The truck rattled to a stop. Thorax could hear the shrieking and biting wind outside the canvas. The Sergeant in the back, a Changeling serving time for the theft of a COs love supply, barked out orders and struck those who didn't move fast enough with a baton. Quickly the terrified Changelings scrambled out of the truck and into the cold snow. They formed ranks of ten and stood among their fellows. A Lieutenant, likely also serving out a punishment in the north, began their brief.
"Welcome to the Northern front Strafbatallion 14. Our mission is simply, Advance. When we find an enemy, we destroy them or die trying, so that we may regain our value to the Hives!" Noling reacted, a few seemed to silently sob while others stared forward with either hollow or hardened looks on their faces. "Strafbatallion! MOVE OUT!" The Lieutenant called out. Thorax joined the column of despondent Changelings as they marched into the seemingly endless white. His old Olenian rifle bounced off his chest as they marched.
Thorax attempted to strike up a conversation with the Changeling next to him. "So, why did they send you up here?" The other Changeling simply glanced at him.
"I killed another in my company."
"Oh.... why?"
"He asked too many questions.."
Thorax quickly shut up and continued along the march into the white wasteland.
The first Changeling dropped after 4 hours. He collapsed near the front of the line and no others seemed to care, besides stealing his coat, ammo, rifle, and boots. By the time Thorax passed him by, he was already frozen dead. Thorax watched the corpse go sadly. The Changeling behind him piped up. "Worry not for him, young one. We die all the time, worry about yourself." The advice did not settle Thoraxes stomach as the column marched on.
As they continued, a few more dropped dead. By the third dead soldier, Thorax bent down and took the hat lying on his head, he had long since decided he needed to be as warm as possible. The dying Changeling's hoof grabbed onto Thoraxes. "Please.... help....I don't want..." Thorax stopped for a second. He whipped his head back up as the Sergeant began to yell and advanced on him, waving his baton. Thorax barely got out a 'sorry' as he quickly swiped the dying soldiers fur hat before returning back to his stop in line.
The Sergeant walked up next to Thorax. "If I ever see you leave the line again, I will beat you so badly that not even the buzzards would find anything useful or appetizing left." Thorax gulped and nodded, continuing on the march. The Sergeant continued to give him a death glare before returning to his spot at the rear of the line. And still they marched into the squall.
It had felt like over a day had passed before they finally stopped at an outpost that had been set up in a small farm. Thorax couldn't say why a farm would exist in this frozen hellhole but he wouldn't question it. The buildings and a few hastily dug trenches shielded the Strafbataillon from the worst of the wind but the cold and snow still seeped into everylings uniform. Small cooking fires were set up and squads began to gather around them, attempting to fight of the cold as best they could.
Thorax sat down at one fire and heavily sighed. Four other changleings sat around, two spoke to each other in low tones, one stirred a spoon in a small pot that sat over the fire, and the last soldier stared into the fire as it crackled.
"STRAFBAT!!" The Lieutenant bellowed, making every head turn around to listen. "Talking is now allowed, but any and all dissent towards the Queen and all crimes will be met with IMMEDIATE execution. Only Officers and Sergeants may carry out executions, so be on your best behavior and you may see your hive again. Rest up and be prepared, tomorrow we face our enemy and you may finally prove your worth to the Queen and be redeemed in life, if not death." The tone set, the Lieutenant marched into one of the farmhouses as a low chatter rose over the camp.
Thorax turned to his camp-mates. "So, anyling wants to talk about home?" The collected soldiers looked up at him, a mix of sour looks, glares and looks of defeat.
The Cook spoke first. "I deserted in Vanhoover, I chased a young filly, so full of love and fear... One of the garrison units finally caught me after I had drained her dry and lived in the sewers for over 2 weeks. They charged me with Desertion and Stealing Hive resources. I spent most of my time fighting in Strafbats and haven't died yet. Though this finally feels like it to me."
The Schemers looked at the Cook before back to each other. Left spoke first. "Hooves and I are partners. We both have an obsession with...'acquiring' extra supplies. Noling seemed to notice a few clips go missing from their kits, or rations from the stockpile. But what really set us up, was a third one, a traitor, who aided us in a plan to steal our Captain's favorite old liquor. He sold us out and all three of us were sent here. He was luckily to first to succumb to the cold. Hooves and I don't miss him one bit." Hooves merely nodded at his comrade's story. Thorax labelled him as Muzzle as noling shared names under fear of death, Strafbats lost their rights to name till they were redeemed.
Thorax turned to Silent. The last member of his camp. Cook passed around the thin soup he had been cooking. It wasn't much but it was food, a tiny amount of love was infused to keep us going but not much more. Silent finally started when everyling else was eating.
"I still don't understand why I'm here... I didn't do anything wrong. I was hired to order papers and packages in my hive. Then suddenly I was ambushed by Royal Guards. Apparently I had been delivering Communist propaganda papers and packages filled with weapon and explosive parts. I tried to explain that I was innocent but nothing I said ever seemed to sway the Guards. I was swiftly sent up here." He held out his rifle, "I barely know how to fire this damned thing, but they expect me to serve?" Silent sighed. "I just want to be back home, if I must fight, I will."
Thorax mulled all he heard over. He finally spoke up after they were all finished and settling to sleep. "I was sent up here for treason." He said no more, knowing he would wake up looking down the barrel of a rifle if he woke up at all. A dreamless sleep took him.
The next morning as they packed away their camp Thorax attempted to rouse Silent. True to Thorax's given name for the changeling, he did not stir. The Sergeant made his way over, watching as Thorax continued his attempts to make his comrade rise. The Sergeant beat the body of Silent with his baton, screaming at him to get up. Soon, the Sergeant simply looked at Thorax before walking away. Thorax bent down and took Silent's K98 rifle, leaving his older and battered Olienan rifle in the snow. Thorax didn't even look back when they marched out, corpses of the unwoken left behind in their wake.
Once again, it was hours until they stopped again. This time was different, noling fell to the cold and they only marched for three hours until they came upon another pair of Strafbats. This one was dug into earthworks and staring out into the snow and ice. As they approached their Lieutenant ordered them into the trench. Thorax took a position next to a battered looking Stalliongrad Maxim machine gun. It's gunner didn't look much better but he held the gun with such confidence that Thorax knew it was a deadly combo. He leveled his rifle into the blowing snow, listening as the officers argued and the wind blew over them. The snow never seemed to change, drifts seemed to shift back and forth but no movement could be seen. Thorax wondered if he had been forced to fight alongside insane 'lings or if had died and went to Tartarus.
The Maxim gunner suddenly shifted, putting a burst into a nearby snow drift. Thorax looked at him in shock, why would he waste precious ammo on snow? Suddenly everything made sense to him. The Gunner's head exploded as gunfire filled the air. Thorax ducked down and stole a glance at the snowdrift. He began to panic when he saw a purple crystalline foreleg sticking out holding a submachine gun. They were fighting ponies that used the very snow as camouflage? They were all going to die!
Thorax swallowed his fear. That's what the Queen wanted, she wanted them to die and tie up Equestria's allies in the North so that she could win in the South. Thorax was going to show her, he'd show them all! He'd help win the war up North and become a Hero!! Then the other changelings would listen to his ideas!
Thorax ran up and grabbed the Maxim, swinging it's sights around and firing bursts into the blinding white. Whenever he saw a flash or moving drift, he fired a burst. Being either rewarded with a corpse, scream or returning gunfire. Thorax continued on. Burst after burst until the Maxim ran dry.
"LOADER!!" He screamed, grabbing his K98 and continuing to fight. Another changeling with a '22' patch ran up and began to unpack a box of ammo, feeding it into the gun.
22 cocked the handle back and yelled back. "LOADED, GIVE EM HELL!!" Thorax returned to the Maxim and began to fire again.
Pony after pony was killed and drift after drift was destroyed until eventually the return fire stopped. A silence swept over the battlefield. One changeling stood along the trench edge. "WE DID IT EVERYLING!! WE ARE REDEE-" He was silenced as an officer put a shot between the poor soldiers eyes.
"YOU ARE REDEEMED WHEN THE QUEEN DECREES!! One victory does not make you heroes, only survivors! Straftbats 14, 22 and 6 prepare yourselves and move out! LOOTING OF THE ENEMY IS FORBIDDEN AND PUNISHABLE BY DEATH!!" Silently, the Straftbats began to gather equipment and gather in columns.
22 aided Thorax in packing down the Maxim. "You were quite something out there 14! You'd make a good soldier if you weren't stuck in this hellscape!" Thorax looked at 22. He was beaming as he put the half-empty belt back into an ammo can.
Thorax returned the smile. "Maybe 22, maybe..."
When they finished packing the Maxim, 22 attached it to his back and gave a nod to Thorax before making his way back to his Straftbat. Thorax hoped nothing bad happened to him, he seemed like a good fellow. With another shout and a few whacks from Sergeant batons, the columns moved out once again.
It felt like days had passed, Thorax wasn't sure anymore as the sun and moon never seemed to shine up here, just constant clouds. the Straftbats marched through the cold and wind, every now and then a frozen and looted corpse would grace Thorax's vision. Some seemed fresh, others months old. Some still had kit, which Thorax helped himself to whatever was left and he could use. Eventually they stopped at another spot more permanently. Thorax saw an honest-to-Tartarus town, here in this wasteland, and it was being besieged by a few other Straftbats and, Thorax did a double-take, a Panzer Division!! Thorax almost broke into gleeful giggling as he saw a Panzer II half-dug into a trench and facing the town. His mirth died when he noticed how few tanks there were, and how out-dated they were. A trio of Panzer I's and even a Equestrian Tractor Tank sat in what seemed to be a motor pool for this part of the front. Even the Panzer Divisions were using old and stolen equipment. Thorax's head sunk a little, he was truly going to die in this hell.
Eventually his Straftbat stopped at a thin line in the defenses. The changelings manning the posts took one look at their relief and shifted down the line, becoming more dense and allowing the 14th to set up. As Thorax sat down and rested his head against the trench wall, Cook moved next to him. "Ready yourself, the Major won't let us wait long, we were the reinforcements he needed to take this town.." Thorax could only look down in horror. What they went through was only to join a larger attack?! They lacked soldiers, supplies and even half updated equipment! Most of their 'uniforms' weren't even the stuff the regular army had, just civilian coats that barely fit or made from low-quality wool at best! Most of them didn't even have hats or helmets! Thorax clung to his stolen hat even closer as he realized how lucky he truly was that such a small thing could be found.
His musings were broken by a shrill whistle. A changeling in a thick looking greatcoat rose above his troops. "FORWARD YOU USELESS MAGGOTS!! REDEMPTION COMES IN DEATH OR FINAL VICTORY, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST!!" With that the gathered Stratbataillone charged, a few gunshots rang from behind the line as those who wouldn't move were killed. Thorax grabbed his rifle and moved forward. Machine guns strafed the charging soldiers. One by one Thorax watched his comrades fall. He skidded to a stop and raised his rifle. He aimed for one of the MG nests and fired. He silently cheered as the gun fell silent. A Panzer I rolled past him and returned MG fire into another nest. This allowed the 14th to quickly close the distance and break into the first house.
Thorax was luckily the 6th one in, two dead changelings at his hooves filled the doorway as the others cleared the house room by room. Thorax heard struggling and cursing all around him, followed by either gunshots or screams of 'GRENADE!'. He quickly moved to a window, checking the road deeper into the town. A barricade halted progress further into the town. Thorax ducked as another MG fired on his position. Thorax shifted his position and took a second look. A MG emplacement stared over the collection of tank traps and other debris blocked the street into the main town's plaza, he even noticed an anti-tank gun watching the main road. A Panzer I turned into the road, and began firing on the MG nest. They clearly never saw the AT gun as it blew the small tank apart.
Thorax ducked back down into his cover as more members of his unit rushed in and out of the house, securing more of a foothold into the town. Another Greatcoat clad officer moved in, rallying his Straftbat. "FORWARD, CLEAR THE ROADBLOCK AND SECURE THE PLAZA!"
Thorax raised himself and began to fire at the MG nest, trying to cover his comrades as they advanced. He ducked everytime the gun returned fire, but it seemed focused on the soldiers moving into the street than a lone rifleling.
He readied another shot when a voice suddenly called from his right. "Hey Traitor, got any ammo?" Thorax wheeled himself around, preparing to fire if an officer was readying to execute him for cowardice. But met the smiling face of Muzzle. "You look like you've seen a ghost! I know you nicked an ammo bag of one of the fallen, come on, give me some!"
Thorax glared at the smiling thief before pulling a small satchel from around his chest and dug around in it. He glanced at Muzzle's rifle, seeing it as an old Equestrian Breech-loader. It baffled Thorax that they even dared to give such awful weapons to frontline troops but that was the ponies problem. He picked up a few breech cartridges in his hooves and dropped them in the waiting hooves of Muzzle.
Muzzle smiled and nodded, quickly loading a cartridge and moving up to fire. Suddenly Thorax's world turned into pure white noise and pain. He couldn't see but felt his body fly through the air, struck by many small and large pieces of debris. He felt the cold seep into his chitin as he struck the ground. Groaning, he dared not move in case he was lying right in the line of sight of that MG. He stared at the sky, watching as the occasional tracer soared overhead. Soon he felt a pair of hooves grab his shoulders and began dragging him. Thorax hoped they were friendly or made his death quick.
Once Thorax was dragged into what seemed to be the goal of his savior/captor, they showed their face. The concerned face of Hooves looked at him, his green eyes running up and down Thorax's form. Hooves then pulled Thorax into a sitting position and rested him against a wall. Thorax got a good look at his wounds. Nothing seemed to have pierced him but he did see a few soaked spots in his uniform, likely from where chitin broke. He hurt all over but didn't seem to be missing anything important, he even still had his K98!
Thorax looked over at Hooves, who looked back with a saddened look on his face. "Your partner?" Thorax barely got out. Hooves' head dropped down, and slowly shook back and forth, he also gestured towards the entrance of the alley Thorax rested in. Thorax's eyes widened when he saw the shattered remains of what he realized was the house he was using as cover. He could barely make out a few shattered limbs with a old Equestrian breech-loader still clutched in a detached hoof.
Thorax looked back at Hooves. "I'm so sorry but we need to move!" Hooves nodded, eyes steeling as Hooves recognized there was a time to mourn, and it wasn't now. The two stood up, Thorax with a bit of difficulty as he was bruised and battered all over, and moved away from where their unit continued to fight the enemy MG nest. They snuck through alleys and moved around other Straftbats fighting the Equestrian troops until they came alongside the building given their Straftbat Tartarus. Thorax moved up to a side door, gesturing Hooves to follow.
He slowly opened the door and began scanning the room with his K98. He watched as Equestrian troops fired out of windows at his comrades, occasionally ducking to dodge the odd shot that was fired in return. For whatever reason, none of them noticed or even looked towards the two changelings behind them. Thorax looked back to Hooves and made a gesture to stay quiet and follow him.
They snuck past the Equestrian firing line and made their way through the rest of the large house. When they came across a set of stairs, Thorax quietly took out a bayonet he took from one of the dead during their march and affixed it to his rifle. Thorax and Hooves continued through the house, barely missing the notice of the enemy soldiers inside, they finally cam upon the room the MG nest rested. Thorax glanced inside, seeing a thestral manning the gun while an earth pony fed it from a belt. Thorax looked to Hooves, gesturing he'd take the gunner and he'd take the loader.
Hooves nodded and readied himself. Thorax took a deep breath then rushed in. His bayonet struck true, spearing the thestral right through his chest, while Hooves swung his rifle like a club, knocking the loader to the ground. The thestral attempted to fight back, but blood loss and Thorax pinning him down with his rifle simply made him bleed out on the floor. Thorax pulled his bayonet out and looked over to Hooves, who after knocking the loader down, wrapped his hooves around her throat. Thorax saw the utter terror in her eyes as Hooves snapped her neck, the corpse hitting the ground like a sack of bricks. Thorax shuddered before looking back at Hooves.
"I'll take the gun and cover the others, you need to watch the hall and cover me." Hooves nodded, making his way to the door, picking up a grenade of the loaders body. Thorax shuddered at Hooves display of strength and moved to the Equestrian machine gun. He grabbed the firing bit and looked down the sights, finding a second line of Equestrians holding his comrades back while the AT gun kept their armor pinned. Thorax lined his shot up with the AT gun and let loose. Rounds struck the crew, a panic beginning in the Equestrian lines before a stray round struck the gun's cache of high explosive shells. The AT gun and the surrounding crew were engulfed in a large explosion which sent Equestrians flying and shattered their barricade.
Thorax heard screams form the Equestrians as the Changelings surged forward. He watched as his comrades ran down panicked Equestrians with bayonets, improvised clubs taken from debris and their bare hooves. Thorax fired on anypony that attempted to fight back as he heard Hooves firing behind him. When the Straftbat pushed towards the house, Thorax left the gun and moved to aid Hooves. Hooves had thrown up a table at some point and used it as cover as two Equestrians fired on him. Hooves primed his stolen grenade and tossed it back. There was a yell as Thorax ducked back into his room to avoid the shrapnel. When the smoke cleared Thorax looked back out to see both soldiers dead and Hooves moving to cover the stairs. As Thorax joined him, the sounds of fighting reached them. Soon a black hoof made it's way to the first step and stopped.
"Swarm?" A voice called up.
"Hive." Thorax responded, as he and Hooves lowered their weapons. Cook came into their vision and smiled at them.
"That was a damn fine job you two did! With the route to the plaza cleared, most of the Equestrians retreated or surrendered! Let's move!" Thorax and Hooves made their way down the stairs, rejoining the rest of their Straftbat as they made their way to the Plaza. When the entered, he saw a rather large group of Equestrian soldiers surrounded by Straftbat 15.
The Officer that initiated the charge at the beginning of the battle stood on a raised platform. "I am Colonel Mirage, Commander of Straftbatallion 15 and Commander of this Straftarmee Norden. One thing you must know, all crimes are punished by death, your officers probably informed you of this, but one thing you might not know, is that we are not allowed to show mercy either..." At that, the right side of the circle opened up, keeping the line of fire clear. The Equestrians were a combination of confused and fearful. A pair of changelings brought a MG42 down and set it up. Everyone in the plaza suddenly realized what was happening. As the Equestrians tried to escape, the surrounding changelings fired on any that got too close as the MG42 sprayed into the crowd. Thorax looked away as the screaming and gunfire filled the air.
Once the plaza was silent again, the Colonel spoke up again. "All Straftbats spread put and prepare defensive networks, machine guns and anti-tank guns may be looted, but no small arms! Looting any contraband will lead to immediate execution." Thorax and his Straftbat made their way to the far side of the town. Thorax did his best not to stare into the eyes of the dead as he passed.
Thorax attempted to warm up. All the Straftbatallione were set up a good distance from the town so they weren't being shielded from the wind by the many buildings. Thorax kept close to a small fire that Cook was keeping alight while Hooves checked over his rifle, piling ammo next to it in preparation of the inevitable counter-attack. Thorax shivered in the wind, hoping everyling would think it was the cold and not what they had witnessed yesterday.
Thorax straightened when he heard a rattling, looking up he saw 22 bringing an Equestrian machine gun up to their impromptu trench, being mostly a large snowdrift reinforced with wood the help stop bullets. 22 smiled at the small collection of soldiers. "My Captain allowed me to deliver this MG to you 14 fellows! I'll teach you how to use it and I'll get back to my lines." Thorax joined a small collection of soldiers as 22 went over how to maintain and load the MG in combat.
An alarmed yell and the similar rumble of tanks broke up the impromptu seminar. "KOMMUNISTEN!!" The soldiers panicked and manned their defenses. 22 and Thorax moved the old water-cooled MG to their trench line, 22 took the loader position with a nod to Thorax, who quickly took the gunners bit and leveled it into the grey wall they faced.
He didn't see them, but he heard the rumble of tank and truck engines as the enemy came closer. Then it all seemed to stop. He could hear his own breathing and that of the surrounding defenders. Thorax looked to either side, Cook and the Sergeant on his left, and 22, Hooves and a pair of riflelings on his right, stared into the grey. Then he heard it, he had heard horror stories of these Ponies, from a land faced with such hardship, just being an adult was a great achievement, their brutal attacks and love of tanks, their war cry that could turn even the most hardened veteran into a whimpering recruit.
"URAAAAA!!"
They came like demons. Hundreds of ponies screaming, SVETA rifles and PPSH SMGs spewing death, out of the grey, BT-7 and T-26 tanks rolling forward and adding their own cannons and MGs into the massive storm of fire and lead. Thorax didn't have time to think, he simply fired, burst after burst into the onrushing horde of angry soldiers. Many seemed to fall but more simply poured from the wall of snow, more and more bullets struck their cover, causing Thorax to duck while firing, likely sending rounds sailing into the sky.
"DO NOT STOP, DO NOT WAIVER!! HOLD AND BE REDEEMED!!" The Lieutenant yelled over the din, his Equestrian Limestone SMG flailing in the air, occasionally sending bursts into the enemy. Thorax wasn't rallied, but others seemed to head his words as they redoubled their efforts to push back the approaching horde.
Thorax raised himself up again once the volume of fire on his position lightened a bit. He found himself staring at a T-26 that had at least a platoon of troops hunkered behind it. "TANKS!! FOCUS ON THE TANKS!!" He screamed as he doused the advancing Stalliongrad troops with fire. The tank began to shift it's turret after a few stray rounds struck it's armor. Thorax stared down it's barrel as it leveled with his MG.
'This is it...' He thought as a loud explosion and fireball forced him to close his eyes.
He opened them to the sight of a flaming hulk of a tank and a platoon of panicked and screaming Stalliongrad soldiers, some of which ran around engulfed in flames. As Thorax made to kill the flaming troops, 22 grabbed him. "Waste of ammo! Focus on the Front!" Thorax wheeled his aim towards the approaching enemy. A BT-7 stared back at him.
Thorax's world was filled with fire and pain again. His vision swam, He couldn't seem to focus on much. He looked to his right, another changeling lay there, facing away from him, a '22' patch sat on his shoulder. Thorax grabbed the changeling, it had to be 22! As Thorax turned 22 over, he was greeted by the left half of 22's face, the other half had been burnt beyond recognition, some parts of his skull could even be seen. Thorax simply couldn't feel anything, he felt numb all over and not just from the shock. He sat up, using a nearby K98 rifle as a crutch. He saw Cook firing over the wall, the Sergeant missing both a right foreleg and head rested on the floor at Cook's hooves. Hooves was being tended to by the first rifleling, while the other continued to fire.
Thorax's vision was filled with a face full of fury. "LAYABOUT!! JOIN THE FIGHT!" The Lieutenant roughly grabbed the shocked changeling and shoved him towards the trench. Thorax simply stared for a moment. The field was filled with dead ponies and burning tanks but they kept coming! He raised his rifle and began to fire on the approaching infantry.
With the lost of their MG however, they couldn't hold long. As Thorax was reloading, Cook took a bullet through his neck. His eyes filled with panic as he attempted to slow the bleeding. It was no use, soon Cook's blood stained the snow as his eyes faded and his hoof lost it's grip. Thorax winced, Cook was right all along, this was his last Straftbat posting. A grenade landed among the two riflelings, One sacrificed himself, throwing himself on the grenade. His body was blown to bits but Thorax, Hooves and Two were unharmed. Two stared at the blood and bits of chitin covering him and seemed to shut down. A bullet through his helmet forced him to collapse to the trench's floor.
Hooves looked at Thorax. A sort of understanding reached the two of them. They were going to die. Thorax slammed his clip of ammo into his rifle and cocked it with his hoof, sending the signal to Hooves that he was taking as many down as he could. A serious look washed over Hooves face as he nodded, feeding another cartridge into his breech-loader. Thorax and Hooves kept firing, pony after pony charged their lines but they were either killed or forced back by the determined fire. It wasn't until a team of assault troopers charged their position.
Thorax ducked to reload again, when a Stalliongrad NCO leapt unto the trench lip, screaming as he unloaded his PPSH into an unsuspecting Hooves. Time seemed to slow as Thorax watched the bullets punch through Hooves chitin, green blood flying out of each small hole the SMG punched into his last friend. A wave of rage filled Thorax's vision. His rifle raised as Hooves fell. The shot punched a neat hole in the pony's head, Thorax quickly moved his bayonet catching a second soldier right through her eye. Thorax yanked the bayonet out and swung it across the neck of a third soldier, the stallion grasping as his blood gushed out the deep wound. His rifle barked again, sending a pony priming a grenade to the ground, the grenade dropping among his comrades. As Thorax jumped back in his trench, the explosion rippled from over him.
The rest of the battle was a blur, he shot and stabbed anypony who climbed over his trench. When he ran out of ammo, he simply ran them through with his bayonet, when that was snapped off by another pony's rifle shot, he sung the rifle like a club. When his rifle broke in half upon striking another pony with it, he grabbed the pony's PPSH and stood on top his trench. A squad of Stalliongrad troops stared back.
He was quite the sight. His uniform soaked in green and red blood, some of which was his own from a few near misses, his chest heaving in and out with ragged breaths, his light blue compound eyes twitching back and forth, daring one of them to make a move, and a PPSH held in his hooves, it's barrel leveled at the packed together squad.
The lead pony, a Corporal Thorax figured, flashed green, revealing a Changeling underneath. "Comrade, you don't need to do this! Come back with us, forge a better life for yourself and aid us liberate your hive from the Mad Queen! She has you here, under-equipped, under-fed, and with the fear of execution over your head! We will treat you well and help you bring happiness and joy to the Hives again!" Thorax stopped. He could leave, become a Hero, save his Hive and teach them the true way! Friendship with ponies, trading their bountiful oil for love to feed their people! They could live amongst ponies as equals instead of predators and prey! He stopped the trail of thought. He remembered the March, the Plaza, and now, the battlefield before him.
He looked back down at the Stalliongrad soldiers, their looks of fear replaced by looks of hope and understanding. There even was a second changeling among them! He stared into the eyes of the smiling Corporal, light blue reflecting back at him.
"Straftbattlion 14 shows no mercy." He simply stated and open fired. It wasn't until the SMG kept clicking that he stopped. He looked over the carnage he inflicted during his rage and just now. Almost 3 dozen corpses rested around him. He watched as the Stalliongrad forces retreated. Not even a cheer rose among the defenders, the cost was too great. Thorax fell back in his trench and began to cry.
Thorax's tears ran dry. He was lost, nothing made sense, his plans to befriend ponies would never come about now, too much had been lost. Now he couldn't return to his hive, he was a traitor and had no idea what he would do. Thorax stood up and made his way along the trenchline, trying to find any remnant of his Straftbattalion. He found only corpses. He found his Lieutenant sprawled against a burnt out BT-7, his Limestone laying next to him. Bullet casings were scattered around him and the Lieutenants body was peppered with holes. Thorax stared at the corpse. There was no sign of the rest of Straftbattalion 14. He figured he was the last survivor, he didn't know if he'd just be executed or sent to another Straftbat, but Thorax didn't care anymore.
He didn't know how long he sat in thought. He was shaken out of them by the sound of approaching soldiers. Thorax looked to see a Captain and another pair of Straftbat soldiers behind him. Thorax watched his approach and sighed. "Do you need something, Herr Hauptmann?"
The Captain stopped and sat next to Thorax. "I watched what you did there soldier. If this was a regular unit, you'd be given a spot in the Queen's Elite Guard, but it only gives you a Corporal position." Thorax didn't respond. "Unfortunately due to a combination of your unit being destroyed and looting an enemy weapon means your promotion is invalid and I must fulfill my duties as a Captain."
Thorax closed his eyes. This was it, his brain would be blown out onto the snow of some town that no Changeling would ever remember. He saw the flash of magic and flinched. He didn't feel the impact. He still felt the cold wind batter at his body. His eyes opened to stare at the Captain.
"Welcome to Straftbattalion 4 young one!" Thorax looked at his patch, seeing the '1' of '14' burnt off. He looked back at the Captain. "Fall in soldier, we're launching our counter-attack." The Captain moved to a nearby column of soldiers. Thorax joined the rear of the line after retrieving a fallen K98 and ammo pouch, and marched out. Some of the nearby soldiers gave him either looks of sympathy or awe, due to the sheer loss he must had felt at the front. Thorax felt nothing from these looks, he only thought of continuing the fight.
As Thorax's new unit moved out, he felt a strange feeling well up inside him. He had learned of such a feeling, Equestrians called it a 'Heartsong'. Usually sung in times of joy to spread the feeling among the rest of the community. This feeling of Thorax's was not such a feeling of joy. As the column moved through the corpses of Stalliongrad soldiers and tanks, a feeling of loss and despair filled Thorax's very soul. He let the heartsong flow freely through him.
"Wir sind verloren...."
The soldiers around looked at Thorax in confusion, then the Heartsong washed over them and more joined in.
"Wir sind verloren...." Their hooves trudged through the thick snow.
"Wir sind verloren..." Their rifles smacked against their uniforms and chitin.
"Wir sind verloren..." The clanging of their kits filled the air as the Heartsong moved through the ranks. Soon, the whole Straftbattalion sang, even the Captain.
"Wo alle Straßen enden, hört unser Weg nicht auf." Thorax knew he'd never leave. He knew the redemption they all craved would not come, only the promise of an unknown grave and one more day of life kept them moving.
"Wohin wir uns auch wenden, die Zeit nimmt ihren Lauf." It was only a matter of time before either the cold or the enemy took his life, and Thorax would go down kicking and screaming, even if only death awaited him, he would give it tartarus on the way down.
"Das Herz verbrannt, im Schmerz verbannt." Thorax thought of the 'friends' he had made. Noling truly knew each other in this wasteland, but the little they were able to share meant loads to him. He would carry on their memories. But he would never seal himself completely.
"So ziehen wir verloren durch das graue Niemandsland. Vielleicht kehrt von uns keiner mehr zurück ins Heimatland." Thorax knew it was a slim chance, but the promise of seeing home after this, no matter how unlikely he knew in his heart, it drove him and every other Changeling condemned to the North the faintest of hopes to push forward. That hope felt misplaced, so the Heartsong continued into the grey fog of winter.
"Wir sind verloren..."
"Wir sind verloren..."
"Wir sind verloren"
The Heartsong began to fade as Thorax saw the smoke on the horizon. The Captain raised his hoof and Straftbattalion 4 obeyed, they arrayed themselves in a long thin wave of grey uniforms and black chitin. With a call of "FOR THE HIVES!!" they charged. Thorax once more entered the crucible of war and he did not care what awaited him on the other side.
