SIE: back to basic

Day 586
>Another letter from the Princess, this time summoning you to come to the castle as an advisor. What in Equestria were you advising? You were terrible at negotiating and politics. In fact you despised both. Unfortunately, you couldn’t exactly refuse a summons, so you packed an overnight bag and headed out the next day after walking Dinky to school.
>The little ones pressed against the school house window, admiring your newly polished armor shining like a mirror in the sunlight. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing you owned, but you felt it was improper to show up in anything else and it was practically a uniform to you now.
>Cheerilee let them outside, seeing as class hadn’t started. Next thing you knew you were surrounded, being overrun by adorableness.
“Miss Cheerilee, help me! I’m being overwhelmed!” you acted as if you were slowly being brought down by the horde, eventually laying on your back as the dozen or so little p0nies jumped on top of you. Just as they thought they had pinned you down, you leapt up, with one hanging from your arm, another on your shoulder, and one laying on your head.
>Miss Cheerilee was laughing hysterically. ”Alright my little p0nies, it’s time for class. Hop off of Anonymous and go inside.” In unison the class moaned, hopping off of you and heading inside, chattering away. One conversation put a smile on your face, as a young colt exclaimed “Dinky, your dad is so cool!” Hopefully Dinky was about to make a new friend.
>”Off to fight another threat against Equestria Anon? Seems like you just came riding in on a Pegasus to save us.”
“I wish I was. Unfortunately the princess wants me to come oversee a few things up in Canterlot. Sounds like a bunch of politics if you ask me.” You didn’t bother to hide you annoyance at being called in for political matters. “Not exactly my thing, but who am I to question the princess.”
>”I’m sure you’ll do fine, whatever you have to do. Be sure to come visit the class when you get back, I’m sure they have lots of questions for you.”
>”Sure thing Cheerilee, I’ll come in sometime. I should get going though.” You wished her a good day and made your way to Canterlot. It was times like this you missed having a car or a motorcycle. The train rides were getting old. You would move to Canterlot, but you’d grown to accustomed to P0nyville, and the p0nies there.
>You arrived at the castle after dinner, and met with Celestia in the garden.  As usual, she greeted you with a warm smile. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you here.”
“Yes. Last I checked, I was a soldier, not a politician.” Your words were dry, eagerly awaiting an explanation.
>”I’m aware, and you’re a good soldier. We need more like you. Which is why I want you advising my general’s on a new training program. Do you think you could help with that, if only for a week or two?”
“That doesn’t sound like such a bad thing I suppose… Send a few guards to watch over P0nyville if you would. I hate leaving them without a guardian with what happened last time.” You shuddered at the thought of another attack.
>”Of course Anon, I can’t have my advisor worrying about his home. I’ll let you get started in the morning.”
>Luna came into the garden, ready to perform the daily ritual of raising the moon. You watched the two alicorns move the heavens above. In P0nyville, it was easy to forget that these two were responsible for this. But watching it in person was truly amazing, and humbling of their power.
>With that done, Celestia bid you and her sister good night, returning to her chambers. As she walked away, you felt a strange sensation wash over you, something you’d never felt before. You turned to Luna, seeing as it would be rude to have simply left without at least a brief conversation.
“Hello Luna, it’s nice to see you again.”
>You shook you head. You hadn’t called her Luna in months. What the absolute fuck brain.
>”Are you ok Anonymous? You look weary.” Luna trots closer, wrapping a wing around you.
“Yes, just a bit tired I think.” What was going on with your head? Luna seemed so… Beautiful….  No, bad brain. Derpy is your special somep0ny. “My head hurts…”
>You didn’t see Luna gin slightly. “Allow me to help you, Anonymous.” Her horn glowed and touched your head. Pure ecstasy. The pain fled from your head, and you embraced Luna, who in turn nuzzled you as you fell asleep. Luna smiled, “just as planned…”
>You woke up the next day in the guest chambers, your head throbbing in pain. What in Equestria did you do last night? Judging by the sensation, you drank half the booze in Canterlot. You had laid off the drinking since adopting Dinky though, so that just didn’t seem right.
>Regardless, it was time to get to work. You made your way to the general’s office to pick up a brief overview on the training that the army was already requiring. A quick knock on the door was answered by a deep voice bidding you to enter.
“General, I’m here to pick up a review of your training program. Princess Celestia said she informed you.”
>”Ah, Anonymous. I’ve heard quite a few tales of your exploits in battle. Yes I have the overview here.” He shoves a small folder across his desk. It looked maybe 10 pages thick.
“Is this seriously all there is? This is going to be harder than I thought. Thank you for the overview General, I’ll try to have a revised training schedule by lunch tomorrow.”
>You salute, about face and walk out of the office, heading to the garden to read. It was the quietest place in Canterlot, and the fresh air would do wonders for this hangover.
>The “training” wasn’t even really training. It was simply an entrance exam. A 100 question written exam, and an obstacle course. You didn’t bother to read the exam. Save for the obstacle course, shit was about to get majorly overhauled. You headed back to the room, where the quill and paper would be. Shit was going to suck writing out, but you needed to do it. You were about to change a 4 hour course, into a multi-week hell on Earth, with a 3 day trial by fire at the end.
>as you finished up, you noticed it was already night out. A steady knock came from your door. One of Celestia’s guard, most likely getting off his shift as by now Luna’s guard should have replaced them. “Sir, Princess Luna has requested you join her for her… breakfast…”
“Thank you, you should see to getting some rest, you look tired soldier.”
>He nodded, walking off toward the guard barracks. These guys were good at keeping the peace; they stood taller than most p0nies. But that wasn’t going to help against half the creatures in Equestria. Boy you were going to rock some jimmies.
>You found Luna in the dining hall, munching on a salad. A bowl of fruit and a loaf of bread were at the center of the table, you two favorite food groups since coming to Equestria.
>”Hello Anonymous! I hope I didn’t disturb you with my request. My sister couldn’t recall you coming out of your room all day, and she wasn’t sure if you had eaten anything.” She had a look of genuine concern on her face. It was nice to know she still cared about you, even after all this time without seeing eachother.
>Brain: Dude, didn’t we see her last night?
>No brain I don’t think so.
You took a seat next to her, biting into a piece of bread. “Yes, my work seemed to get the best of my attention I didn’t even notice the sun going down. Thank you for inviting me to... eat with you.” It  didn’t seem right calling it breakfast, even if it was to Luna.
>”Yes, I heard you were making a few changes to the entrance exam to be a guard.” She took another bite of her salad, eager to talk to you about anything, you could tell just by the way she eyed you.
“A few changes would be an understatement. Celestia tasked me with forging soldiers, not guards. The new training will be about 9 weeks long, similar to what I went through on my world.”
>Luna nearly choked on her food, eyes wide. You pet her on the back until she managed to swallow the food in her mouth. “My apologies… that’s just such a long time for an entrance exam.”
“That’s just it. It’s not just an exam, I’m going to teach them what they need to survive. The only reason we defeated the Diamond Dogs was because we out maneuvered them and caught them off guard. After this, we’ll have more combat ready troops. Right now, we just have peacekeepers.”
>Luna still looked shocked, even as you explained some parts of the training to her. Why wouldn’t she be, this was going to be pure madness. “Anonymous, are you sure this is the only way?”
“The only way I know how, Princess. And forgive my boldness, you can’t tell me it doesn’t work.” You meal was finished. “Thank you again for the meal, and the company. I should get to sleep, if you’ll excuse me Princess.”
>The next day was certainly interesting. First came breakfast with Celestia who took the news similarly to her sister. Nevertheless, she gave you full power to do what you wanted with the next batch of recruits.
>Lunch was with the general that gave you the overview, who was thrilled, if not a little intimidated by the training schedule.
>”just one problem Anonymous. Who is going to teach this?”
”I will. All I need is your best instructors, that way I only have to do this once. Do you know when the next batch of recruits will arrive?”
>”Scheduled for this Friday, 5 days from now. Should be 150 of them. Will you be ready?”
>you simply nod, a smile creeping across your face. You had a few P0nies in mind that would be good instructors. You went to the throne room. You had a letter that needed express delivery. Twilight could specialize in instructing the Unicorns magic. Rainbow Dash would be the flight instructor, of course, and if Apple Jack could stand to be away from the fare long enough, she could show any Earth p0nies a thing or two about physical endurance. Rarity could make some uniform designs, and Pinkie Pie and her seemingly unlimited supply of energy would help the kitchens make enough food.
>One more p0ny came to mind. The only one that could make a dragon cringe in fear. Fluttershy would be your Senior Drill Instructor. You couldn’t help but smile at the thought. She had potential, especially after that Iron Will program or whatever it was called. She just needed the right motivation.
>With the letter written, Celestia sent it off in a puff of magic. You didn’t give many details, just that they needed to be ready to spend a few months in Canterlot, and to be here by Thursday. For now, you just needed to play the waiting game.
>Thursday was here in no time, and your 4 instructors, your lead cook, and your uniform designer arrived via train. They curiously looked around at the barracks the stallions were going to be staying in.
>”Sooo, Anon? What exactly are we doing here?” Twilight asked, looking at the very simple  buildings. They had 2 doors, one at each end of the building and were plain white.
“Well, I’ve been tasked with training 150 stallions to defend Equestria from an attack like the Diamond Dogs. Since there’s no training instructors, I got to choose my own. I couldn’t think of a better bunch of p0nies.”
>The six exchanged looks with each other, obviously confused beyond thei wildest imaginations.

“I’ll go ahead and explain. Rarity, your attention to detail will be very useful during inspections, and I’ll need somep0ny to take measurements for armor and dress uniforms. Pinkie Pie. I need you to organize and help in the kitchens. 150 stallions is a lot of mouths to feed. Apple Jack, you’re the most resilient Earth p0ny I know, making you a great instructor for the earth p0nies. Rainbow Dash, you’re the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, and Twilight, you’re comprehension of magic will really come in handy when it comes to instructing unicorns. Fluttershy, you will be the senior drill instructor. You’re going to be the instiller of fear and discipline.
>At this point, Rainbow Dash almost shit a chicken laughing; the others looked at you like you just contorted your body to shove your head up your own ass.
“Fluttershy, I want you to treat these stallions like you did that dragon when it was being a bully. Get in their faces, get mean, make them fear you.” You leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “because if you don’t, they’ll rebel, and attack alL of us.”
>that did it. Fluttershy got that look of determination in her eyes. That look that could make a dragon shake. You go ahead and explain the training schedule briefly.  Determination flooded into their faces.
>”I do suppose we owe you after saving us from so many things. It’s an honor to work with you Anonymous, and to know we were your first choice.” Rarity sure seemed flattered.
“I’ll warn you all now, we’re going to be up before sunrise every day for the next 2 months. There’s going to be a lot of physical activity for most of you. Pinkie Pie will be working on breakfast lunch and dinner so she’ll be one of the exceptions to PT. Rarity, you’ll most likely be spending a lot of time with the p0nies making the uniform, so you wont have to do too much either in terms of physical activity.”
>With the briefing done, you showed them to their rooms. The 7 of you had a building  to yourselves, hopefully it would be fine, especially since the recruits were going to be 30 to a building. You had already sectioned off a part for yourself, giving you some degree of privacy from the mares.
>Next day, just after sunrise. The 150 recruits were being dropped off by a train. Perfect, you could give them the traditional shark attack you received so many years ago.
>9AM, right on time. The train came to a hissing stop, and the doors opened. No movement from inside.
“Follow my lead girls. Get your mean faces on.”
>You donned your helmet and stepped aboard the first passenger car.
>CAPS LOCK: [ENGAGED]
“WHY THE BUCK AE YOU DIRTBAGS NOT OFF OF THIS DAMN TRAIN? GET YOUR SHIT, GET OUT, GET IN A FORMATION. HURRY UP YOU ARE BURNING DAYLIGHT.”
>the stallions were panicking, grabbing their saddle bags and struggling to get off the train. They each had numbers on their flanks, overtop their cutie marks, letting you tell them apart. They weren’t like the guards. While big, they looked like normal p0nies, each with different manes and colored coats. A spell would turn their coats and manes to the proper color at graduation. The first one bumped into you, standing in the middle of the path. You jerked him by the mane and shoved him back a few feet, bending down to get in his face.
“AND WHO THE BUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE RECRUIT 006? ARE YOU BUCKING ROYALTY, THAT YOU CAN JUST TRAMPLE OVER MY SORRY ASS?”
>”Sir! You’re in my way, sir!” his face was filled with fear. If you recall, yours was too that day.
“WELL PARDON ME, I DIDN’T QUITE REALIZE YOU WERE IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT I HAD TO STEP ASIDE FOR YOU. FROM NOW ON, EVERY TIME ANYP0NY HERE NEEDS TO PASS BY ME, O ANY OF MY INSTRUCTORS, YOU WILL ASK PERMISSION TO PASS. UNDERSTOOD? NOW, YOUR HIGHNESS, WAS THERE SOMETHING I COULD DO FOR YOU?”
>oh boy, he was tipping over his words from nerves. “sir I, um… may I…”
“OH FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA. YOU SAY ‘SIR, RECRUIT 006, REQUESTING PERMISSION TO PASS, SIR!’ IT’S NOT THAT BUCKING DIFFICULT!”
>oh Celestia, he was still stammering, his voice was meek. “Sir, recruit 006… uh… requesting permission to pass?”
“LOUDER YOU SACK OF DIRT! I CANT QUITE HEAR AS WELL AS I USED TO.”
>”Sir! Recruit 006 requesting permission to pass sir!” it was rushed, but you were already getting bored fucking with him.
“ABSOLUTELY YOUR HIGHNESS!”  you stepped off the train, continuing to scream at the recruits as they shuffled off the train. One tripped. “RECRUIT 017! WHY IN TARTURUS ARE YOU MAKING LOVE TO THE GROUND? IT DOES NOT LOVE YOU. RECRUIT 009, WHY ARE YOU HALTING THE LINE, GO AROUND 017! MOVE!”
>Twilight, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash were clearing out the other cars, and impersonating you fairly well. Fluttershy was already at the formation area, staring down the recruits like they just kicked Angel. The silent treatment was already freaking them out.
>Soon enough, the 150 recruits were lined up sloppily, looking around. You scanned the formation from the back, like a hawk eyeing its prey. There, the biggest p0ny in the formation was being a turkey neck, looking around.
“RECRUIT 086!” he snapped into a rigid stance, then glanced around looking for the source of the noise. “HOLY SHIT TURKEY NECK! WHY THE BUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AROUND IN MY FORMATION? WHAT IS IT WITH YOU P0NIES AND YOUR URGE TO BE SO DIFFERENT?”
>despite his massive form, rivaling that of Big Mac, he had a soft voice. Oh fuck this was too good. “I’m sorry sir.”
“SORRY? YEAH YOU ARE SORRY! A SORRY EXCUSE OF A P0NY. IF YOU SO MUCH AS MOVE AN EYEBALL IN MY FORMATION AGAIN, I WILL CHOKE YOU. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CHOKED BEFORE?”
>”no sir.”
“SOUND OFF LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR. I KNOW FILLIES LOUDER THAN YOU!”
>“No Sir.” Still barely louder than Fluttershy on a normal day
“OH BUCK, YOU GOT SOME BALLS! ARE YOU TELLING ME, THAT YOU WILL NOT SOUND OFF?” you decided to mock him, tying to provoke something out of this timid giant. “Oh, no sir, I will not sound off. Why you may ask? Because fuck you. WELL FUCK YOU TOO RECRUIT, DROP AND GIVE ME SOME DAMN PUSHUPS, AND DON’T STOP UNTILL I COME BACK.”
>you nodded at Fluttershy, allowing her to being her introduction. You even gave her a speech, one you got from one of your favorite movies of all time. You silently made your way behnd the formation, eyeballing everyp0ny on the way. You had to get behind them, lest they see you stifling over 9000 laughs. It begins.
>Fluttershy drew in a breath and began her speech. “I’m Fluttershy, your senior drill instructor, from now on you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy mouths when addressing me or the other instructors will be ma’am, unless addressing Anonymous, in which case you will say sir. Do you understand me?”
>holy shit, she was actually doing pretty well. Her words managed to carry to the whole formation, though they sounded like a yelling whisper. Somehow, that just made it better. The recruits gave a half assed “ma’am yes ma’am. You shook your head at Fluttershy, signaling it wasn’t loud enough
>She continued “I can’t hear you!” another half assed reponse. “I STILL CANT HEAR YOU!” oh shit, who is this p0ny and where did Flutteshy go? The group finally gave a decent response, and you thumbed her up. You walked over to Recruit 086, kicking him in the chest hard enough to shock him.
“Get off the ground maggot.” With that you disappeared back behind the formation.
>”if you survive this training, you will be a weapon, honed for battle, ready to rush to Equestria’s defense in a time of crisis. But until that day you graduate, you are puke, you are the lowest form of life in Equestria. You are not even bucking p0nies! You are nothing but unorganized pieces of flank grabbing pieces of garbage. I am hard, and that will make you hate me. Because you will hate me, you will come together as a unit. I am hard but I am fair. Pegasus will get no special treatment from me, nor will I be harder on the Earth p0nies or Unicorns. Here, you are all equally worthless, and we have order’s from the princess to weed out any p0ny that doesn’t have the guts to serve in this glorious unit. Do you understand me?!”
>”MA’AM, YES MA’AM!”
>”Outstanding! Anonymous, I’m done, do your thing when you’re ready.”
You walked up in front of the formation, saluted Flutters and about faced to face the formation, a grin settling across your face. “I’m gonna make you p0nies stong!”
“Recruit 086!”
>”Sir, yes Sir!”
“Well what do you know, you found your testicles! Guess what you’re about to be doing?”
>”sir, more pushups sir?” oh boy, just as expected.
“That’s a great idea Recruit 086! I was going to let you all get settled in to your new homes, but I suppose we can do some PT! The push up! Starting position, move!
>one p0ny is already starting to push.
“did I tell you to maggots to start doing pushups?”
>”Sir, no sir!”
“Then why the buck is Recruit 007 already doing them?” you stormed over to the p0ny, who had freezed upon realizing his mistake. “whats your name Recruit?”
>that threw him off. “Sir… uh… Recruit 007, sir?”
You paused, racking your brain with a good one. “your momma musta hated you.” The stallion next to you fails to control his jimmies, and lets out a snicker. “WHAT THE BUCK IS SO FUNNY YOU DIRTBAG? YOU LKE IT WHEN YOUR BATTLE BUDDIES GET IN TROUBLE, OR WHEN THEIR MOMMA GIVES THEM A JACKED UP NAME?” with one swift motion you bounced his head off the ground. “YOU WILL NOT LAUGH, YOU WILL NOT CRY. BY CELESTIA IF YOU SO MUCH AS FART IN MY FORMATION I WILL PERSONALLY FUCK YOUR SOUL. ARE WE CLEAR?”
>Even in a daze, the p0ny managed a loud response. Good, they were getting used to sounding off. Time to get back to PT.
“When I say 1, you will go down, when I say 2, you will push up, when I say 3, you will go back down, and return to the up position, sounding off very loudly with the number of repetitions, starting at one, moving on to two, three and so on!”
>you began counting off the cadence to the workout, watching the sea of p0nies push. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovered overhead, looking out for any p0ny that decided to take a break, while Apple Jack and Twilight circled like a pair of hungry sharks.
>as you reached the forties, you spied your next victim. A Pegasus was using his wings to help him push up. You stopped at 1, forcing everyp0ny to halt in the down position.
“WELL LOOKY HERE, WE GOT OURSELVES A THINKER! USING HIS WINGS TO HELP HIM PUSH UP! WELL PLAYED RECRUIT 66, FROM NOW ON IM GONNA CALL YOU RECRUIT FLAPPER. DO YOU LIKE THAT NAME?”
>his entire body was shaking from muscle failure that was bound to kick in at any second. “Sir, no sir!”
“WELL WHY NOT? I MADE IT JUST FOR YOU! I THOUGHT IT SHOWED HOW SPECIAL YOU WERE RECRUIT FLAPPERS! BY THE WAY, WHY DON’T YOU GO AHEAD AND SAY BUCK YOU TO ALL YOUR NON-PEGASUS P0NIES, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOUR SCREAMING TO ME EVERYTIME YOU FLAP YOUR WINGS TO DO A PUSH UP. ‘BUCK YOU EARTH P0NIES! BUCK YOU UNICORNS! I’M A BUCKING PEGASUS! WE AINT GONNA CONTINUE UNTIL YOU DO!”
>the p0ny thought for a minute.
“ANY BUCKING TIME FLAPPERS!”
>”BUCK YOU EARTH P0NIES, BUCK YOU UNICORNS, IM A BUCKING PEGASUS!”
>you continued the count, stopping at 50.
“ON YOUR HOOVES! I WANT 10 LAPS AROUND THIS BASE, IN FORMATION! THAT MEANS YOU DO NOT MOVE FROM THE P0NY BESIDE YOU, AND YOU FOLLOW THE P0NY INFRONT OF YOU. RIGHT, FACE. FORWARD, MARCH! DOUBLE TIME, MARCH!”
>The base’s perimeter was only a half mile, but that would still be 5 miles. Rainbow dash paced the front, Fluttershy guided the company, while Twilight ran behind picking up the p0nies that fell behind.
>At the pace they were going, calling cadence would have been impossible for you. In the end, all but 52 p0nies fell out. More pushups, more running, as well as any other crazy ideas your four instructors came up with.
>Soon, Celestia started lowering the sun, and you marched them to chow.
“15 minutes for everyp0ny to get their food, sit down, eat it, and be outside, in formation. if not, we’re gonna have some more fun!”
>as the first muffin hit the plate, you started the countdown. Pinkie handed you and the other 4 a muffin after every other p0ny had been served.
“good job pinkie, I would suggest you do your best to get a head start for breakfast, the recruits will be in at 8.”
>”okie dokie! They sure look hungry!” she bounced off, starting work on the batch for tomorrow.
>Twilight took a bite of her muffin and nearly turned green. “I see quantity over quality. Do we have to eat this?”
“as long as you’re here, you eat what the recruits eat. You’ll get some time off to go into Canterlot and you can eat whatever tickles your jimmies.
>you decide to wait outside, seeing if anyp0ny would come out alone. 3 minutes to go, and what do you know. Recruit 125 came out alone, looking nervously around. He hadn’t spotted you yet. You start sneaking up behind him, slowly and silently. With a quick sweep you knock his rear legs out from under him, pin him to the ground and slam your fist next to his head.
“WHY THE BUCK ARE YOU ALONE RECRUIT?” he was completely motionless. Was that water? Nope. You just made a full grown stallion piss himself. “Don’t let me catch this shit again.” the p0ny nodded, dashing back inside to get another p0ny.
>the formation was 2 minutes late , and true to your word you gave them more PT. 2 hours’ worth of pushups, running, rolling around on the ground. The punishment seemed endless to them. Finally, you felt fatigue set in on your body. The recruits were covered in mud, sweat (do p0nies sweat?) urine in one recruits case, blood in another’s , and you were sure a few tears mixed in to the cocktail.
“Alright my little p0nies, uproot yourselves from the ground, clean your nasty bodies off, and get some rest. Tomorrow, we gonna start the hardstuff. FALL OUT.”
>day one of many ended as expected. Nop0ny quit, not yet. Tomorrow there would be one though, you were almost certain of it.
>Day 3 of training, Sunday. Barracks inspection day. You allowed the recruits to sleep in an extra hour. There would be no PT today, their muscles would need time to heal and rebuild after the two grueling, 18 hour days that had been filled with nothing but PT.
>after breakfast you made your way through the barracks, demonstrating how the p0nies would make their beds, set up their wall lockers, and explaining that the entire place was going to be squeaky clean. They had until lunch, 4 hours. Plenty of time.
>you returned to your barracks, where you found Rarity, Dash, Twi, Flutters, and AJ sitting around talking. They were enjoying the time off.
“Alight girls, here’s the plan for the day. Rarity, you and I are going to “inspect the barracks” after the recruits go to lunch. Twilight, Fluttershy, you two can have the day off. Rainbow and Apple Jack, you can have next Sunday off. For today, you’re mostly just going to be marching them to and from chow. Any questions?”
>the girls looked around, no questions. Perfect.
>noon came around, and the recruits formed up. They were starting to look less like a gaggle fuck, and more like a formation. They marched away and you tuned to Rarity.
“Are you ready? We got a lot to do in such a short amount of time”
>”well, yes Anonymous, but I haven’t the faintest idea of what to look for.” She looked around at the barracks. To her it probably looked nice. The wall lockers were open, as per your instructions, the bed sheets were tucked in, and the floors were freshly mopped. “it looks like they did a good job-“
You interrupted her by tossing a locker to the floor, and flipping a bunk over and tossing the sheets all over. “just follow my lead.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRBBfVCnnw
>The next 20 minutes was filled with you tossing wall lockers around, flipping beds upside down, switching lockers around. Rarity was slow at first, daintily tossing a blanket here and there,  but soon was getting creative and more aggressive. She even got the bright idea to close a few lockers and flip them upside down. When the two of you left, not a single thing was tidy, and you and Rarity were laughing like a pair of lunatics.
>The recruits came marching along, bellies not quite full, but they had food in them. They looked confident, thinking that maybe things were going to get better.
“How do you all think you did on your inspection?” you couldn’t help but smile at the impending shock on their faces. “I took the liberty of pointing out everything that was wrong, you have until dinner to get your shit straightened out. Fall out!”
>as they disappeared inside the barracks, you could hear the swearing, the groans and one stallion yell. “hey, they didn’t touch my locker!” followed seconds later by the sound of things crashing, and more swearing.
>Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack poked their heads in the nearest barracks, saw the mayhem and walked away laughing. “Wow Rarity, I didn’t *snort* know you had it in you to do all that” Rainbow Dash could barely breathe, let alone speak.
>”Well, it wasn’t very lady like, but it was actually quite fun. Though I don’t really understand why we did all of that after those p0nies worked so hard?” judging by the looks, the others were curious about as to why as well.
“The first few weeks of training, we need to strip these boys down from any habits they’ve made thoughout their lives. As hard as they work, they will never live up to our expectations. The ones that have what we’re looking for will keep trying, while the ones that don’t will give up and drop out. That’s the way I was trained, and it seems to work just fine.”
>just before dinner, you decided to do a surprise inspection, again with Rarity in tow.
“STAND BY YOU BUNKS! STAND AT ATTENTION! PUT YOUR HOOVES ON THIS LINE ON THE FLOOR. I BUCKING SAID STAND AT ATTENTION!”
>Rarity kept a calmer attitude about her, eyeing the barracks with her detail honed eye. “ugh, this place is horrid, there’s dust under the beds, the floor isn’t shining. I want to see my beautiful reflection on this floor. Why is that towel not folded properly? Did you even try to make your bed properly?” She tossed things aside, not like earlier, this time more precisely.
Meanwhile, you were going apeshit on a p0ny that hadn’t even tucked in the sheets on his bed. You flipped the bunk over in one swift motion. “YOU’RE GOING TO SLEEP ON THIS BUNK AS IS FOR TONIGHT. I’M GOING TO COME IN HERE TOMORROW, AND IF IT ISN’T EXACTLY LIKE THIS, IM GOING TO MAKE EVERYP0NY IN THIS BAY DO PT FROM DINNER UNTIL LIGHTS OUT.”
>you continued on through the other buildings, just screwing with everyp0ny. You flipped a few more beds, took a shit in the latrines, then flipped the fuck out, asking who didn’t flush. Oh, and your new favorite past time, messing with Flappers.
“Flappers, why is your bed not made?” you didn’t scream in his face like normal. You talked normally, actually, almost softer than normal.  Just another way to mess with his head, making him think you were some crazy mother bucker.
>”Sir, It is made sir!”
“Are you telling me I’m wrong?”
>”Sir…”
“Sir what? WERE YOU ABOUT TO CALL ME AN ASSHOLE?”
>”Sir no sir!”
“Ok Flappers, just checking.” You walked on, leaving a very confused Pegasus wondering what in Equestia just happened.

Day 4
>0530, you kicked in the door to the first building, armed with a frying pan and a metal spoon.
>like a 5 year old that just discovered music, you wailed on the pan in a fashion hat would make the little drummer boy proud.
“GET UP! GET YOUR WORTHLESS STALION LOVING FLANKS OUT OF BED AND INTO FORMATION”
>one p0ny threw his pillow over his face, in efforts to block out the bright light and sudden noise. In true drill sergeant fashion, you flipped him and his bed over.
“I APOLOGIZE PRINCESS, DID I DISTURB YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP? GET OUT OF YOUR DAMN BUNK AND GET IN FORMATION!”
>after waking up you waited outside in the formation area. 10 minutes went by, maybe half of the recruits were outside.  You ordered the ones outside to go ahead and drop and start pushing.
“Be sure to thank those that are still inside for getting you in trouble. If you worked together and made sure you weren’t leaving half a company behind, you wouldn’t be doing extra PT. Instructor Dash, please go and motivate those slackers to come out and join us. I promised Princess Luna these colts would enjoy a nice view of the night sky.”
>Rainbow dashed inside, and seconds late several stallions came out in a full sprint, sliding into formation and immediately stating pushups. Eventually they all came out, and PT was underway.
>More running , this time along the mountain path that led to Canterlot, then back down the mountain to the valley below where the small base had been set up. Three miles up, three miles down.
>the p0nies who fell out were rounded up by Apple Jack and Twilight, they would get some extra motivation later.
>you arrived back into camp and sent the p0nies that didn’t fall out to showers. The ones that did got “extra special love and attention” meaning laps around the base until you were tired of watching them run.
>Day 21 of training.
>Of the 150 stallions that had joined, 132 remained. Unlike your own training, you allowed these recruits  to give up. They had to want glory, and stomach all the pain needed in forging weapons of war.
>The new armor was in. Rarity had done a great job that looked good, kept its functionality, and wasn’t too fancy that it would draw attention.
>It was similar in design to Celestia’s Royal Guard armor, but it was a flat black. Gold armor was just impractical for field use, not to mention it would cause a lot of confusion to the public. These stallions weren’t going to be very useful for public service like guards. They were going to be killers. The imitation mane on the top was black as well. Once these p0nies were transformed into their coat colors, they would look badass. For now, they looked like a big gaggle fuck in nice armor.
>After a quick inspection by everyp0ny, making sure that everyp0nies armor fit right, you stepped up in front of the formation.
“From now on, this armor is your life. It is the only thing you will be inside of for the remainder of this training. You will sleep in your armor, you will run in your armor. You will train in your armor. The only time you are permitted to remove this armor, is when you wash your nasty flanks, and if I give you special instructions to do so. You will give your armor a name, and you will tell me its name during every inspection. You will maintain this armor at all times. If it stinks, you stink, and I will not permit smelly p0nies in my glorious Equestrian Army. Ooh-rah?”
>The company gave a mighty “OOH-RAH!” something you taught them only days before. It seemed to boast their spirits.
“Today’s order of business, will be basic combat maneuvers. Earth P0nies, you will follow Apple Jack. Pegasus, you will follow Rainbow Dash. Unicorns will follow Twilight. Flutteshy and I will be floating around, popping in on your training and giving input when appropriate. Move out stallions.”
>It was the first time you called them something other than Recruits, maggots, or any other term of endearment. Most of them didn’t notice, but the few that did, glanced at you with a small spark in their eyes.
>It was the beginning of stage 2 of 3. The first was to break their spirits, their minds and thei bodies, break it down to the very core. You couldn’t build a new house without demolishing the old one. Likewise, you couldn’t build a soldier without destroying the old p0ny. Now you had to begin building the frame, the basics of good soldiering.
>The Pegasusi were already flying in formations overhead, learning combat rolls similar to your own air force back on earth. Maybe you could get the wonder bolts to come in and show a few things to them.
>Twilight was demonstrating basic defensive and offensive spells. Some unlucky soul had been picked as her target dummy. After a few minutes, the unicorns were paired together and began sparring. One stray fire bolt flew over your head. Before you could open up a can of absolute terror on the unicorn there was Twilight, in his face. She learned fairly well from you, judging by how much that stallion was trying to shrink into the ground. Another lesson learned for the unicorns, check your targets.
>You decided your skills would be best suited for the Earth p0nies, seeing as you couldn’t fly or perform magic. They were practicing hoof to hoof combat when you walked to their spot. P0ny on p0ny was good, but they needed to fight something different. The chances of fighting another p0ny in war was going to be slim.
>The biggest p0ny there, the one with a voice that rivaled Fluttershy on a normal day, was mopping the floor with everyp0ny that cme at him. You had to hand it to AJ, she didn’t pair everyp0ny with a partner. It was a free for all, survival of the fittest. Discord would be proud of the chaos.
Apple Jack was standing to the side, watching the brawl go down, giving tips as she saw fit. “I like your style Apple Jack. Do me a favor though, watch my sword. I’m going in.”
>”What in tarnation do you think you’re doing Anon? You’ll get mauled in there!” you drew your blade and drove it in the ground between the two of you.
“Hey, it’s me. Trust me.”
>you walked through the carnage, the smaller p0nies didn’t bother you. As big as they were, they only came up to you stomach, maybe a foot taller than Apple Jack. But this one, Recruit 086 came up to your chest. And the countless hours of PT had made him ridiculously strong.
“Recruit 086!” he turned, his face in shock as you took a fighting stance. “you look like you need a bit of a challenge. You better not hold back with me.”
>The p0nies around you slowly backed away to make somewhat of a ring. With a flare of his nostrils and a scrape of his hoof against the ground, he came at you full force, straight on.
>at the last second, you side stepped, gripping 086 in a headlock. The momentum of his charge shoved you back, your worn combat boots trying to find some amount of traction against the dirt at your feet.
>you slid maybe 25 meters before coming to a halt. You tightened your grip, sending 086 into a panic.
“Calm down and think!” even in a no holds hand to hoof fight, you remembered your place as an instructor.
>086 quit his wild bucking, trying to bring his hoof up to hit you in the gut. You were to close for that, forcing him to think again. It looked hopeless for the p0ny, but then a miracle. He brought his hoof down on your foot with full force, sending a throbbing pain though it.
>you released your grip and retreated from him, the other p0nies mouths were agape at the sight. Over the last 3 weeks, they came to see you next to a god. And to see their god with an expression of pain on his face really messed with their heads.
>086 gasped for air, then charged again, this time using his head and circling you as fast as his hooves could carry him. You followed his movements, trying to figure out what his next plan of attack was.
>then it hit you. Literally. As he passed by closer and closer, he suddenly swung around on his front hooves, back hooves in the air, and double kicked you in the chest, knocking you back into the crowd of even more shocked recruits.
“Good offense! Now let’s see you defense.”
> You charged out from the crowd, throwing several quick jabs at his face, each one connecting with force.
“use your agility!”
>you threw several more before gabbing the base of his neck and pulling down as your knee was crammed into his jaw. He staggered backwards, collapsing.
“You did good recruit.” You grabbed the dazed p0ny by the hoof and helped him up. “I haven’t been knocked on my ass like that in a good long time. Work on your defense. Teach these p0nies about how to fight a bipedal creature. Understood?”
>“Sir, yes sir!” huh, shy guy was getting better at keeping track of his testicles, that was actually a good response. You took you wounds and went back to Apple Jack to get your blade.
“I told you I would be ok Apple Jack” you smirked, still somewhat in pain from being punted like a football. If not for your armor, you probably would have had some broken ribs.
>”Anon you got the tar kicked outta ya! Ah gotta admit though, that was a good fight. Never seen one quite like it.” She did look impressed. “I’ll start teachin em about how defend better against that sorta stuff.”
“Good work so far Apple Jack.” You decide to head back to you bunk. Fluttershy would be able to handle the next formations
Day 54.
>of the 132, there were now 115.
>The p0nies were getting bigger, requiring Rarity to resize everyp0ny. Infact the smallest one, Flappers, was almost the size of 086 when he first got here. Funny, you didn’t have a name for him, yet you respected him quite a bit, especially after training with him on several occasions. In turn he would assist Apple Jack in teaching the smaller p0nies how to attack a bipedal creature.
>but now, you were inside your quarters, preparing for the final part of training. Field training  exercise. 1 week in the nearby forest. Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack had slaved all night preparing rations for the exercise.
>you checked the contents of your rucksack one more time. Everything looked like it belonged. You switched into your new armor that you had requested to be made. It was identical to the ones that these recruits wore. Flat black plates, with black mane on your head. Your sword was still a polished steel, but it spent most of the time in its sheath anyways.
>Rainbow Dash popped her head in. ”Hey Anon, they’re ready.”
>Damn, they were getting better. 15 minutes early to formation. Or in your drill sergeants terminology, they were on time. You stepped out, the first time they had seen you in your black armor. There was a silent gasp.
“Oh come on, you really don’t expect me to go into the field wearing that shiny ass shit.”
>You had a small grin. These recruits were on their way to becoming soldiers. They were almost a family to you Only 1 week of training, and 1 test was all that remained. You gazed over the company. Almost 1/3 of the original company had left.
“You p0nies ready?”
>”OOH-RAH” did the ground just shake?
“RIGHT, FACE! FORWARD. MARCH!”
>it was a ten mile march to where you had decided to make camp. The formation merged into two lines and walked on the edges of the road. You and the instructors were in the middle of the road, keeping eyes in the intervals between the p0nies.
>You kept the Pegasus grounded, save for when you halted the company for shot rests. Then they would scan the route ahead for danger from the air. You didn’t have time to set anything up, but they didn’t know, and the fact that they thought there was made them even more nervous when they reported no danger.
>After marching for what seemed all day, you arrived in the clearing in the middle of the nearby forest. The recruits were obviously fatigued, but they had shit to do.
“Step one when securing a forward base. Make a perimeter. 1st and 3rd platoon, you set up your tents. 1st in the northwest quadrant, 2nd in the south east. 2nd and 4th will take up roaming patrols around the entire base. We’ve been over this in the class room, it’s time to apply what you learned. Move out!”
>The camp rang to life, as tents were quickly set up. Those doing it wrong were quickly corrected. Not by you or any of the other instructors, but by their fellow recruits. In a matter of 30 minutes, the first set of tents were erected, and the platoons seamlessly switched over their roles.
>”I’m impessed, we haven’t had to say a single thing since we got here. I guess you were right Anon.” Twilight had never been very sure about your methods, but now she was truly awestruck at how well they had turned out.
”It’s not my methods. It’s my country’s methods. We’ve been at war for almost 200 years with various other countries. When I left, we were in the middle of another. If there’s one thing we perfected, it’s war.”
>Feelings came up from deep within you. You hadn’t talked about Earth in so long. You had buried most of the memories you had of the place. Equestria was great though, and you were happy to be here. You just hoped it wouldn’t end up like Earth, consumed by war.
“I’ll be in my tent if you girls need me. Walk around; make sure everything is going well. Remember, you’re more of a mentor now. An advisor. They know what to do, they may just need some help.”
>Luna soon brought the night on. You wouldn’t try to attack the camp tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Sleep came easy.
Day 3 of field training
>you explained platoon tactics. Showing them how to mount small patrols, reacting to different types of attacks, and taking on objectives. What made you think the most was the constant reminder that they didn’t have guns. Nor did anything else in the world. Unicorn magic was the closest thing to a ranged weapon.
>You sent two platoons out, 1st and 2nd. 1st was given the objective of patrolling  along a certain river, about a mile away from camp. 2nd was tasked with attacking 1st, before it could make it back to base. Each platoon was given a leader, and if that leader was eliminated, it was game over. You decided to go with 1st platoon, to observe the how well they had learned.
>As the river came into view, 2nd platoon attacked. But not in any way that you had taught, throwing 1st platoon in complete disarray. Pegasus swooped down and hit the exposed rear, shifting attention from the river to the rear. Unicorns then opened up from dense cover, hitting several of the Earth p0nies and stunning them. Finally, the Earth p0nies came in from both sides, focusing on the unicorns. The attack lasted maybe 5 minutes.
“2nd platoon!? Who is in charge of this ambush?”
>the smallest Pegasus stepped forward. Mother bucking Flappers. “I did sir!” he looked confident. He had good reason to.
“That was excellently planned recruit. Get your platoon back to base, get some rest. You earned it for your platoon.”
>His face seemed to light up at this. “SIR YES SIR!” You had made his life a living hell these last 8 weeks. But he never gave up. And now, he had pulled this off flawlessly. He led his platoon back to base, making sure to use the same style of movement the company had used to get to the FOB. What this p0ny lacked in physical strength, he made up for with his brilliance and mental toughness.
>you returned to camp with 1st platoon, and proceeded to smoke them with battle drills, giving 2nd platoon Unicorns some extra target practice. When that got old, casualty recovery, which involved dragging a p0ny from one end of the camp to another. Then, low crawling, a particularly hard task for a p0ny.
>Over the course of the week, Flappers continued to impress you with his knowledge. Soon, their test was at hand. Secretly, you hoped the grueling crucible wouldn’t be too tough physically for him. You had plans for him.
>The course was set up fairly hastily, but it would have time to be improved later. Each platoon would independently move through dense forest to a small camp you set up, hat was being manned by several of Celestia’s and Luna’s guard, a last minute favor you would surely owe her for later. The objective was to rescue the mane 6 from captivity.
>You decided to command the guard, to give them a fair chance to them. There was about 40 of them, against 115 of them. They had 3 days to get from camp, move 10 miles through dense forest, pull of a rescue, and return the hostages to base. They we’re on their own.
>Recruit Flappers took command of the situation as soon as Anonymous and the other instructors left, drawing up a plan in the dirt with his hoof. “Anonymous is giving us 3 days to get to the base,  get the hostages, and return them to base. Notice, I said return to them base. The Pegasus will stay behind, save for a few that are coming with us. You’re tasked with building makeshift chariots. At a minimum we need enough to carry 4 p0nies, but the more we can get the better. Be there by the morning of the 3rd day, no later than 0800. The attack will begin at sunrise. Any questions?”
>the company was silent. They understood their orders, and after the patrol that Flappers had wiped out, they seemed to trust him. Not like anyp0ny else wanted the responsibility of organizing this.
>”Its 1200 right now. We have 44 hours until the assault begins. Earth p0nies, Unicorns, and the few Pegasus that are coming with me, get your gear and move out. I need 4 unicorns to stay here, to help with building the chariots, you’ll ride into battle with them.”
>4 unicorns quickly volunteered, and construction began, while Flappers led his batch of green recruits deep into the forest. There were no paths to march on, slowing progress considerably. >The few Pegasus acted as forward scouts, ensuring Anonymous hadn’t set up an ambush. That helped move progress through the dense forest a little, but by the end  of the first day the company had only managed to travel seven of the ten miles.
>“Make camp here everyp0ny. We’ll continue at day break.” The company collapsed all around him, the humidity of the forest was dehydrating them fairly quickly.
>The second day was a lot like the first for Flappers and the other recruits. Hungry and faily dehydrated, despite drinking from a nearby stream this morning, they arrived at the edge of the forest, showing the camp.
>The Unicorn to Flappers left started jabbering “We have to fight the Royal Guards? This is suicide! They’re going to-“
>Flappers was having none of that, and silenced the unicorn with a swift jab to the face. “Get your shit together! We’ve trained for this. We’re supposed to be tougher than the guards.” he mimicked Anon’s voice. There was something inspirational about it.
>The unicorn rubbed his face, as Flappers explained how the attack was going to proceed. The camp was even more hastily constructed than the recruit’s camp. But everyp0ny was on guard. Anonymous was expecting them today.  Flappers quickly laid out the plan of attack.
>You were getting anxious. The march back to the camp would take a full day, and possibly even longer with the instructors tied up. It looks like they didn’t have what it took after all. You were slightly disappointed.
>The third day, the guards seemed agitated. No wonder, you told them the recruits would attack the 2nd day of the exercise. Now they had all been on guard for 12 hours straight. You knew as soon as the Recruits saw the guards leave their posts they would attack. Seems you underestimated them, but you still couldn’t figure out how they planned on getting to the base on time.
>you looked at your watch. 0800. Something rustled. A quick check revealed it was in fact, not your jimmies. P0nies, p0nies everywhere were swarming out of the forest in a massive charge.
>Another rustle. Source: Jimmies
>Something didn’t seem right, the attack consisted of maybe 50 p0nies. And none were Pegasus.
>More commotion, this time from the rear. 20 more p0nies had swooped around and hit the now poorly defended rear. You recognized Flappers, and 3 other Pegasus. Where were the others?
>The guards were putting up a fight. But up front they were outnumbered by about 10, and the rear by at least 2 to 1. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the recruits were absolutely kicking flank, even one on one.
>You felt a sense of pride as you watched them tear through the defenses. But you had one last surprise for them as they rushed into the center of the camp, quickly grabbing the ropes and untying the instuctors.
>you started a slow clap.
“Well done recruits. Except you seem to have forgot your mission parameters. How exactly do you plan on getting these hostages back to base by the end of the day?”
>Several more guards seemed to appear out of nowhere. 30 more reinforcements along with the 40 guards that could still fight, which seemed to be about half of them, surrounded the recruits.
“Looks like you’re surrounded. I expected a more elaborate plan from you Flappers.”
>Flappers looked into the sky, scanning it hopefully. What was he expecting?
>then it hit you, or more specifically, the guards. Several spells hit the ground around the guards, stunning them where they stood.
>In the sky, the Pegasus were hauling several makeshift chariots. Well, they looked more like sleds, but the concept was fairly the same. 4 unicorns were lobbing spells as the Pegasus towed them around circling  the guards.
>several chariot/ sled contraptions landed around the recruits and they quickly crammed aboard.  Each sled was packed, 3-4 p0nies on each. In the course of two days, they had managed to build 20 sleds, each pulled by 2 pegasus.
>The unicorns were laying down some serious cover with their stun spells, and blocking incoming ones with spell wards. The few p0nies that did get hit were swiftly drug onboard in moments of falling.
> in a matter of seconds, they were lifting off, the Pegasus that had come with the ground force flying escort to the sleds. The guard was in complete disarray. The ones that managed to avoid getting stunned were trying to get the others up on their hooves.
>”Sir, what exactly just happened?” a unicorn had been stunned with a look of surprise on his face, and he had fallen not too far from you
“Well, my recruits just did what I call a hot extract, and in the process royally kicked your flanks.” You helped him to his hooves, and another unicorn dispelled the stun.
>The guards had been kind enough to drop you off at the camp, where the recruits were already working on breaking down the camp site. Damn you felt proud of these p0nies.
>The crucible wasn’t over though. They had to make it back to the barracks, with the little sleep they were running on, no food, and little water. But judging by the looks on their faces, nothing was going to stop them.
>Camp was packed up and any traces that you or the p0nies were there had completely vanished to the naked eye by 1700. You still had a 10 hour march ahead of you, and there would be no stopping and making camp.
>2000, and they were on the road. Fatigue was already setting in by the  short rest 5 miles away from camp. The sun was already replaced by the moon, and the colder night air chilled the company to the bone. Most of them drank from their canteens for the last time tonight. Some had ran out of water before they even started the march.
>Yet only 2 p0nies had collapsed out of exhaustion. Try as they might, you were forced to fail them when you realized they couldn’t even get on their hooves. Twilight teleported them back to the base, helping remove the armor and then zapping back only a few minutes later.
“Alright my little p0nies, get ready to move out!” just as you finished your sentence a fire ball erupted overhead.
>The recruits scrambled to cover, peering over an embankment to see a small fort 300m away. 200m away, Unicorns were lobbying fire ball spell after fireball spell from two fortified positions.
“Rainbow Dash, fly over and figure out what we’re up against!”
>She took off at full speed, which none of the recruits could match still, and was  engulfed in a fireball maybe half way there.
>Every p0ny was shocked beyond words. The Pegasus couldn’t fly over, or they would share a similar fate. They would be forced to crawl 200m under several barbwire fences, through a couple streams, and take out the unicorns up close and personal
“Alright listen up! It seems you really pissed off those guards with your little mission today, and now, they feel threatened about being replaced. You are going to crawl through this valley of death and destruction, take the fortified positions and then proceed to assault the fort. You have trained for 9 weeks now for this very moment. Let’s show them, your true potential!”
>You drew your sword, standing heroically on top of the embankment. The  recruits stomped, giving a mighty “OOH-RAH.”
“For glory! And honor!” another ‘OOH-RAH!’ “and-“
>you froze mid sentence, collapsing forward, the back of your armor smoldering from a direct fireball hit. Before you knew it, Flappers was at your side. “Sir, are you ok?!” you reached up and grabbed his armor, yanking him down inches from your face
“Lead these men to victory. You are in charge of this company from now on.”
>”Sir I-“
“Shut up. Do your mission. I’ve made you into the soldiers Equestria needs you to be. The soldiers I need you to be.”
>A look of determination washed over his face. “Yes sir.” He turned to the company of scared recruits. “You heard Anonymous. Let’s kick some royal guard flank!”
>He charged over the hill, his war face engaged. The sounds of 110 war cries sent chills down your spine, and no doubt those guard p0nies. 3 p0nies stayed, too afraid to move. With a wave of your hand, you signaled Twilight to take them away. They were not worthy of this.
>Flappers crawled through the muddy trenches, leading the company into the valley of death. Fireballs were whizzing by, only a few feet above him. 2 Earth p0nies crawled ahead of him on either side, lifting up the first barbwire barricade with their armored backsides allowing  the rest of the company easy passage.
>Next was the stream where Rainbow Dash’s lifeless corpse was lying about 25m up stream. The water was already blood red, but Flappers crawled through without a second thought, and the rest of the p0nies followed, save for a few that began vomiting at the sight, and hid in a nearby hole.
>Another fence, Flappers and an earth p0ny lifted the barricade, getting a quick count a the company passed through. 105 p0nies remained.
>Using his wings to fly inches above the rest, he returned to the front to lead, catching a fireball to the helmet, right above the eye. He shrugged the pain away, landed at the front and continued crawling ahead of his troops.
>30 minutes went by, and the crawling seemed endless. But eventually the company was lined up against the bunkers. 086 charged in the first position like a mad stallion, screaming a war cry and attacking the two unicorns, knocking them out quickly. A pair of unicorns fired inside the other position, knocking the last pair out.
>With a final cry, the 105 stallions charged the fort, completely blinded by the darkness. Ready to fight, ready to kill, and if need be, ready to die.
>They burst through a large sheet of black paper, like a football team on game day. Every one of them was ready to fight Celestia’s entire guard if need be.
>What they found on the other side, was Rarity and Pinkie Pie, standing behind a table full of plates of smores and drinks at the bottom of an enormous pit, almost resembling a stadium. In the center was a bonfire, bright enough to turn the area inside the pit from night into day.
>the shocked and confused recruits stared at the decorations, the food, the fire so intently they didn’t notice you walk by every one of them until you stood infront of them.
“Fall in!”
The company quickly scrambled into a formation, bending  it around the fire. Rainbow Dash swooped down beside you and the others trotted along next to you, smiling at the still very confused recruits.
“What you just went through is what I call the baptism by fire. We didn’t tell you about this, so that you would treat this as a real combat operation. The danger was certainly real. Those fireballs over your heads could have killed you had any of you stood up.”
>you could sense them looking at Rainbow Dash, remembering only 15 minutes ago they passed her lifeless corpse.
“Twilight cast a spell that protected Rainbow Dash from actually being hurt. The bloody river was nothing more than food coloring. As for myself, it’s going to take more than a fireball to the back armor plate to end me. All of this was set up to make you believe that the enemy you were facing was actually an enemy.”
>the four unicorns that had been shooting the fire balls came in with the help of a medic. These recruits sure worked them over.
“It is with great honor, I declare this crucible over. 150 colts came to me, seeking to become defenders of Equestria. Tonight, I stand before 105 of the meanest, toughest stallions I will ever know. You are now no longer recruits, you ARE soldiers! ”
>”OOH-RAH!”
“And one last thing. From this day on, for the rest of your lives, we are all brothers in arms. Born by blood, sweat, and tears, and forged by fire. Until the day we die.”
>Every one of them looked to be on the verge of tears, honored by the words you spoke to them. You approached the “blood” stained, muddy, wet, and fatigued soldiers, a case in hand. Inside was the insignia they would bear for as long as they lived. A gold crest, depicting an Alicorn reared up on its hind legs, with olive branches on either side. Around the edge on the top it read “Defend and Protect”. On the bottom “Against all odds”
>You personally pounded each crest into every stallions armor, right overtop their cutie mark. Stepping back you shook their hoof, and saluted. “It’s been an honor, soldier.” You said that to every one of them, and meant it everytime.
>Finally you came to Flappers. You pounded his crest in, then grabbed another thing, this time from your rucksack.
“Soldier, I want you to understand that this is not official yet. But I have a lot of favor with the Princesses. It is with great honor, that I commission you as Lieutenant in the Equestrian Army. These soldiers are now under your command.” You handed him a new helmet, this one with a golden bar embedded in the helmet directly above his forehead. You shook his hoof, and saluted.
>Despite his efforts, tears filled his eyes as he returned the salute. “I can’t believe I’m crying sir”
“It’s ok soldier, I cried when my instructor did this, too.” You turned to the girls, who had just finished giving their own congratulations to the men. “If you girls wouldn’t mind, hand these soldiers some food and drink. They’ve earned it.”
>Once the soldiers were back at base, they  grabbed their things, cleaned up their nasty flanks, made sure their armor was presentable, and boarded a train to Canterrlot with you and the instructors.
>Princess Luna had given you and the company an entire 3 story building similar to a college dorm near the stadium where parade practice was going to be held.
>once off the train, the company was formed up by the Lieutenant, and marched down the streets in front of hundreds of on looking p0nies, their mouths agape at the massive p0nies marching in perfect unison. Hoof beats were synched, sending chills up spines all around.
>at the barracks you passed out quills, ink, and papers to everyp0ny.
“I want you stallions to write home to your parents, your special somep0nies, anybody you feel close to. Tell them your graduation ceremony is this Friday, at 1400 at the stadium in Canterlot. This is going to be one of the proudest moments in your life, you will want somep0ny here to savor the moment with you. I’ll be back in about an hour to pick everything up”
>Of course you kept your promise, collecting the letters an hour later, and then giving a class on how the graduation ceremony would proceed. Practice would last all week, all day, every day until the day of the graduation.
>Graduation day, and you couldn’t ask for more beautiful weather. You called for a formation, one final time, to lead these soldiers to the stadium. Once there, the Lieutenant would take over, and march them out to the field.
“Gentlep0nies, I’ll say this one more time. It has been a true honor to train each and every one of you. If Equestria ever finds itself under attack, I hope to fight by your side on the battle field.”
>“OOH-RAH!” you took a good long look at them. They couldn’t help but have a grin on their faces.
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be at the ceremony, and will personally change your coats and mane’s to their uniform colors. I’ll meet you soldiers back here after the ceremony in case you all want to introduce your folks to the mean human that sent you through Tarturus and back.”
>the company gave a small laugh. 9 weeks ago they hated you with a fiery passion, now, they looked up to you. A few of them probably saw you as a father figure even. They were ready.
“Now, before we leave, you get those disgusting grins off you faces. You know better than to show emotion in my damn formation.”  you kept a light hearted tone, just giving them a reminder. With determined looks all around, it was time to go.“Right, Face. Forward, March.”
>the steady hoof beats were already drawing onlookers of p0nies from shops, gazing on the 105 p0nies marching in unison down the street. You decide now would be a good time to let these people what they were looking at. Cadence time.
“Across the land!”
>”Across the land!”
“Across the sea!”
>”Across the sea!”
“We’re everywhere!”
>”We’re everywhere!”
“We need to be!”
>”We need to be!”
“We’re the soldiers!”
>”We’re the soldiers!”
“Equestria needs!”
>”Equestria needs!”
“We’re lean and mean!”
>”We’re lean and mean!”
“Fighting machines!”
>”Fighting machines!”
 “Fit to fight!”
>”Fit to fight!”
“Day or night!”
>”Day or night!”
“When you hear!”
>”When you hear!”
“Our battle cry!”
>”Our battle cry!”
“You better move!”
>”You better move!”
“And step aside!”
>”And step aside!”
“Who are we?”
>”Who are we?”
“EQUESTRIAN ARMY!”
>”EQUESTRIAN ARMY!”
“HOO-RAH!”
>”HOO-RAH!”
>you arrived at the stadium, with a massive amount of curious p0nies in tow and the Lieutenant took command of the company. As he awaited his cue for the music to start, you took your place near the track side, where the company would pass after the transformation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jslSJxjI8vc&feature=related
>cue music, the company came marching out, heads back, chests out. Damn they looked proud.
¬¬>they looped around to the back of the track, cut right into the middle of the field and stopped dead center in the field, just as they practiced.
>Lieutenant faced the formation toward the crowd, faced you and shouted his line ”Sir! 105 Recruits assigned, 105 accounted for, Sir!” he saluted, which you quickly returned, and did an about face to face the crowd and the Princesses.
“your highnesses, I have personally overseen the training the recruits have gone through, shaping them from normal p0nies to guardians of peace, ready to defend Equestria in times of need. At this time, will you present them their colors and grant them the titles of Soldier?”
>Celestia nodded, “Prepare your recruits for transformation.” You turned, echoed the command, and Lieutenant echoed to the company. The entire company glowed in a brilliant white light, nearly blinding the crowd.
>When the light faded, Every p0ny had turned a tan color, with black manes and blue eyes. Now they looked like a unit. No more reds, greens and other bright colors. Tan p0nies in black armor. It was perfect.
>Celestia spoke in her royal voice. “IT IS WITH GREAT HONOR I DECLARE YOU THE FIRST SOLDIERS OF EQUESTRIA!”
>turning to face them one last time, you barked your final orders. “COMMENCE, PASS IN REVIEW!”
>the music started up again as the soldiers marched to the far left part of the field, turned and continued marching past the crowd. The crowd was cheering, trying to figure out which p0ny was their son or special somep0ny. It would be impossible, now, even you had trouble keeping the faces straight. You held a salute as the entire company passed, dropping it only after they all had passed.
>Back at the barracks, you met with several of the soldiers families, shaking several hooves, of both civilian p0ny and soldier alike.
>Flappers came over, a bright purple Pegasus with a white mane at his side. “Sir, this is my special somep0ny, Rain Cloud. She wanted to meet you.”
“A pleasure to meet you ma’am. Lieutenant, it’s hard to believe, but after spending 10 weeks together, I never found out you real name”
>“It’s just Storm sir. Lieutenant Storm”
“Well Lieutenant Storm, I look forward to serving with you in the even Equestria needs defending. Though I hope that doesn’t come for a good long time.” You salute him one more time just before feeling to a small thud against your leg.
>Dinky had latched herself on to your leg. Looking up at you with the cutest expression she ever had given you. So much d’aww. You scoop her up as Derpy manages to squeeze though the stallions, nuzzling against your hip, despite it being covered in armor.
“Lieutenant, this is my special somep0ny, Derpy. And my daughter I’ve taken in, Dinky.”