The Apple sisters kept a full gallop until they slammed into the doors of Twilight Sparkle's library, the sudden intrusion sent the recently ascended Alicorn flying into the roof of the hallowed oak tree and crashing back down with a resounding thud.

While Applejack would apologize later, the panicked Earth Pony's most immediate response was to grab the barely conscious mare's shoulders and shake her back to awareness. "TWILIGHT!WENEEDYOURHELP!THERE'SSOMEFREAKYMONSTERTEARIN'UPTHEEVERFREE!!!!"

Shaken from unconsciousness to a panic, Twilight used her magic to suspend the frightened farm pony in midair long enough to figure out what had just happened. "Uuuuugh, A-Applejack? What in Celestia's name do you think you're doing!? You almost gave me a heart attack! TWICE!!"

"U-um, Twilight? We really need yer help." Applebloom whimpered. It was now that Twilight realized the exact nature of the madness that had taken hold of the two down to earth ponies: Terror.

Twilight set Applejack back down and asked in a firm but caring voice. "What happened?"


Applebloom narrowly dodged the Chimera's claws only to come face to face with the fangs of it's snake head. She screamed in fright as she fell on her side and scrambled under the beast to avoid a killing blow.

But the Chimera wasn't stupid, it leapt backward and spun in midair, landing with its front paws on either side of the filly and its tiger and goat head leering at her with victorious grins...grins that melted into confusion when the fire swamps around them began to shake.

Boom...Boom...Boom...BOOM!! Trees were torn from the roots as a ginormous metal box with legs, a crane claw crawling with lightning bolts, and a multi-barreled cannon tore onto the scene.

The walking box pointed it's cannon at the Chimera and the barrels spun and spat thunderbolts into the monster's body.

The beast collapsed as Applebloom scrambled out from under it and ran a safe distance away before turning back to see what had happened...she knew Luna was going to be busy in her dreams for the next millennium.

The Chimera was blown apart! Its stomach and chest were exposed to the elements, its snake and tiger head had both been removed from what little remained, and to add insult to...death, the walking box stomped over to the body, pointed its cannon at the lifeless goat head, and turned it into a smoothie with one shot before turning it's attention to Applebloom.

The young filly could only stare slack jawed. Taking in more details of the thing that had saved her. It was hard to tell in the light of the fire swamps, but the walking box seemed to be mostly green, like the color of leaves, with a yellow secondary color. It was also covered in pieces of paper that were held in place by wax stamps and had some sort of insignia on it that looked like an angry bug. Applebloom thought it couldn't get any stranger...and then it talked.

Make haste to the nearest bunker, I cannot guarantee your safety. It said with a monotone voice that sounded...wrong.

"Huh-wha-bu-but it's dead!! What're you talkin' about!? An' what are you!?" Applebloom half screamed as she tried, and failed, to make sense of what she was looking at.

The thing twitched, as if Applebloom had confused it. But then, there was a rustle in the bushes nearby.

Applebloom turned and barely made out the image of a squirrel before it and the tree it was climbing on exploded into gore and splinters.

RUUUUN!!! The thing shouted as it began firing its cannon in every direction, its waist turning a full 360 degrees as it laid waste to everything in its path.


"And then I hauled flank as quick as I could, ran into Applejack, and then we both figured that you could do somethin' ta help...if only by tellin' the Princesses." Applebloom concluded bashfully.

"That's...about all I can think of. Besides the legs, it sounds like you were saved by a tank!" Twilight said, barely believing her own words.

Huh!? Bu-but tanks ain't real! I thought they only existed in stories." Applebloom stated. And she was right.

Tanks were nothing more than figments of the imagination brought to life by the legendary storyteller Grim Darkness and his numerous tales of how Ponies would've had to survive if their world didn't have the numerous wonders and miracles that it did. Hearth's Warming, Starswirl the Bearded, and especially the Royal Sisters. Twilight was begrudgingly grateful the legendary author had passed away centuries before he could possibly traumatize Twilight with what would've happened if she and her friends hadn't stopped Nightmare Moon, Discord, or the others.

"It's true that tanks are nothing more than theoretical war machines we will thankfully never need, but the science behind them is plausible enough that some other creatures could've built them...with legs." Twilight explained, causing Applebloom to go pale.

"Well whatever it is, he don't seem too right in the head. We better figure out a way ta stop him before he hurts somepony." Applejack stated.

"Agreed, I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia. I want you to take Applebloom home and gather the others...we may need to use the Elements on this thing...Oooohhh, this is so exciting!!" Twilight stomped her front hooves rapidly at the thought of researching the mysterious tank-like thing. Applejack was shocked for all of a second before she remembered who Twilight was.


Dearest Twilight, I have received your letter and agree with your assessment of the situation. Please keep in mind that while this mysterious creature is violent, he is not necessarily evil. Otherwise, he would not have protected young Applebloom from the unfortunate Chimera.

Approach him with caution and an open mind. Be safe my student.

-Princess Celestia

Twilight nodded in agreement as if her mentor could see her through the parchment. "Alright girls, is everypony ready?"

A chorus of various agreements rang out. "Eeyup." "Oh Yeah!" "Of Course." "I-if you say so." "WHOO-HOO! LET'S GO WRANGLE A TANK!!" And with that, the six Ponies that have saved Equestria numerous times set off into the Everfree Forest to find a new friend...or face a new threat.

The minutes turned to hours as the group made their way to the fire swamps. It wasn't difficult to find the creature's trail, though Applejack made sure to keep Fluttershy from seeing what remained of the dead Chimera.

The forest was torn to pieces in the creature's wake, as if he had deliberately put effort into destroying the trees around him, but some he seemed to have avoided, like he went out of his way not to harm them.

sniff sniff "P.U.! He definitely didn't shoot a party out of this thing." Pinkie Pie exclaimed after smelling one of the long metal cylinders that littered the area around them.

Twilight took up another in her magic and examined it. It was made of brass and was almost an inch and a half in diameter. The inside stank of chemicals, and the outside was stamped with a double headed eagle that had a blindfold over one of it's heads.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Rainbow Dash squeed as she looked over Twilight's shoulder. "IT REALLY IS A TANK!!! THESE ARE SHELL CASINGS!!!"

"I thought those things were supposed to be bigger than this." Applejack stated.

"Well yeah, but you can only fire one at a time. This dude's cannon must be made for dealing damage at a faster pace. Probably wouldn't do much against another tank, but against bad guys...ooooooh boy! I can't wait to see this thing up close!"

"And what happens if he decides to turn that cannon on you?" Rarity stated.

"Well duh, I'll fly faster than he can shoot. Besides, while a tank may be awesome, there's no way it'll beat the Elements." Rainbow Dash proclaimed while waving her hoof dismissively.

"If we're lucky, it won't come to that. Let's just find him and see what we're dealing with." Twilight said. And with that, the 6 ponies followed the path of destruction.


Audius fought with all his might. He was surrounded on all sides, his brothers were dying all around him, and the silent horrors that resembled Astartes gave no pause or respite.

He swung his sword to and fro, destroying chain weapons and dodging bolt rounds as the enemy closed in around him, leaving only one place to go...a clear spot in the midst of the plaza that his every instinct told him to avoid.

He fought desperately to carve open a way out, but he had lost his left arm and his bolter along with it, and these madmen were far more gifted in melee combat than the guerrilla fighters of the Mantis Warriors.

Slowly, begrudgingly, he gave ground until he was close enough for the enemy to spring their trap.

His teeth itched, the telltale sign of teleportation. A shadow loomed over him, lightning crackled as chainblades growled hungrily, and Audius turned to face his destiny, his death.


The further they went, the worse it got. Monsters of the Everfree and more mundane animals alike were either blown to paste or cut to pieces by what Twilight could only assume was the creature's crane-like claw.

Their progress had slowed considerably...especially after they had seen a Manticore still alive despite it's front right leg being blown off. 5 of the girls thought they would have to turn back to try and help the creature, but Fluttershy had known better. She laid next to it and sang a lullaby as it died...it hadn't taken two minutes.

Everypony was concerned. They had never faced something like this, and doubt was starting to set in. "Guys...do you think we should tell the Princesses to help us with this?"

Everypony paused when they realized Rainbow Dash had voiced their thoughts, but even Applejack avoided any jests about the Wonderbolt trainee's ego.

"That's...a good ide-" Twilight submission was halted in it's tracks by an angry roar, multiple angry roars...the roars of an angry Hydra.

Thoughts of abandoning the search were forgotten as the need to help creatures drove them forward at break neck speed. Something was being attacked by a Hydra! This evident fact overrode all other thoughts...including what was most likely being attacked.

The Elements Bearers burst onto the scene, shocked still when they realized it was the walking tank that was facing down the Hydra, and two of the beasts heads had already been severed.

The remaining three heads had concluded that attacking this creature was a fatal mistake and turned to flee...big mistake.

The tank bared it's claw, tearing into the Hydra's exposed flank with frightening ease. The lightning arcing across the claws added to it's cutting power so much that the claws didn't so much cut as pass through the ribs, lung, and heart of the Hydra.

The Ponies could only watch in horror as the deadliest predator in the Everfree collapsed with a thud...it was dead before it had begun to fall.

"...woah." Rainbow Dash whispered. Unfortunately, despite how restrained she had been in her awe, the tank still turned to them.

The six Ponies huddled closer together. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood in front of their friends, but knew better than to instigate the attack. But to their shock, the tank laughed.

Hehehehe, raise your heads little ones. You need not bow before me.

The Ponies looked at each other in confusion, Rainbow Dash turned back to clarify that they hadn't been bowing, but Twilight stopped her and made a more formal response. "Uh, g-greetings! My name is Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends. W-we came here to thank you protecting Applejack's sister, Applebloom, from the Chimera you...defeated."

"I thought we came to stop him from rampaging acro-mph!" Applejack shoved her into Pinkie Pie's mouth while the rest of the group got ready to run for their lives.

It is out duty as the Emperor's chosen to protect his servants from the horrors of the galaxy, but your gratitude is appreciated. The tank replied, apparently not registering Pinkie's slip.

That response raised a lot more questions. Who was this 'Emperor'? How was Applebloom it's servant? And...Galaxy!? "Uuum, I supposed I should've started with this, but who...or what are you?"

I am Audius of the seventh company. I came to visit a mortal relative. My sister's descendants. The tank, Audius, responded.

"Wait wait wait, hold up." Rainbow Dash called his attention as she flew up to him. "Are you saying that you're a Pony under there?" She knocked her hoof into his metal exterior three times.

Correct, I was once as human as you. Audius replied.

"Wait, HUMAN!!" Twilight shouted. And the others knew why, they remembered well her tales of retrieving her crown from Sunset Shimmer...but while the others were by the conversation, Applejack had a far more haunted expression. Don't tell me...

"Uh, you do know we're not human right?" Rainbow Dash asked. Audius focused on her.No...Astartes are not human, not after our augmentation.

"Not you! I mea-" "HE AIN'T GONNA GET IT!!" Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack and flew a pace backward at the look on her face. "Woah, AJ? Do you have something you wanna share?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah...I think...he's the same as mah Great Uncle Pineapple." Applejack explained, causing Pinkie Pie's hair to deflate. "You...you mean he-"

Audius had turned his attention to Applejack.Ah, you must be young Abigail. Tell me, does your grandmother yet live? I'm afraid it has been 6 decades since last I saw her.

Applejack eyed the tank, her breathing slow and heavy. "...Yeah...Granny's still alive...an' still tougher than most folks her age or mine."

Audius chuckled at that As expected of my sister. It is a truly unfortunate that only males can be augmented, she was always stronger than I, and would certainly have been a Captain by now.

"We'll uh...We'll take you to'er. Just gimme a minute with mah friends here." Applejack beckoned the others to her. They had watched the exchange with open confusion, but had trusted their friend knew what she was doing.

"Okay girls, here's the short version. I got an Uncle, few years older than Granny Smith. An' years fore I was born, his daughter got dragged off by a Timberwolf an' was never seen again." The others were visibly shocked to hear of something so horrible, but Pinkie Pie had already known.

"His daughter was a pink coated filly named Candy Apple. When he met me a few years ago...he thought I was her. I didn't know what to think of it until Nurse Redheart explained that he was mentally incapable of comprehending what had happened to her...and it looks something similar happened to Audius here." The sad party Pony explained.

"...Get to the bunkers...he told Applebloom to get to the bunkers...his home must've been attacked and..." Twilight didn't finish, she couldn't.

"...and tanks are supposed to fight wars that we would never have to fight." Rainbow Dash concluded, having lowered herself to the ground, no longer feeling the energy to keep herself aloft.

And so, Applejack escorted Audius to Sweet Apple Acres while Twilight reported their progress to the Royal Sisters and everypony else went home to ponder the mysteries of Audius.

Author's Note:

Fun fact: Audius' name is a tribute to Audie Murphy. The inspiration behind the Sabaton song To Hell and Back, which I plan to make Audius' theme song...as soon as my music dowloader starts WORKING AGAIN!! GAH! IT'S ONE THING AFTER THE FUCKING OTHER! RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Also, I gave him a lightning claw instead of the traditional arm of a Dreadnought, as his last conscience thought was to seek revenge on Tyberos.(also, I think it's cooler)

That'll about do it for this chapter, leave your thoughts in the comments below and I'll see you in the next one.