Prolouge: Before the Match
“Cody? Coooooooddddddyyyyyy…..” A voice called. “Wakey wakey! Don’t make me start playing Reveille now!”
The pilot let out a grunt, then rolled over.
“Nuuuh... No reveille... It's weekend... Squadron got the day off... 'Oaway...” He mumbled.
“You’re not on base right now you dolt!”
“Ya’ll gotta get up Sugercube!” Another voice, this one belonging to a mare, joined in. “The match is going to begin soon!”
“Mmmmmmkay…. I’ll prep my fighter…gimme five…six more minutes…”
“This ain’t workin’….”
“No, it’s not.” The first voice said. “I guess I’ll just have to go get Vinyl and her Bass Cannon…”
Cody’s eyes snapped open, leaping from the couch he had been using as a makeshift bed.
“NOOOOOOO!” He yelled, scrambling to his feet. “I’m up! I’m up!”
Never again… Never let Vinyl have the wake up call…
“Ah knew that’d get you up,” The Mare, Applejack, said with a smirk. “Now get yer rear in gear, match starts in an hour.”
“And we take off in forty-five minutes,” The human, a fellow pilot named Sean, said. “So get your flight suit on and start running prelims on your plane.”
Cody glanced down, realizing he was still wearing his Modern United States Air Force Uniform. The Silver Bar of a 1st Lieutenant adorned it as his rank insignia.
“Right, I’ll meet you in the hangar.”
~~~
If there was one thing about hangars that transcended time, it was that they were noisy. There were always mechanics making repairs, gunners arming the crafts, Pilots making their final checks, and of course the planes themselves taking off.
“Vinyl! Did you remember to fill my plane with fuel?”
“What?!”
“My plane Vinyl! Did you put fuel in it?!”
“WHAT?!”
“DID YOU PUT THE DAMN FUEL IN THE DAMN PLANE?!”
“Of course I did!” The Alabaster Unicorn replied, scowling. “But if you keep shouting at me like that, maybe I won’t do it again!”
“But I wasn’t…” Sean could swear she was glaring at him, but it was hard to tell behind those shades she wore. “Ah forget it. Thanks Vinyl.”
On the other side of the massive building, a row of small tanks were lined up against the wall.
“They all look in order,” A tan-coated stallion wearing a brown jacket and hat said. “But will they run?”
“Ya’ll will have to run that by mah brother,” Applejack said, inspecting her own tank. “He tested all of it himself.”
“Alright, where is he?”
“Right behind ya.” Applejack replied coolly. The Earth Pony turned, then jumped slightly as he saw the larger stallion standing behind him.
“Yeg!” He yelped. “Sorry. You Big Mac?”
“Eeyup.”
“I’m Storm Chaser, I’m the Commander of that tank there. Were you the one who inspected it?”
“Eeyup.”
Geez, they weren’t kidding when they said he was a Stallion of few words. Storm thought to himself.
“Alright. Are the tracks good?”
“Eeyup.”
“The Turret?”
“Eeyup.”
“The gun?”
“Eeyup.”
“The… Engine?”
“Eeyup.”
“Uh… So is it good?”
“Eeyup.”
“Alright, thanks.” Big Mac nodded, then turned away. “I guess…”
Storm climbed into his Sherman, finding that his crew of three humans and two fellow ponies were already in their positions. He smiled to himself, then put on his radio headset.
“This is Apple Five, all systems are green and we are ready to roll.”
“This is Apple One, all Apple Call signs are good.” Applejack’s voice came back over the radio. “All tanks, let’s move ‘em out!”
~~~
“Contact?”
“Contact!”
The Plane’s propeller began to spin, as Cody began to push the throttle forward. He took to the skies, allowing the smoothness of his Second World War Era plane to guide him through the skies. As he leveled out, his Mustang was joined by three more aircraft and four Pegusi with light machine guns on their backs.
Cody activated his radio.
“All wings report in.”
“Red Two standing by.”
“Red Three standing by.”
“Reds four though Seven on standby.”
“All units are in the green. Reds, stay on my wing and be ready, the match will start soon.”
~~~
YOU’RE WATCHING EQUESTRIA’S SPORTS NEWS NETWORK’S COVERAGE OF THE FIRST ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL AND INTERSPECIES “TWISTED METAL COMPETITION!”
THIS ROUND’S MATCHUP:
UNITED STATES
VS
UNITED KINGDOM
AND NOW HERE’S YOUR HOSTS!
CAPTAIN SHINING ARMOR
AND
CAPTAIN RILEY DAVIS
“Hello and welcome to the First annual Twisted Metal competition!” The Human said. “I’m Captain Riley Davis of the United States Marine Corps and World War Two Historian.”
“And I’m Captain Shining Armor of the Equestrian Royal Army. We are your hosts for the entire competition and will be giving you a play-by-play of every match.”
“Now for those of you who are just tuning in, let’s go over the rules of the Twisted Metal Competition.”
“The Objective is simple, the tanks of one side must take the flag on their opponents side, using any air support they can.”
“All weapons must be actual weapons that were mass produced by their respective countries during the war, and all planes must be propeller powered. Each team is allowed to field up to ten tanks, four fighters, and four Pegusi.”
“All rounds and munitions are to be simulation rounds only, non-lethal here only folks.”
“Any and all vehicles will produce a white flag out of their bodies once they have taken enough damage. Planes will return to their bases, tanks will simply cease to function. Any Pegusi hit will also return to base. If every one of a team’s tanks is made inoperable, that team loses by forfeit.”
“Now let’s move on to the teams and their forces.”
“Team United States is fielding two different types of Aircraft today!”
“The First being the P-51 Mustang!”
Role Fighter
National origin United States
Manufacturer North American Aviation
First flight 26 October 1940
Introduction 1942
Status Retired from military service 1984, still in civil use
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force
Chinese Nationalist Air Force
numerous others
Number built More than 15,000
Unit cost US$50,985 in 1945
Variants North American A-36
Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X
Cavalier Mustang
Developed into North American F-82 Twin Mustang
Piper PA-48 Enforcer
Rolls-Royce Mustang Mk.X
“This was the Workhorse fighter of the American Military over Europe during the Second World War, protecting long range bombing missions deep in Germany, and is today considered one of the greatest fighters of all time.”
“Team United States is also flying the F6F Hellcat!”
Role Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer Grumman
First flight 26 June 1942
Introduction 1943
Retired 1960 Uruguayan Navy[
Primary users United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
Royal Navy
French Navy
Produced 1942–1945
Number built 12,275
Unit cost $35,000 in 1945[3]
“This Legendary fighter was best known for its action in the Pacific, replacing the American Wildcat as the Navy and Marine Corp’s go-to fighter. It scored even more kills during the war than the Mustang, earning it the legendary title of ‘Zero Killer.’”
“But their friends across the pond are pretty confident in their own Legendary Fighter craft: The Supermarine Spitfire!”
Role Fighter / Photo-reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Supermarine
Designer R. J. Mitchell
First flight 5 March 1936[1]
Introduction 4 August 1938[1]
Retired 1961 Irish Air Corps[2]
Primary user Royal Air Force
Produced 1938–1948
Number built 20,351[3]
Unit cost £12,604 (Estonian order for 12 Spitfires in 1939)[nb 1].[4]
Variants Supermarine Seafire
Supermarine Spiteful
“This is probably the Sexiest aircraft that has ever flown across the sky! And its kill record is just as impressive!”
“The Spitfire became a legend during the Battle of Britain, knocking Hitler’s Luftwaffe out of the sky! It later saw combat in every theatre of war in the conflict.”
“These fighters seem pretty evenly matched, though I would be inclined to give a slight advantage to the Stars and Stripes.”
“But that’s probably from bias.”
“Most likely Captain Armor. Either way, this will most likely be decided by the ground-pounding tanks!”
“Today, the Americans are fielding an Icon of World War Two. The M4 Sherman.”
Type Medium tank
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service 1942–1955 (USA)
Used by United States, and many others (see Foreign variants and use)
Wars World War II, Greek Civil War, Arab-Israeli War, Korean War, Revolución Libertadora, Suez Crisis, Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Six-Day War, Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Yom Kippur War, 1958 Lebanon crisis, Lebanese Civil War, Cuban Revolution, Nicaraguan Revolution
Production history
Designed 1940
Produced 1941–
Number built 49,234[1]
Specifications
Weight 66,800 pounds (30.3 tonnes; 29.8 long tons; 33.4 short tons)
Length 19 ft 2 in (5.84 m)
Width 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Height 9 ft (2.74 m)
Crew 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)
________________________________________
Armor
76 mm maximum
Main
armament 75 mm M3 L/40 gun (90 rounds)
or 76 mm gun M1 (55 rounds)
Secondary
armament .50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun (300 rounds),
2 × .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns (4,750 rounds)
Engine Continental R975 C1, air-cooled, radial, gasoline
400 hp (298 kW) at 2,400 rpm
M4A4 Model - Chrysler A57 Multibank 30 cylinder 21-litre engine. 470 hp at 2,700 rpm.
Power/weight 15.8 hp/tonne
Transmission Spicer[3] manual, synchromesh,[3] 4 forward (plus 1 overdrive)[3] and 1 reverse gear
Suspension Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS)
Operational
range 120 miles (193 km) at 175 U.S. gal (660 L); 80 octane
Speed 25 to 30 mph (40 to 48 km/h)[2]
“Now this is truly an Icon of American steel. This was the most largely produced tank in history, and saw conflicts in half a dozen wars all within Fifteen years!”
“However, this is the tank that also took the most losses in the Second World War, and is still considered to be a Light Tank despite its designation.”
“You think the Brits might be packing a heavier punch?”
“Oh I certainly think so, considering the UK is putting out Mk IV Churchills!”
Type Infantry tank
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1941–1952 (British Empire)[note 1]
Used by United Kingdom
Soviet Union
Canada
Ireland
Poland
Production history
Designer Harland and Wolff (A20)/ Vauxhall Motors (A22)
Manufacturer Vauxhall Motors
Produced 1941 to 1945
Number built 7,368 (all types together)
Variants See below
Specifications
Weight 38.5 t (37.9 long tons)
Length 24 ft 5 in (7.44 m)
Width 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Crew 5 (commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver, co-driver/hull gunner)
________________________________________
Armour
16 to 102 mm (In the MK VII front armour 152 mm)
Main
armament QF 2 pdr (early Marks)/Ordnance QF 75 mm (later Marks)
Secondary
armament 2 × 7.92 mm Besa machine guns
Engine Bedford horizontally opposed twin-six petrol engine
350 hp (261 kW) at 2,200 rpm
Power/weight 9.1 hp/tonne
Transmission Merritt-Brown 4 speed constant mesh epicyclic gearbox
Suspension coiled spring
Operational
range 90 km
Speed 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Steering
system triple differential steering in gearbox
“This was the backbone of the British Empire in World War Two, and was even used by the Russians in their front, proving its toughness on the battlefield!”
“Well Captain, it looks like the teams are taking the field now. Shall we watch?”
“Let’s!”
~~~
“Well looky there,” Cody said, looking at the circling enemy ahead. “Their Sporting their Spitfires like they’re brand new cars!”
“I think Captain Spitfire is flying with them too…” One of the Pegusi observed.
“The Wonderbolt Captain?”
“That’s the one.”
“Yo dawg, I heard you like Spitfires…” Sean started chuckling.
“Shut up Two.” Cody kicked in the throttle, accelerating toward the enemy. “Form up on me Reds, let’s get this match started!”
Author's Note
This is just a prolouge, no real competition has started yet. Let me know what you guys think!
