Twilight Sparkle

"You! Get back in line!" A very angry looking commander shouted at two rookies breaking rank and chatting idly between themselves.

"You all have volunteered to help your city by joining the guard. By the end of these three weeks, I'll turn you pathetic bunch of ponies into elites, or so help me Celestia, I'll have your flank mounted on my wall! Training starts now, now give me 20 laps around Ponyville!"

The to-be guards all groaned in unison, before a shrill whistle got them running. Then the glare of the commander got them sprinting.

One of the recruits turned to his friend

"I told you Sparkle is going to be a crazy one, her brother is captain of the guard up in Canterlot, she must come from a military famil-"

"That's COMMANDER SPARKLE to you, private!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, materializing right in front of the pony, who ended up falling on his back, and hyperventilating due to her not-so-subtle appearance. She fixed him with a glare and teleported off to harass somebody else.

"She'll be the death of us" joked the terrified pony's friend as he helped him up.

Commander Sparkle gazed critically as the crew of newbies ran around town. They weren't the worst she had trained, but she had some work cut out for her. She had enlisted in the guard at a young age, and raised up the ranks, gaining infamy for being a cruel and unforgiving soldier. They almost celebrated when they made her a commander. Where she lacked in magic, she had made up for it in muscle and brains.

Magic, pfft. What an unreliable source of making things happen. If you want something to work, do it yourself.

Although the commander remembered a time when she did trust magic. Unfortunately that... event with the entrance exam had deterred her from continuing down that path. She was young and stupid, but so full of hope and happiness...

She looked down, lost in memories. After her... failure, she had trained as hard as she could, working both her mind and body in preparation for the military. She shifted a piece of her armor, revealing a shield crossed by two spears for a cutie mark. Sometimes she wondered if it was all worth it. The sounds of hushed voices brought her away from her walk down memory lane.

"Hey, this isn't a trot through the park! Gallop you impudent foals!"