//------------------------------//
// To be a Hero 
// Story: The New Home 
// by Arrenius 
//------------------------------//

              Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened slowly as she stretched out her wings. As usual, the sun was up well before she was. And that was just how the weather pegasus liked it. WCB orders came on a weekly basis, so as long as the weather patrol got everything in order by the end of the week, they didn’t need to be pushing clouds around 24/7. Dash looked around, noticing Tank wasn’t around. Must be downstairs, probably sleeping. Rainbow thought.
Rainbow leapt from her bed and trotted about her house for a minute, waking herself up. She remembered it was... saturday? No, yesterday was saturday, Twilight had had that thing planned. So, since today was Sunday, she could take the day off. Rainbow smiled, that was exactly what she needed, a nice day off. She figured she’d fly around ponyville for a bit (keep up appearances and all) and then spend the rest of the day relaxing at the lake.
Rainbow cracked open a can of food for Tank and dropped it into his bowl. The tortoise tended to be pretty independent, so there was no need to portion it out or anything like that. She stretched out her wings and grabbed some breakfast, a bowl of oats and milk. When she caught a glimpse out her window, she realized just how late she was, and elected to skip the rest of breakfast.
She rushed out to find the Patrol all milling about their meeting place, looking more than a little annoyed. Mental note, Dash thought to herself. Remember to give them the orders the day before next time.
“Uhh... hey guys, we all ready to go?” She said, trying to play it nonchalantly.
It was Thunderlane who cut in, with an aside glance and sarcastic tone. “Yeah, in fact, we’ve been ready to go for like an hour; it’s almost as if we should have started earlier...”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Alright, I get it, I’m late. You know you could have started without me, or would that just be too much thinking for you to handle?”
“And how are we supposed to do anything without orders from cloudsdale?” Thunderlane retorted.
Rainbow smiled. “This brings me back to my earlier point, about thinking. Orders for today are easy; Team two goes out to sweep up debris from that concert they had out on the Canterlot road, team one stays in town and clears out this stratus system we’ve been circulating. Any questions?”
There were none. Annoyed though they were about the late start, the patrol knew a load that light could be cleared well before quitting time. They broke off into teams and from there with their partners, Thunderlane tagging along with Dash.
About fifteen minutes of uneventful cloud clearing around the town outskirts brought them closer to the center of town, and Rainbow decided she’d take a look around town from the air, as she often did.
A low pass over the market revealed a number of ponies crowded around a stall. From what Rainbow could see, they were fairly rowdy. The Pegasus smiled a little; around here rowdy ponies meant good times were on the way. She figured she’d get in on the ground floor of whatever adventure was going to happen this week; better than sitting the whole thing out like she sometimes had to.
She flapped over to Thunderlane and tapped him on the shoulder. “You seeing this?”
He turned around and raised an eyebrow. “What, the stratiform? It’s nothing special.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “No you featherbrain! That crowd, down there in the market!”
Thunderlane looked down and shrugged. “Eh, seems par for the course. We gonna get these moved today or should I just put it off again?”
“Nah, Cloudsdale’s been breathing down my neck about this one. Get em moved out by lunch. I’m going to go see what this is all about.”
Thunderlane looked annoyed. “So I have to deal with a sky full of clouds while you go to the market to screw around?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much the gist of it. I’ll be back when I’m done-”
“Whenever the hay that is.” Thunderlane quipped.
Rainbow continued regardless. “and until then,  you can pull some ponies off of that debris sweeping detail. It’s a make-work anyway.”
“So... why do you get to make the call on what orders we do and don’t follow?”
Rainbow gave him a wry glance. “When you’re democratically elected patrol leader, you get to make autocratic decisions. I’ll see you in a few.”
With a strong flap, Rainbow glided towards the market, landing soft and clean just at the back of the crowd. Rainbow gave a rash of ‘excuse me’s’ and ‘can I get through here?’ as she strong armed her way to the head of the crowd. Close to the front, she saw Fluttershy timidly letting ponies past her. Rainbow moved towards her friend and greeted her with a nudge to the forearm.
“Hey Fluttershy! What’s with the mob?”
“Oh, I have no idea... I was just out picking up some cherries, and there was a big crowd here at the news stand... apparently there’s some big story.”
Rainbow’s expression flattened from excitement to a mixture of disappointment and annoyance. “All these ponies are here to pick up a newspaper?”
An earth pony with an annoying nasally voice rolled her eyes and looked at Rainbow. “Have you not heard? There was some kind of big battle that happened in Transvaal; I heard it from my friend, who heard it from her cousin who works at the Manehatten Times. I want to know if we won!”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Transvaal was never a big story; most ponies didn’t even know Equestria had troops there. She honestly only knew because she read an article about a wonderbolts performance for the troops where Fleetfoot had been injured.
Surprisingly, it was Fluttershy that piped up next. “But... I thought we weren’t supposed to be doing any fighting in Transvaal, weren’t we just bringing in aid supplies and trying to get the zebras and boerperds to negotiate a truce?”
The other pony shrugged and Rainbow gave Fluttershy a surprised look, to which she blushed a little. “It was in a magazine I read sometimes...”
Before Rainbow could respond, a cart came by; the pony that normally ran the newspaper stall pulling it. “Alright, I’ve got the latest editions here; this is one you don’t want to miss fillies and gentlecolts! Four bits a paper, line up right here!”
Someone in the crowd called out to him. “What’s the headline?”
“War hero saves Boerperd conflict!” The papercolt said, proudly and obliviously. Within a moment the whole crowd swarmed upon him, and he struggled to meet them.
Rainbow suppressed a laugh as he frantically tried to produce enough papers for all his customers, while Fluttershy winced. After a couple of chaotic minutes, the crowd had been satisfied and were off to tear into their newly purchased periodicals, leaving the papercolt disheveled and in the dust.
Still giggling under her breath, Rainbow walked up to the stallion, who bore an acute look of shell-shock. “I’ll take one, if you have any left.” She said flipping, him a five-bit piece.
He nodded and gave a dazed response. “Here you go...” He said, eyes spinning dizzied about in their sockets. “Enjoy....”
Rainbow took the paper, and elected to let the poor papercolt keep the change. She walked off briskly, turning to her friend. “Come on Fluttershy, let’s see what all this commotion is about.”
Rainbow flew up on a low sitting cloud, and Fluttershy followed suit quickly. She unrolled the paper to see the headline, over a picture of a Pegasus stallion clad in armor. He didn’t wear a helmet, and his mane blew in the wind as his front hooves supported him atop a sandbag wall. As heroic as it looked, Rainbow couldn’t help but wonder if it had been staged. (That kind of sexiness was too much for any real stallion to pull off)
Rainbow continued to read, muttering half-words to herself as she went through. Fluttershy was clearly reading over her shoulder, so when the story ‘continued A2’ she gave a look behind her to see if Fluttershy was ready to turn the page. Her friend nodded, and Rainbow read on. After a minute, Rainbow reflected with a mixture of awe and skepticism. Everypony knew the newspapers fudged numbers, but to say a guy could take on 4000 with a bunch of sick and wounded soldiers who didn’t want to be there in the first place? Something that absurd had to have at least some truth to it.
Rainbow tore to another page to see the newspaper’s biography on the officer in command, Gale Storm. It was a solid Pegasus name, and he appeared to be from a well off family, born in Cloudsdale (hometown hoofbump), and went to school at Cloudsdale Academy for Pegasi, that in particular raised an eyebrow. They had gone to the same school? That was weird; she didn’t remember ever seeing him, though he looked about the same age as her from the photo.
The more Rainbow read, the more fascinated she became. The military had always somewhat interested her, but battles and campaigns always just seemed like a boring history lesson, so her interest kind of stopped after where the Wonderbolts were concerned. This story though, it caught her attention in a way she couldn’t totally explain.
Fluttershy snapped her out of her thoughts with a sigh. “Oh how awful... twenty dead, and that’s just on our side.”
Rainbow responded quickly. “Yeah, but it seems like it could have been a lot worse, it looks like we expected our guys all to get killed.”
“I don’t hate a lot of things Rainbow, but I think I hate war. All those dead ponies and zebras... and they’re treating it like we won a sports tournament.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Courage is courage, if you’re gonna be out risking your neck for your country, you’re at least as cool as the average athlete.”
Again Fluttershy sighed. “I know, it is very brave of them... I just wish nopony had to die. I know it sounds silly, but if we could all just get along these kinds of things wouldn’t happen.”
“What do you think about Storm?” Rainbow said, changing the subject, which had become a little too sober for her tastes.
“The officer? I remember him, he’s nice.”
Rainbow put down the paper and looked up in confusion. “Wait, you remember him? From school?”
“He was a senior when we were in our first year. He was the president of that secret club Everypony wanted to be in.”
“The Krypteia? They were awesome! I don’t even know what they did and I wanted to be in it.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I remember him; sometimes he would tutor me in history or intermediate level theory and practice of flight. He was very patient, very smart, and he never made fun of me when I tried to fly. Even the teacher did that sometimes...” Fluttershy looked at her hooves, remembering how tough school had been for her.
“That’s so weird... I must have met him at least once; it wasn’t that big of a school.”
“You did. You bumped into him in the hall and spilled his lunch everywhere.”
“How do you remember these things?”
“I remember how terrified I was; I thought he’d be angrier with you...”
Rainbow chuckled. “Well, since I don’t remember it, it probably didn’t turn out too bad. I wonder if I could meet him when he gets back... he seems like a pretty cool guy.”
“That’s how I remember him. Now he’s a war hero, I wonder what that feels like...”
Rainbow put the paper away, laying back resting her head on her forehooves. “If it’s anything like being regular old heroes like us, it probably feels awesome.”


*****

Gale let out a desperate gasp as his head shot from the cot pillow. A quick look to his left and right failed to alleviate the disorientation. There were no windows in this room, and he had no weapon. Panic overtook him for a moment; the enemy had just been here, where had they gone? He had been fighting.... he couldn’t even remember. It entered the soldier’s mind for a moment that he had been captured. Had he somehow been incapacitated in the frantic melee he had just been in the thick of? There had been blood, bodies, and all the usual. A chaos of soldiers he barely recognized, and enemies he could hardly see had danced about him in a rage, every moment spent without a semblance of ordered thought or command, an incoherence he had never before imagined.
If the officer had indeed been taken prisoner, it was certainly not by the Impi... he vaguely remembered fighting the Impi of the Zebra, but he remembered enough to know that this room, built of steel and wood, was far too advanced for them. An awful possibility crept into the terrified reaches of Gale’s mind. This could be a blacksite. Perhaps after all these years, the RIB had finally caught up with him; the fight he remembered could have been with the Adjudicators... but something seemed off. Gale’s better judgement still failed to enter into the equation as he speculated further on the blacksite theory. If he was here, his mother and father wouldn’t be far behind, not to mention his old friends. If he ever hoped to see the light of day again, Gale knew he would need to get out of here.
He took a step and found some difficulty gaining his footing, almost as if the floor were rocking back and forth. Had he been given some kind of drug? Gale pushed the thought out of his mind. He could stand and walk, that was what mattered. He went to the door and opened it, finding it unlocked and leading to a notably unguarded hallway. Gale froze for a moment in confusion. If this was a secret prison, it was a particularly terrible one. Not only had his cell been comfortable, there was literally nothing keeping him in it. Doubt entered Gale’s mind as he wandered through the hallway towards a narrow staircase leading up.
Ascending the staircase, Gale noticed a hatch at the top of it. It had one of those round opening mechanisms, the wheel that somehow opened it, what the bloody hell were those called? Gale had either forgotten or simply hadn’t known in the first place. Either was totally possible, but neither was important. What was important was that Gale noticed the seal of the Merchant Marine on the hatch, and suddenly he felt like a gigantic idiot.
Pulling the hatch open Gale stepped onto the deck of the ship, shaking his head as he walked to the railing. A blacksite, what childish stupidity. He was honestly embarrassed at how long it had taken him to recover from a nightmare. Embarrassed, and more than a little worried. His nightmare (for that is what Gale concluded the ‘battle’ must have been) had blurred his perception of reality in a bizarre way, one he couldn’t quite explain.
Gale was taken out of his thoughts as the ship gave a lurch. A moments stagger turned Gale’s stomach over, and he remembered why he hadn’t joined the navy. Pegasi, being fliers by nature, had an inherent distaste for the sea, and Gale had a history of mild seasickness in his own right. That, the nightmare, and the unwelcome memory of the carnage he had presided over just two days before all compounded to produce in the grey Pegasus an acute nausea which compelled him to hang his head over the railing.
After a moment waiting, Gale realized that his body had no intention of allowing him to be sick, instead choosing to occupy that hellish limbo wherein one wants to, but is unable to, vomit. Not wanting to return to his quarters just yet, Gale looked out over the railing, crossing his forehooves on top of it. He took a glance in the direction the boat was travelling, the sea breeze providing at least some respite from his unsettled stomach.
Home. The ship was heading home. He could tell that it was going northwest, if he had a sextant he could even figure out, within a few kilometers, where they were geographically, but none of that was nearly as important as what Gale knew. And Gale knew they were bound for Equestria.
When the soldier had collapsed drenched in blood, sweat, and dirt after the battle at Drift Station, home had topped his thoughts. He had yearned to return to Cloudsdale, to see his parents and young sister, and maybe spend a day or two asleep in his bed, enjoying the great boundless liberty that was existence without responsibility or obligation. As he looked towards Equestria, more and more did those thoughts come into his head.
And more and more did they fail to satisfy him.
Every moment he tried to think about home, his thoughts wandered. The more he drafted his vacation plan, the more he went over his battle plan from two days ago. Every mental image of Gale Storm stretched out on a comfortable bed faded into Gale Storm mangled by a Zebra spear he had barely dodged. Every moment contemplating the bliss of irresponsibility brought a pang of guilt at even considering the dereliction of his duty.
Gale frowned at the horizon, watching the waves thrown back by the bow of the ship. He followed the movements of the water around the hull, scrutinising the water as if he were focused on a single molecule he wished to track. As the water flowed past the stern, Gale looked again at the horizon, but this time not at the ship’s bow. He uncrossed his forehooves, planting them on the deck, and took a few steps astern, staring back at Transvaal.
That place had been hell. Heat that was almost desert like, war, uncontrolled disease, slash and burn farming, bandit raids, and a lack of such modern conveniences as plumbing. How was it that he stared back at that place where he had seen so much horror and death, (and even dealt out his fair share of both) that he couldn’t tear his mind away from his time there?
How was it that, deep down in the innermost, hidden regions of this Stallion’s heart that he wanted to go back?
Once again, Gale looked to the horizon along the bow. The ship was, doubtless, headed for Equestria.
But Gale was no longer sure he was headed home.

*****

Venture did up the clamps on his armor. He had almost wanted to stay home today, (he had 72 vacation days saved and he was dangerously close to the ‘use them or lose them’ threshold) but there was only one captain today; nopony could really take over in his absence. He couldn’t leave the Paladins to run about trying to figure out what had happened to Shining Armor, and he certainly didn’t want them finding out from a politician.
The walk to his office was somber and quiet. Some NCO’s walked by and saluted, and several civilians who knew who he was gave him a respectful nod, but none tried to speak to him. Whether it was because of his status or the scowl on his face, he couldn’t quite tell. Venture had no particular desire to have a discussion with anypony anyway, yesterday’s madness had put him in such a mood that it would have rapidly devolved into a shouting match.
He entered the Guard HQ, returning more salutes from the door guards. As he walked through the foyer, the other of his counterparts approached him, and he groaned. In front of the captain stood the commander of Luna’s nascent guard contingent, a purple coated Earth Mare by the name of Nightfall. A veteran officer who had served in multiple tours of duty, (including one with the Special Forces that Venture wasn’t supposed to know about) Venture had every reason to respect Captain Nightfall, even be her friend. But to be perfectly honest she scared the hay right out of his cart. The mare was unbelievably intense, and didn’t suffer what she perceived to be incompetence. Venture also suspected that she was secretly some kind of sociopathic serial killer, but that had more to do with the whole ‘bat motif’ floating about everywhere with her.
She wasted no time in speaking, and got directly to the point, businesslike and serious as she always was. “Is it true then? Has Captain Armor been arrested?”
Venture kept on walking and replied tersely. “Yes. They convicted him of treason and tossed him in lockup.”
“Who’s they?” She asked
“Celestia, Courser, all the plotholes on the council who prefer dead bodies to disobedience.”
She looked confused. “What did he do and how did they find out?”
“He issued an illegal order to save his friend. They crucified him for it.” Venture was letting his frustration seep through. He didn’t want a damn conversation about this and was making every effort to let that be known.
“That doesn’t make sense, how did they find out that he-”
“Because I bucking turned him in!” Venture snapped. He hadn’t even realized the level to which he had raised his voice. Other officers in the area were looking on, shocked.
“I did it. I brought him to the Princess. If there’s anyone to blame over this... It’s me.”
Venture looked at the ground, ashamed of himself. “I... I think I may resign soon. I’m getting too old for this.” He looked up and spoke quietly, almost at a whisper. “Night, we need to play this close to the vest for now. If they find out what happened...” He looked towards the officers. “If they learn what happened yesterday we’ll be on the edge of a bloody coup. That’s where we are, that’s how serious this has gotten.”
Nightfall absorbed the information quickly. “Understood. I’ll see what I can do about burying this.”
“I don’t want any bodies found in dumpsters or black bags over ponies’ heads. Just keep it quiet.”
Nightfall smirked. “There’s more than one way to contain information, but we’ll play it your way.”
Venture nodded and walked on to his office. He realized in retrospect that Night may take... liberties with his recommendation (he had seniority, but their ranks were equivalent). But honestly he didn’t give a damn. If boy scouts like Shining Armor were getting locked up, perhaps a military coup was what the nation needed.
He opened the door to his office, still fuming. But as the door opened, the fire in him was instantly extinguished. His office wasn’t empty, and when he saw its occupant, he was paralyzed with fear. His hooves felt like cinderblocks, and his eyes were wide open in shock.
The occupant stared him right in the face and greeted him. Such a familiar voice, known by so many to be full of love and caring now spoke with a barely restrained rage, and the icy determination of a slighted Mare.
“Good morning Captain Venture.”
All the anger in him was gone, the courage he had called upon a dozen times to propel him into gunfire and waiting enemy spears was nowhere to be found, he could only manage a weak, obviously terrified reply.
“Good... good morning Princess Cadance...”
She stood up and walked towards him.
“Captain, I’m going to ask you a question. And I’m only going to ask it once.”
She got right up in his face, staring him in the eyes. Venture slunk away a little.
“Where. Is. My. Husband.”

*****