Chapter 5 - Walk in the Park

EVA simulations were part and parcel of being in any top tier program within GDI, with some classes being made up entirely of EVAs presenting a situation to a training group and then modifying it based on their answers to the simulation’s prompts. What hit the trainees hardest about this particular model was that it wasn’t entirely made up like most of their other runs had been.

Apple Bloom was standing in a simulated Smokey Mountain with the rest of the platoon. Simulated GDI and Nod troops hadn’t begun firing yet, but it was only a matter of time before either the EVA or Captain Night Light gave the green light to begin the operation. To top it all off, Jet Deck seemed tense and she couldn’t tell if it was their simulated proximity to the Macintosh Hills or if he was anxious about being put in charge of the entire platoon for the first time. All previous exercises over the month since they had begun training had Captain Light acting as commander, this would be their maiden voyage in regards of having overall command be in the simulation room.

Apple Bloom was still figuring out how to ask if he was ok when Duke elbowed Jet in the ribs and made the other stallion look him in the visor. Both of them starred for a moment before nodding, and Jet seemed to relax slightly afterwards. What he said afterwards though, made Apple Bloom tense up the same way he had been only moments prior.

“You’ve got squad command while I lead the platoon, AB.”

“I wh- uh, right. Got it.” she sputtered in surprise before getting her bearing back, “Keep your jumps tight in the air but maintain proper spacing on hoof, don’t want a lucky shell to dent all of our suits at once.”

“Copy that.” came a synchronized reply from her other three teammates, Jet Deck on the other hand was already giving out orders to the other squad leaders as a countdown appeared on everypony’s HUD.

“Today your objective is to rout the Brotherhood forces attacking this GDI unit before the Double Rainboom arrives to provide air cover. Dead Six will be operating in the area, you are to assist if requested.” Night Light’s voice stated over everyone’s helmet comms, “Otherwise, if it’s in a Nod uniform, it dies.”

The moment he finished speaking, the simulated troopers opened fire on both sides and the trainees found themselves on the receiving end of a Nod infantry division under the direct command of Spike. Initially, things were going off without a hitch. Jet Deck had taken to his new role with minimal issues, and Apple Bloom only hesitated to act when she saw a simulated version of herself fighting alongside the platoon.

It wasn’t until the teams found themselves fighting Nod units that hadn’t been at Smokey Mountain that questions began flying between tracer volleys.

“The hell is going on?
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Failures were rewarded with motivators not to fail again, successes on the other hand were rewarded with motivators to repeat the success. In the case of the Zone Trooper program, those motivators differed only in distance and weight worn by the trainees. In the case of beating back the Nod assault before the simulated Sky Admiral Dash could arrive, their reward was a weightless evening PT session.

Despite the successes of the day, and their instructors going relatively easy on them throughout the daylight hours, there was a cloud hanging over the entire platoon. After being told how well they did, and even after the rest of the platoon was allowed to add personal touches to their armor, Night Light had hit them with a sucker punch of an announcement.

“How’s the weather up there, anyway?” Duke inquired.

“Up wh-” Apple Bloom started before catching herself, “Oh, it’s not too bad. Not as cold so long as the Heart is working. Besides, our armor has climate control.”

“Yeah, but it’s on the tertiary list of power priorities. We’ll probably have it shut off to save juice for the thrusters.” the stallion replied, “That’s if we can even get up there in time.”

“Nod’s been scouting the Kingdom for weeks now, at least according to what Captain Light told us, we should have time to finish training before we head up.” she told him, elbowing the larger stallion in the shoulder, “If we’re lucky, they’ll start the siege before we finish and we’ll get to punch through a blockade. Maybe even make Slavik look bad.”

Duke went quiet with that reply, as did the rest of the squad as Apple Bloom realized what she had said. Their collective view focused on their platoon leader, who was reading next to his rack, and for the moment, seemed to not be perturbed at all by the mention of “Kane’s Favorite Dragon.”

“I’m not going to freak out, if that’s what you’re waiting for.” Jet deadpanned without looking up from the book in his hooves.

“You’re not itching to get back at that bastard?” Wild Ace asked.

“Of course I am.” came a much more terse reply, “I want to get my hooves around his neck and squeeze until he asks for mercy, after we wipe out whatever army he’s in leading at the time… but I’m not going to flip out and go off the rails if he is leading the incoming attack on the Crystal Kingdom.”

“So long as there aren’t any Hydras, you mean.” Duke added, only to instantly regret it. Oddly enough, it wasn’t Jet Deck’s, Funny Cide’s, or Wild Ace’s hoof that found his gut, but Apple Bloom. Soon enough Duke was sprawled on the floor gasping for air while the rest of the squad looked at the mare who swung first.

“What? I grew up on a farm, ya don’t grow up an Apple and not know how to handle yourself in a brawl.” she finally retorted, “Apples might be thicker than mud mixed with molasses but that don’t mean we don’t tussle from time to time.”

“Why… buck… why in the gut, AB?!” Duke finally got out once his breathing got steady again.

“Never punch a pony in the jaw unless you want a sore hoof for the rest of the day. Barrel’s softer and it got you on your flank faster than decking you, didn’t it?”

“Just don’t do it again, Bloom.” Jet interjected, “And Duke… I appreciate the concern, but if you had paid full attention to the briefing, you’d know that Slavik won’t have any of those pointed at us. He has a habit of digging his artillery in before letting it loose, so as long as we stay to the rear of his lines, I won’t have to relive the worst day of my life.”

“Copy… that…” Duke muttered as he finally got his breathe back, giving Apple Bloom a friendly slug to the shoulder once he was back on his hooves that she returned with a smile. Duke returned the expression and Apple Bloom could have sworn she saw Jet Deck’s posture relax slightly in response.

Before she could ask, the lights snapped off. Everypony got the message, and quickly put their things away before getting back in their beds and trying to get what sleep they could before the next day’s trials put them to the test. Simulations were one thing, PT was another, but tomorrow was going to be far worse than any of that for Apple Bloom.

Tomorrow was going to be another advanced mathematics course.
___________

Lights in the bay flashed on, but the first thing that clued Apple Bloom into things being wrong was the fact that those lights were red rather than the usual fluorescent white that their instructors took such joy in blinding them with. The second thing that had her head swimming as she fumbled out of bed and got into formation for another midnight drill was the blare of the alarms.

Before she could ask anypony next to her if there was a fire drill or Celestia forbid, an actual fire breaking out on base, a dull tremor in the ground resonated through her hooves. She nipped herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, and then felt more of those tremors again. Given the reactions of her fellow earth ponies in the platoon, she could tell they felt it too.

Their lead instructor burst through the door, fully kitted out with her rebreather hanging from her helmet as she bolted towards the assembled trainees.

“Platoon accounted for and rea-” Jet Deck started before Master Sergeant Night Glider cut him off.

“Report to the armor facility and defend it!” she shouted, “Those Noddie bastards are launching a full-scale attack on the city and we think they already have troops inside the wall! Move by squad and stay alive, damnit! The other instructors and I are gonna join the main line and give you time to barricade yourselves in! Defend the armor and if you can’t hold them back, destroy it!”

The squad bay was a flurry of activity as everypony grabbed their uniforms, grabbed their tags and started pairing up for the trip to the armor bay. Apple Bloom in particular made sure to sneak Granny Smith’s old bandana with her, wearing it under her fatigues before getting her flank over to where Jet Deck was organizing the platoon.

Trainees were bolting from the building in groups of two and three until Jet Deck and Apple Bloom were the last ones still in the bay.

“Ready?” he asked, looking over to her. She could see exhausting still in his eyes, and she was sure he could see the same in hers, but she nodded anyway.

“Now or never, Jet.”
________________

The duo got two blocks into their sprint when something went wrong. Apple Bloom couldn’t tell what the issue was, but Jet Deck’s stride as they galloped was turning from determined to frantic. Detonations kept rocking the city, threatening to knock them both off of their hooves, and Apple Bloom could feel the tremors caused by Nod missiles and GDI artillery as they struck the ground.

By the time they got halfway to the armor facility, the artillery duel intensified, and not just conventional artillery, but a sound that both her and Jet Deck had heard a few times too many before coming to the Zone Troopers.

“Hydras.” she mentally swore, picking up her pace to run next to Jet. His body was falling back on training like it was instinct, but his mind was clearly back at the Blueblood Massacre.

“Jet! Y’all alright there pardner?” she finally shouted as another blast rocked the street.

“Hydra fire. It… they chased us off with Hydra fire! Everywhere! Firing and screams!” Jet frantically replied, fear driving him forward even faster to the point that they almost caught up with another group that had left the squad bay well ahead of them.

A conventional round landed right behind the trio, throwing Apple Bloom and Jet Deck to the ground, both of them swearing as they were thrown back. As Apple Bloom got to her hooves, she could just make out three pony shaped figures on the other side of the inferno left behind by the round that nearly ended the Apple Legacy and was cutting them off from their fastest route to the armor facility. Only one of them got up and kept galloping towards the armor bay, the other two looked badly mangled but Bloom couldn’t quite tell through the haze.

Mentally she was still swearing as her still-manic Corporal got to his hooves as well. Thankfully, it looked like training was still acting as his instinct and suddenly those runs through every damn back alley and side road in the city didn’t seem so silly to Apple Bloom.

The pair of earth ponies weaved through the grid of a city that was Baltimare, with Apple Bloom only having to pull Jet out of the way falling debris once, and he returned the favor just as quickly. She attempted a quip, but upon seeing that Jet Deck was still completely in flight mode, the attempt and being light-hearted died on her lips.

Frantic muttering was the only reply she was given anyway, a mix of ranting about Macintosh Hills and directions through the streets like a religious mantra. Thankfully it was accurate, or at least accurate enough that it didn’t get them lost on their way through the urban sprawl.

Detonations kept lighting up the buildings as they ran, finally reaching the now mangled security fencing of The Barn only to have their sighs of relief turn into even more profanity as a single laser zipped past them. Neither earth pony looked to see how many, if any, Nod troops were actually behind them, or if it was a lucky shot from further down a street that somehow managed to thread the needle through rubble and soldiers.

Instead, they galloped until they were safely inside the facility, though safe was feeling less and less like a reality as they joined up with the rest of the platoon. Before the pair could even get their bearings Captain Light was counting heads and directing everyone to the armory to draw weapons and get ready for a siege despite his obvious injuries. His discolored eye was covered and his horn was badly cracked. Apple Bloom made a mental note to ask about that later, if there was a later, before a familiar unicorn caught her eye.

“Funny!” Bloom barked, “You hit?”

Funny Cide looked over at her and Jet, shaking her head despite the fur on her flanks being burnt. Apple Bloom made a mental note to ask about it later, but for now simply gave an affirmative nod to Cide and gestured to the muster area. She got the idea, and slipped back into the crowd of trainees with a sullen look on her face.

Jet…?” she finally murmured to the stallion cowering before her, “Jet Deck…? Come on Jetty, talk to me.”

He only managed to get out “Hydras… everywhere…” before returning to his barely intelligible and frantic whispering.

“Oh Jet…” Apple Bloom sighed quietly as she began their ritual, holding his face in her hooves and keeping eye contact with him.

“Wh-”

“You’re alive, Jet.” she told him, “You’re alive, you’re in one piece, and you’re in Baltimare with me, with your platoon. You survived, and you’re going to keep surviving, and it doesn’t matter what Nod throws at us, because we aren’t going anywhere neither.”

“But they have Hydras, AB… Hydras.” came another whisper.

“And we have Mammoths and Kodiaks. I guarantee you ole Shield has at least one of those on the way here, Jet. We have backup on the way, and we’re going to get out of this without a scratch.”

“Kodiaks…. Air support…”

“All on the way here to help us kick Nod’s butt outta Baltimare.” she calmly reassured him, perking up slightly as she saw his body language shift and ease up.

“T… thanks, AB…” he finally whispered back, “Sorry about that, I don’t usually snap under pressure, you know that, but…”

“Hydras, I know. I had… flashbacks on the way here, too. Now come on Squad Leader, we need to grab our gear and show these buckers why you don’t mess with the Apples or The Fightin’ 400 Survivors.”

“Corporal.” Funny Cide chimed in, holding her weapon along with Apple Bloom and Jet Deck’s rifles with her magic.

“Thanks Funny.” Jet replied, getting his harness on, “Duke and Ace already grab their gear?”

“No, corporal.” came an almost robotic reply that gave Apple Bloom pause.

“Whaddaya mean? Why no-” she asked, only for the realization to hit her, “Shit!”

Jet Deck looked at both mares, confused and raising an eyebrow.

“Am I going to be filled in on why two of my squad aren’t prepared before Scarface the Traumatized Wonder Stallion?”

“They’re dead.” Apple Bloom told him, her eyes going back to her squadmate, “That was you ahead of us out there, wasn’t it?”

Funny’s usually peppy demeanor was gone, and all she could do was nod. Jet Deck let out a swear of his own under his breath and Apple Bloom even allowed herself an outburst as she bucked a nearby locker and took the door right off its hinges.

“We mourn later, for now, we have a facility to defend.” Jet finally said, “Apple Bloom, get the squads together, find out if anyone else got hit on the run here. Funny, find me whoever the hell is in charge of The Barn right now so we can hold the line and prepare for a counter attack once the water stops on the rocks.”

Apple Bloom didn’t argue, and got right to work in finding the rest of the squad leaders. About the time the platoon was coherent, ready, and aware that three of their number had already died out in the chaos, Gunnery Sergeant Gold Smith, a rather imposing unicorn that looked more like an earth pony with a horn glued on that Apple Bloom was only barely familiar with. He wasn’t a drill instructor, instead he was the Staff NCO in charge of security at The Barn. Usually he was keeping the trainees out but tonight Apple Bloom was more than happy to have that grump of a stallion keeping Nod out instead.

“We’ve got 47 Zone Troopers in front of me, 15 will take the west wing and hold, 15 on the east, same story, remaining 17 will hold the center with me. We hold every Luna-damned inch of this place until the Noddies give up, incoming Kodiaks drive them away, or we all die in a blaze of glory showing Kane what real soldiers are made of. Got that!?” Gold Smith barked.

“Got it, Gunny!” was the unison reply, one that had been drilled into them during their many security drills inside The Barn.

“Good! Corporal Jet Deck, split your platoon as ordered and get ready for the brawl of the century.”

Author's Note

Y'know when I make all the "Cannot kill the Messiah" Kane jokes I didn't expect nature to actually try.

Health issues have been resolved, and the Snowmageddon didn't kill me, won't promise a time frame for the next chapter, but I will say that it will be the final one.

Edit: Try as I might, I cannot find a better end point than the transition from the end of this chapter and into the mainline Green Sun chapter, so I'm sorry for those who were expecting a Chapter 6. That being said, silver lining is that this will speed up production of the anthology series I've been dabbling in. Apologies for the abrupt ending, but anything past this would be even more superfluous than this entire spinoff already was.