A world, gone. An army, raised. Three super soldiers, taken from their youth and trained to be the best, and now, one of the only things standing between the surviving Equestrian population, and extinction.
It wasn't long ago that an ancient evil, buried in the crust of the world, had over taken the globe. To survive, Equestria built space ships, known as frigates, to take them to the orbit of their world. But supplies would not last, so they trained soldiers. Fifty of them, taken from all ages. But not any soldiers. Warriors, stimulated with special serums, and put through intense training, in order to become what the rest aren't, and do what no one else can. They are tasked with returning to the surface, every week, in order to regain supplies, else they run out of food, water, and other various goods. But the surface is a dangerous place. And after over a year, only twenty two the fifty soldiers remain. Out of those twenty two, three have proven themselves time and again to be the best, and soon, they'll be tested to their limits, on the cold, dead surface of Equestria.
The 'ponies' are all humans, and as such, I'll be referring to them that way. But don't worry, this story still has the ponies you know and love, they just aren't called ponies.
Rated sex for sexual jokes and references. No actual sex in this story, nope.
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.
Dressed in her full battle armor, Scootaloo marched down the hall. She was heading for training before anything busied her day, not wanting to miss it again, like the day before. It wasn't her fault, really. She had stayed up all night two days ago, playing with her two friends on Maze, and having a more fun then they had in a long time. They had slept in all day, causing her schedule the next day to be thrown off. She had spent the whole day dealing with legal matters and fans and command she had no time for training.
Okay, maybe it was her fault.
One way or another, she needed to get in some extra training. She usually trained once every day, an hour a day, unless she was deploying that day. She had no deployments scheduled, and not much else to do this day, so she planned on getting in two hours of training, to make up for yesterday. Her friends all said she trained to hard, but training kept her alive on the battle field. She wasn't first on the score boards, but she was pretty close.
Several fans called out to her, but she ignored them. She had no intention of dealing with her annoying fans today. It was amazing that they even had fans. Sure, they kept the space colony alive, but that was their job. They weren't trying to be glorious, save Rarity. They were all doing this because they had to. This was how they survived.
She would think her fans would know she's still human, and she still needed her personal space. Its not that she hated her fans. Far from it. It felt good to be loved and recognized where ever she went, but damn, they could got so annoying! Hounding her and her friends, never letting up, all just to even get a glimpse at them. It was insane. Some people would actually try and grab ahold of them as they passed by. Those few were often met with a swift arm to the chest, and occasionally their face. Most learned their lesson, but several were still dumb enough to try again. Thankfully she only encountered fans while walking though public areas, but it was still a necessary occurrence, in order to reach command, other soldier's bunks, or specific rooms.
For instance, she was currently headed to the public training room. Not that there was something wrong with the military's, but the public one had more equipment, more room, and best of all, water fountains, so she didn't have to bring her own water and worry about running out. As a bonus, the doors didn't open to the public for another two hours, so she had all the time she needed to train, then get out before it was swarmed with people wanting to workout.
With a sigh, she entered the training room. It was large, with white walls and blue, padded floors. There many different types of workout stations, so she would be sure to get in a full, well rounded workout. Large, fenced off areas for sparring and fighting, and even some hanging bags for punching. Best of all, it was completely empty.
As a safety precaution, Scootaloo locked the doors to the room. While people needed a clearance card to get in, some had been known to force open the doors, and they didn't get fined or anything, because they didn't break anything. If it was locked, that left either break the doors down and suffer a large fine, or wait until they opened, and by then she'd be out. She'd leave the doors for management to open. She didn't want to risk being caught in a swarm of fans.
With that out of the way, she set to stretching, really not wanting to pull something as she worked out. She was very fit, and very limber, but she could never be to careful. She had seen several people put out of action for days, or even weeks, because of improper warm ups. She had resolved that would never happen to her.
Stretching was quick enough. Legs, arms, back, core, neck, and she was good. She did at least one stretch for each major muscle used in her workouts, spending enough time on each one that she felt very warm by the time she was done. She had gone through the same routines so many times, she managed to finish with plenty of time to work out. With a quick glance at the clock, she saw the time read ten twenty-five. She still had about an hour and a half left. Perfect.
First thing on her list was weights and cardio. No amount of weight lifting allowed her to raise her max weight past two hundred pounds, but she didn't complain too much. She was still stronger then most stallions, so that was a good enough max for her. Her cardio was easy enough. She had to work as hard as she could on the hardest workouts for a half hour before she was capable of even getting winded in the slightest. Of course, that was normal for her. It wasn't entirely due to her physical condition, but also to the serums and implants in her body, enabling better functionality.
Her next chore was intense physical combat training for the last fifty minutes. She had no opponent to spar or fight with, so that left the punching bags. They'd have to do.
She looked towards the doors for a brief second and saw several people had gathered around, watching her workout. It wasn't embarrassing, but slightly annoying. It was like she could get no privacy at all. She just wanted to work out, not be watched by fans. Of course, she was in a public area, but still. These people had no sense of respect, apparently, outside of crazed fandom.
With a small shrug, she walked over the punching bags. She thought up a little drill for herself to go through. Maybe some light kicks and punches on the bags, followed by some more intense melee practice against the dummies. Possibly some parkour practice later if she had the time.
Whack!
Scootaloo hefted her arm forward, swinging with all her might, and throwing her weight into it for good measure. The bag swung backwards and up, so high the hook holding it up almost became loose. As it swung back down, she spun around, leg extended, landing a solid blow on the side with her foot.
Bam!
The bag stopped in its tracks and instantly changed directions, swinging around her, towards her back. She wasted no time in spinning to meet it with another fist, sending it backwards again and to the side a bit.
She went on in this manner until the bag actually broke, the chains holding it up snapping due the stress she was putting them under. Shrugging, she moved onto her melee training. It wasn't like breaking things was okay, and she generally tried to avoid it, but she was also a Draconis, and that meant she did get a few special privileges, like being able to break something and not have to pay for it. She would finish this, then be out of here, which brought up the question, just how was she going to get out of here? Glancing back to the doors, they were all crowded with people straining to get a look at her.
She tucked those thoughts away for a later time. Right now, she needed to finish her workout. The dummies stood before her, unaware of the cold, hard beating they were about to receive. They just stared ahead, plastic, lifeless eyes unwavering.
Scootaloo began to picture in her head the dummies turning into the Dark, as they began to surround her, ready to move in for the kill. She wouldn't let that happen. Taking a breath, she slid one foot back slightly, getting into her fighting stance, and brought her hands up. Not a sound was heard as the combatants waited for someone else to make their move. Scootaloo wasn't going to let it be them.
She leaped forward with such speed and suddenness, her enemy had no time to defend. Her foot caved into the first enemies face, causing it to explode, sending bits of dark, gooey flesh everywhere. She landed and rolled, bringing herself to a standing position, ready to fight. She dashed forward and brought her fist to bear on the next enemies chest. It staggered backwards before falling. She pounced on it and grabbed its face, imagining it's screaming and howling as she tore it off, ending it's life.
Without any time to loose in a battle, she rolled backwards and flipped, landing before her last target. She imagined it swinging it's arm at her, so she ducked, hitting the ground with a roll, coming up behind it. She imagined it spinning around, arms extended, to hit her, so she ducked again, but this time, sprung forward and tackled it. She proceed to pound it into the ground, fists a flurry of motion as she beat the life out of it. Eventually its chest exploded, unable to withstand the furious beating it was taking, sending black flesh everywhere.
With a satisfied sigh, Scootaloo stood up and was meted with a loud applause. Jerked back to reality out of her imagination, she noticed a massive crowd had formed around the doors. And there was only ten minutes until the place was opened for everyone.
The crowd pounded on the doors, cheering, howling, whooping, even screaming for her, and many were chanting her name, though it was lost in the cacophony of noise coming from her fans.
"Hey squirt."
Scootaloo had heard that voice, loud and clear, almost as if it was in the same room. And she knew that voice.
She pun around, a small smile on her face as she saw Rainbow Dash, leaning against one of the still functional dummies, her arms crossed over her chest. She was smiling, but not in the purely happy way. More if the competitive way. She was decked out in full battle armor, her helmet resting on the ground.
"That was pretty impressive." The rainbow haired soldier laughed. "Too bad you still can't be me."
Scootaloo walked over and they grasped each others hands tightly, pulling each other close until their armor bumped, then pulled away, the traditional way for the soldier's to greet each other.
"But with those moves, you'd come pretty darn close."
"Well, when I practice, I imagine that I'm beating up you. Seems to help." They both shared a laugh. "Of course, even though you're better then me at melee, you know what the score boards say."
Rainbow waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, those are just score boards that serve no purpose. Besides." Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "I'm sure those boards are broken. I'm pretty sure I'm the best soldier here."
Rainbow turned to the doors of the training room. "Do you think we should get out of here? Seems we've drawn quite the crowd."
Sure enough, a very massive crowd of fans had gathered, both for Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. It was beginning to look like a mob out there. Scootaloo would never understand what went through the deranged minds of her fans, and what made them act so damn crazy.
"Yeah, I guess. But how?" Scootaloo asked. The doors are pretty much sealed."
Rainbow laughed, a devious smile spreading across her face. "Watch and learn kiddo."
Rainbow walked over to one of the doors nonchalantly, casually whistling a merry tune. She unlocked it, but held it shut against the hundreds of crazed fans, cracking it open just enough to allow her voice to be heard. With a deep breath, she bellowed into the mass of people, causing them to be silent.
"Thank you. Now, I have a little challenge for everyone here, okay?"
The crowd nodded eagerly, awaiting whatever challenge the Draconis had in store for them.
Rainbow looked across the crowds, smiling wickedly. "Whoever gets back to their rooms first, gets to have sex with me."
Without even a moment of hesitation, almost the whole crowd was gone. Only around twelve actually stayed. Rainbow swung the doors open, waving Scootaloo over. Together they exited the training room, passing the few remaining fans, who stared dumbstruck at them.
"That was wrong on so many levels." Scootaloo laughed.
"Maybe, but it got us out, right?"
Rainbow stopped by the last fan they passed and clasped him on the shoulder. She stood over him, a good foot taller, thanks to the special serums they had taken during training. Those serums had stimulated everything about them, making them stronger ,smarter, faster, and taller. She looked down at him, and he stared up at her, with wide eyes. Scootaloo could tell, however, his eyes weren't filled with crazed awe, or complete stupidity at being this close to one of his heroes, but instead was filled with a different kind of awe. He actually seemed sane.
"Stay strong friend." Rainbow said, before turning and leaving him.
Scootaloo walked past him as well, stopping for a second. "Hey." He turned to her, his eyes going wide again. "Thanks for not being insanely stupid like everyone else, m'kay?"
The man nodded slowly, a smile spreading across his face, enabling him to spit pout a few words. "Th-Thanks... Draconis."
Scootaloo smiled and walked away, following Rainbow Dash. The trip back was short and uneventful. All their fans were gone, probably waiting in their rooms for a certain rainbow haired soldier to show up. They'd be sorely disappointed when they figured out she had lied to them. Then again, it's what they got for going crazy every time they saw them.
"Hey kid, remember when we went through melee training?" Rainbow Dash asked rather suddenly, breaking the silence.
~O~O~O~O~O~
"Duck!"
Scootaloo narrowly avoided a blow from her foe, who's goal was to take out her face. Luckily, this particular opponent was strong, but a bit clumsy and slow. His swing was easy to see coming, but the cry to duck had thrown her off, just by a split second. Thankfully, she had managed to dodge, and no the over-powered swing sent her attacker stumbling away. She sprung up behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling.
She didn't even hesitate to pounce him, pinning him to the floor, and twisting his arms behind his back. He cried out in pain she pulled his arms in directions they weren't supposed to go.
"Time! Soldier 041 wins!"
Scootaloo let up on the pressure she was applying to his arm with a sigh, knowing she could lose rations or worse if she went against the refs rules. Not that she wanted to hurt this guy, but when she got in the zone, she hated getting out.
Instead, she whirled to her friends, climbing out of the training ring. "Sweetie Belle! What did I tell you about telling me what to do?!"
Sweetie smiled sweetly, trying to act innocent. "Whatever do you mean, friend?"
Scootaloo did not want to put up with this. She was tired, mad, slightly hurt, and now pissed at her friend. "Dammit don't you dare act like that!"
Apple Bloom stepped forward. "Whoa, easy there Scoots, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!" She shouted, a little too quickly. "Ugh, it's nothing, really. I'm just tired. Who's the last person I have to fight so I can go get some rest?"
Sweetie Belle pulled a clip board. "Um." She searched through the various names on the paper before her. "It think it's Roseluck."
"Oh great." Scootaloo mumbled. "Just what I wanted..."
Roseluck was one of the better soldiers in training so far. She was fast and smart. What she lacked in strength, she mad up for in agility and the ability to outwit her opponents in combat. Scootaloo was, of course, better, but she would be a hard challenge, and she had been hoping to get someone easy.
She climbed into the ring again, waiting for her contender to show up. Just when it was looking like she'd be able to skip the last melee fight, Roseluck walked through the doors to the training room. With a sigh, she climbed into the ring with Scootaloo, and the two performed the normal greetings they were taught when fighting another soldier.
With that out of the way, they went at it, full force. Scootaloo threw punches, jabs, kicks, knees, all to be blocked by Roseluck's defenses. Roseluck threw elbows, hooks, and even some haymakers, only to be stopped cold by Scootaloo's solid blocks. For an hour this went on, and it seemed as if they would never finish.
Then Roseluck let slip a small hole in her defense, one Scootaloo planned on exploiting all the way. She reached towards Roseluck, grabbing her arm, and pulling it towards the ground. Roseluck fought back, pulling up and trying to jab her enemy. Scootaloo had anticipated this, and managed to dodge the blows and end up behind her opponent. With a quick pull and twist, Roseluck had her arm pinned behind her. She tried to through Scootaloo over her shoulder, but that was exactly what she wanted. Going with the pull Scootaloo rolled onto Roseluck's shoulders. Letting go of Roseluck's arm, she pushed herself into the arm off of her enemy, flipping right-side up.
Roseluck looked up to see what had happened, only to find Scootaloo crashing down onto her, feet connecting with her shoulders, and forcing her into the ground with the unexpected impact. A loud crack was heard throughout the training room. Scootaloo rolled off her opponent, and came up into a fighting stance, ready to finish the fight.
However, it seemed her little trick had finished the fight for her. Roseluck was lying on the ground before her, holding her leg, crying in pain. A large, white object stuck out where her shins were.
Slick, crimson fluids coated the training floor..
~O~O~O~O~O~
"Yeah, I do." Scootaloo shuddered. "Not the best part of training."
"But arguably one of the most important."
Scootaloo laughed. "Only because it's the one thing you're better at then me!"
Holding her hands up in mock surrender, Rainbow chuckled. "Okay, you got me kid. you must be a detective."
Sharing one more laugh, the two spent the rest of the trip back to their rooms in silence. Scootaloo didn't know what else she would do today, but at least she had managed to make it through her training without being swarmed by fans. That was a plus. She pulled out her info pad.
There were approximately two million people on each frigate, and there were twenty three frigates. That was about forty six million people. There was no way every single one of them was insane about them. In fact, every crowd she had ever seen only reached sizes of around one or two thousand at the most. That meant there were millions and millions of people who weren't crazy. That was a comforting thought.
That must have meant that the sane people just never came out to see them much. So the only fans they ever saw were the crazed ones. That wasn't a very comforting thought.
Oh well, there wasn't she could do to change it. just ignore them and continue her job. It was all any good soldier could do, right?
Sweeite Belle was not what one would consider a normal teenager. She was, in fact, more of an adult, due to her life up to this point. Most teenage girls worried about things like make-up, fashion, or even tomboy stuff. Not her. Her daily worries consisted of her armor being at peak functionality, her training, and the role of keeping over forty million people fed and supplied with basic goods. She wasn't normal, but she didn't mind one bit. She was, after all, super famous. It's not like she wanted to be famous, like her sister, but she didn't mind it. It came with many perks, including fans. Some fans were crazy, but she knew how to deal with them. Her friends seemed to hate being around them, but not her. She had learned some techniques for handling swarms of deranged, psychotic fans from Rarity, who seemed to live amongst the crowds while she wasn't in the field.
Sweetie tried to think back a few years, back before all of this had happened. Before the Draconis soldiers, before the frigates, before the Dark, before the anarchy. She tried to remember what it was like to feel the grass beneath her feet, or to see the sun rise from the ground, sailing through the sky in a graceful arch, only to settle back into the ground and make way for the moon. She tired to remember the smell of trees, or the feel of a warm, summer breeze on her skin.
Try as she might, her brain refused to think that far back. It was almost as if her brain had suppressed those memories, because she knew they were there, they just wouldn't come out. Maybe Nurse Redheart had some knowledge on that. Or the fleet therapist.
She was headed towards command right now, so she might meet Redheart there. She had a meeting to go too, mostly a briefing of tomorrow's mission. She usually just listened, asked a question or two, then left. Nothing big.
Maybe command had something fun going on too. She hadn't checked this week for the special challenge, amazingly, even though she was four days into the week. Every now and then there would be little events such as tournaments or challenges for the soldiers to complete. The prizes were small, of course, usually something like a little extra food all week, or even money at times, but Sweetie never competed for money or any prizes. She just enjoyed having fun with her friends, if you could call what she did having fun.
The walk to command was eventless. Amazingly, she ran into only two fans, whom were both reasonable enough to not hound her wherever she went. She didn't run into her friends either, which was odd. All soldiers had their own homeships, such as this one, the Purity, which was the home of the trio. However, most soldiers traveled to other ships to visit or train together all the time. But not her friends. They always stayed on their home ship unless they had to leave. There was a complete lack of her friends, and other soldiers, and even fans or just plain people. Where was everyone?
She arrived at command, when the thought suddenly hit her. She wasn't wearing her armor.
She looked down to her attire. A tight pair of rolled up jeans, a loose white t-shirt, and her sneakers, along with a pink and blue bracelet on her right arm and a watch on her right. Not exactly military grade apparel. Then again, she was pretty sure Command would forgive her not wearing her armor. She was, after all, super famous and super important, and a pretty valuable asset the entire community.
Stepping inside, to the heart and soul of the surviving Equestrians, the one place that functioned to keep them all alive, was something she never really cared to do. When she thought about it, the people working here had it harder then she did. All she did was travel to the surface every week and gather supplies while fighting off the Dark. The people here had to sort the supplies, organize their missions, keep the community running, and many other things. She almost felt bad for those who worked here. But they could be rather rude at times. And they seemed to hater her and her two friends, despite them being the best.
She passed through the halls to find they were likewise empty. It seemed as if everyone had just disappeared, except there were still a few workers around, managing the place. Had she missed something?
She found the briefing room, easy enough. She had been here more times then she wanted to count, so it wasn't like she could get lost. Inside was a large table, with many chairs around it. In those chairs sat none other then Luna, head of Military Command. She was in charge of anything that had to do with them, the soldiers, as well as the frigates.. Her sister, Celestia, oversaw basically everything else, including all the civilians. Beside Luna sat Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat across from them. Every single one of them was dressed in full battle armor, except Luna, who was dressed in her military attire.
And of course, behind them all, hanging up on the wall, was the scoreboard. A large, rectangular screen, about three feet up off the ground. It had twenty two numbers, though it used to hold fifty. Beside each number was a name, and besides those names was a colored symbol, depicting which group each soldier belonged to, and their numbers. Despite having seen this a thousand times before, she couldn't help but look once more.
Sweetie Belle never knew what the scoreboard was for. What was the point of making this a competition? Was it so the soldiers would push themselves harder in an attempt to beat each other, ultimately leading to more goods? Or was it for some other unknown reason?
She took a quick glance at the clock, noting the time. Four twenty six. She was over five minutes late. She mentally chastised herself for her tardiness. She knew she'd get an earful from command now. They didn't tolerate tardiness of any kind, for any reason.
Everyone turned to look at the late comer, and most each of them raised a brow at her. She assumed they were just wondering at her lateness. She tried to ignore them as she sat down, but everyone persisted to stare at her. She shifted about uncomfortably for around seven seconds before she couldn't stand it anymore.
"What?! What's wrong?" She stood up suddenly, shoving her chair back, and causing it fall to the floor with a loud thud. She glared at each of them, searching their faces for some clue.
"Uh, Sweetie." Luna finally spoke. "Why aren't you dressed in your Draconis armor?"
Sweetie's face actually reddened a bit, embarrassed. "Oh, uh." She quickly straightened her chair, sitting back down. "I, forgot." She ducked meekly.
Luna pondered this for a moment, then stood up, grabbing a laser pointer. "Well, don't let it happen again, or I will be forced to punish you."
"It won't, I promise." Sweetie said, nearly whispering. She shouldn't have felt so embarrassed, but she did. She felt like she had screwed up big time and it was all over for her. Even though Luna clearly didn't mind all that much. Then again, she had a habit of over reacting to certain situations.
Luna herself walked over to the scoreboard. She pressed a button on the wall, and the screen changed to a map of the world down below. She pressed a few more buttons and the map zoomed in on several locations, getting closer and closer until it stopped at it's destination.
Ponyville.
Sweetie almost gasped when she saw the name come up on the map. She would have never guessed it, given how mutilated and scarred the land was, but it was Ponyville. Neither she nor her friends had been to there since they had gone on their first mission on the surface. That had been well over a year ago. Now they were going to go back home, it seemed.
"As you all know, last week, your two teams gained about fifty units of supplies. That's enough to supply our ships for a week." She looked at Sweetie and her friends, then to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "That's not including the other teams contributions. We had an exceptional harvest last week."
She pointed at the map. "Ponyville has a some supplies we could gather, supplies that are needed. Last week gathered many, but missed crucial things like clean water. You three," she pointed at the three youngest soldiers, "will be going down tomorrow. If you can manage to gather enough water and a few other supplies, we may be able to give you all a week off from missions."
Sweetie Belle almost gasped. They had never been given a break since training had ended for them. Every week, they had gone down to the surface to retrieve supplies, and every week, they barely managed to get by. And that was back when there had been with fifty fresh soldiers. Now they only had twenty two battle scarred, weary souls. Though rumors had spread that Command was training a new batch of soldiers, Sweetie dismissed them .They didn't have the resources for that.
"I know it isn't much, and it certainly isn't mandatory, but if you do manage, then you all could very well get a break."
Luna cleared her throat before continuing, pointing with her laser pointer at, if Sweetie Belle remembered, was Carousel Boutique. "You will be dropping here." She pointed at another building, appearing to be Sugar Cube Corner. "Extraction is here. You will have exactly three hours to gather supplies. So be quick, and be quiet."
She looked at Rainbow and Applejack. "You two will be on stand bye, in case things go south, but I'm sure they won't."
"There's not much else to say. Scans reveal little to no Dark in the area, so you should have plenty of time to gather supplies. In the event you do encounter them, do not engage unless they threaten the mission. If you do engage, be quick and quiet. Understood?"
They all nodded.
"Good, then I'll see you later. Have a good night." With a wave, Luna dismissed them.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Sweetie Belle lay on the cold table. Her bare arms and legs shivered at the freezing touch it brought, but she didn't dare move. This was it. Her last steps to the ultimate finish of her training. She just needed to make it through this, finish training, then she was ready to be deployed into the field. It wasn't exactly that she wanted to be deployed, but at the same time, she wanted to help her people survive. Her and her friends would be the only thing standing between the Equestrian civilization's extinction. And that was a big responsibility.
She watched as a large machine with several mechanical arms extending from it's top approached her. Each arm was at least five feet in length, and about as round as paper towel roll. At the end of each arm was a long, vicious looking needle. She wasn't scared, of course. She was a soldier. She had all fears pounded out of her during training. Fear was an emotion the enemy used to weaken your mind. She wasn't weak.
A loud voice boomed through the speakers hanging off the walls, echoing of the walls for several seconds. "Soldier 040, are you ready to proceed with the physical stimulation phase of your training?"
Sweetie Belle gulped. For some reason, this was harder to go through with then it should have been. Then again, if she did this, there was no turning back. Her whole life would be devoted to protecting and supporting her people. She would never have a life as a normal teenager.
Of course, she had given that up when she and her friends and decided to enlist. She had chosen by will to lose it when she joined, and it was lost as she progressed through her training. There wasn't a back to go to anymore. Above all, she couldn't let her friends down. She took a deep breath and nodded her head, unable to form the words.
"Good. We'll begin the growth stimulant portion, now."
She felt a sudden, sharp pain as one of the needles jammed itself into her arm, injecting it's cold fluids into her body. She tensed up at the feeling of something foreign entering her body, but she didn't flinch. She was a soldier, a warrior.
"Next is the muscle stimulation."
Another sharp pain stabbed at her mind as another needle burrowed into her other arm. She still didn't flinch, but the pain was slightly more then the last one. She watched the needle in her first arm retract, leaving a small hole. But she didn't gag. She had a mind of gold and guts of solid steel.
"Bone stimulation."
This time she did cry out in pain as the next needle went a little to far, poking her bones in her legs. She tried to stifle her cry, but the pain had been sudden and unexpected, on top of very painful. The needle injected it's fluids into her leg, making her leg go cold. Almost as if it was numb, yet she could still feel. She didn't even mind. It was new, and it was exciting.
"Brain stimulation."
Sweetie Belle held her breath as the needle aligned itself with her head, moving closer until it penetrated her flesh, causing her cries to echo throughout the room for many, torturous minutes.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Sweetie Belle didn't have anything to do the rest of that day, so she settled for preparing for the mission the next day. There wasn't much to do, but she made a careful note of drawing out every task as long as she could, and being as meticulous as she could. She wasn't one for sitting around doing nothing, and didn't have anything else to do that day. Both of her friends were busy, she didn't really care for playing games alone, she had read all books she had, and she didn't like hanging out with the older soldiers. A Draconis' life could be very boring.
Luckily, she had enough tasks to keep her occupied until she went to sleep.
The first thing she had to get done was check her weapons and armor, to make sure they were all fully functional. If anything was not at one-hundred percent, she had to fix it. Most soldiers had taken to letting Command take care of those things, but not Sweetie. She had learned how to care for her own equipment. Mainly so she could add the tiny details and tweaks she wanted to, to make her gear suit her style more.
She grabbed her gun and sat down on her bed. It was still clean, having not been used, but she took it apart and examined it anyway. It was a seventy five caliber, semi-automatic sniper rifle, with a variable zoom, bipod, laser sight, and adjustable stock. She had added aver single attachment that was on the gun, except for the bipod, which came with it. However, accessories and attachments weren't free, or even cheap. After each successful mission, Command dolled out points, or 'credits', to the soldiers. These could be spent on attachments or even new guns.
Sweetie never understood why they didn't just give them the stuff they needed to fight. It would make things a hell of a lot easier, as opposed to having to fight with crappy gear, then slowly upgrade. Maybe it was so they didn't send all this good gear into the field, to have it lost when someone died? Maybe Command was just being stupid? It was almost as if they were trying to make this whole thing some game.
With these thoughts in mind, Sweetie set to slowly cleaning the weapon, and eventually the rest of her gear, until the clock turned to nine at night. She put all of her equipment away, clean and ready for the long day ahead of them. Maybe they'd get lucky and, like Luna said, gather enough supplies to give them a week off. They could only try their best. It was all anyone could do, right?
She lay her head down on her pillow, letting her thoughts drift away into another world, one where they didn't fight for survival every week, and one where peace and harmony were still in everyone's hearts.
