The Wasteland Strikers

Dawn.

It is the time of day when a sleepy stillness hangs over the air, enveloping all in its warm embrace, urging all to curl up and fall asleep with happy dreams. It is the time of day when no worries can find a root in the minds of anypony.

For recruits, it was a rush to devour their breakfast and report to the training grounds for yet another grueling day of exercise.

A pale blue pegasus with a pale green mane quickly grabbed a roll and an orange from the lunch line and grabbed a seat by a small section of the rest of his squad. He slid in next to a black unicorn with a purple mane, quietly sipping some milk. A brighter blue earth pony with a massive smile on his face which seemed to hang there perpetually glanced up at him.

"Hiya there, Breeze! Ready for some more training that will one day save Equestria?"

The pegasus returned the smile. Aquamarine, the squads deadly swordspony and so called mares stallion, could always brighten anyponys day.

"Yep, I'm thrilled," he chirped in a slightly high pitched voice. "What do you suppose we'll do today?"

"Don't know," came the reply. "You know, maybe our commander will actually do something to, you know, earn his position?"

The rest of the ponies seated looked over. Asteroid's leadership had been a tense subject since training had begun a week ago. The unicorn adjacent to Breeze looked up.

"Maybe you should give him a little more time, Aqua. We all need some time to settle into our habits. After all, I seem to notice you haven't managed to pick up a single mare yet," He spoke in a raspy voice.

Aquamarine grew slightly red at this remark, yet held his tongue. Although the unicorn appeared unassuming at first glance, everypony knew that Nightshade had raised himself on the streets of Canterlot, providing only from theft. There was a rumor that he was a conscripted prisoner, brought in to serve his sentence as a soldier, but nopony wanted to risk a dagger across the throat finding out.

"Still," cut in the fourth and final pony sitting at the table, a gruff looking earth pony. "You have to admit that he hasn't shown too much leadership. I mean, we all now that he's only commander because his family has 'pure blood'."

"You know what, how about we drop this topic, finish our breakfast, and get out there because I think we're about to be late." Interceded Breeze before any remarks could be made. All the ponies looked up, suddenly glanced at the clock, and instantly began finishing their meals as quickly as they could.

...

The squad all gathered on the training grounds, quickly falling into line. The training grounds were in truth just a marked off section of the planes where the camp was located. They had targets and weapon racks for combat training, as well as a course which could be run. A light frost covered the ground. The ponies stamped their feet to keep their hooves warm.

Apple Core came marching over after a minute, after conferring with the camps quartermaster.

"Listen up, you maggots!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Our quartermaster has just informed me that all weapons have been signed out for another squads training, so we're gonna have some...special practice." He grinned maliciously. The rookies shivered, only partly because of the cold.

"Here's the drill," he called out. "You will each run the loop four times. Your total time must be under thirty minutes. Anypony who fails to accomplish this will be forced to run laps until they either achieve the time, or get sent to the infirmary!"

The group of young ponies all gaped at him. The loop was nearly a mile long, and it was coated with ice in patches. He grinned at their expressions. "Oh, what's the matter? Is it too tough for you?" He said, exaggerating his words into baby talk, mushing up his face. "Well guess what! You all signed up for this, and you can be sure that your enemies would sure never back out of something like this!"

Grumbling, the squad trotted off to the starting line. Once they all arrived, Apple Core began to countdown.

"On your marks...get set... GO!"

...

The squad began fairly bunched up, but as time went on, they began to separate. Breeze and another pegasus by the name of Cloudy Day quickly pulled into the lead. Behind them, the ponies slowly moved into a more line like formation.

The earth pony who had complained about command at breakfast was in the middle. Suddenly, he felt his hoof set down on a piece of ice and slide out from underneath him.

"Wooooaaaahhhh!" He cried out as he fell to the ground. BAM! He struck the ground hard. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he pulled himself to his feet. He began to push forward again. However, he had only gone a few steps when he felt stabbing pain cut up through his front leg. He collapsed to the ground in a heap.

He looked in front of him. The rest of the squad had pushed on ahead. "Help!" He called up to the rest of them. "I think I twisted my hoof!" He saw a few ponies turn their heads, but none of them went back, driven on by the fear of their drill sergeants promise. Scowling, the pony attempted to regain his feet. He managed to lift himself halfway when he began to fall. He braced himself for the jarring pain. Suddenly, he felt somepony catch him and pull him to his hooves. He looked up. Their commander, Asteroid, had caught him midfall.

"Get on your feet, soldier." He said, and pulled the ponies injured leg over his shoulder. "We're finishing this run."

With that, Asteroid began to run forward again, half carrying his injured companion over one shoulder. Recovering from his shock, the earth pony used his remaining legs to help propel the duo forward as they slowly made their way along the course.

"I don't believe I've actually caught your name."

The earth pony snapped out of his trance and turned to look at the pony who was now half carrying him.

"Name's Rubble, sir. Squad sapper."

...

Panting, Breeze crossed the finish line well within the time limit. Shortly after him, ponies began to trickle in. Pretty soon, everypony had returned. Except for two.

"Where are Rubble and Asteroid?" He asked Aquamarine.

The blue pony looked up, gasping in deep breaths of air. "Don't know," he said. "I saw Rubble fall, but I think he got up."

Suddenly, one of the earth ponies, a brown colt with a white mane and a scope for a cutie mark gave a shout. "I see them!"

The squad raced to the finish line. Jogging at a decent pace was their captain, half carrying Rubble, who was making a valiant attempt to run with just three legs. There was silence for a moment. Then Breeze piped up. "C'mon, sir! The ends just up here!"

With that, the rest of the ponies began to shout encouragement. Asteroid looked up, and urging Rubble onward, the pair made a final sprint. They crossed the finish line just a few seconds later. Everypony  turned to look at Apple Core, who was holding a stopwatch.

"Thirty minutes and ten seconds." He called out. All the ponies groaned, empathizing with the bad fortune of their two comrades.

"All of you, I want another lap. Right now. Except you two."

The recruits opened their mouths in shock. Silence hung in the air. Then they all began shouting their protests.

"Shut up you lot!" Bellowed out Apple Core. "One of your squad mates was injured. You all left him behind! Your captain was the only one with the common courtesy to help him. You never leave a pony behind on the battlefield!"

The squad shut up, and sullenly trotted off to the starting line. Rubble turned to face his leader.

"Thanks, captain. I guess I owe you an apology."

Asteroid looked at him. "For what?"

"Well, a lot of us, we thought you just got your position 'cause you're a noble and all. But what you did back there, putting your flank on the line for me? That alone makes you nobler than any high born I ever met."

Asteroid thought about this for a moment, then sighed. "No, you're all right. I did only earn this position because of my family's influence. I might not be the leader this squad needs."

Rubble cocked his head. Then he looked at the ground and closed his eyes. "When I was just a colt, my father was in some debt. He owed some money to a noble who had given him a loan to buy some land for mining which turned out to be about half as profitable as promised. To pay it all off, he had to go work in the gem mines for that noble. One day, he didn't come home. We received word the next morning-A cave in had crushed him, as well as several others. But the family still owed that debt. So I had to go work. My mother was too sick, and I was the oldest child. I was only ten."

Asteroid opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Rubble continued. "But you, sir, I can tell that you would never do that. You ARE the leader we need. Some of us just need a little more convincing than others."

Asteroid silently pondered this. "I guess you're right. Now come on, let's get you to the infirmary."