Trottingham Fort Trots (Task Force Suntrot Only)

[Imagination]

Master Sergeant Reveille was asked to report to Fort Trots and assist with training... Terrific. Rather than recruits he could break down and mold, he had full-fledged soldiers and civilians that already had a slew of bad habits. Of course, he wasn't supposed to scream them into the ground with the fury similar to the Royal Canterlot Voice... But at the same time he wasn't going to make it easy. The purpose of this course was to see how they could physically navigate it in high-stress conditions in order to complete an objective. This was something, thankfully, he had experience with. The course was set up a certain way already, but the Drill Instructor knew of a few ways to make it just a bit more hectic.

As he saw the group approaching, he set into action. His campaign cover covering view of his eyes, he watched them with a smoldering stare before issuing his commands. "Sure, waste my time! Move nice and slow! Get your flanks over here and form up!" Course, they could be galloping at Mach 5 and they wouldn't be fast enough. Once the group had arrived. he would begin, speaking sternly, but not shouting. "As some of you may know, my name is Master Sergeant Reveille, and I'll be observing your performance through this course! Now, let's make one thing clear, you WILL put out on this course! IF you don't put some effort into it, I'll make sure your chances of getting through it are slim to none, and slim just left town! As you know, we need the best for this unit, and only the best. You've all been selected to be here, so I have no doubt that every single one of you has the ability to pass!"

After a pause, he directed their attention to the course itself. He left his hat on the ground, going to the start of it all. "I will be demonstrating each part of the course, to show you even an old war horse like me can do it! So pay attention!" First part was a horizontal bar sitting about four to five feet off the ground, its metal glistening in the sun. The middle of the bar was wrapped in cloth. "First, you go over my bar! Those of you who are vertically challenged can be assisted to the bar, but cannot be assisted over it! On team, one fight!" Crouching down, the Master Sergeant sprang up and threw his hooves over, hanging by the crook of his legs. Swinging his body to the side, he eventually threw one of his back legs up and hugged the bar, letting himself roll over the top using his weight. Once he was hanging upside down, he let go with his back legs first, and then let himself drop.

"Next, the tire lane!" He came up to a lane of zig-zagging cart tires, going about 15 feet down the course. "You will trot through these tires as quick as you can. You WILL hit every tire. Take care not to trip. Simple." So simple that he breezes through it, legs moving in a quick rhythm to go into each one of those little circles until he reaches the end.

"Next is my wall!" There was a high wall, almost 10 feet high! No pony can possibly jump that high! But there were two ropes with knots tied at one-foot intervals to help the ponies have a better grip. "You'll climb these ropes to the top, and go up and over! There will be rope netting on the other side, which you will use to climb down! When you go over the top, you will shout where you are from to let us know you've reached the top!" Using his front legs to hold onto the rope, he braced his back legs against the wall and climbed up, walking up the wall and keeping himself steady with the rope. Once he was up top, he grabbed hold of the ledge, swung himself over, and climbed down the netting.

Once he was at ground level, he wade his way to the next obstacle, which was a bit complex. It was a steep ramp with planks nailed into it to provide a better step. This would go to a tower about another 20 feet off the ground, with two lanes of rope extending nearly 30 feet out, back to the ground on a small platform. Under this rope was a pool of water deep enough to cushion the fall of a pony should fall off the lane. "The bridge of death! Once you get to the top of the tower, the soldier at the top will tell you if it's safe to go! Once he does, you will mount the rope! You can crawl over the top, or under it, whichever is easier! If you fall into the water, you fail! Go back and start again!" Making his way up the ramp, the mounted the rope once told to do so. He demonstrated how to crawl on top of the rope, probably to prove it could be done. He lay on his stomach, with one back leg crooked on the rope while the other hang under him for balance. He then used his front legs to pull him forward at a steady pace. Once he reached the other platform, he dismounted and got back on his hooves.

The last obstacle was even higher. Nearly 30 feet. This one was more of a mental test than a physical one. There were stairs going around to the top, where there were two lanes of rope similar to the bridge of death, which went out even farther than the last. At the end of it was a pit of sand. At the beginning of the rope was a seat attached to the rope. A zipline! "You will go to the top, sit down, and hold on! If you get stuck at the top, you're going to get blasted! There's no room for hesitation in this unit!" So now they had to decide what they were more afraid of: Heights, or a Drill Instructor. Climbing the steps, a soldier was waiting for him at the top, holding the seat steady as the Master Sergeant got on. Simple. He just held on as it zipped down to where the rope evened out and slowed him down. Once he came to a stop, he hopped off into the sand.

Trotting back to the group, he returned his cover to his head. He hardly seemed to break a sweat, and he was at least twice as old as most of the soldiers here... It... It couldn't be that hard... right? "Once you finish the course, you will perform ten pony pushups, then shout your name and rank, then you're done! This will be a TIMED event! Get through the course as quickly as you can, though bear in mind the others around you! If you are deemed a safety hazard, you will be pulled from the course! Keep in mind, these times and scores WILL NOT BE COUNTED. This is a physical assessment to see where we are and what we need to work on. Medical staff will be on stand-by in case one of you bozos hurt yourselves. If there are no questions, proceed to the start of the course and wait for the signal off the soldier there to go. Your time starts when they say 'GO', and ends when you say your name and rank at the end"

With that, he let them get on with it all and observed. If he needed to answer a question or assist with anything, he would.

[Bellosh]

PFC Flash Sentry didn’t seem very bewildered as the Master Sergeant explained his obstacle course to the members of Task Force Suntrot. In fact, he had to go through worse than this in order to qualify for royal bodyguard duty. In contrast, nopony today was interested in weeding out any unsuitable candidates. So no pressure to go above and beyond; Flash could take this course easy. But the stallion wondered if his partner, Cpl. Radiant Steel, would know to do the same. She always had a bat habit of overachieving in mundane situations, and there was always a slight possibility that Radiant might do something rash to make herself stand out. To gauge the thoughts of his comrade, he quietly quipped to Cpl. Steel; “This course must be easy if the Master Sarge can get through without breaking a sweat.”

[RarityDash]

Radiant cringed a little at the knowledge that an obstacle course would be the first task for the force. She didn't have a lot of good experience with such things. For her, she just saw them as unpractical and awkward in their construction. She just couldn't entirely see what it gave her. Where in the line of duty would the skills from it aid her? If obstacles were in her path she would just fly over them. That was the way of the pegasus as she saw it. She supposed she could write it off as a means to achieve physical fitness, but if that's all it were it struck her as an off construction. Something belabored and impractical.

Whatever the case, she had never had much luck with such things. In training for the REA she always did poorly in such courses. Her drill instructors had always chided her at great lengths until the walls of her self worth were well eroded. With enough time, she could make it through the courses, but she was one to make mistakes on them, especially when she concentrated on it too heavily. She wanted to avoid that. She wanted to avoid embarrassment. She couldn't let down the Colonel; she couldn't make herself look bad in front of Flash Honestly at that moment she'd rather have taken on another swarm of changelings than run an obstacle course. She could handle them. She could fight to protect others; when it was some challenge set in her own head though, she had little confidence she could complete it very well.

When Flash spoke, she looked at him. He had confidence, it was clear. Flash truly was a shining example of a guardspony. She couldn't imagine him afraid for anything. The thought made her smile and gave her at least a little confidence. SHe gave a weak nod back in his direction.

"I-I... suppose," she said, though her voice did not speak of conviction. "It's far from the first obstacle course we've faced after all... I can't imagine it would be that difficult...."

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom trudged along with Elena, sharing her hoof with the griffon for a bump. Luckily, it appeared that except for the military ponies who had been there for a while a lot of the force was moving slow- tired, just having arrived and now being told to get themselves ready for an obstacle course wasn't most of their idea of a good time. Some wanted to avoid it for as long as possible and who could blame them- it was anything other than a good idea in all actuality. Mind, if you needed a rest because you actually needed one that was different, but avoiding jumping into the course because you simply didn't want to do it was counter-productive. Apple Bloom knew from personal experience that all that would do is make her tired. She had to be ready and prepared to go ahead and get it done and get it done as fast as she could because if she didn't...well, she didn't want to become a laughingstock, and that was where she'd leave it.

But then she heard about the course. She was a very stupid little pony because for a few brief moments after she had arrived she had thought maybe it was all a farce. No way no course could be this long and hard. But the old military pony, a master sergeant, went ahead and did it and explained how to do it and Sweet Celestia why was she here? Was it too late to turn back? Probably not. If she turned around and went to Pummel maybe they would go easy on her and in a few days send somepony to come and get her like she was in trouble at school. Of course those few days would be bad as everypony would consider her a lame, weak little deserter. But in just a week she could be home and in a warm bed and not ever have to run such an awful obstacle course. Applejack would be full of the, "I told you sos"'s but Apple Bloom's belly would be full of apple pie and wasn't that better than-

Apple Bloom ran at the course, forcing herself to start it- and be the first to do so! If she hadn't she would have just frozen in place. So her tired legs pumped and she galloped towards the bar, taking a full leap at a full gallop to try and reach it. The bar would have normally been out of her reach but whether by the strength of her gallop and will or sheer luck she managed to get her fetlocks hooked on it, quickly latching on as she swung under it. The momentum came back and she used it to try and throw herself over it. She succeeded- barely. One leg got over and then she wormed the second one over after a few seconds. Her body mostly on the other side she allowed herself to fall, catching herself with her fetlocks to straighten. She then dropped, stumbling for a second on her weakened legs before she re-oriented herself and started charging towards the second stage, which was not as hard.

The tire lane drill was super common in hoofball practices so she had run them quite a bit. It didn't hurt that she was naturally pretty quick on her hooves with good reflexes. What did hurt were her legs, which became actually more apparent as she slowed down her gallop to a trot to take the tires. It was odd how her adrenaline allowed her to ignore most of the pain though. She knew that quite well! Farm worked stopped for nopony. Neither did Apple Bloom as she reached the tires, her hooves quickly daring in and out as she made quick work of them. That was a nice confidence booster even as it did a number on her legs, which at this point felt like spaghetti noodles attached to small muscle groups contracing uselessly.

She needed whatever confidence boost the last one gave her as she got to the next stage of the torture chamber that was this course for her. It was a wall with two knotted ropes on one side and a net on the other. Her legs pounded without sensation and got her to the wall, where she grabbed the knot and sarted pulling herself up. Her muscles burned with soreness and pain as they protested against her lack of rest and nutrition but she willed herself through it. Foot by foot she went up, her back legs helping stabilize her on knots several feet below her. It took a bit but she got to the top and then let out a moan as she pulled herself, her body thick with sweat as she got to the top.

"A-Apple Bloom! Pony...ville!" She grunted in the middle of the town name as she got all the way over and threw a hoof into the nets, followed by the other and soon she was climbing down. The nets were frustrating beyond reason to deal with, catching her numb hooves again and again and requiring her to angrily fish thm out. Still, while it took time Apple Bloom did finally get to the bottom, tripping herself on the final nesthole and nearly sending her face-first into the ground. Luckily she recovered and started galloping with anvils as hooves and fire for legs towards the next stage of the course.

[Bellosh]

Perhaps Flash Sentry should have done more to not let himself trail a mere girl outpace him in the obstacle course. Goodness knows that Col. Pummel and his subordinates would give the troops extraordinary flak if they all got beaten by a civilian girl. But as he was tired, Flash maintained to keep to his vow of taking this exercise easy. The stallion had nothing to prove by this point... and neither did the rest of his comrades.

So naturally, Flash Sentry lagged far behind Apple Bloom. The private worried whether the filly could maintain her great exertions without giving out, but he supposed the filly’s griffon companion would look after her. While the armored pegasus acutely noticed the weariness of his legs, PFC Sentry made sure to not slack off too much either, or the drill instructors would really start making his life miserable.

By the time Flash Sentry made it to the top of the rope climb portion of the proving ground, Apple Bloom was already down on the ground galloping to the next section. The stallion used a very brief moment to see how his buddy Radiant Steel was doing.....

[Slazer]

Elena followed along with the Master Sergeant as he led the group of quasi-recruits to the obstacle course, explained the rules, and gave a demonstration of each segment of the run. Going over every aspect of the course with her usual careful observation, she had to admit to herself that it seemed like a good challenge and a decent test of their abilities. She found herself grinning in anticipation, eagerly awaiting her turn as the first few ponies took off towards the cour- Wait, is that Apple Bloom?

The griffoness blinked in surprise when she realized that her newly made friend had charged ahead of the pack, full of determination to beat this course over the head with it's own tires. Well, perhaps that was just a colorful analogy, but Elena couldn't help but be impressed when she cleared the 'Reveille's Bar' with one leap and pull, and took off just as quickly towards the tire run. She noted with some amusement that the little farm filly was currently outpacing one of the guards on the course, as well.

"Atta girl, Apple Bloom! You can do this, no sweat!" Elena called out to encourage the young filly as the crafts-griffoness took off behind the lagging guardspony, charging at the bar with a cat-like sprint and leaping at it with a strong start behind her. Her front talons easily caught and closed around the iron to the sides of the cloth just long enough for her to pull herself up and forward, and she allowed her momentum to slide the rest of her body over the bar, taking care to raise her hind paws so that they didn't catch and cause her to make an embarrassing face-plant. Her competitive spirit was in full swing, for the moment all four of her limbs caught the ground, she tore forward towards the tire lane with so much strength in her movements that her front talons tore some dirt and grass out of the ground. Normally, that much tugging on her talons would have caused Elena considerable discomfort, but with her heart pounding in her ears and her brain pumped full of adrenaline, she barely noticed the pain.

Starting off, the tire lane was easy enough. She all but jumped into the first two tires and starting moving through them in a brisk, simple rhythm. However, while Elena's body had become adept at many things, reflexes were not quite one of them: halfway through the lane, she misjudged the distance between one tire and the next and the flat of her fore-talon slipped along the rubber, causing the griffoness to stumble and pause for a moment to regain her bearings. She growled at herself for the amateurish mistake and resumed the motions, albeit taking a few moments more to watch her footing- and even then, she found herself nearly tripping two more times. These impacts built up, and she was starting to feel the burn in her legs even as she tried her best to ignore it under her veil of competition.

Next up was the rope wall, something that Elena had precious little experience with. She didn't let that deter her at all, though, and she leaped for the rope with a quick on-point jump. Fortunately, manual dexterity was something the smithie was very adept at; it was easy for her to judge her grip so that her talons didn't get caught in the fibers of the rope, smoothly grasping just above each knot and using the leverage to pull herself up one length at a time, using her feet as a base on the wall. At about this time, Elena decided she needed to go on a diet: her already weakened front limbs burned in protest at her body's weight as she steadily climbed to the top of the wall, pausing there only long enough to yell her hometown, "Greywing, Rockwington!", before mimicking the Master Sergeant's swing. Her fine motor skills came in handy yet again as she nimbly navigated the netting, stumbling only once from her dulled sense of touch before touching the ground and dashing towards the next segment.

[Dunder]

Dunder panted hard. The stress of coming late and being conspicuous about it was compounded by the stress of clausterphobia in a blob of ponies. An organized march would have been preferable, they were supposed to be a military force after all. Trotting and keeping aware of the ponies who pressed close to his personal bubble in the trot consumed his attention. He didn't want to raise his head or look around. Usually he was situationally aware, but it seemed to have slipped in his occupied mind when a familiar voice broke him back from thought.

He looked over to see Fire trotting next to him, instantly he smiled. "Hey! I didn't notice you. What are you doing here? I thought you already were a member of the R.E.A.? Aren't you needed defending Canterlot?" He asked. He was happy to see her, but it was an unreal coincidence. He was rejected from the R.E.A. and she was successful in it. She was the last pony he'd expect to see in this newly formed group of guardsponies in the middle of nowhere.

She then explained the obstacle course, he nodded, "Oh, I know these courses. I took similar ones to this one each time I tried to join the guards. It only gets a little easier once you get used to it." He explained. "Oh! And nice to meet you, Punk Walker." He said and held his hoof out to be either shaken or pounded by the stallion's hoof. He was confused at his introduction, though. Very good friend...

"By the way, what branches are you guys in? I got put in the logistics branch." He said, as if apologizing for getting such an unexciting branch to work in. "I signed up for the defenders and training branches too. I knew I shouldn't have put my cooking skills in there." He said, shaking his head.

Then came the obstacle course. He looked back at his bulky saddlebags, heavily loaded with his equipment. The thought of leaving them there wouldn't have helped, because he'd have to get used to carrying heavy things out there in the field anyway. Maybe not jumping over any 5 foot high walls, but he didn't want to lose all of his equipment. As the stallion went through the course, Dunder pulled off his saddlebags and sword belt and began to armor himself. He started with the orangish-brown buff coat and then the armor breastplates that he slipped over his head. He checked the leather straps before finally retrieving the morion helmet and strapping it to his head. He gave a quick shake to make sure it was on tight enough before pulling his sword and much lighter saddlebags back on. By the time he was done, the demonstration was done, and he was too caught up armoring himself to remember any of it.

Caught up in the moment, he galloped as soon as an opening presented itself. To gallop and be armored was something he missed. The weight of the steel plates felt welcomed back. The first obstacle seemed to be a bar, which he laded on easily with a jump and a flap of the wings. He used the momentum to get over it and let go to fall and roll on the ground. He got back up and began galloping to the next section. The next section was a classic. He navigated his hooves through the tires, making sure to raise each hoof high enough to clear the tires. It wasn't easy with the constriction of his heavy coat, but he managed to get through only feeling a little tired. He continued the gallop to the next section, an intimidating wall. He leapt on rope when the nearest one cleared and began the ascent. He tried not to use his wings because he knew the staff wouldn't appreciate it, but he gave a few flaps to get himself to clear one knot.

When he reached the top, he followed the example of those in front of him cried out, "Cloudsdale!" not even allowing himself to stand up straight before beginning his descent down the wall's netting. When he reached the bottom, he was panting hard, but galloped the best he could to get in line for the bridge of death.

[tacobob]

Fire Walker smiled as her old friend caught up with her, "This isn't just for the Royal Equestria Army, this is something very special we're trying to do.", the mare added as they cantered along, "After the mess that happened in Ponyville with the Changelings, many of us decided we needed to stop simply reacting to these catastrophes and then trying our best to contain and end them, we needed to be vigilant and keep these things from ever happening. So, we have set up separate camps in these old forts to start up a few task forces. These will be small,. but effective groups that will be ready to handle anything the nasties throw at us. But first, we need to train, and that's one of the things I'm here for. While I'd rather be spending the majority of my time out on the field, the higher ups signed me up for training, since that's what I have the most experience with.", as they moved on, she caught sight of the obstacle course, "We're gonna all be doing this, as we need to take note of each of our candidates strengths and weakness, which some of the others and myself can then iron out during our training phases." She smiled as Dunder took time to meet Punk Walker. Her former colt-friend had only managed to meet her father, little sister and older brother Moon during the course of the relationship.

Once they made their way to the obstacle course, the Pegasus pony watched the old Master Sergeant with great interest, making note of his every movement, mistake and ingenious step that pushed the tough old stallion through the course. Unlike many she had seen running similar courses in memory, Reveille seemed to move quicker and stronger the further he ran and climbed through the obstacles, as opposed to the other way around. While she managed to avoid appearing as so, the red mare was still pretty beat up over the long trip she and the others had to make. However, she was a proper member of the R.E.A! They shouldn't be allowed to see her sweat or to show signs of weariness or weakness!

Once it was the stallion's turn, the First Lieutenant added a, "Good luck Dunders.", before he made his attempt at Master Sergeant Reveille's course. She did cringe a little as the Pegasi used his wings to aid his attempt. While normally this would have disqualified him, the rules themselves were not laid out fully, since this was simple an introduction course. There would be specific training drills for those who could fly, use magic and welded earth pony strength and constitution later on. Then it was her turn, the fiery pony Pegasi took off. In the sky, she wasn't the fastest of flyers, but on the ground, she was nearly as strong as an earth pony, and her cutie mark was a testament of her desire to push herself to be the very best!

Her first obstacle to overcome was the old R.E.A favorite, the vertical bar. She used her powerful back legs, to lift herself onto the bars where her front legs quickly latched onto, and giving after she lifted herself like an gymnastic, she was able to make her way over the other side, where she landed on all four hooves, much like a cat, but maybe not as graceful. The old tire-course was one of her favorites, and her nimble legs were able to dance through the tires much like a concert pianist played away at her keys. While she did well, she was still a bit behind her old record back in Canterlot. Thankfully, she will have time to improve on these such things. Next up, was the wall. She couldn't help but envy Elena the griffoness on this one. Having a set of hands would have made this a good deal easier, but she had to work with what was given her. After scrambling up the rope, she let out an slightly weary, "Canterlot!". Once she was given the signal that nopony (or griffon) was under her, the mare quickly made her way down the net.

Now that they were finished with the usual obstacles, the course was starting to see some more involved and creative tests to get through. Since the 'Bridge Of Death' was slightly more difficult to go through properly, there was a line forming at the start of it. "Good job so far Dunders.", she whispered as they watched the next pony to go through the bridge.

[SteelEagle]

OOC- We are skipping Imagination. Pummel will take over reviews.

Apple Bloom was beyond running on fumes. Sheer will and the desire to not be last or whatever was happening- her vision was fogging up and she couldn't be sure, but if others weren't advancing past her it would be a miracle- around her from making her look the fool were all that kept her form moving. She made her way towards the next obstacle as her legs mechanically pumped and kept her weak form moving a pace enough to appear in a better condition, but that lie would be revealed soon enough. She came upon the nailed ramps and nearly tripped again, recovering from a potentially embarassing fall by reflex alone. She willed herself forward and up, her hooves occassionally knocking on the ramp and producing a lot cludding sound. But she kept moving and she kept moving at pace. Before long she was at the top, panting and begging the air to help her with every aggressive catch. The soldier declared it safe and Apple Bloom didn't allow herself a moment to ponder the pain she was in, instead attacking the rope as well as she could. It wasn't too different from various rope tricks she had practiced with Applejack and certain situations in the Everfree. She was in greater pain now but much less danger. Hoof over hoof and with a steely look of determination masking her vulnerability, Apple Bloom managed to beat the obstacle in good time.

She landed and took off for the next, spots now appearing in her vision as she felt incredibly wavy and ill-suited to this. If she could turn back the clocks of time and make her mama a pegasi so she could have wings she would at least strongly consider it. As she approached the next tower, her back hooves started to drag noticeable behind. All the power was gone and even her mechanically-minded determination was wavering as her physical capabilities were being tested beyond any decent consideration. A little bit of food, a little bit of rest, anything would have helped her beforehoof but she had none of it. Forcing herself to do this required such an overwhelming resolve that only a prideful filly could possible have it. But now that was wavering as her body started to rebel voraciously. She started to make her way up to the top of the tower, her mind only slightly midful of events beyond the next step. At the very last turn as she entered the top Apple Bloom almost fell off of the whole thing, one front hoof turning late and forty percent of her body falling off of the side before she scrambled to her hooves and approached the top. The seat was beautiful. The seat was life. The seat was love. She took the seat heedless of all other concerns and held on, soon finding herself ziplining across the sky to the ground. Another thing she had already done. She reached the end with her head as light as a feather.

Apple Bloom reached the end and summoned up every ounce of will left to get off of the seat, which was a lifesaver for her. Regretfully, the filly jumped off once she reached the bottom and staggered forward a couple paces before falling down to her knees. She couldn't go forward any farther, so it was a good thing that she didn't have to. She then fell completely forward, catching herself on her front hooves. She then evened out her back legs and took a deep breath, getting mostly dirt in the process. She didn't care either way- she just needed to finish it. Ten pony pushups followed, each one producing a small moan of pain until after the final one with her front hooves shaking under the strain she collapsed, having finishes the course.

"APPLE BLOOM, L-A-GISTICS CONTRACTOR!" she screamed, before rolling over, her underside from her tail to her forward covered with dirt as she clutched her sides. She had done it- and from the looks of it, been the first one!

[Slazer]

Elena was feeling the burn by the time she made it up the stairway to the Bridge of Death™, but she didn't let it show on her face. She took the momentary respite from waiting on the pony at the bridge to peer out at how Apple Bloom was doing- and gawked in amazement when she realized that the little filly had already completed the entire course! Well, I'll be a seapony's uncle, she finished it before everypony else! She couldn't help but feel proud of Apple Bloom for soldiering on without complaint and showing up ponies who had probably run harder courses in basic training. She looked exhausted, though- Elena could see that much, even from this distance. She made a mental note to see about getting the farm-filly a milkshake later; she definitely deserved it after that display.

The griffoness was shaken from her thoughts by the exclamation of "SAFE!" from the solider manning the tower, and she quickly leaped forward, easily grasping the rope with both of her talons. Unfortunately, while she was well trained in manual dexterity in the front, her hind end was another matter; her rear paws scraped and scrambled against each-other as she struggled to form a good hold on the rope. She yelped in pain when her rear slipped entirely and made her entire body twisted to the right, neatly spraining her left talon; she managed not to fall off by clutching the rope in a death grip with her remaining good talon, leaving her hanging in midair. Horseapples, that was close! She glanced back and forth, her ears reddening as she realized the extent to which she botched that move; suddenly, she was glad that Apple Bloom was halfway unconscious right now. This is embarrassing... She snorted, her competitive spirit flaring and a determination to finish strong after that mistake flooding her, granting her a second wind as she adjusted her grip- ignoring the protests of her throbbing left arm- and swung upward, reasserting her hind-paws' hold on the rope and leaving her upside-down on the 'bridge'. She quickly started to pull herself across, wincing with every repeated motion of her talon, until she reached the other end and dismounted the rope.

After putting a little weight on her injured talon and judging the pain was bearable enough, Elena swiftly made her way towards the final hurdle: the zipline tower. She climbed the stairs quickly, and looked down off of the peak for just a moment; confident that no fear entered her mind, she climbed into the slightly uncomfortable seat and rode the zipline all the way to the bottom, deeply enjoying the momentary break for her tortured talons. Once the seat hit the bottom, she dove out into the sand and landed on all four in the soft grains, leaping forward with a spray of sand behind her as she sprinted to Apple Bloom's side. She took deep breathes as she forced ten long, agonizing push-ups out of her burning muscles, giving a defiant cry of, "ELENA GREYWING, METALWORKER!" before finally allowing herself to collapse onto her side, breathing heavily. Her entire coat was matted with sweat and sand, and her left talon was screaming at her for being so rough in the last few hazards, but she refused to let herself complain; if a half-grown filly could take all of this without uttering a word of malcontent, then so could she.

[RarityDash]

As predicted, Radiant was less than stellar with the course. She just found it frustrating and pointless and as such didn't put her all into it. She found herself stifling the urge to fly rather constantly. She was sure the sergeant would approve of that. From bar to tires to rope bridge to vertical rope climb, she moved at a below average pace, keeping time just behind Flash Sentry. When the climb came however, he happened to look her way, and that set something of a spark off in the young pegasus mare. She blushed as she suddenly felt compelled to be a little more impressive.

She applied more strength now to climbing the wall and was very soon at the top of it. She sat down and took the zipline down with aplomb. At the end of the course she then did her push ups with impressive form and speed and then shot upward. "Radiant Steel! Corporal!" she declared with a certain fierceness and then trotted ahead.

She turned around quickly to watch as Flash finished. Ultimately, she ended up with what felt like just above average time for the course. More important to her at that moment was what Flash thought. She wondered if he had been watching... She waited to see the kind of finish he was give.

​

[Bellosh]

“Flash Sentry! Private First Class!” Near the end, the stallion was surprised to see Radiant Steel burst forth and overtake him. Knowing Radiant’s insecurities heading into the obstacle course, it was a very welcome surprise indeed. After Flash finished up, the first thing the panting guard did was canter over to his comrade; “Heh... told ya this exercise would be easy.”

Observing through binoculars, Col. Pummel scowled as he watched a mere foal finish the course first. How could Task Force Suntrot expect to command respect when a untrained filly could outrun them all? That situation would not be tolerated. “Order the drill instructors to work our troops day and night until they’re no longer physically outmatched by children,” the disappointed colonel informed a subordinate, shaking his head as the old stallion walked back inside. Much work still needed to be done.....

[Imagination]

The Master Sergeant remained silent for the majority of the run-though. This whole test was only inventory... But very telling. He saw ponies going through the course halfheartedly, taking their time, and seeming content with adequate performance. What's worse is that a child was one of the only ones that seemed to be putting 110% forward! Reminded Reveille of himself when he was just a colt going through leadership camps.

"Out-Standing, Applebloom!! Keep up the motivation!"

But, that was about where his joy ended. It pays to be a winner. He was already about to go have words with Corporal Steel and PFC Sentry, but he was stopped by somepony from the Colonel's office. While the Master Sergeant and the Colonel seemed to share sentiments, it only meant now Reveille was going to be under the microscope as well. He wasn't going to look bad in front of the Colonel. No Sir.

The teeth-gritting NCO stormed over to the two soldiers, kindly requesting their attention. "A little TOO easy?!" he boomed at Flash's overheard comment. He advanced until he was practically within headbutting distance from the two, and let loose. "That was absolutely disgusting! Both of you! Corporal! You have to lead by example and put your full effort into getting the job done! If your subordinates see their leaders slacking off, what do you think THEY'RE gonna do?!" He immediately turned to Flash Sentry, prodding a hoof into him "And YOU." He addressed with a little more malice. "I expect better from a member of the royal guard! You ponies are what everypony in the REA should strive to be! But you know what I saw?! I saw you being LAZY! LAZY!! 100% effort doesn't result in a civilian filly outperforming her majesty's soldiers!" Applebloom ran the course admirably, of course, but even so it wasn't any excuse for those she beat. "I'll bet you two thought this was a BIIIG joke, didn't you!? Well, since you seem to have thought this was so easy, you must have plenty of energy left over, don't you? I'll go ahead and let the first firewatch shift tonight know they can go ahead and get some rest. You certainly won't need it, right? Terrific."

He left them with that thought, going back to the sidelines of the course and noticed Fire Walker in line for the bridge. "Hey Ma'am, what say we get these ponies moving?! Let's go-Let's go-Let's go! We're going to have some serious work to do if this is where we're starting at, Suntrot!" Hopefully something could still be salvaged from this if they lit a fire under these ponies flanks. How were they supposed to know what they needed to work on if they weren't giving it their all?

[tacobob]

The mare glanced down from where she stood and listened to the Master Sergeant, "I would like to believe.", she kept her voice down just low enough so that only Reveille, and the ponies nearest to them could hear, "I would like to believe that our fine mares and stallions kept pace behind the child so they would not end up stampeding over her. I do admire her bravery and tenacity, but there is protocol that is not being followed here. Once the run-thru is taken care of, we will need to address the Applebloom situation in private. Placing a child in these situations will not end well."

Fire Walker was not at all disappointed with the current group of ponies they had so far. It was a mixture of civilians, and military, both seasoned and not. This was never meant to be a contest, but simple a tool to see where they needed to work on, and while there were more than a few areas many of those involved had room for improvement, they all were doing a rather decent job considering their present conditions and for a few, lack of experience running such a course. These issues would be ironed out in due time, and then the real test will most likely start once their group was ready to run one of Master Sergeant Reveille's real courses, both timed and judged.

"I do agree, we need to get this moving." While the good Lieutenant had trained many ponies in the past, she was hardly a proper drill sergeant. She generally preferred one on one when it came to instruction and lacked the fire several of her siblings and her father could muster. And while slapping the next pony in line on the backside would probably get the line moving, she did realize that Dunder was that pony, and she probably would get the wrong reaction from him. Instead she spoke up, "Next pony! Please proceed through the next obstacle..NOW!", she added in a rather fierce and commanding tone of voice.

(Next pony!)