Time and Masks

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Summer Training Starts

It was the first day of summer vacation. Schools all throughout Canterlot had ended for the year. Some had gone back to their home towns to spend time with friends and family. Others stayed in town for one reason or another. Some even were planning to attend summer camp or special classes. Most were enjoying the day by sleeping in.

Dinky Hooves was not one of them.

The lavender filly was up with the sun, mane and teeth brushed. An oat and berry bar was waiting for her, so she grabbed it and ate as she went. The small unicorn headed out of her quarters and down through the halls as she headed for what was to be her new morning routine for the summer.

***

"Fall in!" a brown earth pony bellowed. The stallion's mane was cut short, just a little longer than his coat. The remnants of mane and the cropped tail were black with hints of silver in them. There were scars on his face and forelegs. The stallion wore a military combat uniform. He watched as the ponies lined up, standing at attention.

"I am Drill Sergeant Stonehoof. You will refer to me as Drill Sergeant. As such, everything that comes out of your mouth will end in 'Drill Sergeant.' You got it?"

"Yes, Drill Sergeant!" the line of ponies called out.

"You are here because you think you are worth being part of the Royal Guard," Stonehoof continued. "Well you are WRONG! My job is to either...."

The soldier stopped talking as he reached the end of the line and looked at the last pony. At the end of the line of full grown ponies stood a single filly. He looked down at the lavender unicorn who stood at attention in as best she could. There was a slight amusement as he noticed her trying to keep her eyes forward, but slowly shifting toward him before flicking straight again.

"Who are you?" the drill sergeant asked.

"Dinky Hooves," she answered, "I am here under orders of Princess Celestia. I am to undergo training with the recruits until lunchtime and to be shown no special treatment... Drill Sergeant!"

Behind him, one of the other ponies began to snicker. It stopped as soon as Stonehoof glared back to look for the source. He waited a moment before turning to look down at Dinky once again. Finally he turned around.

"I have to speak with my C.O.," he stated, "I'll be back shortly. IN the meantime, I want all of you to run laps until you collapse. And when you do collapse, begin doing push-ups. Moveitmoveitmoveit!" As he shouted, the ponies fell out of line and started to run the laps as ordered. Stonehoof watched long enough to make sure they were actually running before turning to head toward the command quarters.

"Enter," a voice called out from the other side of the door as Stonehoof knocked. The stallion entered and saluted the pony behind the desk who returned the motion. "Something the matter Stonehoof?"

"Sir," Stonehoof responded, "A filly showed up with my recruits claiming to be the student of Celestia and is to undergo training, sir."

"That's correct. By orders of Celestia herself. Dinky Hooves is to undergo military training from morning to noon. She is to be held to the same standards as all other recruits, and given no special treatment due to her status as Celestia's personal student." The pony leaned over his desk, pressing the tips of his hooves together. "Is there a problem, Sergeant?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"It's more that I was not informed of her arrival,sir," Stonehoof said in a softer voice, "I was not expecting to find a filly among my recruits, much less one that is supposed to be the student to the princess. I should have been notified."

"Yes. You should have. Unfortunately it is too late for that now. I will make a note to look into the error with as much discretion as I can. Dismissed."

Stonehoof saluted and turned to leave. He shut the door behind him with some extra strength put into it, grinning as he heard the crack of wood. After letting out a snort, the stallion went to check on the guards in training.

A small number of them were still running laps. A larger group were in the grass, trying to perform push-ups. Most were simply sprawled out, breathing heavily.

The drill sergeant smirked at the worn out recruits then looked for the filly. The smirk faded as his lips pursed. The little pony was still running laps. She was not keeping up with the adults, seeing as she was on the other side of the track, but she was still up and moving.

"Fall in!" he shouted again, getting the recruits to return to the line. "As I was saying: You are here because you think you are good enough to be a part of the royal guard. Well you are wrong! My job is to either whip you into a shape half-decent enough to get the chance to be a guard, or make you realize that you do not belong here.

"Since it has been brought up by the arrival of a half-sized recruit, let me make this clear: when you are here, you are mine. You will do what I say when I say. Nothing short of direct intervention from one of the princesses herself will change anything. Is that clear?"

"Yes Drill Sergeant!" the ponies in the line shouted out.

"Good." He turned and fixed them with a look. "Now that we have that cleared up, we can begin the proper training, starting with the obstacle course. I hope those of you who took a rest enjoyed it, because you get to go first." That caused a slight groan from the trainees. "Now, Move! Move! Move! Move!"

***

Dinky groaned as she walked (practically dragged herself actually) up the stairs to her room. It seemed so malicious to make a pony climb so many steps after such a vigorous workout. Granted she was the only pony that had to do so since the barracks were on the ground level, but they trainees still had the second half of their day ahead of them. The thought of continuing until sundown made her shiver.

Her eyes drifted toward the bed. She wanted so badly to just collapse on it and take a nap. Unfortunately every inch of her was covered in mud. She was fairly sure there were some twigs and even rocks stuck to her as well. As much as she wanted to get in bed, she had to get clean first or else the sheets would probably stick to her. Besides, she still had other matters to deal with before her day was over.

Turning on the water, Dinky set it as to be as hot as she could tolerate and at maximum flow. The filly then closed her eyes, tilted her head back to let the water hit her in the face, and waited. She could feel the impact of the water against her, striking the layer of dirt caked to her fur. Slowly the hot spray washed away enough that she began to feel the wetness against her skin and fur, the warmth soaking into her body to ease the ache of muscles.

She felt like she could stay like that forever.

After the water had washed away the worst of it, Dinky grabbed her brush and soap. The filly generously poured the soap over her coat and mane before lathering it up. She worked to get it deep into her fur, scrubbing hard with the bristles to get the mud out as best she could.

Satisfied, she worked to rinse out all the shampoo, taking the last of the grime from her work out with it. A part of her noted that she would have to be careful. If she scrubbed as hard every day as she did today, she would probably scrape her coat off and leave her skin raw.

Feeling clean, Dinky stood in the water for ten minutes, letting it just flow over her. It was with a little bit of sadness that she finally stopped the water and started drying off. She felt almost five pounds lighter by the time she was clean, dry, and fresh. Encouraged by the rumbling in her stomach, the young filly went out to get some lunch before continuing on with her magical lessons.

It was going to be a long summer.

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

"I have to speak with my C.O.," he stated, "I'll be back shortly. IN the meantime, I want all of you to run laps until you collapse. And when you do collapse, begin doing push-ups. Moveitmoveitmoveit!" As he shouted, the ponies fell out of line and started to run the laps as ordered. Stonehoof watched long enough to make sure they were actually running before turning to head toward the command quarters.

Drill Sergeants!! Is there not a junior guards camp?

but the trainees still had the second half of their day ahead of them.