The Assistant

The next day was a bit boring for everyone in ponyville. At the NLR training Chief taught Octavia a few new techniques that she could use for her bow. Nothing to interesting happened, at least not for RainbowDash and Red Mist. The next day was different however.

On day three of group training it was Dash's turn to be trained. When they walked down Chief wasn't there, so at first they just did there normal routine. Then they heard the elevator. RainbowDash flew to the spot in the room where she always stood when they were called to attention. What she saw made her jaw drop.

Chief walked in with a pair of wings. Not like the pair Twilight had given Rarity when they went to cloudsdale, these ones were more like normal wings. They had feathers, they were definitely solid, and Dash doubted that they would evaporate in sunlight.

"What?"Chief asked,"Never seen a unicorn with wings before? How else am I supposed to train you?"

"Well, I have,"Dash began,"I just didn't expect to see a pair on you. How'd you get those?"

"Did you honestly think Twilight was the only pony that could cast that spell?"He asked,"Now, lets get to work."

"Yes sir,"Dash said, getting over the shock of Chief's wings,"What are we going to do?"

"I noticed when your firing you just go in for a dive, holding your wings down on the triggers."

"Yeah,"Dash replied,"What about it?"

"Well there's a better way that not only conserves ammo but is safer, as in you won't crash into the ground."

"Alright sir," Dash said.

They spent the next few hours trying to teach RainbowDash the new technique, which was harder than one might think. Chief's new idea involved RainbowDash pushing her wings lower than she normally would while flying with her guns, which made them fire for a split second. It meant alot more accuracy was needed, but Dash could not deny that with some practice it would be very effective. Though for now, it just meant alot of almost falling out of the sky. Dash could not hide her embarrassment when Chief was literally doing circles around her.

The next few weeks were like a record on repeat, though there was definitely improvement with all of them. By week 6 they could all finally complete the obstacle course in 30 seconds. They were all saddened by the fact that they were still so separated from there friends (and in a few cases significant others), but they knew that this would all be over soon. As they approached the infamous last month of training they all got nervous, but they also felt well prepared. Dash had almost memorized the map, and she thought she could get through it in far under a month. The route they would take was up to Chief though, and by now she'd learned that he was alot smarter than her when it came to this stuff. She was willing to bet they'd be through the forest in a week.

Of course part of her didn't want to get out to early. The first group to make it out won, and the other groups could sometimes be left inside the forest, stuck. It surprised Dash that they had not fixed this, though she heard rumors that it was intentional to keep flunk out's of training to spill the beans about the NLR to the public, or worse, to Celestia. She hoped that Chief would wait as long as he could to let the other groups get to the end with them, and that the other groups would do the same for her. She was certain that Thunderlane would wait for her, and she hoped that Big Mac would as well, but she could never be sure. Besides, the other trainee's might not be as nice to her. The forest was dangerous, deadly even, one could easily die just from waiting to long. They were supposed to listen to their leaders, but if somepony decided they didn't want to wait for them.........

Dash wouldn't let herself think about it. Chief was constantly telling them that they needed to stay confident, cause fear hurts worse than bullets or something like that. She focused on the holographic map, trying to find places where ambushes might happen, good places to camp at night, and a thousand other things that could mean life or death in the forest.

The last day of group training had a peculiar feeling about it. She blamed it on the fact that they all knew that after today they might not survive. Nothing exciting happened, but Chief was alot more pleasant than usual at the end. Perhaps he didn't think they would survive. Perhaps he was proud of how much progress they had all made. Perhaps he was just in a good mood. Dash couldn't tell. His face always had the same look of anger or annoyance on it, though occasionally she would see him look ever so slightly proud. He never smiled though.

They completed the obstacle course once more, and left for a bit of rest. They were to report back here at noon for movement to the forest. Dash could hardly sleep that night. The only thing that she could find solace in was the fact that she would see Thunderlane again tommorow, even if it was just for a moment.

She woke up and got ready. She had gotten her uniform a few days ago and had only worn it a few times. She washed and ironed it, which was something that she normally wouldn't have done. The only reason she did now was beccause of all the NLR officials that would be there today, watching her as she entered what was arguably the most dangerous place in Equestria. By the time she was ready to leave it was 11:30, and she quickly got dressed and rushed over to Red's house.

Red, on the other hand, was busy organizing everything. A few ponies had already arrived but none of the recruits were here yet, which he was glad of. The party was always a surprise, a happy note for the recruits to quickly talk to each other and reunite for a moment before marching to what was likely to be their deaths. He flew around making a few last minute checks on the snack table, the music system, everything. This wasn't going to be nearly as large as his house warming party, but it was just as important in his eyes. If he failed here the recruits might not have enough happiness left in them when they enter the forest. He'd seen it happen before,; the recruits could become insanely depressed during the forest, kill themselves or their squad, go insane, and a number of other things. The forest was intended to be a mental challenge as well as a physical one but it went to far in this aspect, and so they gave them this to ensure that at least a few made it through.

"Albert,"He heard Fluttershy's voice, though he was sure no one else did. He flew down to meet her.

"Yes my darling?"He asked.

"Albert honey,"Fluttershy began,"Everything is perfect. Everything looks amazing, and your the crown jewel. Everything is going to be fine, and I bet all the recruits make it through this time around."

"Thanks Fluttershy,"He said soberly,"But this...it's more than anypony should have to go through. I still have nightmares about it. I just want to make sure they don't."

"I know honey,"Fluttershy replied,"But your working yourself to death! This is supposed to be a break for you as much as it is for the recruits. Now, come on, we have some ponies to surprise." She smiled and quickly fixed his bow tie, then held her wing out to him.

He smiled and took her wing in his, walking toward the entrance. He supposed he did look nice; his tux was a dark purple that could easily pass for black even in the brightest daylight. His bow was the same color and he was wearing a white undershirt. Fluttershy looked far better than him however; her purple dress went insanely well with her pink hair and yellow fur. It frilled at the end giving it a nice effect on her ass, though he would never point this particular fact out in public. They only acted perverted when they were alone in a bedroom, and then it was a bit more intense then he would ever admit.

They got to the enterance and waited for only a few minutes until the doors opened and Doctor Whooves walked in. They greeted him and told him where everything was, then let him on his way. They repeated this process for every recruit, giving an extra direction to the guest bedroom where Thunderlane was waiting to RainbowDash. After everypony had arrived they walked around and enjoyed the party. It was much more formal then the previous one, and everypony seemed to be enjoying themselves.

While Fluttershy and Red had fun at the party, RainbowDash explored the house looking for Thunderlanes room. While she had been inside Red's house before, she had never gone past the front rooms and the basement. From what she saw, it seemed it had enough rooms for everypony in ponyville and then some. Luckily the rooms had the intended tennates cutie mark on the door. All she had to do was not get lost and she'd find Thunderlane.

After what seemed like an eternity of searching, she found it. Her heart jumped with joy and she opened the door and walked in. It was dark, and the only light was comming from the hallway. The door closed suddenly behind her, and she was plunged into absolute darkness. She figured it was Thunderlane messing with her, but she still had just a twinge of fear in her.

"Hello sweetie,"A voice from right behind her said. She turned and tried to kiss the source, but it was gone when she turned. She tried to find something, a light switch, a pony, Thunder's dick, something to tell her she wasn't alone in here. Then, out of no where, the lights turned on and she was face to face with Thunderlane.

"Did you-"Was all he could get out before she kissed him. After a while of kissing she threw him onto the bed and kissed him all over, eventually making her way to his dick. Right before she sucked him off, he pulled her chin up to his face.

"What, I don't even get a 'I love you' or 'I missed you so much'?"He asked with a mocking grin.

"I was trying to prove it,"She replied, kissing his neck and biting a little.

"Oh I see, it's all about the sex,"He said mockingly.

She scoffed and bit his neck hard, making him yelp. After that she told him how much she missed him and loved him and proceeded to fuck him harder then she ever had before. After a month of not being touched in any way, not even by herself, he felt amazing. After a while she laid down next to him, still gently rubbing his dick.

"That was amazing. Maybe we should wait a couple months in between having sex from now on."He said. He took this back after she squeezed his dick and threatened to take it off to use for her self in the time between fucks.

After a while they freshened up and went back down stairs to rejoin the rest of the party. Dash had to admit it was very nice, though not quite her usual style. She took the opportunity to very quickly look over the other recruits, and try and see what they had in them. All of them looked very formidable, and she decided that she would take up praying while she was in the forest, just in case.

She spent the rest of the time at the party focusing all her attention on Thunderlane. He somehow looked even more attractive with his uniform on, though if she could have her way she'd rip it off again and just stay in the bedroom for the rest of her life.

Eventually they called everypony together. Red stood on top of a stage next to Fluttershy. There where a few other NLR officials on stage but they were in the back and nopony really noticed them. Thunderlane and the other squad leaders were standing next to each other with a little space in between them. The recruits went ahead and lined up directly behind them, which was apparently how they were supposed to stand as there was just enough space for all of them to stand shoulder to shoulder . RainbowDash stood as close to Thunderlane as she could, but Big Mac's entire squad was still in between him and her.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,"Red began, going into the trance like state he always went into when giving speeches,"I hope you have enjoyed the party thus far. As you all know it was put together last minute, so if there were any faults with it I apologize."There was a general mummer of agreement that the party had been amazing before silence fell once more,"I would like to take a moment to commemorate the recruits for there hard work and sacrifice to have gotten this far in the program. Now, on to the real reason this party is going on." He looked at the recruits and spoke directly to them,"You have all made it very far. I know it must've been difficult. We've all gone through the same thing you have, and we didn't do half as good as you all did. You are a shining example of what the NLR should be. In a few minutes you will all go into the forest. You may see and do things in there that you never want to remember happening. But you will make it through. You know why? Because you are the best of the best. And when you come out the other end there's going to be a party ten times the size of this one just for you guys. So, are you going to let a bunch of plants and animals take you down, or are you gonna kick their asses and come back out to a massive party?"

There was a roar as all the recruits screamed,"Kick their asses, sir!" in unison. After that Red dismissed everyone and the squads where moved to the starting pads. These pads would teleport them to a random spot on the edge of the forest and they would have to make their way towards the center where the exit pad was. They had one month, and if they failed they where supposed to be teleported out, but they all knew that that didn't always go as planned.

There was a timer on the wall. All around were ponies that had already gone through this and knew what was going to happen. Yet none of them went out to stop them, to save them from what was coming. In a strange way this comforted RainbowDash. If they weren't trying to save her then the forest couldn't be that bad, right? A look across there faces showed different. They all looked sad, as if they were looking into a coffin and some friend of their's was inside. She swallowed a breath as some random scientist was counting down.

"And five, four," he counted,"three, two, on-"

That was the last thing she heard before there was a bright flash of light, a lot of pain, and a thud. When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness and trees.