The BSAA may get it's first non-human member
The helicopter arrived at the BSAA HQ, as they stepped out Bruce made sure to help Applejack off the chopper.
"Mighty kind of ya Bruce", Applejack said.
"Anytime"
They entered the base, Applejack awed at it.
"Mighty big place of operations y'all have here", she said.
Chris turned to Applejack, "Remember this, talking ponies are unusual around here so be careful when near others, they may freak out at first"
Applejack nodded, "I'm well aware of that"
They entered the base, Applejack looked around and saw many busy people, several screens, everyone in a hurry to go somewhere.
"So this is where you find them B.O.W.s?" Applejack asked.
Chris nodded, "Sure is, we get alerts of every viral outbreak, some of the soldiers handle a few but people in my team take on the most elite tasks"
"How do these outbreaks start anyway?"
"Terrorism, some people get access to these viruses and use them to spread to different cities", Chris said.
"That's horrible, do you have any leads as to who's causing most of 'em?"
"I already know who, an old enemy of mine, Albert Wesker", Chris clenched his fists, "I thought I had killed him, but he came back somehow"
"Ah know that feeling, that's how ah got here, ah thought an old enemy was dead, but he wasn't"
Bruce chuckled, "Looks like you can relate to us in that reguard, all you need is zombies", Bruce said.
"Well me and mah friends did face an infestation of sorts, one time we went to a wedding and fought some creatures called 'Changlings', nasty little suckers"
"Changlings? What were they like?" Leon asked.
"Well they look like giant bugs, and they can shapeshift into anything"
The group looked surprised.
"Those must be a real bitch to fight", Carlos said.
"Yeah, they are, they tried changing into mah friends but we knew each other well enough not to fall for that, and we gave them quite the whooping, unfortunately their Queen almost killed us, if it weren't for mah friend's brother and his fiancé"
"So...you were saved by a bride and groom?" Leon asked.
"Hey the bride was a powerful princess and the groom was the captain of the royal guard", Applejack said.
"Well that makes more sense then, must be a good captain if he can handle some evil queen", Jill said.
"She was a creepy one too, giant bug creature, saw everyone else as little insects to be squashed, imagine dealing with something like that", Applejack said.
Chris and Claire then suddenly remembered Alexia Ashford.
"I think we can relate Applejack, well me and my brother", Claire said.
Chris nodded, "Now Applejack, you're gonna be staying with Bruce, seeing as he's the one who so desperately wants to protect you, me and Jill need to go check if there are any other viral outbreaks"
"How often are they?" Applejack asked.
"Sometimes every few days, but you never know, I'm gonna keep watch"
Bruce gestured Applejack with him, "Come on AJ"
Before anything, Rebecca spoke up, "Everyone remember to change up and wash off any injuries, some of you still have blood, come to me so I can double check all of you, in case I missed something"
Everyone nodded and walked off.
Later on Rebecca was checking on Bruce, making sure he didn't have any injuries or signs of infection; Leon, Claire & Applejack were in the room as well.
"So Bruce, how long you been at this?" Applejack asked.
"Long time, my first major incident was The Spencer Rain, where I met some creep named Morpheus who wanted to use the virus for eternal beauty"
"Wow, sounds like something mah friend Rarity would like", Applejack said.
"Yeah well the whole situation wasn't pretty, so anyway that's also where I met Fong Li, and together we were able to kill that creepy bastard"
"Sounds neat", she turned to Leon, "How about you partner?"
"My first incident was well over 10 years ago when I arrived in a place called Raccoon City, zombies were everywhere, luckily I ran into Claire and she was a big help, we both worked together and met a young girl named Sherry and we escaped the city"
Claire nodded, "Yeah, it was a close call but thanks to his police training, and training I received from my brother, we were able to survive that incident"
"Wow, pretty neat"
Rebecca finished checking on Bruce, "Done, ok Applejack come on over, I have some things to look over with you"
Applejack approached Rebecca and sat down, Rebecca double checked to make sure she's not hurt, "Well no signs of infection, I just need to get some medical records on you"
Applejack nodded, "Sure thing"
During the exam, Applejack decided to break the ice, "So you fight zombies too?"
Rebecca nodded as she checked Applejack's reflexes, "Yeah, me and a man named Billy worked together to deal with them, as well as some leeches"
"Ew, leeches?"
"Yeah, place was full of them", she then put a pad around her arm to check her blood pressure.
"How'd you escape?" Applejack asked.
"We worked together and defeated the one controlling the leeches, a man named Dr. James Marcus, he was the one who caused the original viral outbreak, after that me and Billy went our separate ways, I don't know where he went after that but I went to a mansion to rest, and meet the rest of my team, including my friend Richard, unfortunately it was infected as well, but Chris & Jill were able to help me"
"That's nice, what about your friend Richard?"
Rebecca pasued a moment, "He didn't make it, I lost a lot of friends that day, everyone on my team died, I was the only survivor"
"Sorry to hear, must be rough, so what type of team were you anyway?"
"We were a police group, S.T.A.R.S., I was the Bravo Team Medic, Chris & Jill were on the Alpha team", she grabbed a flashlight, "Lift your pupils"
Applejack looked up while Rebecca checked on her eyes, "Your eyes are pretty by the way"
"Thanks, so you were in a police group?"
"First assignment with them, and I meet zombies, though not as bad as Leon, his first day as a cop was him dealing with zombies"
Applejack chuckled, "Lousy luck"
Rebecca checked her ears, "Yeah, but we grow, I still miss my friends, I'll never forget when I saw my friend Edward become a zombie, it broke my heart, even more so when I had to...well, put him down"
Applejack sighed, "Ah don't think ah could handle doing something like that, you must be pretty brave"
"Not really, I was really scared"
Leon spoke, "Bravery is not the opposite of fear Rebecca, to be brave means doing something despite being afraid"
Claire spoke, "We're all scared, the first time I saw the zombies I got really scared"
Bruce spoke, "Same here, you'd never know it but them zombies still freak me out"
Applejack nodded, "Glad ah wasn't alone...that was the most scared I've been in mah life"
"We're all scared, it's how you handle yourself that counts", Leon said.
Rebecca finished up with Applejack, "Ok that's it for now, I may need to give you a few needles, I hope you can handle that"
Applejack nodded, "Sure thing, I guess, not too fond of them"
"No one is", Leon said.
"I must say though, your muscles seem pretty tough, you work out a lot?" Rebecca asked.
"No, being a farmer just means a lot of hard work, so it keeps me in shape"
"Well you feel stronger than most guys, maybe with some training you can be a soldier like us"
Applejack nodded, "That wouldn't be so bad"
Bruce looked concerned, "Probably shouldn't encourage that, it's not safe for Applejack to go back out there, I'd rather she stay here where she won't get hurt, or killed, or infected"
"Well ah still wouldn't mind the training, especially if it keeps me in shape, maybe help me feel more confident and less scared"
Leon nodded, "Yeah, she doesn't have to go out there but training is a good confidence booster"
Bruce nodded, "Maybe, but it's still rough"
"Hey I'm a farmer, and I've fought adversity, ah can handle rough, just give me a shot"
They all glanced to each other, then nodded.
"You got it AJ", Leon said.
Later on, Bruce took Applejack to a shooting range, "Ok lets just start out with this, grab a gun"
Applejack looked but realized an issue, "Ah don't know if ah can fire any of these"
Bruce observed, "Right, well I think I can fix that", he grabbed a shotgun and used a knife to cut off the guard over the trigger, "Try it like this for now, then later we can customize something for you"
Applejack grabbed the gun and aimed at the target, Bruce was next to her with a shotgun of his own.
"Now normally you should start off with a handgun but ah think you can handle a shotgun, just aim and fire!" Bruce fired his weapon.
Applejack fired her shotgun, didn't do to well since she missed for the most part.
"Keep trying, remember to cock it so it reloads", Bruce said.
Applejack did so, once the shell came out she fired again, then again, then again, as she continued she got better.
"Ah think I'm getting the hang of this!" Applejack said.
"That'ah girl, keep shooting!"
Applejack kept firing at the extra targets, she started doing better, she seemed to have had a knack for the shotgun.
"Later you can try an assault rifle", Bruce said.
After a few more rounds, Applejack tried Bruce's idea and used an assault rifle, though it was a bit harder for her to manage.
"Probably better with the shotgun", she said.
"Well it's good to learn all weapon styles, keep trying you can do it"
They spend the next hour practicing, Applejack's shotgun skills greatly improved, though her assault rifle skills needed some work, she also tried using the handgun, though it was slightly harder for her.
The both left and grabbed a drink, they each got a nice tall glass of soda.
"Normally I'd like a beer but it's not the best idea to drink beer while training with weapons", Bruce said.
"Personally I prefer cider, but soda's ok", Applejack said.
They drank and Applejack wondered, "If ah get good enough, you think I can go out there with you?"
Bruce hesitated moment, "Not too crazy about that, this is dangerous work, you almost died today, not to mention you got sick at the sight of all the blood and guts"
"Ah know, but I need to conquer this, prove that ah can do it", Applejack protested.
Bruce pondered, "I'll talk to Chris about it"
Applejack nodded, "Thanks partner"
"Well it's late we should eat, do a few more practice rounds, and get some rest, long day, soon you have others to meet, Josh's friend and Chris's other partner, Sheva Alomar, maybe you'll also get to meet Sherry Birkin, the girl Leon and Claire helped rescue, she's also helping the fight against B.O.W.s", Bruce said.
"I'd like that", Applejack said.
They both decided to go rest up, they stayed in Bruce's room, he got an extra mattress for her so they can sleep, it was quite a long day.
Meanwhile as Chris was working, Jill approached him.
"You're thoughts on that pony?"
"So long as she doesn't do anything stupid, I'm ok with her hanging around", Chris plainly stated.
"I know she's been practicing with a shotgun, maybe she wants to join our cause?"
Chris scoffed, "Seriously? She's a God Damn Pony, what can she offer?"
"With enough training, probably a lot, think about it"
Jill left Chris to his thoughts, the idea of working with a pony seemed weird but he decided to not put too much thought into it and kept working.
A few days had passed by, Bruce had convinced Chris to give Applejack some training to enhance her skills, and over the course of those days, she worked hard on honing her craft, she wasn't too green due to her having some battle experience but this was a whole new world, she trained hard to learn various survival skills, some hand-to-hand combat and learned how to use the shotgun well.
During the training, she had gotten closer to Bruce, Leon & Claire, and whenever she needed to, was able to speak with Rebecca, usually during the check ups, Rebecca had grown fond of Applejack, and vice versa.
Then one day Chris spoke, "There's a new viral outbreak, near the northeast, lets get ready to go, I need Jill, Leon, Claire, Rebecca, Carlos & Sheva"
Applejack stepped forward, "What about me?"
Chris looked, "What about you?"
"Ah want to fight too, send me out there"
"Aren't you confident? You've only trained a few days, you already think you're ready?"
Applejack nodded, "Sure am"
Jill spoke, "To be fair Chris, it's not that big of an outbreak, I think she can handle this"
Chris sighed, "Fine, but if you're coming, Bruce, you come too, keep an eye on her"
"No problem on that", Bruce said.
Chris motioned toward the helicopter, "Alright team, let's roll out!"
They all went to the chopper, Applejack excited about going out there and proving herself, Chris had some doubts though and Bruce had concerns, the only one confident in her was Leon, seeing as he also had a first hand in training Applejack, but only time would tell if she was ready.
Applejack gonna bust some zombie heads soon.