"..To shield our charge from harm"
The throne room was buzzing with the conversations of nobles and high ranking officers alike. They had all been called to the throne room for a special occasion, yet no one had been told what this special occasion was. A few assumed that it was simply an ordinary summon, like the princesses briefing them on a project for the city. Some assumed it was simply a celebration for the newly completed magic school under Star Swirl's leadership. Yet no matter how much they theorized or pondered over the question no one got closer to the truth.
As the clock struck three in the afternoon they were finally greeted by the appearance of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. The crowd parted like the red sea to allow the alicorns passage, all bowing before their rulers of day and night. Luna was dressed in a simple black gown woven from silk with silver slippers attached to her hooves. On the dark alicorn's head, rested a silver crown with eight mighty spikes adorned with black star sapphire gemstones.
Celestia was dressed in a white frilled gown which gave her the appearance of having created it from a cloud. On the white alicorn's head rested a golden crown cut in the shape of a ring. The exterior of this extravagant crown was laced with diamonds and opals. The nobles could feel the divine aura coming from the two children of Faust and their bowed head was the only worship Celestia had demanded. A few nobles, however, didn't look upon the princesses in awe, rather with pity. Celestia's once magnificent white wings were hidden away among the frill of her dress, the bones bent out of shape and feathers ruffled.
As Celestia and Luna sat down on their respective thrones the room eagerly awaited their announcement, the princesses beautiful clothes seemingly out of place for an ordinary summon. One noble whispered that someone would be knighted while another said they had finally found husbands. All their whispers were silenced by the princess of the night raising her wing.
"We have gathered you all here today to give thanks to the sacrifices you have made for our city and nation. When Equestria called upon your aid to fight the mad king you did not hesitate to give us your soldiers. Nor did you hesitate to give your coins to rebuild our roads, ports, cities, and homes. For this, you all have our respect and the love of our nation," Luna said.
The great room erupted with cheers from the nobles but they were once again silenced by the midnight alicorn.
"Yet you are not the only ones we have to thank for saving our nation. Without the aid of our experienced military commanders, we would never have won the battle for Canterlot. With myself taken a hostage and my sister injured there was no one else who could have stepped forward to save our kingdom, but you remained strong and believed in your fellow ponies. You did not stop, even when all seemed lost. You all deserve more than statues and money, so take our undying gratitude, knowing you have earned it more than anyone else," Luna said and bowed her head.
Celestia followed her sister's example and bowed before the crowd as well. The soldiers stomped their hooves on the floor and cheered, their eyes alight with pride and conviction. The crowd had started curious and wary of what the two alicorns were going to say, but now they were happy to see their efforts had been recognized by the royal family.
Servants walked into the room with several trays with food and alcohol, the highly esteemed Equestrian elite happily picking up as much food and booze their hooves or magic allowed them to carry. The princesses only smiled at their partying ponies, Celestia holding a serene expression at the display of happiness. Luna simply gestured to one of the guards by her throne, the mare walking off to a smaller door hidden behind one of the curtains. She opened it and saluted the four individuals that entered the room, the group moving through the crowd to stand in front of the thrones.
Confusion spread across the faces of soldiers and nobles alike as they watched the four ponies bow before the princesses. One of the noble sons scoffed at the newly arrived group. "Why are they here princess? This is a gathering only for the nobles and military officers, I can only see one pony among them that qualifies for the title of a high ranking officer."
"They are here because we asked them to be here, like how we asked you to be here," Celestia responded and rose from her seat.
The crowd kept their eyes on the four ponies before them, the nobles and soldiers backing away to give them room. In this group of four, there were easily recognizable ponies. Among them were magic specialist Spectral Vision, battle-mage Broken Orchid, corporal Minted Surprise and commander Violet Shield. The Lord Commander's squadron had been called before the princesses, rank, and titles ignored by the alicorns.
"The reason why we have called upon these four is to reward their bravery and tenacity. These four helped guide our Lord Protector home and bring with him an army of dragons. They have proven themselves to be good at cooperation, diplomacy, and warfare. They have also proven themselves loyal without a doubt and helped save thousands of innocent lives during their journey," Luna said with a proud smile.
"Therefore we have decided to make them new Guardians of the realm," Celestia finished for her sister.
The room was so quiet one could hear a needle drop before objections or approving cheers were yelled. The group of four seemed just as surprised as the rest of the ponies in the room at their rapid promotion. Minted Surprise was frozen with his jaw hanging open while Spectral Vision and Broken Orchid simply nuzzled each other affectionately. Violet Shield simply bowed before standing up straight, a grin plastered on her face.
"Princesses you cannot possibly consider giving them such power and responsibility! One of them is barely a stallion for crying out loud!" One mare cried out.
"Broken Orchid is the sister of King Crystal Sword! We cannot let foreign nations interfere with our kingdom!" An older stallion yelled.
"They have not gone through the nine trials! They don't know the magnitude of what this position means! You cannot expect us to accept this! This is breaking all traditions!" Another stallion said.
Spectral Vision growled at the nobles and his horn lit up like the northern stars. "Broken Orchid almost died for this country! As did I and all my friends! You do not get to define what it means to be worthy because you're related to a lord or lady that is long dead!"
Suddenly the sound of metal hitting the marble floor drew the crowds' attention. Behind them stood Nathaniel Sol. He was holding Valkyrie with his right hand, slamming its pommel into the ground. Once all sound had fled the grand hall he simply moved through the crowd like a ghost, giving the squadron of four a nod before standing next to Luna's side. The human was dressed in his military uniform, white gloves covering his hand of flesh and his hand of steel.
Nathaniel was not the only one to join them, however, as Solar Guardian Holy Light and Lunar Guardian Rose Thorn stepped into the room. Both of the Guardians were dressed similarly to their bipedal friend, Luna's moon sown onto Rose's shoulders while Celestia's sun adored Holy Light's chest.
"There doesn't need to be any trials if they have already proven themselves, Lord Krise," Nathan said to the last noble stallion who spoke, his eyes cold and sharp.
Silver Wing entered the throne room through the same door as his squadron. "Nor are they required to undergo the trials if your rulers say so."
"You are not worthy of the title either! You did not undergo the trials nor the proper training! What sacrifices did you make for your position Guardian Sol!?" The noble stallion yelled with a red face. "And you went off on sightseeing when our country was under attack! We needed you Lord Protector but you were not here!"
Nathaniel's response was simply to shift Valkyrie from his right hand to his left hand, his sight fixed on Krise. The stallion could only swallow nervously in response and look away.
Silver Wing simply scoffed at his outburst. "As your princesses have already said, I gathered allies that helped us win the war. Without the effort of my squad, we would have never been able to equip Equestria with its new flying fleet."
"As for the concerns about foreign intervention, Lord Krise," Celestia started and walked down the stairs next to her throne. "There won't be any interference with our nation from miss Orchid or anyone else chosen for the position of Guardian. I was so focused on the well being of my nation that I turned a blind eye to the rest of the world, I will not let that happen again."
"Our nation and people come first, princess!" One of the soldiers yelled.
"I used to think that, but that led me to underestimate Guto and those who served me. I viewed the outside world as too dangerous and hid behind a stronger military of an opposing ruler I once thought my ally. I viewed my soldiers as loyal to a fault when some of them only needed a slight push to go down a dark path," Celestia countered and stood in front of the squadron. "I let my fear of others rule Eqsutria, not my mind."
For a second Celestia threw a look at Nathaniel who simply watched her from Luna's side.
"But those days are over! The days of hiding behind others and fearing all things that might go wrong are behind us. Our future entails so much more than Guardians of a single kingdom or continent," The alabaster alicorn continued.
"She can not be serious.." One noble whispered to his lover.
"They are our the Princesses bodyguards, what more could they do?" Another stallion said with a roll of his eyes.
Luna smiled smugly at that. "They will guard the realm as a whole, protecting the innocents of all eight kingdoms."
Finally after many minutes of debating and yelling the nobles understood what the princesses had done. A few looked happily surprised by the news while others were red-faced and angry. The four ponies that had been brought into the room were given medallions from Celestia, each one made from a combination of silver and gold. On the medallion's front, there was a sun cut from a red ruby in its middle. Luna's moon was on the amulet's other side, cut from the same black sapphires that adorned her crown.
"Bow and repeat after me," Celestia said.
The four squad members bowed deeply and closed their eyes, their new medallions hanging tightly around their necks. Nathan slammed his Warhammer's pommel onto the floor three times, quieting anyone that would inject about the vow. The nobles would simply be forced to accept the ruling or they could leave.
"To serve, protect, and shield our charge from harm," Celestia said.
"To serve, protect, and shield our charge from harm," The group repeated.
"We swear to guard, not just lord and crown, but peasant and farm," The princess of the sun continued.
"We swear to guard, not just lord and crown, but peasant and farm."
Luna rose from her throne and continued the vow. "We humbly do accept our duty unto thee, to thwart all danger at first opportunity."
"We humbly accept our duty onto thee, to thwart all danger at first opportunity."
Nathaniel stepped down from Luna's side to stand beside Celestia, vocalizing the last part of the vow. "As Guardians of the realm we shall be known, defenders of crown and throne, so we have sworn."
"As Guardians of the realm we shall be known, defenders of crown and throne, so we have sworn."
Luna stepped down from her throne to stand next to her sister and human, bowning her head to the four new guardians. Celestia followed suit and motioned for the four ponies to stand. Nathaniel looked upon the display with a smile and started to clap his hands together, Rose and Holy Light followed suit by stomping their hooves onto the ground. Soon most of the room followed suit, not including nobles like Lord Krise.
"From this point on the Guardians of the realm will not just protect Equestria. There will be no Solar or Lunar Guardians, only meant to serve our nation. Starting today the order of Guardians will have a headquarter in Canterlot, where they will be under the express control of the world council. This means Lord Protector Silver Wing will no longer be in direct control of the order, as his place is by our side. Additionally to strengthen the relationships with the other nations they will each send one candidate for the position of protecting the realm," Celestia said.
"Who will control them? If the Lord Protector holds no power over them then who will be their new leader?" One soldier asked.
"Holy Light," Luna said and gave the unicorn stallion a nod.
Light just grinned. "I accepted the position with gratitude."
Celestia stepped back onto her throne and nodded at the ponies that had gathered before her. "This meeting is adjourned, we must help our new Guardians to get situated."
The nobles and officers slowly left the throne room, discussions spreading amongst them. They wanted to know what this change would mean for Equestria, for the entire world at large. The Guardians had been established to work as the princesses' eyes, ears, and swords in their kingdom. Now they would serve the world council instead, their once limited reach endless. Nobles like Lord Krise grumbled on how this change would bring nothing good to their nation and how the new order of Guardians would be weaker than the old one. But they all left the room, leaving only the princesses and their former guardians.
"This change was a bit drastic, but needed," Luna said.
"A lot of them won't be happy about this. They like it when they're in control of what's happening in their city," Rose exclaimed and motioned for the four new Guardians to follow her.
"Nobles are never happy unless it involves praise or money," Holy light responded and followed her.
As the sanguine mare and unicorn stallion led their new comrades out of the grand throne room it left only the princesses, human, and Lord Protector in the room. Celestia and Luna returned to their thrones, both sisters looking calm. Luna picked up a new medallion for Nathan with her magic and gave it to him. He just looked at it and shrugged, putting it in his pocket. Nathan liked his moon pendant more.
"So what happens now?" The human asked and leaned on his weapon.
"You and your fellow Guardians will get time to establish yourselves, after that it's up to you. Go wherever you're needed or wherever the world council wants you to go. You are no longer bound to Equestria, and you're no longer bound to me," Celestia responded.
Nathan eyed her for a second before nodding and heading for the door. "I'll see you later tonight Luna."
The midnight alicorn just blushed in response, teleporting to her chambers.
After Nathan and Luna left Celestia looked out the open window facing Canterlot, smiling to herself. "A new chapter awaits our nation, one where I no longer fear the world like I used to."
"And should the world once again bear its teeth at Equestria I will aid you in combating it," Silver Wing said confidently.
The white alicorn just smiled at that. "For so you have sworn."
"For so I have sworn."