Salvation

by Sandstorm Inkwell

Chapter Thirteen

It had been almost a week since I had taken Scootaloo parachuting. During the sleepover, she had told her friends all about the experience, even including sound effects and actions to her story. In typical kid fashion, she also stretched the story to make it sound more dangerous than it actually was. When she was done, the three had decided to brainstorm different ideas on how to get their cutie marks (which I watched with a smirk on my face).

The next day, after the girls left the hall to try out some of their ideas, I had gone to Rarity to see if she could make the squad and me some extra clothes. She agreed to it and, by the next day, had it ready. She had taken the design of our uniforms and made some like it. The ones she made, though, were plain green with a soft touch of a golden trim. It truly looked like something Rarity would make. The socks and underwear, however, were just of plain cloth (at my asking of course).

With new clothes, Jones and Gonz left for Canterlot the next day. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had gone with them, which was no surprise to the rest of the squad (or the rest of the Mane Six). That left me in charge of the mead-hall. I really did nothing besides keep up with general maintenance around the hall and help Scoots with her flying.

“On your feet recruit!”

Before I was fully awake, I was on my feet at attention. When my mind caught up to my body, I found myself looking at the face of a smiling Kilborn with a snickering Scootaloo behind him. I gave a quick glare at the little filly before turning to the Sergeant.

“Yes Sarge?”

He shook his head with a chuckle, “Been trying to wake ya for a couple minutes. Anyway, we're gonna do PT. Get your rear in gear and get ready.”

I sighed. PT, Physical Training, meant push-ups, sit-ups, and all sorts of other exercises meant to make a soldier a lean, mean, killing machine. Of course, the actual PT wasn't that bad but the days were beginning to get colder and colder and running in the cold sucked.

Without waiting for an actual answer, Kilborn left the room, closing the door. This left me with Scootaloo, who was still smirking at me.

“I don't think I've ever seen anyone jump straight out of bed before,” she commented, chuckling. I did a mimic of her chuckle as I began to change into a plain white shirt and grey shorts that Rarity had also made.

“Well, if you were ever woken up at two in the morning by a guy banging trash can lids together and then yelling at you and making you clean latrines for moving too slow, you might wake up like that too.”

“Latrines?”

“Toilets.”

“Ewwww. Really?”

“Yep.”

Opening the door, I stepped out and held it open for Scootaloo before closing it. Going downstairs and outside, I shivered a little when the cold air hit my skin. Standing outside were Smiley and Kilborn, both wearing the same attire as me. However, they both were much more muscular than when we had first arrived and it was mostly to the farm work that they had been doing every day.

“Alright. Now that Sleeping Beauty is finally with us, we can begin with some stretches. Right arm. Ready? Begin.”

It went like that for every major muscle region that we could realistically stretch. Scootaloo just sat to the side silently, her head cocked to the side in curiosity. When we were done stretching (Thirty, three-count jumping jacks included), Kilborn got down in push-up position.

“Push-ups now,” he said simply as Smiley and me got in the same position in front of him, “Sixty. Sound off. Ready? Down! Up!”

“One!” Smiley and me shouted simultaneously.

“Down! Up!”

“Two!”

“Down! Up!”

“Three!”

On it went like that. The shouting and cold air stripped my throat quickly but I kept pushing and kept shouting because I didn't feel like doing them again. Our shouting however, attracted a small crowd as we did our push-ups, causing me some discomfort. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Twilight sitting next to Scootaloo with the same curious tilt of her head. That simple thing made me smile, which wasn't unseen by Kilborn.

“Down! Something funny there Corporal?”

“No Sergeant!” Talking while keeping your body mere inches off the ground was hard.

“Than why are you smiling?”

“Because I love PT, Sergeant!”

“Really now? Up!”

“Twenty-Seven!” came the simultaneous reply.

“Yes Sergeant!” I answered.

“Good! Then you won't mind the extra ten push-ups we're going to do!” he shouted back. Damn, I thought to myself as he again shouted, “Down!”

And so it continued. We pumped out push-ups until we finally reached eighty. When we were done, Kilborn flipped to his back shouting, “Sit-ups; thirty! Sound off! Begin! Up!”

“One!”

When we were finally done with the sit-up, I got to my feet. My arms felt like jelly and my abs hurt but I was to my feet in a flash. The crowd had only somewhat dispersed, the rest somehow intrigued with the sight of humans working out.

“Alright you whining, grass-munching sons of bitches, lets go for a little jog!” Kilborn shouted with a malicious smile, all of his teeth showing. With that, he turned in the direction of the trail to Sweet Apple Acres and started off at a good pace. Smiley and me fell in line beside him. When we were running, he began to sing a jodie. Jodies were used to help keep cadence while running and was usually sang by the Sergeant alone.

“C-130 rollin' down the strip
Airborne Rangers gonna take a little trip

Mission untold, destination unknown
Some don't know if they're ever comin' home

Jump up, buckle up, shuffle to the door
Jump right out and count to four

If my chute don't open wide
I got another one by my side

If that chute don't open too
Look out below, I'm coming through

If I die in ol' drop zone
Box me up and ship me home

If I die while I'm doin' my best
Then bury me at a leaning rest

But if I die while sippin' tea
Don't even bother buryin' me!”

We had reached the barn by the time the jodie was finished. Surprisingly, some of the crowd (Scootaloo and Twilight included) followed us on our jog. Turning around, we started back and Kilborn started another jodie.

“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two
a beggar bound for college
was roaming the streets of Spain
and selling hot tamales!

He said the world was round-oh
he said it could be found-of
the hypothetical navigating son-of-a-gun Colombo!

Said Isabel to Ferdinand
his plan sounds mighty hazy
Said Ferdinand to Isabel
I think the sucker's crazy!

He said the world was round-oh
he said it could be found-of
the hypothetical navigating son-of-a-gun Colombo!”

When he was finished with that jodie, we were just about back to the mead-hall. When we reached the hall, we came to a stop, Smile and me turning to face Kilborn. We were all breathing a bit heavier but besides that, all of us stood tall.

“Alright! Y'all are dismissed to go clean yourselves! You smell worse than Athena's exhaust pipe!”

I knew I was probably stinking up a storm but I found it funny that he said that when we was sweating just as bad as we were. Sighing in relief when he gave us leave, I interlaced my fingers behind my head and tried to calm my breathing. Smiley and Kilborn quickly made for the hall and the two bathtubs but I didn't mind. I needed a second or two to catch my breath anyway.

As I was catching my breath, I noticed that the crowd was dispersing.

“So...” someone began behind me. Turning around, I saw Twilight with Scootaloo at her side. It was Twilight who had spoken, “Colombo?”

I laughed, “In fourteen ninety-two, a man by the name of Christopher Columbus left his home of Spain to try to 'sail to the Far East' by going around the world. At this time, the big thought was that the Earth was flat. He thought, correctly, that it was round. So he set out on three ships to find this route to the Far East. What he found instead were too undiscovered continents. This led to them, and several others, settling there. The United States, my country, came to be when a group of colonies ruled by a country called Great Britain rebelled. Finally, we won and the United States came to be.” I shrugged, “I could go more in-depth but I'd need a map and other stuff to do so. However, first, I need to bathe.” I smirked at them.

“Yeah you do,” Scootaloo commented, waving a hoof in front of her nose. I chuckled and nodded.

“Alright then. I'll see you two later, okay?”

“Okay,” replied Twilight.

“I'll see you tonight, I'm going to be with the Crusaders,” Scootaloo replied before running off. I shook my head in amusement before waving at Twilight and walking into the hall. Out of sight, I lifted an arm and put my nose near my armpit and sniffed. My face immediately cringed as my nostrils were assaulted.

“Damn,” I muttered as I started toward the stairs, “I didn't think it was this bad.”