//------------------------------//
// Our Esteemed, Adorkable Leader 
// Story: Slugga' 
// by SONBoomer 
//------------------------------//

Finally, she could relax, straightening her back, and leaning against the chair's backrest.

After 3 consecutive hours of being hunched over various attack and defense plans, base layouts, information regarding new recruits, and request for vehicle modifications, all of which required response from high command, and filing, it came as no surprise that the Task Commander was tired. She managed to get away with being positioned in the very town she lives in (although that came as no surprise, considering her connections with the Princesses), while other task officials had to placed away from their home, as a form of psychological training: learning to protect any area that is required, not just their own. The attack from Urssia, pardon, the Union State may have halted, but it came as no surprise when certain troops of the Balerusian army decided to go rogue, go against the commands of their superiors, and attacked Equestria anyway, guerrilla-style.

An embarrassing diplomatic hiccup, no doubt, and the Union's commissars were very apologetic. Having overthrow the premiere and after arresting a couple dozen oligarchs in their massive country, not to mention getting rid of the Balerusian leader as well, the army oversaw the extent of corruption the two united countries suffered from. It was already embarrassing that the military commanders had more firm grasp on reality than the leaders of the country, but add to that the fact they actually had to stage a coup d'etat, just to establish the necessary conditions for a diplomatic meeting - quite the opposite of the situation in Equestria, where the princesses didn't want the war to even start, but the army was all hot and bothered about it.

After everyone has subsided - one way or another -, and it was announced that new elections will be held in the massive northern country, the leaders of the Union's Army and the Princesses met in secret, to discuss what should be done with the rebel soldiers. The Supreme Commissar, now posing as the Head of State until the election results came in, suggested immediate suppression, and enrolled a Polkovnik, Тактический Влияние, to be in the service of the two Princesses. He was the one who suggested armored warfare against the renegade troops. Claiming that their lack of knowledge and disorganized state was outweighed by their sheer number and their strategic positions, aforementioned weaknesses could only be utilized against them if they came down hard on them, with superior firepower.

He also requested to go incognito, and pose as an Equestrian soldier, aiding the mission both secretly and personally. Given the Equestrian equal of his rank, an using the alias "Top Gun", the colonel was positioned in smalltown Ponyville, known even among international armed forces as the "Magnetic Pole" of trouble - it had suffered from numerous attacks in the past few years, many of which would've overpowered even the combined might of the Equestrain and Union Armed Forces. But it was a group of six mares, none of whom had received military training, and were, for all intents and purposes, civilians, who had put an end to not only Eternal Night, but also, to the God of Chaos (who was now being rehabilitated by one of them!), assisted in the defeat of the Changeling invasion (and then later helped to establish good diplomatic relations between Equestria and the newly formed Changeling Empire), and the most recent attack of Tirek. One of the mares has ascended into Princesshood, and all were one of the Elements of Harmony. Their Council of Friendship (aliased as the Ponyville Council to avoid it being associated with the Elements, and becoming a target for insurgents and terrorists alike), was tasked with the protection of the Ponyville area, a necessity as the town was position in direct proximity of the Everfree Forest.



So, all in all, a lot has happened under the last few months.

Now sitting in her fake leather, revolving, wheeled armchair in the control room of her tiny crystalline palace, Task Commander Twilight Sparkle (known in "civil" as Princess Twilight) sat back, and relaxed for a moment. With the aid of the polkovnik, she was able to guess and countermeasure every enemy attack that may come from any direction. The only issue was: there was no enemy! The rebels have been quiet, awfully quiet, and the tension of a possible attack first elevated into paranoia, then dissolved.

Nevertheless, Twilight continued to rigorously fill out her report files, and keep her troops in position. Her proposal to operate her mission along with her friends and "Colonel Top Gun" in a roundtable-like manner was accepted, taking tremendous weight off her shoulders. And while she hasn't lost her enthusiasm, she, along with the others, was growing bored. Sure, trotting around town in something other than her Princess attire was great. She wasn't exactly used to tight uniforms (the black latex catsuit be damned), but the snazzy dark maroon uniform with the unique, platinum commander shoulder insignia (based on her cutie mark), "crowned" with a fitting peaked cap that was shaped to hide and protect her horn (and was thus adorably large for her head, with a protruding pike on it's front), it was completely worth it. Normally, Twilight wasn't one for militarism, but the event had enraptured her in an overzealous way, and she was more than ready to prove her worth, not only as a commander, but as a frontline soldier as well - fighting alongside her friends only made her stronger.

She was about to doze off, when the sound of sirens startled her.

A brief moment of panic was suppressed by her sense of duty, as she rose from her chair, and teleported to the garage.




***




"Well well well, if it isn't our esteemed, adorkable leader, Commander Sparkle."

The young alicorn sighed. One aspect of this whole ordeal that she really like was the fact that she could observe and study the military vehicles of the Equine Army. A key element of modern warfare, tanks and other land vehicles had a huge impact on not only the way battle played out, but on equine history itself. Seeing them, in all their mechanical, oily glory sent the former librarian's heart aflutter.

The problem was, neither the E	questrian Ground Forces, nor the Union's Terral Arms were willing to dispatch any heavy armaments or ordinance to aid their cause, mainly because the sight of either army's vehicles were a cause for alarm among the public, and the case of the rebel forces had to be kept a secret. Yet, at the very least, tanks would've been necessary to suppress the rebellion, as their numbers made it impossible for head-on infantry or cavalry attack (which, in the case of equines, is pretty much the same).

Thus, the Ponyville Council was left with no other option, than to result to... The Unthinkable:


They asked Discord to help them.


Rightfully entitled as "The Grand Designer" by Princess Celestia herself (among a certain number of other names, many of which were never supposed to pass the bedroom door), the draconequus quickly set to work, and in a matter of minutes, conjured the most outrageous armed vehicles that equine minds can comprehend. All designed to be piloted by a single pony, the vehicles were armed and armored more than enough to take on the rebel army.

Twilight Sparkle's own weapon, a heavy tank, called the Iron Iso, was one of the more conventional-looking vehicles. Standing on two broad caterpillar tracks, the tank seemed to be both boxy and well-sloped in the same time, with a low, rectangular body, and round-cheeked, oblong turret, equipped with an 9,9 centimeter AT/AP gun, capable of reloading in a matter of seconds, firing not only conventional armor piercing, but also grenades and high explosive rounds. It's secondary, anti-infantry armament was a forgettable, 57 mm machine gun.

As Discord has put it, it was "a redesign", combining the best features of two tanks from two, opposing armies. Being both light and agile, but also heavily armored, with an impressive main gun and fast traverse, it was also easy to maintain, and highly durable in all conditions. It's large size and considerable weight (it was a heavy tank, after all) made it possible for this vehicle to work as a rammer. They didn't expect the rebels to have any form of heavy armament, but this hope was soon shattered.

"Get to the point, Discord! Why did you sound the alarm?!" the alicorn demanded "Don't tell me you've seen someone being stabbed with a Twinkie again!"

"No, ma'am, we're under attack, genuinely!" the draconequus replied "I've just gotten word from it from Applejack. Sweet Apple Acres has been attacked by force of fifty-something ponies!"

Usually serving as the garage master and repairman for the group, he was also the head radio coordinator in case of an attack. His own vehicle, the Jupiter King battle robot, was parked in a separate garage slot, waiting for a last-ditched effort deployment.

Climbing up the rough metal, Twilight was, once again, mesmerized by the integrity of her tank's camouflage paintwork, especially the tiger-stripes pattern it had. Lowering herself into the driver's seat, as the hatch closed upon her, she quickly revised the controls, then turned the starter knob.

Immediately, the strong, eighteen cylinder diesel engine roared to life, the headlamps blinking before brightening up, as the tank turned, and rumbled towards the opening garage door.

The radio crackled, and soon, the Task Commander's voice could be heard:

"Discord! Alert everyone! Code orange!"

"Coder red!"

"What?!"

"Code red, commander! Applejack just contacted me again! They've got tanks! I repeat, they've got tanks!"