A day after Stiletto and Kat cornered Indigo in the barracks, he asked Lady Virtue, if civilians are allowed to train with weapons and dummies in their spare time. He told her that he was a reservist in New Saddle and underwent basic military training. As usual, she agreed to this strange request, but told Indigo to ask Halberd for permission first.
Indigo approaches Halberd. “Hello. Um... I was wondering if it is alright for a civilian to use the barracks and training dummies in their spare time, when the soldiers aren't training.”
Halberd gives him a questioning glance. "What business do you have with that? It's dangerous for civilians."
“In New Saddle I underwent basic military training with axe and mace, but got rusty over the years.” answers Indigo.
Halberd's expression lowers a bit. "Alright. So why do you want to use the barracks? You're a mason, not a soldier. I don't like the idea of civilians training to be soldiers unless there's a very good reason for it."
I want to have access to weapons and armour to at least stand a chance in case of an assault by one of Stiletto's goons. Indigo frowns. “Well... I... was a reservist in New Saddle. We had lighter armour than the full-time military and were training twice a year in squads plus whenever we didn't have any civilian duties. Reservists were called to arms when needed and acted as a pool of recruits, because they can be trained more easily than civilians. A reservist can still shoot some invaders from behind fortifications, or hold them off with an axe till regulars finish the job. Plus you get some ponies with military training mixed into work teams in case there is an enraged badger around or some other minor threat.” I probably shouldn't even tell you that the military is growing, while we hardly get any new civilians, and that a reserve is a compromise between having a large army and having a large workforce.
Halberd gives him a scrutinizing expression. What was this pony really after? The fortress guard was supposed to be watching after the civilian workers, although Jaxler was about as much of a joke at that as there could be. That was Partisan's problem, and not his though, and he, Storm Cloud and Kat seemed to be competent enough at least. Halberd sizes Indigo up for a moment. He was going to regret this, he knew, but he didn't have the patience to argue with somepony right now. "You can use the barracks to train whenever equipment isn't being used by my squad or Naginata's."
He gives Indigo a hard look. "None of the other civilians without okaying it with me first. And nopony goes in the armory. If you need equipment, talk to me first. We've got some training weapons you can use." He frowns. "I do not want armed civilians who think they know what they're doing swinging weapons at anything, especially each other. That understood?"
Indigo nods. “Of course. No playing hero and no stupid accidents. As to equipment, I'll need at least a training axe to begin with. I may also ask some off-duty soldiers for tips. I'm pretty sure, I won't hurt myself and an Axe is a rather brutal weapon, but there are all kinds of nuances to using it effectively.” Not quite what I wanted, but he agreed. After a few weeks of training without incidents, I may be able to convince him to give me more.
The comment about the axe was an understatement, and Halberd gives a small snort. "Right. Just try not to break anything when you're in there."
Afterwards Indigo went to the barracks in the evenings twice or trice a week to do "individual combat drills." Occasionally some soldiers would show him a few things. Eventually he was allowed to wear some armour, but only inside the barracks. He even sparred a few times, loosing badly. A few soldiers didn't like this, but they either kept their mouths shut or didn't manage to convince anypony, and Indigo trained unmolested.
After months of this, Zearoth and Oil Macepony wanted to join the militia, but were put in the reserves instead. Much to his surprise, Indigo was 'elevated' to 'squad captain.' While he had limited experience as a recruit, he never led or trained a squad. He wanted a professional soldier to do that instead, but there were no volunteers to 'lead the foals playing military', so Indigo grudgingly accepted his new responsibility. This wasn't one of his better notions. The reserves get some hand-me-down equipment to train with and Indigo is required to attend the monthly captains' meetings, but isn't treated too seriously. While the reserves do little to improve the safety of Dawnpick, they aren't as big of a drain on it's resources, as another full squad would be and are generally accepted.