Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Yeah, that was it. Right, if there was the possibility he wasnât crazy maybe he should see if everyone else was going along for the ride so to speak. If Peps didnât see this pony, well he could check into a therapist tomorrow morning.
âUh⌠Pepper? Peps?â Tony called before remembering Pepper was in New York. Right, so⌠âHappy? Can you get down here? Need you to see something!â
âTony, I wasâŚâ Happy said after a few brief agonizing minutes when Tony swore he wasnât going to show. The larger manâs eyes widened, almost comically. âIs that aâŚâ
âYep,â Tony answered in a small voice, his whole world thrown for the possibly biggest loop since he realized âObiâ was in fact a complete bastard. âThat is what you think youâre seeing.â
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Twilight had been bounced around the system often enough, she supposed. Bit of a high maintenance filly, really. But who didnât want a filly with anxiety issues along with serious personal grievings over her dearly departed parents. No really, what family didnât want to take care of a kid like that?
Apparently, not enough of them. Sheâd been bounced around several homes, but none really stuck. And with her brother off in the military, and Princess Celestia, yâknow, running a whole country? Well, that didnât leave her a lot of options.
Did Celestia even care? Maybe not. If she really did, maybe sheâd have taken in her personal student as soon as⌠well, you know what happened. But on the other hand, the mare couldnât possibly juggle between balancing a whole country and taking care of a kid. Oh sure, she could pop in every now and again but doing all this on a permanent basis? No, that wasnât really realistic for someone in her position.
The current family was nice enough, she supposed. Even if their biological daughter had serious ego issues. Great and Powerful? Really? She was still in school, and could barely do a basic levitation spell. Yeah, sure. And Twilight was suddenly going to sprout wings and become an alicorn Princess.
So, getting past all that, well⌠despite how the Lulamoon family took her in, Twilight just didnât feel happy. Was it only natural? Maybe it was. After all, nice as they were⌠well. Twilight supposed in a few short days sheâd be tossed back in the orphanage. Another family labeling her a âdifficult case.â Thatâs how they always put it. Like she was something to be ashamed of. Sheâd probably be there for a few more years and after that⌠well, the sad reality was, nobody wanted to adopt an older kid. Not really. Nowhere near as cute as pre-teens. More work as well. Less easy to meld into their ideal child.
Twilight sighed as she walked out onto the balcony, looking up at the moon and stars. Her dad had always liked astronomy and always had invited her out to come look. Together, they always peered up at the sky, and wondered⌠what if? What if they werenât the only ones out there?
She could hear the sound of her âparentsâ arguing. Never any real moments of peace. She couldnât even read a book anymore! She needed⌠she needed to get out of here, just for a little bit. She couldnât even hear herself think. Pouring all of her magic into her horn -in hindsight, a stupid decision- she began to wish. She wished, wished with all of her might for someplace she could find peace and solitude. And then, she was gone. Like she had never been there to begin with. In the morning, Celestia would come and so would her brother. They would search the house and search the city. Flyers would be put up, and guards would be posted everywhere on the hunt for a fillynapper. But, obviously, nobody would ever find anything. The truth was far far stranger.
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So, okay. Unicorns were a thing. Boy, Pepper was going to love this one. Didnât all girls like ponies? Or was that only a cliche? Well, obviously he couldnât stand around gaping like an idiot. He had to do something.
Something that didnât scare the little girl out of her wits. Well, didnât scare her out of her wits any more than she already was. Judging by the fact that she was currently hiding under his hot rod in the corner.
âSir, I donât know how to tell you this, but what youâre currently seeing isâŚâ JARVIS said, and a little yelp came from somewhere nearby and then a cry of pain. Tony quickly shushed the AI by holding up a finger.
âNot possible? Yeah, I got that Jay, but here we are!â Tony whispered before gesturing to Happy. He mouthed: âYou go around back, see if you can get her to come my way. I want to know what sheâs even doing here.â
âMy niece has something like her, My Tiny Corgi?â Happy said as he went around to the other side of the car. âBoy, sheâd really love to see this eh?â
âYeah, can we, uh, not make comparisons to little girls cartoons while we try and talk to an actual alien?â Tony asked.
âAlien?â Happy replied.
âWell, yeah, sure! Aliens can look like little pastel horses, right? Besides, not really ready to jump on the whole âmagicâ bandwagon just yet, thank you!â
âWell, if the shoe fitsâŚâ Happy mumbled before crouching down on one side of the car, peering down to see the shivering and shaking unicorn beneath it. âWell, now, arenât you cute?â
Cute and dangerous, as the little magic shock Happy was given soon attested to.
âWhat, she bit you or something?â Tony asked as he saw his friend clutching his hand in pain.
âNo, she shot at me with her horn or something!â Happy replied. âHey, sure weâre not ready to jump on the whole magic bandwagon yet?â
âWell, energy absorption and redirectionâŚâ Tony muttered to himself, and crouching down to eye level, putting on his best Winning Smileâ˘, flashing it at the mare. âHey, hey. Itâs okay. Not going to hurt you. Happyâs a bit of a jerk, okay? Didnât mean to spook you. Donât tell anyone, but heâs actually a huge softie. Big teddy bear on the inside okay? He just doesnât like to let anyone know it.â
He didnât even know where he was getting this from, honest! But it was hard to be the Merchant of Death when you were faced with one very tiny pony who was way too cute for her own good. Ugh, if Pepper ever saw him like this⌠Oh, okay. Wow, he hadnât thought about that. Explaining this to Pepper! Rhodey too, for that matter!
Nervous little hooves clopped against the floor, and oh wow she was small. How old was she even? She could have been a full-grown adult by her race's standards. It was just⌠she looked so tiny!
âYouâre big,â said the little filly, -obviously a filly by her voice- as she looked up at Tony. â...what are you even? Some sort of an offshoot of the diamond dogs?â
âWell, Iâm a human and youâre in my house. Wow, not how anyone imagined First Contact would go really. I always imagined more âtake me to your leaderâ and all that, right? Isnât that how it usually goes?â Tony asked, well rambled really. âI mean, I imagine all those filmmakers were onto something right? If you do something enough times, chances are thereâs probably some truth to it.â
The filly giggled, feeling -hopefully- more at ease. Maybe now she wouldnât blast anyone?
âSo, whatâs your story huh?â Tony said, still crouched on her level. âHowâd you even get in here, and why were you reading Popular Mechanics? You like to dabble with machinery in your offtime?â
âW-Well, it was lying out on a desk and I saw a book soâŚâ the filly stuttered out. âBut I donât know why Iâm here, honest! Last I remember I was lying on my fa⌠my caretakerâs back porch and I looked up at the moon, wished for⌠well, I wished and next thing I knew I was being poked and prodded at by those weird arm things!â
She looked towards DUM-E and U, and Tony sighed. âGuys, look can we try not to poke and prod at the girl? Sheâs a guest here! Iâm going to put a dunce cap on both of you. Why? Cause you earned it!â
DUM-E whirred sadly, hanging one of his little arms limply. Tony shook his head, before turning back to the mare. âSorry about my AIs. Theyâre, well, what can you do eh?â
âAIs?â the filly asked, running the unfamiliar word across her lips. Testing the phrase.
âYeah, or Artificial Intelligence for short.â
At this, the filly lit up and began practically bouncing around the room like mad. Like she was a mare possessed. âOh my Celestia! Actual self-sustaining intelligence? What spell matrix did you use? Oh, you really have to tell me. Iâm 8, yeah, but Iâve read the theories behind the spell latticework are fascinating, and I think I understand most of itâŚâ
Tony stared in shock before Happy with a small smirk quipped: â...so, weâre taking magic off the table huh?â
Yeah, it was definitely looking like a good day to quit drinking.
With a bit of poking and prodding -not to mention eyes widened in wonder for JARVIS- he learned the fillyâs name was Twilight Sparkle. Okay, odd name but he wouldnât judge. There was something else, something at the back of his mind. Something he knew she was hiding, but what exactly was a good question entirely.
âOkay Jay, what now?â Tony said running his hands through his -hopefully not graying yet- hair as he watched the little filly practically bounce around the living room. âLike, what do we got on our hands here?â
âThe subject does appear to be equine in nature, sir. Scans do indicate sheâs carbon-based, and not at all dissimilar to earth lifeforms. However, there is a unique energy running throughout her body, perhaps the basis of her âmagic. Though what it is exactly, that is undetermined.â
âYou mean you donât know, right?â Happy asked from nearby, as he watched Twilight nibble on some flowers.
âEssentially, sir. My apologies. I will get to work on correcting this error.â
âHey, JARVIS? Do we know what she even eats, because as fun as watching her chew on the flower arrangement is⌠something tells me she needs real food,â Tony said. âNow, Iâm not an expert on equines or⌠animals in general, actually, so I defer to you.â
âNormal equines eat a combination of free-range grass and hay, however, fruits and vegetables are also an acceptable substitute. However, it is clear young Miss Sparkle is no normal equine,â JARVIS admitted. âI would recommend trial and error tests until we find her preferred tastes. For now, assume she is lacto-ovo-pescetarian.â
âLacto what?â Happy and Tony asked at the same time.
âThe most common type of vegetarian sir.â JARVIS replied, with a hint of deadpan.
âOh.â
Running with that, Tony ordered a rather large batch of fruits and vegetables. Nobody would question why. It was him. He was a well known eccentric. Plus, the longer he threw up shades from the real reasons he was ordering in bulk the better. God. That brought up another issue. If Fury ever found out about Twilight, and that was a very distinct and frightening possibility, heâd have his boys pull her apart. That wasnât going to happen.
âOh, listen to me, Iâm already sounding like herâŚâ Tony thought before quickly cutting that train off at the tracks. No, definitely no. He wasnât a father figure, hardly cut out to be one. He was a self-destructive maniac with one too many issues. If he was ever thinking to adopt, heâd be rejected straight out. Plus, whoever heard of adopting a horse anyways?
He needed to tinker. Always got his mind off things.
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Twilight wasnât sure what to think. Here she was in some strange household on some far off planet that barely even resembled Equestria. And she wasnât sure she wanted to be here. And yet in the back of her mind knew why she was here. Her teleport. Apparently, someone had been listening and plopped her here as some sort of cruel joke.
Tony and his friend werenât bad per se. She certainly didnât feel threatened by them. But between them, and the strange disembodied voice, well⌠her mind was like a hurricane of thoughts and fears. Who was Tony Stark anyways? And what was with those strange suits of armor he had locked away?
More importantly, why had she been sent here? To this place, so different from her own? Well, the wish obviously had something to do with it but why âhereâ here? And why with this man?
Well, there was only one thing to do. Explore. Maybe there were some books around here that would provide an answer as to what was going on. Or better still, maybe theyâd provide a way to contact Princess Celestia.
Oh, oh! Princess Celestia! She must have been worried sick! Her brother too! And Cadence!
Okay, okay. Breathe, Twilight. Just like your foal sitter taught you. Everything was going to beâŚ
âMiss Sparkle, I have detected a heightened heartbeat. Your breaths are becoming quicker, both point to signs of clear anxiety. Are you alright? Would you like me to summon Mister Stark?â
âI⌠no, not right now. I donât even know if I can trust this Mister Stark!â Twilight snapped. âCelestia⌠This is all so new to me!â
âWhile I do not know who this âCelestiaâ figure is, I can assure you that you are in no danger,â said JARVIS. âMister Stark is actually quite harmless. He may not be the most normal individual, but he will not harm you. And neither will I.â
âHow⌠how can I trust someone I canât even see?â Twilight asked. âWho are you anyways?â
âI will ask Mister Stark to put a face to my voice if that helps. Iâm sure he can accomplish such a feat. As for who I am, you may call me JARVIS. Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, if you would prefer my full name. Mister Stark based me on his family butler, and like the late Edwin Jarvis I clean, care and provide for Mister Stark. Though lately, Ms. Potts has been picking up some of the slack. Rest assured, I can do the same for you, if that is what you desire.â
Twilight took a deep breath, despite how unusual it was for a building to have itâs own voice she felt no danger from the voice. He was very polite, and if he was based on a butler⌠well! If what he said was true, and he cared for Mister Stark, well maybe she should trust in him as well.
âIâd⌠Iâd like that, actuallyâŚâ
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Okay, so yeah. His household now included one little horse. That was a thing. This was a thing now. God, he was never going to get used to that thought. Since when had his life gone completely insane? Did he suddenly deciding to become a superhero -he hated that word, he was hardly âsuperâ in any sense- suddenly just make Fate decide to let all the crazy in?
Tony knew he was insane, probably had a whole list of mental issues. He still couldnât look at water properly, not even drink it. Not without thinking of cavedrownYinsenAfghanistan all over again. He had nightmares. Terrible ones, where he woke up screaming. The pills helped, but not always. He barely got any sleep last night.
Rhodey said there were groups for this. But what would people think, if they saw Tony Stark walking into one of those groups? Tony loved being Iron Man, one of the few ways he could make up for his⌠mistakes. Trouble is, the government could probably rule him unfit. They could, no they would take his suits away and what then?
No, no, no. He couldnât let them have them. He thought back. What heâd said to Stern back then was the whole truth and nothing but the truth. âYou want my property? You canât have it. But I did you a big favor. Iâve successfully privatized world peace.â
Just with a few⌠revisions, that was all. A few things left unsaid. Okay, so that wasnât the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But that was the truth they were getting, the truth the public liked. Tony knew the news media would turn on him in a second if they knew the whole story. Public opinion was a terrible and powerful thing. God, he wished he could make the court of public opinion an illegal thing. Itâd do everyone wonders.
âMister Stark?â JARVIS said faintly. âIâm detecting signs of an anxiety attack. Would you like me to call Colonel Rhodes? Or Ms. Potts?â
âNo, itâs fine. Itâs fine! Iâm not broken. Donât ever treat me like Iâm broken,â Tony said rapidly. Far too rapidly to be believable. Hopefully, JARVIS would take the hint and shut up. Tony sighed, sliding back up against the wall. âWould you look at me now dad? This the son you wanted?â
He went back to tinkering, turning up the radio and letting the thundering tones of Bon Scott blast his ears. The less time he had to think about his issues, the better.
âLiving easy, living free. Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be Taking everything in my strideâŚâ
Twilight groaned, hearing the music from even a floor above her. That man did not know the meaning of restraint. He was going to drive them all deaf before the week was out. It was like being back atâŚ
Home? Was it home? Was the Lulamoon house really home? Possibly. Maybe. She wasnât sure. She chuckled, in remembrance of Trixie. The filly was probably happy to have her out of the house. That way, she never would upstage her again. She saw the dirty looks Trixie tossed her when she thought Twilight wasnât looking.
Envy, rage. That someone dared to be better at magic than she ever was. That filly was going to grow up to be one nasty mare. Hopefully, her parents steered her away from getting too terrible. ...Celestia, maybe Trixie would be the Princessâ personal student. Wouldnât she just love that?
Celestia, oh by the Sun! She had to be worried sick. Her brother, and her foal sitter as well! But how could she contact them? She didnât have any magic books to draw from, look up the proper spells! Maybe⌠Maybe Mister Stark(?) would have⌠no, that was silly. He didnât even believe in magic, she saw it in his eyes. He barely believed she even existed! Twilight snorted. Seemed fate had one last joke to play. She got her peace and quiet, but sheâd been shoved into a place where nobody believed in her. They probably thought her crazy, or maybe themselves crazy.
Twilight fought back a sob. She⌠she just wanted her parents back. She wanted to go home.
No, no crying. Celestiaâs personal students never cried. A Sparkle never cried. They were strong. She was strong.
âCome on Twilight, youâre going to be alright. You can adapt!â she thought to herself. âThereâs plenty to work with here, right? Maybe you can build a portal home. Itâll take a bit, butâŚâ
No, she had to be realistic. None of the stuff here in this house looked advanced enough to do that. Plus, she was still eight. She was a filly, and no filly ever achieved world-renowned fame for inventing something.
Another cry was fought back. Okay, okay. Cheer up Twilight. Think about other things. So what was with the hall of armor anyways? Was Stark a type of Royal Guard? They certainly were⌠colorful really. Didnât look very friendly though. His lab was a mess, the man had no sense of personal appearances. Heâd be laughed out of Canterlot if he ever showed up. The restaurants wouldn't even accept him, messy and grungey as he always seemed to be. No, he wasnât a guard. He was an inventor. So that meant he made those suits himself. But why? Was he a superhero? Like the Power Ponies? This merited further investigation. As did the look in his eyes, he always seemed so sad. Like her. He tried to hide it, but he always looked so lost.
Twilight slowly began to settle in. At the back of her mind, thereâd always been this voice telling her that getting home probably wasnât going to happen. At least, anytime soon. Still, she held out hope.
However, as much as she tried to fight it, her natural curiosity began to take over. She just had to know everything about her surroundings. History, technology, even the basic geography.
So grabbing as many books as she could find, she dove herself into them.
âI see you are what they refer to as a bookworm,â JARVIS said as he(?) watched the little filly browse through a selection of history textbooks. Varying things really, she never lingered long on one particular subject or the other. âAre⌠are you sure that you actually understand those books, miss? Far be it from me to question your intelligence, but you are rather youngâŚâ
âEightâs not young!â Twilight squeaked out, though JARVIS begged to differ. âBesides, something tells me Iâm going to be here for a while, so I might as well learn all I can.â
âThat is a distinct possibility, miss,â JARVIS admitted. âIt is highly unlikely that we can send you back to where you came from. Sadly, I must admit, no known star charts point to anywhere resembling this Equestria you mentioned. Admittedly, however, our telescopes are rather primitive.â
âIâd figured you were going to say thatâŚâ Twilight sighed. âAnd magic doesnât seem to be a thing here does it?â
âEven if it is, I know Mister Stark is attempting to explain it as science. His current prevailing theory is that your abilities come from and I quote: âsiphoning excess psychic energy from our dimensional planeâ. End quote.â
Heâd even thrown in a recording of Tonyâs voice for good measure.
âI seeâŚâ Twilight replied. âWell, I suppose itâs possible but having grown up around magic all my lifeâŚâ
âIt is rational to believe it, perceive it as magic. Iâm not going to stop you,â JARVIS said.
âAnd what do you believe?â Twilight asked looking up at where she thought JARVISâ voice was coming from. JARVIS, for his part, had been noting her speech patterns and the way she spoke in general. It was all very odd, she certainly didnât sound like she was an eight-year-old. He supposed she could have just been very mature for her age but all the same...
âWell, it doesnât matter what I believe,â JARVIS replied. âItâs not in my programming to think of the differences between magic and psychic energy from other dimensional planes. I just take things as they are, and reach a logical conclusion with the evidence provided to me. If it happens to resemble what is perceived as magic⌠I will say it as magic until I have been provided enough evidence to believe otherwise.â
âSo you do believe itâs magic,â Twilight replied, flipping through another page of her book.
âPerhaps,â JARVIS replied he noticed Twilightâs eyes widen in distinct shock, as she paused on a page. He gave off a little sigh, and said: âAh, yes. That.â
On the page was a horrific explosion, followed by a radioactive wasteland of scorched earth. Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. A date that would forever live in infamy, and would kickstart the latter half of the 20th century. That, and the birth one very famous monster movie franchise.
âHow can you be⌠be so calm?â Twilight whispered. âAll of those people, why? Gone in a second? What was the point?â
âItâs been forever debated back and forth on if that was truly, strictly necessary to end the war. Perhaps it wasnât, perhaps it was. Maybe the war would have gone on longer, maybe it would have ended that year anyhow. Itâs not our place to ponder, only to hope that another horrific incident like that shall never happen again,â JARVIS admitted. âThough with the way weapons have been developed over the past decade, an atomic bomb is, perhaps, no longer the quickest or most compact way to deliver out destruction on such a wide scale. Including weapons, thankfully no longer developed by Mister Stark.â
âHeâŚâ Twilight whispered eyes widened in shock and horror, recoiling. âHe used toâŚâ
âIt is not a proud part of Mister Starkâs history,â JARVIS replied. âOne he is in no hurry to repeat.â
Here, a recording was played. A low almost whispered and perhaps shellshocked tone was audible in Tonyâs voice. âI saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero-accountability. I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries.â
Ironically, JARVIS would note that Tony in his haste to rid the company of weapons? He still managed to give the world itâs most dangerous weapon yet in the Iron Man suit. The late Obadiah Stane had been right in that aspect, at least. Thankfully, his sense of commitment and personal possessiveness kept it out of anyoneâs hands.
âWell, at least your Mister Starkâs smarter than he looksâŚâ Twilight grumbled before getting up and trotting off. She cast a glance to the nearby hall of armor, and placed a hoof on the glass. â....right?â
Then, she left and in a flash of light teleported out of the room to⌠somewhere. JARVIS would find her again: he had her unique biorhythms on file. And logically, at such young of an age, he doubted her teleportation was all that controllable. He hoped, anyway. Perhaps it was time to contract Mister Stark. Just in case.
âMister Stark, I hesitate to bother you, but we may have a situation on our hands.â
âWhat, is it Agent? Put him on hold then. Iâm pretty sure the Avengers Initiative doesnât want me anyways. I was turned down, textbook narcissism right?â
âIt is not that, sir,â JARVIS replied. âItâs young Miss Sparkle. She found out about your⌠letâs say less than stellar history, amongst other things and is⌠how you say, on the lamb?â
âShit!â Tony swore, already breaking into a run and already having JARVIS prep the Mark VI for launch. He was barely aware of the armor being slapped on his body, even as he talked with his AI.âCan you track her? You have her unique signature on file right? Little unicorn, canât be hard to find right?â
Soon, he was rocketing out of his garage and skywards. Boy, this would be embarrassing if he found out Twilight was still inside the house.
âFound her, sheâs on top of City Hall,â JARVIS said. âPicking up intermittent breaths, and a heightened heart rate. Both of which are signs that point to high levels ofâŚâ
âAnxiety, yeah. I got that. Canât say I blame her, given she just found out about my less than stellar past. Isnât that how you put it? No need to beat around the bush Jarv,â Tony replied. âCanât say Iâm surprised, it was bound to come out eventually. How would you expect a cute little pony that looks straight out of a girlâs cartoon to take it? Well?â
âWell, we were hopingâŚâ JARVIS replied. âAnd another thing sir, while weâre on the subject. Young miss Sparkle seems remarkably mature for her age. Coupled with the fact that sheâs been closed off it would suggest thatâŚâ
âDonât even say it,â Tony replied. âDonât even think of saying it. The last thing I need to be doing is caring for a wee little orphan. Have⌠have you seen me? I can barely manage myself!â
JARVIS wisely chose not to mention the fact that over the past few days heâd noticed an odd change in Tony. Changes in neurological functions, influxes of oxytocin and dopamine. Declines in testosterone levels. In short, all perfectly natural responses of the body preparing itself for fatherhood.
He privately approved.
âWell, letâs get this done,â Tony said to himself as he landed the armor. âThe last thing I need is a worried kid on my conscience.â
He, not for the first time realized just how small the ki- No, Twilight actually was. She wasnât any larger than a housecat. That might have been being generous, really.
âHey kid, you can come out you know,â Tony said, unpeeling himself out of the armor. âNot going to bite. You on the other hand⌠well, Iâve seen a horseâs teeth up close.â
âWhat if I donât want to?â Twilight asked from behind an air conditioning unit. âCome out I mean? Iâve heard of your history. You made weapons.â
âNot exactly a part of my past Iâm proud of, as Iâm sure Jarvis told you,â Tony said. âBut at the time, itâs what I thought was right. The world was and still is a dangerous place. I thought, no I believed the best way to keep it safe was having a bigger stick than the other guy.â
âAnd now?â Twilight asked, still in that small voice. For once, Tony sardonically noted, she actually sounded like the little filly that she was. Not how he wanted it though.
âWell, thereâs more than one way to save lives right?â Tony remarked. âI should show you the Arc Reactor at Stark Tower in New York sometime. Bet thatâd send you over the moon.â
âMaybe it wouldâŚâ Twilight replied, and with nervous little hoofsteps walked out from behind the air conditioning unit. âIâd⌠Iâd actually like to see that, Iâd like to see New York in general actually.â
âIâm⌠Iâm not sure we can actually do that,â Tony faltered. âI mean, I know I promised you that you might get to see New York, but Iâm not so sure that itâs actually a smart idea. And I should know about dumb decisions, Iâm pretty much the king of them.â
âWhy?â Twilight asked.
âWell, becauseâŚâ Tony faltered again. âCareful Stark, you got to spin this right before you chase her off again.â
âBecause Iâm alien to this world right?â Twilight snapped, her horn crackling angrily. âBecause Iâm unusual, and Iâd probably freak people out? Is that it?â
âWellâŚâ Tony stuttered and thatâs all Twilight needed.
âWell, it may come as a surprise to you but I can take care of myself! I went to magic school, my parents were friends of Princess Celestia herself and-â
âYouâre a little kid! I donât know who this Princess Celestia is, but Iâm sure she wouldnât want you to run headlong into danger like that!â Tony shouted. âYou are a little kid and-â
âI havenât been a little kid for a year now!â Twilight shouted, tears stinging her eyes. âNot since⌠not since the fire! Not since I lost my parents and nobody seems to care about that! They just want to look good by taking a poor little orphan in, and further their status! Gain goodwill points for taking in a little girl and raising her as their very own! Well, I know better! They donât want me, they just want somepony to parade around like a point of pride and⌠andâŚâ
Finally, her voice broke and became a wail as her emotions finally bubbled over. Her body, shaking, barreled into Tonyâs chest and sobbed heavily. Tony just ran a hand through her deep purple mane and held her close, not really sure what else he could do aside from comfort her. Twilightâs body shook and shuddered, weeks of emotions kept carefully away finally let loose in one painful moment. She cried for her parents, for her brother who was away at war, and for her teacher and her foal sitter who were often too busy with politics to truly care for her.
âItâs okay⌠There you go, let it outâŚâ
Neither of them would ever be alright, but maybe⌠maybe together they could at least try to work through it.
--------
Life changed after that. Tony had decided the two should be broken together, and let Twilight -his daughter?- in on his own mental issues. She took it as well as she could, not really understanding all of it but that was to be expected. She still was just a kid after all, no matter how much she pretended to be otherwise.
âTony! Tony!â Twilight cried excitedly, and Tony looked up from his work -boring stuff, really- to see the little filly prancing about excitedly with a little mechanical robot in tow. âHeâs finally done! Spikeâs finally done!â
âComin' out of nowhere, drivin' like rainâŚâ blared a radio in the background.
The robot was lizard-like in basic shape, though you had to look closely to tell. With bits of wires and metal plating exposed, he resembled a naked C3-PO more than anything else. But it was her first bot, -Tony smiled, was that pride?- so there were bound to be a few things she needed to learn.
âGood job kid, thoughâŚâ Tony said as he knelt down to inspect Spike, who hobbled more like a lizard with a bum leg than anything else. âWe really need to work on the joints, poor thing looks like itâs about to fall over. Also, response time could use a bit of tweaking. Itâs taking ages for that little camera he has as a head to turn my way. Weâll stick a pin in it, okay? Work on it over the weekend, itâll be a minion/master relationship okay?â
âTony, you canât go ahead and make your assistant minions,â Rhodey said tiredly, having slowly but surely gotten used to the idea of a little lavender unicorn walking around. âYou can make your own bots as minions.â
âExcuse me, I am not just a minion! I am the Executive Assistant on Four Legs, Class One!â Twilight corrected. âTony said so!â
âOkay, okay!â Rhodey said. âIf you say soâŚâ
Twilight liked Rhod⌠sorry, Colonel James Rhodes. He reminded her of her brother in a lot of ways. Firm, but protective of his friends and family. Did she miss her brother? Obviously. Did she hope to see him again? Of course she did. But for the time beingâŚ
Well, best not to think of such things. She had another mental puzzle to figure out. Sheâd been hearing on the news of something in New Mexico. This sudden storm that seemed to come out of nowhere, appeared over a small town before vanishing rapidly. Before that, several other odd incidents scattered throughout the state. Several sudden rapid lightning storms. Obviously all connected, they just had to be.
âWhoah!â Tony suddenly yelped as the drone spat flames at him. Well, sparks anyways. âWell, least we wonât have to get you a taser!â
âYep, there were dragons where I came from so-â
âWait, what?â Rhodes said, dropping his coffee cup. âActual dragons?â
â-so I looked to them for inspiration,â Twilight rambled on ignoring him. âApparently, had I finished magic school I would have had to hatch an egg as the final test. Obviously, I canât do that now, so⌠This is the next best thing, right?â
âWellâŚâ Tony said sucking in a breath before sharing a look with his friend. âObviously, I think we should replace that with a repulsor beam, the modern take on dragons breath right? Plus, fewer ways for you to make something catch on fire. DUM-Eâs still not mastered the extinguisher after allâŚâ
Then, thunder rumbled somewhere above them. Tony looked outside; the skies were perfectly clear.
âOkay, thatâs odd. The weather forecaster didnât say there were supposed to be storms todayâŚâ Pepper said as she walked in. âAnyone know whatâs going on?â
They soon got their answer, as Happy walked in looking rather shocked. His face was pale, and he was out of breath.
âUh, yeah. I donât want to bother you-â
âThen donât,â said Tony. âWhat, itâs just a storm. Weâre not going to curl up under the sheets in fear are we?â
âUhâŚâ Happy said before a man walked in. Well, not just a man. A god of a man, one that made Tony suddenly feel very inadequate. His chest was bristling with muscles, and while the drapes he wore did nothing for him, good lord he was handsome. In a non-gay way, of course.
â...wow,â Rhodey breathed. âThatâs a hell of an entrance.â
âYou should have seen him riding in on a lightning bolt,â Happy muttered and Tony shot him a look of surprise. â...I mean, who does this guy think he is? Thor?â
âWell, actuallyâŚâ the blond started.
âActually, how about you clear on out of here,â Tony said pointing to the door. âIf you want to talk to me, make an appointment with my secretary. So you can clear you and your shiny cosplay butt on out of here. Happy, show him the door!â
â...yeah, sure, you make me show this guy the door!â Happy grumbled before hanging his shoulders in resignation.
âYou are Tony Stark, correct?â said the new arrival. âIâm looking for you, a friend of mine? Heimdall? He said to find you, for a friend of course.â
âAnd I can only assume you, your hypothetical friend, and Heimdall are all booked with appointments?â Pepper said looking annoyed at the repair work sheâd have to do.
â...Tony, please tell me this isnât one of your ex-employees,â Rhodey sighed. âBeck was bad enough!â
âI do not work for Mister Stark,â said the blond man. âI am actually here on a gesture of peace. My name is Thor Odinson, and I am looking forâŚâ
Before Tony had time to process that little statement, he watched Thorâs eyes drift to Twilight's frozen form. His fatherly instincts went into overdrive.
âDonât you touch her!â he said ready to call for his new suit.
âRest assured,â said a warm motherly voice that, judging by her reaction, Twilight knew well. A truly massive white horse stepped into the room. âThor was only here to bring me to you. Hello, Twilight. Iâve been searching for you for a long timeâŚâ
âPRINCESS CELESTIA!â Twilight said as she wrapped her forelegs around the Princessâs left front leg, crying tears of joy. Tony swallowed as he looked at both her and Thor. Suddenly, he felt his life was about to get very complicatedâŚ
FIN.