Guardsmare Twilight

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: Evaluation
Chapter 2: First Week
Chapter 3: The Training Begins
Chapter 4: Survival Training
Chapter 5: Royal Visit
Chapter 6: Training Patrol (Part 1)
Chapter 7: Training Patrol (Part 2)
Chapter 8: Competition
Chapter 9: New Team
Interlude: Attack on Canterlot
Chapter 10: Graduation
Chapter 11: Departure
Chapter 12: Ponyville
Chapter 13: Nightmare Moon

Prologue

Celestia strode through the halls of her castle, excitement to teach a new lesson to her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, clear in the white alicorn's step. It had been eight long years of tutelage after she passed her exams for her school for gifted unicorns. A small flicker of doubt crossed the face of the ancient ruler of Equestria, the memory of an incident not a week in the past still fresh on her mind. With the bickering nobles posturing for power, she had no time to talk about what happened with Twilight, making this situation even worse. During one of their lessons, Twilight had asked about more complex spells to learn, specifically a restricted spell book from the guard training held her interest. Shining Armor, Twilight's older brother, had only recently graduated and most likely sparked that interest in her. All of this brought back memories of another student, somepony who she loved but pushed away in the end. Celestia knew she was partially at fault for the disappearance of Sunset Shimmer and now she stood at the same crossroads with Twilight, she had to do something about it.

When she reached the door to her study she had already made up her mind, maybe there was still a chance. Stepping inside her purple unicorn student was already sitting on a cushion with a book levitating in front of her. The eagerness of the young pony was admirable but this excessive thirst for knowledge could also be dangerous, which Celestia knew from first-hoof experiences. She stepped up beside Twilight and sat down, gently wrapping a wing around her student before looking into what had held Twilight's full attention at the moment.

"Are you ready for our lesson, Twilight?" The soft and motherly voice of her mentor broke Twilight out of her trance-like state. She looked up with a sheepish look on her face, rubbing one of her hoofs over the back of her head and messing up her mane in the process. Years of experience dealing with diplomats of other nations and the stuck-up nobility of her own country allowed Celestia to read Twilight like an open book. She would never outright say it but she wanted more, the lessons Celestia offered were no longer enough for the almost adult pony. "You asked me about a spell book in our last lesson. Do you still want to read it?" The eager nodding of her student was all it took to break down her walls and she let out a deep breath. This was a risky gamble but she was sure a little history lesson about war would change Twilight's mind. "Before I can allow you to read it there are a few things we must do first."

Twilight perked up at the thought of being tested. While she always panicked when she was told that a test was coming, a surprise test like this was a lot easier for her. Her brain had simply no time to come up with any disaster scenarios to make her nights difficult.

"First will be a little history lesson about the spells you asked for." Waiting for her student to acknowledge that with a firm nod, she continued. "And second, you will have to join the guard." Seeing the confused look Celestia elaborated, "Only during guard training are ponies allowed to learn those spells. Not even I can simply allow you to study them without proper training first." This was a gamble that might ruin her chances to finally see her sister again but she would not make the same mistake she did with Sunset. Twilight was mature enough to make her own decisions and maybe she would make some friends in the process without Celestia constantly pushing her in the right direction. Plans formed in her mind for the inevitable return of Nightmare Moon and how she could be defeated without the Elements of Harmony. As much as she wanted her sister back she would not sacrifice the happiness of another for that goal, not any more.

Both sat in silence, Twilight thinking about the offer for a long time before finally turning her head back to her mentor. "Will I still be your student afterwards?"

That question caught Celestia off guard, on one hoof, Twilight wanted to be more independent in her studies, on the other, she was worried she would no longer be her student. How did she misjudge the small unicorn this much? "If you wish to return to my side after your training with the guard you are always welcome. Even if you decide to quit or are unable to continue the guard training, I will always welcome you back, Twilight." The purple arrow that launched itself at her was too fast to react to as Twilight embraced her in a tight hug not letting go for a long time and shouting "yes yes yes yes" the entire time. The memories that flooded back brought a smile to Celestia's face.

Picking up a book from one of her many bookshelves Celestia began to read the title, "The Unedited History of the First Griffon War," getting Twilight's full attention. She would leave some of the bloodier details out of the story but she needed to convey the severity of the decision Twilight was about to make.

Twilight paid rapt attention to the political conflict before the start of the war, often raising a hoof to ask questions like, "What was so important about the mountain range?" or, "Couldn't we just be friends and find a compromise?" When they came to the part that started the war in earnest Twilight gasped. The thought that somepony outright attacked ponies on a diplomatic mission was hard to swallow.

Celestia had stopped reading at this point and started to tell the story from her point of view, getting Twilight to pay even more attention. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, after all, she could read the book later. "My guards and I were ambushed when we crossed a bridge over the canyon that separates Griffonia and Equestria. I was well aware of the dangers of this mission and was prepared for a fight, but the speed and ferocity these griffons displayed were far more than anything I had ever seen. I'm no soldier, I never trained like one before this and was woefully underprepared at the time."

She let that sink in for a moment, Twilight's expression turning thoughtful and distant for well over a minute. After a little pause, she nodded and prompted Celestia to continue. "Before we could react half of my guard was already swept away, dropped off the bridge and into the deep chasm below. The others fought on but we were outnumbered and at a disadvantage." Celestia took a deep breath, the next line would be important for Twilight's decision-making. "My unicorn guards engage the griffons using the spells you want to learn. Enemies hit would burst into flame, screaming as their feathers burned away and they fell into the deep abyss, others would cut through even the thickest of armour. These spells serve no other purpose than to harm and kill, Twilight." She let that sink in for a moment. "Do you still wish to learn them and maybe even be forced to use them in the future?"

"Princess..." She said meekly, "What happened after that? I know there was a conflict but..." Her thirst for knowledge and her peaceful nature fought within her, was she ready to use deadly force or was that something she was never going to learn? Thoughts of her brother came back to mind. She had asked him a question before he shipped out for basic training. "Why do you have to go?" His answer confused her at that time but now... "It would break my heart seeing you or Mom and Dad get hurt. I have to protect you as a bigger brother, it's my duty." She would do anything to protect Spike, the little dragon she hatched during her exam, she finally understood why Shiny would do all this. With a final nod, she turned back to the princess, "Yes, I want to learn, I want to be able to protect my family and myself. I know you have big plans for me, I'm your personal student after all, and I need to be able to face the dangers I am likely to encounter."

With a final nod, Celestia closed the book. She would miss the little innocent filly but she would not stand in the way of her wishes. "Very well, I will make arrangements that you be evaluated. If you want to be accepted you should work on your fitness. Magical ability alone will not get you very far I'm afraid and there is nothing I can do to help you once you join training."

An eager nod was all Twilight could muster at the moment, the excitement of learning new spells too much for her already. Her mind started to create lists for training, she would be ready by the time the evaluation began.

Author's Note

Just a heads up, I will try to upload a chapter every day at least, but there might be delays. With the holiday around, sticking to a schedule can be tricky.
Comments and constructive criticism will always be appreciated.

Chapter 1: Evaluation

Twilight and her brother stood in front of an imposing-looking building, the Administration Centre of the Equestrian Military. The typical Canterlot architecture was present but the size alone made everything around it look like foal toys. Even the large mansions in the upper district of the city would only reach half of its height. Situated on the outskirts of the city it was, however, mostly out of sight of the regular tourists that visited the capital. Large marble pillars adorned the outside, giving it a royal-looking feeling. Leading up to the entrance was a large fountain plaza that was surrounded by the flag of Equestria and its Allies.

Twilight had put on quite a lot of weight in the two months of training leading up to the evaluation. The gains were noticeable after the first week of torture was over, her body acclimatising itself to the harsh training she put herself through. After two weeks her body started to noticeably slim down to a more normal form, not the pudgy bookworm look she had before and after the first month, her muscles started to become more visible. She was not on the same level as her brother but it was a start. Shining Armor had told her that this was only the beginning and she would be put through a lot more intense training during basics.

Twilight never took much care of her own body before but now, she felt better than she ever had. She could gallop through the castle without panting after a minute and other ponies started to look at her more appreciatively. Some of the other students in Celestias School had teased and bullied her before but now, they kept their distance and some of them even congratulated her on finally stepping out of her sheltered home. With another look at her brother and a nod from him, they started to move inside.

The entrance hall was as grand as the outside of the building, the reception desks were set up in the centre, blocking access to the rest of the building. Guards lined the doors, ensuring no unwanted visitor was able to pass into the restricted areas of the building. Twilight had no time to take in the sight properly as Shining began to move ahead. She tried to mimic his posture as best as she could and followed him towards the desk.

"Corporal Shining Armor, how can I help you?" The cream-coloured earthpony asked, her gaze fully on the large white unicorn in front of her. She displayed a mild disinterest in dealing with him, something that annoyed Twilight to no end. 'Why do a job when you're not fully committed to it,' she thought to herself.

"I'm escorting my sister to the evaluation," he announced reaching into his saddle bag and retrieving the letter from Celestia. "I'm here to make sure she is given a fair chance and not dismissed out of hoof because she is the personal student of the Princess."

Taking the letter she quickly scanned it before turning towards Twilight herself. The expressions of boredom never left her face as she looked her up and down. After a quick glance back at a registry she returned with a note that she presented to Shining Armor. "Escort her to room 22, I'm sure you can do that." A quick nod from him and they went on their way.

Once they passed the guarded door and no pony was in sight Twilight voiced the question she was holding for the entire time. "Why was she this hostile? Isn't this how it's supposed to work?"

Shining sighed heavily, his body deflating a little. "Twilight, there a two types of recruits. The first ones are the common ponies like myself. These with no heritage or rich parents to speak of. We are treated with respect and no pony gives us any trouble," he stopped, tilted his head slightly in thought, "usually. Then there are the ponies from noble families or influential areas like yourself. Everypony will look at you differently, thinking you are only here because Princess Celestia ordered it to be so. You have a lot of work ahead of you if you want to be treated with respect and have to make double the effort to be accepted." A small grin crossed his muzzle as he leaned in closer. "But I know you love a good challenge."

Reaching the door Shining turned one last time to his sister. "This is where I have to leave you. I know you're going to do fine." He did a horrible job at hiding his fear but Twilight was not going to back down now. She had made a choice and would see it through. With a last hug, she exhaled loudly before knocking and stepping inside after hearing an "enter" sound from the other side.

The small office was nothing special. A large desk sat in the middle and on the far side was a small filing cabinet. To the right was a small bookshelf but from this distance Twilight couldn't make out any titles. Returning her gaze to the desk she noticed the bright red pegasus sitting behind it, his uniform marking him clearly as an officer. Quickly getting her emotions in check and remembering what her brother had told her she stood somewhat to attention before announcing herself. "Twilight Sparkle, Sir. I'm here for evaluation for guard training."

The officer was looking at her intently but no real emotions showed on his face. "I was told the Princess's pet would join the guard." Twilight winced slightly. This was not the first time somepony used this as an insult and it always hit her hard. "At least your brother managed to get you in somewhat decent shape." She wanted to object, after all, she did all of this on her own only having her brother supervise during her first few training sessions to make sure she didn't injure herself, but thought better of it in the end. "Let me make something very clear, you might be talented with magic but it will not help you out there. A griffon will not care how much magic you can blast in his direction before sinking his claws into you. A dragon won't even notice you and cast you aside like an annoying insect. And a mugger will not hesitate to strike you down if you stand in his way." His expression became steely, full of pride for his job, something Twilight could respect even if his tone was insulting. "We stand between those and the innocent, ready to give our own life. Are you ready to do the same, you can still run back to the Princess, it's hard to think any less of you as it is after all."

That insult only made Twilight more sure. "Yes, Sir. I'm ready to defend Equestria from any threats, be they from the inside or outside." This was a part of the oath a guard would take after graduating. She was sure this would be the best way to prove she was serious about joining.

"We have no room for more unicorns, all spots are already filled for the moment, I will put you in with the earthponies. If a spot opens up you will be transferred. Any problems with that?"

Another attempt to get her to quit. 'Shiny was right, they are going to make this tartarus for me.' The thirst for knowledge was too great to give up now. She only needed to graduate to be able to learn all those spells. How she did that was not important. "No, Sir, I will do my best to be worthy of the training."

"Good," he picked up a small note, hastily scribbled something on it and hoofed it over to Twilight. "Take this to room M12, it's just down the hall. They will do your medical evaluation. Dismissed!"

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir," she answered giving another sloppy salute. His answer was a simple eye-role. 'At least she tried to follow proper protocol, not like others pompous rich foals,' he thought to himself, a small smile grazing his lips that went unnoticed by Twilight.

The trip to the medical evaluation was not as straightforward as she was told and she had to ask a guard for directions. This was some sort of test to see if new recruits were able to ask for help and interested in learning Twilight reasoned, something she had to accept as a somewhat good idea. No pony wanted a guard that wasn't able to improve. Entering the small room everything looked like a normal doctor's office, even the pale orange unicorn mare standing in the middle would not look out of place in a hospital. The only thing marking her as a doctor for the guard was a small medical badge around her left front leg. Twilight even got a good view of her cutie mark, a red cross in front of a steel kite shield.

"Good you're here, I was waiting for you. Did you get lost on your way or something?" Again Twilight was shocked by the aggressive attitude towards her, was that something every new recruit had to go through?

"Yes, Ma'am. I had to ask a guard to direct me here. It was not as simple to find as I was made to believe."

"So you're bad at listening properly then, maybe I should check your hearing first." Twilight held her mouth shut this time, saying anything more would only make it worse. "Go on, stand on the scale over there," the doctor instructed. Bedside manners were apparently not something they taught in guard medical school. "Two hundred fifty-two Pounds, a little on the chubby side." At this point, Twilight simply ignored the jabs. A lot of her weight was muscles, of course she was heavier than a typical unicorn. The rest of the examination went the same, the doctor would tell her to do something, take notes and throw insults at her for not being in shape. The more invasive tests brought a small blush to Twilight's face, but it was all part of making sure she was in good health. Even Shining warned her about it making the situation even more embarrassing. In the end, she was given a clean bill of health and allowed to join training.

Her brother was waiting for her outside the building. He didn't ask how it went, knowing full well his sister would pass the evaluation. He had trained with her after all and knew she was in good enough shape to start the training. Only two weeks until basics started, a large going away party already planned for her before she would ship out.

Author's Note

The supprot from all of you is insane. As a little thank you I sat down and got the next chapter ready. It's astounding what a little motivation does.
Keep the feedback coming I appreciate it all.

Chapter 2: First Week

The train ride towards Fort Everfree was a long and boring one. Twilight was only allowed to bring two personal items with her, everything else would be provided. The first was the history book Princess Celestia had read to her before she allowed her to join the guard, the other was a small stuffed animal that helped her sleep comfortably. The sound of the train whistle startled her for a moment. Her thoughts were still back home with her parents and brother. She noticed that a lot of ponies her age started to get ready to embark. She had not paid much attention until now, and a quick look out of the window confirmed it, they had finally arrived. Most of the new recruits looked far less prepared than she was and only a few had any real muscle on them. Had she done something wrong in her early training, had she overdone it already and ruined her chances? Shaking that thought out of her head she jumped from her seat and followed the small herd out into the station.

This train line had one primary purpose, shipping ponies from Canterlot to the guard training camp. Only a small town was even close to this location and it was the final stop of the line. This place was in the middle of nowhere and bordered one of the most dangerous forests in all of Equestria. In hindsight, it made sense to build it here. Guards could keep watch on the forest and the location was remote enough to not disturb the training.

"Attention!" The loud, booming voice of a stallion rang through the station. Most new recruits fumbled around or jerked back at the surprising shout but Twilight knew better. She stood up straight, her hoofs pressed together as close as she could manage without losing her balance and her head was held high. Standing to attention she snapped a salute, bringing her left hoof towards her right shoulder. After the abysmal display during evaluation, she had asked Shining to show her how to properly do it and he happily obliged. Now that she was able to see the other recruits, she was not sure if her training was a little overkill for what was to come, but she was intent on graduating at the top of her class, no challenge would be too great for her.

"I see some of you have at least a little training. The rest of you will have to work hard to keep up." Twilight could hear a little bit of murmuring and slight winces as the severity of what was to come sank in with the rest of the ponies around her. "Let me make one thing clear. You might think this will be a trot in the park, ask yourself how hard can it be to become a guard. Yes, the first two weeks might make you believe that, an easy beginning to a lot of hard work. We will push you to your limits and then push you even further. You will break, both in body and in mind. Only after you endured will you be able to call yourself an Equestrian Guard, the elite of the elite, the envy of other nations. For those who have studied a little history will know, even the griffons fear us and they have every reason to." He watched the crowd for a moment, sometimes lingering on a recruit that piqued his interest and after a minute, his eyes fell on Twilight. She straightened up even more, her gaze straight ahead and out of the corner of her eye she saw a small smile on his muzzle. "Good, you all have been assigned to your groups, simply find the officer holding up your group sign. They will show you around the barracks and get you settled in. Dismissed!"

With that, the herd erupted into pure madness. Ponies rushed around trying to find their spot as fast as possible, not caring in the slightest who they ran over. Twilight took her time, even helping two ponies back to their hoofs before they could be trampled. There was no reason to rush, no time limit was given after all.

She reached her group nearly last, the looks she was getting from the earthponies in her group were a little uncomfortable, but she was used to it by now. "You're in the wrong group," one of them shouted over the loud conversations. He was a large, black-coated young stallion with a spear cutie mark. His mane was a stone gray colouration and it flowed down over his left shoulder almost reaching the ground. It was expertly braided, he clearly took great care of it.

"Twilight Sparkle?" The officer in front of them questioned. Twilight responded with a swift "Yes, Ma'am," standing to attention and saluting again. "You can drop the protocol for now, there is no need for it in the first two weeks, most of the new recruits need to learn how to act properly first."

She was a little surprised by the relaxed attitude of this officer, the muscular earthpony radiated authority, the orange coat in harsh contrast to her dark green mane. Twilight was sure just by looking at her that this would be a very strict pony, but her attitude was the polar opposite of that, for now at least. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, I try my best."

Her answer was a simple shake of the head. "I know this is a little unusual, but I was told to treat and teach you just like I would any other earthpony. Are you okay with that? You can still switch to the unicorn training."

That took Twilight a little by surprise, wasn't that group already full? Had they tricked her, trying to make her fail? This alone stoked her ego. If they thought she couldn't keep up with earthponies they were wrong, this was a challenge she would not back down from. "Yes, Ma'am. I'm sure this is the right place for me."

"Very well, it's not uncommon for unicorns that are unable to perform well with magic to go through earthpony training. Don't be ashamed if your magic is not up to standards, we can make use of almost anypony as long as they put in the work."

This didn't surprise Twilight, outside of Canterlot not many ponies knew who she was and she was not about to correct her officer. There was one important question she had to ask though. "I can add some magic training to my schedule either way, can I?"

That got a big smile out of the orange mare. "Yes. It's good to see you so eager to learn, but as I said, don't lose that drive just because you're not able to keep up with other unicorns." The short interaction finished she addressed the group again. "Okay with that out of the way let me introduce myself, I'm Sergeant Fire Trail, record holder of the fastest one-mile gallop and I will be your commanding officer for the duration of your group training. If you have any trouble with your training you can come to me and I make sure you're discharged as soon as possible." She winked slightly making sure the joke came across as just that. The uncomfortable shuffling of hoofs and silent clearing of throats made that more than necessary it seemed. "Anyway, you might think this will be easy, but rest assured, after the two weeks of theory are over and you have your first real training day, you will wish to die. Now follow me, I show you around."

The tour was shorter than expected, everything that was needed was no more than a short walk away. They visited the training field, a large area with a galloping track around it and room for other sports activities as well as three sparring circles for combat training. Off to the side was the archery range with room for ten shooters simultaneously. With a group size of thirty that would allow a reasonable amount of training without a long wait between firing. The indoor gym was far less extensive, only having two combat circles and other exercise equipment. It was clear that most of the training would take place outside and this room was only used when the weather got to bed. The proximity to the Everfree Forest and its wild weather would make this a necessity at some point, Twilight reasoned. The last stop was the barracks and the adjacent mess hall. Each group had its own building, limiting the interaction between the groups for now. Later on, there would be joint training to get each tribe used to the abilities of the other. Pegasi fought differently than earthponies or unicorns after all.

Twilight was not looking forward to the first night in the barracks. On more than one occasion the other recruits had given her strange looks, she was the only unicorn in her group after all. "So what's your story? Is your horn broken or something?" The same black stallion from before asked, slowly closing in on her. He stopped in front of her and looked her over for a moment. "Well, you do look like you can handle yourself, names Spear Point. Twilight Sparkle right? That's what the Sergeant said."

Giving the outstretched hoof a bump Twilight smiled a little. This was the first time somepony had approached her and not started to throw insults at her. The nobles and servants in the castle always saw her as the 'pet of the Princess', she winced slightly at the thought. In school, she was too focused on her studies to make any real friends. "I'm pretty sure the officer during evaluation couldn't stand me, that's why he forced me into this group."

That got a snort out of some of the other recruits. Spear spoke up again a knowing smirk on his face. "So you're a prodigy and they couldn’t stand the competition, typical for you horn heads." Twilight tried to be outraged by the insult, but he was right. Almost everypony with power was afraid to lose it to some degree and the nobles in Canterlot took this to the extreme. Even the Princess struggled with their need to control everything. "Looks like I'm right," Spear added noticing Twilight's expression. "Don't worry, you're not getting that from us," he turned towards the group, "right?" All of them sounded their agreement, not one of them looked down on Twilight. She felt happy at the moment knowing somepony had her back, she was no longer alone.

The first two weeks ended quicker than Twilight could hope for. Most of what was taught she already knew, but the others needed the training. She was not about to make fun of them for that. Her brother instructed her for even longer before she could get the proper protocol right. Most of the lessons were about how to behave in front of an officer, how to stand at attention and salute and a bit of history. On a few occasions, Twilight managed to learn something new but these were rare cases and often mostly irrelevant outliers of the protocol. Tomorrow the first week of training would begin and Twilight couldn't be more excited.

Author's Note

Thanks again for all your support and helpful critisism. Still can't believe this many people are interested in my story.
I'm with my family for the next day so don't expect another chapter to soon. Wish you all a happy holiday.

Chapter 3: The Training Begins

The group of recruits was awoken by a scream. Sergeant Fire Trail stood at the door to the barracks and had already ignited the magic lights illuminating the building. A quick look outside showed, that the moon was still high in the sky, the mare in the moon silently watching over Equestria. "What are you waiting for, we didn't go over protocol for you to forget it already, go go go! I want you standing at attention yesterday!" The shift in attitude was jarring to watch, gone was the friendly pony that helped everypony get accustomed to guard life. Instead, there stood one of the drill instructors that Shining had warned Twilight about.

After a minute of frantic shuffling about the group stood to attention. Fire Trail slowly moved through the line, inspecting every recruit she passed. No pony could please her fully, something was always wrong and she made her displeasure known by forcing the entire group to do push-ups. They hadn't even left the barracks yet and most of the recruits were already panting heavily, sweat foam forming on their necks in order to cool their poor bodies down from the exercise.

"You're the sorriest bunch I have ever seen. A bucking unicorn is showing you up." Her hoof landed on Twilight who was panting as well, but was in far better shape than the rest of them. She feared the others would hate her for this. It seemed to motivate them to do better, almost all of them managed to push past their limits already, not wanting to see a unicorn beat them in a test of endurance. Their pride as earthponies was on the line after all.

Fire Trail now stood in front of Twilight who was somehow able to keep up with the rest of the group. It was impressive, but when she thought about it, a unicorn without magic was always trying to find something else to be good at, Twilight Sparkle was not that different. Looking the purple unicorn over, trying to find something wrong with her posture, she noticed the well-kept mane and a small grin crossed her muzzle. This would put her down a peck and bring her back to earth. The guard had no need for overachievers who saw themself as something better. "I think your mane is not up to protocol," Fire Trail simply stated. "Private, fetch me a mane razor." A minute later the pony returned hoofing over the device to the Sargent. Twilight could only watch on, not able to move as the Sergeant went to work, the pile of hair around her growing in size by the minute before it finally stopped. "Much better, you have ten minutes to clean this mess up and report to the training field."

Twilight had to suppress the tears, she was always proud of her mane. The stripes running through it were somewhat unique and even the nobles back home could only voice their displeasure about how unfair it was that a common nopony could have a mane like this. It was something they couldn't take away from her, but now... She would be a laughing stock...

Before she could move some of the recruits approached with brooms, starting to clean up the mess. None of them made any remark about it. To more of a surprise, some even started to shave their own mane, joining in on the look. Twilight couldn't believe it. "Why are you..." She sniffed.

"We're a team, what happens to one of us, happens to all of us. It's just hair, it'll grow back in no time and you looked like you needed cheering up." Spear said, his long grey mane already shorn off. He looked ridiculous, likely the same way Twilight did herself. "I'm guessing ponies where you're from don't look out for each other? You're from Canterlot then?" Twilight simply nodded no longer able to contain her tears, this time however they were of joy. In the end, she calmed down enough to help in the cleanup, her magic easily able to get everything ready in time to report to the training field.

The expression on Fire Trail's face was priceless, she looked over the recruits with a slack-jawed expression, trying and failing for minutes to find her words. Teamwork and union like this were hard to instil in ponies and took a lot of effort but seeing them like this... Her true feelings must have shown on her face, every recruit had the same knowing smile on their face. Finally able to comprehend what just happened, she spoke up, "Who authorized this?" Seeing nopony speak up she continued. "As punishment, you are galloping a hundred laps around the track, go go go!" The smile on their faces never vanished.

Later in the shower rooms. The recruits enjoyed the cold water soothing their sore and overheating bodies as the training for the day finally came to an end. Communal showers were nothing new for Twilight, the schools back in Canterlot had the same setup for the students. Only the nobles made any fuzz about something like this, they simply didn't want to be in a room with dirty commoners. Spear, who was quickly becoming a friend to Twilight stood next to her. She had to admit, he looked pleasing to the eyes, something she had never paid any attention to before. She had to look away to hide her blush when he turned towards her. "See something you like?" He teased, making her almost stumble. A loud "Noooooo" that escaped her lips made him laugh even more. "So what's your story exactly, the Sergeant has it out for you for some reason and you don't strike me as a unicorn with weak magic, the display this morning was already impressive enough."

"You won't hate me if I tell you?" Twilight asked meekly, ready for the rejection that was sure to follow like it always did when ponies found out who she was. Everypony around her shook their head and she continued slowly easing them in. "I'm from Canterlot, that you already know." Watching them nod she gulped and took a deep breath. "Eight years ago I took the exam for Celestias School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Wasn't that the same time she accepted a new personal student? Did something happen to you then? Is that why you're not good with magic?" One of the recruits interrupted from across the room.

Twilight simply shook her head in no. "I'm that student." She let that statement hang in the air, waiting for the sure-to-follow laughter, but it never came.

"Why are you here?" Another asked. "Shouldn't you, I don't know, save the world or create amazing new spells? My father is a teacher and he told me that Princess Celestia's student is a unicorn with unimaginable power." There it was... anger and rejection. "So awesome, we have a hero in our group," she finished, derailing Twilight's thoughts completely. The train of thought then crashed and burned as it fell down a cliff. More and more of the recruits voiced their amazement, none of them had anything bad to say. Had Canterlot changed her this much, is this how normal ponies interact with each other? Tears started to stream freely down her face, thankfully masked by the water of the shower and she basked for the first time in true admiration for something she had worked very hard for.

A thought came to her mind, something she needed an answer for. "Why are you not angry at me? Shouldn't you be mad that I'm something," she had difficulties saying the word, "'special' and you are not?"

A black hoof wrapped over her withers and she was pulled into a tight hug. "Of course you are special, you're already outperforming most of us, and that takes a lot of dedication. I can only guess how much time you put into your magic if this is what you do when it comes to fitness." He let go of the hug and looked deep into Twilight's eyes who again had to hide her blush. "Knowing you have our backs is all that we ask for. I'm guessing in Canterlot it's everypony for themselves?" Getting a quick nod he continued. "Well that's not how ponies work and you should know that. We watch out for each other." He finished by moving a hoof over her head making her fully aware of her very short mane again. "You're one of us now. Buck those stuck-up nobles." That made Twilight giggle and the rest joined in soon after.

The same routine continued for the next weeks, wake up early, eat, train, shower, eat and sleep. Twilight could not feel any great improvement in her endurance, she was already at the top of her class in that area, but the rest had quickly caught up and some were close to overtaking her. She had no illusion that she would fall to the bottom of the list soon enough. There was no way she could keep up with earthponies, but it didn't bother her. She had made a friend and the rest were equally as supportive. She was happy for them to improve, something she never would have thought she could accept.

Today this routine would change. All recruits were standing at attention on the training field. Twilight noticed that the other groups had significantly shrunk in the past few weeks, one of the unicorn groups was completely gone and integrated into the other two. None of them had the matching mane cut her group sported after the first-day incident. It had grown back somewhat but they all agreed to keep the same style to show their unity. Captain Shield Strike observed the gathered ponies. "Today we will start your real training." A few groans came from some of the other groups, but he ignored them. "Group E2 has the privilege to start with crossbow training. The rest will continue their fitness training. You will receive your schedule tomorrow, it will be posted in your barracks, keep an eye on it and don't be late. Dismissed!"

Shooting a crossbow was harder than it looked. To be accurate one needed a good sense of balance on three hoofs and a steady aim. The crossbow itself was secured onto a harness allowing it to be held in place with a single hoof. When not aimed at a target it would fold down to the side and to the ground. In this position, a bolt could be loaded safely before bringing it back up to aim. The string could be pulled by hoof when aimed at the ground or with your mouth when aimed at a target, both were viable options. Twilight fumbled with it at first, but after a minute of vastly of target shots, she got the hang of it. She was also able to pull the string and load the bolt with her magic, allowing her a far faster fire rate compared to the earthponies. Not wanting to show off too much, she opted to not use magic after getting the hang of it. She was still by far the most accurate of the group. Aiming a spell, something she had a lot of practice in already, was not that different from aiming a crossbow.

Spear approached her when they took a break. Not everypony was able to shoot at the same time, allowing them frequent downtime they could use however they wanted. Most simply watched the rest of them, trying to learn as much as they could. Some doing exercises and others taking a short break to catch their breath. "You're the first unicorn I've seen who's able to pull the string with magic, it's impressive."

Twilight blushed again, she was not used to getting compliments like that other than from the Princess herself. "It's nothing, I'm just lucky to be born with this much magic, it's nothing special," she said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

"How much did you train your magic?" He asked.

"There were days I spent all day practising and reading. That's not counting the intense schedule the Princess had for me. Just shows I'm nothing special if I needed that much training to get good at magic."

A sharp sting of pain erupted from the back of her head, Spear had his hoof held high. "Stop putting yourself down like this. I don't know much about magic, but I know that there are only a few ponies out there that would be able to pull that crossbow string back with magic and most of them have trained for decades. You're special and you should accept that, it's a gift and not something to be ashamed of." Waiting for her nod and smile he held out a hoof helping her back up. "Let's keep shooting, this is a lot more fun than galloping all day."

With a big smile on her face she followed. 'Joining the guard was the best decision I ever made,' she thought to herself.

Chapter 4: Survival Training

"Joining the guard was the worst decision I ever made," Twilight murmured. She was lying on her back with another recruit standing triumphantly over her. The group was currently doing weaponless combat exercises and no matter how much training she did before, nothing she knew could prevent her opponent from overpowering her.

They were only given a brief lecture on proper safety and then let loose to train independently. Twilight figured it was to increase group cohesion, something her group didn't need much. The stallion, who had a red coat and a matching orange mane and tail, held out a hoof and pulled her back up. "You're trying to fight like a unicorn," he stated.

"If you didn't notice, I am a unicorn," Twilight responded slightly agitated. This had gone on for hours now. Nothing she did could get her opponent to the ground, any technique she read up on was ineffective against the stronger pony in front of her.

"You could fold a unicorn in half." He walked over to a table and placed a foreleg on it, the gesture clear. "Ever hoof wrestled?"

Nodding, she sat down and got into position. She and her brother often did something like this during training, he was always winning but made it seem like a close fight every time. Counting down, she pressed against the outstretched hoof but held no illusion that she would last even a minute. A group started to gather as they continued to push against each other, both not giving up even a little bit of space.

They started five minutes ago and were still evenly matched. Minute after minute passed before Bench Press, her opponent, slowly lost ground and his head turned an even brighter shade of red than his natural colouration. A moment later, Twilight pressed his hoof to the table, panting heavily herself. She watched in amazement, as Bench lay there, totally exhausted.

He shot her a smile after getting his breath under control. "Never seen a unicorn this strong, are you sure that horn of yours isn't just taped on?" Twilight was still in too much shock about her victory to respond, she simply looked at Bench with her eyes wide as dinner plates. He started moving back to one of the free sparring rings, motioning her with a hoof to follow. "Come on, I teach you how to fight like an earthpony. There are also a few books in the rec room about it if you prefer that."

Twilight had to think only a second about his offer. Sure, before joining the guard she would have taken the books, but now, she had friends, something that was more important to her. She could always read them later.

Nothing changed for a while, training went by in a blink, but something new was quickly approaching. Everypony looked at the schedule that was hanging in the barracks, not knowing what to think about it. "Survival training in the forest? Are they serious?" One of the recruits shouted. "We're gonna die out there," another added.

"What! Are you fragile earthponies afraid of a small forest?" Twilight teased. They had started doing that two weeks ago when Spear Point called Twilight a prissy unicorn for being afraid to crawl through mud. She immediately countered by calling all of them too weak to climb over a small wall she had no trouble with in return. Now it was a simple back and forth between them, no pony kept score, but Twilight was sure she was ahead. She was surprised when the looks she received were not the small smiles she expected and there was no witty retort coming from Spear. "It is just a forest, right? Sure, there are a lot of stories, but they couldn't be true, right..."

One of the recruits, a dark blue coated mare with a red mane and a bunch of berries for a cutie mark, spoke up first. "That forest is haunted, nothing good comes out of it." She shuddered slightly when a memory returned to her, a small tear rolling down her cheek. "Pa was killed by a timberwolf that came out of that forest. Ma tried to save him but lost her leg in the fight. That's why I joined up, somepony has to keep everypony safe... There are a lot of families that lost loved ones to those attacks and those bucking nobles refuse to help." Anger flared up inside of her, overriding any sense of mourning for her parents. "It's too expensive to have a guard posted in a small town like Ponyville... Mud ponies like us are not worth protecting..."

Seeing one of her battle sisters in this state awoke something in Twilight. She had never tried to use the authority the Princess had given her, but now... "Star, I promise you we will make a difference. No pony should have to live in fear, not as long as I can do something about it. You're all my friends, and I will do everything in my power to make this happen, understood!" Quickly thinking about a way to make this happen, Twilight continued, not noticing the strange looks she was given. "How about this, we do the survival training and make a detailed report on the dangers of the forest and what it does to the surrounding towns. I will send it straight to the Princess and ask her to look into it." Looking back, she noticed the stares. "What? Is something on my coat?"

Pointing a hoof at her Star Berry spoke up again, her earlier emotional outburst already forgotten. "There was a mark on your neck, a purple star just like your cutie mark." Looking down she found nothing and only noticed a slight tingle. "It disappeared when you finished your speech," Star continued. Further discussion was cut short when Sergeant Fire Trail stormed into the barracks.

Back in Canterlot Celestia awoke with a start. A strange dream, no, a vision had come to her about something that was impossible. "The Element of Magic reacted to somepony, but how? It's still too early." Fully awake now she stormed out of her bedchamber, she had some time before raising the sun and plans had to be made. In order to have the slightest chance of saving her sister she had to find that pony.

The assignment for the groups was easy, simply follow the map out of the forest and return to base. Being left on their own, with no guards to keep an eye on them, was a lot harder. Sure, deep down everypony knew somepony was keeping watch, but that did not help calm their nerves. Every sound made them jump, and every strange sensation triggered the instinct to flee. The group of now twenty-two ponies pressed on, some of them keeping watch, some of them holding their crossbow at the ready. They were briefed on the monsters that lurked within the forest and how to deal with them, but it still left an unsure feeling. Twilight led the group onwards, all of them having long ago agreed to make her the unofficial leader of the group. Her magic lit the way for them and she continued following the map.

This continued for hours, the constant alertness sapping everypony's strength. Finding a nice clearing was easy and a small campfire was soon constructed. They knew this would take all day and that frequent breaks would be needed to keep up with the stress. It also allowed them to write down some notes for Twilight's report to the Princess.

It was during one of those rests that something changed. Howling sounded from the darkness, putting everypony even more on edge. "Create a perimeter and keep watch, be ready for anything!" Twilight ordered. Everypony obeyed without complaints. Nothing changed, the soft howling still only faintly audible. After ten minutes of intense alertness, the sounds finally started to grow louder, faint growling and the crunching of branches sounded from the north.

It didn't take long for two guards, in full armour and holding a spear at the ready, to appear, momentarily frightening the recruits. This was serious and not a simple training exercise. "Sir, permission to engage with magic?" Twilight asked, looking hopeful at one of the guards. Both of them looked capable enough to defend them, but if there was a chance to scare off the timberwolves without a fight, she was willing to take it.

All she got were confused stares, something she immediately noticed as unprofessional, they had stopped looking out for danger. "I thought you were the earthpony group. Why are you here?" The Corporal asked. At this precise moment, the wolves attacked, having noticed the lapse in attention as well. Screams rang out as everypony tried to get their weapons ready.

Fire engulfed the lead timberwolf, a long stream of superheated magic rushed through the air and ignited everything it touched. The source became clear moments later. Twilight panted, struggling to keep the complex spell up for as long as possible to give the guards time to get ready for the fight. The forest itself might be highly magic-resistant, but the creatures living in it were not. Magic like this was especially effective against these wooden creatures. The risk of burning down the forest was zero, the chaotic magic of the forest extinguishing the fire almost immediately, something she had taken into account before attacking. More magic poured into the spell, the sound of growling and whimpering long since vanished, but she kept going.

Only a light tap on the shoulder broke her concentration and as quickly as the fire started it was gone, only the bodies of two dead wolves still slightly burning remained. "Is everypony... save?" Twilight asked. Her eyelids felt heavy and her legs were about to give out beneath her. Moments before she collapsed two strong bodies pressed against her holding her upright and allowed her to slowly sit down and not fall. She managed to give a weak smile before sleep took her.

Twilight awoke hours later. Looking around, she noticed she was moving. Another glance around and she saw the two ponies carrying her on a stretcher. "What happened?" She asked. Memories of the last time she was awake somewhat fuzzy in her mind.

Spear was at her side the moment she opened her eyes. "Magic exhaustion, you burned through a lot of magic back there." His expression turned solemn, a slight guilt in his voice. "We're sorry for failing like this. When the timberwolves attacked, we panicked, and instead of fighting ourselves, you had to defend us."

Memories cleared and she looked into her friend's eyes. "You would have done the same if you could. It's not like our guards didn't freeze as well." That made her slightly mad. How could they have failed like this? They were professionals and trained for situations like this. Another thing she would have to bring up with the Princess.

"Are you kidding?" Bench called out from in front, he was one of the ponies carrying her. "They had no chance at all against a pack of timberwolves, I counted at least twenty of them and who knows how many more there were. Didn't know they even form packs this large. When I saw the spell, I thought the Princess herself was here to save us, but then we saw you, standing there and blasting absurd amounts of magic at them. That's the most amazing thing I have ever seen, you're like one of those superheroes from the comics my little brother likes to read."

"I don't feel like a hero, I was just doing what I'm training to do. Stop teasing me already, it was nothing special, any unicorn could have done the same," Twilight said. All the praise was getting to her. Everypony back home always told her she was nothing special and was only lucky that the Princess took pity on her. That's why she studied as much as she did, to prove them wrong. Could she truly be something more? They arrived back at camp soon after, Twilight too engrossed in her thoughts to have any meaningful conversations.

Author's Note

Here is the next chapter for my hungry readers. I experimented with a spelling and grammar checker, if you think it was worth the extra two hours of effort let me know and I will continue using it. Hope you all enjoyed the read.

Chapter 5: Royal Visit

The story of Twilight's heroic defence spread like wildfire through Fort Everfree. Everywhere she went, ponies would look at her. Earthponies and pegasi would look at her in awe, unicorns in disgust. Since Canterlot was the nearest major city, she wasn't surprised most of them came from there. This time however, she did not shrink or cower, she held her head high triumphantly. She did not need to impress them. Her actions spoke louder than words, and she had friends to support her now. Sure, she knew all of them were more like co-workers, and not true friends she would hang out with in her free time, there was simply no time for that during training, but nothing would stop her from making real ones as soon as she graduated. And maybe some of her battle brothers and sisters would turn out to be genuine friends as well, only time could tell.

Something that did surprise Twilight, however, was the smug smile Sergeant Fire Trail always wore when Twilight walked past and one of the other group's commanding officers was present. This time something was off, as Cold Comet, the sergeant of unicorn group two, stopped her. She could already tell this was going to be trouble. The sneer on his face was all too familiar to Twilight.

"You're going to tell me how you did it. How could a useless pet like you perform a spell like that? And don't tell me you read about it, because this kind of spell was not even on the restricted list." He put his muzzle right against Twilight's. "Tell me or I will have you arrested for using dark magic."

Standing to attention and giving a salute, something she only did to aggravate the sergeant even more, she responded like the picture-perfect guard she was training to be. "Sir, the spell was a simple overcharged heat cantrip. I focused the explosive energy release into a standard concussive beam, resulting in a stream of super-heated magic. It was quite effective, if I say so myself, but very exhausting. I can't recommend the use for a normal unicorn, they would pass out in seconds."

He simply huffed at the explanation. "Don't play smart with me, recruit. I will report you and trust me, I have enough influence to get you thrown back to the dump you came from, understood?"

"Yes, Sir. I will include this in the letter to the Princess. She will be happy to hear about your diligence in improving the guard." Turning her own smug smile at the now slack-jawed sergeant, she continued, "That was your intention, right? For the record, I would be happy to help other unicorns with their spell-casting, if that was your intention." She was afraid his head would explode in rage, but he simply huffed and walked away.

"Buck, that was ruthless. Should make a poster and put it on the wall of every barrack; never mess with Twilight Sparkle." The sound of the voice sounded familiar, but in her agitated state, she could not place it. Turning around, Twilight greeted the newcomer.

She froze when recognition hit her. The large white unicorn in front of her was all too familiar. "Shiny!" She shouted. Seconds later, she recognized her mistake. "I'm sorry, Sir!" She stood to attention and saluted now that she saw his new sergeant pin on his uniform.

Giving her a firm nod, he moved past her. "Come with me, there is somepony who would like to see you." Taking a long gulp, she did as ordered. She wanted nothing more than to embrace her brother, but protocol forbade her from doing so. She was likely already in trouble.

The walk through the fort took longer than she expected and after they left the training compound, Shining spoke up again. "It's good to see you again, sis. Mom and Dad are worried, they are looking forward to see you again." With him talking to her personally, she could finally let her feelings out freely. With a mighty tackle, she pressed herself against her brother, pulling him in a tight hug. "You can let go now... I need to breathe." Giggling sheepishly at her brother's antics, she let go of him. "What do they feed you here? You're more earthpony than unicorn."

"Well, I am in the earthpony group." She stopped, her eyes going wide. "Wait, you didn't know?"

"The report only said they wanted to test you and that they offered you to join the unicorns once training started. They didn't do that?" Anger flared up in him. Twilight knew he was strictly by the book, something that clearly helped him in his career if he already made sergeant.

"They did, I declined," she said matter-of-factly. The loud laugh took her wholly unprepared. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No Twily." He took a few more breaths to get his giggling under control. "You know that unicorns only train with earthponies if they can't use magic." At her nod, he continued, "That must have been some surprise when you lit the forest on fire with more magic than any normal unicorn could hope to have." Another laugh escaped him. "What I would have given to see their faces when that happened. And that sergeant from earlier. That poor flank-hole had no idea what was happening. Looks like I'm the one to call you Ma'am at some point."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're the best guard I know and no pony can keep up with your shields. You're going to make captain in no time."

They continued their walk towards the administration building. Twilight had a good idea of who they were about to see at this point. "I hear you already made some friends," Shining suddenly said.

"I wouldn't call them friends. They are my battle brothers and sisters, and we watch out for each other. A few of them might become friends at some point, but for now, we are just guards in training."

"The reports I get tell a different story, you're already leading that group. Your commanding officer is constantly praising you in every report she writes. Calls you her little wonder foal." He slowed down somewhat to walk next to his sister and moved a hoof through her short mane. "She wrote ten pages about how you managed to get the group together in less than a week."

"I didn't do anything. That's all on them, especially Spear Point. He got all of them to support me."

"Oh, little Twily has a crush," he smugly said.

He got a hoof into his side as an answer. "Hush you, you're dating Cadence after all." She had to stop when she noticed he was no longer following her. "What?"

"I never told you about that, how did you know?"

"I noticed you looking at her all the time, especially her backside." Shining turned red at that remark. "I just never thought anything about it until now. It's quite obvious in hindsight." Moving onwards, she continued, "Let's get moving, the Princess is waiting." More sputtering before he hurried to catch up to her.

Approaching the large conference room, Shining knocked on the door. A loud "Enter" echoed, and he opened the door, letting his sister step inside. "See you later, Twily." With a nod, she entered. At the end of the large table sat Princess Celestia, her multicoloured wavy mane calm like a gentle river. A tell Twilight learned to recognize a long time ago, she was not in trouble after all. The two guards at the door paid her no mind as she approached the table. She stood to attention and saluted, something she had never done for the Princess. "Recruit Twilight Sparkle, reporting as ordered, Ma'am."

A small flicker in her mane was all the response she needed, this was hurting the Princess as much as herself. "At ease, Twilight." Taking another look at her faithful student, she held her motherly expression, something Twilight had missed for too long now. "I got your report about security for towns near the Everfree Forest."

"Ma'am, the danger is real. A large pack of timberwolves attacked my group during survival training. Multiple others have reported that they lost family to attacks. It is our duty to protect them."

Celestia flinched, never had she seen her student talk with such conviction. This was not her adorable little filly anymore. "What would you suggest we do? Your report only went into detail about what dangers lurk in these woods."

"A permanent guard for all border towns that have reported attacks from the forest. Creating a guard outpost should be permanent and not revocable by noble interference because the attacks decline thanks to the presence of the guard. The amount of attacks needed to be taken into consideration for that guard post should be as low as one attack a year, but I'm not sure this would be doable."

"Would you volunteer for such a role?" That was the important question. Celestia needed to know how far Twilight's resolve went. Was she sure of her request, or was it simply a little side project for her?

Without hesitation Twilight answered, "In a heartbeat, Ma'am."

"Then I will see to it that your first post will be in a town like that." Celestia scanned for any shift in posture, anything she could use to determine Twilight's emotion, but there was nothing, she was sure of herself, something she had never seen in her. It made her proud to see her student finally come out of her shell. A thought entered her mind. 'No, it couldn’t be. Has she already awoken her Element? It was her...' Again, a new plan formed in her mind. "If you finish at the top of your class, I will make sure you become the guard commander for the town of Ponyville. Your reports about that town are quite detailed. Is that agreeable?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I will not disappoint you."

"Very well, you're dismissed." Twilight was about to return to her group when Celestia let out a loud hum, "Not in that direction." Twilight turned around to see a mischievous smile on her mentor as she slowly patted the spot next to her. Not wasting any time, she galloped toward the princess, embracing her in a tight hug. "It's good to see you haven't changed all that much."

"I'm training to be a guard. It's important work and there are rules for a reason. As long as I can still do this when not on duty, I'm happy." She nuzzled into the soft wing of the Princess, soaking in the affection like a little puppy.

"To think you wanted to join the guard to learn new spells... How is that going, by the way? I heard you put on quite the spectacle."

A giggle escaped Twilight's lips, and she buried her head even deeper in Celestia's wing. "I already told Sergeant Cold Comet that it was a simple overcharged heat cantrip. I wasn't able to read any interesting magic books just yet." Twilight looked up in confusion when the slow petting motion of the wing stopped. The face of the princess was full of surprise. "Did I do something wrong, princess?"

"You used solar magic? How? That's impossible without..." it took her a few seconds to compose herself again. "Do you remember the feeling of the magic, how you used it?" Getting a nod from Twilight, she continued. "Never use it again! It is far too dangerous to be used by mortal ponies. It could permanently cripple your magic." She silently scanned Twilight for any damage done. She found some remnants of the magic, but to her surprise, the damage was already healing on its own, something that should be impossible. 'Is she already in possession of the Element of Magic? That's the only plausible answer.'

"I have another assignment for you, Twilight. You are still my personal student and as such, you need to continue your magical studies. Enough time has passed and you seem to do well. Your studies can no longer wait. I will send you books to read and expect a letter every week about your findings."

The thought of reading new books perked Twilight back up, the solar magic already forgotten. "I will, Princess." She eagerly replayed. They spent the next hour catching up, talking about all the things Twilight had done already, but after a time they had to part, duty waited for nopony, not even the Princess.

Author's Note

I have a lot of free time at the moment. The rest of the story will likely be ready to publish by the end of the week but I'm sticking to my schedule of one chapter per day. An exception will be the two-parters, I will upload all of the parts at once.

Chapter 6: Training Patrol (Part 1)

"This sucks." Bench press announced. Sergeant Fire Trail assigned Twilight, Spear, Star, and him to a training patrol in Canterlot, a post no sane guard desired. The only good postings were inside the palace, and only a royal guard, the decorative division of the guard, could be posted there. It was far more ceremonial than practical. After all, the Princess could perfectly defend herself and did not need guards.

On one hoof, Twilight was looking forward to seeing her home again; on the other, it was the place where all her misery started. The thought of the nobles glaring down at her was already burning itself deep into Twilight's mind. "You okay, Firefly?" Spear asked after seeing Twilight's fight within herself. The name was something she earned after the battle in the forest. She found it fitting and liked it, even encouraged most of the group to call her by that name. In her mind, every good guard needed a fitting call sign. She might also have read too many spy novels in the past week.

Looking up at Spear, she sight. "Yeah, it's just... what if..." she started but was interrupted by him pressing a hoof to her muzzle.

"Nopony will be dumb enough to insult a guard. Even if it's just a recruit." He put on a mischievous smile. "And if they do, you can arrest them."

"I can see it already," Star added with a wave of her hoof, "Noble pony arrested by the guard. Who will be next!" That got a giggle out of all of them.

"You're right, Bench. This sucks," Twilight said, turning back to reading her book on advanced spell creation. Bench had tried to take a peek but quickly stopped before his brain exploded, the complexity of what he saw way past his educational level. He was far from dumb, but the material Celestia had sent Twilight was even further than university material, and even she had a hard time understanding it herself, at least at first. Some books she had to read were of a different sort. For example, there was a book titled 'The Elements of Harmony, A Reference Guide' about mysterious artefacts that can protect Equestria when all the pieces are together. Another was a foals story book, 'Predictions and Prophesies,' with fairy tales about mysterious heroes and villains. Twilight didn't pay them any mind, likely meant as a way for Celestia to check if she genuinely read all the books she was receiving.

Hours passed before the train finally approached Canterlot Central Station. All four were easily recognisable as guards, thanks to their trainee uniforms. No pony batted an eye at the recruits as they moved through the city, their destination, the Canterlot Garrison main building close to the palace. Her companions looked on in awe at the fantastic architecture around them, and the further up they went, the grander the buildings became until they stood in front of the palace itself. Visitors could come and go as long as they kept to the public areas, something the quartet made good use of. Twilight had promised to show them around before they had to report for duty.

"The Princess is holding open court at the moment. You have to be very quiet, understand," Twilight said, making sure they knew the rules they had to follow. They wouldn't pass up on a chance to see the Princess herself, which was a great honour on its own. Getting a nod, she turned around and opened the door to the viewing area for the public. She never actually paid any mind to this area, as she could sit next to the Princess, a perk of being her student. A mass of ponies greeted them, most wearing expensive dresses and suits, making Twilight regret her decision to come here immediately. The looks they received when they looked for an open spot were enough for her to flee back to base and continue her training.

"What is the pet doing here?" One of them sneered, her voice carrying across the room. "And look, more mud ponies. How low has the guard fallen? Don't they know only the best are allowed in the palace?" Her words hung in the air, a heavy blanket of disdain that Twilight and her friends couldn't escape.

Twilight shrank in on herself, already at the edge of tears. "Was that an insult to a guard I heard?" Bench bellowed, getting the attention of everypony. Even the Princess stopped her discussion with the pony in front of her. "That's a fine of a thousand bits or a week in prison, so who said that?" He continues unperturbed.

A pompous unicorn emerged from the crowd. "You misunderstood. We respect the royal guard, but she," a hoof pointed at Twilight, "has no right to be part of it. Just look at that worthless thing. Her magic is not even strong enough to be in a proper unicorn squad. It's a waste of taxpayer bits."

A murmur rippled through the crowd, the temperature in the room rising with each passing second. "Miss Harsh Weather, do I have to remind you that your House is already under investigation for tax evasion?" The Princess's voice cut through the tension like a knife. Slowly turning around, Miss Harsh Weather found herself face to face with the furious Alicorn. "Recruit, why don't you escort Miss Harsh Weather to the Prison until we can sort this out. I'm sure a few hours should be enough to get everything in order."

"Princess, you can't... There is no proof of that!" Harsh Weather screamed. "My lawyer will sue you; this is unjust!" Bench Press wasted no time in getting up close and doing as ordered. He had a hard time keeping his smile down and left with the offender in tow. She was screaming the entire way, but he did not stop.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I shouldn't have come." The crowd had already dispersed, court on hold for the moment as the Princess sorted out the disturbance. Twilight's voice was barely a whisper, "Everything I do, I mess up." Small tears rolled down her cheek, a silent plea for comfort from her mentor. Before she knew it, a gentle hoof lifted her chin, guiding her gaze to meet the Princess's understanding eyes.

"It is good to see you again, my faithful student," Celestia said with a smile. She continued to look at the recruits around Twilight, who stood close, ready to comfort their friend. "Are these the friends you wrote about?"

With a quick nod, she pointed to each of them. "That's Spear Point, the first pony to accept me for who I am. The pony over there is Star Berry. She is the one I wrote about in my report on Ponyville. And the other, whom you sent away, is Bench Press, who taught me how to fight and see who I truly am for myself."

They all snapped a textbook salute at the Princess, who simply giggled at their attempt to look stoic. "Now, I won't hold you any longer. If there is any more trouble, let me know. I will deal with them."

"Thank you, Ma'am, but we can watch out for ourselves. We are training to be guards, after all," Spear said, getting a nod from the Princess.

Leaving the throne room, all of them let out another sigh. "This truly sucks," Star said. They turned towards the garrison, and Bench joined them on their trip soon after. He said nothing about his walk to the dungeons; his dejected expression was all they needed to know. Now they all knew what Twilight had to deal with almost every day of her life since becoming Princess Celestia's student.

They reached the office of the Officer they had to report to and looked on with hesitation. None of them had the courage to knock, too afraid they would see another of these stuck-up nobles. Once again, Twilight snapped back to attention at her brother's voice. "What are you standing around for?" Whirling around, the quartet stood to attention and saluted. "Is there a reason you are standing in front of my office?"

"Sir, we were ordered to report to you for our assignment for training patrols," Spear spoke up. Twilight was speechless. She had only seen her brother a few weeks ago, and he had already gotten another promotion. She was joking when she told him he would be captain in no time, but he was almost there already. Making lieutenant in this amount of time was a miracle.

"You're mistaken, Recruit Spear. I will not assign you anything. You will be on patrol with me during this week. Command thinks highly of your group, and the Princess has already made plans for you. I'm here to judge if they are achievable." They all looked in shock. There were already plans for them? It was still so long until graduation. "If you're done gawking, follow me. We need to get you geared up, can't have guards without armour after all." They would get their own armour, wearing the Canterlot Gold was an honour a pony had to work hard for. Sure, the job sucked, but it was still a posting in the capital.

The armoury was only a short walk down the hall. Everything was designed to be only a short distance away from the armoury or medical ward in case of emergencies. The armoury was nothing special, and the quartermaster was the same gruff pony as their own back at Fort Everfree. Something seemed to never change. Getting fitted took no time at all, the armour itself seemingly already prepared for them in advance. It was a lot heavier than the training armour they wore, but then again, it was designed to protect a pony and not simple weight for training purposes.

"Don't get used to them. It is a privilege to wear the Gold, but you have to earn it after graduation. For now, you have earned it as recruits who are at the top of their class." Shining waited momentarily, getting the "Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir" from all four of them. "Good. Next up, let us see what you learned so far." They followed him towards the training field. It looked similar to the one back at the fort but was much smaller. Canterlot was not allowing for much more than this, after all.

"Let's start with you, Recruit Sparkle." He looked over at the spell range, ensuring no pony stood on it. Twilight never trained on the range back in the fort; it was only used by the unicorn groups, something she was not part of. "Give me a stun on three targets, quick-fire, maximum effect." The instruction went over the head of the three earthponies, but Twilight knew what to do. A quick-fire cast was a barley-aimed one, primarily used for suppressing fire. Maximum effect told her not to hold back. The blasts sailed towards the targets, hitting all of them multiple times. "Not bad, should have known you would hit them dead on..." A smirk crossed his muzzle. "Incineration, maximum effect, shield-break harmonic." He was sure she would struggle with that, as this spell was only taught in advanced artillery classes, and the harmonic impossible to add to a spell like this. His horn ignited, and a shield formed around a target. His smile quickly vanished when Twilight fired the spell, a massive fireball streaking through the air, tiny flickers of blue lightning arcing around it. "Oh Buck..." was all he could say as his shield shattered, sending feedback through his horn and making him wince in pain.

"That's for trying to give me an impossible spell. Sorry, Lieutenant." Twilight giggled behind her hoof, and even her friends couldn't hold it in any longer as they burst out laughing as well.

"I would ask where you learned the spell, but I already know... Typical of her not to keep me informed." He turned to the other three. "Is there something you want to do? We still have a little time before the start of our patrol."

Confused, Bench spoke up. "Didn't you want to test us, Sir?"

Shining shook his head. "No, I just wanted to tease my sister a little." A gasp and murmured "Sister" escaped all three of them. "And you don't have to Sir me when we're not on duty." They settled into quiet conversation after that. Shining Armor was happy to hear his sister talk about her friends and all she had done until now.

Chapter 7: Training Patrol (Part 2)

Author's Note

Double upload for today. If you missed part 1, go back a chapter.
This also marks the halfway point of the story. I'm still amazed at how popular it has become. Again, thank you very much.

Chapter 7: Training Patrol (Part 2)

Two hours later, the group found themselves in the midst of their first patrol. The weight of the actual Canterlot Gold armour was a constant reminder of their new responsibilities. Following their lieutenant through the city was a mix of excitement and nervousness. They had only learned the theory of a proper patrol until now, and the presence of an actual guard did not help calm their nerves. Shining Armor wasted no time and put them to the test immediately. Their route would take them through the shadier areas, like the airship docks. For a city this large, Canterlot had a very low crime rate, but even here, it was not absent. Robberies and brawls were still a daily occurrence, and they had to be ready to deal with it.

"Sir, if I may ask, is it normal for the wealthier ponies around to look down on us guards?" Star asked when they walked through an alley with no other ponies around. It was a question burning in all of their minds after seeing Twilight getting treated so horribly.

"Ever wondered why the royal guard exists and why it has mostly unicorns in it?" He replayed, his tone flat and emotionless. "It's the noble's branch of the guard. A place where the Princess can dump all the wealthy sons and daughters who would otherwise not fit in the guard. Unfortunately, they still have a lot of influence in the higher ranks of the regular guard, something we are currently trying to fix."

"Is that why you already made lieutenant?" Twilight asked.

Shining stopped, looking around for anypony listening in on them. "Do not tell anypony." The intense look on his face made them nod. "It's a mess, and if the Princess goes through with this, we will lose more than half of the guard. The nobles are on the brink of revolt, and the Princess is determined to solve the issue without seeing the dangers. Something is bothering her, and it's distracting her from the actual problems." His expression turned into a brotherly smile as he looked at Twilight. "Be careful out there, sis. You are their enemy number one. Losing you would break the Princess and give them a clear way to the top." His concern for Twilight was evident in his voice.

"Is that why we take the patrol at the docks? So we're away from the nobles?" Bench asked. It made sense in his mind. What better place for recruits, who are the target of the nobles, than as far away from them as possible.

"Looks like you have some competition, Twily. He is clearly the smart one in your group," Shining said with a smirk, getting a deadpan look from his sister. He had to hold in his laugh at her expression and continued to answer the question. "Yes, most ponies down here are pro-guard. Heck, you're more likely to be insulted by a noble when walking down the streets than you are by a pony you just captured." Nodding his head down the street, he finished with a "let's get going," and they resumed their patrol.

Their first incident was when they encountered a ragged-looking pegasus digging through a pile of junk stacked on the side of the road. Turning towards his recruits, Shining said, "Let me show you how we do things. The next one will be yours." Getting a nod, he approached the pony. "Fixer, how are you doing today?"

His friendly approach raised a few eyebrows in the group. Wasn't he supposed to uphold law and order? A pony was stealing, and he greeted him so casually. Another surprise was when the pony pulled his head out of the pile and casually waved at Shining. "Hey, Sarge, what's up?" Looking past him, he saw the group of recruits. "Ah, teaching the new guys. Need me to play villain or something?" All he got as answer was a slight head tilt towards the pile he had sifted through. "Oh, that? It's scheduled to be trashed. I'm picking out a few things I could maybe fix up and sell."

"Got proof of that?" Shining asked, not raising his voice in the slightest.

"Oh, you wound me, Sarge. Come on, can you not trust your friend?" Getting a deadpan look in return, he relented and pointed at the door to the building next to him. "See, they put a note on the door. It says that they allow ponies to take stuff."

"Everything is in order, then. Let's get going. Have a nice day, Fixer, and good luck with the junk pile." He hadn't even looked at the note as he motioned the group to continue.

A few blocks further, Spear spoke up, "Sir, shouldn't we at least have checked the note?"

"If you are unsure about it, then yes, of course. But I already knew about the pile and the note. It's important to be aware of everything going on during your patrol. It might seem like a lot of extra work, but interactions like this make the ponies we protect trust us. They know they don't need to be afraid of us as long as they don't break the law."

"That makes sense," Spear said. "What would you have done if he didn't have any proof?"

"What's the punishment for stealing?" Shining asked, deciding to test their knowledge a little.

"Five times the amount they stole or at least three hundred bits. In severe cases, a stay in the dungeons may also be considered," Twilight answered without a second hesitation.

Letting the answer sink in for a moment and going through his memories of the actual punishment, Shining answered the question Spear asked to begin with. "I would have told him to leave and given him a warning. Stealing someponies trash is not that much of a crime after all. Doing things by the book is all well and good, but showing some leniency is always the better way, if possible."

The group continued their patrol through the city, with Shining greeting familiar ponies and engaging in brief conversations on various topics. This was not what the four recruits had anticipated a patrol to be like. Ultimately, they only had to intervene in a fight between two bar customers who had both drunk a bit too much. The two would spend the night in a cell to sober up, but that was the worst incident of the day.

The following two days went much the same. Their route through the docks only slightly changed every time, but their interaction with the ponies was the same everywhere. Seeing a massive earthpony dockworker have a pleasant conversation with a guard was a strange feeling, and the group expected him to throw a punch at some point, but it never came.

At long last, they were embarking on a new adventure during the second half of their training week. Their faces turned pale when Shining Armor's voice rang out, announcing that their next route would be through the upper city of Canterlot, something that was unfortunately necessary for their training.

"This sucks," came Spear's remark as soon as they took their first break of the day. "I feel like I'm the criminal here the way they look at us."

A loud scream echoing through the streets jolted them from their relaxed thoughts. Shining Armor was up and ready to go in an instant, his recruits only seconds behind him, and they exited the small diner to investigate. What they saw confused them. Three armed griffons stood in the middle of the street. Carrying weapons was not strictly forbidden, but their posture and aggressive stance told Shining they were up to no good. "Make sure the civilians stay clear. I will deal with them," he said to his group. A quick scan of their equipment told him that these griffons were mercenaries and likely hired to be here; why exactly, he couldn't say. Approaching carefully, he stood to his full height, making himself as imposing as possible, something griffon culture respected, and projected his voice through the streets, "How can I help you?"

"Oh look, a pony wannabe soldier," one of them sneered. This statement didn't seem right in Twilight's mind. Didn't they know what happened in the last war? Equestria's military was heavily outnumbered, and they were still able to beat them soundly. "It's nothing personal, but our client is paying a lot of bits to beat a lesson into a few of the 'guards'," he snorted, clearly having no respect for them.

All at once, they drew their swords and charged, only Shining Armor's training allowing him to react and create a shield in front of him, stopping all three attackers in their tracks. They impacted hard, disorienting them briefly, giving him enough time to prepare a stun spell. Blue shields flickered to life from a crystal embedded in their armour, blocking the attack. Back on their claws, they began circling the unicorn, occasionally fainting an attack to force him to spend his magic on shielding. Both groups knew time was on the pony's side because backup would soon arrive and force the griffons to flee.

With the last pony evacuated, Twilight could finally watch her brother. Seeing him surrounded almost provoked an irresponsible reaction. She caught herself before jumping in to help, allowing her to analyse the situation. Her brother was wasting their time, preserving his magic until backup arrived. It was a sound plan, but he didn't consider the nobles being behind this. They could block any support arriving for at least a few hours, a time Shining didn't have. Looking around, she made sure no pony was on the streets. He only ordered them to get them to safety, not that they couldn't engage after doing so. "I have a plan," she announced, getting the attention of her friends. "I'm going to distract them. Seeing a massive spell flying in their direction will force them to take their eyes off you and my brother. Help him to subdue them. Can you do that?" Getting a nod from all three of them, she got into position.

The first golden beam impacted not a hoof away from one of the griffons, the immense temperature enough to make him jump away in fright and breaking the concentration of all three of them. More pillars of light hit around them, scorching the ground and setting small fires that burned out a second later. They came from straight above, adding even more to the confusion. "The Princess... scatter, now!" One of them squawked. Right on time, three strong earthponies tackled them to the ground, their overwhelming strength too much for the griffons. The fight was over in seconds. Shining ensured all of them were secured before ordering the recruits to stand down.

Twilight was panting slightly as she emerged from her hiding place. Her horn had a noticeable red glow to it. "Told you this would work," she said between deep breaths.

"That was your magic, Twily?" Shining stammered. Seeing her on the verge of collapse, he approached and held her close, letting her rest against him. "Are you alright? That must have taken a lot of magic."

The beams were much weaker than the one she used against the timberwolves during survival training, but it still exhausted her. The words of the Princess soon flooded back to her. She had disobeyed an order from her and would be disappointed in Twilight's lack of judgment. Even worse was that she could feel the damage she had done to her magic, the stinging pain in her horn and the absence of any response to casting a simple levitation spell. "No... I think I messed up."

Chapter 8: Competition

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9: New Team

The day for forming new squads had arrived. Twilight felt a deep sense of disappointment at losing her new friends, but she knew this was inevitable. She still had the opportunity to hang out with them after training, and this experience would help determine if they could indeed be called 'true friends' even after graduation. Adding to that, the likelihood that they would be stationed in different locations made it even more apparent that the friendships formed during training might not endure.

One after another, recruits were called up in front to meet their new squad. Twilight paid them no attention, too deep into her own thoughts. She had improved so much throughout training, but the idea of losing her friends was something that brought back old memories. Only a small shove brought her out of it. Looking up, she saw Spear pointing her to the front; she had been called forward. Slowly making her way to the front, Twilight noticed that she was the first in her new squad, something she did not see coming. The first pony called would be the group's official leader, and she could already see the disgusted looks on some of the unicorns. Having two of those in her group made her almost sick.

"Recruit Spear Point!" Captain Shield Strike called out to Twilight's relief. At least she had one of her friends still with her. "Recruit Star Berry!" Twilight's smile grew. It looked like she was counted as a unicorn for her group, even though she had no magic. She could deal with one stuck-up unicorn. "Recruit Wind Sheer!" She recognised the name. He placed second in the competition. She expected somepony arrogant who would look down on her for stealing first place, but he looked confident and happy to be in her squad. 'Why is he not angry at me for taking his spot as squad leader?' She thought to herself.

Now came the time for everything to fall apart, the announcement of the unicorn of the group. "Recruit Glowing Field!" Twilight didn't recognise the name from the list, nor did the name sound particularly unicorn-like. Was she getting another earthpony on her team? Looking around, she spotted the unicorn walking through the crowd. Recognition struck; this was the unicorn that beat Star in the ring. Twilight noticed the looks she was getting; the same disgust was on the other unicorns' faces that were usually directed at her. But now, this unicorn was getting them, too. Had she just ruined another pony's life? Shield Strike waited patiently for them to stand before him before dismissing the group to get to know each other.

Once they found a quiet corner, Twilight broke the silence. "I'm sorry that you have to be in a group with me." Her gaze drifted to Glowing Field, who still held a smile on her face. "I bet the others will hate you for it."

"Are you kidding? A was afraid I would get stuck with one of those hoity-toity city folk." She said. The slight country accent was barely noticeable as she spoke. That was something that took Twilight by surprise; was she not from Canterlot? It explained the looks, at least. "Those rich folk have no idea how to get their hoofs dirty. Seen you on the obstacle course, no hesitation to crawl through the mud, I can get behind a pony like that. If you didn't hear, names Glowing Field." She looked around for a reaction, only getting confused looks. "A know it's an earthpony name, matters not to me, Pa works on a farm down in Ponyville, grew up on it after Ma died, so I'm more earthpony than most, name fits."

The white pegasus with a light blue mane and an interesting sword, that slowly turned into a cloud towards the tip, as cutie mark, was next to introduce himself. "Name's Wind Sheer. I'm from Ponyville as well. My father was part of the weather team but got injured during a freak storm coming from the Everfree Forest. Joined up to help keep the weather in check and support my family. So I'm curious, is it true you lost your magic? I watched you during the competition, and you never used any." Twilight nodded. "That's going to be trouble. With only one unicorn in the group, we're at a disadvantage compared to the other teams. I have some ideas on how we can make use of our setup if you don't mind me butting in; you're squad leader for a reason."

"Great another egghead," Star groaned. "If you start reading books that make my head hurt as well, I'm clobbering you." That got a laugh out of everypony.

"Not much of a reader. Books only tell you so much. The only way to learn is with real-life experience, something you three already have," he pointed a wing at the medal adorning their uniform.

The group settled into their new housing unit after introductions were complete. Twilight found herself smiling the entire time. Not only did she find some more potential friends, but they were all from Ponyville. A thought entered her mind, 'Is that what my brother meant? Will this be my future team in Ponyville?' It was a possibility; the odds that she would be grouped with the only unicorn from Ponyville were slim. Add in that Star was still with her, the pony that started her report to the Princess, and it all made sense. She would gather more information before telling them, for now, everything was simple speculation. Without concrete evidence, they would just dismiss her.

The training progressed steadily, with each squad receiving a straightforward schedule that included only a few mandatory activities. These comprised mainly of morning physical training sessions designed to build strength and endurance, along with classes focusing on proper guard behaviour. Beyond these required tasks, squad members were encouraged to pursue additional training and activities independently.

Twilight took the lead in guiding her squad, motivating them to push themselves further. They all demonstrated an eagerness to learn and grow, actively seeking opportunities to enhance their skills instead of settling for their current achievements. Whether through practice on their own or collaborating with each other during free time, they were committed to being the best squad of the recruits.

During one of their free practice sessions, things went off script. Another squad had challenged her group to a match, using the same rules as the competition. Initially, everything seemed normal, with her squad defeating their opponents one after another. Glowing Field, in particular, showed her combat prowess when she lifted her opponent out of the ring without using her magic. Twilight was sure she was even stronger than herself.

However, things took a turn when it was Twilight's turn to compete. She sensed something was amiss even before the bell rang, noticing the glint in the opponent's eye that hinted something unusual was about to happen. The beam of concentrated magic streaking toward her confirmed that fear. Her eyes went wide, not anticipating a full-on attack before the fight even started. Her body reacted on instinct, trying to dive out of the way, but it was already too late. She felt the impact of the spell on her side, the searing pain making her scream as it burned through her armour and hide alike.
Twilight heard the word of the other unicorn. It was faint, her senses filled with the agony of the wound the spell inflicted. "You should have stayed in the hole you crawled out of, useless pet." Soon after, she was pressed to the ground by the rest of the gathered ponies. "Get off of me! I can do what I want with this broken thing. It's her fault my parents are in the dungeons!" Her cries slowly ebbed away as Twilight lost consciousness.

She later awoke in the infirmary. As she recalled what had happened, she looked down and noticed the bandages covering her side. "Ah, good, you're awake," called a feminine voice. Twilight recognised it as Chief Medic Rapid Aid. "Captain Shield Strike wants to see you, so you better get up and go see him. Take it easy for a day or two, and come back to me if anything feels off."

Slowly looking between the doctor and her injuries, Twilight found her words again. "How bad is it?" She finally asked.
"You were lucky. Without your armour, you could have been severely injured. It took most of the force, so you only got a little burned; a quick healing spell was all it took to heal the wound. It will leave a scare, but that's all you have to worry about." Seeing Twilight's dejected look, she added, "It won't be visible under your coat, so don't you worry about it."

Carefully climbing out of bed, Twilight thanked the doctor before making her way to the Captain's office; her mind was already filled with doubt. Would she be expelled? Would she be punished for starting a fight? What had the others told the Captain? Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door before entering. "Recruit Twilight Sparkle, reporting as ordered," she announced, standing to attention and snapping a salute, slightly wincing in pain when she performed the motion.
"At ease, recruit. There's no need to harm yourself." Twilight relaxed her posture, and he continued, "How about you tell me what happened?"

Twilight explained that her group was challenged, which was common practice during the first weeks of squad training. Everypony wanted to gauge their standings in the rankings, and defeating a high-ranking squad could earn them bragging rights for the duration of the training. She detailed that everything proceeded smoothly until her match against the other unicorn. Shield Strike listened intently, not interrupting, while taking notes on everything she said. In the end, he dismissed her, assuring her that she had done nothing wrong. Twilight felt relieved to hear that and returned to her squad.

They welcomed her back as soon as she entered the building. "Up already?" Star asked, concern in her voice. "You looked pretty beat up when we rushed you to the infirmary."

Seeing the fearful expression on Twilight's face told them all they needed to know. "Don't worry, that bitch is never seeing the light outside a cell ever again. They have her locked up for attempted murder for now," Spear said, full well knowing what was on Twilight's mind. "That's gonna make them think twice before coming after you again." After that, they settled in for a relaxing evening, no pony in the mood for additional training after the day's events.

Author's Note

Reading over chapters 7 and 8 again, I can say I went a little bit hard on putting Twilight down. This might upset some people, but the story would be boring without any challenges to overcome. Harmony is not just going to give Twilight access to unlimited magic without throwing some tests her way, after all.
For those who still enjoy reading, I'm thankful for all your support and I'm not going to stop writing because of a few setbacks.

On another note, the next chapter will be delayed for a bit. I noticed I was skipping over a big part that needs to be flashed out more (some of you have already voiced their concern that I left important bits out of the story) and will likely get its own chapter.

Interlude: Attack on Canterlot

Author's Note

This Interlude does not have any Twilight in it and focuses on Shining Armor and Celestia. You won't miss out on any information about the main story if you skip this one; the next chapter will have a short summary of the events.

Interlude: Attack on Canterlot

Celestia sat in her study, the same room Twilight decided to join the guard, looking over a report of an attack on one of the recruits in Fort Everfree. The fort's commander had sent it personally, asking for the perpetrator to be harshly punished for attacking the most promising recruit he had seen in a long time. She knew Shield Strike had a protective streak larger than anypony out there. It always surprised her to what lengths he would go to protect his recruits.

Reading over the report, her blood started to boil, small flickers of fire spreading through her mane. Somepony had dared to attack her student, and to make matters worse; the attacker was the daughter of Lady Harsh Weather. With the upcoming proposal for new laws that would allow her sister to return as a Princess of Equestria and change that dreadful celebration of Nightmare Night, the timing couldn't be worse.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts, and a white unicorn mare with a dark grey mane and tail entered the room. "What can I do for you, Raven?" Celestia asked her assistant.

Adjusting her glasses and floating a clipboard in front of her, she spoke up, "Your Highness, Duke Evergreen is requesting an audience with you. He says it's important. He is already waiting in the throne room."

Another flicker of fire shimmered through Celestias ever-moving mane. Taking the report, she floated it over to Raven. "Take this to Agent Secret Note and tell him to look into who is behind this. I have another little foal that is crying for attention to see." She couldn't keep her disappointment out of her voice. Ever since Twilight joined the guard, the nobles seemed to be plotting something, and with all her focus on getting her sister back, it went unnoticed for far too long. After giving a quick bow, Raven vanished out of the door, and Celestia followed, turning towards the throne room.

Stepping into the grand room through a side door, she could already see a small gathering of nobles, all wearing more and more gaudy dresses and suits to show off their ill-earned wealth. 'All that money, and they waste it for selfish reasons,' she thought. It was hard to hold her diplomatic facade; all she wanted to do right now was listen to that tiny voice in her head and lash out, incinerating the foals in front of her. Slowly moving towards her throne, she stood tall and spread her wings. "Duke Evergreen, what is so important that you must call for an audience on such short notice?"

The brown unicorn with his red slick-back mane did not bow or react to her question. He held his head up defiantly as if asking to be struck down by the immortal Sun Princess. "Your Highness, ever since you took on that student of yours, we have seen a decline in the prosperity of Equestria. We fear that you're not as sharp as you once were and that that commoner is poisoning your mind with harmful thoughts. I came here with a few council members to ask you to banish that unicorn you call your faithful student or step down from the throne and leave Equestria in the capable hoofs of the council."

Celestia could simply shoot him down and ignore their foalish scrabbles, but they might go after Twilight again. She didn't like it, but without the nobility, a lack of investors would stagnate the Equestrian economy or, in the worst-case scenario, cause it to crash. They knew full well that Celestia could not dismiss them out of hoof. "A change in power would need to be put to a vote. I cannot transfer power to the counsel and expect the population to accept that without getting a say."

That seemed to be something the Duke did not want to hear, and a sneer formed on his muzzle. Popularity was not something the nobles were known for across the lands. "Very well, I withdraw our demands, but mark my word; we will not rest until Equestria is saved from those lesser creatures roaming around our lands and dragging down our beloved country." He made no move to bow again, simply turning around and leaving the throne room.

Celestia contemplated sending guards to watch over Twilight for the time being. The nobility was clearly up to something, but without solid proof, even her hoofs were tied. She could only hope Secret Note would find something she could use to bring the nobility back in line.

A week had passed since the sudden declaration of Duke Evergreen. Shining Armor was on his usual patrol through the city when something caught his eye. The Royal Guard was never outside the palace in such force; by his estimate, half of them had gathered. Even though this could be a simple ceremony of sorts, his instincts told him something was up. Casting a scrying spell into an obscured corner, he concentrated on the lead pony. "Minister Quick Bit is distracting Celestia with a report on finances; the rest of the royal guard is in position. The Duke wants us to secure the palace and let no pony escape. After..." Shining Armor stopped listening at this point and broke into a gallop.

Abandoning his patrol was risky and could get him into deep trouble, but he needed to act. Storming into the barracks, he startled several guards enjoying their free time or getting ready for their own patrols. "Alert every guard you can; something is up, and I need every available pony with me," he ordered. "Where is Captain Wall Breaker? I need to inform him." He had no illusion that the Captain would actually be in his office. More likely, he was getting drunk at one of the noble's parties again. So it fell to him to get every pony organised.

Half an hour later, fifty fully equipped guards stood to attention, and Shining Armor watched over them. All looked ready to uphold their oaths to protect the innocent and helpless. "We are moving into the palace as soon as the briefing is over. With the nobles acting up, we were already on high alert, but the royal guard is up to something. I have sent a scroll to the Princess but have not received any answer. It is likely they are holding her down with overly long reports to distract her. We do not know their motives, but if they lock down the palace, many innocent ponies could be in danger, something we can not allow to happen. Our objective is to get access into the palace, secure an exit or a safer room, and evacuate as many ponies as possible before confronting the royal guard. Non-lethal takedowns only, unless you are attacked with lethal force first."

Getting no questions, Shining Armor got ready, and minutes later, the formation moved towards the palace. It was already clear something was going on. A lot more guards were placed at the gates, and every visitor was sent away. He would have trouble breaking any fortification with only fifty guards until his backup arrived; a decisive first strike would be needed. Approaching, their march was stopped by crossing spears. "Lieutenant Armor, what is the meaning of this?" One of them asked, looking warily over the gathered guards.

"Why are you sending away visitors, and what is up with the increased security? Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Shining Armor, with all due respect, you're not in charge of the guard. This is above your payroll. Now turn around and leave before we have you arrested for high treason."

A scream for help from one of the windows took everyponie's attention. By the look of it, a maid tried to flee through the window but was dragged back by two ponies in golden armour. It took only a few confused looks and seconds of silence before the first spells started flying. Shining had put up his shield in an instant, blocking any attacks against him or his fellow guards. The quick exchange only lasted a minute before every royal guard was subdued, allowing them to enter the palace grounds. This was not how he planned this to happen, but they were inside the palace.

"Alpha squad with me; we need to find the Princess. The rest of you fan out and subdue as many of them as possible; do not hesitate." he got a quick "Yes, Sir," and they split up. Their first stop was the throne room. It was unlikely the Princess was there; she would have heard the commotion, but he needed to be thorough. The few royal guards they encountered were quickly dealt with, most of them surrendering as soon as they saw the guard, not interested in getting themselves thrown into the dungeons or worse for their parents scheming. The ones that did fight were efficiently dealt with. A quick stun spell was all it took in most cases.

Sweeping through the caste, they arrived at the large conference room the Princess used for important meetings with her ministers. The fights around here were a lot more intense. In the end, two royal guards died during the short encounter; only one of Shining's guards sustained any severe injuries and was quickly rushed to a medic.

The commotion, however, must have gotten Celestia's attention. A massive jet of flame burst through the door, taking with it the minister of finance. Shining Armor didn't know his name but remembered seeing him at some of the high society events where he was often seen with some of the nobles. Slowly peeking inside the room showed pure chaos. The large table that used to sit inside was smashed against the wall, the royal guards that were present lay motionless around the room, and some of the other ministers cowered in fear from something Shining noticed a moment later. How it wasn't the first thing he saw, he would never know. At the far wall stood Princess Celestia; he thought it was her, at least. Her mane was an inferno of billowing flames; her regalia, usually a brilliant gold, was glowing red from the heat she was emitting as her pink eyes, burning with rage, scanned the room for any more threats.

Shining Armor froze when her eyes looked into his own. He swiftly bowed, "Your Highness, we came to secure the palace and evacuate all the servants."

Moments passed before she asked, "Are my little ponies safe?" Her concern was in stark contrast to her usually calm expression.

"Yes, princess, by now, the rest of the guard should have arrived and freed everypony."

Celestia let out a breath of hot air, her mane and tail slowly returning to her normal state. When she opened her eyes, her expression returned to her usual calm facade. "Every royal guard is to be captured, every noble with ties to the council thrown into the dungeons, and get Minister Quick Bit into the infirmary." She ordered, getting a crisp salute from the gathered guards. "I will be in the throne room sorting out this mess."

Chapter 10: Graduation

Training went by fast, and the end was finally in sight, and everypony had calmed down after the attack. Things were not so peaceful in Canterlot, however. News had spread about an armed altercation between hired mercenaries and the guard and the attack on Twilight. A large-scale investigation was set in motion to find the puppet master behind the attacks against Twilight, and what came to light was far worse than anypony had expected.

Many of the most influential and wealthy nobles had banded together to strengthen their hold on the nation, going so far as to call for the Princess to step down. Most of the country wasn't having it, and after suggesting that it be put to a vote, the situation escalated. A large portion of the Royal Guard used their position to attack the Princess directly, not expecting the rest of the Canterlot Guard, under the command of Shining Armor, to stand in their way. The fight was brief but not any less bloody, and order was soon restored.

The ongoing investigation brought to light many officers in the guard who were on the pay role of those nobles. In Fort Everfree alone, three high-ranking officers were discharged and put on trial. Everypony could see the disappointment on Captain Shield Strike's face; he had worked with these ponies for years and never noticed something was up. It was good to know that the well-being of the recruits was at the forefront of his mind. Twilight had a victorious smile on her muzzle when Cold Comet was dragged away. He was screaming about consequences the entire time before another guard finally stunned him with a spell to shut him up.

All that was left to do was wait for the training to end. Making it this far into training was already proof that you had passed your training; no pony would be sent home at this point. The only question would be your starting rank. Most would start as private, with only a selected few receiving the honour of a promotion to private first class.

Now that graduation approached, the training shifted. After morning physicals, the recruits would spend their day in classrooms, learning about the last bit of theory they would need to be a proper guard. A deep understanding of the law was a requirement to be allowed to enforce law and order. Many of the recruits would continue their training for a position in the military branch, something that took the skills they already learned to a whole new level. Twilight was happy with where she was; she looked forward to living in Ponyville. The Princess had not told her directly, but she figured this was all a setup. Why would she put so many ponies from the town into her squad if she didn't intend to keep them together?

The day was finally here. Families of the recruits arrived all morning to watch their son or daughter become a proper guard. Looking out into the crowd, Twilight could already spot her parents and her two brothers. She missed having Spike around, but a guard training camp was no place for a baby dragon. She dearly hoped he would join her when she moved to Ponyville, but in the end, that was a decision for her parent to make. Twilight might be technically his mother, but things got complicated when she hatched his egg. She was far too young, and her parents took custody of the little dragon. She always saw him as a little brother, but now, with all the growing up she did during training, something more had started to blossom, true motherly feelings she had never felt before.

A slight pang of doubt entered her mind. She had not visited her family once during training, which she also never really did when studying under the Princess. Looking back at it, she could only shake her head. Were books so important to her back then that she ignored her family? Already making plans to visit them regularly, she approached. She had time before she needed to be ready for the ceremony and could spend some of it with them.

"B.B.B.F.F!" she shouted, attracting the attention of three unicorns and one dragon. "Mom, Dad, Spike, it's great to see you all." Without hesitation, she embraced each of them in a big hug.

Nightlight was the first to speak up, the older Unicorn gasping for air once he was released from the hug. "By Celestia, what do they feed you down here? You're more muscular than an earthpony."

She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, her short mane slightly ruffling before finding her voice again. "Well, I have to keep up with them; without magic, I need other ways to fit in."

That got a gasp out of her mother. Clearly, no pony told them about what happened. In hindsight, Twilight never directly told anypony about it. "Dear, what happened? Are you alright?" It felt good to hear her parents' voices again, and she began nuzzling all of them.

To stop her mother's panicked questioning, Twilight gave her a smile, "Yes, Mom. I don't need my magic to do good. I have friends and ponies who trust and depend on me, and I can still read about magic. I couldn't be happier with where I am now."

That got a mischievous smile out of her brother. "Who are you, and what have you done to my adorable sister?" Twilight could feel his pride in her achievements in his voice, bringing another content smile to her.

She punched him playfully in the shoulder, getting a genuine huff out of him. He was muscular for a unicorn, but even he had to admit, she had him beat in the strength department now. "How is life in Canterlot now? Being Captain of the Guard can't be easy for a pony with so little experience."

"Ha! Little experience she says. I have more fights under my hoofs than anypony out there. After the battle in the castle, they bagged me to take charge. Couldn't leave them hanging now, could I, so I took the position. Trust me, never accept a position of leadership; it's too much work."

"It's too late for that, I'm afraid." Her brother shot her a knowing smile, her parents a confused one. "I'm going to be in charge of a new garrison in Ponyville if the Princess holds up her end of the deal we made." Getting a "She does" from her brother, Twilight continued her explanation to her parents.

Another question soon entered Twilight's mind, something that was important to her now that she got to see her little brother again. 'No, Twilight, he is more than that now,' she corrected herself. "Mom, Dad. I was wondering if I could take Spike back?" She looked to the ground, full well knowing their answer. She was still too young to look out for a foal, or dragon in this case.

"Of course, Twilight, the Princess, had asked if we would be okay with him helping you with your studies and all. It's not that far away from Canterlot, and we can visit often. We know you are close to your little brother and old enough to look out for him. He is not the baby he once was he can look out for himself."

"No, Mom, I mean truly take him back." A small tear rolled down her cheek. "I miss him so much."

Only the tiny claws rapping around her leg stopped her from breaking down in tears entirely. "It's okay, Twilight. I know how you felt about me. I'm your number one assistant, after all."

Silence stood between them, and Twilight was the first to open her mouth. "No, Spike, not like that. You're a great assistant, but you're so much more to me, and I never showed it to you. I want to make this right and be there for you like I should have all this time."

"Twilight dear, this is a monumental decision; if we do this, you can't simply return him once he becomes too much for you. It's a big responsibility," her mother added, concern for her daughter clear in her voice. She had never seen her like this, full of conviction, standing tall even in a situation like this. This was no longer her little Twilight that needed to be protected; no, she was standing on her own four hoofs now. She would not deny her the chance to be reunited with her son. As a mother, she knew precisely how Twilight felt right now. "I will send the papers to you once you settled in."

Twilight embraced her mother in another hug. " Thank you so much. I will take good care of him, trust me. I learned a lot during training, and I'm mature enough to take care of him."

"Twily, you should get going. The ceremony starts soon, and you still have a lot to do."

Twilight let go of her mother, placed her soon-to-be son on her father's back, gave him a quick kiss on the head, and stood to attention, snapping a salute to her brother. "Yes, Sir, right away, Sir." After getting a nod from him, she lowered her hoof and made for the barracks, a tiny tear of joy rolling down her cheek.

"They grow up so fast; I can't believe my little star went from a small little blossom to a beautiful flower in such a short time." Twilight Velvet muttered, rubbing her own tears away with a hoof.

"Now, now, dear, we can still visit her. You said it yourself: She is only a short train ride away." Night Light held his wife close, watching as their daughter vanished into the crowd.

The one hundred and twelve recruits that made it this far were lined up on the large training field. In front of them stood the crowd of gathered families watching intensely as their children became guards. With her eyes forward, Twilight could only hear the oaths being recited by the new guards next to her, the sound getting closer and closer with every passing moment. She only truly paid attention when it was Wind Sheer's turn. Twilight had to keep her proud smile at bay when she heard him getting a promotion to private first class right away. She could only guess how the chain of command would work, but judging by this, she would likely receive the same promotion, and a corporal from a nearby garrison would be in charge. It made sense to have a central command for all the smaller towns of the area.

The voices had come closer again, and judging by the volume, she was up in a few minutes. Taking another deep breath, watching her family's smiles and the eager waving of her soon-to-be son Spike, she couldn't help but let a small smile on her muzzle as well.

"Something funny, Recruit?" She stood straighter immediately, wiping the smile from her face. Reciting the oath of the guard came automatically; it was trained enough to become second nature at this point. "Congratulations, Twilight Sparkle, it is my honour to grant you a place in the guard. Stand proud, Corporal." Her jaw dropped, and time froze. Only the frown on her brother's face brought her back to reality. "I knew you couldn't handle it. Thanks for earning me ten bits."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I'm honoured to receive this promotion and will do my best to live up to the trust put in me."

Twilight again stood tall, letting Shield Strike put the corporal pin on her uniform. "I know you will. You earned this; let no pony tell you otherwise." With a final nod, he continued to the next recruit in line.

Chapter 11: Departure

The celebration lasted deep into the night, and many ponies congratulated Twilight on her promotion to corporal. She had only seen a few unicorns look at her in mild disgust and was sure nothing could please them at that point, so she ignored them and continued on. Her parents had to leave early, like many others who had nowhere to stay for the night. Only her brother remained, still having some free time before he had to return to his duties in Canterlot. "So Twily, any idea who will be posted under you?"

She had to giggle. Having ponies under her command sounded so unreal still. "I think so. I'm sure you and Celestia set up my squad during training. You are terrible at hiding things and you know it." She got an adorable pout from her brother. "Don't be so hard on yourself; they have no idea. Can't wait to see their face when they learn they will be posted in their home town. Well, except for Spear, but he doesn't mind where he goes. Don't think he ever told me where he's from."

"Deep down you're still my little adorable little sister. It's hard to see you as anything else but..." he trailed off, looking her over for a moment. "You have grown so much, I hardly recognize you. And to think you did all this in order to be able to read more spell books. Now look at you, all grown up and ready to tackle the world on your own." He looked eyes with her, making sure she understood the next part clearly. "Promise me one thing: stay safe and make some friends out there. I know you're close to the ponies from your squad, but I mean real friends, ponies you can hang out with, share hobbies or maybe even a little more. Somepony outside of the guard. I can say from my own experience that it would make you a lot happier."

"The Princess has put you up to this..." Twilight pouted, only to start giggling slightly. "I will, Shiny. I promise." Giving her brother one final hug, they parted ways; tomorrow would be a busy day, and she couldn't wait to see the looks on her squad's faces when they got the good news.

Waking up early had become natural to all of them by now. Their postings would be announced in the afternoon, giving them enough time to sleep in for once, but all of them were up before sunrise. The only one still sleeping in a small basket that Twilight had gotten from the mass hall was Spike. Everypony had fawned over the little guy when they noticed him, bringing a proud smile to Twilight. She knew she had made the right choice.

"So, Corporal, where do you want to be stationed? I bet they asked you already to make sure the best graduate this Fort has ever seen would be comfortable." Spear said, not making any attempt at hiding his smirk. He could tell something was up and was trying to get Twilight to spill the secret.

"I was thinking about Ponyville; you know, make sure I keep my promise." Twilight's voice was filled with a mix of determination and nervousness, knowing that her decision would have a significant impact on her and her squad's future.

Star and Spear stared at her, slack-jawed. Back then, they had chalked it up as wishful thinking, not something that was truly going to happen. "You mean..." Star stammered, "they are finally." She didn't finish, launching herself at Twilight and embracing her in a tight hug, not letting her go for a long time as tears streaked down her face. Her dream of protecting her village was finally coming true.

Wind and Glowing simply watched, not sure what this was all about. "Back during survival training, we discussed the dangers of the forest and what it did to the small towns nearby." Spear explained to them. "Many ponies join the guard because something happened to their family or friends. Twilight promised to do something about it, wrote a twelve-page long report on it and sent it to the Princess herself. We didn't think anything would change, but..."

"It's not official but I'm pretty sure they will put me in charge of the new Ponyville Garrison, and you will likely all be posted there." Everyponies eyes went even wider, non of them having expected that. The anticipation of their future assignments filled the squad with excitement. "Don't quote me on that though, I only put all the hints together, it could still change." Watching them compose themself, Twilight continued, "Let's get cleaned up and ready. I can't wait to get out of here.

After getting ready, they joined the rest of the guards, waiting for their assignment. Spike enjoyed the attention he was getting riding on Twilights back, she had to hush them away when the time came to be assigned their first post.

One after another, names were called and orders given. "Private Glowing Fields!" Captain Shield Strike shouted, getting the attention of the entire squad. "Everfree Division, Ponyville Garrison." Twilight had to suppress a giggle when she let out a loud "Yes!" The list went on, ponies getting distributed all over Equestria. Some were happy with their assignment, others less so.

"Private Spear Point, Private Star Berry!" Shield Strike shouted, getting both of their attention. They were not the first to be bunched together if their names were close in the list of names. "Everfree Division, Ponyville Garrison." By this point, no pony was surprised by a small town getting a garrison. Other towns had gotten similar assignments, but something was not adding up. Twilight counted five other small towns, and none had a corporal assigned to them. She was sure they couldn't transfer anypony with experience there; the guard was already short-staffed as it was. Another thing that didn't add up was that there was no Everfree Division to begin with; even Fort Everfree was part of the Canterlot area.

Her unvoiced questions were soon to be answered when Shield Strike shouted, "Corporal Twilight Sparkle!" getting her full attention and a crisp salute. "Everfree Division, command, Ponyville HQ." She blinked. This was so far outside the norm she had no idea how to react. "If you do well, your promotion is already waiting. Don't mess this up; it was your idea, after all."

Shield Strike continued on down his list until he reached the last name of the squad. "Private Wind Sheer!" She heard him shout, getting her out of her thoughts again. "Everfree Division, second in command, Ponyville HQ." Twilight couldn't be prouder. The pegasus earned the position, he had worked harder than anypony else had. It was good to have a second in command she could trust. With all the postings announced, it was time to head out. They would take the train and travel a station further; both Fort Everfree and Ponyville were on the same line, after all. With her in charge, they gained some freedom as well. No pony was waiting for them to report to; they could take their time. Their posting officially started in a week, just after the Summer Sun Celebration. "Corporal a word." She heard Shield Strike call out.

"Yes, Sir?" She stood to attention again, snapping her textbook salute for which she was known by now.

"You can drop that for now; let's talk freely." Relaxing, Twilight settled down in her rest stance, prompting him to continue. "Are you sure you can handle this? We can still call in somepony else to take charge if you don't feel up to it yet; there is no shame in admitting that."

His expression was sincere, with no mockery in his tone. It was good to know she had ponies she could count on if she needed help. "No, Sir, I can do this."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear. You're an exceptional pony, Twilight; let no pony tell you otherwise." With a smile, he reached behind him, pulling out a stack of folders. "That's all the Guards under your command. Ponyville will be home to the central command for the smaller towns around the Everfree Forest. They will have their own autonomy as far as dealing with threats to the towns goes but will report and answer to you. Do you understand the responsibility?"

Twilight's expression hardened; she had made a promise she was sure to hold. "Yes, Sir, I will do my best to guarantee no pony has to live in fear any more."

"Good, have a nice travel. I can't wait to hear good things from you. Remember us small guys once you reach the top."

Giving him a nod, she turned towards the train station, where the rest of her squad was already waiting. As soon as she came into view, they stood to attention, giving her a salute and a crisp "Ma'am." This was something she had to get used to, but for now, it was unnecessary. "You can drop that for now. You're not on duty for at least another week, and I'm not going to have you salute me when not on the clock."

"So any idea were we will stay? Ponyville doesn't have a guard station as far as I now." Star asked.

"Not sure, haven't read that far yet." Twilight pointed at the stack of folders in her saddle bags.

Star shrugged. "Well, my family has a barn they don't use, and there are plenty of empty houses as well." Nudging Twilight in the side, she smiled a mischievous smile. "Or the library, wouldn't that be something." She got Twilight's attention in an instant, prompting the rest of the group to burst out laughing.

"You're the worst," she pouted. "You all are going to run the night shift for the next month." that, unfortunately, didn't stop them from laughing. Their train arrived shortly after; it was time for a new chapter in Twilight's life.

Chapter 12: Ponyville

They arrived in Ponyville a few minutes later. Twilight had started to read through her assignments during the short train ride. The group started laughing again when she discovered that her command HQ was inside the library. The upper floor of the tree house, a house literally made inside a tree, was empty and offered enough space for a small office and living arrangements for her and Spike. The lower part would still remain a public library, which Twilight wasn't too bothered by. Spike had offered to run it, something she had to think about for now. He had helped her during her studies in Canterlot, cleaning up her mess and finding books; she was sure he could do it. But he was still a baby dragon, and forcing him to do anything he didn't want to was unfair.

The other thing she read about was her first order. She was to supervise the preparations for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. She had no idea why it was scheduled in Ponyville, but orders were orders, and she was determined to fulfil her duties. It wasn't that strange to think the Princess wanted to use her newfound freedom of bickering nobles to include the smaller towns in this wonderful celebration. She had already made changes to laws that she had tried to change for decades, drastically reducing the nobility's influence and power even further. No pony was stupid enough to object after what happened. The Princess ruled Equestria for thousands of years; she knew what she was doing after all. A change that surprised Twilight, however, was the proposal to change the Nightmare Night Celebration. This met far more resistance. In the end, Celestia had to relent.

Stepping out of the train brought an incredible sight. Twilight was used to the massive station in Canterlot, where the masses of ponies went about their business and paid no attention to anypony around them. Here, however, it was quiet and peaceful. She smiled when ponies stopped to wave at the arriving guards. None of them looked down on her, and no pony talked behind her back. These ponies were genuinely happy to see her, leaving Twilight in a state of disbelief at the warm welcome.

The first pony that was different was a pink pony with an even pinker cotton candy-like mane. "Hi, I'm Corporal Twilight Sparkle," she greeted cheerfully, only to be met by a loud gasp and a pony-shaped dust cloud. Well, that was different." That was only met by snickering from the ponies behind her.

Turning around, she addressed her guards. "Why don't you take your week of vacation? I can set everything up myself; see you for the celebration, okay." Getting a nod and a "thank you," the group dispersed, all of them happy to return to their families. Spear had offered to help, but Twilight told him to make sure his new house was set up; the transfer here came with his own place to live as no barracks were present he could otherwise use for the time being. "Okay, Spike, what's first on our checklist?"

Rolling out the short scroll, he read it out loud. "Number one, banquet preparations, Sweet Apple Acres." Giving him a quick nuzzle, they went on their way. Twilight had to take a quick look at her map to find the place, but it was only a short walk from the train station.

She felt strange doing all these errands; she was a guard and not an event planner, but orders were orders, and a bit of good public relations never hurt anypony. The first thing she heard when stepping on the farm was a loud "Yee haa" coming from up the road. An orange earth pony with a braided yellow mane and three red apples for a cutie mark reared up and kicked one of the trees. Apples came falling down, raining all around her into the baskets placed below. Twilight had to admit, this was pretty impressive. Walking up to the mare, she introduced herself. " Hi, I'm Corporal Twilight Sparkle, and I was sent to supervise the preparations for the Celebrations."

"Well, howdy, Miss Twilight. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure love to make new friends. I'm Applejack. What can I help you with." Holding out her hoof, Twilight obliged, shaking the farm mare's hoof, something she instantly regretted as Applejack nearly crushed her leg.

Twilight immediately filed her away as potentially dangerous or helpful; she hadn't decided yet. A smile lit up her face when the word friend registered. She could be friends with a pony dedicated to her work. Filing that away for later as well, she answered, "I'm here to make sure the catering is all taken care of and get to know the local ponies. I will be the new guard commander for the Everfree area."

Applejack's eyes went wide after hearing that. Before Twilight could react, she was crushed by two strong legs hugging her tightly. "That's mighty fine of you. You won't believe how grateful we are to know that somepony is finally lookin' out for us, little ponies. I lost Ma and Pa to those awful timberwolves years ago, and nothin' was done." Again, she crushed Twilight. "Care to sample some of the food."

Twilight was happy to oblige, she had enough time for this little stop. The gratitude she saw in Applejack's eyes made her decision to write the report all those months back worth everything she had to endure.

In the end, Twilight ate far too much, but seeing those happy eyes when Applejack announced who she was was indescribable. Most of the ponies present came from other small towns; this was a family reunion of sorts, and all of them were equally happy to see that the guard was finally taking action. It made Twilight glad to be accepted this fast, and Applejack even commented on her being already part of the family.

"Food's all taken care of; next up is weather." Spike read from his list as they made their way back into town. Looking up into the sky, he questioned, "Mh, there's supposed to be a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds."

Checking the sky for the pony in question, she was about to comment on the lazy attitude that pony must have had if the sky was still not clear, but before she could, a blue arrow streaking towards her grabbed her attention. Before it could hit her, she braced herself and caught the speeding pegasus, spinning her around to bleed off momentum before pressing her to the ground. Taking a look at the pegasus, she noticed the rainbow-coloured mane. "Let me guess, you're Rainbow Dash."

Springing back to her hoofs and shaking the mud out of her coat, she pressed a hoof to her chest. "The one and only. Why, you heard of me?"

"I'm Corporal Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to check on the weather." She was getting annoyed with the pegasus already. This lazy attitude was something she hated in others.

Lounging on a cloud, she dismissed her. "Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practising."

Now, that was something Twilight could get behind. "Practising for what," she said with a knowing smile. The enthusiastic "The Wonderbolts" escaping the pegasus' lips was all the conformation she needed. Twilight knew the aerial team would be here for the celebration, and the polychromatic pegasus in front of her looked like a pretty big fan. "Pff, please, I've seen recruits capable of clearing the sky faster than this. They would never accept a Pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day," Twilight said in the most overdramatic voice she could muster.

"Hey, I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat." Without warning, she shot off into the sky, Twilight silently counting the seconds and watching in awe. Rainbow Dash might be lazy, but she had the skill to back up her boasting. Coming to a landing, she puffed out her chest. "What I say, ten seconds flat. I never leave Ponyville hanging. You should see the look on your face. I can't wait to hang out some more." With that, she shot off, leaving Twilight and Spike with stunned expressions. Again, she noticed the willingness to be a friend and put that away for later as well; there was still work to do.

The next task was decoration, something Twilight was not looking forward to. Entering town hall, she could already see the pony in charge, the Canterlot influence all to clear. She had to school her features. After all, this pony was living in Ponyville, she couldn't be that bad. "Excuse me, are you in charge of decoration."

"Yes, yes, darling, just a moment," she returned, a slight Canterlot accent in her voice, making Twilight's hair stand on edge. Now, what can I do for you?" Looking over Twilight's form, she eyed the uniform for a moment. "A guard in our little town. I would so love to design some fetching new uniforms for you."

"Thank you, but we've got that covered." Twilight forced a smile. "I can see you have everything under control. We will be out of your mane right away."

A gasp escaped the white unicorn's lips. "Oh my stars, are you the new guard for our town I heard about?" Twilight was preparing for the stream of insults about how much taxpayer bits would be wasted. What she didn't expect was for the unicorn to embrace her in a hug. "Oh, you won't believe how happy this makes me. I'm always worried about my little sister when she and her friends play outside, but now. You come by anytime you need anything, a new dress, a pony to watch your little brother," she smiled at Spike, "anything darling, simply ask. Now I have to return to work; the decorations must be perfect for the celebration." With a curt nod, she returned to her work. Twilight was stunned; this was a reaction she did not see coming.

Returning to her duties, she had to check on the music; a Pegasus named Fluttershy was supposed to be in charge of that. Twilight could already hear the birds singing in the distance and slowly approached. Watching them perform a beautiful song brought another smile to her face. She listened for a while, waiting for the other pony to see her. She didn't want to scare away her animals, and the pony seemed to be on the shy side herself. Fluttershy jumped slightly when she noticed Twilight watching her, followed by a very quiet "Hi."

Twilight smiled at her, a reassuring and comforting smile she was taught to use in situations like that; guards could be intimidating to some. "Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle," she softly spoke. "Who are you."

Prepared for the quiet replay, she listened intently and carefully. "Hi, my name is Fluttershy." It was almost too quiet, but Twilight managed to make it out. She was about to excuse herself and let the pony continue to work when she gasped. "A baby dragon." Fluttershy was at Twilight's side faster than she thought possible.

"That's Spike. I hatched him during my magic exam. Say hi, Spike." He waved a claw at the shy mare, whose smile only got brighter.

"Oh, I have so many questions. I've never seen a baby dragon before."

A barrage of questions hit Twilight, too many to answer at once. Spike tried to answer as many as he could, but it was too much for him as well. An idea formed in Twilight's mind, she had a lot to do still and could use somepony to foalsit Spike for a bit. "You seem to be very good with animals." She got an eager nod from the yellow mare. "How about I leave Spike with you? I have a lot of boring things to do, and as long as somepony has an eye on him, he can stay. Do you want to stay, Spike?" She would not leave him here if he didn't want to, but he seemed happy to answer Flutershy's questions. "Just be home before sundown, okay." After getting another nod, she made her way into town; she had to sort out a few things with the mayor. Spike's and Fluttershy's chatter could be heard in the distance as she moved along.

Preparations dragged on, and Twilight was relieved that she could finally relax for a couple of hours before the celebration. Spike was probably back at the library, ensuring everything was in order for her return. She cared deeply for her little assistant, who would soon be her son again. As Twilight approached, she noticed the lights were off, and the interior was eerily quiet, which felt unusual. Her instincts as a guard kicked in, and she approached cautiously. Just as Twilight was about to knock, the rest of her guard arrived, all wearing similarly concerned expressions.

"What are you all doing here?" She asked, confused.

"We all got calls that there was some sort of emergency at the library," Wind Sheer answered. The others nodded in confirmation.

Now, with alarm bells ringing, Twilight approached the tree house. The door creaked open; it was no surprise it wasn't locked; it was a public library, after all. Slowly stepping inside, she halted. Her guards were right behind her, keeping watch on the surroundings. Suddenly, the lights turned on, and a loud shout of "Surprise" rang in her ears, leaving her absolutely bewildered but also pleasantly surprised when she noticed the party decorations.

The pink pony from the train station was all up in her face. "Hi, I'm Pinky Pie, and I threw this party just for you." She gestured to all of the guards. "You see, I saw you when you first got here, and I never saw you before, so you must all be new here because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville. If you're new here, that meant you mustn't have met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you mustn't have any friends here, so I invited everypony, and now you have lots and lots of friends."

Looking around, Twilight finally saw the other four ponies she had already met. All of them gave her smiles; even Spike, sitting on Fluttershys back, waved at her. "That's nice of you to welcome us like this." She couldn't hide her own smile; the friendliness of all the ponies around her was too much for her stoic facade. By the look of it, the entire town was here. She introduced the rest of the guard, and they enjoyed the party. It would be a few more hours before the celebration, and ponies usually spent the time before with parties like this. Twilight couldn't complain, and with all her duties complete, she was happy to join in. Princess Celestia would arrive with her own escort, who would be responsible for security, and Twilight could enjoy the celebration with the rest of the town.

Chapter 13: Nightmare Moon

Twilight had to admit that Pinky Pie was one hack of a party planner. Why she wasn't put in charge of the celebration was a mystery; she could have put it together in an hour. The ponies had gathered in the town hall, the decoration looked stunning, and even the bird's performance was something to behold. This was by far the most unique Summer Sun Celebration Twilight had ever seen. Mayor Mare stepped up on the podium. "And now, it is my great honour to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony..."

Twilight tuned out the speech; something felt off about all of this. A quick glance around was all it took to see her guard in equal states. Looking at each other, she gave them a silent order to prepare for anything. When the curtain opened, and no pony stood behind it, the crowd panicked. "Be calm!" Twilight ordered, the herd of ponies quieting down somewhat. "There is no need for alarm. Stay quiet and follow the instruction of the guard."

Black mist started to form on the stage, and lightning flashed as the light began to dim. This was not part of the celebration. Twilight would have been informed about it. She kept her gaze up on stage when a pony materialised. The black figure was slender, a long horn jotted out of her head and large black wings unfurled. "Oh, my beloved subjects, it's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." The unexpected appearance of a midnight black alicorn sent a shiver down Twilight's spine, and memories of a book Celestia had sent her flooded back into her mind.

"What have you done to Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted, the other guards slowly evacuating the building.

"Why, am I not royal enough for you." She started to cackle as more lightning erupted around her.

Twilight's mind raced as she remembered the stories the Princess had made her read. Was this why she was sent here? Did Celestia know this would happen? "I know you," Twilight declared, a smile creeping onto her face. "You're Nightmare Moon, also known as Princess Luna."

No pony was paying any attention; the room was almost cleared out at this point. Only Twilight's new friends remained, looking confused between the purple unicorn and the dark alicorn. A snarl came to Nightmare Moon's face. "I am not Luna, you whelp." Lightning arced through the air, impacting near Twilight. Another arc impacted harmlessly on a shield, Glowing Field looking up at the night princess, her horn glowing brightly.

Spear Point and Wind Sheer advanced on the intruder, their weapons held high and ready to strike. "You're too late; the night will last forever!" More lightning arced, and Glowing had to put far more magic into her shield. She started to pant heavily from the onslaught. When it was over, the alicorn was gone.

"Good job, Glowing. Take a break. The rest of you make sure the town is safe. I need to find a way to stop her and get Princess Celestia back." Getting a nod from all of them, Twilight galloped off towards the library. She needed to read up on the Elements again.

Before she could get to the book, Rainbow Dash had already tackled her to the ground, something Twilight should have seen coming. Her other new friends were right behind her. "You know an awful lot about Nightmare Moon," Rainbow accused.

"Simmer down, RD. She is a guard, she's supposed to know that sort of stuff." Applejack defended. "Mind fillin' us in? We're here to help."

Looking over the gathered ponies, Twilight could only smile. The book about the Elements talked about five virtues: Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty and Laughter. She could see all of them in the ponies in front of her. All that was missing was the last one, but it was a total mystery. She had an idea what the spark that was supposed to reveal it meant. All that was left to do was find them. Twilight picked up the book and read the passage where they would be found, "the Everfree Castle," also known as the castle of the two sisters. She was not about to lead civilians into that dangerous forest, but they would not have any of it and followed her despite her warnings.

Spear and Glowing escorted the group as they made their way into the forest. It was as dark as Twilight remembered, and she was sure Nightmare Moon would try something to stop them, but the attack never came. The only thing Twilight could think of was that she was still weakened after her return and was now biding her time to regain her full power. Time was of the essence.

They marched on, Pinkie Pie occasionally laughing and giggling at scary faces in the trees, telling the group her granny told her to laugh at spooky things. The rest of the group simply shook their heads and continued. Twilight had to giggle a few times at the pink pony's antics.

The first real obstacle was a manticore. While scary-looking, they were usually peaceful creatures and kept to themself. This one, however, was blocking the only relatively safe path; walking around in the dense trees could be dangerous. Fluttershy was the one to approach it, quietly talking to it. "What has you so scared, little one?" She asked, getting a surprise "little" from the rest of the group. "A scary black cloud flew by and frightened you? Oh, you poor little thing." She embraced the creature in a hug, getting her mane licked in return. "Feeling better?" Getting a nod, the creature finally got back up and vanished into the forest.

"That was nice of you, Fluttershy," Twilight said, getting a smile from the shy mare.

"Sometimes, we just have to be shown a little kindness." Giving her a nod, the group continued.

Crossing a river was no trouble at all; a helpful sea serpent showed them a good place to cross after getting a nice compliment about his moustache from Rarity, the white unicorn of the group. Twilight only got her name during the party but was happy that she was not like other ponies from Canterlot. She was relieved to learn that the white unicorn was not born there but enjoyed its fashion and style.

The castle finally came into view. Twilight was almost too excited and nearly missed the destroyed bridge. A quick flight over the canyon later, Rainbow had tied the bridge back together, allowing the others to cross.

Now at their destination, she ordered Spear and Glowing to stand guard outside, stepping inside with her new friends. The throne room was massive, long since decayed tapestries must have lined these walls; some of the windows were still intact, depicting heroes of old, not unlike the stained glass windows in Canterlot. It was clear that this was once Equestria's seat of power before Celestia and Luna fought. Twilight hoped they could rescue her, she had suffered long enough already. Finding the Elements took no time at all. The large stone spheres were displayed proudly on a pedestal.

"Okay, girls, are you ready to save Luna?" She got only stares from them. "Nightmare Moon was once Celestia's sister. They ruled together until they had a falling out. I don't know what happened back then, but Celestia had to banish Luna to the moon for a thousand years."

"A falling out!" A voice shouted. "You know nothing, whelp!" Dark mist started to swirl around them, slowly forming back into the form of Nightmare Moon. "My sister betrayed me. My subjects rejected me. All I ever wanted was to show them my beautiful night." Lightning began to arc around her again, she was ready to defeat whoever stood in her way. Twilight could hear Spear and Glowing yelling, but a thick black wall prevented anypony from entering the throne room.

"And what a beautiful night it is, but Equestria needs balance, the day and the night. Your sister wants to have you back as well; why can't you see that?" Twilight argued, only getting a glare in return.

"My sister abandoned me in my time of need. She would never welcome me back!" Nightmare Moon snarled. However, there was a glimpse of hesitation as she took a fighting stance.

Twilight could see she was getting somewhere with this; she was on the right path. "Your sister trained me to rescue you, to save you from this nightmare. She did everything so you would be welcomed back with open hoofs. I would love to welcome you back as well, a pony who can stargaze with me or keep me company during my long nights of studying."

Nightmare Moon hesitated only for a moment, that brief time enough for the Elements to awaken. Bright glows engulfed Twilight's friends one after another, and the Elements formed into beautiful necklaces. "You're trying to banish me again! I should have known, you're just like the others. But it won't work. You're still missing the last Element."

"No, Luna, the Element is right here with me, and it's my friends. You see, when the Elements are united, they form a spark, a connection, so to speak. All it takes to awaken the last Element is for me to embrace that friendship." The last Element came not from outside; the glowing purple star slowly emerged from inside Twilight, briefly engulfing her in a bright light before settling down on her head.

"No, you will never defeat me!" Nightmare screamed, charging a powerful spell. The amount of magic gathered frightened Twilight, who could feel the build-up of magical energy.

Twilight had to do something; the connection to the Elements was still too weak to cleanse the corruption. A dark blue beam was released from Nightmare Moon's horn, bathing everything around in shadows. Instinct took over, magic surging forth, creating a bright golden shield in front of her friends. Twilight gasped; this was her magic, but how? She could feel the power inside of her again, far greater than ever before. A short burst of fear came over her, she was risking her magic again. But like the other times, her friends were far more important to her than her magic. The dark beam impacted the shield, both spells cancelling each other out, leaving a faint glitter in the air. "This is the Element of Friendship, the strongest magic of all, and I extend it towards you; all you have to do is embrace it."

Stunned by the display, Nightmare Moon hesitated. Could it be this simple? She could feel the magic, a similar warmth to her sister's magic. The lavender unicorn in front of her was right; she could reach out and take it. Reaching out with a shaky hoof and fighting against the urge to attack again, she closed her eyes. A rainbow-coloured light struck her moments later, cleansing away the lingering darkness within her, the voice of vengeance and hate slowly fading away. Luna collapsed with a smile on her lips, but before she could hit the ground, a soft purple glow cushioned her fall and set her down gently.

Looking out of a window, the new Element Bearers observed the sunrise. Twilight only spared it a glance before returning to Luna's side. She looked so helpless at the moment; the Elements had washed away all her magic. It would return in time, she knew that, but for now, the pony in front of her needed a friend. Reaching out a hoof, she smiled. "Will you take my friendship?"

Frightened at first, Luna looked up at her. The smile on Twilight's face was warm, something she had not felt in a long, long time. Reaching out, she allowed herself to be hoisted back up to her hoofs.

A bright light filled the room, the form of Princess Celestia slowly coming into view. Twilight's friends bowed while Twilight herself was looking up at her mentor. Luna's expression, however, was fearful. Approaching her little sister, Celestia smiled down at her. "Princess Luna. It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." She bent down, almost nuzzling her sister. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." Reaching out a hoof, she continued. "Will you accept my friendship?"

Without hesitation, Luna pounced, embracing her sister with a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. I missed you so much, big sister."

"I missed you too," Celestia added. The moment was ruined by Pinkie Pie, who loudly cleared her nose. She offered to throw a big party as an apology, though.

Returning to Ponyville, the Summer Sun Celebration was back on, and ponies were basking in the light of their Princess. Many asked about the new alicorn beside her, happily chatting with Luna. Twilight could not be happier for her; things were looking up.

Leaving her sister to bask in the light for once, Celestia approached Twilight with a bright smile on her face. "Thank you, Twilight, for bringing my sister back."

"You knew I would do it," Twilight said matter-of-factly, surprising the white alicorn for once. "You did give me the books to read; you're not as subtle as you think. The only thing I don't know is since when."

"You gave me quite the headache when you joined the guard. I had everything planned from the day you became my student, and you tossed it all out the window." Putting a wing around her faithful student, she continued, "You surpassed my wildest dreams and reached the goal without my guidance. I'm not sure there is anything I can teach you any more."

Twilight pushed away from the tight hug. "Princess, stop. My friends are already looking at me funny. I'm an important guard now, and I can't look weak in front of them." Nuzzling against the alabaster coat, she continued, "Thank you for everything. But I have a feeling my journey has just begun."

Both of them looked out into the blue sky; only time could tell what awaited them in the future.

Author's Note

And with that, the story of Guardsmare Twilight comes to an end.

Once again, thank you for reading and leaving comments. This was far more successful than I could ever hope for. I had fun writing and learned a lot from it for future stories. It's amazing how a story I wrote in a week and intended to spend an hour per chapter for editing could get this out of hand to the point where I spent up to five hours on a chapter to get it to an acceptable quality.

I can't promise anything for those of you screaming for a sequel. Inspiration does not work like that, and while I have some ideas on how I could continue the story, I don't feel it yet. I will continue writing stories like this, however—short, quick-to-write little adventures that don't need a lot of planning from my end.

Again, thank you all, and I hope to see you again in the comment section of my next story.