Children of the Guardian

Chap 4

David slowly opened his eyes as the feeling of rushing wind from his teleportation spell faded. Only to be replaced by a scorching hot feeling running over his body. He looked up to see the sun directly above him, sending rays of heat down on top of him. (Of course the day I choose to wear my armor is the day it's hot as hell.) He thought as he walked toward the military academy.

The academy itself reminded him a lot of a large college campus. It was open and covered in different buildings where the students had to go to take other classes. The academy itself was shaped like a V with the open end facing David. It was 3 stories tall and at the end of each point of the V there were two chimneys. The main entrance into the academy was also part of a large tower that appeared to be 4 stories tall, and was connected to the main building itself. As he approached David noticed the large letters hanging over the entrance.

"CANTERLOT MILITARY ACADEMY: Shaping the leaders of tomorrow." David read as he looked up at the words that were being flanked by two very large statues of soldiers in battle armor. As he continued to study the words and building under the statues unflinching stone gaze he suddenly felt something hit him upside the head and splat against him.

"OW! Who threw that!!??" He yelled wiping the side of his head clean from the egg that hat hit him as he looked around trying to find out who had thrown it. He suddenly spotted movement to his left behind some bushes, and with a flick of his left hoof the bush was torn up from its revealing two large earth pony stallions. The stallion's eyes grew wide with fear when they noticed that their hiding place had vanished. David slowly walked down the steps of the academy and headed toward them. The stallions began whispering to one another as he grew closer and suddenly smiled and met David in the middle of the grass between the bush's former position and the stairs.

"Gotta admit… you're pretty tough for a unicorn." One of the stallions said smirking. David cast his gaze over both of the stallions. They were both equal in size maybe a few feet taller than Big Macintosh back on Sweet Apple Acres. (Only difference is that these two don't have brains) David thought as he continued to watch them walk around him, keeping him pinned between them. One stallion was a dirty black, and the second was a pale brown. They both had blue eyes and black manes so David assumed they were brothers.

"You know we don't like seeing unicorn stallions showing up here and thinking they own the place!" The pale brown stallion said spitting at David's hooves.  

"Yeah so why don't you just run on home with your magic before we hurt you." The black stallion said cracking his hooves. Normally David would ignore fights like this and move on, but these two were really starting to piss him off.

"Why don't YOU two get back to class before I kick you there myself?" David said quietly as he slowly slid into a fighting stance. Both of the stallions suddenly grew angry and advanced on him. The black stallion threw a punch but David stepped out of the way and kicked the stallion in his chest while simultaneously grabbing the other stallion's arm and flipping him over front hooves with a quick jerk. Both of the stallions lay on the ground in agony as David brushed himself off and walked back toward the entrance where he saw a pegasus pony in a green uniform waiting for him. The uniformed pony snapped a salute as David reached the top of the stairs.

"Thank you for coming Guardian. I'm Major Lighting Strike head of the pegasus air training program." He said as he shook David's hoof.

"It was my pleasure Major. I understand you have a class you would like me to talk too."

"Indeed I do sir, but first…" The pegasus turned toward the stallions that were now getting back on their feet. "YOU TWO BETTER GET YOUR FLANKS IN GEAR, OR I'LL HAVE YOU ON KP DUTY FOR TWO MONTHS!!! NOW MOVE!!!" The pegasus roared as the stallions jumped up and ran. David was surprised at this aging pony's display. Lightning strike was a tall red pegasus with a black mane that looked slightly gray. His muzzle displayed signs of age as it was covered in minor wrinkles, but David knew that just because he looked old didn't mean he couldn't kick butt if he had too. The aging trainer turned and cracked his back as he looked at David.

"I'm getting to old for this Guardian. You want to trade jobs?" He asked jokingly as he led David inside.

"Trust me Major having my job will only make you age faster." David smiled as the pegasus laughed. "Well then I guess I'll just stay here a little longer." He said sarcastically. Lightning Strike leads David down hall after hall of the building. Each hall was lined with pictures and statues.

"On your left are statues of famous leaders in Equestrian History, and on your right are pictures of famous battles." He said as they walked. David was amazed at the statues and artwork, he was even more impressed when saw a statue of himself! It was a statue that had been carved out of marble and was an image of him in full armor standing at attention. He was amazed at the detail that had gone into creating this image of him; it was perfect down to the last detail, from the carvings on the hilts of his sword hilts to the designs on his armor.

"That's nothing. Take a look right there." Lightning said pointing at two large paintings that hung on either side of the statue. The picture on the left was an oil painting of the battle of Manehattan where the Guardian Army had one its first battle of the Eclipse War. It depicted David in his human form leading a charge down a hill into an oncoming enemy. Memories of that fateful day flooded back into David's mind as images of clashing swords and the sounds of battle cries reverberated through his head.

"Manehattan… My first command." He whispered as he stared at the painting.

"The other painting is The Battle of Canterlot Mountain." Lightning Strike said. David shuddered at the name of that battle. Canterlot Mountain had been the climactic battle of the Eclipse War. He had gathered an army of dragons, griffins, and stallions that totaled 11,000. They had been outnumbered nearly 3 to 1 but Devin (David's commander) had been successful in drawing up a successful battle plan. The Guardian Army swept the Eclipse Army from the field in a decisive stroke but David was not there to witness it. He had gone into the castle to challenge Nightmare Sol and did not see the great victory the army had achieved.

"Guardian… we need to keep moving or you'll be late." Lighting Strike's voice brought David back to his senses as he shook his head and began following the red pegasus again. As he followed Lighting even farther into the academy he noticed rooms marked with different titles. Rooms with the words; "Training Room", "Tactics 101", and "Strategy" passed through his vision as he continued to walk through the unfamiliar academy.

"I need to talk to you about those two stallions who hit you with that egg." Lightning said suddenly.

"You need to understand that earth ponies don't really like unicorns at this academy."

"Why's that?" David asked. "Most unicorns reach officer ranks and end up commanding the earth ponies in practice battles and training exercises."

"So?"

"So… a deep rift has developed between the two types. They HATE each other and are always trying to prove whose better in war. That's why those two threw that egg at you; they were hoping to scare off another "recruit"." Lightning said shaking his head. David frowned.

"That's pretty pathetic if they have to result to tricks and harassment to make themselves feel good. If I were you I would've put my foot in their flanks and told them to straighten up." He growled.

"We've tried that… but it never works. Anyway let's change the subject." He coughed.

"Sure. What kind of class am I talking to today?" David asked.

"You're going to be given a lecture on warfare to our top class. It's mostly unicorns and earth ponies so good luck." David rolled his eyes.

"I'm not scared of a bunch of idiots who can't tell their allies from their enemies." He said as they approached a large brown door.

"Good. This is the lecture hall, you're lecture is from Noon to three." Lightning said as he opened the door. "Go get em!" He whispered as he shut the door leaving David in a massive class room. Maps lined the walls, along with pictures of famous battles. What caught his attention immediately was how many stallions were in the room itself. It looked like there were at least 200 of them. The left half of the room was filled with earth ponies wearing black uniforms. The right half was filled with unicorns in brown uniforms, with a small number of pegasi in green uniforms in the middle. The noise was deafening as David walked toward a small podium that faced all the ponies. He slowly walked toward the podium and noticed out of the corner of his eye the two who had egged him. They were too distracted to notice him.

(You'll notice this.) David thought as he pulled his pistol from his armor and fired a shot into the air. Everypony in the room jumped and looked toward the podium where the sound had come from.

"Good Afternoon." David started. "I am David Arman the Guardian of Equestria, though I'm sure you already knew that." He said calmly as he looked at the serious expressions on the faces of the soldiers.

"Before I begin I would like to say something. I have seen MANY armies and soldiers in my time. Not just on my planet of Earth, but here on Equestria as well. However…" David stopped and glared at all of them.

"This academy has been the BIGGEST disappointment of them all." He said harshly. The soldiers all turned and began mumbling to each other. Some of them glared at David with hatred, but he was about to call them out.

"A unit in ANY army must have compatibility with the rest of its troops. I have seen that everywhere but here. No… All I see here is a bunch of brain dead, slack jawed, blank flanks who believe they should spend their time arguing over who's better than the other." David noticed that those words had gotten through to the class.

"I'm gonna let you in on a secret. In an army… NO unit is better than the other. In fact if they don't work together, every unit is worthless to a general!!" He shouted.

"A general needs to focus on commanding his army, and must pay attention to the battle at all times. The last thing he needs is a bunch of big headed earth ponies…"

The unicorns chuckled at this insult.

"And a pack of stuck up unicorns distracting him." David barked. It was then time for the earth ponies to laugh. David slammed his hoof on the podium reducing it to rubble.

"SHUT UP!!!!!!" He roared at the top of his lungs. The room was completely quiet. "I suggest all of you get your act together and pay attention. Now then… let's get this lecture started." Next Chapter: Chapter 5 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes