World of Tanks Chronicles: Tales of the 20th ERAD

by TS874

Prologue

-Act 1: A New Era-

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night.

One fateful day, the younger sister refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.

It has been nine hundred year since then, and much has changed. Once humble towns and villages are now in the late phases of industrialization, and new developments in transportation has made traveling easier and safer. But one development has stood out the most: a rise of public curiosity to explore ancient ruins. At one time the ruins were seen as haunted or cursed-those who were either brave or stupid enough to explore those either returned scarred for life or were never seen again.

But technology has given the Equestrians assurance, and so now they are prepared for whatever supposed horrors lie within. The initial reports were grim-there were sightings of skeletal remains, both of ponies and those of a mysterious bipedal creature. The ground would just spontaneously explode below an unlucky pony's feet, leaving them badly injured at the very least.

At first these only confirmed the ponies' fears that these ruins were cursed-but a small group of Royal Engineers discovered that, by carefully sifting through the soft ground with metal poles in these ruins, the cause of the exploding ground were small devices designed to detonate when pressure was applied. Though the devices were completely alien to the Equestrians, the concept itself was not unheard of. Some did not detonate due to age, and was taken for studying. With this knowledge, there was further exploration into the ruins. Traps aside, the ruins were filled with technology that drew parallels to Equestrians innovations. Soon the ruins became proverbial gold mines in which treasure hunters looted whatever seemed intact and sold them off to whoever was willing to pay.

One particular ruin, Southwest of Trottingham, had garnered great interest due to rumors of a mysterious machine buried underneath the surface. So enticing was the prospect that it caught the attention of the Royal Army, which sent part of its Trottingham branch to excavate it. What they found was apparently a large hollow concrete block buried just beneath the surface. When they broke through the top of the "block", they found an odd-looking machine. Next to it was a plaque that had mysterious writing on it. Assuming that this was the language of those who used to live in what is now the ruins, they brought in a translator who studied the script.

It's name was equally odd-"Mark V Tank". From its description, it was a machine made for war. The Royal Army then sent their prize to Canterlot for studying. Further exploration of the ruin in the years ahead yielded new vehicles and blueprints, some curiously enough appearing no more than a few months old. But the Equestrians were not the only ones. Soon there were reports of other nations who also discovered the "Tank", as the type of vehicles was called in the language of the long gone. An arms race has begun.

Before the (re)discovery of tanks and other ancient technology, Equestrian military had only just started to implement the use of gunpowder. It's usefulness for anything other than intimidation and the occasional lucky hit was in question. The military divisions still relied primarily on swords, spears, and crossbows. But the discovery of entire caches and armories of firearms had perked the Equestrian's interest in finding out why this apparent weapon was the most used of the ancients. They discovered that, through carving out spiraling grooves in the barrels of the guns (called "rifling" by the ancients) and by redesigning the firing system, the firearms' accuracy and rate of fire was greatly improved and was much more useful as a combat implement.

These same details were also present in the cannons mounted on the tanks. As to be expected, they were capable of out-ranging normal Equestrian cannons and at greater accuracy while also being easier to load. Also, the tank used armor similar to those used by the Equestrian Knights and the Royal Guards, but much larger and made using mass production industrial techniques instead of the individual workmanship of blacksmiths. Testing showed that the tank is capable of deflecting arrows, heavy blows, cutting weapons, and even the firearms which were capable of penetrating a royal guard's armor. The only way to damage it was through use of explosives, other tanks, and through specially made field guns based off of the tank cannons themselves. Despite the heavy armor, the tank was still able to move at a decent speed thanks to its strong engine. Initially the rifle and the tank was relegated to defense forces within Canterlot, but a few were later shipped out to the Frontier due to increased bandit activity.

In the year 923 AB (After Banishment), one particular raid on a military convoy that was slowed down due its escorts (three Mark V tanks not unlike the one first discovered) ended with all bandits either dead or captured. Indeed, the old sword, knife, and lasso combination stood no chance against machine guns, rifles, and tanks. It was due to the increased relevance of essentially relics of a dead species that the Equestrian military was equipped with these new weapons in bulk. Along with this, a new kind of division was created, the Equestrian Royal Army Division, or ERAD.

Despite the military buildup, relations between nations remain relatively peaceful. But whereas external conflicts remain nonexistent at best, minor at worst, internal conflicts are another story.

In the year 945 AB, a cult has made itself public. It worships Nightmare Moon, and intently awaits for her inevitable return. Some denounce them as lunatics, others believe that their claims are legitimate. The cult claims that Equestria is ruled under a malevolent tyrant, and that the old regime will fall in the return of the rightful ruler, Princess Luna, on the one thousandth anniversary of her banishment.

The cult received widespread attention and its influence encroaches on every social class. Celestia herself has received a letter from the leader of the cult, though it's contents are unknown to everyone but the writer and the recipient. Despite this apparent threat her power, she does nothing to stop it. It is not until the year 975 AB that the Royal Army decides to take action, after a militant sect of the cult had started a riot in Trottingham.

The riot quickly escalated into a battle between the Royal Army and the cultists, who had apparently anticipating the Royal Army's interference and drew weapons. Much to the Royal Army's dismay, this was not swords and knives, but guns and tanks of unknown origin. The 14th and 20th ERAD, armed with new tanks, were deployed to counter the new threat. This would be the first real battle that a Equestrian Royal Armored Division had a direct combat role in.

Despite a good number of cultists escaping, the overall outcome was a victory for the Royal Army. Military leaders received promising reports, stating that the performance of the tanks were exemplary in the city battles as mobile cover and assault guns. The tanks saved many lives that day, and the Royal Armored Division became cemented as a relevant and useful combat force. Publicly, the Nightmare Cult denounced the attack as independent actions by militant fanatics. For the Cult's ideals is to sway support to their cause peacefully, not intimidate the masses through war. This was apparently true as a large sum of funds were donated from the Cult to repair the city and as compensation to the grieving families of those who died that day.

Since the battle of Trottingham, no further conflict between the Nightmare Cult and the Royal Army arose. As a precaution, all of the military divisions concentrated in Canterlot has then been assigned to locations all over Equestria, including the Equestrian Royal Armored Divisions, which had been stationed only in Canterlot and a few major cities like Manehattan and Trottingham. Since then, Equestria has turned their attention to external disputes and diplomatic relations.

It has been 25 years. The year is now 1000 AB. As the cultist has claimed, Nightmare Moon will return by this year's Summer Sun Celebration.

Author's Note:

Reduced the prologue down to one part.

Comments

[digiz]

I tought that Berlin wall has fallen?

[dyedquartz]

The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.
It has been nine hundred year since then, and much has changed. Once humble towns and villages are now in the late phases of industrialization, and new developments in transportation has made traveling easier and safer. But one development has stood out the most: a rise of public curiosity to explore ancient ruins. At one time the ruins were seen as haunted or cursed-those who were either brave or stupid enough to explore those either returned scarred for life or were never seen again.

No... luna was released 1000 years after... IMPOSSIBRU!

I feel like Cinamare sins

[dyedquartz]

In the year 945 AB, a cult has made itself public. It worships Nightmare Moon, and intently awaits for her inevitable return. Some denounce them as lunatics, others believe that their claims are legitimate. The cult claims that Equestria is ruled under a malevolent tyrant, and that the old regime will fall in the return of the rightful ruler, Princess Luna, on the one thousandth anniversary of her banishment.

Smells like past sins