Broken steel, and shattered lives
Chapter 1
Broken steel, and shattered lives.
Pen Scratch stopped looking up from the piece of paper that was levitating in front of him. A slight breeze tried it’s best to pull the piece of paper from his magic’s grasp. The breeze was nice though. The summers in Canterlot could get pretty warm, but often the winds would do their best to cool it down. The coal grey unicorn looked up at the house he had stopped in front of. Big black numbers labeled the house seventy-two. This was the place then. Scratch walked towards the door, pausing momentarily. His heart was thundering in his chest, his stomach fluttered, and he felt dizzy. He was excited, yet terrified, something an exuberant friend of his called Nervouscited.
Taking in a deep breath, the unicorn lifted his hoof and knocked on the door. He waited for a few minutes. He couldn’t tell if he wanted the door to open or not. He jumped, as the door opened. A small amount of dread filled him.
“Hello” a soft voice said. The voices owner shocked scratch a little bit. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he knocked on the door, but a lovely, young, light blue unicorn was not something he had imagined.
“yes” he stammered out. “My name is Pen Scratch. I’m a writer, and I was looking for someone named steel heart. I heard he lived here.” The other unicorn stared at him for a moment.
“Yes he does live here.” She said almost hesitantly. “May I ask why you wish to see him?”
“Like I said before I’m a writer. I was hoping to interview him for a book I’m writing.” He half stammered the sentence. The unicorn stood just staring at him. It was as if she were contemplating how to tell him to leave. The seconds seemed to drag on as he awaited the reply. The unicorn sighed, and gave her answer.
“I’ll see if he’s up for talking to anyone. Please come in, and make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you .” scratch said, following the young mare into the house. She closed the door, and led Scratch into a spacious living room.
“Please wait here, I won’t be long.” Scratch nodded his acknowledgement, and she walked from the room.
The living room was of a good size, but it was stuffed with old furniture, and various artifacts that Scratch didn’t recognize. He walked around the room looking at pictures that hung on the wall, or sat on end tables, and bookcases. Most were family photos, with different ponies. One picture made him stop. It was fading with age, and had the smell of old paper, but the picture was still clear enough, Several ponies all standing in a line. None of them were smiling. He recognized this picture. It was in a history book he had read in school. He had looked at that picture with awe so many times, and now to see the original. It was almost overwhelming.
Scratch moved on, studying the different objects around the room. One caught him completely off guard. It was a round for a seventy five millimeter gun! He inspected the round up close. It had a nice patina to it, showing its age. He reached his hoof out, and touched it. It didn't move. How heavy was it? He picked it up heafting the projectile.
“Careful,it’s live.” A voice came suddenly. The voice surprised Scratch, He lost his hold on the round, and it slipped from his hooves. he fumbled with it for a second before grasping a hold of it with his magic. He turned to see the mare looking at him with a bemused smile.
“ I’m sorry” Scratch blurted out. “I was just…..admiring…..”
“It’s okay.” She said holding back laughter. “My grandfather says he’s well enough to see you.”
Scratch paused.” You’re his granddaughter?” She nodded.
“Have been my whole life.” She said smiling.
“That’s incredible! What was it like? Growing up around him I mean.”
“I don’t know. Just like growing up around anyone else I guess.” Scratch had so many questions for her, but he couldn’t think of which one to ask first. He was visibly excited. She laughed at him again.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “It’s just that Steel Heart has been one of my greatest heroes growing up. My whole life I’ve been trying to learn as much about him as I can. He inspired me when I was a colt, he still inspires me today.” The smile slowly faded from the young mares face.
“That honestly surprises me. Not many people know about him anymore. I never met anyone who did growing up. That is except for the kids and grandkids of the other members of the first.” Everything she said shocked him, but the last part shocked him the most.
“You know the families of the other members of the division? I haven’t been able to find them! I was lucky enough to find you……..uhm, I mean Steel Heart. How many are left? Where do they live?” The smile returned to her face.
“Calm down. My grandfather is waiting for you.” She said cutting him off. She motioned for him to follow, as she walked out of the room, and through a hallway. “My name is Wind Song by the way.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said as they stopped in front of a door.
“Likewise.” Was all she said opening the door, and motioning for scratch to go in. He entered looking around, and the door shut behind him. The room was average size, but like the living room it was packed with strange looking objects, only more so. There was a bed set against the wall under the window, and lying in the bed was an old unicorn.
His coat had been white once, but it had greyed with age. He stared out the window; his light blue eyes seemed to take everything in. He didn’t even turn towards Pen Scratch.
It was him! It was really him! Steel Heart, the stallion whom Scratch had idolized since his youth!
“So, you’re a writer?” Was all he had said.
“Yes sir.” Was all Scratch could get out. He was terrified, but somehow he kept his composure. Something kept his voice firm, and body from shaking.
“I suppose that means you want to hear about the division.”
“Yes sir.” Scratch repeated.
“well.” Steel Heart said slowly turning towards scratch. “I’m honestly surprised.” Scratch was confused.
“Sir?”
“It’s been a long time, and it seems everyone has forgotten what we did. I suppose after the war no one cared much. Ponies aren’t really the kind of creatures who dwell on such things like war. I’ve been hoping that someday somepony would come and tell our story to the world. I got fed up, and started writing it myself, but my eyes gave out. The last few years I’ve been afraid that I would die before the story of the First Equestria Royal Armored Division could be told.”
Scratch smiled. “Well then let’s get started!” He said enthusiastically.
“Alright” he said adjusting his position. “ I suppose it all started with the battle of Faucon’s fields. It was mid-February, and it seemed like it would never stop snowing…….”
***
Steel Heart walked out of the barracks, and took in a deep breath. The air was cold and crisp. He began to make his way through the camp. Snow gently fell to the ground, and the sounds of artillery came from everywhere. He passed other soldiers of the Royal Guard, and even some griffon troops. Nopony said hi, or even gave notice to anypony else. Most of the soldiers were thinking of what was coming. Steel heart felt invigorated. How could they lose?
He made it to the vehicle depot where all of the tanks sat in neat rows. There were dozens of different kinds of tanks. Equestria had been at the forefront of Tank tactics since the vehicles were first developed, and they had fielded hundreds of tanks from all around the world. They were mostly used for testing, so that they could find out what would work, and what wouldn’t. Now that Equestria was at war it couldn’t afford to keep all of those tanks locked away. They needed them on the front lines.
Steel heart made his way through row after row of armored vehicles, until he spotted one in particular. It was an M4 Sherman, but it was different than the others. It sported a seventeen pounder anti-tank gun. It was a griffon modification to better deal with the empire’s panzers. Most Equestrian Shermans had a seventy five millimeter canon equipped, but Equestria was not one to miss an opportunity to test out a new tank variant.
A dark grey earth pony waved at Steel Heart as he approached. Tracks was one of the best drivers Steel heart had ever worked with.
“It’s good to see you Lieutenant. “He said with a smile.
“Likewise” he replied. Gather the rest of the crew. We have something to discuss.” The pony gave him a salute and ran off. Steel heart used his magic to pull a cigarette out of his jacket pocket, and lit it. He was nervous, but he wouldn’t admit it. He wouldn’t even admit it to himself. He hid behind confidence, and a wall of steel. It wasn’t long before the crew was together. Four ponies had gathered around Steel heart. There was Scrap Iron, or Scraps for short, the gunner, and the loader Gust, and finally Wave the radio pony. They were a motley assortment of commoners, but they had grown close to Steel Heart.
“Alright, I know you’ve been kept in the dark for a while now, but we finally have our orders.” Steel Heart started. “They’ve kept me out of the loop to, so don’t feel so special.” That drew a a chuckle from the gathered soldiers. “This operation has been in the planning stages for months, and command has decided that now is the perfect time to push the griffon Empire out of the Republic.” That gathered some strange looks and murmurs. For months they had been fighting the empire tooth and hoof, the empire giving up land inch by inch, and making the attackers pay for it. “We’ve been heavily bombarding their front lines, and we’ve been massing as much armor as possible in this area. This is the weakest spot of the battle line, so this is the perfect place to punch through. The armor will lead the assault, blitzing their way through the line, and then the infantry will move in behind us. It’s simple, it’s clean, and it will work. The empire’s on the ropes here, and we’ve been giving them a hard time. That’s the reason we weren’t allowed to know about it. If they received word, they could bolster the divisions in the area, and make it harder for us to punch through.” He paused to give a drag on his cigarette.
“What role will we be taking specifically, sir?” Scraps asked.
Steel Heart pulled a map out of his saddle bag. “We are going to be part of a mass push across Faucon’s fields.” He said pointing to the field on the map “After we punch through their line we’re going to take this hill, and try to get some fire going on the empire’s line. It’s the strongest here so they’ll need the fire support. Any questions?” No one answered. They all looked nervous. They lacked the confidence in leadership that Steel Heart had been born with. “Alright then, let’s go.”
With that the ponies climbed into their positions in the tank. Steel heart waited until they were all settled before he took the commanders seat. Tracks started the engine. It roared to life, and they waited for the signal to go. When the order was given to start the tank crew worked quietly as they began to make their way towards Faucon’s field.
Steel heart stuck his head out of the hatch. He wore goggles to protect his eyes from the winter wind. They drove in formation with the rest of their platoon, and made their way towards their destination they passed soldiers on hoof gathering for the assault. They cheered and waved as the armor went by. The tanks slowed, and finally came to a stop as they reached the tree line. The field was massive. Steel Heart could barely see the tree line at the far end. They waited for a few minutes before the signal to attack was given. The tanks rushed out of the trees, and darted across the fields. They had only been out of the tree line for a minute when they heard the first retort. A flash followed by an explosion of dirt right next to them heralded the enemy’s attempts to stop the blitz.
Despite the danger steel heart still kept his head out of the hatch. It was exhilarating. He had never felt so alive. All around him tanks of all types rushed as fast as possible across the field. Shots from enemy artillery and anti-tank guns hit everywhere, except the tanks it seemed. As they neared the center of the field Steel heart ducked back into the tank to speak to Tracks.
“Can you give it a little more speed?” he shouted over the Sherman’s engine. Tracks tuned to him, and shook his head. The pony was still looking at him when an explosion shook the tank violently. Steel Heart looked back outside to see tanks being hit. He scanned the tree line, and with horror realized that it was full of enemy armor.
They all seemed to fire at the same time. All around their Sherman tanks were hit, and destroyed. Wave shouted something over the noise that Steel heart could barely here.
“They say we need to keep pushing! We aren’t to stop until we’ve breached the line!” Steel heart nodded. It wasn’t the first time he had seen other tanks get hit. They raced on dodging shots, and destroyed tanks. They had almost reached the other side of the tree line when something came out.
It was a tank, but it was larger than any tank steel heart had ever seen before. It was boxy, with a rear mounted turret, and a barrel that was almost as long as the tank itself.
“What are you waiting for? Fire! He shouted. The gun on the Sherman roared, and Steel heart watched in terror as it ricocheted off of the behemoth tank. “Again!” he shouted.
The large tanks turret rotated slowly before firing It’s roar was deafening even from a distance. The shot passed right over them. The Sherman’s cannon fired again, and again it did nothing.
“Get us out of here!” steel heart screamed, watching as more vehicles came out of the tree line. They weren’t the same as the behemoth that they now faced. Steel heart recognized them. They were called Hetzers. The small square almost turtle like vehicles were a type of tank destroyer. Their gun could rip a hole clean through a tank. The sherman’s cannon fired yet again, but wasn’t aimed at the monster tank, but at the Hetzers. The shot hit the driver’s window, and tore into the vehicle. It stopped moving.
“Come on! Move!” the monster pivoted facing them. Its gun lowered. Steel heart’s body seemed to freeze as he awaited the shot, a shot that would certainly mean death for him and his little crew.
He heard the shot, but it seemed nothing had happened. He slowly realized that it wasn’t the behemoth that had fired. A squat tank zoomed past the large tank, stopping next to his Sherman. It was a turretles stank destroyer he recognized. It was a Sturmgeschütz III, or just Stug III for short. The hatch popped open, and a pony stuck his head out, and screamed.
“Get going! We’ll try and hold them off for as long as we can!” he entered the vehicle again, and the Stug turned around, to face to opposing vehicles.
Steel heart yelled at his crew again, and the tank finally started moving. They raced across the field once again dodging shots and burning tank corpses. The sheer amount frightened the unicorn. It seemed like most of the armor that they had rode out with had been hit. He began to see ponies running from derelict tank to derelict tank. Occasionally one would drop in a crimson mist. It seemed like an eternity to get through the maze of twisted metal and dead ponies. Shots continued to fall all around them as they desperately tried to get back to the perceived safety of the forest.
They got through the smoldering tanks and into the open again, but now steel heart felt more afraid than ever. Shots fell around them like rain, and it almost seemed like they weren’t getting any closer to the tree line.
Was this it, was this the end? After all of the victories, the close call, was this the end of the war for Steel heart and his crew?
They continued on, shots striking closer and closer. They were close to the trees when the tank seemed to jump, and then slammed back down. Steel Heart looked down to see part of their tread lying several feet behind them. Shots continued to fall. Steel heart ducked down into the tank.
“Our tracks out, and we need to hoof it back to the tree line, and hope that we don’t get tagged by snipers.” The crew nodded their agreement. He was about ready to lead them out when the tank was hit by something. Wave turned to the radio, and listened intently.
“Go forward!” He called. “Give it everything you’ve got.”
Confused steel heart looked back outside to see another tank with its front end rammed up against their rear. Its treads were churning the snow.
“Come on tracks, let’s try and get her moving.” The driver turned to the controls, and started working. The tank slowly started moving back into the tree line.
They were pushed safely back into the forest. Once they had stopped Steel heart slowly exited the tank. He threw himself to the ground, burying his face in the snow. He looked back up through the trees. He couldn’t see the other side. A line of destroyed tanks sat in the way.
***
“How could your commanders just let you walk right into that?” Scratch asked. Steel heart looked off into nothingness.
“We later discovered that there was a traitor in the Griffon Kingdom who informed the empire of our plans. He had never left Eagleland from what I heard. Lived his whole life on that island, from his birth to his execution. I’ve always wondered if he had been with us, the soldiers, had seen the suffering of his countrymen and their allies, and witnessed the sacrifices we had made, would he have still sold us out? I don’t know, nopony can.”
“So who else survived?”
The tank that pushed us out, it was a KV-1 heavy tank. The stug that saved our hides somehow made it to safety driving backwards! Only a couple of more tanks made it back in working order. Some crews made it, but not much else. The infantry didn’t even get the chance to charge. I suppose their glad for that though.” He turned to look at a clock. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you come back early tomorrow, and we’ll talk some more?”
“I’d like that.” Scratch said. They agreed on a time for his return, and Scratch left. After the young unicorn had closed the door Steel heart buried his head in his sheets, just like he had in the snow in that faraway land many, many years ago. He buried his face so that once again nopony could see his tears.
