Chapter Five
Operation: Cold Steel

“You stallions ready?” Shining Armor asked his soldiers in the lead DRAVM-20, a modified version of the 17 with room to transport 25 soldiers in and out of a combat zone in greater speeds than the 17.

“Yes, Sir!” they all replied in unison.

“Captain Armor, this is Mother Base, do you read?” Lieutenant Spear said over the radio, earning the attention of Shining as he stepped into the cockpit.

“I read you loud and clear, Mother Base. What’s the word?” Shining Armor asked, looking out at the GFS Cobra Star as it sailed along the sea.

“You’ve got FIVE Fast-Moving Aerial Assault Units Model 38 on an intercept course from the Equestrian War Ship Goddess Sun - an aircraft carrier” Spear explained.

Shining paused for a moment. FMAAUM-38 was the next generation of fast attack fighter jets; incorporating Super-Sonic Flight technology copied from the same ideal as Rainbow Dash’s legendary Sonic Rainboom the FMAAUM-38 could quickly reach speeds of Mach 4.

Rumor had it even Rainbow Dash herself was jealous of their speed.

“Crap. OK, what do we do?” Shining inquired.

“Well I suggest you all get the heck out of there; the EWS Goddess Sun was only about 20 miles from the Cobra Star; those fighters will be there in about 3 minutes” the Lieutenant said.

“NO! No. We need that metal! Without it, the Peace Fighters are doomed!” Captain Armor protested.

“Well you better get on that ship now; ‘cause if you’re still in the air when those fighters show up the Peace Fighters would collapse sooner than they would should you fail this mission.”

“OK, Spear. We’ll get in and get out” Shining replied, turning the radio off and heading back into the troop room.

“OK stallions, listen up; the Empire has sent five FMAAUM-38s our way. Those jets will be here in less than three minutes, so we need to be on the deck before they get here” Shining Armor told them.

“Shoot, maybe we should go back, Boss” one of the soldiers suggested.

“No, I want that metal. I need that metal. The Peace Fighters need that metal. You’ll all thank me when we fit you with armored suits to fight with” the Captain told them, earning excited murmurs amongst the stallions.

“But first you gotta earn those suits! And that means getting that metal, no matter what!” Shining stated, dropping the rear ramp as they neared the Cobra Star.

“Peace Fighters,” Shining started, tensing himself up at the edge of the ramp. “DROP!”

The Captain leapt out of the DRAVM and his stallions followed suit, free-falling through the mid-morning sky as they fell towards the Cobra Star, streaking past clouds like comets from the cosmos.

As they neared the freighter they all rolled forward and deployed their thruster packs, slowing their descent enough for them to safely slam onto the deck of the Cobra Star and draw their weapons to contend with the Empire security detail.

“Let’s get these foals mopped up, Gentlecolts!” Captain Armor commanded, levitating his SPR-16 against his shoulder and taking aim down the sights, squeezing the trigger and sending a Solar-Pulse round through the chest of an Imperial soldier.

Just as they began fighting the FMAAUM-38s flashed overhead and engaged their DRAVM, which turned wide to begin heading back to Mother Base. The transport had just begun to face the right direction when one of the fighters dive-bombed it, firing its Solar-Pulse minigun all the way. The heavy caliber rounds ripped through the rotor, chunks of steel flinging off like a smoothie in an open blender. The DRAVM dipped down and forward due to its lack of vertical control, and slammed into the control tower of the Cobra Star, detonating upon impact and leaving the Peace Fighters stranded on the ship.

“Don’t worry, stallions, I gotta back up plan. Let’s secure that metal first, yeah?” Captain Armor stated as they continued to clean out the Empire soldiers.

Shining Armor and his team moved up and took cover behind several shipping crates as more Imperial soldiers arrived to reinforce the others, ferociously firing and pinning the PFs down.

“Damn, they’re fighting too hard for just metal to be the only significant thing on this ship” Shining deduced, reloading his SPR as several bullets came his way.

“I concur, Sir... Hey, that rhy-- OH CRAP!” one of the stallions yelled, cut off as a volley of SP rounds clattered near his face.

“You alright, soldier?” Captain Armor asked.

“Yes, Sir!”

“Good” Shining commented as he peeked out from around the container he was behind, seeing that several of the Imperial soldiers near his position were reloading. The Captain primed a Solar-Pulse Grenade and lobbed it over the container.

“GRENADE, WATCH THE F--” an Imperial started to yell, his shouts and life cut short when the grenade detonated, searing a large 5-centimeter deep crater into the deck.

With the enemy soldiers in disarray the Peace Fighters moved up into new cover and engaged the last of the Imperials; SPRs and SMGs flashed on both sides of the deck, their bullets melting holes in steel and flesh.

Shining Armor saw three Imperials move up on the left side, where a young Private was hunkered down from suppressing fire. The Imperials reached the Private and--

--he killed them.

Shoot, thought he was a goner for sure Shining thought, relieved that he had trained his stallions well.

Suddenly the Captain was jumped by three other Imperial soldiers, who engaged him in close-quarters combat. Luckily for Shining he had learned and even taught his army the basic and advanced points of CQC, and was ready for the Imperials.

Strangely enough the names on their suits were Far Left, Middle One, and Far Right, and they all took those positions from Shining’s perspective. All three approached him at once, looking to gang up on him based on the assumed logic that he couldn’t fight all three of them at once.

How wrong they were.

The Captain dipped in between Far Left and Middle One and hooked Left in the face, making him reel back on his hind legs. When he did so, he threw up his right fore-leg, allowing Shining to grab it and crouch, throwing the soldier over his back and sending him crashing into his comrades.

The Middle One got back up first and engaged Captain Armor, attempting to punch him straight in the muzzle. Shining ducked and grabbed the soldier’s outstretched hoof, crouching again and using the leverage to pull the soldier off his hooves and over the Captain’s head. When the soldier transferred over and was about to roll off Armor’s back the Captain jerked back and threw him head-first into the steel floor, knocking him out.

Still on his hind legs Shining waited for Far Left to get back up and attack him, pulling a knife and slashing at Shining. When the soldier’s hoof was down from the swing and he was about to pull back the Captain grabbed the leg and spun the soldier around, holding his arm around his back and jerking up, eliciting pops and a yelp from the young stallion. Jerking harder again Shining Armor snapped the leg in half and the soldier screamed, a scream that was short-lived when Captain Armor grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into a steel container, knocking him out.

Finally all that remained was Far Right, who too stood on his hinds to engage the Captain. The soldier suddenly dropped and turned to buck, failing when Shining Armor grabbed both his legs and pushed him up and forward, making him roll forward and crash back onto the deck. He was still awake, however, and he quickly returned to engage Shining once again, this time with just his forehooves.

The stallion hooked right and Shining blocked, ducking to avoid the subsequent hoof left and ducking around to the side of the soldier where he casually swept out his legs and made him topple to the deck. His head hit first, and Captain Armor literally watched his eyes roll into the back of his head before the lids shut.

The last of the soldiers was out cold.

“Great CQC there, Boss!” the young private from before complemented as they regrouped.

“Consider it a field lesson. I hope you all paid attention” Shining said, holstering his SPR.

“Look out, Boss!” one of the soldiers suddenly screamed, prompting Captain Armor to whip around just in time to see the soldier grab an Imperial by the throat and trip him over, toppling over with him and slamming his skull into the deck to knock him out.

“Hahah! Good! Very good, soldier! See? He paid attention!” Shining exclaimed with a smile.

“We all did, Sir!” the young Private responded.

“Good! Now, let’s re-organize and head for the bridge. Mother Base, come in” Shining said, switching on his radio.

“Captain Armor, we read you. What’s up?” Lieutenant Spear asked.

“We’ve boarded the Cobra Star and cleared out everyone topside. We’re gonna check out the bridge to find out where they’re storing that steel. Be warned, though; we’ll need a DRAVM deployed nearby to pick us all up when I give the signal” Captain Shining answered.

“What happened to the DRAVM that took you out there?” the Lieutenant demanded.

“The Empire decided to save us the fare and gas expenses by blowing it up.”

“Bastards... Alright, Captain, you’ll get your DRAVM. Don’t lose this one too, Sir. Please?” Spear said.

“Hey, I can’t speak for the Empire” Shining stated, his smile heard by the Lieutenant rather than seen. “Shining Armor out.”

“OK, Peace Fighters, time to do the real work. Let’s secure the bridge and find this metal” Captain Armor declared.

The team entered the control tower and ventured up the stairs, proceeding through the corridors before quickly reaching the bridge door and discovering it locked.

“Of course” Shining commented.

“Open up! Imperial soldiers here! We cleared out those Peace Fighter scum!” the young Private shouted.

“One moment, Sir!” a mare yelled back from inside.

Shining Armor and indeed the rest of the squad looked at the Private in disbelief; mouths agape and eyes wide.

“What? Saw it in a movie” the Private answered.

“What’s your name, kid?” Captain Shining Armor inquired, intrigued by this potentially exquisite soldier.

“Bullet, Gleaming Bullet, Sir.”

“You’re gonna make an amazing soldier, Private Bullet” Shining Armor assured him, watching the Private blush.

“T-thank you, Sir!”

Just then the door opened and Captain Armor slammed his shoulder into it, the heavy metal door cracking the pony opening it in the face and his team poured in, weapons raised at the bridge personnel.

“Crap, you’re not Imperials! I can’t believe we fell for that!” the captain of the ship yelled.

“Down! Down now!” Shining ordered as his stallions forced the crew to the deck, searching them over for any weapons and all coming back clean save for the captain who had a pistol.

Shining disassembled it in a flash and scattered the parts all over the bridge.

“Now, where’s that shipment of titanium alloy?!” Shining Armor demanded of the captain.

“That’s all you’re here for? Just the titanium?!” the ship captain exclaimed incredulously, like there was something more valuable on the ship.

“Yeah. What else could be on this rusty hunk of crap? An experimental walking tank or some crazy thing like that?” Captain Armor replied.

“Uhh, well... Uh, I mean, no. The titanium is down in the cargo bay, in five containers marked KotC A-1 through A-5” the ship captain explained.

“Kingdom of the Changelings... Shoulda known they were supplying the Empire with the titanium. Stallions, get these ponies bound and gagged and tossed in the utility closet! Make sure the unicorns have their horns and the pegasi their wings restricted. Get this ship off course, too; I don’t want us arriving at the port and having to fight or sneak past all those soldiers” Shining Armor ordered.

“Yes, Sir!”

“Let’s go steal this steel” the Captain lamented with a smile.

~~~~

The Peace Fighters moved throughout the lower decks of the Cobra Star, headed for the cargo hold, which was at the rear of the ship according to the map on the bridge. Strangely enough the Peace Fighters had not encountered any Imperial soldiers down in the lower decks, a fact that made Shining Armor nervous.

Where the heck are they all at? Is a shipment of steel THIS freaking important?

The Fighters proceeded through a door and found themselves in one of the cargo bays, though it was not the one they needed to be in as it had several hundred containers inside, none of which marked KotC or any of the corresponding letters or numbers.

“Let’s check these containers anyway, Peace Fighters” Shining said, heading down a flight of stairs to the deck and cracking open the first container. Labelled on the side of the container was CHRYSALIS part 17.

“Chrysalis? The Changeling queen? What do they mean by parts? What’d she do, disassemble herself like LEGO blocks and stow away on this ship?” Shining wondered aloud, parting the plasti-sheet curtain and peering in the container.

It was a massive metal disc, which appeared to have thrusters sticking out of the bottom.

“What the--? This junk is stupid. Let’s keep moving, Peace Fighters” Shining stated angrily, slamming the door of the container shut.

Heading back up to the catwalks the team went down to the next door and stepped through, finding many of the lights off except for a few illuminating the containers marked KotC.

“Here!” Shining exclaimed, heading down the stairs to the first container and busting it open, finding close to twenty crates of refined and stamped titanium inside, ripe for machining into weapons or armor suits.

The other four containers were also fully stocked with the titanium crates.

“Good job, stallions! Now, let’s get this crap topside. Private Bullet, get the hatches open” Captain Armor ordered, getting on the radio with Mother Base. “Lieutenant Spear, come in; we’ve got the titanium. We’re about to take it topside. We’ll be back in just a few hours.”

“Understood, Captain.”

“I got the switch, Sir! Opening the hatches now!” Private Bullet called out, his word true as the sun as the hatches in the ceiling began to part.

Then they stopped.

“The heck? Private, see if there’s anything jamming the doors!” Armor commanded.

“Yes, Sir!”

Really need to hurry up and get out of here; getting a little antsy with the lack of enemy soldiers Shining Armor thought, oblivious to what was happening right behind him.

“Captain, what the hell is THAT?!” Private Bullet yelled, pointing his hoof into the dark side of the cargo bay. Shining Armor turned around and peered into the black, hearing rather than seeing what was beyond the visible realm.

Footsteps. Heavy, metal footsteps.

The main light flickered for a half a second, illuminating some manner of enormous metal walking beast before darkness reigned again.

“What the--?” Shining wondered, a little nervous and scared of what was approaching.

Finally the hatches were forced open, darkness turning to light and allowing for all to see what fate hath wrought upon them.

It was tall, easily 25 feet, and walked upon three legs. It had an angular body shaped as an upside-down pyramid at the apex of its height, attached to the legs, and mounted on the right side of the body was a rail gun. Sticking down from the body was a head, free to look about as the pilot pleased, and on the chin were four dual-barrelled machine guns in a horizontal fashion, and in a spinning metal circle around the body were hundreds of thousands of anti-missile lasers.

When viewed from the top, this beast would look like the peace sign.

Printed on the sign, in large white and bold letters at a 45-degree angle were the words THE PEACE FIGHTER, accompanied by a dark black peace sign that appeared to be-

-shimmering?

“PEACE FIGHTER? Holy crap, Boss, did you make this thing to support us in the back-up plan?” Private Bullet asked.

“RUN! EVERYPONY RUN!” Captain Armor bellowed, rushing up the stairs to the catwalk as the walker shifted to the left, turning to look at him and firing all four machine guns at him, eight barrels of high-caliber rounds shredding the steel all around him.

“Holy crap!” Private Bullet screamed, closing the hatches and joining the other stallions as they joined the Captain, racing back through the Cobra Star to get topside.

“Mother Base, we need that DRAVM at the Star NOW! Where’s it at and what’s the frequency?!” Captain Shining demanded over the radio.

“It’s reached the designated safe zone and is ready for pick-up, radio frequency 140.15*!” Mother Base replied.

“Thanks!” Shining yelled. “DRAVM, come in! We need evac at the Cobra Star NOW! That is an ORDER, soldier!”

“Understood, Sir! I’ll be there soon!” the pilot of the DRAVM stated.

They reached the door topside just as the DRAVM reached the ship, soaring overhead and circling to the rear of the ship. Desperately the stallions rushed to the back as the DRAVM prepared to lower.

Just when Shining Armor thought they were safe and would make it out the steel hatches began to warp, being smashed against by the walker below.

“Oh Goddess...” Shining lamented.

Three hits later the walker finally smashed through the hatches and clambered on out, facing away from the Peace Fighters and the DRAVM. The pilot looked around from inside as the head turned about, finally realizing that the targets were behind him.

Shining looked back and saw that the DRAVM was down and his stallions had already boarded and were now waiting for him.

Captain Armor leaped aboard the DRAVM as the walker looked back at them over what would be a shoulder on a pony, and began to turn to engage. The walker looked up at them and began to charge its railgun, electricity arcing off the magnetic coils as they warmed up.

“MOVE! EVASIVE MANEUVERS!” Captain Shining ordered as the walker fired, the metal slug from the gun streaking past the cockpit as a blur of superheated white.

“Goddess!” the pilot exclaimed, gunning the engines.

Shining Armor looked out the window at the walker as it reared its head back and belted out a piercing shriek that sliced through the air. Its blue viewports glowing violently as it watched the Peace Fighters escape.

Author's Note

*This is a reference to Meryl's codec number in Metal Gear Solid.

Legal note: Shining Armor, Queen Chrysalis, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Lieutenant Strong Spear, Private Gleaming Bullet, and all related characters belong to me. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.