Four months ago, the Crystal Empire staged an attack that would begin what came to be known as the Northern War. Equestria has been on the back hoof ever since, losing ground tens of kilometers at a time through organized retreats. A few weeks ago, that changed. The Crystal army ran out of steam, and Equestrian high command saw fit to try and turn the tide while they had the chance. But before any major offensive, one must conduct some degree of reconnaissance - otherwise, how do you know what you're marching into?

This is a spin-off story inspired by and set in the same universe as Michael Spruce's Pony Tankers, taking place over a year before that story in the opening months of the invasion of Equestria. All of the hardware here is loosely based on the Second World War, in particular the earlier years, though obviously some liberties have been taken to make them appropriate for use by creatures who don't have fingers.