//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Welcome to Fort Landbridge // Story: Night and Day // by BlueLgihtening //------------------------------// The week went by quickly, Rarity and Pinkie not appearing out of the garrison for days at a time. We would end up having to make them food and Fluttershy would end up taking it to them. We discovered shortly after arriving back in Ponyville that the railroad to Fort Landbridge was in use for supply transports. After much arguing and many diplomatic discussions on the issue, we gained the ability to use the tracks. Lead Hooves, an eccentric cowboy from the Plains, arrived a few days after our visit to Nott Himmon with his father, Lieutenant Potshot. Today, we were arriving at Fort Landbridge. The book in my grasp was of little interest, which was fairly unusual for me. But the welling feeling of nervousness in my gut was distracting me. I stared blankly at the open pages of the military history book, a glass of water hovering near my lips as I scanned the page for what felt like the fifth time in the past few minutes. Sighing, I gave up and closed the heavy tome, putting under the train seat for later viewing. Standing up, I stretched out my tired legs, the candle sitting next to me the only light in the early morning. Picking up the candle, I moved through the train car quietly. Going to my bed, I climbed up the ladder, but jumped as I heard noise from behind me. Turning around quickly as I landed back on the ground, I relaxed when I saw it was just Cobalt’s daughter, Fire Flight. She looked at me calmly, her orange eyes tired and rusty hair unusually ratty. “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked in a quiet tone. “No, you couldn’t either, I see.” I said, ushering her over to the chairs in the car. “Too nervous,” Fire said,” I was trying to read myself to sleep, but my mind runs too fast sometimes.” “Really? You, of all people, are nervous?” I thought aloud, causing the other girl to glare at me. “I’m just..... scared,” The Aeros said in a near whisper. I remained silent, sensing that the girl next to me didn’t want me to speak. We sat in silence for a few minutes, no words seeming important enough to say. “This war... it may seem pointless, but I bet you haven’t seen the border towns. I haven’t either, but Lightning would tell me all about it and what he heard on the radio,” said Fire Flight. “What did he hear?” I inquired, rubbing my hands together. “The Gryphus Army, they are murdering innocent people. Men, women, children, this is not just a war against soldiers, this is a war against our very existence.” ”So, are you willing to fight if you know they want to kill every last one of us?” “I don’t know what I am doing or where I’m going, but this path seems more noble than drinking my life away in the side of a ditch,” She laughed, obviously telling a joke that I missed. “I guess it does, we should probably try to get some sleep, it is nearly three in the morning,” I spoke, standing up,”And we arrive at the fort at seven.”  Fire Flight nodded and walked to her bunk, pulling the blankets over her as she turned her back to me. I climbed up the ladder and collapsed on the bunk, falling asleep as my head hit the pillow. -------- From the moment I woke up to the moment I fell asleep, the entire world seemed to devolve into chaos. Yelling, pure unadulterated screaming graced my fuzzy mind as I awoke. Laying still for a few seconds, I stared up at the ceiling above me. It took me a few moments to realize what had just occurred, I had been pulled from my bunk and onto the floor. A face appeared above mine, the man’s red hair no longer visible under his steel helmet. Lieutenant Potshot took me by the shoulders and shoved  a duffel bag into my confused grasp as I found myself on my feet once more. “Get out the door!” Potshot yelled, shoving me in the back, causing me to stumble. Following his command, I jumped out the door and onto the platform beneath the train. Still in too much shock to speak, I nodded to my friends as we were all lined up. Soldiers I had not even seen before were yelling at us to move down the platform. Following the commands silently, we approached the gates to a huge encampment on the hill above the train station. “Look ahead, Recruit!” I heard a soldier yell up in front of me, her eyes trained on Rainbow. Though I could not see her face, I could feel the grimace as she looked straight ahead. The soldiers wore some type of armor, it was thinner and made of half plate armor, half some type of fabric. The pants were a dull green-grey color, the only protection coming from the knee pads and steel-plated boots they wore. They looked nothing like the Royal Guard, but I had a feeling they were just as highly disciplined. As the gates loomed over us, the only thought that came across my mind just added to my already dampened mood. What have we gotten ourselves into? -------- (POV: Fire Flight) A duffel bag held tightly in my arms, I marched hastily towards the barracks, the soldiers’ yelling all the incentive I needed to get there. Once inside, the soldiers split us off into smaller groups of twenty-five. We were marched down the blinding white hallways, old electrical lamps lighting the way. As we marched into the bunk section of the barracks, the first thing I noticed was the smell; metallic with a hint of dirt and gunpowder. The soldiers told each person to claim a bunk, gendered barracks now out of question as I took a bunk above a white-haired man. Taking a quick glance around, I noticed that Grasshopper had been placed in my group, he had taken the bunk on my right. We stood still, the soldiers yelling at us to stand attention, whatever that meant. Following the white-haired man’s lead, I snapped my arms at my side and stood as straight as possible. My eyes widened as Da- I mean Captain Cobalt meandered down the middle of the bunk section. He looked each draftee up and down as he passed, the scrutiny in his gaze slightly terrifying. He walked past me, looking me up and down calmly, almost as if he didn’t know me at all. As he finished his inspection, he turned on his heel, his arms behind his back. “Good morning, soldiers, and yes, I am calling you all soldiers, for that is what you are now; not recruit, not draftee, you are all, as of now, soldiers,” His words were smooth but precise, I suddenly understood exactly why my father was a Captain,” And today is your first day of Basic. Now, you are probably very, very confused.” We all nodded, causing Captain Cobalt to glare at us. In a very passive-aggressive tone, he responded to our out-of-place nodding,” Don’t worry, the Drill Sergeants will be happy to answer any... reasonable questions you may have. Although it will most likely be answered with your face in the dirt. Listen, and follow orders, step out of line once, forget one tiny thing, that you will find out just how scary your Sergeants actually are.” “And one that note, welcome to Fort Landbridge, your new home for the next two months.” With those words, he left the room, the distant sound of boots hitting stone fading as he left. The Drill Sergeants looked at us quietly, their steely gazes unnerving. I jumped as one of them began talking. “Okay, you low-down scuffs, since I have to walk you around like a bunch of toddlers; Get your duffel bags and go to the armory!” Yelled the woman in front of us, she was probably no older than twenty-five. We all scrambled towards the door, and after much yelling, marched in a single file line to the armory. Once there, a bunch of soldiers without armor told us to go down a little path through a bunch of boxes. As we walked on to the path, we were handed a list. It listed all the clothing and hygiene stuff we would need, as well as a few different kinds of weapons. I was asked my clothing size too many times I lost count, as well as shoe size. At one point, they asked me helmet size, but the look on my face caused the soldier to take out a measuring tape and put it around my head. My duffel bag slowly filling up, I continued down the line until I faced the weapons, none of which were actually real. A combat sword, rifle , and revolver were all placed inside my bag as I passed. The soldier at the end of the path gave me a good look before directing me towards the place where I would change and get my hair cut. I was still so confused on what was happening, I was woken up by Dad yelling at me and getting put in a line, and now I was holding a duffel bag on my way to get changed and my hair cut. Running into the stone room, I waited in line to go into a changing room. as soon as I was inside, I pulled off my old clothes as quickly as possible and threw the cotton shirt and my issued green pants on. Tying up the steel-plated boots, I ran out of the changing room, throwing my duffel bag over my shoulders. Slowing down as I reached a door to a hallway on the other side of the supply room, I walked through the door and waited in line once again. At the end of the line was a man with styled hair, a pair of scissors in his slender hands. He made quick and stylish work of each person’s hair, either putting their hair up into buns or cutting it off. As I approached the man, he gave me a quick nod and sat me down in the chair,” Now, bun or cut?” I felt like I couldn't speak for a second, but was finally able the make some sort of sound,”Cut?” He nodded, his orange hair bobbing as he did. I felt him take all of my hair up on top of my head and run his scissors through it. Standing up from the chair, I walked away and looked in a mirror near the exit. My bangs were still nearly the same length, but the rest of my hair was loosely the same length, which happened to fall right below my ears. I nodded and walked out of the room, back into the armoury. Looking around I spotted Lightning, his hair now close-cropped and neat. I waved, but did not get a response, his focus on something else. “Once you get all your stuff, get back in your line,” I hear a Drill Sergeant yell, snapping me out of my relaxed state. I ran over to my squad, everyone standing in a straight line, the Drill Sergeant walking up and down the line, observing her recruits. Now, without all the chaos, yelling, and running, I was able to get a good look at the woman. The Terra was taller than me, her blue hair contrasting her nearly white eyes. Her face was hard, her eyes steely, trying to intimidate every recruit here. She had a white scar running from underneath her right eye all the way down to her collarbone. All in all, she was pretty intimidating. With a swift nod, the Sergeant led us out of the armoury and down yet another white hallway. We followed behind her silently, our heads held high more from fear of punishment than pride. We entered a dining hall, three long tables side by side in the middle of the room. After a quick pass through the line for food, I sat down next to Grasshopper at the table. My brother sat with his back completely straight, his red eyes focused in front of him as he ate. He wore a pair of goggles rather than glasses, it was rather silly looking. I faced forward and followed my brother’s lead, eating my food silently as the Sergeant began telling us important information regarding our schedules and phrases we should memorize. I signed. This will probably be the longest two months of my life, won't it?