Apple Bloom walked through the cold, metal halls, her foot steps echoing loudly in her battle armor, towards her room. She was exhausted from her day's work, and was looking forward to a little rest and relaxation. Her whole day had been spent on the surface, gather supplies and fending off the Dark. They had gathered enough supplies to hold their ship until the next week, but the physical and mental exertion had definitely taken it's toll on her body. While it wasn't anything she wasn't used too, she still needed her rest. Being a Draconis didn't make her invincible, nor immune to normal feelings. Especially pain and exhaustion.
No sound met her ears outside of the dull clank of her armor clad feet marching her to her bed. Her legs were on autopilot, having walked these very halls many times before. It was a good thing too, as her mind became occupied with other thoughts. Not thoughts of her battles, but of her life here, aboard her home ship, the Purity. Mostly domestic thoughts, such as friends, family, and life in general, but given her dangerous job, she cherished every moment here she had.
Time alone was also something she loved, yet had very little of. Not just from being a soldier and fighting for life upon the surface of Equestria every week, but also her status among the space civilization. Most thought of her as a legend, a hero, or even a savior. Some took it so far as to call her an angel, sent from the gods to save them all. The ones who said that were clearly uneducated. Anyone with even a basic understanding of their history would know she wasn't an angel, but in fact, just a normal human trained to be a warrior. Sure, she was a bit more... intense, then a normal soldier, but at the core, that's who she was.
Because of her status, she was constantly hounded by 'fans', people who wanted to thank her, or even just ones who wanted to watch her walk around in her armor, like she was a fashion model. Of course, Rarity loved the attention she got as a Draconis, but then again, it was always her dream to be famous. Rainbow Dash didn't mind strutting her stuff when she could, but that was because she was more of a show off then just wanting to be famous. Then again, she was one of the better soldiers still alive. Fluttershy, now that timid girl shied away from any crowd she saw, unless it was just her friends. The poor soldier could fight monsters down on their old home world, but couldn't stand fans. The rest were basically normal. They didn't care for the attention, but they didn't hate it either. They just dealt with it. It was all they could do.
Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom cleared the thoughts from her head. She didn't need to be thinking about those things right now. She had the rest of the day off, and wanted to spend it with her friends in a non-combat scenario. Being soldiers destroyed what little innocence they had, being the teens they were, but they still liked to have fun playing games, or just talking. The whole notion of being Cutie Mark Crusaders had faded away the day the Dark had risen.
They had seen their sisters drafted into the new army Equestria was training, or rather, the new fighting force, because fifty soldiers was hardly an army. The trio had volunteered to join, much to the surprise and worry of their sisters. Applejack tried to convince Apple Bloom it wasn't a good idea, training to kill and fight to survive. It didn't work. Rarity had tried to get Sweetie Belle to drop out instantly, but Sweetie wouldn't leave her friends. Rainbow Dash had been worried, but had accepted Scootaloo as a warrior, taking the kid under her wing during training.
Apple Bloom shook her head again. She needed to stop thinking about these thoughts. She knew her history, she knew where she had come from, and where she was going. She didn't need to think on it, but images of her battles, and thoughts of her past continued to return to her weary mind.
She thought back to the days when she was in training, with her friends and family. Her family was one of the hardest working families out there, and it became evident in their training. During the process of enlistment, not many Apples where still alive to fight, and many that were had wounds to severe to allow them to fight, or age had taken a hold of them. That left very few, but each and every one of them had risen up to fight. She counted the heads in her mind. Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Fritter, Breaburn, Babs Seed, and herself. As off today, only three of them remained.
These were not the thoughts she needed right before her night with her friends. She just wanted a calm, relaxing evening. Not a night of tormented thoughts and troubled dreams. Why was her brain deciding now of all times was the right time to bring up these memories? She had never had this problem before.
Images of combat training flashed through her mind. It was intense, one of the hardest things she had ever done, even worse then the actual combat she went through on a weekly basis. Rigorous physical workouts, intense mental training, and strict emotional trials to keep them in check on the field were only a small part of the horrors she had gone through.
~O~O~O~O~O~
"MOVE IT APPLES!! LET'S GO!!"
Apple Bloom didn't even have to look at the drill sergeant to see his face, etched with pure anger and the determination to make every single recruits life a living hell. He was not what you'd call a nice guy. Nor even a decent guy. He was downright evil, always finding ways to make they're lives harder as they struggled to complete each task set before them.
"YOU WANNA DIE WHEN YOU GO BACK DOWN TO OUR COLD, DEAD HOME?! MOVE FASTER YOU BASTARDS!!"
Apple Bloom booked it down the obstacle course. Some barbed wire was her first test. She easily slid underneath and army crawled to the other side. With a quick glance back she saw Applejack and Babs not far behind, but Big Mac and Braeburn were struggling due to their bigger size. Apple Fritter was slightly ahead of them.
"GO GO GO!!"
Without looking back again, Apple Bloom took off towards the next obstacle. A wall, with not ropes and not foot holds, only small holes big enough to fit a decent sized wooden peg inside. Without having to think twice, Apple Bloom began searching for something to sue to climb up. She had no weapons or supplies on her, so that left two options. Either team work was required or the tools to get up were hidden.
"Over there!" Babs shouted as she ran up to the wall, pointing at a bucket of small pegs. Applejack followed close behind.
Apple Bloom took one look at the pegs. "They aren't big enough to fit into the holes!"
"Team work, then. Babs, you first!" Applejack said.
"YOU MOVE LIKE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING LEGS!!"
Apple Bloom braced against the wall and cupped her hands. Babs placed one foot inside the makeshift foot hold and jumped, Apple Bloom giving her boost. The combined force of Babs' jump, plus Apple Bloom's push, and the adrenaline coursing through their bodies was more then enough to get Babs over the wall.
"ARE YOU ALL RETARDED?! DID I SAY STAND AROUND THE BASE OF THE FUCKING WALL?! GET YOUR ASSES MOVING BEFORE I MAKE THEM MOVE!!"
"I found a rope!" Babs shouted from the other side of the wall.
Within seconds, a rope feel across the wall, landing within inches of the ground on their side. No hesitation was present as the remaining five Apples took off up the wall, climbing at a furious speed. one by one, they managed to make it over and land safely.
The next obstacle was much harder. A very large shed, filled with walls, pits, traps, and targets. The whole thing was about fifty feet long, and it did not look easy. In fact, it looked very dangerous and possibly deadly. Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom charged in.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Apple Bloom plopped down in her chair by her desk, trying to think of anything to do to take her mind off of the painful memories. There had to be something in her room she could occupy herself with until her friends arrived. While her room was mostly empty, she had a few 'toys' lying around, though they could hardly be called toys. A old, stuffed doll she kept for sentimental reasons, a jump rope, a book about romance, and monitor. Nothing really special.
Maybe there was something to do on the monitor. Maybe a game or article to read. She had the latest in advanced tech, and her monitor was no exception. It boasted all the newest features, highest memory, processing speed, and even a few preinstalled games. The messaging system was the fastest around, and her connection to the fleet-wide internet was top notch. While her job was dangerous, she still enjoyed the perks.
Nothing important popped up in her message box, so she decided to play some games. Her favorite was Maze, a puzzle game in which the player attempted to escape an ever changing maze filled with monsters and traps. The goal was, of course, impossible, given the exit always disappeared right before you could get to it, but she always tried to see how far she could get. It was all she could do.
She idly passed the time with this game, managing to beat her high score. Every time she played, she got better, though she wasn't really surprised. She practiced playing this game so much, she had the highest score in the whole fleet of her people. Not a single one could beat her. She smiled a little, at her own achievement, not only was she a super soldier, she was also an amazing gamer. Another reason she had so many fans.
After around an hour of playing her game, she heard a knock on her door. "One minute!" She called, completely forgetting that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were coming over.
She focused on beating her high score once more, when she was disturbed by another knock. "Ah said one minute! Unless it's Command, it can wait!"
"What if it's your best friends?" a familiar, slightly raspy voice called.
Apple Bloom gasped and dropped what she was doing, rushing over to the door and swinging it wide open. There stood Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, both dressed in their own, casual attire. Sweetie Belle wore a loose, white shirt with a knee high, blue skirt. She had no shoes on, but that wasn't uncommon for her. Her hair was unbound, rolling down to her shoulders, where it bounced back up and curled around her neck. Scootaloo had her cargo shorts on, brown in color, and her normal orange shirt with purple sleeves. Her hair was the same it always was, the front sticking out forwards from her head and curling up slightly, and the back spiked upwards as it climbed up from the base of her neck.
"Come on, I thought we were more important then that." Scootaloo held her hands up to the sides, giving a shrug and feigning a hurt look.
Apple Bloom laughed. "Ah'm sorry, Ah was playing Maze, and Ah was about to beat ma high score." She stood aside to let her two friends into her room.
"And that's obviously way more important then us." Scootaloo playfully jabbed her friend with an elbow. "Still the high score in the fleet?"
"Yeah, ah sure am."
"I never understood how you got so good at that game." Sweetie Belle said in her soft, gentle voice, tilting her head to the side. "That's game's freaking impossible to beat!"
"But it's still fun! And a challenge! Keeps the mind sharp." Actually, Ah got the newest update fer it, and now it has a multiplayer version. Wanna try it out, the three of us?"
Scootaloo cocked her eyebrow. Sweetie Belle seemed equally confused. "On... on one monitor?"
"Yeah, the update came with these nifty controller things! Just plug 'em in, and we can all play! I already tried it with mah sis and brother." Apple Bloom smiled hopefully.
It only took her friends a few seconds to think about it before deciding upon a yes. The three grabbed their controllers, started the game, and began playing. They had only intended to play for a little, but the multiplayer was so good. It sucked them into the game, and soon the minutes turned to hours, and the hours passed on by. They happily played the night away, until they were to tired to continue. At that point, they talked about the game they had just played, having gone so many adventures in the virtual world, and not having once been in any actual danger. It was a pleasant change from their normal lives.