//------------------------------//
// Home Time 
// Story: Tigger Tank 
// by teamidris 
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Getting home wasn't going to be an easy feat. It wasn't a large distance to the forward operations centre, but the two dragging tracks weren't helping and nor had that last railgun charge. They were very pleased to see a recovery track ahead and radioed its number. 

"Heavy to 23, require recovery," called Delta.

"Recovery 23 to Heavy, taking fire, set your auto tow, ready for syncro."

Tigger tapped the recovery icon on the auto pilot and felt the feedback pressure drop on the stirrups. Her tank approached the other machine slowly with the ominous sound of heavy machine gun fire tinkling on the outer armour. There was a stout metallic clack as the tow hitches locked. 

"I have you Heavy, returning to Base A3."

Supply Base A3 would do nicely as she didn't have to face any flack from the earlier incident at Park 6. Alpha Three would be a bit too close to the action to have a comfy lay about and a rest though. A night in her tank was a safe bet. She hoped they had parts?

"Is there a fresh battle plan in yet, are we in for a good haul?" she asked Delta. 

"Long enough for munchies if we are to make a start on the drive motors on arrival," 

He rummaged around in a side locker before jumping and dropping the entire contents on the floor.

"Nuts, what the hell was that one? I thought it was coming through the hull!" 

Tigger studied the back end and then spun to view the front.  

"Meh, front light only ever lit up the top of the gun anyway," she shrugged at the wisp of smoke coming from it's mount. "It should be showing a line-short on the third bus. Yes, nice one, lemon hay-bar! Hoof that over over here before it rattles under the floor board."

They were soon in a line up of other battered hardware, a power line running into the back of their tank. A heated debate was soon underway;

"Just because I only have one drive motor doesn't mean I'm out for good!" shouted a blue stallion.

Tigger laughed. "That main gun is done for. Look at the sedate gentle curve along its length. You couldn't hit us with that and we're right in front you! Give it up, you know you want to. Help a filly out. Its half off anyway?"

"What the buck? Get the hell away from my tank ya jack ass!"

Delta looked a little ashamed. "Well, it sounded like we almost had a deal?"

Tigger re-gained the stallions attention. "Hay bar? It's a lemon one," she suggested, waving the bright wrapper in front of the stallion. 

He eyed it cautiously. 

"Yeh, go on then. If it had been strawberry you would have been walking home!"

Tigger grinned, kissed him on the nose and ripped the power coupling out of Grundle's side with a bright blue flash. "Baby's getting a new track motor," she sang. 

Half an hour later they were synchronising the drive speeds as tinkling noises came from above. Tigger looked up at the inside of the hull. "Shrap' rains early tonight, how are we doing on charge? Mine says fifty percent?" 

"Mine says one battery is in the main stores in Neighville and the other says two hundred percent, so i guess we should have took his comms panel as well," replied Delta as he got up to throw the charge cable out of the back door." 

Soon they were underway in the darkness which was much easier without the gun-light reflecting back at them. Three motors put the odds in their favour and they were making cruising speed. Nopony needed to be loitering around this close to the front and speed was better than armour. 

Delta kept an ear out for 'chitt chat' on the radio and the secure scribe-net. He could see that some R&R wasn't going to be in his stars this week. Their forces were taking a hammering in the north, while in the south progress was slow.   

"We are directed to Air 19. I guess it's an emergency air supply depot? Left at the next turn."

Tigger made the next turn a little wider than she wished and took out a fair length of roadside fence. Glancing sideways to the rear-view portion of the periscope she saw a post come up over a rear track and snap like a toothpick as the metal belt took a second bite. 

Her eye lids felt heavy as they pulled onto the side of the air strip next to some other beaten up Heavies. Delta flipped the breakers as they made for the door. Just outside was a young stallion in flying garb. 

"We're all leaving. They've got ahead of our forces and we're cut off. That's your way out," he said pointing to a plane. "I'll see you onboard." 

Tigger walked to the plane chatting to Delta, but then suddenly looked confused. She hadn't been more than a thousand steps away from that machine in six moons?

"Come on Captain, Hatty left hours ago, Grundels going to be fine!" But Tigger didn't look so sure? "We can catch a plane back with spare parts in an hour or two," he added.

As she put a hoof on the first step she heard the hit and felt the betrayal. She knew in that instant what the noise was. The whole of existence slowed as she thought back to the first time she saw that cursed machine. Ever since she had fallen through the roof of that shed and landed on 'her tank' it was obvious to her that they had a journey to make. 

Only Hatty and Delta would go near it. That's why it was in a shed on it's own. Until it's true Captain sat at it's command station it just crackled and spat at anypony who dared to look at it. She didn't even know why it liked them? They had tried to paint it, but the paint just slid off onto the floor as though it simply rejected it. Enchanted or cursed, Tigger was the only officer who gained a tank command just by being able to drive one about.  

"She doesn't need to sit an exam if she can drive that thing. If she can get near it without being burned alive then who are you to deny her anything?" had been one overheard argument. 

As a sound like imploding glass rang out across the airstrip she looked up to see the utter horror across Delta's face. Standing wide mouthed his eyes were huge as he watched Grundel turn a brilliant purple and then begin to crack all over its surface. 

"That's not right," he mumbled, "That was only a small shell." 

The cracks thickened and then for a split second he could see every impact it had ever taken. One large round had gone right through his radio station, a tank on the other side easily visible through the hull. But until that moment it hadn't shown as much as a scratch? And then, as though it had simply just had enough of the fight it imploded. All that remained was one rear track set that had somehow been left behind as a memento. 

"GO!" screamed Tigger as she ran up the steps hurling Delta into the plane. "GO!" she shouted at the pilot, who was thinking the same thing as more missiles rained down. This was going to be another close one and the ground was traveling past them quite quickly as they slammed the door shut. At least they were gaining distance as they crept into the sky.

Then it just sort of hit her. Her home was gone? Where would she go now and what would she do next? As she sat on the floor with the other ponies she was strangely all alone. It was like Tigger had died inside Grundel. Now it was just her. She was back to being Tammy, a young mare with a hint of stripes in her soft brown coat.