Act Three, Chapter Nineteen
Turning the Tide

I’ve announced my return to the Peace Fighters with much public fanfare, and have revealed to all the world that I, Shining Armor, am leading the revolutionaries. I’m sure the Princesses tried their damndest to suppress this information, but it’s too late. Now their whole world knows that I’m the true leader of the Peace Fighters. What once was a patriotic hate for our cause has turned to confusion. The sheep of the Empire can’t wrap their tiny minds around the fact that the captain and commander of the Empire’s armed forces has ‘betrayed’ their Goddesses. They’ll know why soon enough, though.

Everypony will...

Operation: Fallen Star, our move to bring the war to Canterlot and straight to the dark hearts of the Princesses themselves, is the final trump card. The hidden ace up our sleeve. The checkmate. Canterlot is heavily defended, however, and we need to bring down many Imperial bases and steal many of their weapons and vehicles before we move onto the final objective. The Princesses have discovered that the Fascist Felines are aiding us in this war, and are assuredly none-too-pleased. The Felines have been busy since the end of our war against them, and have yielded some impressive technology for our cause.

Technology may be the tool to winning a war, but more important are the hands and hooves that wield it.

Flying high above the surface of Equestria was once considered only for the Pegasi or the rich, as taking a ride in an airship was expensive. Shining Armor never took it as a big event even before his career in the military, and riding in a DRAVM was no difference.

Anything involving Felines was different, though.

The Captain had not taken his eyes off the Felines in his DRAVM since the flight started, and most of them hadn’t done the same either. Their squad-leader seemed to be completely uninterested in Shining, however, and was currently busy looking out the side hatch.

I hope I don’t end up regretting this.

Light turning green in signal to get ready Shining Armor stood on all fours and checked his gear, approaching the Feline officer near the side hatch and preparing to drop out the vehicle.

“I am Master Sharpclaws” the Feline squad leader suddenly told Shining Armor, her one eye staring him down like he wasn’t even there. The other eye was presumably lost as it was covered by an eyepatch.

“‘Master’?” Shining asked, confused as to whether it was a rank or what her lover called her in the bedroom.

“Felines ranks are more straightforward than yours. I can not even tell if you are an officer or infantry” Sharpclaws stated.

“All you need to know is that I lead these ponies. Their lives matter to me, yours does not*” Shining whispered.

“That makes one of us*” Sharpclaws responded, folding her arms over her chest. It seemed she was implying that the lives of the ponies meant something to her.

“Hmm.”

The light flashing green Shining Armor leaped out of the DRAVM as his compatriots followed, wind rushing past them as they streaked towards the earth, several miles up. Ripping through the cloud layer with a number of phoomps the reinforcement assault team got a view of the Imperial base they were free-falling towards right now, Captain Armor seeing the battle below that was already underway. The base was built around what appeared to be a small town in the desert, named Appleloosa.

Hang in there, Lieutenant Spear, we’re coming to help you.

Half a mile above the base Shining Armor rolled forward and upright so that his hind legs were oriented toward the ground, continuing his freefall. As he neared the ground he pulsed his rocket pack to slow his descent and detached the one-use device, landing on the ground with it and his team soon following.

“Spread out! Keep an eye out for Lieutenant Spear and the rest of the soldiers we lost contact with!” Shining ordered, readying his CSC-12C and charging for cover to get out of the open. Lieutenant Spear was ordered to assault this base along with a few hundred Feline soldiers and they’d gotten bogged down under attack from a considerably larger assault force than what they thought was at the base. The Lieutenant had said most of her force had been killed.

Contact had then been lost, and Shining Armor decided to go in with his own team, comprised of both regular Peace Fighters and Felines, as well as several Canines.

Skirting around a large building Shining peeked around the corner and saw that the coast was clear, proceeding across the way as Master Sharpclaws and a few other soldiers followed him. The battle was raging already, and it was only just beginning.

“The Lieutenant was last heard saying something about a tank being destroyed before she got cut off. Keep an eye out for any Imperial tanks that have been annihilated” Shining declared.

Their peace and stealth was soon lost, however, as they came under attack from a machine gun nest aided by standard ground infantry. The gun nest cut off one pathway in the large base and forced the team to find a way around.

More Imperials came out to fight them just as the Captain caught glimpse of a destroyed tank, assuredly just one of many. Chips of concrete sprayed Shining Armor in the face as the enemy opened fire, the clatter of their rifles adding to the thunder echoing across the entire base. When the gunfire died down Shining ducked out along with his team and returned fire, cutting down several Imperial soldiers and clearing the way for them to investigate the destroyed tank.

It was a Manticore light tank, one of the most prolific armored vehicles in the Equestrian Empire as it was incredibly fast for a tank and packed a decent punch. It’s armor was less than optimal, however.

Looking around its right side Shining found nothing of importance with the tank, and sure didn’t see Lieutenant Spear around it. The Captain was about to investigate the left side when Master Sharpclaws called out to him.

“Master Armor, come quick! Zere ees a mare here matching your description of ze Lieutenant!”

Immediately Shining Armor went around to the left side and sure enough Lieutenant Spear was there, on her side and not moving. Shining pressed a hoof to her neck and found a pulse, indicating she was still alive.

“It’s her. Let’s finish up this assault and get out of here” Captain Armor declared.

“Vell, that was easy. I was not expecting to find her so quickly” Sharpclaws said.

Shining rolled the Lieutenant over and was shocked by what he saw.

Strong Spear’s right front hoof had been nearly cut off, and there was a jagged shard of metal sticking out of her chest, which appeared to actually be poking at her heart, if Shining had to guess.

“Goddess... If I pull this out it might kill her. Sharpclaws, get a DRAVM out here to take Lieutenant Spear back to the home base!” Shining commanded, with the Feline Master quickly complying.

Despite protests from the pilot about the significant battle going on across most of the base a DRAVM soon arrived to lift Strong Spear out and take her back to mother base, leaving just the reinforcement assault force.

Proceeding past what Shining assumed was once town hall as it had a large clock tower jutting out of the roof he and his team got a view of several hangars that they had seen from the air as the Appleloosa base had been turned into an airfield.

Those hangars were the real mission, the one given to Lieutenant Spear and her team.

As they were about to move out a wall exploded near Shining’s team, and they were forced to retreat. It seemed there literally dozens of tanks still rolling around the base.

“Who brought the rocket launchers?” Shining asked, looking back at his squad. The Captain didn’t want to risk any of the DRAVMs just to take out a few light tanks so it was up to the tried-and-true portable missile systems.

“I did” Sharpclaws said, suddenly taking off like a shot, sprinting for the house across the street as the tank grinded towards them. It seemed the Feline suspected Shining wanted to engage the tanks and went to do it herself.

Damn it Captain Armor thought, knowing it’d be too futile to try and stop the crazy Feline.

Peeking out from around the corner Shining saw the tank still rolling down the street towards their position, the main cannon still pointed at the building they were hiding behind. It wasn’t a Manticore tank, but rather a Dragonflame Heavy Tank, built to be able to take on dragons as well as several dozen other tanks. It had a quad-mounting of anti-air machine guns for aerial dragons and a large main cannon. The anti-air machine guns were also greatly effective against infantry and light armor.

Suddenly a rocket streaked out from the clock tower on town hall and slammed into the enemy tank’s left side, scorching the thin armor there and stalling the vehicle. Another rocket came out seconds later and blasted the anti-air MGs apart, leaving them all useless and rendering the only usable weapon the main cannon.

The cannon turned and fired on the clock tower, turning it into toothpicks. Master Sharpclaws had already left the area, however, and was back on the street running for Shining Armor.

“Zee treads are disabled, but I don’t know for how long! If I can get above the tank again I can take it out for good” Sharpclaws declared, reloading the rocket system.

“Got it, we’ll keep it distracted while you take it down” Shining exclaimed, watching Sharpclaws take off across the intersection while the tank’s gunner tried to take aim and failed.

Gunning the engine Shining watched the tank driver trying to move the vehicle, listening to the engine struggling harder as it couldn’t move the tank.

With a loud ping of metal a bit of shrapnel was flung free from the treads and the tank lurched forward, grinding the desert dirt beneath itself as it got back on the move and approached Shining’s team.

With a mighty roar the main cannon of the tank fired, blasting through the house Shining Armor’s team was hiding behind and tearing it asunder. The team rushed across the intersection and the cannon slowly turned to follow, trying to track and kill them.

A window shattered as a missile was fired out of a nearby house, slamming into the rear right corner of the tank, where the armor was weakest. A hole was ripped open on the armor and the engine was subsequently eviscerated by shrapnel.

With the tank sufficiently disabled Master Sharpclaws fired the second tube of her launcher before reloading and dumping them on the tank again, the second rocket flying straight and true and penetrating the armor and detonating inside, destroying the vehicle and killing all within.

“Nice job, Sharpclaws” Captain Armor said when the Feline Master came out of the house, the cat soldier smirking triumphantly and idly eyeing the tank as Shining and the rest of the team approached.

“Thank you. Now, onto ze hangars, yeah?” Master Sharpclaws asked.

“Yes” Shining Armor replied, him and his team quickly moving out and heading for the primary objective; the massive aircraft hangars on the far side of the base-town.

Author's Note

*These lines are a reference to Rtas 'Vadumee's and The Arbiter's conversation in the beginning of the Halo 2 level 'The Arbiter'.

Author's notes: so everything I said in yesterday's blog update: uhhhh bullshit! No but seriously I only just finished this chapter today, 4 hours before it was set to drop. I think it shows in its short length and near-useless bit of reading, but I suppose the chapter is what it is. So I just released it early for shits and giggles. Luckily the next chapter's already finished so no worries there.

Legal note: Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Lieutenant Strong Spear, Master Sharpclaws, and all related characters belong to me. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.