Guardian paced around the war room with his hands behind his back, deep in thought.

"The Empire's on their own, the reinforcements were never sent!"

Enough of the accusations! We are doing nothing but wasting time!

"I hope you have thought up a brilliant plan for this! You've got a lot to compensate for!"

I'm trying to be the rational one for once!

"It isn't helping!"

Just then Celestia and Luna walked in. Guardian stopped his pacing for a moment and turned to look at them, "Please, take a seat," then went back to thinking.
The princesses sat at the round, crystalline table in the middle of the room, casting worried glances at each other.

Bickering will get us nowhere, we need a plan.

"Fine, what do you propose we do then?"

Listen closely

Guardian listened intently for a couple of seconds, then took a deep breath and prepared to repeat The Overlord's idea, "I admit we got caught off guard. This is entirely my fault-"

"We know you made a mistake, we all have had our fair share," Luna interrupted, "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I agree," Celestia rose from her seat, "You messed up and there's nothing to do about it now." She gave her former mentor a comforting smile, "But you are still like our father. No amount of mistakes will change that."

Guardian shook his head and gave a slight chuckle, "I'm impressed on how much you've both matured these past centuries. Seems we have a case of role reversal."

He looked down at the floor for a moment, pride swelling inside him.

"After all..." Luna strode up to him, "We had a great teacher."

Guardian looked her in the eyes and saw great admiration in them. He had almost forgotten how much they look up to him.

"Very well then," He continued, "The Finnis Notricii have outsmarted us this one time, but it won't happen again. We have a decently sized army heading our way. The civilians have already been evacuated to safe shelters in Los Pegasus."

"And what of the outlying villages?" Asked Luna, "They've been evacuated too?"

Guardian stopped, despair filling him once more, the sisters' expression falling with his.

"Your not saying..." despair was spreading within Celestia.

No matter how hard you try you just can't get it right.

"I'm very sorry but..." He trailed off, his whiskers twitching in anxiety, "But the smaller...insignificant villages are on their own."

"Insignificant!?" Celestia shouted in disgust, "Your saying my subjects lives don't matter?l

"You don't mean to tell us your leaving them to fend for themselves?" Luna looked at him with pleading eyes.

Guardian couldn't bring himself to look at them.

"Listen to me, please-"

"Insignificant!?" Celestia repeated, "Don't tell me you just forgot!"

"I didn't forget..." He said through gritted teeth.

"Then what!?" She cried, "That they weren't important enough? They didn't have the status to be saved!?" Rage was growing faster and faster within her. Luna looked on in disbelief, the great being who taught them everything about protecting their people, just turned his back on half the country.

"I trusted you..." Sadness quickly turned to alarm as Luna devoted distortion in her sisters voice. She had said nothing so far, but was beginning to panic as shadows emitted from Celestia and Guardian, who was eerily quiet.

"You are supposed to be a protector, aren't you?" The white alicorn sneered.

Celestia's eyes began to turn black as darkness took it's hold. Luna could do nothing but stare speechless as her once elegant white pelt turned darker.

Guardian raised his head to look at her, his appearance similar to the corrupted alicorn, "How dare you accuse me you ungrateful whelp!"

Well, this escalated quickly

"I have done nothing but sacrifice! You think I wouldn't save everyone if it was possible?" He continued, "We simply don't have the resources to evacuate those villages! If we were to waste our valuable assets to rescue those people, the enemy would cut us down when they get here! Why can't you simply deal with the fact that innocent ponies will die no matter what!"

The palace shook with the combined anger of the two deities, "Open your damn eyes Celestia and see what real war is!"

"Please..." Luna squeaked. Guardian's hands were glowing with red energy, and Celestia was charging her own spell. The two people that Luna loved the most, and she was about to watch them destroy each other.
Her heart was racing, her mind went through all the spells that were used to expelled darkness, but all those spells needed the Elements to work.
Mentor and stundent slowly circled each other, locked in brutal eye contact. Their eyes were pitch black and the weight of the darkness in the room was crushing. Now it was only a matter of who shot first.

"If you would just listen to me!" Luna screamed. Both their heads to look at her. Luna locked eyes with Celestia's killing gaze.

"This doesn't involve you, little sister." Her voice barley recognizable through the distortion.

But when Luna turned to look at Guardian, his gaze had softened and the shadows cleared his body. His eyes returned to normal and the red glow faded from his hands.

"You bastard!" She cried and released a ball of energy from her horn aimed straight at his head. Without breaking eye contact with Luna, Guardian raised a cybernetic hand, palm facing Celestia, and slowed the incoming attack to a stop, then dissipated the orb of lethal energy. Celestia roared in blind fury and charged across the room. She vaulted over the table and lowered her horn at Guardian. All the while he kept his calm, straight posture, still looking at Luna. Just before the horn punctured his chest he side-stepped and shot out his arm to bring his two fore-fingers to the corrupted alicorn's forehead. There was a blinding flash of light and Luna had to shield her eyes under her wing. When the light faded, Luna lowered her wing to see Celestia a sobbing heap on the floor. Guardian kept his gaze on her, his face devoid of any emotion.

"Until further notice, you, Princess Luna, are the commander of Equestria's military." He lowered his head to look at a distraught Celestia, "It seems your sister is not mentally fit for duty."

With that he turned and strode out of the room in a hurried manner.

"And neither am I." He added before forcefully pulling the doors shut.

Author's Notes:

Apologies for the wait.

After months of writers block I'm finally back in action! It's time to get this story back on track and out into the world!