Knights in Kevlar Armor

God? For me God's only ever been the beginning of goddamn. But this is me and mines' story, one that got me to seriously question and reconsider my religious standpoint. Because things like this don't happen often, if ever.

Dustin was caught off guard when the Insurgent turned around and fired at something the couldn't see, he was even more surprised when the horse fell as if it had been shot itself. Dustin had reached for his rifle but found it had slid out of his reach during their impact. He found it under the desk he was seated at, all the way to the left in the corner. He went to reach for it but his seatbelt kept him seated. He quickly unlatched it and grabbed his M4 and surfaced from below the desk to find he was gone, but in his place was a dozen horses in golden armor, he quickly ducked under the table after that little revelation and tried to thin of a plan.

Bryan was shocked when, from his location, he saw a man in a lab coat round the corner where the agitator was, he could see the fear and recognition on his face as he took in the armor's appearance of the man ahead of him was wearing before a permanent comatose state took over him, and then proceeded to run ducking out the door frame behind the engineer and down the left hallway, but not before a group of guards(?) saw him and pursued. While they went on after him down the left way Bryan could swear he heard the distinct rattle of gunfire and shouts. In the plural, so either there was more people, or the horses really could talk. His question was soon answered when he overheard their conversation involving the unconscious horse, this was going to be a...a goodish day.

John saw everything from his perch near the top of the behemoth's main-room and was just a second too slow on the shot that could have stopped the instigator due to the unusual tilt the HART maintained after the crash, resulting in a little bit too long of an echo throughout the room, but no one else seemed to notice. Better keep that to myself. He saw the quick pursuit of a small group containing golden clad horses chase after the renegade and felt a little relieved, and a little worried. He could not hear the shots and shouts that Bryan did due to his height. Nor did he hear them conversing amongst each other over their fallen comrade.

"What happened here?" The biggest amongst them barked. However, he was average as their guards went, same white coat, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Besides the occasional grey one of course.

"We aren't sure Gilded sir. He hasn't taken any physical damage but he's undoubtedly out of it so to speak." A smaller pony reported.

"Well, I can't tell whether that's good or not Neol. On the one hoof he's out, but on the other, we have no idea what caused it."

"Yes, most frightening. But should we try to wake him?" Neol asked.

"No not here. Somepony please take him to the castle, the rest will stay here with me and inspect the rest of the ship, keeping an eye open for any more...of those." He finished with disgust being his most prominent tone.

"Hey are you guys seeing this?" Bryan asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Yes, but what am I seeing?" John answered, frustration at his previous failure lingering.

"No. What? I'm trying to come up with a plan here so we can find this forsaking ingrate." Dustin pronounced, clearly not in the mood for talking horses.

"Well it appears that the assembled horses have formed an...a committee. They were circling around that one unconscious horse until another sketchy horse took away the former horse." Bryan answered, meeting his 'truth' minimum for the day.

"What he's avoiding is that they're...no, I'm in charge now. Dustin sit your ass up and just look." John ordered.

"Wha-goddamn it...yes? Many many horses for my son's, and twice for my daughter's husbands. No, switch that." He said, faking a middle-eastern accent and not giving a single fuck, he's saving for the future, when he's old and decrepit. Stingy bastard.

"Hey Abdul cut it out!" Bryan said, quite racistly, "we need to go before they see us!"

"Yes, that's what I was planning before you had me look at gilded horses. Now, now I can't remember!"

"Stop it Dusty, I already have a plan. We just go out the back while they're down there." So simple! John is amazing!

"That's stu...fuck you." Dustin finished heatedly. They began to move, but the prolonged stillness mixed with the genereally quiet atmosphere resulted in distinct creaks from armor and chairs, as well as the echoing throughout the room causing the guards to look up and gape in awe at the perfect beings horror as three metal bound giants stood from all angles and began to move, freezing as their reflective visors locked onto their party.

"What do we do sir? Magic has proved not effective against the other beast." Neol both asked and informed Gilded Spiral.

"What?" Spiral asked, furious with the news, "Well, if magic doesn't work, steel's never failed the Guard. Formation!" Gilded finished with a directing shout. The ponies formed an arrow pointing towards the middle of the group to provide the most cover and aimed their spears upwards and Gilded formed a grey bubble shield around them, "Stick 'em on a pike!"

"What are they doing?" Dustin asked.

"It appears they've formed a defense against us." John answered amused.

"A defense? So they don't want us here? Let's just go then!" Bryan concluded, happy that something was finally going right although the situation was still dire.

"Yes, let's split ways for n -" John was cut off as he saw another insurrectionist began to rise, weapon in hand, "Oh, well shit."

He was groggy at appearance as he struggled to stand, using anything within reach as support. But 'groggy' didn't cover the wasted state he was in, "What the hell? Who -" The survivor asked to no one before a someone answered.

"Holy shit thank God another made it! Quick, what's your name?" A person shouted, desperate for another human in these confusing times.

"Who is -"

"Stephan, what is your name?" Stephan yelled, near hysterics from the drastic change in scenery.

"Alex, wh- what, where are we?" Alex asked as it felt like hammers were banging around in his head  , oblivious to the stares he was getting as the entire room's population focused on him.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Stephan finished as his fragile walls of sanity began to break, "I DON'T HAVE A FUCKING CLUE! THERE'S TALKING HORSES THAT TRIED TO KILL ME AND I SHOT THEM! PLEASE JUST COME HERE!"

"Uh, ok. I'll come get you." And close this 'horse' nonsense, Alex finished in his mind not wanting to further upset his comrade who remained silent, must've hit his head pretty damn hard if he's acting up like this. The silence allowing him to think and come up with a rendezvous plan or some way to signal their providers. Because while some looked to them as some sort of religious relic, Alex and many more connected were in it solely because they paid very handsomely.

"S-sir! There's another one!" Neol shouted, pointing to the rising figure behind them.

"Another? Where are they coming from? Cover!" Spiral finished with an order to cover their back.

Finally Alex finished his plan to reconnect with his paycheck, and looked up. "What the hell!"

"Dustin! Bryan! Get your sights on this one in case he tries to pull another quick one!" John ordered as he too set his sights on the potential hostile.

"Already sighted!" Dustin replied.

"Yes dear." Bryan answered sarcastically, but as he drew up his rifle and sighted in on Alex his laser had been on, attracting every other beings' attention with it.

"Turn that shit off Bryan!" John yelled as he noticed the flash of green squarely on the offender's chest.

"Damn it Bryan, are you trying to get us killed?" Dustin yelled with a look and wave to Bryan, but below the ponies were staring in a mixture of awe, confusion, and fear as Bryan's piece of metal spewed forth the cool light right over their very heads. Normally any laser that bright and concentrated would have burned straight through any other being, but Alex just stood there, albeit with the fear of death plain in his cowering posture as he tried to avoid it without tempting the producer's finger.

"What is it Spiral? We should at least feel heat, or smell the ozone!" A medium sized stallion asked.

"I don't know." Their captain said, trying to keep his cool, "It is probably their own twisted form of magic. Don't let it touch you and watch for any more!" He finished, pumping more magic into his shield, hoping that even if magic didn't work on them, theirs couldn't permeate magic.

"Why did that bubble just get bigger?" Dustin asked, momentarily drawn away from the green laser giving away their position and closing their chance of a clean getaway.

"Well given the fact that that one in the middle there is the source, I'd say it was a means of defense." John answered, always one for answers.

"Yes, a shield, of light." Bryan began, "Oh! My light!" He tilted his gun ever so slightly to flip the laser off, but that little tilt caused the laser to go through the shield, and dance through the shield, completely unaffected by its magic, swerving over the entire squad.

The ponies observations of the beasts who were making gestures with their arms that weren't occupied with a brick of metal as the nearest one's laser went through their shield without hesitation or distortion, "Evade! They're attacking! Counter strike!" Spiral ordered as he dove with a roll to 'avoid' the laser that had already danced all over the group, "Attack!" The group of ponies split and the Pegasi had taken to the skies.

This, has taken a turn. Alex thought as he saw the ponies disperse and try to flank his would-be-killers. He decided to beat a grateful retreat and left to regroup with Stephan. "Stephan? I'm free now, where are you?"

"Well I'm actually in our room, restocking before we leave."

"Good, we need to go now, at least until we raise enough in His way to retake the ship, the Pacifiers are still alive." He spat the last part with vehement disgust.

"What? Those Loyalist pigs survived the crash?" Stephan raged, his hate for the Objectives breaking him from his short-lived mental collapse, "Get your ass over here! Stock up on equipment and let's move!"

"Yes, I'll be there shortly." He sighed as he rounded a corner through the steel plated hallways, his reverberating footsteps catching the sensitive ears of a small patrol at the entrance to scare off any potential solicitors or halt unauthorized personnel entrance to the alien hulk of metal.

"Sting, you hear that? It didn't sound like hoofsteps." The left guard asked, his ears swiveling to better discern the noise.

"Yeah, come on let's go check it out, our orders wereto check on any and all suspicious activity, besides, nopony is going to come into this haunted piece." Sting answered as they turned away from their posts, to the strangely high ceilinged hallways, their armor clinking with their jostling hosts, betraying their stealthy approach as they began closing in on a recently shut door.

"-gether! We need to move out! These things are armed and dangerous!" Alex shouted as they rushed around their quarters grabbing anything essential to a prolonged survival in an unknown world with different metaphysical laws over its inhabitants.

"Yes! Grab the bags and stuff as much food and guns in them as we can! The cafeteria is unlocked still, but the food is a mess!"

"How do you know that? You stop their before you came here?"

"In a sense. Remember when I said I shot a group of those armed horses? Well as I was on the run I stopped in the fridge to catch my breath." Stephan huffed as the load he was carrying increased rapidly, rounds, explosives, and extra rifles clinking dangerously. Their immediate future proving to be more of a concern, "Would still be there if I didn't have my gun to 'unlock' it for me."

"So were they tough? The horses. Were they hard to take down?" The late waker asked as he fitted his helmet on.

"No. Hilariously simple." He chuckled as he too zipped and clasped his go-bag and slung it over his shoulder, "They wear gold armor! Sure it looks good, but it's fucking gold! My FMJ rounds easily cut through them. I never would have wasted them though if I wasn't prepping for those damn Pacifiers, they dropped instantly, except for the first one, he got smart and broke from the group, cutting through a different hallway. Bastard took a shot to leg first then was trampled by the pursuing group. I almost felt bad for him when his leg was stomped on but hey! They're just horses!"

"Damn Steph that's...that's just brutal!" Alex said faking disgust but honestly not giving a damn either way if it was painless or not for the thing, "But seriously, if they use spears and that glowing shit shouldn't they know by now that gold is a bitch when it comes to defense?" He finished as he slung twin duffle bags across his front, back, and left side.

"Yeah, they should. But that reminds me, I...I kinda talked to one before the shit got hot." Steph hesitated to talk about his encounter while he double checked and fastened his gear with a final once-over.

"What? Did you beg for your life?" Alex joked as he walked over to his only surviving partner.

"No, I'm-I'm serious now. We held a steady conversation until..." He drifted thinking of the engineer.

"Until what? Nope, never mind." Al cut as he remembered their more pressing situation, "We need to get the food and leave, now."

"Right right. Let's go then." Stephan answered with a sigh, relieved he didn't have to rethink his actions. Self-doubt on orders or in general was not tolerated among the Elevated. They headed to the solitary door and it opened before them. They walked out and left through the right hallway, never checking the other way, assured the rest were caught up with the standoff held in the main room. But in doing this they failed to notice the golden clad and spear toting duo that had froze as the door rose into the ceiling of its own accord to allow two metal bound, bag carrying giants through!

"W-what was- were those the -" Unnamed sputtered.

"Yeah Grind, I think those were the makers of this...this thing." Sting whispered with the hushed voice of a ghost as he saw their featureless face surely a mask, but what is it? Needless to say, loyalty is a damning thing, and being sworn to the Princesses didn't do one any favors when they had to actually investigate. They shadowed the two through the ship with uncanny silence considering their apparel. The following was uneventful and they came to the ruins of a cafeteria.

"Dustin, Bryan! Avoid lethal force with the casuals! We don't need to start an interplanetary war!" (As if they had a chance in Hell!) Thankfully they were already loaded with 'safe-shots' but they were taken dangerously low. Dangerous for the ponies at least. Because while they were running low on riot rounds, remember they each brought a spare mag of lethals.

"Shit that laser really set 'em off!" Dustin began, "Well if it scares them, I'm lighting them up!" He finished with a flick of a switch, the rest followed suit. The room was raved with acrobatshit ponies and flashing lights, "Shine them off!"

The ponies were...unnerved to say the least by their opposition's lack of speech but perfectly synched formations and counter measures, "How are they doing that Fodder?"

"I don't know Cannon! They might be telepathic!" Fodder answered as he swooped low with a quick bank as he glazed through the air to dodge a laser, "But they've got a lot more of those things!" He shouted as he attempted to drop onto one of their assailants before having to dodge another light.

Bryan was thoroughly enjoying himself as he had unholstered his sidearm as well and was doing a little dance, efficiently coating his surroundings in ultra-violet rays, "It's like with dogs but they run away!" He laughed as a flying one careened of course and landed with a cloud of dust and debris.

"Cut it out! This is serious!" John yelled, although he thought it was extremely ridicules as well, finding himself happier surrounded by talking horses who most likely wanted to imprison them if not kill, then at his own wedding maybe I'll find my next ex-wife here he had joked as they entered the bar Stupid stupid John! Why would you bitch slap the universe like that? He had thought as she packed and left with his her new car and the furniture following in tow.

"Lay off John." Dustin laughed as he successfully cornered the biggest of the bunch and outlined his body with the laser, "It's not often we get to terrorize our enemies with lasers alone! Usually it's what follows them!" He finished as he elicited a fearful cry from the pimped out beast0of-burden.

"We're a buncha bastards is what we are!" John finally laughed as his stony front crumbled when he shone the laser on a particularly small one, it passed out!

"They killed Haube!" One called as he was being erratically assaulted by the nearest one's strategic and calculated swipes.

Gilded Spiral, the stallion in charge of their tight-knit group, had let one die in battle. As he did what? Sit petrified in a corner as a light skirted around his frame? No more, "LASERS OR NOT! WE WILL AVENGE OUR FALLEN AND MAKE SURE IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! FOR HAUBE!" He yelled as he took advantage of the momentarily frozen light.

"HAHAHA! Wait what? Did he just say 'avenge'?" Dustin asked as his spree was cut short, only hearing the raised voice of his current 'subject'.

"And another said we killed one!" Bryan exclaimed worriedly as they all became an unhealthy amount of 'hostile', his rave dance halted as he tried to fend off the oncoming swarm.

Spiral inhaled and shut an eye to brace for searing pain as one of the erratic one's lasers zeroed in on him, he was prepared to die if it gave his allies extra time. But nothing happened but a quick flash of green as it skated over his eye and the monster began waving it menacingly through the air at him, "Wha -? Their lasers are safe! They do not burn! Attack!" Their captain ordered, all of them somehow missing the connection between the cold lights and fallen friend. The unicorns powered up, the pegasi took to the air, and the regulars made a mad dash to the posers. As a swooping pegasus dropped down with a hind hoof taking the lead, a quick duo of muffled cracks went off as it made contact.

Once the maelstrom had peaked and the ponies were learned of the lights they charged and took to the air, sides, and front. Three of the four unicorns had launched a volley of energy at them, the fourth and biggest rebuilding and maintain the steady and pulsing orb around those nearest him. The pegasi had reached the ceiling and began circling, scanning the three remaining aliens who had been flashing purposeless lights at them, they should have ran when they had the chance. The earth ponies had their spears locked in place on their shoulders as if they were in a jousting match. One of the Pegasi had broken from the rest upon noticing one of the beasts higher up on the tiers distracted by the charging land-bound ponies. He took his chance and dropped like a bag of lead and collapsed his wings for less resistance, but as he barreled towards his target he turned around and looked right at him as if he could feel his very being approaching, but he was silent!

"-in I said you watch the skies!" John yelled as he crouched and rested his rifle on the desk and resumed his position when they were whole and facing humans, not these things. Life is like a wheel, and it always comes back around, one way or another. "Dustin behind you! Dropping at a 45 angle!" Dustin turned around just in time to give his attacker a scare and a brief glance at his reflection in his visor before hoof met helm and instinct met trigger. The crash as his mask gave in under the weight was heard, also catching the pegasi's hoof in the shards of his remaining protection gouged into it, nearly drowning its host with the blood of its prisoner. The wheezing gasp of the horse was missed and replaced with the low chuff of Dustin's enclosed rifle as its recipient covered it with his body and was fired upon.

"Get- get this thing outta my helmet!" Dustin cried between spastic coughs and gasps for air as they collapsed behind the desk and he tried to dislodge the offending hoof as its host weakly cried in pain and lack of air, "He's bleeding and it's flooding my shit!"

"Damn it Dusty why?" Bryan cried as his lasers were rebuffed with courage and reflected by gold.

"Use the purge emergency release! It's to release anything like if you threw up in it, but it wont clean your face!" John informed as he clocked in on one inside the bubbles, the front regulars were just vaulting over and through the front rows and closing, but the bubbled ones were actually shooting at them. Dustin used the purge button and caused a valve and his suits emergency supply of oxygen, in case the air became toxic or lack of, and sprayed the ponies blood out with a loud and wet sputtering sound, mortifying the pegasus further as either the beast's blood or its own was launched at him, soaking him. All while the steely giant remained silent, and that by far scared him worse than blood, any natural thing would have made a sound anytime within their brief and fueled encounter. This combined with the pain emanating from his hoof, and the unexplained pain resulted in him to stare entranced and scared for his life as the fluids kept pumping.

"Gah, shit!" Dustin began as he spat the remaining blood from his mask and into the tube to his immediate left, "Thanks John! I had forgotten about that! But this thing is still on me!" He finished as he continued to pry the hoof from his vision, caught and pressing onto his nose, nearly to the breaking point. They rolled on the floor as Dustin repeatedly crushed the terrified, unprepared, and powerless pony as it began quietly crying and whimpering uncontrollably. Dustin felt bad for him, he had his foot stuck in glass and took a shot to the undercarriage. Poor bastard. However 'Poor Bastard' could feel something inside, his hoof however completely filled the hole and prevented any sounds from escaping, wh-what's inside?

"John what do I do? They're getting awfully close!" Bryan yelled as the regulars were just two rows below him.

"If they don't stop weapons-free!"

"Where did Avi go?" Spiral asked as he noticed his circle minus one.

"He took off after one and they both went down!" Another wind-walker answered as he scanned for them, "He's caught! The big one's got him!" He finished as he saw them rolling on the ground, "He's bleeding bad! His entire coat is caked in it!"

"Is he moving?" Spiral demanded, "He can't be dead! Not another!"

"I-I don't see any movement on his part, but the thing is moving again!" He told as he swung low near Spiral to tell him and wait for orders.

"Get. Him." The nameless left and tried to recover his friend, or at the very least avenge him.

Between the cries of his mask's prisoner and his own grunts of effort, Dustin came up with a rhythm of sorts. Whenever the thing seemed to have finally passed out, he would yank on the fuckers leg until he woke up. It worked, eventually, almost. Because when there was only about half an inch left he could feel a displacement in the air that was followed by a thump behind him. His parasitic pal gave a sigh of relief and acknowledgement, whereas Dustin immediately took that as a 'shit gon happen' sign and swung his left arm blindly behind him, his upper arm making contact with a solid surface, he was closer than I thought. As the ponies sneak attack had been apparently been compromised, is there no surprising them, he staggered from the blow to his chest plate which had been dented and rendered both uncomfortable and a potential hazard, how could it *do** that!* It thought as he threw off his useless piece of scrap metal.

"Stop right there beast!" He managed to say after catching his breath, "I've got you off-off guard and am armed! Rise against me again and you will regret. And don't even try to grab your light box."

Light box? Oh! My gun! Oh, my gun. "Wh- what? Guys. One of them is behind me and I've got a hoof in my helmet. Can one of you do something, but be quick he says he's armed and I don't think North-Central Positronics made this issue for that." He whispered as he feigned compliance, waiting to be bailed out by either John or Bryan.

"Shit I'm sorry man but I've got a group advancing on my position!" Bryan answered as the vaulting ponies encroached his safety zone.

Or John

"I'll try but just go with it for now! I've been batting away at these winged ones and dodging the horned ones!" John replied as he ducked both a bolt of energy and rolled away from another dive-bomb attack.

"Fine. Fine! I'll play prisoner with it!" Dustin finished as he put his arms behind his back, his hand rushing against a small, hidden lever, built into his system. Well well, looks like you're not the only one with a blade.

As Stephan and Alex made headway towards the mess hall they were unaware of their pursuers who had the sense to remain hidden rather than charge ahead and fight blindly, "So you're sure they have emergency packs here? And bags to carry them?"

"Goddamn it. For the last time Alex, YES!"

"Ok just wanted to make sure. I don't want to have to leave without any food, because we are not going back. After here we are out."

"Yes I know. We can't take on Pacifiers and an armada of geared horses. Now come on and let's grab some supplies." Stephan finished as he easily vaulted the counter dividing the kitchens from the rest of the room. Alex followed his example and did a showy flip over the edge, "Oh piss off Al, now's not the time." He said with a roll of his eyes and was only met with a loud snickering that covered the audible gasps from their followers, their vents were open. They went through. The double swing doors and began to pack the various pre-packed meals strewn over the floor and counters, as well as a few cans and plastic wrapped cuisines that they just couldn't pass up.

"Hurry up Steph, we need to leave before I get to even the score with you and dispatch my own merry band of furry individuals." Alex joked as he tied of his first bag and started on another.

"D-did you catch that? They spoke."

"Yeah, I did." He finished darkly, "And now we have a job to do."