Two Months later

Shining Armor grunted as he ducked out of the way of the Initiate’s swing, the blade barely missing the top of his helmet. He utilized the momentum he had granted himself to roll behind him, pulling himself up just in time to block the sword of the Initiate with his own, the Initiate having managed to turn around more quickly than Shining.

“Concede, Initiate Armor.” The enemy Initiate growled. “I have you beaten!”

“Not yet, soldier.” Shining growled, sweat glistening on his skin as he removed one hand from the grip of his sword and reached behind him, letting the enemy Initiate’s force behind his blade pull him downward as Shining rammed the knife into his gut. The Initiate staggered, dropping back to the ground, gasping for air.

“Good, Initiate Armor.” Gabriel said, clapping his gauntleted hands as he stepped forward. Shining nodded, returning the wooden weapons to their proper sheaths and stepping forward, helping the Initiate up. “As for you, Initiate Flight, you mustn’t underestimate your opponent. They will always have a weapon held in reserve.”

“U-Understood, Sergeant Angelos.” Initiate Flight nodded, picking up the wooden sword that had fallen out of his hand.

“Now, you will fight again.” Gabriel stated, stepping out of the arena. “And this time, use everything you have, magic or otherwise.” The two initiates looked to each other, their eyes hardening.

As the two once more began to fight, Gabriel thought back to the past two months. As expected, the Royal Guard’s numbers had swelled drastically once Celestia had begun to expand the recruitment to outer cities and towns. Unfortunately, however, the large majority had been blinded by their own dreams of becoming heroes, and either resigned during training, or stayed and continued training. As of now, the Third Company had grown to include forty five Initiates, and Gabriel had begun to assign squads and squad leaders.

Gabriel processed this information in less than four seconds, and returned to the fight before him as Initiate Flight, one of the first batch of new recruits, took off, hovering in the sky with ethereal wings sprouting from his back. Initiate Armor, unfazed, raised his hand, magic gathering around his fingertips as Initiate Flight launched himself at Shining, his sword in motion to deliver a swift strike to his lower body.

When he was within ten feet of Initiate Armor, the blue-haired initiate’s glowing hand suddenly clenched into a fist, and a bright pink barrier was quickly made between them. Initiate Flight, unable to stop his momentum in time, instead raised his wings, the wind flowing past him catching on his wings and bringing him higher in the air, and he passed over the shield. Once over, he dove downward, barely missing the surprised Shining and hit the ground, rolled, before unfolding and stopping himself completely. Before Shining Armor could turn, Speedy Flight launched himself forward, sword pointed straight in front of him as he drew closer to his opponent.

Shining, instead of turning fully, dropped to the ground, his shield dissipating as he brought his blade up, stabbing it into Flight’s gut as he flew past.

“Gah!” Speedy Flight cried, his wings flickering as he flopped to the ground, skidding across the dirt before finally coming to a stop, groaning.

“Excellent work, Initiate Armor.” Gabriel nodded, before turning to the newest recruits. “These two are part of Celestia’s Royal Guard, Initiates!” He declared loudly, causing all of the recruits to flinch and step back. “This is what you aspire to become, to fight and die for the Princess, and for Equestria!” He grabbed one of them, lifting him high above the rest, even as he struggled against Gabriel’s iron grip. “And this is what you are as of now! Aspirants, many of you will fail the test you are about to enter. The recruiters might have accepted you as Guards, but I do not!” He placed the recruit back onto the ground, before looking down at the group. “You have not earned the right to call yourselves the Royal Guard!”

He then pointed to the pit that had been dug out per Gabriel’s command, his eye glaring at them. “You will all fight each other here. Only the strongest of you will persevere, and only the strongest will become Royal Guard! Any who do not wish to fight here may leave now.” He watched with disappointment as five of the twenty recruits stepped out of line, turning to leave the training grounds.

“You would abandon the chance to protect your homes?!” One of the recruits growled, stepping out of line to rush over to the closest of them, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close. “If the Griffonians were to invade your hometown and slaughter your family, is this what you would do? Abandon them to avoid a little pain?!” The other recruits stopped, turning to watch.

The somewhat frail-looking man stammered, fear evident in his blue eyes. “N-no! I-I would fight to protect them!”

“Then why do you turn away now, coward?!” The angry recruit growled, delivering a solid punch to his gut. “This is your chance to join those who will keep the Griffonians from even getting close to your home! If you leave, you abandon them! Stay, fight, and even if you fail, you can say that you tried!” The recruit fell to the ground, wheezing from the blow.

“Recruit! That’s enough.” Gabriel said, stepping forwards and separating the two. “They can make the choice to leave. The Third Company does not welcome cowards and weak-willed soldiers like many of the other Companies do.”

“N-no… I will stay.” The recruit stumbled, slowly getting off of the ground. “If I can help protect my family and friends… then I will do whatever I can.” Gabriel nodded, before turning to the aggressive recruit.

“What is your name, Aspirant?” He asked, noticing that three of the five had returned to the ranks.

“My name is Crimson Streak, Sergeant Angelos. I will fight the enemies of Equestria and break their backs, sir!” Crimson saluted. Gabriel nodded, before allowing the Recruit to return to the ranks.

“Any who are either knocked unconscious, break a bone, or break the rules will be ejected from the Third Company and sent back to whatever town they came from. There will be no use of magic, concealed weapons, or anything that will give you an advantage.” Gabriel stated once they were back in line. “Initiate Armor, a talented Aurian, will watch for any illegal use of magic. You will fight with only your natural gifts.”

“Understood, Sergeant.” Initiate Armor nodded, standing next to him.

“All combatants will now enter the pit.” Gabriel stated, watching as the recruits slowly shuffled into the circular ring of stone. “You will only start when I say to. The men and women still standing when I say stop will move on to become proper Initiates. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir!” Came the reply.

“Good. Start!” Gabriel growled. There was only a moment of hesitation before the pit turned into a free-for-all, a flurry of fists and legs as the Aspirants went all out upon each other, blood soon splattering the ground as teeth were sent flying and bodies dropped to the floor, unconscious. Gabriel kept a careful watch on Initiate Streak, observing the patriotic warrior as he blocked a fist rushing to meet his face, forcing it down while bringing his other fist forward, smashing it into the attacker’s face. The Initiate fell back, blood splattering across his face as he stumbled, before receiving a hard kick to the gut by another Initiate.

”If only we had a Chaplain…” Gabriel thought to himself, before blinking. “Chaplain…?”

His thoughts were interrupted as Shining suddenly lashed out, using his magic to drag an Initiate away from the pit, and Gabriel noticed that the Initiate’s hand was glowing.

“He used a low tier endurance spell, Sergeant.” Shining explained. Gabriel nodded.

Soon, Gabriel stopped them. Of the twenty Aspirants, ten of them had fallen or were pulled away by Shining Armor, and the other ten were battered, hurt, but still standing.

“Excellent work, aspirants.” Gabriel stepped forward, and the still standing soldiers immediately collapsed. “You ten will begin training tomorrow, once your wounds have had a chance to heal. You may head to the infirmary, and will take your failed brothers with you.”

As the aspirants slowly got up and carried their unconscious fellows, Gabriel turned to Initiate Armor. “What do you think of the current batch, Initiate?”

“They appear to be good soldiers, sir.” Shining said, watching them walk away. “They follow orders, they fight well, and some appear to have honor. I hope they will work well together.”

“Good.” Gabriel turned to him. “I have a special job for you, Initiate.”

“And that would be?” Shining turned towards him.

“From now on, I want you to evaluate new recruits.” Gabriel said. “There will be times that I am unable to observe or train our new brothers, so I will have you train them in my stead.”

Shining Armor stiffened slightly, before nodding. “So, I am to be your… what, second in command?”

“Not just yet.” Gabriel sighed. “I am going to petition the Princess for the addition of new ranks in the companies, such as squad leaders. Some of our fellow companies have been… struggling to keep up with the amount of new recruits flowing in.”

“Understood, Sir.” Shining Armor nodded, before blinking. “Sir, someone is coming towards us.” Gabriel turned to see a green haired courier running towards them.

“Sergeant Gabriel, sir, Princess Celestia has requested your Company to aid in defending a nearby town from Griffish Raiders. They requested assistant two hours ago.”

“Understood.” Gabriel nodded, turning to Shining Armor. “Gather our brothers that were not in training and tell them to meet me at the train station in thirty minutes. Let them know what we are fighting.” With that said, Gabriel marched off, the courier following him. Shining Armor sighed, before rushing off to the barracks.

two hours later

“Thank you, Sergeant Gabriel.” The town leader, Bright Diamond, smiled as the Third Company marched through the town gates. She was a rather plump woman, her time as mayor showing in her size and her clothing, which was much more fancy than that of the townsfolk that they walked by. Glittering gold earrings and necklaces dotted her body, and Gabriel culled his rising disgust as she walked next to him. “Those filthy barbarians have been attacking us for three days, and I’m pretty sure they have been making demands of us.” She said each word with such an air of drama that Gabriel wanted to shut her out. However, he needed information, and she was probably his best bet of getting that information.

“What has your militia been doing to stop them?” Gabriel asked.

“Oh, the poor dears have put up a valiant fight, but they’ve been losing too many to properly defend the town. So, we decided to call you.” Bright Diamond sighed. “I do so very much hope you will be able to fight them off, Sergeant.”

“Don’t worry, Ma’am. We will make sure they do not harm a single citizen. Where is your militia barracks located? I would like to use it as a temporary headquarters until we can locate the Griffish base.”

“Barracks?” Bright Diamond asked. “Oh, I’m sorry, Sergeant, but we haven’t had one of those since before my term as mayor. Too much funding went into it, when it could better serve our citizens! Instead, our militia keep their weapons at home.”

Gabriel sighed. “Very well, we will use the Town Hall. If you would please escort us there.” He turned to the soldiers he had brought with him. “Brothers, take up positions along the wall. You know what to do if you make contact with the enemy. Shining Armor, you will accompany me. In Nomine Celestia.”

“In Nomine Celestia!” The Third Company shouted, banging their fists against their golden chestplate, before dispersing to the wall. Shining Armor hesitated, but did as he was told as he followed Gabriel and Mayor Diamond.

Gabriel could instantly recognize the town hall in the cluster of buildings. While most of the town appeared to be in shambles, the Town Hall was resplendent in bright colors, expensive decorations layering over each other in an ugly image of pure excess as the two Royal Guards and the mayor approached.

“This will make an excellent headquarters for now, mayor.” Gabriel nodded, glancing around. The area around the town hall was cylindrical, with eight roads leading off further into the town, where people shuffled between buildings and run down shops.

“I’m happy to help, Sergeant Angelos!” Bright Diamond smiled. “Now, I would give you two fine gentlemen a tour, but unfortunately I have important business to attend to.”

“Before you go, Mayor Diamond, would you please gather your militia here within the hour? I would like to evaluate their combat readiness.” Gabriel asked, stopping her.

“Of course, Sergeant. The Dodge City Militia is at your command!” She gave another smile, before walking away.

“She’s corrupt filth.” Shining Armor growled once she was out of earshot, glaring at the city. “Everyone else suffers in poverty, while she and the city hall shine brilliantly? It’s like a beacon of corrupt leadership.”

“Easy, Initiate Armor. Once we have cleared out the Raiders from this town, I shall request an audience with the Princess about this.” Gabriel nodded, before marching towards the City Hall. “Let us prepare for our first real battle.” He sighed with a grim look as he noticed the shadow near one of the shops next to the road had vanished.

later

“You are the current commander of the Militia here, correct?” Gabriel demanded, looming over the poor man. He was in his mid-thirties, his blue hair already beginning to gray at the edges. Despite this, he still seemed to crumple beneath Gabriel’s hard stare.

“Th-that’s correct, Sergeant Angelos.” He said, giving a weak attempt to hide the shaking in his voice. “I am Stalwart Defender, of the Dodge City Militia. How can we assist the Royal Guard?”

“I want to be briefed on the situation at hand, from someone who knows what’s happening.” Gabriel stated. “In order to defeat these Raiders.”

“Y-yes, Sergeant.” Stalwart nodded. “A few days ago, one of our patrols at the forest’s edge was attacked by a group of Raiders wearing Ancient Griffonian tribal garbs. Three of my men were wounded, and one died. After that, we began to suffer from numerous attacks at the fortifications, losing several men in the process. All we know so far is that they are coming from somewhere in the forest, and in large numbers.”

“Understood. I’m surprised that your walls have held up for so long, considering your mayor’s apparent lack of militia funding, Commander.” Gabriel nodded, examining the map of the Dodge City area laid down on the table in front of him.

“Our men try our best to protect the city, sir.” Stalwart gave a proud smile. “We deal with the usual beast that skulk too close to town, so we aren’t as complacent as other town Militias.”

“Good… good.” Gabriel nodded. “For now, I would request that you and your soldiers fall under my command until these Raiders have been dealt with.” He looked at Stalwart. “I will look to you for information on the land, as well as defensible locations in the forest if you and your soldiers have ever gone that far.”

“Of course, sir.” Stalwart nodded, his initial look of disdain ebbing away just as quickly as it arrived.

“I appreciate it. For now, I want to send a scouting party out into the forest to locate the enemy base.” Gabriel said, looking back to the map. “If possible, send any Avians to patrol over the forest.”

“Of course… though I should ask why we must send the Avians?” Stalwart asked, uncertainty evident in his voice.

“It is possible that the enemy would have had to create a clearing for their base. If they have, we will be able to easily locate the base from above the forest.” Gabriel explained, looking up at him. “Do you understand now?”

“Yes, Sir. I’ll get right on it.” Stalwart nodded, before walking out of the city hall to give orders to his troops.

“Sergeant Angelos, why didn’t you just assume complete control of the militia?” Shining Armor asked, stepping out from the corner he had stood in.

“If I were to do that, then there would be open tension between us.” Gabriel said, glancing up at Shining Armor. “It is obvious that he does not fully trust us to be competent soldiers. I don’t blame him, since we’re from Canterlot, but by giving him some semblance of command to his own while still answering to me will help ease those tensions, and make working together more easy.”

“Oh… I guess they would see us to be similar to that Bright Diamond…” Shining said, looking outside as the militiamen rushed off to do their duties, their steel armor the exact opposite of the Royal Guard’s bright gold armor.

“Yes. Now, I want you to send some of our own avian soldiers out to scout over the forest, once the militia has done their sweep.” Gabriel ordered, and Shining Armor looked up at him, confused.

“Sir? What good would that do?” The blue haired Initiate asked, confused.

“If I may confide in you, Initiate Armor, I don’t fully trust these militia soldiers.” Gabriel sighed, moving away from the table. “It might just be because they do not trust us, but something about them makes me see them as… untrustworthy. This will be my first test of my suspicions.” He grabbed Shining Armor’s shoulder. “If our reports are the same as theirs, then I will start to trust their reports. If they say they found nothing, but our reports have located an enemy base, then I will know they are hiding something.” Gabriel said, before releasing Shining Armor. “Go, follow my orders. Make sure they don’t head out until after I return from getting the Militia reports.”

Shining Armor nodded slowly, before rushing out the door, his armor clinking together as he ran. Gabriel sighed, standing over the table once again, poring over the map.

“You are not like the weak willed people of Equestria.” A gruff voice muttered, and Gabriel looked up to find a Griffish Raider above him, holding onto the pillars and support beams running across the ceiling. “You have a military mindset, and think tactfully.”

“I didn’t know spies were known for revealing themselves to the enemy.” Gabriel stated, his grip on Godsplitter tightening in anticipation. “If you think I will let you return to your leader with information on our plans, then you are quite mistaken.”

“Sergeant Angelos, was it?” The Raider asked, dropping down to the ground in front of him. Gabriel quickly examined him. He seemed to be young, despite his grey hair. He was tan, his garb barely covering his upper body and allowing Angelos to see his decent-sized muscles, which were still easily dwarfed by Gabriel’s own. “I am Grishta, of Clan Striking Talon. My brethren have recently set up camp in the forest next to this town.”

“Yes, and have also attacked this town.” Gabriel said, brandishing his hammer out in front of him. “What business do you have with me, aside from spying?”

“I am here to give you an offer, Sergeant.” Grishta stated. “You and your soldiers have marched into matters that you cannot hope to understand, and my tribe wishes to offer you the chance to leave before this corrupt town is destroyed.”

“I have been ordered by Princess Celestia herself to aid this city in repelling you and your brethren. I will never allow you to spill the blood of her citizens, not without a fight.” Gabriel growled. “If you wish to attack Equestria’s citizens, then the hammer of the Princess’s wrath shall fall upon you. We will not turn tail.”

“You understand nothing.” Grishta growled. “Plans have been in the works for decades, and nothing you do shall stop them! And even when given the chance to avoid certain destruction, still you persist? Why?!”

“Because, you ignorant savage.” Gabriel stated, his eye hardened into a glare. “So long as I stand, and so long as there is breath in my body, I shall let nothing come before me and my duty to the Princess.”

“Very well then, blind fool. We will meet upon the battlefield, and you shall perish with the rest of them.” Grishta growled, turning away. “You have sealed your fate.”

“And so have you.” Gabriel growled from behind him, and Grishta’s breath was taken from him, the hard impact of Gabriel’s fist sending him reeling to the floor, blood flooding his throat as bones broke, piercing his lungs. “You expected to leave here with information on our movements, after revealing yourself? Truly, you are the blind one.” Gabriel hefted Godsplitter above his head.

Grishta gurgled in fear, any words he could have spoken drowned in the blood rising in his throat. Without another word, Gabriel brought his hammer down, silencing him forever as his skull was crushed, breaking the wooden floorboards beneath him from the impact.

Author's Note

Another chapter done! I wonder if people will look back upon these stories in the future, and wonder: what kind of person could write these things?

The answer is someone who is probably half insane and loves war. That kind of person.

Anyways, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!

And for those who also read the Ainz story, I haven’t updated it yet because I’m thinking of what to do next.

Anyways, I’ll see you all in the next chapter!