Ring of Red, Circle of Fire

Chapter Two

July 17th, 1954

Falcon Base Proving Grounds, Southern Equestria

April 23rd, 1960

In six years, the Southern Equestrian Army was actually shaping back up to be as strong as it had been during the 1950 war between North and South Equestria.

Twilight was currently tuning the massive dual Maybach engines on the back of her AFW; they were running poorly, a drawback that the Class-I shared with it's original panzer design, the old Germane Panzer VI Tiger. Running a small ramrod through the exhaust, she paused at a blockage, pulled the ramrod out, then jammed it back through, repeating until the blockage came loose. Smirking, she reached into her shirt pocket, and pulled out a box of cigarettes, flicking the box open, and pulling one out with her teeth. Slipping the box back into her pocket, she grabbed her lighter out of her field jacket, which sat on the scaffolding nearby, and lit the smoke, before placing the lighter back.

"Smoking's a bad habit, you know." Flash sighed, from where he hovered nearby, applying a fresh layer of red paint to his AFW's coat.

"Bite me, Lieutenant." She replied playfully. "They help with the nerves."

Flash frowned, dipping his brush back into his paint can. "Still a poor excuse to smoke. They say those things cause cancer." He paused. "And what's got you worried?"

Twilight paused to take a drag on her smoke. "An army pilot's supposed to arrive later today with the new experimental Class-III AFW being built by Porsche. It's supposed to go through combat training today, as part of it's proof of concept run."

"And? What's so nerve-wracking about that?"

"It's a Porsche design, for one." Twilight frowned.

"Who's Porsche?"

"Doktor Porsche was a designer of experimental tanks from the Second World War, and one of the Pioneers of AFW combat. Ever hear of the Porsche Tiger? It's what my AFW is modeled after, actually."

"I've heard of the Tiger, but...uh...sorry if I'm wrong, but didn't Henschel make them?"

"No, you're right. Porsche and Henschel both had competing designs for the Tiger I tank, but ultimately Henschel's design was chosen over Porsche's. All remaining Porsche Tiger chassis were converted to the Ferdinand tank destroyer.

"Ok. Why'd they chose the Henschel design? Cheaper?"

"That, and the Porsche's engines had a bad habit of catching fire during operation. Not to mention how complex they were to build, in comparison to the still rather complex Henschel. Another notable design of Porsche's was the Maüs. And as an AFW pilot, I'm sure you also got to see diagrams of Der Ratte LandKreuzer and Der P-1500 Monster, built for the Schwerer-Gustav?"

"....I...Think I see why you're nervous now. Really? The land cruiser?"

"I hope they didn't turn a LandKreuzer into a bloody AFW. I think I'd have an aneurysm."

Flash snorted, and seizing his chance, yanked the cigarette out of Twilight's mouth, dousing it and flicking it away. "Just relax, ma'am, I'm sure it'll be fine... And besides, Smoking's bad for you."

The mare frowned, and rolled her eyes. "Get back to painting, Lieutenant."

"Heh. Duly noted, ma'am."

The AFW pilot and the new Class-III AFW arrived later in the day, leaving the AFW inside the main garage, under heavy guard. Twilight wasn't even allowed to tune the thing, as she did with every other AFW, as they claimed it was already tuned by the manufacturer.

"Lieutenants Twilight Von Weizegger and Flash Sentry, and Captain Soarin to the command center. Repeat, Lieutenants Twilight Von Weizegger and Flash Sentry, and Captain Soarin to the command center."

Pushing her goggles back up onto her head, as her flat cap was stuffed in her rear pants pocket, Twilight wiped her face of sweat, motor oil, and axle grease, and cracked her neck. "Here we go."

The command center was actually quite a simple affair, being set up in an old farmhouse that the army had purchased off its old owners. That being said, it had the latest in military hardware, and was fully staffed all around the clock.

Twilight was, apparently, the last to enter of the three pilots that had been requested, as both Lieutenant Sentry and a Pegasus Stallion with a light blue coat and dark blue mane, wearing Southern Equestrian pilot fatigues and a Captain's bars, stood at ease in front of the base commandant, a faux alicorn like Twilight herself, with a multicolored blue, pink, and deadpan green mane, Brigadier General Celestia Solaris. Twilight gave the mare a salute, which was quickly returned.

"Sorry to make you wait for me, I was tuning a Wander-Panzer." Twilight supplied, using the original Germane designation of AFW, which stood for walking armor.

Celestia nodded, removing her small rimless glasses to polish them, before placing them back across her muzzle. "That is quite alright, Fraü Leutnant, we're still ahead of schedule." She then cleared her throat, as she addressed the three pilots. "Today, we will be field testing the new Type Drei or Type Three AFW, piloted by Captain Soarin of the Southern Equestrian tank corps. You three will load training rounds, and test-fire the new nine centimeter rifled guns on the type three in a mock-battle. As usual, Close Quarters Combat is strictly prohibited, as we don't want to damage any systems. You have half an hour to prepare your AFWs, at which point I expect you out on the field. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am, General." Flash replied, to which Celestia nodded.

"Excellent. Dismissed, everypony."

A half hour later, Celestia exited the command center, and made her way across the small base to the old grain silo, which towered over the low rolling plains that made up the countryside, flying straight to the top to save time. Landing gracefully on top, she opened a hatch in the old silo's roof, and slipped in, closing it behind her.

Her sister was already inside, binoculars around her neck and officer's cap sitting neatly on the nearby table, while she slowly sipped from a bottle of Prench Wine- Port, today, according to the label. "Would it bother you too much to use the ground entrance, Sister?" Luna teased, setting down her half empty wine glass next to the ham radio dominating most of a side table, as she gazed out the large viewing window, overlooking the practice fields. From the silo, they had an excellent viewing field for mock battles.

"I suppose, Lu, but you know how much I love flying." Celestia chuckled back.

"Mhm. Then you should have joined the Luftwaffe." Luna grinned, handing Celestia a second pair of binoculars.

"Heh. Somehow, I don't think that would have ended well, with the way The Blitz went."

Luna nodded absentmindedly, as Celestia poured herself her own glass of Port. "Mhm, true. The Tommies did kick the Luftwaffe's teeth in. One must definitely respect the RAF for their tenacity during that battle."

"Agreed. Oh look, the Wanzers are heading out."

"Wanzers? They aren't Wander-Panzers, Tia. I haven't seen one of those since 1945, and I doubt you have either, after the name change to AFW, when Germaney started re-organizing the army."

Celestia shrugged, sipping at her port, as the three AFWs moved into their starting positions. "I still like the old name, danke."  The AFWs halted, having reached their spots, so Celestia brought the ham radio's microphone over to her muzzle, as she twisted the knobs to the main frequency that all three AFWs were using. "Alright, Pilots. You may begin combat procedures." She ordered gently, setting the microphone back on the table. "so, Lulu, who do you think will win?"

Luna shrugged, noting the aide that came rushing up the stairs, out of breath. "Could be Weizegger, if she gets around her maneuverability issues, could be Sentry, if luck favors him, and if he uses the mobility of his AFW and it's shield to his advantage. However, even without CQC allowed, I believe that Herr Soarin' will win, due to his prior experience, and his AFWs capabilities." She then turned to the aide. "Jawohl, Sergeant? Is there something you need?"

"Fraü commanders, we have a problem!"

As Weizegger prepped the gun on her AFW, the comms crackled to life. "Hey, Twilight, right?" It was Soarin', as could be told by his voice. The gruff pegasus was both a veteran of the Second World War, and of the First Equestrian War, and a hero of sorts in the Southern Equestrian AFW corp.

Twilight shot him a reply. "That's, correct, Herr Soarin'. Vas ist los?"

"Are you an Equestrian, or are you Germane? It's not that clear to me, to be honest." He inquired, a curious edge to his voice, as if he was annoyed by something.

Twilight blinked, shrugging mostly to herself. "My mother's Equestrian, sure, but my father's Germane, and I was born in Brandenburg, Germaney, so I'm Germane. Why do you ask?"

Soarin' took a deep breath, then sighed unhappily. "It makes what I'm going to do a fair bit easier." His AFW, which was nearby, kicked it's motor into gear, marching quickly in Twilight's direction. At first glance, it didn't seem like the AFW had any guns, which confused the gebirgsjager. The experimental AFW then suddenly slid to a stop, and much to Twilight's surprise, it spun it's arms backwards, revealing two cannons, that reminded Twilight of a panther's 76mm PaK. Both guns fired, one shell flying harmlessly past Twilight's mech, while the other hit it square in the chest. As a result, Weizegger's AFW got knocked back, and Twilight's head started spinning. The new AFW packed a punch, especially since that was training ammunition.

"Pilots are to cease all combat actions effective IMMEDIATELY!" Luna's voice angrily squawked over the radio, as Twilight wiped her now bloody nose. She then immediately pulled her AFW backwards, as Soarin' narrowly missed with a punch aimed at her AFW's Cannon arm.

"Hey, Sheißekopf, Celestia said no CQC!" Twilight raged over the radio, her adrenaline pumping. Something told her something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Weizegger, Sentry, stay clear! One of the guards found the AFW techs for the Class-III dead, and the blueprints are missing!"

Soarin' chuckled mirthlessly over the radio. "Guess the jig is up then. Thanks for letting me borrow your new AFW, commander! It handles like a beauty!" He dodged a shot from Weizegger's Cannon, before spinning about and blasting Sentry's AFW point blank with both cannons, knocking it over. "Now if you don't mind, I'm taking this puppy on a test drive! Catch you later!"

"ARRGH! Come back here with that!" Twilight screeched, slamming her AFW squarely into Soarin's. The move nearly knocked both AFWs over, though Soarin' managed to stay upright, shoving Twilight's AFW backwards before blasting it with one of his two freshly loaded cannons.

"I don't think so, lady! Oh well, too bad you can't even hit me with that supposedly superior PaK of yours!" Soarin' taunted, backpedaling, and loosing his second shot, which went wide, sailing by the old silo close enough for Celestia and Luna to hear the screech of the shell.

Twilight grit her teeth, and shoved her cannon forward, firing randomly, without bothering to pause to aim. The shell, much to both Twilight and Soarin's surprise, slammed straight into one of Soarin's guns, disabling it.

"Damn! You actually hit me! I'm impressed!" Soarin' laughed, still retreating. "But, I've got places to go! Ponies to meet! See ya!" His egotistical laughter, more than anything else, made Twilight want to cave his skull in with her AFW.

But first, "Hey, Flash, are you alright?!" She switched to a different channel, hoping he'd catch on.

"Ugh, yeah, I'm good. This thing isn't built to get hammered like that. Hull integrity readout's giving me a steady 65% though. Just, uh, need a little pick me up, if you catch my drift."

Twilight snorted at his poor humor, and used her AFW's free arm to pull Flash's AFW to an upright position.

"Commander, do we have clearance to pursue Captain Soarin'?" Twilight requested, switching from the Armor Piercing rounds she'd hastily loaded to her more effective HEAT shells, which had nearly three times the armor penetration.

"Negative, Lieutenant. DO NOT pursue. In your current conditions, you're no match for the Class-III. Is that understood?" Celestia replied, with just a hint of anger in her voice.

"But Ma'am! If we don't-"

"Is. that. Understood, Oberleutnant?"

"...Jawohl. Come, Flash. We're falling back to base."

Flash sighed. "Right behind you."

Twilight flicked off her radio, and tossed her hat against the radio in disgust, before slamming a fist into one of the steel walls of the AFW. "God Dammit all!"

She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, slumping back into her seat. "...dammit..."