As the yellow sun rose on the horizon, the camp came to light. Built up overnight, it was an amalgamate of brute shapes, beasts of steel and birds of silver. Despite being covered in dirt, rust and metal patches, these physical traits did not make them look obsolete nor weak. It was instead like an old warriror's scars, showing how much the machines had been trough, how many rivers were crossed, towns were conquered, planes were shot down and vehicles were penetrated,  not to mention how many hits were survived. Most of the damaged tanks were Tigers, clearly distinguished by their size. The "Tigers" were among the most feared tanks on the battlefield, boasting about the Lunar army's general quality in its war machines, which was preferred over quantity. Even tough Celestia's Shermans and Lees were coming out in greater numbers, a Tiger could easily kill a fair number of them while sustaining little damage. 

	A few days ago, the 16th and 20th tank divisions left this camp. Their mission: take back Canterlot. Even though the city used to be the capital of all of Equestria, the recent events such as the bombing of Ponyville and the development of new long-range bombers from Luna left to desire on the wisdom of leaving all of Celestia's administrative buildings in range of the destructive weapons. The decision was chosen to relocate the administration to the much safer Crystal Empire, which was way too far for any current plane to even think of reaching. However, Canterlot still hold some prestige from the royal palace which was left there, but it was mostly sought after by the armies for its strategic location. Being built on a hill, and being near the Canterlot Caves iron mines, it was the best place to be in for miles around. The raw materials needed to build planes, tanks and other weapons were going to be in shortage soon, and the mines there were the biggest that had been found in all of Equestria. Taken with the fact that new fortifications had been recently built, Canterlot would be one though nut to crack, but not without a significant advantage.

	However, the operation did not go as planned. The divisions fell into an ambush when approaching Canterlot. Even when they fended off the attackers, more than a third of the 16th division and half of the 20th were put out of combat, without counting all the mechanical failures. But the orders did not change, the attack on Canterlot had to be done at any cost, and support from artillery and bombers was expected on the assault day. What wasn't taken in account was the new 85mm gun which now armed the new heavy Celestian tanks, and had much more penetrating power than the precedent 75 and 76.2mm ones, and also the introduction of the new and heavily armed Yak fighters. Bombers were quickly intercepted before they got into range, and the artillery had mostly been neutralized after a bold attack from Celestia. All those factors togheter lead to the massacre of what was left of the 16th and 20th division, with less than a dozen tanks escaping. Most of those had taken refuge in the actual Everfree forest, which was a dangerous but safer option than to stay near Canterlot. However, some did have knowledge of Ponyville and retreated to the destroyed town, which had been forgotten by most of Equestria.

	So there we are, in the ruins of the once lively town, Ponyville. Amongst the rubble stood a few buildings, which were hastily repaired using whatever could be found there. Comfort was less than minimal, once basic services like magic and running water soon became a luxury, or even an impossibility after the incident. The few ponies who stayed here where only there for three reasons: nostalgia, obligation, or because they were lying in their grave. The ones who were there for the first reason were considered fools, the ones who were there for the second reason were mostly the old or the extremely poor, and the ones who were there for the third reason were many. However, as the exception confirms the rule as it always does, there were a handful of young and once energic ponies who were there for the second reason.

	Yadayadayada, so goes on the prologue. Now, for what you actually came from.

	In the ruins there were two of those ponies, a grey pegasi mare and a blue stallion, scavenging in the small town.

	"I tell you Blitzkrieg, the commander is crazy! This -what does he call it, Ponyville?- place is literally right next to the biggest Sunbutt army division and he wants us to stay here for the whole time that our repairs will last!" Protested the stallion

	"I don't know, he does seem to have a certain knowledge of this place. Shouldn't we trust him Sturmovik? I mean he is older than us... So you know, more experience?"
	
	"Everyone knows old peoples are senile Blitz! They would be even worse than me if it wasn't for the fact they were all obsessed with social relations and friendship! Celestia bless the socially able."

	"He's not that much older than us silly!" Chuckled Blitzkrieg "Only maybe a few years, a few months. I don't know, after all he's been trough he does look a lot older."

	"Even still, you can't deny it's madness to try to find the spare parts needed to put "Emil" back in shape," responded Sturmovik, while moving on to the next house, "Why would a tank factory be established in such a small insignificant town? And why would there still be spare pieces left after so many years?"

	"You know the Sunbutts Sturmovik, they build anything anywhere, as long as it's safe. An underground factory in a small town is actually perfectly logical if you want to have a place where bombs can't do any damage. Or where people would probably never ever consider dropping bombs in the first place."

	"Well yeah, enough with this," said Sturmovik, annoyed. "Let's get back to the tank, see if they got anything else."

	The walk to "Emil" the Panzer VI Tiger was pretty long, as the pair had gone pretty far to scavenge. Being here for three weeks, they would probably be dead of dehydration if it wasn't for the fact there was a well nearby. Their rations of cider and hay were running out, but some nearby villagers were very hospitable, and there was a small plain near the town. Every day the same routine. Wake up, get water, scavenge, gather intelligence and repeat. The fact that their engine and transmission were heavily damaged did not make Ponyville a worse place to observe Canterlot and the surroundings for a possible new attack, as they knew of Luna's obsession with getting Canterlot back from Stallion. 

	The Tiger was stationned in an abandonned workshop to hide it from enemy airplanes. A bomb right in the turret was the last thing the crew needed after a major defeat. The engine covers were removed, and many broken pieces laid on the ground, next to the wrenches and sleeping bags. What used to be a fire was next to the three bags, as the commander insisted on sleeping inside the tank. A darker side of this story stood behind the tank, an approximate imitation of a moon contained in a sun, because no matter how heavy the propaganda was, the tradition of Celestia who once ruled the land stayed deep inside all the ponies, like any dogma a society has. This marked the grave of the loader of the tank, who died from his wounds, created by a shot to the side of the turret.

	"Stop!" said a  light beige colt getting out of the turret, a pistol in his mouth, "identify yourselves!"

	"Relax commander, it's me, Blitzkrieg and Sturmovik".

	"My commander, you should really try those calmatives I told you about," said a dark brown unicorn stallion appearing behind the tank. "you really need them for what's going on in your head now"

	"There's nothing wrong, just combat reflexes. This is what saves your life Wirbelwind, not anything else." replied the commander, holstering his pistol.