> Guardian
>  by naga
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> The war begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight clenched and relaxed her hands trying to shake off the feeling of impending doom, but to no avail. The carriage hit a rather large bump and she had to restrain herself in order to keep from screaming. This was it, it had come to this, war. Such a simple word, three letters that carried with them such vast and hideous implications of the future. Twilight had read of war in her history books and even heard old ponies tell tales of battle with foreign nations. She herself had been part of a battle inside of Canterlot against the changeling attackers. And yet this was something far greater than any of those things. Griffas, the homeland of the griffons, had always had tense relations with Equestria and their allies but never had it escalated into full blown war. Tensions had been steadily rising between the two nations as disputes over territory and resources became more and more heated until the straw broke the camel's back. Griffas had long made claims over a piece of territory that was occupied by the Equestrians called the Fissure, a chasm within the earth that spewed forth a geyser of chaotic magical energy. So it came as no surprise that when the previous head of state passed and his successor took power that a threat was leveled on the Equestrian government to surrender the land. What did come as a shock was when the new head of state followed through on his word and wholesale invaded the area in a surprise attack killing the majority of ponies in the area and capturing most of the surviving forces. And so the first war in over nearly a century of peace began. As the carriage jumped again Twilight smacked her head against the backboard swearing as she rubbed her head. As a princess of Equestria, even though she had only been coronated days before the attack was expected to fight alongside her people as both a symbol and actual embodiment of power.

The carriage began to slow as a voice called from the front. “We have arrived your highness.”

Once the vehicle had stopped moving Twilight took a moment to stand up and straiten her armor before she opened the door stepping into the harsh afternoon sun. Her armor had been custom tailored to her exact measurements and was a shade of purple that matched her eyes with silver trimming, Celestia had said that a princess must always be wary of her appearance lest those around her loose hope. As she stepped from the carriage a familiar armored hand was there to greet her. Smiling at her brother she took his hand allowing him to help her from the carriage, as her eyes adjusted she looked over what had to be a couple thousand soldiers in standard issue military gear, each chest-piece emblazoned with her cutie mark and polished to a sheen. Every troop stood in perfect single file lines presenting a sharp salute, on the farthest left was the aerial division consisting mostly of pegasi and the odd unicorn. Their commanding officer was a sharply dressed older pegasi mare with a green mane and an amber coat. To the right of them was the main unit, the front-line so to speak. They consisted of a wide range of ponies each and every one carrying a sword and shield, their commander was a stout earth pony stallion who wore his armor proudly with a more that well-worn shield at his side. To the right of them was by far the smallest battalion of troops, the special operators. There were in total slightly more than a dozen pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies each one wearing nonstandard gear that seemed more customized than the other units. The only similarity between them in fact was the white sash they wore across their front proudly portraying her cutie mark. Their commanding officer was a tall earth pony stallion with a grey coat and brown mane, across the right side of his face going down as far as his collarbone was a large scar.	

As she stepped from the carriage all three battalions gave a sharp salute. Her brother lead her to a podium a few feet away before taking a place beside it standing at attention looking directly forward announcing. “At ease men! This is your new leader, Princess Twilight Sparkle! And before you all ask, yes she is my sister so if any one of you dares to so much as LOOK at her in a poor manner I will PERSONALLY beat your sorry ass all the way back home. AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?”

To which there was a resounding “Sir yes sir!”

Allowing himself a slight smile Shining Armor spoke once again. “Then I leave her in your care. Princess if you have any words for the troops?”

Twilight took a deep breath and steadied herself, she had practiced her speech on the way here about a hundred times but now suddenly her mind was blank and her mouth unable to form the words. A hand clasped around hers and looking down she saw her brothers hand holding her own, smiling she found her strength and began to speak. “My fellow equestrians, we stand here today in defense of our homes, our friends and our families. In the days to come we will face hardships a plenty, we will see much suffering and despair. But please, do not let this grab hold of your hearts! We will stand strong no matter the opposition and we WILL, see our homes again! I say to you now, stand with me! Stand and fight for our family, friends, homes. Stand united as one, as Equestrians!” She finished holding her fist high for emphasis as a thunderous applause rose from the troops. 

Smiling she looked across the field of soldiers as they cheered, all of them either shouting claping jumping or a combination there of. Save for one notable section, the special core. They all maintained a calm stoicism giving only a sharp salute. After the address Twilight was quickly shown to her tent by her brother, the inside was spacious with a large oak desk in the center facing the entrance. Papers, quills and ink had all been set out in preparation and a few documents had already found their way to the desk. A sizeable cot lay in the corner with a trunk of clothing and toiletries that she had brought with her. Making her way to the desk she used her magic to carefully remove her armor and set it by the bed before taking a seat. Shining stood by the entrance smiling at her taking up a much more familiar stance now that they were out of the public eye. 

“Well, well Twily. You can be quite charismatic can’t you? And here I was worried you might end up simply running and hiding.” He said with a chuckle. Twilight looked at him with mock anger. “I’ll have you know I read several books on public speaking.” She said before giggling herself. After they both shared a good laugh at her expense her brother spoke up again.

“Well I need to be on my way, its about a days travel from here to my station and I cant exactly abandon my post. Cadence would kill me if I did. However there is one more thing we need to deal with before I go.” He said looking at her very seriously. “We need to address the matter of who will be addressing your security, you may have seen him at the address but I think a more formal introduction is in order.” He said before leaning out of the tent flap and gesturing. 

Within a few seconds the commander of the special core walked though the open door. Up close he was slightly less intimidating than at the rally, he was of average height a build with a grey coat and brown mane. His eyes shone a deep emerald that seemed to stare right through her. The scar across his face neither added nor subtracted from his features seemingly as though he was born with it and that without it his face would not be complete. His armor was a dark purple leather, obviously died, that fit to his form as though it was a second skin. At his side hung an ornate sword that had obviously been taken great care of as is shone brilliantly. As he entered he gave a sharp salute before adopting a more relaxed pose. “This is commander Grey Steel, leader of the special divisions unit. He will take care of your security both on and off the battlefield. He and I go back to our days at boot camp, his skill with a blade was so great that I never even came close to beating him.” At this the stallion cracked a smile, something he hadn’t done the entirety of the address. 

“Oh come now, I was an amateur back then. And I distinctly remember that I never beat you either.” He said with a slight grin. 

“Really, I don’t remember. Perhaps we should have a match to jog my memory.” Shining said a grin spreading across his face. 

“I’d love to but I remember hearing you say something just now about your wife killing you?” He said a sly smile on his lips. 

“Oh shit! Ok, next time though you tricky bastard. Twilight, I’ll scry you when I get there ok?” To this Twilight nodded and smiled.

“Get going big bro, I’ll talk to you later. Love you BBBFF.” She said. 

“Love you to Twily.” He replied as he hurriedly left the tent for the carriage. After he had gone she turned to Grey Steel and stood up offering her hand. “Pleased to meet you Mr. Steel. I hope we can be good friends. At this he raised his eyebrow. 

“I’m sorry princess, but that would be unwise.” 

“And why is that?” she asked rather tentatively.

“I am a soldier, my duty is to lay my life down for you if need be. If you get to attached to somepony here you will certainly end up being their death. And I don’t intend on letting that happen.” He said looking her strait in the eyes. “Out of respect for your brother I wont push the matter but you are in effect a civilian, and that makes you a liability. Your power as a princess is only useful if we can keep you from the thick of battle. Steel your heart little princess, war is not a glorious occasion.”