Pony Tankers: Snow and Steel

Sage leaned against the side of her tank while Cream Soda introduced herself to the fourth and final member of their motley crew. The other mare, a unicorn by the name of Emerald Aura, was one that Sage and Flax had the pleasure of meeting only one day prior. Already, Sage was having her doubts. Flax had managed to squeeze a bit of backstory out of the mare, but the most they could gather was that she was demoted from her officer rank after some major screwup. Now, Emerald was doing her best to talk to Cream - or anypony else for that matter - as little as possible.

Sage worked the toothpick in her mouth from left to right, then stood up straight again and took a step closer to join the very one-sided conversation. Cream Soda was just finishing a brief ramble about what went down last night, and Sage could tell Emerald was only just barely pretending to listen to her. "How are the two of you getting along?" She asked, interrupting with her quiet voice. "Well enough I hope, for both of your sakes."

"Yes, Patchy, we're getting along just fine. Don't you have something better to do than setting up a playdate for us?" Emerald responded first, reusing the nickname she'd apparently settled on to make fun of Sage's eyepatch. Oh well, Sage thought, no sense being upset over something you can't change - especially if it's the snooty attitude of a Canterlot pony. "And where's the commander? Isn't she supposed to be the one ordering us around?"

"Right? I mean, I technically outrank you, er... what was your name again?" Cream Soda added, earning a glare from Emerald. Sage rolled her eye but held her tongue for the moment, settling in against the side of her tank again and shifting her toothpick from right to left. Instead, Sage focused on her surroundings and left Cream and Emerald to their chatting. Celestia's sun was slowly climbing into the sky, bathing the entire camp in orange light, and the frigid nighttime air was beginning to warm up. Enlisted ponies were waking up as needed, hastily throwing on winter uniforms and dashing out of their tents to get started on whatever work they needed to complete today. As the minutes ticked by Sage noticed a few fellow tankers trickling into the motor pool. They came in groups, she noticed, though it usually wasn't a whole crew at once.

The first tank to have all four ponies show up was the one right next to Sage's, three stallions and a mare who seemed to be getting along well despite none of them looking to be morning ponies. Then another tank across the road filled up, then another, then another, until the motor pool was absolutely brimming with busy ponies going through morning checks. A few engines growled and rumbled to life, likely the ones that weren't turned over yesterday and needed to prevent freezing up, and several ponies were sent to fetch whatever supplies their crew decided they were lacking. Sage tuned out the buzz of activity with thoughts of her past, her one eye going unfocused as she turned inward.

She and Flax Seed had been serving in the tank corps since just before the war broke out. Back then, things were different. Training was just passing the time, and a full-blown war seemed unlikely to happen any time soon. Obviously, that turned out not to be the case. Sage remembered the panic in the early days, but she also remembered just how well she and Flax worked together no matter what the Crystal ponies threw their way. The transition from her last unit serving in an infantry support tank to this newer, smaller, lighter recon tank was a big shift, and a part of Sage wondered if Flax was going to handle it as well as she hoped. Sage's job was actually easier, all things considered. Her old tank sported a stubby seven-and-a-half-centimeter cannon with short, heavy shells - this new one featured a much smaller caliber with lighter shells.

Sage was just cracking a tiny grin at the thought of how she could probably juggle this lighter tank ammunition when she heard hooves crunching through the snow toward her. She climbed out of her deep thoughts and stood at attention just in time to see Flax Seed walking her way, plus another mare with first lieutenant rank insignia walking the other way toward a different tank. Sage raised her right forehoof in a salute, then raised her left hindleg to kick the hull of the tank to get Cream and Emerald's attention. Both mares were slow to respond, but they were at least quiet when Flax Seed finally reached them.

"Oh, good, y'all didn't run off," Flax said, sarcastically. "Ears open, the Lieutenant's gonna fill us in on the game plan."

"Already? But I barely know how to drive this thing!" Cream protested, turning away from Emerald to fix Flax with a pleading look. Flax opened her mouth to respond, but Sage beat her to it.

"You'll learn on the field just fine, lass. I dinnae think they'd throw us into something too tough right off the bat like that," she said, before casting an apologetic glance Flax's way. Sage knew the mare was a capable commander, but she was historically bad at coming up with encouraging words. For what it was worth, Sage thought she did a good enough job judging by the effort Cream made to reverse her frown. It still wasn't a smile, but it was a start. A second later it was Emerald's turn to get cut off before she could begin, opening her mouth for what Sage assumed was going to be another snippy comment when a bellowing voice called out and silenced all the hushed conversations around them.

"EVERYONE LISTEN UP! AS OF THIS MORNING WE HAVE RECEIVED NEW ORDERS - TANK COMMANDERS, GET WITH YOUR CREWS AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED," the first lieutenant shouted whilst standing on the front hull of her tank. That was one of the tanks with the upgraded radio setup, Sage noted, with the hull machine gun replaced with extra communications equipment. After taking a moment to look everypony in the eye from where she stood, the lieutenant continued. "WE LEAVE IN TWO HOURS. I WILL EXPLAIN THE SPECIFICS OF OUR MISSION OVER THE RADIO ON THE WAY! DISMISSED!"

"I'll bet they promoted her just for her pipes. Probably the only way a bumpkin could make it that far up the ladder, too," Emerald muttered under her breath. Flax glared at her for that one, but chose not to comment. Instead, she beckoned her crew closer and stepped up in front of her tank. Sage was first to oblige, taking up a position on Flax's left so she was on the same side as her one good eye. Emerald took Flax's right, and that left Cream awkwardly trying to look over Sage's shoulder. At the very least, Sage leaned aside and tried to make room for Cream.

"So, not exactly what I was expecting her to say. Still, y'all already know most of what you need to know; the rest is for us commanders to worry about. To make it real brief, we're doin' recon by fire on a forward position. With any luck the Shinies will fall for our bait and come out to meet us in force."

"Wouldn't that be a bad outcome, Lieutenant?" Emerald cut in, raising an eyebrow and looking at Flax as if it were the most obvious question in the world.

"We ain't plannin' on sticking around to fight 'em, Aura," Flax quickly shot back, shutting the unicorn down. "As soon as we encounter stiff enough resistance we're supposed to fall back and report our findings in detail so the brass can make the next move. Our timeline is two weeks, so I need you three to make sure you've got everything you'll need for a camping trip."

"Should have almost everything already, ma'am," Sage said, after a pause. "I can head to the quartermaster and see if I can scrounge anything else, though, if ye think it necessary."

"Thank you, Sage," Flax said, sounding relieved to have somepony taking the initiative. She spoke while climbing up the boxy front of her tank, placing her hooves on the front plate before hoisting herself up and leaning on the turret. From there, she flipped the hatch open and lowered herself inside. Sage knew she was taking inventory, and she knew better than to interrupt her in the middle of it. She turned and started to trot away, glancing back over her shoulder just in time to see Cream clambering up to do exactly what she expected - going to bother Flax with more questions. Sage had a private giggle at that.

What she didn't expect, however, was seeing Emerald trotting to catch up with her. Sage slowed down and allowed her comrade to fall into step at her side before saying anything, keeping her gaze focused straight ahead as she did so. "What's with you? Finally decide that you're feeling sociable?"

"Don't get too excited," Emerald groused, "we're just going to the same place. I'm missing a few pieces of kit I'd rather not go without."

Sage merely kept silent, crunching along through the snow and silently thanking her lucky stars for finding a pair of boots that was big enough to cram an extra layer of socks into. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she'd been getting off easy as of late. She and Flax being moved to the same unit was something of a statistical anomaly, she knew, and even before that, they'd been on rather light duty. It was enough to keep the two of them sharp, but she hadn't been genuinely scared for her life in at least a month. With what little she knew about how the war as a whole was going, Sage took that as a sign for something. Whether it meant she was finally on the up and up or that she was in for a very bad time soon, she couldn't decide. Sage chose to believe the former.

"That, and I can't stand being around our new driver for more than a few minutes. I'm dreading having to work alongside her in that tin can," Emerald suddenly elaborated, prompting Sage to look over at her with a raised eyebrow. The silence, Sage supposed, had been getting to her. "You've been in the tanks longer, tell me what it's like. Is Flax a hardass on you, too, or is it just me she doesn't like?"

Sage took a moment to consider her answer, walking slowly forward, and Emerald was just about to prod her again when she finally spoke. "I cannae say much. Most of my job is loading a gun, not asking questions. I didn't even have a viewport in me last assignment, so I barely saw the outside world when we were in a scuffle. As far as the Lieutenant, not much I can say there either. She's smart, and does her job well, she's just lacking in pony skills sometimes. Hasn't gotten me killed so far, so that has to count for something."

"Gee, thanks. With an answer as informative as that, I feel far more prepared," Emerald snarked, rolling her eyes. The silence that followed felt different, or it did to Sage. For whatever reason, she got the feeling that Emerald really was considering her words, even if she was dismissive of them. Sage had come to accept her reputation as a quiet pony, and in her mind, part of that was making the few words she did say count. If nothing else, she hadn't lied to Emerald when she said she couldn't say much. The silence persisted for the rest of the long walk across camp to the quartermaster's tent, and Sage was only slightly surprised when Emerald picked up the pace at the last moment to enter before she did. Sage just rolled her eye, taking her spot in line behind the other mare and waiting patiently. She overheard what Emerald requested, and saw the dubious look on the quartermaster's face, but ultimately she relented to Emerald's request. A moment later, Emerald was walking out of the tent with a crate full of field ration kits and a few spare tools. Sage stepped up next, and the mare behind the desk perked up at a familiar face.

"Back again, Sage? What'll it be this time? And before you ask, no, we don't have any more winter coats. Gave out the last ones to a squad of infantry ponies who got reassigned to this place yesterday."

"Already got all the coats I need, Tulip. Just dropping by to see if I can fetch a few packs of cigarettes - the good ones, not the army-issued ones." As soon as Sage made it clear what she was after, Tulip's demeanor changed. She hastily glanced around, making sure none of the other logistics ponies were close enough to overhear, then frowned at Sage as she answered in a hushed voice.

"C'mon, Sage. You know better than to go yelling about this stuff... I can spare you a pack, but that's all. What do you even need 'em for? You didn't pick up smoking since we last spoke, did ya?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and a little grin at her friend whilst reaching into her winter coat's interior pocket. Sage merely shrugged, taking the offered carton and stuffing it into her uniform jacket.

"No, and I dinnae plan to start. This is for Flax - she's busy and can't drop by, and I have a feeling she'll be needing them," Sage said, before standing up a little straighter. Now for the less secretive part of her order. "While I'm here, could you spare a few boxes of ammunition? Pistol and machine gun."

Tulip was far more willing to accept that deal publicly, standing up and shoving her chair back in one smooth motion. "Now that, I can most certainly acquire! Wait right there a moment, would you?"

Sage nodded and watched as the pink-furred mare trotted off to fetch what she'd asked for, fidgeting uncomfortably around the square bulge the pack of cigarettes created in her jacket. She was just beginning to get antsy when Tulip returned, balancing two rectangular ammo cans on her back and a further three cardboard boxes on top of those. Sage stepped up and leaned over, letting Tulip deposit her cargo onto her back with her taller stature. Sage glanced back over her shoulder and double-checked - two cans of seven-point-nine-two, three boxes of nine-by-nineteen. Satisfied, she looked up at Tulip and nodded her head in thanks.

"Don't spend it all in one place!" Tulip joked, chuckling as Sage turned and trotted back outside. She hoped that wouldn't end up being a problem, but something about the plan Flax told her left room for doubt. Regardless, it wasn't her job to worry about it. Sage was hardly surprised to see that Emerald hadn't stuck around, and she didn't feel like waiting to see if she would show up again. Instead, she decided to hurry back to the motor pool and drop off her supplies before her back started hurting under the weight of all that ammo.