Steel ponies: Story # 0 prolog

for thousands of years ponies fought battles with golden armor clad soldiers charging into battle with lances of the finest steel glimmering in the light whilst they let out a battle cry. this was fine, for a while. however the might of the armor was small, and easy to bypass with a swing of a hammer or a strong lance. these kind of battles would mean the death of hundreds if not thousands of lives in gorey combat.

despite the old methods, the march of technological progression trudged onward. so on one cold rainy day in Manehatten an old general sat distraught within a coffee shop. his mind and belly was in knots upon hearing the casualties after the fight with the changelings inside the capitol.

“far too many” he grumbled. for many guards, their armor wasn't enough to stop a changeling's fangs. he stirred his warm drink and brought the mug to his lips then cast his saddened pale eyes out the window. he saw a mare rush to the subway entrance beneath a green umbrella. his mind wandered on how such a somewhat little object could protect her from the rain and allow for her to go where otherwise she wouldn’t.

the old soldier went back to his mug, most of the higher staff was convinced of heavier armor for the soldiers to wear. he groaned, it would make the guards slower and easier to attack. if only there was a way to combine the mobility of soldiers with the strength of heavy body armor.

it was then his brain clicked, of course. four days ago, some of the scientists from the Canterlot technical division had built a large machine that could do 100x what the strongest pony could do. it was motorized and built with a set of caterpillar tracks. they bragged that it could go anywhere and do anything.

he paid his tab and quickly trotted out the door and to the train station. the engineers were planning on using it as a farm tractor for the public. unless the general staff said otherwise. if he could convince at least one of the general staff on this idea. the problem that griefed him, would be solved.

the little tractor was taken back to Canterlot where it was then redesigned over and over to add armor, mobility, and another top secret project… the gun. after three weeks of near constant planing, it was done. the armored personnel carrier combat vehicle 1 (APCCV-1) sat on the cement of the Eastern proving grounds, several ponies had been summoned to see the machine. all four of the princesses, the captain of the guard and five others had been brought to witness such a momentous event.

a small podium was set up in front of the vehicle and very tired general stepped up and cleared his throat.

“first i would like to thank everyone for coming today to observe this titanic step forward for pony kind. with this new machine, no more will our soldiers fall in great numbers, no more will our brave young colts be caught under a changeling’s trap. now, now we shall start giveing our soldiers the best we can offer.”

the princesses nodded approvingly. the general bobbed and finished,

“tank you.” he flinched “ THANK you”  some of the five ponies snickered as the general gave the signal to start.

the huge motor on the machine roared to life startling most the ponies. the machine crept forward assuming a presence of power and grace. the machine was shown off for nearly an hour; driving across rough terrain, bypassing obstacles, taking damage, and to finish off, firing it’s turret mounted cannon. the blast shocked most of the observers save for a very pink pony who simply loved the sound and feel of the cannon’s howl with a very wide smile.

at the end, the machine rolled back into the garage and the ponies started asking questions. most were asked by the princesses but the last one was asked by an orange mare.

“i know y’all said it’s name. but, that a might much to recollect. got a short name for it?”

the general blinked, “well uh, um.”

it was then the pink mare shot up into the air like a spring,

“OH OH OH!! I KNOW I KNOW!” she rushed over and pointed to the dormant machine,

“it’s big and heavy and has a hard shell right?” she knocks on the bolted armored hull, she then zips over to the rose eyed mare near the back.

“and your turtle is big and heavy and has a hard shell, so” a yellow mare quietly interrupted the pink mare’s rush.

“tortoise” but pinkie didn’t notice. the pink mare stood before everypony by the podium.

“Sooo,” she inhales deeply.

“lets call it a tank!”