The Mane Six competes in competitive tank battles. (Crossover with World of Tanks)
Nearly a decade ago, when the Equestrian Royal Army requested for armoured fighting vehicles to assist in the Canterlot-Badlands War, nopony expected something else to evolve from this.
This request brought peace to the nation, but also brought a new, ambitious kind of extreme sport. 'Competitive Armored Warfare' or simply known as 'Competitive Tanking', where mares and stallions slug it out for the glory of victory and the grand title of the Ruler Of The Battlefield. Only the bravest and skillful will survive. Mercy will be discouraged, rules will be ignored.
This year, the Mane Six decides to enlist in the King Of Steel Tournament. Registered as the Harmony Tankers, with the power of friendship and teamwork, they will propel themselves to victory.
That is, if they can get along first... After all, the best of friends may make the worst of teammates...
-Crossover with World of Tanks -Alternate Universe: characters are anthro, advancement in technology -Teen: Mild violence, swearing -Takes place after season 4 -Contains OCs -Certain Game Mechanics have been tweaked to give some degree of realism
"Like the saying goes Rainbow Dash, 'patience is a virtue'."
"Look, your egghead words aren't helping Fluttershy pass the tutorial. In fact, I think she's still trying to turn the turret around, if she actually tries..."
"Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy was willing to step out of her comfort zone to join us in this tournament! And by the way, your insults and complaining is not helping either!"
"Oh yeah? Well I..."
"Quit ya yappin' y'all. If we are to get anywhere in this here competition, we gotta learn to work together."
"And that means being able to tolerate and be patient!"
"Hey! I"m not the only one who's losing her cool!"
"But that's because..."
"HEY FLUTTERSHY! HOW DID IT GO?"
It was at that time when all of Twilight's and Rainbow Dash's rage and angry quickly dissipated, albeit a small amount of it still remained as Rainbow Dash shot a glare at the purple unicorn as they walked towards the yellow pegasus who had just stepped out.
The meek and timid pegasus was Fluttershy, her rather baggy uniform made her look even smaller than she already was. Her eyes never looked up, in her hand was an official looking sheet of paper. The same kind that all the other ponies that had successfully enlisted also received.
Nothing could match the amount of happiness radiating from the pink earth pony named Pinkamena Diane Pie, or simply called Pinkie Pie. In just a nanosecond, she had both hands around Fluttershy, a huge grin on her face.
"Ok Pinkie, I think you've said more than enough," said Rarity, in her posh accent which rarely faltered.
"Umm Pinkie, would you please let go now? If you don't mind?"
"Oh ok! But I'm so EXICTED!"
"Yeah, me too! I'm so pumped up! Non-stop action, big moving metal boxes that weight tonnes with powerful weapons, what's not to get excited about?"
"Simmer down Rainbow Dash, we still need to get our tanks from the garage."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go then!"
She ran off for several metres before abruptly turning around and sheepishly walked back.
"So uh... Where is it exactly?"
Twilght facepalmed, "Follow me..."
The six ponies walked across the camp. As they passed by numerous tents and barracks, several tanks of various shapes and sizes drove pass. Their jaws nearly hit the ground as a large grey coloured tank nearly twice as tall as them thundered by.
"So, you've noticed that Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus tank that just passed by. I'll be surprised if you didn't."
The voice had came from behind them, they turned and came face to face with a green unicorn, her mane was jet black with a gold and brown streak. Her uniform was crisp and starched as if it was ironed while she was still wearing it. Behind her was a tan brown average sized tank, its turret was open-topped and it had a insignia of a gold heart with a sergeant rank inside of it.
"So, you're the new squad that got enlisted."
"Yep, that's us." Rainbow Dash said boastfully
The unicorn closely scrutinized her, "Hmm, snarky, arrogant, and a little hot-headed. You must be Rainbow Dash."
"Hey! I'm not hot-headed!"
"You know, that just helped her prove her point, did you know that?"
Rainbow Dash glared at Twilight through narrowed eyes, she opened her mouth to retort, but the green unicorn interupted her.
"Hey, all of you better work on your relations, a feud in a team is as bad as facing an armada of Maus tanks. By the way, name's Golden Heart."
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, leader of the Harmony Tankers. This is Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy."
"So you all registered as a team?"
"Yep," replied Rainbow Dash, "We'll show the other teams what teamwork and friendship can do!"
"Well, I'm the second-in-command of my team, Battalion 21014, and I'll tell you something. Teamwork is just as important as skills and good equipment."
"So umm, don't mind me asking..." Twilight said.
"Go on."
"Mind telling us about that tank?" Twilight asked, pointing at the tank behind Golden Heart.
Golden Heart looked back, " You mean my tank? Well for starters, that is a M18 Hellcat, a tier 6 tank destroyer."
"What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?" Applejack questioned.
"Let me explain, every tank used in the tournament is marked with a tier and a type. Currently there's 10 tiers, this allows the matchmaking system to match teams of similar tiered tanks to prevent unbalanced battles. There are also 5 different types of tanks, light tanks, medium tanks, heavy tanks, tank destroyers and SPGs, also commonly known as artillery. Light tanks are well, light, and are faster than most tanks in the tournament but have relatively thin armor and underpowered weaponry. Heavy tanks have thicker armor and powerful cannons which makes them a force to be reckoned with, but are quite slow, cumbersome and an easy target to hit. Medium tanks sits somewhere in between with average armor, average firepower and average speed. Tank destroyers are specifically designed to destroy enemy tanks with weaponry that are much more powerful, however, most tank destroyers lack a turret and must re-position themselves in order to hit a target. SPGs take a different approach to fighting by provide powerful indirect fire support with shells lobbed in an arc to hit distant targets from friendly lines."
"Well shoot, that's a lot to remember." Applejack replied, her brain practically melting from the mass overflow of information.
"Well, back on topic. The Hellcat is a unique being one of the only few tank destroyers with a turret as well as having one of the highest top speed and acceleration in the tournament. Armed with a high powered 90 mm AT Gun M3, the Hellcat can be a dangerous tank destroyer to fight. However, it has armor comparable to tier 1 tanks, is slow to turn and is a high priority target to the enemy team. So if you're good with sniping, I highly suggest you take this tank out for a spin."
"Ok, thanks! We'll keep that in mind," replied Twilight, "So, do you know where the garage is? We're on our way to pick up our tanks."
"On the north side of the camp, straight ahead then turn left, you can't miss it."
"Ok! Thanks again!"
"No problem, see you later."
"Alright girls, time to move!" Twilight proclaimed.
"Yeah! I can't wait to get my hands on those things!" Pinkie said excitedly.
"Well, I hope the tanks over there aren't as rough-hewn as the ones we saw. I mean, look at the colour palette! Brown, grey, green, and just one colour for each and every one of them. And not forgetting the rough contour, no elegance whatsoever."
"Looks like you can only hope, Rarity." Applejack said, "But fer now, lets get to the garage first."
The Harmony Tankers set off again towards the garage, where their weapons of choice were waiting for them.
"Wow, it's a lot bigger than I had expected."
The six ponies stared, gobsmacked at the sheer size of the garage. It was nearly thrice as big as an average house, the noise inside was deafening. A tank or so would drive out only to be replaced by another. Everything was happening so fast, that Twilight's head was starting to spin.
"Ok, who would've though getting a tank would be this stressful?" Twilight though out loud, messaging her temples. She realised what Golden Heart had meant that they couldn't miss it.
"Do you require some assistance?"
Twilight looked up, standing in front of her was a tall, brown stallion with a stocky build. His short, unkempt mane was a shade of blonde. She couldn't help but look at his toned arms and sky blue eyes.
"Uh, yes. We're here to get our tanks."
"Oh, so you're the new squad. Follow me to the showroom."
The stallion led the Harmony Tankers to a separate room. The noise from the outside was still audible, but not as deafening. The so called showroom was occupied with hundreds of thousands of model tanks. From light tanks to tank destroyers, they were yet again astounded by the sheer size of the room and the amount of tanks that was stored in here.
"Since you're new recruits, the tanks available to you are the tier 1 tanks over there," the stallion pointed to a row of small sized tanks on the other side of the showroom.
"Huh? Why don't we get the higher tiered tanks?" Rainbow Dash protested.
"Good question, allow me to explain. As a new recruit, you will start with a tier 1 tank of your choice. When you participate in a battle, be it a win or lose, you will earn Experience Points and Credits which are stored in your ID cards, which double as 'credit cards'. You can use Experience Points to 'research' better weapons, equipment and most importantly, higher tiered tanks. Most of the time, you have to research certain equipment in order to be able to research certain tanks. Credits are used to buy equipment and tanks that you have researched, it is also used to repair your tank and reload your ammunition. Please note that Bits can be used to be converted to Credits, but cannot be converted back. Bits can also be used to purchase a 'Premium' status which allows you to earn more Experience Points and Credits per battle."
"So to get better tanks, we gotta keep fighting?"
"Essentially, yes," replied the stallion.
Rainbow Dash grumbled, "Alright, fine."
"Well if it makes you feel better, usually it should only take you a few battles to move onto tier 2."
Rainbow Dash expression lightened a bit, "Well, enough talk. I want my tank!"
The stallion grinned, "When you find a tank you think it's most suitable for you to use, there will be a screen in front of the model which shows its specifications and stats. Simply tap the 'Purchase' button on the botttom of the screen to receive the tank. After that, the tank will be ready in the storage lot at the back."
"Thanks! By the way, my name is Twilight Sparkle of the Harmony Tankers."
"I'm Greased Lightning, delighted to make your acquaintance."
"Well, thanks again. Alright girls, lets... go..." Twilight's friends had already ran off to check out the different kinds of tanks.
'Might as well join them,' she thought, as she walked over to the tier 1 tanks on display.
The Harmony Tankers excitedly browsed models upon models of light tanks. Rainbow Dash scanned the entire area for a tank of her choice. She wanted one with coolness, awesomeness, radicalness. She narrowed down her search to 3 tanks that looked quite similar and had almost identical names - the only things that set them apart were their colours and subtle differences.
"May I be of any assistance?" said a familiar voice, Rainbow Dash turned around, her cerise eyes met with a pair of azure ones.
"Uh, sure. I can't really decide from these 3 tanks. Maybe you could, you know, tell me something about them?"
"Well the one on the left, the Renault NC-31, it's one of the fas-..." Rainbow Dash didn't even let Greased Lightning finish his first sentence before hitting the 'Purchase' button on the screen, gaining possession of the nimble Renault.
"...-test... Oh well, I guess my work here is done." he remarked, as he strode over to Fluttershy, who looked a lot smaller standing in the middle of everything else, her baggy uniform wasn't helping either.
"May I help you?" Fluttershy eeped when she saw the hulking brown stallion that was towering over her, but when she noticed his warm-hearted expression on his face, she calmed down a little bit.
"Umm...do you have anything that’s good at...erm...hiding? Fluttershy asked, scuffing the floor with her boot, her hands clasped behind her back.
Lightning thought this over a little bit, then turned back to Fluttershy and spoke in a soft voice, "There's the MS-1," he replied, pointing to small camo green tank a few metres away, "It's small and easy to conceal in bushes, making it difficult for enemies to detect and hit you. It's gun has acceptable accuracy and good damage."
Now it was Fluttershy's turn to think this through. The idea of hiding and still being useful to the team sounded appreciable. It's size, "hat" and "tail" made it resemble one of her woodland creatures. It was worth a shot, "Ok then, I'll take it," she said quietly, walking over to the screen to confirm her purchase.
'Another satisfied customer," he thought as he approached a more hyperactive than usual Pinkie Pie. She was rushing from one tank to the next at speeds that Lightning thought was next to impossible, before stopping in front of a small grey tank with a rear-mounted conical turret.
"Ah, so you're interested in the Leichttraktor, aren't you? Well, it's weaponry and engine may be a little underpowered to start with, but a few good matches should unlock its full potential and make it a fun tank to battle with."
Pinkie only needed to hear the world 'fun' to seal the deal, "I'LL TAKE IT!"
As Lightning walked away, he noticed the massive grin on Pinkie's face, "Not even the word 'excitable' can describe her. Well, I've met plenty of tankers as excited as her, so I'll just leave her be," he said to himself.
He noticed Rarity walking up and down, passing each and every tank, scrutinizing every one to the very last nick before walking away.
"Is there something about the tanks that bothers you?" Lightning asked, noting the disapproving look on her face.
"Bothers me?" Rarity replied, "Bothers me?" she repeated, spluttering out the words as if her mouth were full of biscuits that she had yet to swallow.
Lightning drew a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever was to come.
Fortunately, it didn't. Rarity calmed down and composed herself, speaking in her posh accent once again, "I apologise for my sudden outburst, but I feel that these tanks really lack a sense of style, a sense of elegance. I know I have to tolerate all this, having to wear this uniform after all. But maybe you could show me something a little more of my style?"
Lightning's face fell for a moment, which made Rarity slightly regret speaking her mind just now. But, then he grinned again, "We do have something that's 'a little more of your style'. Follow me."
He led Rarity to a tank located on the far side of the showroom. It was coloured greenish blue. To Rarity, The tank named 'Renault FT' was an improvement compared to the 'dirty' colours of the other tanks she's seen.
"Well, I guess it's better than nothing then," she said, tapping the 'Purchase' button, before turning back to Lightning," Again, I'm sorry about what happened just now."
"No need to apologise. Sometimes, if we really disapprove of something, it's better to speak our mind and get that vexation and displeasure out of your head," he replied, a smile plastered on his face.
As Lightning went to assist somepony else, Rarity smiled too, she knew a gentlecolt when she saw one.
Lightning approached Applejack, who was kicking the tracks of tan brown tank with a cylindrical turret.
"Hey, mind tellin' me about this here tank?"
"Hmm, the T1 Cunningham. Well, it's armour is fairly weak, but its so-called 'auto-cannon' can pack quite a punch at close ranges and it's quite fast too."
Applejack thought for a moment. For some reason, this 'bug-eyed' tank tickled her fancy - she might as well try it out, "I think we got ourselves a deal, mister."
"Excellent!" Lightning replied. His grin disappeared as soon as it had appeared. He looked around, trying to spot a certain purple unicorn.
"So, where's Twilight?" he asked Applejack.
"Ah think I saw her leave through the back door," she pointed to the door leading to the storage lot.
"I guess she already got her tank. Come on, lets go see what she got."
Greased Lightning and Applejack walked out of the showroom and into the storage lot. It was a large space behind the garage with lines marking out each individual 'tank lot'. Currently, six of them were occupied by 5 light tanks, and in the last one was a larger tank painted a faint brown. Twilight was walking around that tank, inspecting it for any faults or defects.
"So, Twilight, You got the Vickers Medium Mk. I," Lightning began, grabbing Twilight's attention, "Armour is quite thin for a medium tank and it's easy to spot, though it has a good selection of weapons, all of which are quite viable, powerful and accurate for a tier 1 tank."
"Ok, thanks for the information," she turned to her friends, "Alright everypony, we're all armed and ready to show everyone who really are the Rulers Of The Battlefield!"
There was a chorus of cheers before Twilight silenced them, "But before we jump into a battle, we've got to get used to our tanks. After all, the tank we drove in the tutorial handles differently than ours."
"But Twilight, how can we practise without hurting somepony?" Rarity questioned.
Twilight knew what Rarity had meant. They needed to find a place to practise. Driving tanks around willy-nilly while learning the ropes is bound to be a bit dangerous after all, Twilight walked towards her friends to try and brainstorm where they could practise when Lightning spoke up.
"There's a training yard on the eastern side of the camp, it'll give you plenty of room to experiment and practise commanding your tanks."
"Alright then, what are we waiting around for? Lets see what these things can really do!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.
"Well, off you all go then! See you later." Lightning said, walking back into the garage.
"Goodbye Lightning!" Twilight responded as she clambered into her tank, so did the rest of the Harmony Tankers. The six tanks roared to life, a mix of puttering and rumbling filled the storage lot.
Chapter 2: Brotherhood (And Sisterhood) Of Arms Part I
The Harmony Tankers, with their new tanks, rumbled down a narrow passageway bordered by several tents and buildings on their way to the training yard. Twilight was at the front of the line of tanks, in the less mobile Vickers Medium and was slowly trundling along. Rainbow Dash was getting impatient.
"Come on Twilight! Get a move on!" Rainbow Dash shouted over the radio. There wasn't much point of having a tank that was speedy if there wasn't any room to drive along.
"Ow! Rainbow Dash, there's no need to shout! I'm going as fast as I can!"
"Well, it's not fast enough! I want to go fast! I NEED to go fast!" Rainbow Dash was practically screaming at that point.
Distracted, Twilight shouted back on the radio, "Save your speeding when we get to the training yard! Be patient!"
"Well speed up so I don't have to be patient for much longer!"
Twilight, now seething with anger, was about to retaliate when something else grabbed her attention. A large grey tank was slowly driving through an intersection on the passageway in front of her.
"Look out!" Twilight warned, slamming on the brakes, forgetting that her warning would only have been heard over the radio. The 3 ponies behind Twilight as well as Fluttershy managed to stop before slamming into the back of each other. But Rainbow Dash couldn't stop in time and slammed into Rarity's tank, which slammed into Applejack's tank, which slammed into Pinkie's tank, which slammed into Twilight's tank, which slammed into the grey tank that was already halfway across the intersection.
Luckily, nopony was hurt and the tanks seemed to be intact. But the Harmony Tankers were badly shaken up. Twilight climbed out of the turret hatch to check if everyone was in fact okay. Just then, the turret hatch of the larger tank also opened. A bat pony with a blue coat, a mane that appeared to be split down the middle with one side being white, the other being red, and silver slitted eyes emerged from the tank. A look of concern in his eyes.
"Geht es dir gut?" For a moment, Twilight thought that she was a lot more shaken up than she had originally thought. Then, she realised that it sounded like Germane.
"Sorry, I can't understand you,"
"Apologies, I'm used to shpeakink in my national language. I asked whezer you are alright," said the bat pony in a thick germane accent.
"Don't worry, we're fine," Twilight replied, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my team, the Harmony Tankers."
"My name is Night Wing, and zis is my pride and joy, my Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.E tank, also known as zee Tiger I."
"It's nice to meet you!" Twilight replied, "I'm uh... sorry if I damaged your tank."
Night just laughed, "No vorries! Zis tank won't efen get a scratch from your puny little tank! Ahem, no offense."
"None taken."
"Anyvays, could you reverse so I can move? 'Der Führer' is vaiting for me."
"The who?" Twlight asked, confused.
"Der Führer," Night Wing repeated.
"The fury?"
"No! Der... " Night Wing realised that all this was rather hopeless, "Oh nevermind! Just let me through!"
Twilight climbed back inside and put her radio headset back on, "Ok girls, back up."
"What's the hold up?" Rainbow Dash's voice came over the radio. Twilight barely managed to hold in the growing rage inside of her.
"We've collided with another tank."
"Is everypony ok out there?" Fluttershy asked in concern.
"Yes, everypony is fine, and our tanks look okay as well."
"Alright then! Fluttershy, you back up first so I can back up too."
It took a while to untangle the mess, but soon the intersection was clear and Night Wing rumbled away.
"Finally! Can we get going already?"
"Alright, Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied, her voice dripping with annoyance, "We can go now."
After several minutes of driving, and a few more arguments, mostly between Twilight and Rainbow Dash, the Harmony Tankers finally arrived at the training yard. It was a large open space consisting of a firing range, a driving track to practise on, and a 'training field' to practise tactics and manoeuvres. There were a handful of tanks occupying the firing range, a few more on the driving track and six of them, apparently in a team, was coordinating what could be likened to an elegantly choreographed dance.
"Ok, we'll split up. Applejack, Fluttershy, you go practise on the firing range. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, you can try the driving track. Rarity, you're with me."
"Yes! Race you to the track, Pinkie! I'll win!"
"Ohhhhh no you don't! I'll beat you there!"
Twilight watched as they raced away. Applejack started driving towards the firing range, but stopped when she realised that Fluttershy wasn't following her.
"Hey Fluttershy, what's wrong?"
"Oh! Um... I... I'm not sure about this..." Fluttershy's quiet voice was heard over the radio
"About what?"
"Well... about... about... nevermind..."
"Come on Fluttershy, talkin' about it is the first step to gettin' over it."
"Erm... well, I'm... I'm not sure about having to shoot this. I heard that they could be loud, powerful, and dangerous. What if I hurt somepony with it?"
"Relax Fluttershy, I checked with them about that. These things will only damage the tank and not the pony inside. Even if somepony does get injured, there'll be some medics to help."
Applejack's words did help Fluttershy calm down a bit, but she was still a bit uncertain.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll be there for you,"
"Thank you, Applejack."
"No problem, Fluttershy. Now, lets go."
Applejack started moving again. This time, Fluttershy was following her.
Twilight and Rarity approached the team that was practising and strategising in the middle of the 'training field'. A familiar tan brown tank came into view, along with another similar looking tan brown tank, a grey tank that was slightly larger, a much larger tan brown tank with a giant cannon, a pale brown tank with what appeared to be a large box in place of a turret and a green medium-sized tank with an angled hull.
As they got closer, there was a sudden loud bang and a projectile flew towards Twilight and Rarity. Shocked and frozen in fear, they only watched as the shell flew towards them, and missed Rarity's tank by inches. Snapping out of it, they remained still and watched as a navy green pegasus jumped out of the larger tank, his silver mane tucked under a green beret. He stormed towards the green tank furiously, and began to shout words that were inaudible to them, occasionally waving his fist or pointing in their general direction. A cobalt blue unicorn emerged from the other tank, he looked pretty sickly and his powder blue mane was frazzled and disheveled.
Thinking it was safe to proceed, Twilight and Rarity drove towards the group of tanks and climbed out of their tanks.
"Cirrus Breeze! You are clearly unfit for duty! I order you to go to the sick bay immediately!" boomed a voice, which appeared to belong to the green pegasus.
"No... no. I'm fine... Ahh-ahh-ahh... chooo! " the other voice wasn't as loud or clear. It sounded quite stuffy, as if the pony had a cold, which the blue unicorn clearly does.
"Hey Cirrus, I think it's best you go. Besides, the last thing the team needs is a tank that's constantly wasting ammunition." said a third voice, coming from the grey tank. The voice came from a butterscotch yellow pegasus with a sunset yellow mane, in his hands was a tank shell.
"And the LAST thing we need is a tank that might accidentally take out another one outside of battles, like how you nearly did just now!" the green pegasus added, "Now go!"
With a reluctant groan, the unicorn re-entered his tank, not before sneezing again, and drove off.
The green pegasus walked towards Twilight and bowed down to her, "My apologises, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I don't know what my teammate was thinking, handling a lethal weapon while clearly unfit for duty."
Twilight was slightly taken aback. She's barely started breaking out of the habit of bowing down to the other three princesses, let alone having another ponies bow down to her.
"Uh... rise soldier," Twilight began, "There's no need for formalities in here."
"Yes, your high... uh Twilight Sparkle."
"Hey Twilight! Nice to see you again!" shouted a familiar voice. A green unicorn with a uniform still as crisp and starched as ever climbed out of the tan brown tank.
"Golden Heart? Do you know them?" asked the green pegasus.
"I sure do Silver Lining, my big brother!" replied Golden Heart.
"You have a brother?" Rarity asked, slightly in disbelief.
"Oh! I didn't mention that? Oh right! I didn't! Twilight, Rarity, this is my brother, Silver Lining," Golden Heart introduced, "He was a veteran in a the Canterlot-Badlands War and the leader of our team, Battalion 21014."
"You fought in the Canterlot-Badlands War?" Twilight asked.
"Yep, Major Silver Lining of Equestrian Royal Army, team leader of Fireteam Delta. It was one heck of a fight, I'll tell you that."
"So if you're in the army, then why are you in this tournament? Don't you have to be on duty?" Rarity asked
"Well, I was 4 years ago. But I got dismissed from the army," Silver's face fell for a moment, "But that won't stop me from leading a team into battle, even if it's not for peace and order," his grin returned, bigger than ever.
"Well, it's nice to hear that," Twilight replied, turning to the yellow pegasus in the grey tank, "and who are you?"
"Name's Butterscotch Hooves, but you can call me Butterhooves if you... whoops!" the tank shell momentarily slipped out of his grasp before he managed to securely catch it.
"Butters! That's the third time today you nearly dropped that thing! Don't you know how dangerous that thing is?" boomed Silver.
"Sorry! It must have slipped out of my hands... again..." Butterhooves replied sheepishly.
"Remind me why you're on my team again..."
"Well... I'm great at scouting!"
"True..."
"And I'm great at taking out scouts!"
"Good point..."
"And I'm a great 'arty hunter' too!"
"Alright, alright, I think I've heard enough already."
"Yay!"
Rarity observed Butterhooves closely, he sounded quite similar to somepony she's quite familiar with. It sounded rather far-fetched, but it was worth asking.
"So, Butterhooves," Rairity began.
"Yes?"
"Are you... related to somepony named Derpy Hooves?"
Butterhooves blinked, and stared at Rarity for several seconds, before showing a wide grin, "Of course! She's my cousin!"
"And he's my cousin too!"
Twilight and Rarity turned to the faint brown tank where the voice was coming from, a grey pegasus with a pale yellow mane climbed out. What really set her apart from the others were her eyes, one was looking straight at her but the other appeared to be looking in a completely different direction.
"Derpy?" Rarity just couldn't believe that Derpy, of all ponies, would be here.
"That's my name!" Derpy replied exuberantly.
"But... but why? Why are you in this tournament?"
"She just couldn't let me have all the fun," Butterhooves replied, "Right cousin?"
"Yep!"
"Besides, she really puts the hurt on the enemy tanks, with that dead-on accuracy of her's," Silver added.
'Accurate? With those eyes of her's?' Rarity thought in disbelief.
"He's right. I've never seen anypony handle a SPG this well," a light brown unicorn with a black mane emerged from his tank, a slightly smaller version of Golden Heart's tank with an enclosed turret.
"I'm Quick Shot, former member of the Royal Guard. But I quit because standing still for hours on end just... wasn't me. I'm one of the most accurate gunners around here, that's why the T49 is my tank of choice. Also, I..."
A cloud of a dust and dirt was kicked up as Pinkie and Rainbow Dash raced towards the driving track. Rainbow Dash took the lead for most of the way there, but Pinkie managed to beat her.
"I'm the best, I won, and you're a stinky rubbish truck!" teased Pinkie, emerging from her tank.
"No fair! I want a rematch!" Rainbow Dash protested as she climbed out of her tank, "And how is a rubbish truck have anything to do with this?"
"Hey! Give me a break! I didn't have enough time to come up with a snarky remark! So I had to borrow one from a someone else. "
"Someone? Who are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash put a hand to her forehead, "You know what? I would rather not find out..."
"Hey look! we're here!" Pinkie gestured to the driving track in front of them. There were several tracks, each completely different from the other. Several tanks were parked nearby, and a few more were driving on the tracks honing their driving skills. Rainbow Dash looked around, and saw a rather peculiar sight. A large greenish blue tank with a tow cable attached to it, the other end of the cable was attached to an unbelievably long pale brown tank that had sunken into the mud, a smaller tan brown tank was pushing from behind.
"What's going on over there?"
"I don't know, but maybe we can help them out?"
"Are you serious Pinkie? That tank looks huge, and super heavy!"
"At least we can provide moral support?"
Rainbow Dash looked at the tanks, they appeared to be struggling to get the longer tank out of the mud. Although her's and Pinkie's tanks were quite small, it couldn't hurt to try.
"Well, might as well see what we can do," Rainbow Dash replied, driving towards the struggling tanks.
As they approached, the full extent of the struggle became apparent. The roaring of engines was thunderous. The clash of steel on steel was present as the tan brown tank tried to push from behind. Nopony could imagine the strain on the tow cable as the tank in front tried to surge forwards. Nearby, a petite mare with a pale white coat, a long deep blue mane and matching eyes stood watching. Her uniform was just like the Harmony Tanker's, though it was coloured grey.
Rainbow Dash climbed out of her tank, "Hey! Do you need some help?"
The mare turned to Rainbow Dash, "Well, I certainly don't need help at the moment," she responded in a rather posh accent, "Though you can help them help me get my tank out of the mud if you could, not like I'm doubting your tanks' abilities."
"Isn't that like, indirectly helping you?" Pinkie questioned as she hopped out of her tank.
The mare thought for a moment, before replying, "I suppose so... Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Lapis Glimmer."
"Name's Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus around here and the pony who's going to help you get your tank out of the mud!"
"I'm Pinkie Pie, and I can tell you that I'M AM SO EXCITED TO MEET NEW PONIES! AfterthistournamentIshouldtotallythrowyoupartymaybecongratulatingyouorcheeringyouupafteryoullostdependingonifyoudowinorlose..."
"Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, I think your friend here is a little-" Glimmer paused, trying to find the word, "-overstimulated..."
"Don't worry, she's like that when she meets new ponies."
"I've met plenty of fast talkers in my life, but Pinkie, is a lot more than just another one in the most literal sense."
"I guess you can say that," she turned to Pinkie, still spewing words at three hundred and forty metres per second, "Come on Pinkie, lets get her tank unstuck."
Pinkie stopped mid-sentence, "Okay!"
With that, they climbed into their tanks and drove towards the other tanks. The ground here was waterlogged and muddy, Rainbow Dash's Renault and Pinkie's Leichttraktor were lighter and had little problem traversing the terrain. However, the heavier tanks attempting to pull Glimmer's tank from the mud had a much harder time, constantly in danger of getting stuck themselves.
As they got closer, the tank in front jerked forwards suddenly. The other tank attached to it came along smoothly for a few seconds, but without the aid of the third tank pushing from behind, the weight of the larger tank was too much for the greenish blue tank. The larger tank slid back into the waterlogged mud, dragging the other tank with it. Amazingly, the tow cable still held firm. But Glimmer's tank was stuck yet again.
As Rainbow emerged from her tank, a pegasus stallion with a brown coat and red mane also emerged from his tank, anger and frustration in his green eyes. A unicorn mare with a pale blue coat and a silver mane with a dark blue streak climbed out from the other tank.
"Dammit Vivace! Warn me when you're going to do something like!" the stallion exclaimed angrily, in a mixed Manechester and Manehatten accent.
"Hey Metal! Don't blame me when things go wrong, okay?" the mare replied.
"Well, this was your idea, and I told you it wouldn't work!"
"Hey you two! Need some help?" Rainbow shouted, grabbing their attention.
"Totally! We could use some help! Even if it's in a the form of some tier 1 light tanks, it would really help!" the mare, whose name was Vivace Melody replied, her voice devoid of the anger that was present just a second ago, "Metal! Got some extra cables?"
"Well, I do have some. But that doesn't mean I've forgiven you yet," the stallion replied.
"Aww, come one Metallurgy Repair! Lighten up a bit," Vivace said, "Look, I'm sorry about just now okay? We cool?"
"Alright then, I'll let this one slide," Metal jumped out of his tank, in hand was two more tow cables.
"Okay, position your tanks beside Vivace's," Rainbow Dash and Pinkie obliged and took their position, Metal attached the tow cable to the two tanks. After that, he climbed back into his tank.
"Okay," Metal's voice could be heard over the radio, "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, we can hear you."
"Loud and clear!"
"Alright, when I give the signal, start pulling." Metal paused as he manoeuvred into position, "Now!"
All at once, the four tanks roared to life. Progress was slow, but eventually, eighty tonnes of steel was pulled out of the mud.
"There we go!" Vivace said triumphantly.
"Phew, and I thought we might have lost it there."
"See? Have a bit of faith Metal."
"Alright, alright. By the way, thanks for the help, and sorry for all the trouble we caused for you."
"No problem!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Yeah! Friends like to help each other!" Pinkie added.
"Friends?" Vivace asked, "Well hopefully our friendship won't be put on the line in battles."
"No worries! It's just a competition!"
Vivace was a little taken aback by how Pinkie brushed it all off so lightly, "Anyways, since we're friends now, might as well introduce ourselves. Vivace Melody's my name, disk-jockeying is my game!"
"My name's Metallurgy Repair, but you can call me Metal if you like, all my friends do."
"I'm Rainbow Dash, and that pony there is Pinkie Pie."
Vivace watched as a white unicorn mare walked over and climbed into the pale brown tank, "Well, I guess it's time for us to go now. See you later!"
A look of determination crossed her face, "You're on!"
Applejack and Fluttershy watched as Armor Piercing and High Explosive shells flew towards several targets set up at the firing range. It was a lot larger than they had expected, with several lanes divided by low barriers, occupied by all kinds of tanks.
Fluttershy shivered in her seat, "Applejack, this...I...I'm scared..."
"No need to worry Fluttershy. Remember, nopony's gonna get hurt," Applejack reassured.
"But what about those tanks over there?" she was refering to the 'targets', which were several tanks scattered randomly around the firing range.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, there's nopony in those tanks."
"Oh, okay..." Applejack's words did little to take the edge off her anxiety.
"Come on Fluttershy, you can do this," Applejack encouraged.
Fluttershy watched as Applejack drove into one lane. She took a deep breath and drove towards another lane. But before she even got near it, another much larger grey tank drove right in front of Fluttershy, along with another, slightly smaller tan brown tank. She sat that in fear, unsure of what to do.
Just then, a grey mare with a black mane with a red and dim grey streak emerged from the larger grey tank, her uniform was different from the standard kind of uniform. It consisted of a white undershirt, a black uniform jacket and tie, a matching uniform skirt and black military boots.
Fluttershy nervously clambered out of her tank. The two mares gazed at each other for a while, before the grey mare spoke up, "Hmph, other newbie here. Step aside, and let the ponies who deserve these spots keep their skills sharp."
Fluttershy eeped and quivered, afraid of the mare with the commanding voice.
"A coward as well," the grey mare scoffed, "Go back to the safety of your nursery or something of that nature."
"Now hold it right there!" Applejack approached the group of ponies, having seen everything she needed.
"Oh, a country pony too? Seriously, have the enlistment standards slackened off or something?" the grey mare sighed, "Well, you two better wake up, this is the King Of Steel Tournament, there's no place for mares like you."
"Why you... Why I oughta..."
"You oughta move out of the way, hillbilly."
Applejack's face turned redder by the second, "You...you...you..."
"Didn't you hear her, she said move out of the way," a light brown stallion with a short, black mane repeated. He wore a black suit and tie instead of military fatigues. His narrowed eyes glared through a pair of black half-framed glasses.
"Cellum, did I say that you could speak up?"
"I'm sorry, Honorable Leader."
"Umm, Applejack, maybe we should move?" Fluttershy asked.
Applejack scowled at her for a moment, before sighing, "Alright then, if I stand around here any longer, I think I'm gonna blow a gasket or something."
"Name's Stygian if you're wondering. Not that it matters, you're probably not going to stick around for long anyways."
Applejack's angry expression was back in a flash, "Well, we ain't sticking around here any longer. But your words are gonna come back to bite you!"
"Hmph, I highly doubt that."
Applejack growled in anger, she glared at Stygian as she walked back to her tank. As she and Fluttershy drove off, she couldn't help thinking that this tournament would be way more tolerable if ponies like Stygian didn't exist.
Chapter 4: All Will Fall And Be Eliminated In The End
"Another day, another healthy serving of the mess hall's delicious, unidentifiable grey stuff," Silver Lining said, turning to Cirrus Breeze, "Nice to see you back in action Cirrus!"
"Believe me sir, I'm just as happy as you are," the cobalt blue unicorn replied, he frowned slightly, "By the way, doesn't your aunt work here? Why not just ask her what this is?" gesturing to the pile of a lumpy grey substance that covered the central portion of his tray.
"And spoil the secret?" Silver shoved a spoonful into his mouth and swallowed before pointing his spoon at Cirrus, "My aunt would rather destroy the secret recipe than reveal its...uh...secrets."
"Wow, that recipe must be really important to her," Cirrus replied, as the Harmony Tankers sat down next to them.
"Nice to see you again Twilight," Golden Heart greeted.
"Good morning," Twilight replied. Golden Heart noticed her tangled bed hair and dark circles around her eyes.
"Did you stay up all night or something?"
"Yes...no...I mean yes," Twilight admitted, "But I had to come up with a proper strategy to win today's Blitz Battle."
"A Blitz Battle, Rainbow Dash," Golden Heart explained, "In the King Of Steel Tournament, there are several kinds of matches or 'battles'. Blitz Battles pits one team against another. Standard Battles also known 'tag-team battles' matches two similarly tiered teams against another two. Assault Battles are similar to Standard Battles except that there is only one base on the map belonging to one team while the other team has no base at all. Encounter Battles are similar as well except that the base is under neither teams' control at the start, and they spawn at opposing sides of the map from it. And most importantly of all, there's the Tournament Battles. Similar to Blitz Battles, these battles are held every day. The teams that win one battle moves on to the next round, those that don't get held back until next day's battles. If a team loses 5 times in one round, the entire team is disqualified from the competition."
"Wow, that's a lot to remember," Rainbow Dash remarked.
"By the way Twilight, you did compensate for the fact that the battlefield in today's battle is randomly chosen, right?"
A wave of silence washed over the table, Twilight stared wide-eyed at Golden Heart. Her eyelid twitched, and Golden Heart swore she saw Twilight's hair frazzle even more.
"Argh! I completely forgot!" Twilight dejectedly slammed her head onto the table.
"Seriously, you didn't think of that?" Rainbow Dash said, before getting jabbed in the ribs by Applejack's elbow.
"Don't worry Twilight." Golden Heart reassured, "A good leader adapts to any situation."
"Exactly, that's one of the reasons why they chose me to be a team commander," Silver added, "There are certain times when you don't have a war room or several hours to plan an assault."
Twilight looked up, she looked a lot less flustered than before, but the look of anxiety on her face was quite obvious.
"Here, you can have my coffee," Golden Heart handed her a mug of steaming coffee, "You'll do well, I'm sure of it. Same goes to all of you."
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash pumped her fist, "Look out everypony! The Harmony Tankers are coming!"
After breakfast, the Harmony Tankers drove their tanks to the 'battle zone'. It was a long passageway bordered by large areas divided by barriers, inside each one there were two marked zones, one for each team. Beside these were large amounts of weird machinery.
"From what I heard, we drive our tanks into one of those 'zones'. Then, the teleportation devices transports us into the battlefield, or 'map'," Twilight explained, as the Harmony Tankers drove to their designated zone.
"Is it true darling? How exactly does it work?" Rarity asked.
"Well, all this technology is a new division of magic, it's called 'Cybermancy'. To put it simply, it combines magic and technology to create new technology to allow everypony to do things magic or technology alone couldn't."
"Woah, that sounds really cool!" Pinkie remarked.
"Well, we're here now," Twilight said, as they drove into their 'zone', "Okay, so we've got some time before the match starts. Make sure all your equipment is working properly, I'm gonna get myself familiar with the map."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie responded.
Twilight climbed out of her tank and walked over to the information board set up in the center of both 'zones'. She looked at every detail of the match.
Battle Type: Tier 1 Blitz Battle Map: Malinovka
Team 1: Harmony Tankers Team Members:
Twilight Sparkle (Team Leader) Tank: Vickers Medium Mk. I
Rainbow Dash Tank: Renault NC-31
Pinkamena Diane Pie Tank: Leichttraktor
Rarity Belle Tank: Renault FT
Applejack Smith Tank: T1 Cunningham
Fluttershy Posey Tank: MS-1
Team 2: Blazing Steeds Team Members:
Parthian Shot (Team Leader) Tank: Renault NC-31
Quick Scope Tank: Leichttraktor
Cloud Kicker Tank: Renault FT
Rapid Rush Tank: Renault Otsu
Berryshine Punch Tank: MS-1
Comet Tail Tank: T1 Cunningham
It felt weird reading her friends' full names, but she knew as this was an official sport tournament, it was mandatory to present one's full name. Twilight carefully studied the map that was also on the board.
"Initial staging areas are separated by a wide open field, ideal for defensive operations and sniping. Flanking maneuvers and natural defenses like woods, hills, and farmhouses, can be decisive. Another option is a high-speed combined arms attack across the field which could potentially bring victory, but also a higher risk of losses," Twilight thought out loud.
"Come on Twilight! The match's starting soon!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Coming!" Twilight ran back to her tank, and climbed back into it.
"Alright, can everypony hear me?" Twilight said over the radio.
"Yeah, I can hear you."
"Loud and clear!"
"Of course, darling."
"I can hear you just fine, sugarcube."
"Yes."
"Good, our radios are working fine, time to show them what the Harmony Tankers can do!"
"Aw yeah! Ready or not, hear we come!"
Everything went white as the teleportation device started. A few seconds later, the blinding light was gone, and the landscape around the tankers changed.
They were now sitting in formation in a field surrounded by some trees, bushes and what appeared to be some houses fallen into ruins, behind them was a large marked circle with a makeshift base and a green flag.
"Battle commencing in thirty seconds!" announced a voice.
"Gah! Who was that?" Twilight asked, startled.
What happened next was one of the strangest experiences that Twilight will remember. A small light blue stallion, barely the size of Twilight's hand, phased into existence. His mane and eyes were also light blue, and he gave off a bluish glow and was slightly transparent, like a projection.
"Who are you?" Twilight asked again, blinking in astonishment.
The stallion grinned slightly, "I'm am the Tank and Commander Assistance System, but you may call me TaCAS for short."
"So...uh, TaCAS, what are you doing here?"
"Well, first of all, I operate all of the tanks systems. Essentially, I am your crew, your Gunner, your Loader, your Radio Operator, you get the point," TaCAS said proudly, "I also assist you in repairs and Automatic Aiming."
Twilight nodded, "Does my teammates know about you?"
"Don't worry, they have been informed as well."
"Alright then."
"Battle commencing in 5...4...3...2...1...time to roll out!"
"Alright everypony! Let’s do this by the book and we should have no problems! Rainbow Dash you go scout out the side of the enemy field-" Twilight paused as she noticed the empty spot where Rainbow Dash's Renault used to be.
"Come out and fight like the stallions you are!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she raced across a large field. What she didn't know, was that she had crossed into no pony's land.
With a sudden 'Ping!', Rainbow Dash's tank came to a grinding halt.
"What was that? Why can't I move?"
TaCAS reappeared, "One of our tracks was hit, we can't move!"
"Well, this is just perfect!" Rainbow Dash groaned. Just then, a movement caught her eye. When she turned her viewfinder around, several red words popped up on her head-up display. She didn't need to read them to know what was coming.
"Well, buck..."
An explosion could be heard in the distance. On her mini-map, a small green rhombus faded away.
"-or you could just rush out into an open field and get eliminated immediately," Twilight said, slightly agitated, "Okay then. Pinkie, you have to do scouting duties."
"Okie dokie lokie! I’m gonna go say hi to the other team then come back before you could say 'oatmeal'!" Pinkie replied enthusiastically.
Twilight watched as Pinkie drove off, losing a teammate this early in a battle had taken a toll on her confidence.
"Don't worry Twilight, if Golden Heart can have faith in you, so can you," Applejack reassured.
Twilight drew a deep breath, "Right, we can do this, we can do this," but even after those words had parted her lips, she still lacked a bit of confidence.
"Fluttershy, you go snipe from the hill to our right!" the only reply she got was a barely audible whimper. Looking back, she could see that Fluttershy hadn’t even moved from her starting position.
Rarity in her Renault reversed back beside Fluttershy’s MS-1. “Come now, Fluttershy, we need to work together as a team!” she said.
"Remember what I said Fluttershy, nopony's gonna get hurt," Applejack said, repeating what she told her yesterday.
"Okay," Fluttershy began to slowly crawl forwards.
"Rarity, you go back up Fluttershy."
"Certainly, Twilight," Rarity drove close behind Fluttershy.
"Applejack, you and I will defend the base and cover the left flank."
"Alright Twilight." Applejack replied, the two tanks manoeuvred into position.
"I wonder how Pinkie's doing?" Twilight wondered.
Pinkie hummed a happy tune as she trundled along, scanning the treeline for anypony she could find.
"Where did everypony go?" she thought out loud, blissfully unaware of the barrel sticking out of a nearby bush slowly zeroing in on her tank's large lower hull plate.
"Are we playing hide and..." she was interrupted by a 'Ping!', her Leichttraktor came to a complete stop.
TaCAS' frantic voice shouted, "Our fuel tank is hit! We're on fire!"
"Oww! Hothothothothothothot..." Pinkie paused as she noticed a High Explosive shell flying towards her.
"Aww, you're no fun at all!"
Twilight froze up at the sound of cannon fire followed by a loud explosion, she saw another rhombus on her mini-map fade away.
"Friendly vehicle knocked out!" TaCAS announced. Twilight slammed her fist down on the dashboard in frustration.
She took another deep breath, "Alright, we can still win this, we can still win this," however, her confidence was dwindling by the second.
"Have you seen anything yet, Fluttershy?"
"No," replied the timid pegasus, nervous since Dash was taken out.
Rarity reversed behind Fluttershy, focusing on her left flank where the enemy would most likely come from.
"Umm, Rarity, are you watching our right flank?' those few words made Rarity stop in her tracks. At that moment, a barrage of shells rained down on them from their right flank. In panic, the two tankers bumped into each other and desperately tried to turn their turrets around. Rarity tried to return fire, but the shot harmlessly flew overhead.
"The main gun is damaged! It can't fire accurately!"
Rarity could only place her face in her hands and sigh with annoyance, as the enemy team whittled her down. Fluttershy tried to get away, but she forgot that her tank was situated near a plateau overlooking a lake. She screamed as her tank slid into the water, one of her tracks sustaining critical damage from the impact. She could only watch as another tank casually drove up to the plateau to finish her off.
"Guess it's up to us now!" Twilight exclaimed, as another two rhombuses faded away.
"Ye...aw shoot!" Applejack shouted as two shots nearly hit her.
"They're coming, get ready!" Twilight said, aiming her gun to her right. A few tanks came into view.
Twilight attempted to fire, but a shell hit her gun, disabling it.
"The main gun suffered critical damage! It won't fire!"
Twilight immediately got behind cover. Not a simple task, given how large her tank was. She checked her head-up display, she noticed that she and her friends had managed to get zero kills in this whole battle. She threw her head and hands up, this entire fiasco was finally getting to her.
"I ain't goin' down without a fi..." an Armor Piercing shell ended Applejack mid-sentence.
Now, Twilight knew just how exposed she was, she tried to back away, but a High Explosive shell penetrated her tank's paper-thin armour and exploded in the engine, utterly destroying it.
"Critical engine damage! We're stuck here!"
Twilight helpless watched as the enemy tanks opened fire on her. Frustrated, she slammed her head on the dashboard as her tank was enveloped in a bright light.
"That could have gone a lot smoother," Rainbow Dash remarked, as the Harmony Tankers teleported back into the camp. Their tanks were automatically repaired and their ammunition resupplied.
"It would-" Twilight emerged from her tank, "-if you had listened to me and stuck to the plan!"
"Wait, " Rainbow Dash emerged from her tank, "Are you saying this was all my fault?"
"Yes! You should know better than to run out into the open like that!"
"Well, I..."
"Enough! Both of you, you better get along or we're gonna get nowhere in this competition!" Applejack exclaimed, shoving the two ponies apart.
"Hmph, this is an...interesting sight."
The Harmony Tankers looked, as a grey mare in a black uniform walked over. She was followed by a large brown minotaur, the black suit he wore bulged with every movement, as if his impressively muscular frame threatened to burst out of it at any given moment. Beside him was another mare, she was slightly shorter than the other mare and had a midnight blue coat and a red mane, a look of boredom plastered on her face.
Behind them were three stallions, wearing near identical black suits. The tallest one had a light brown coat, a dark brown mane and cerise eyes. The stallion was whispering to a much shorter, red stallion with a steel grey mane and cerulean eyes, though one appeared to be clouded as if the color had faded way. Another light brown stallion with a black mane walked alongside, a rather serious expression on his face, though there appeared to be a look of uncertainty in his dark brown eyes.
Applejack groaned as they approached, "Twilight..."
"Yes, Applejack?"
"Remember yesterday when I said I think I might've found 'Trixie The Second'?"
Twilight put a finger to her chin, trying to recount the events of yesterday, "Yes, you did."
The grey mare turned to the two stallion whispering behind her back, "Did I say you two could talk?"
The two stallions' conversation immediately halted, both of them faced the mare.
"No..."
"No, what?" the mare's glare hardened.
The stallions rolled their eyes simultaneously, "No...Honorable Leader..."
The mare continued to glare at them, not amused in the slightest, "An improvement. But if you two defy me again, I'll make sure Maime here will...'teach you some respect'."
The minotaur growled in response, the stallions shivering involuntarily.
"Well-" Applejack pointed to the grey mare, "-there she is."
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the country mare..."
Applejack grunted, "Stygian..."
"Oh goody!" Stygian replied, her words dripping with sarcasm, "you remember my name, ten points to you!"
Twilight put a hand to her forehead, "Oh brother..."
"And it looks like you brought your friends along too. As if that will make any difference," she scoffed, "Why don't you step aside and let some more...competent ponies take part in this tournament."
Rainbow Dash was outraged, "We're just as competent as everypony around here! Especially you!"
"Oh really? You all think you're better than us, the Schutzstaffel?" Stygian pointed to a large screen, where the replay of the battle was displayed, "With skills like that? Why don't you come see how we fight?"
Rainbow Dash was about to make some sort of half-witted insult, but Twilight responded first, "Sure..."
"What?"
"Rainbow Dash, this is a good opportunity to see how we can improve our tactics to win this tournament," Twilight whispered.
Rainbow Dash grunted, "Alright, but just for the sake of winning this," pointing a finger at Twilight.
The Harmony Tankers followed the Schutzstaffel to another area. There were several tanks sitting around, there were two large grey tanks, a massive tan brown tank with an equally large gun, another smaller tan brown tank, a large green Self-Propelled Gun and a smaller green tank.
Twilight walked over to the information board and scrutinised the battle's details.
"Come along now, the replay's starting," Twilight walked over to the screen. A cluster of tanks could be seen, each bearing the tankers' cutie mark, like all others.
"Let's get this show on the road!" a familiar voice could be heard on the screen. The tanks moved off, appearing to be veering off in whatever direction they felt like.
"Hey! We have to stick together!" shouted a voice.
"Don’t worry your little head, Wind," somepony replied, "Me and Gilda will take care of everything!"
"Gilda?" Rainbow Dash blurted out in shock.
"Yeah! We'll get this battle over and done with before you know it!" replied Gilda. Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her ears.
"Well, she's competitive and likes being 'cool'. Do you really think she'll not show up?"
"I guess you're right..."
"I don't see anypony..." the two tankers had driven into a valley, a large war-damaged bridge crossing it.
"Aw shit!" the green tank destroyer was hit by several shots, and began to back away, "It's a trap!"
"Ammunition rack is hit! But at least it didn't explode!"
The two tanks returned fire, their shots harmlessly bounced off the enemy tank's frontal armour.
"We didn't even scratch them!"
"Dammit!"
Another shell struck the tank destroyer's side, "Track hit! We're immobilized!"
"Yeah! No shit!" Fluttershy cowered at the stallion's harsh words.
Suddenly, a medium-sized green tank drove off the ridge, and fell straight towards the tank destroyer.
"Are you bucking kid..." was all the stallion could say before the green tank crushed the tank destroyer.
"That was cool...but...well shit!" Gilda tried to reverse, but an Armor Piercing shell destroyed her tank's engine.
"We've lost all of our engine power!"
"Yes! I'm well aware of that! Stop announcing everything that's happening!" Gilda exclaimed angrily.
"But it's all part of my protocol!"
"Just...no! Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?"
"One of our fuel tanks was ruptured! We've got a fire!"
"Then why didn't you say somethi..." a High Explosive shell ended her mid-sentence.
"She never changes, does she?" Pinkie asked
"Nope..." Rainbow Dash replied.
The camera focused on a greenish blue Self-Propelled Gun.
"Okay, 4 against 6..." sighed a mare's voice, "See anything, Thunder?"
"Yeah, sending coordinates right...crap!"
"What is it?"
"They've seen me! I'm taking fire! Son of a..." an explosion confirmed Thunder's fate.
"Now it's 3 against 6 and we've lost both our scouts. Not a good day to be an arty..."
A large 'Boom!' echoed around the battlefield, a projectile flew towards the SPG.
"Nope, not at all..."
'KABOOM!'
"Wow, they're good..." Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash.
"They're probably just lucky."
The camera shifted to another greenish blue tank.
"Where the heck are you all?" muttered the griffon.
'Ping!'
"Crap..." the griffon tried to turn around to attack the grey enemy tank, another shot hit the tank as the grey tank circled around the greenish blue one.
"We've lost a track!"
"Dammit, come on...come on!" the griffon tried to turn the turret around to retaliate, but it was no good.
'Boom!'
"Woo! One left! This should be easy!" Crimson exclaimed, as he drove his tank out of the valley.
"Yeah!" Dust replied, but his elation quickly turned into fear, "Mouse!"
"Mouse? Seriously, what are you..." Cimmerian rotated her turret, and came face-to-face with a mammoth grey tank.
"Oh...Maus..."
"Ping!"
"The track's been destroyed, we can't move!"
"Alright then," Cimmerian fired back at the Maus.
Meanwhile, Stygian, Dust and Crimson sneaked behind the Maus and aimed at its weaker rear armour. Their guns loaded with Armor Piercing Composite Rigid shells.
"Look out!"
"Pinkie, he can't hear you..."
"Oh, right..."
The three tanks shot in perfect unison, the mighty Maus was reduced to a pile of scrap metal. As the tanks were engulfed in a white light, the replay ended.
"And that," Stygian boasted, "is how a competent team fights."
"Well, wait and see, cause the Harmony tankers are coming to get you!" Rainbow shouted.
"Oh really?" Stygian replied, in a sarcastic tone.
Applejack watched as Cellum opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out. She had noticed the slight frown on his face the moment the Schutzstaffel walked towards them.
"Something's up with that stallion," she muttered to herself.
She was right, Cellum was deep in thought, remembering what happened a few minutes ago...
"Jeez! If we keep this up, it's going to get boring for all of us!" Cimmerian complained, "Especially me!"
"We're not here to have...fun, Cimmerian!" Stygian glowered at her, "We're here to win this tournament!"
"Well, at least we should get to fight teams that are actually good."
Stygian scoffed, and approached the other team.
"Hey, look out, here she comes," Blazing Burst said.
"Too bad you lost, looks like you got caught in our 'stampede'," Stygian said haughtily.
The team leader, Wind Shear, simply ignored her.
"No words? No insult or anything?"
Wind turned away with a 'hmph'.
"You dare to ignore me!" Stygian shouted, her rage began build up inside of her, "Do you know who I am?"
"As if I care..." Wind replied calmly.
"Well, this should show you!" Stygian raised her fist, and nopony stepped in to stop her doing what she did next, not even Wind's teammates. Even though none of them could bear to watch, even though it made Thunder cringe and Starry grow pale.
Cellum watched in disbelief as Stygian slugged the griffon.
But Wind simply got back up and glared at Stygian.
"Not enough?" Stygian's hand connected with the griffon's cheek once more, her boot simultaneously kicked him hard in the chest.
With a soft thump, Wind hit the ground, an arm over his stomach.
"Then you can stay down there!" Stygian began to walk away, intentionally kicking the fallen griffon in the hip.
"Sorry, didn't see you there," Stygian walked away, growling angrily at the rest of the Stampede Squad, who had all backed away from the mare.
Cellum remained silent.
"Hello? Equis to Cellum? Time to move!"
"Hmm? Oh...y-yes...Honorable Leader..."
Stygian looked closely at him, "Are you alright? You seem a little...distracted."
"It's nothing...Honorable Leader..." Cellum replied as the team climbed into their tanks.
As the Schutzstaffel moved off, Cellum's doubts about his 'Honorable Leader' began to grow and deepen.
