First Lieutenant Zip Jetscream wasn’t exactly proud of his award… or reward… or whatever it may have been. He wasn’t even excited about his new rank… skipping the step of 2^nd lieutenant. It wasn’t that long ago he was just an airpony.

He was, to most, an unremarkable Pegasus. Coming from a dirt-poor family that worked for some merchant, and not having the brains to ace his way into higher education, he joined the Equestrian Air Force when he turned 18. His parents weren’t exactly pleased with his choice, but what were they going to do?

A Canterlot native, he was sent to train in Baltimare. He was an above average flyer, had fair intelligence, and had a cool head under pressure. He also had balls of steel in the eyes of others, though he himself knew better... But that was to be unseen. His instructors, admiring all these qualities, noted him as potential officer material before his basic training was even completed.

He had respect from his squad mates as well as his higherups. The higherups were not supposed to like or dislike their soldiers-in-training; they were supposed to teach them. But they couldn’t help themselves. Cadet Jetscream was as close to an ideal soldier as many had ever seen. As graduation approached, his instructors felt wherever he ended up he would do well.

The air force would keep a close eye on this one. If he could hack it with a squad, which he would surely be able to manage, officer candidate school was the place to send him. Zip did graduate near the top of his class, moving to the enlisted rank of airpony. Rather than send him to work a desk, Airpony Jetscream would better serve Equestria and cut his teeth away out in the frontier bordering Griffinstone.

It was a time of peace in Equestria, but most ponies were unaware of when it wasn’t. The skirmishes with the griffins over the lands of Eastern Equestria were a few decades in the past. A terse, functional peace existed between the ponies and the griffins. But there were still plenty of small, localized conflicts. There wasn’t much to say about Zip's service. He was a gear in the system and the system worked.

Achieving the rank of senior airpony as quickly as anypony ever might have and holding great respect among his unit, Zip was sent to OCS. He spent half a year there, doing just about as well as was expected of him. To complete his time training as an officer, he was sent to an outpost within reach of the Dragonlands.

He was assigned to work under a 1^st lieutenant, with the rank of “3^rd” lieutenant. He wasn’t an officer; he was an officer candidate. This so-called rank put him in the chain-of-command… nothing more. Not much went on near the outpost. It was small… It was so small their ranking officer was a captain, with their entire company only containing two platoons. All in all, not including any officer candidate, there were only 109 ponies present, at most, at any given time. The air force, naturally, was filled with Pegasi, but a few Earth ponies and unicorns dotted the ranks.

Their primary charge was to maintain a watch on the Dragonlands. Their other function was one nopony ever wanted to come to fruition, but occasionally it did. And that was dealing with dragons

Some Sunday afternoon, in the early part of summer, the soldiers of the Dragonlands Outpost lounged about. With no place to go on their day off, unless they wanted to wander around the steppe, they read, slept, played cards, drank, shot the breeze… They did anything to pass the time.

Somepony on duty, up on the wall, saw it first. A full-grown dragon was baring down upon the outpost. It wasn’t clear why but the “why” didn’t matter much as the officers' mess was fried.

As an officer candidate, 3^rd Lt. Jetscream was encouraged to minimize his time with the enlisted ponies; that was the job of his platoon sergeant, keeping the troops in line, so much of his time was spent in the officers' mess. Of note, he barely knew the non-coms in the other platoon, mostly keeping to their own barracks. He had been in the latrine during this particular time; it was one of the few structures within the walls made of brick. That and the bad case of the runs he had, keeping him in there much of the day, were the only things that saved his life.

He was inside when the dragon approached, filling the yard with fire. It got hot in the john, but he was shielded. Peeking outside, it was safe for a moment. He sprinted out. He had to get to the officer’s mess to rouse the captain and his platoon leader, but… he hadn’t seen the mess go up in flames, sitting on his raw ass.

The ponies within the walls were panicking; some were hurt, others shocked, many drunk. Many had already died. Knowing he couldn’t stop, that he had to establish chain-of-command, he looked for his sergeant… or any sergeant. He quickly realized all the non-commissioned officers, save a couple corporals, had been in the mess… along with the captain, the 2^nd lieutenant, and his direct superior, the 1^st lieutenant. They were, at best, incapacitated.

He was it. He had command of the outpost.

The dragon roared overhead. Zip hadn’t gotten a look at it; it was a big one. And it continued to rain fire down upon his ponies. Running along the inner wall, Zip gathered up anypony in fighting shape. There were only 20 of them, and he gathered them in the outdoor root cellar.

He quickly explained the chain-of-command was broken. Any panic or disobedience was quelled as he barked out orders. Thankfully, both squad leaders of his platoon were alive. Each of them would take eight ponies. One of the established squads would try to contain the fire; they had rain clouds nearby. The other squad would try to help their fallen company.

Of course, none of this could be done with the dragon nearby. Lieutenant Jetscream would lead two ponies himself… to steer the dragon away. What might happen after that… was up in the air. The two ponies wondered what the Hell their leader had planned.

Trusting his squads to carry out his orders, the Lieutenant caught up to the dragon and did something exceptionally stupid. He punched it in the eye with everything he had. It definitely pissed off the dragon, and it gave chase.

Lieutenant Jetscream, flying alongside his literally screaming comrades, scoped out what he ought to do. He’d really gotten the dragon’s attention, and it would probably follow him anywhere.

Giving his wingponies final instructions in case he bought the farm, he told them to follow his example if he failed to kill the beast; they'd get the idea if they watched him.

The wingponies broke off, each veering far away. As Lt. Jetscream had figured, the dragon wanted him first and foremost. It roared and complained and blew fire, but he remained out of its reach. The only idea he had was an old one. Hell, it was a children’s story, but it could work. Making his way to the sea, flying like he never had, he sped up.

Knowing full well the thing would chase him to the ends of the Earth, he made ready to enter a rock formation he spotted. It was at least big enough for the dragon to make its way in. The lieutenant flew in. The dragon did indeed follow him, desperate to get him. In its desperation it got stuck. The more it struggled, the more stuck it became. Unable to back its way out, it became lodged.

By then, it was late afternoon, and the tide was coming back in. It gave Lt. Jetscream no joy as he sat, watching the dragon drown, its terror most apparent. Steam and flames burst forth from the formation. But he sat and watched until it was over. He was too tired to move…

His wingponies came for him and saw what had happened. They wanted to cheer their officer, but Lt. Jetscream didn’t seem to be reveling about much of anything. It had been a miserable day. They helped fly him back to the outpost.

It was night by the time they arrived, and the fact it was dark was a blessing. Their fellow ponies lay everywhere, dead and burned. The wood barracks was somehow the only standing structure, and it was serving as their field hospital.

Lieutenant Jetscream had only managed to get 20 ponies underground. As he had given his orders, about 30 perished outside on top of the 40 killed in the first moments of the attack. The 18 left behind to help all escaped serious injury. But only nine ponies survived, those rescued from the burning wreckage of the outpost. The rest had perished throughout the afternoon. And considering the injuries some of them had endured, they were fortunate for it.

In the aftermath of the Disaster at the Dragonlands Outpost, as it came to be known, the company, what was left of it, was cannibalized and sent to fill holes in other units. The outpost was abandoned, with plans to build a new one in the works.

For his bravery and his resourcefulness, 3^rd Lt. Jetscream was immediately promoted to the rank of 1^st Lieutenant. On top of that, he was given the highest decoration in the Equestrian Air Force. The “Wings of the Dragon Slayer”, usually not given for the literal act, was an ancient decoration hearkening back thousands of years… long before Princess Luna disappeared, a mere 400 years earlier… long before Equestria… when the land was still wild.

But Lt. Jetscream found no joy in this. He knew he hadn’t let down anypony. They were caught unaware, and he’d done what he could. Without him the 29 ponies, now sent to the four corners of Equestria, would have surely perished. It was just hard…

Recognizing his potential as an officer in the air force, but realizing how shaken up Lt. Jetscream was, it was decided he’d be sent to Northwest Equestria. A newly formed company had an opening for a lieutenant. It wasn’t specifically the air force he’d be with, though…

The 3rd Platoon of the unblooded A Company, "Wild Rice" Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the "Clementine" Corps, 4th Equestrian Army was just the place to ease the decorated Pegasus into his rank. The "Wild Rice" Battalion was port authority above all else. Perhaps the quiet would do the young lieutenant some good.

The locomotive was a newer invention. Considered the crowning achievement of technology by many, it revolutionized how ponies traveled. The joining of the railways from Canterlot and from the great Port City of the northwest was a big to-do. And this railway was Lt. Zip Jetscream’s means to his new assignment. For now, at least, he was an army pony.

The brooch he’d been awarded gleamed on his uniform as he saluted his old commander. He turned and entered the train car. It would be a long trip. He’d hoped to catch up on sleep, but sleep had eluded him as of late. The dragon encounter was too fresh in his mind.

Check out the Appendix for The Virgin Company, updated as the story moves along. Includes character designs and platoon arrangement. Contains spoilers.

Don't let the lack of dialogue and immersion throw you off too much. It gets much more involved from here. This chapter serves as more of a prologue than anything. There's action and funny military marching tunes coming up.

Next, the lieutenant heads for his new assignment in Port City (Modern Day Vanhoover), to take command of a fresh bunch of soldiers. Just what will he encounter in the army?

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Thanks for reading, and take care.