Welcome Home Soldier

"Hey Sharp."

A voice called, bringing the soldier out of his thoughts. He looked at the pony across from him in the truck, seeing Clover smirking slightly. When their eyes met, he nodded towards the sleeping ponies further inside the truck. All of them were young, fresh, their uniforms neat and clean.

They had just arrived the night before, and Sharp, along with Clover and a few other soldiers had been tasked to bring these new guys back to Camp Solaris. Thankfully they were using a truck, which meant they didn't have to march through the dirt road and be exposed to the hard sun. Not only that, but along with two trucks, one filled with these new soldiers, and the other filled with supplies, they were also escorting a new tank to the camp.

Looking at the fresh faces, Sharp could see how peaceful they looked, how much they relaxed. He could hardly blame them, the fabric that shielded them from the sun had a few holes where the wind could get through, coming out at the big opening at the end where he and Clover sat. It gave off this nice cold breeze that was just too relaxing to ignore in this heat, so Sharp simply looked at Clover, smiling slightly, and shook his head.

"Let them sleep, Celestia knows we could have used that when we first came here."

Clover let out a laugh, barely heard above the noise from the truck and the tires moving over the dirt road, not to mention the bumps. Looking back, they could see the monster of a tank following them. It really was an impressive beast of machinery, and Sharp still felt a sense of awe whenever he saw them in battle. Rebels always thought twice when they knew an Equestrian tank was in the area, mostly because they themselves had no access to such machines.

A standing order was that if a tank could not be salvaged, it was to be destroyed. No one wanted rebels to get their hooves on them, they were already enough trouble without them. Still, that didn't mean that tanks could not be dealt with, which was why no soldier took them for granted, or got cocky even if they had a tank with them.

"You know my little brother is a mechanic." Clover then said. "He would love to get his hooves on those, working on them."

"Did he join up?"

Clover shook his head. "Nah, mom wouldn't let him. Besides, he has a good job, no need to risk his future."

Sharp thought about it, about his future, and what that might hold. Then he looked at Clover. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Clover chuckled. "Well, if I can't get a date with Fleur de Lis, then I guess I'll stay in the army. You get a roof over your head, food, pay, and you know mares love a stallion in uniform." Sharp let out a small laugh, rolling his eyes. "What about you then? What are you gonna do when your time is up?"

It was a simple enough question, but Sharp didn't really know. His father still refused to talk about him, at least according to the letters his sister sent him, so he probably wasn't welcome at home. His best friend had been wounded, lost the use of his hindlegs and refused to see him, so, what could he do? He could continue in the army, but was that really what he wanted?

Sharp shrugged. "I haven't figured that part out yet, I guess I'll take some time to figure it out."

It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to talk about what they were going to do when they were back home. 'When this war is over', they would often say, then lay out a whole plan for all to hear. Silver Star was one such pony, wanting to go into the royal guard, while somepony like Zandre had more modest plans. Even Pin had talked about future plans, even teasing the idea about becoming an officer, that would never happen now, so what would Pin do?

Thankfully he was not gonna live without any help or means. Having been wounded like that, he was entitled to the grand package of pension and benefits. It was a poor substitute for his legs, but at least he didn't have to worry about work, or if he would be able to get anything to eat. As for Sharp, he didn't really have anything to return to, so maybe continuing in the army would be the right choice for him.

Clover smirked, giving him a playful kick with his boot. "Maybe you should consider joining the royal guard with Silver Star."

Sharp had to chuckle at that idea. "No thanks, while they are good soldiers, they're still using heavy golden armor and spears. I'm a rifle pony, I don't want to start using spears."

"Yeah, that is strange, why are they using spears?" Clover asked.

Sharp shrugged. "Logistics, they're investing so much into this campaign that they're prioritizing where equipment should go." He explained, leaning back on the wooden bench. "Also I think that they don't like the idea of rifles in the royal guard. I overheard a cadet calling them unsporting weapons, not for gentlecolts."

Now Clover let out a laugh. "So they rather use spears and get up close? Fucking snobs, at some point they will have to catch up and get rifles."

"I don't know if it's true." Sharp quickly added. "They may be changing as we speak, I don't know anything for sure."

There was a pause in the conversation, both of them trying to relax, but not so much they would fall asleep. To keep himself awake, Clover struck up another topic. "What about the summer sun celebration? Gonna hear it on the radio with the rest of us?"

"I don't know, I need to finish a letter to my sister, I've been putting it off for too long." Sharp replied, using the letter as an excuse to be alone.

Clover knew better though, and just gave him a look that said he wasn't buying it. "That's yakshit, you've been coming up with all kinds of excuses lately. Come on, we have free time, and it is a big event. Even here we are going to celebrate while listening to it live on air."

"Is it even being held in Canterlot this year?" Sharp cut in, trying to keep the focus off him.

"No, I think it's being held in some local town called Pon-"

A sudden explosion cut them off, while they could not see, they could hear it coming from in front of the truck, which was confirmed when their driver stopped the truck. The tank behind them came to a full stop too, while the new group of ponies they were transporting woke up and looked around, shocked and confused.

"What was that?" Clover barely managed to ask, before a familiar whistling sound cut through the air.

"Everypony out! Take cover behind the truck!" Sharp ordered, jumping out with Clover to get into position and cover the rookies. They'd barely landed on the dusty dirt road, before more bullets flew around them.

Sharp and Clover returned fire, but it was clear they were being attacked from both sides. Looking to the tank, Sharp waved at them, signaling them to drive up beside their truck to provide cover from their exposed side. Didn't take them long to do so, as the massive metal monster rolled up beside them, protecting their behinds as Sharp turned to the rookies.

All of them looked scared and confused, and Sharp could hardly blame them. Tough this was not the time to be gentle, he had to take control until they had control of this situation. "What are you all covering for, get your weapons and start returning fire! MOVE!"

Most of them yelled out in acknowledgement, took cover and started to return fire. Others were simply locked in place, shocked beyond reach at this stage. Sharp pitied them, but he had no time to shake them out of it, so he posted to stallions to keep an eye on them, to make sure they did not run off in a panic.

"Clover!" Sharp called.

"Sharp?!"

"Keep an eye on the rookies, I'll go check on the other truck!"

Clover nodded, loading some more bullets into his rifle. "Alright, we'll provide you with some cover fire!"

They sprang into action, not thinking about their own safety, but only about getting the rookies safely to their camp. It was an unspoken rule that veterans took care of the rookies. They were not soldiers before they had been in combat, that was how the veterans saw it. To them, freshly shipped soldiers were nothing more than a group of puppies, cute, sweet, and innocent. So it was up to them to keep them alive until they could survive on their own.

Sharp ran from the cover behind their still standing truck, moving towards the fallen and burning one that had been driving in front of them. There had been some supplies, plus the officers and their signaller. Sharp could feel the bullets fly around him, some even hitting the sand where he had just been.

When he came to the truck, he crawled into the back, out of sight of their attackers. He found what he had expected, two officers dead, and the signaller wounded. Likely both the drivers were dead, a reasonable assumption when looking at the fire that was eating away the front of the truck.

"HEY! ANYBODY ALIVE IN HERE?!" Sharp yelled, trying to make himself heard over the flames and the sounds of rifle fire.

"Sharp.. Here..!" The signaller responded, groaning out in pain. "I think my leg is broken.."

Sharp quickly moved towards him, and what he found confirmed the signaller's suspicion. The leg was broken, but it was something he could survive. Coming to a quick decision, Sharp pulled the poor pony out of the burning truck, sadly having to leave his officers behind.

Everything was happening so fast, but before he knew it, he had brought their radio pony to relative safety. Sharp had no idea why he did it, but before anypony else volunteered for the position, Sharp had effectively taken command. Nopony argued, either because they didn't want the job, or because they were just happy that somepony gave orders.

Sharp did what he thought was right, keep the stallions in order, maintain a defense, and signal for help. Maybe it was luck, or maybe their attackers were bad shots. Whatever the case was, they took no more casualties. When help arrived most of the attackers had fled, but sadly left one truck burning, and the other unable to drive at all.

The tank was the only vehicle still able to drive, but could offer no protection to the rest of them. Instead Camp Solaris sent two more trucks, and this time they made it all the way back.

The rookies were pretty shaken up, this was their first real experience in combat. Some cried, others threw up, and some just needed some alone time. Those ponies like Sharp, who had been there for a year, took care of the new privates. They gave them brotherly advice, shared experiences, and let the new ones share what they felt.

Nopony made fun of anypony for how they reacted. That was another unspoken rule among them. Ponies react differently to combat and stressful situations, and all of them had been one of those guys at some point. Crying, throwing up, or just needed time to process.

Other than the clean up and camp introduction to the new ponies, the commander held a service for the ponies they'd lost. Four veterans, four friends, four brothers...

Many drank that night, at least, those who were not on duty. Many more signed a letter to the family, telling them about how good these four soldiers were. It was the third unwritten rule, whether you liked or disliked a pony in the outfit, you still sent them off with the proper respect and honor.

Everypony signed the letter, even the rookies..

The next day the mood had improved somewhat, ponies were still sad and angry about the attack, but most had learned to deal with it. Not that they forgot, nopony ever forgot. But they were here to do a job, and they needed to keep their wits about them if they were to survive.

That morning however, something unexpected happened. Sharp was called into the office of the camp commander. Captain Fairfax was an excellent officer, everything was done with style and military precision. He'd also been the one to recruit Sharp in Trottingham, for that reason alone Sharp had a certain trust in him.

The older stallion sat behind a desk, looking calm and collected. He hardly looked at Sharp when he stood at attention, gave his name, rank and number. He simply gestured to a chair, asking Sharp to sit down.

Not one to argue with his officers, Sharp sat down without questioning why he was here. He couldn't read the words on the papers he was reading, but Sharp figured it was the reports of yesterday's ambush. Fairfax didn't say anything for maybe two minutes, then he sat the papers down, looked at Sharp with that piercing gaze of his.

For one painful minute nopony spoke, while Sharp was curious, he still did not dare speak before the Captain did. "You did well yesterday, Sharp." Captain Fairfax suddenly stated, but didn't smile. "I've looked over your record, though I hardly need to. You've been a frequent topic of discussion for some time."

Sharp didn't reply. He'd been in the army long enough to know when he should answer statements, and when not to. This was not one of those times where the officer expected a reply, or even cared about one. So with nothing from Sharp, Fairfax continued.

"You've been stationed here for twelve months, or at least nearly. In that time you've hauled home 73 kills." The captain still didn't smile, but Sharp could tell by his voice that he was pleased. "That is a good amount of rebels. rebels that won't bother us again." The captain noticed a shift in Sharp, and he picked up on it immediately. "Something on your mind? Speak up, Mr. Sharp."

"No sir," replied Sharp.

"Don't dance me around. Speak your mind, son."

Sharp felt a little conflicted, but he decided to do what the captain told him. "Well sir, I just don't understand."

"Don't understand what?"

"I signed up to maintain peace, to help civilians. I was told our mission was to support the local government, not fight their war." Sharp didn't want to whine, but he'd killed 73 rebels, 73 ponies. That was an insanely large number for somepony who went here to maintain peace.

Fairfax simply nodded, as if understood where Sharp was coming from. "I see.. Son, do you remember what I told you back in Trottingham?" Sharp was amazed Fairfax could remember him from Trottingham. Or maybe he'd just read his records, and remembered he'd been there himself.

"No sir.."

"I told you that this is not a vacation, you will be trained as soldiers, and you will be expected to kill, should the need arise. Well, that need has arisen, again and again. If you did not pull that trigger, you might have died, or one of your comrades. For whatever reason circumstances have placed you here, or the enemy, you have to make that choice. Kill, or be killed." Fairfax didn't question his orders, or at least, not in public anyway. "Let me give you the advice my own commanding officer told me once.. Soldier, shut up and soldier."

Sharp looked his commanding officer in the eyes, straightened in his chair, and gave a nod. "Yes sir!"

"Good, leave the politics to the ministers and princess. Now, for the reason I called you in. I think it's about time you moved up in rank."

This certainly came as a surprise. "S-sir?"

"Don't wet yourself, you won't make a large jump, but it is a start. Yesterday you showed the ability to command, to lead even in a stressful environment. You kept your head cool, and got the rookies through it in one piece. For that reason, I'm making you corporal."

It wasn't a high rank, and if he did command anything, it would be a squad. More importantly, Sharp didn't want a promotion, and the offer did startle him some. "I don't understand, sir."

"Look son, we need officers who can lead, who can fight. Too many officers these days haven't been in the kind of combat you and I have experienced. So I'm putting you on a command track, with luck, we can get you to sergeant soon after. First things first though, we'll see how you handle a squad."

Sharp was speechless, and he most of all wanted to reject the offer. Only, it wasn't an offer, not when it came from Captain Fairfax. "Sir, will any of my old squad mates be under my command?"

"No."

Fairfax answered straightaway, much to Sharp's relief. It wasn't that he did not want to work with his friends, but it would be too awkward to do so. More to the point, with him in official command of them, it would likely ruin his judgement. That was what he imagined anyway, and so too did the army.

"You will be assigned a new squad. Are you up for it?" Again, it wasn't a question he wanted an answer to. "Good, then you're dismissed for now."

Sharp stood up, and saluted his captain. "Sir!"

He turned on his hooves, and marched back outside. The sun shone down on him, and despite himself, Sharp looked up at the clear sky. Commanding a squad? Never had Sharp imagined he would command any pony, nor that he would be praised by his captain. If you could call that praise.

Thinking back, Sharp could no longer see himself as the quiet living colt in Trottingham. Now he was a soldier, he'd killed, he'd seen death, and experienced loss.

What would his family think if they knew all this? Could he even face them?

Suddenly, Sharp felt very alone, more so than he'd ever done so. Looking towards the barracks, Sharp decided to see his squad mates. They were his family now, and even though he felt low, he would not push himself away from them.

Not anymore...