It was past midnight but we didn't need the sunrise. The sky itself was on fire. I've already lost track of the time we spent fighting in those narrow streets of Canterlot. I remember going through my old ravaged neighborhood and thinking about what the world had come to because of our conflicting armies... But we didn't have time for that kind of frivolty. We were there to fight, and push back the Sunbutts to the Crystal Empire. I can still remember the commander giving us orders non-stop like some kind of clockwork machine... We were with him for already two years but that behavior was as scary as it was the first day...

	"T-34 at 10 o'clock, 30 meters! Turret rotation fifty-five degrees, load armor piercing!" screamed the tank commander to his crew.

	"Armor piercing up!"

	"Target in sight commander!"

	"Fire!"

	A massive deflagration shook the whole tank. The round left the cannon and hit right on the lower glacis of the T-34. At first, nothing happened. Seconds later, flames were visible on the outside right before the crew bolted out of their green tank, which exploded instants later.

	"Target dead commander," reported the gunner. 

	"Great," answered the commander. "Focus, ask Ursa Minor how they're doing on the other side."

	"Aknowledged commander," said the radio operator. "Ursa come in, Emil here, how are you holding the left flank?"

	"Ursa here, we are holding just fine Emil," came the crackled voice in the radio. "The tanks keep coming steadily but we keep killing 'em over."

	"Ursa Minor, Emil's commander here. I want you to advance up the plaza ahead and meet us there, I think we can force the Sunbutts to retreat."

	"Roger that Emil, our tracks are spinning."

	"Driver, get us to that crossing up front. Medium speed, watch out for ennemies. Gunner, watch out for any tanks or infantry ahead, same for you radio."

	"Roger that commander"

	The gears rumbled and the tank shook a little before moving forward. Crushing everything in its way, from discarded weapons to dead ponies, it moved forward on the road, striking fear in the heart of the Solar soldiers who were trying to hold off against it. A few daredevil Sunbutts tried to do something, but as soon as they got out of the buildings and on the road they got shredded apart by the heavy, steady fire of the two machine guns. 

	"They must be desperate to launch such suicide attacks commander," said the gunner in a grave voice. "I've seen the griffons fight but none of them had this level of determination. They're will is really made of iron, you gotta give them that."

	"They're fighting for all their hopes now Blitzkrieg. They know that if they fail there, all will fall, including their homeland. The same will happen to us if we don't win this. Look up, MG nest at 9 o'clock, turret rotation thirty degrees, load high explosive!"

	"High exposive up!"

	"Ready to fire commander!"

	"Fire!" 

	The two tanks made quick work of the resistance which fell back on their positions. Reaching the large plaza, the two commanders thought it would be sage enough for their crew to get out and breathe some fresh air after hours cramped in the overheated tanks.

	"So, how was it on your side Ursa?" asked Emil's commander, as he jumped down his tank's hull.

	"Not that bad. A few T-34s, but nothing too hard for us. Want a smoke?" he asked, handing over a cigarette carton to his pair.

	"Much appreciated," said the commander, taking a cigarette with his mouth and lighting it. "Do we have news from the rest of Manticore?"

	"Yeah, we got some when we were on the move. We're actually the lucky ones here. From what I've heard, a dozen or so tanks had mechanical problems but are still holding off. It also seems that we got several losses on the eastern side, but the medium tanks from Dragon got there in time to assist Manticore."

	"I would be happy not to be there with them. I'm gonna go contact some combat engineers," said the commander, showing his tank. "See if they can set up some..."

	All of a sudden, a familiar whirling sound was heard. Their hearts skipping a beat, everypony turned to their right to see their worst nightmare: two dreaded IL-2s, known by their enemies as "the flying tank".

	"COMBAT POSITIONS EVERYPONY, NOW!" screamed the two commanders. "SCRAM, WE GOT STURMOVIKS ATTACKING!"

	The tankponies were already rushing to their vehicles way before the orders were given. They all jumped inside and got their stuff running as fastly as possible. If they stayed outside, they knew death was the only possible issue. They got inside not a second too late to hear the cannon rounds bouncing off the turret.

	"Blitzkrieg, get the coax up now! Try to hit those IL-2s. Driver, full backward, try to get us into one of those buildings now! If we stay there any longer, we..."

	The IL-2s had circled back for a second strike, this time with rockets and bombs. The rockets hit violently and exploded against the turrets, shaking the whole tank heavily. The crew could hear the deafening thunder of the bombs exploding. Their heads were sent around like ragdolls, painfully hitting the metal sides.

	"Everyone's okay?" asked the commander, before receiving vague responses from his crew." Ursa, come in," said the commander after picking up his radio. "Ursa? Ursa?"

	"U-ursa minor here," said a fast and gibberish voice. "I-it's the radio operator! The rockets killed all the crew in the turret, my driver is bleeding heavily now. I-I need to get out of here immediately!"

	"OK lad, I want you to get into your driver's seat, and..."

	"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS COMMANDER!" The voice was now screaming in the radio, punctuated by heavy breathing. "ALMOST ALL MY CREW IS DEAD, I NEED TO GET OU.."

	A second wave of explosions shook the tank, this time much closer. The commander felt a warm liquid running on his right arm's fur. He turned around, and he saw his loader's body shred by shrapnel coming from the turret's inside. He tried to reach "Ursa" again with his radio, but he only heard a static noise. He urged his driver to back up faster, to get in the apparent security of the ruins. A last wave of bombs fell down, to the left of an abandonned tank, bringing down some buildings near it. 

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