I am Marshall of The Knights of The Golden Sun. Two thousand years ago, during the war against King Sombra our order was formed by Princess Celestia herself.

This is how I joined the order.

At that time, I wandered the land as a mercenary for hire in hopes of improving my skills and seeing the outside world until I came into the service of one Prince Blueblood who was a member of the royal family in Canterlot but he was also a slave merchant in service of Equestria's newest king; Dainn Stonehoof. It was during this time that I met The Knights of The Golden Sun and their leader as they laid siege to the fortress that Blueblood was residing in.

The siege began at the crack of dawn. Marshall was the first to rush to the fortresses defenses yet he couldn't believe how many they were up against, the army attacking them was a thousand strong and to make matters worse they had brought a battering ram and flaming catapults to set fire to the rooftops of the keep.

"Blueblood! Come out!" A voice cried out as Blueblood rushed to the wall looking like he had seen a ghost after recognizing it.

The commander leading this siege was another knight; A Lawbringer carrying a poleaxe with a crystal blade. At first he seemed unrecognizable thanks to his helmet then Marshall noticed the crest on his breastplate. It was Shining Armor, the banished prince of the Crystal Empire.

"What the hell is he doing here?" He thought to himself as the fighting went on around him.

"It doesn't have to be like this!" Shining called out trying to reason with his enemy but Blueblood was too stubborn and proud to admit defeat.

"Keep them off the walls!" The fool shouted while running back to the safety of the keep leaving his men to fend off the enemy. Shining sighed in defeat as if expecting this and ordered his men to press the attack as siege ladders began popping up on random sections of the wall while a barrage of arrows began picking off the defenders.

"STAY LOW!!" Marshall shouted when an enemy knight nearly cleaved his head off. The warden was able to dispatch his opponent quickly before several more began climbing up the east wall.

"Damn!" He cursed after realizing he was the last defender and found himself completely outnumbered. For a moment things looked grim until he began using his superior sword skills to cut down the enemy, reinforcements finally arrived to help push them back but it did little to halt their assault as more and more began swarming the courtyard.

"Hold them here!"

"Yes sir!"

Marshall ran down the steps towards the courtyard along with another squad of soldiers who helped to stop the enemy from opening the gate from within. The victory was short lived as enemy archers began taking positions along the north wall and began firing upon the guards, those that survived the barrage hid under the gates archway completely pinned down by arrow fire. Marshall needed to do something and fast especially with the enemies battering ram moving closer by the second.

"You men stay here!"

The warden rushed towards the keep as arrows whizzed past him before he made his way up the stairs and along the western wall towards the archers, there he noticed a catapult that had been turned on its side.

"That catapult's still ready to fire." An idea came into the wardens head as he ducked past a flurry of arrows and with a quick swing of his sword, the catapult was triggered and sent the entire line of archers flying off the wall but that didn't stop Shining Armor's attack.

"CHARGE!!" The commander shouted after a boulder smashed open a hole in the lower section of the wall.

"Get their leader! Get Blueblood!"

Soldiers began pouring out of the breach turning the courtyard into a bloodbath. Blueblood had finally decided to show himself but was still too afraid to even fight let alone lead the charge.

"Go! Protect me!!" The coward cringed behind a pile of rubble after shoving several soldiers out to fight in his stead.

"I don't get paid enough for this job." Marshall said as the duties of leading the defense once again fell onto his shoulders. The warden leaped into the fray and began cutting down a great number of enemies but they were still being pushed back. It wasn't until after the battering ram had smashed the gate open that Shining Armor finally showed up on the battle field.

"STOP!!!" Shining roared after killing three soldiers and just like that the fighting came to a halt.

"Blueblood! Blueblood show yourself!!" The soldiers stepped aside as the prince finally came out of hiding with a bejeweled sword held tight in his grip and stood face to face with Shining Armor.

"These warriors don't have to die. Trial by combat, right now!" Shining Armor openly declared his challenge to Blueblood but still the coward refused to fight.

"What, fight you? That's no trial, that's an execution!" In truth, an execution would be fitting for the traitorous prince since he was the one who sold out the elements and the royal family after Dainn and his army took over but Shining was a man of honor so he decided to oblige him by offering an easier opponent.

"...then fight my second." Shining called forth a warden in his service for the coward to fight but instead of accepting Blueblood turned to Marshall who had slain a great number of Shining Armors men and demanded that he fight for him.

"You! You will be my second!" Blueblood marched up to Marshall with a firm look in his eyes, trying to look like an actual officer.

"...Alright then." Marshall had no choice but to accept or the rest of the men would be slaughtered. The two knights stood in the center of the courtyard and saluted each other before taking a stance, the first strike would start the duel.

Tensions were high as both wardens stood just a few feet away from each other waiting for one to make the first move. Marshall struck first with an overhead strike that was easily blocked before he received a boot to the breastplate, the soldiers began cheering on both sides as the knights clashed over and over with the duels momentum constantly shifting from one to the other. The warden facing Marshall had remarkable skill and left very little openings in his defense but Marshall needed to win this fight for the men and he needed to win fast.

"He's good..." He huffed after fending off another series of attacks. This next one would decide the match.

The enemy warden gave a wide sweep with his blade towards Marshalls head in hopes of ending the duel but that ended up being his undoing as his rivals blade came sweeping at the neck and cutting his windpipe open. Blood was pouring from the wardens neck as he began to suffocate before Marshall delivered the killing blow with the hilt of his sword using a technique known as the Mordhau Strike thus finishing the duel but despite his victory he and the men were still at the mercy of their enemies.

Prince Blueblood he reached for his sword as Shining Armor approached him but instead of trying to strike him down the coward tried turning his champion into a scapegoat.

"It will not do for a knight of the golden sun to be defeated by a common mercenary." Blueblood whispered trying to use Shining Armors pride against him as he let him take hold of his sword.

"You there. What is your name?" Shining asked while removing his helmet.

"Marshall, sir."

"Kneel."

Out of respect, Marshall fell to one knee and planted his sword firmly in the ground as Shining Armor stood over him. Under his helmet, he closed his eyes as he prepared for what looked to be his execution when he felt two taps on his shoulder as Shining said aloud.

"For valor in battle, for honor in service I Shining Armor raise you. Stand brother and Knight of The Golden Sun." The commander then offered his hand in friendship to help the newly recruited warden stand while Blueblood stood there shocked by what he had just seen and to add insult to injury Shining Armor threw Marshalls old sword to the feet of the disgraced prince while giving him the one that Blueblood so generously offered him.

"We're done here." The knights then left the battered fortress with what provisions they could carry and returned to their stronghold in a land far off to the west; a land called Ashfeld.

End.