Gilda's Downfall

by Daray Dementia

Chapter 2

~Gilda’s Downfall~
Chapter 2: Fire

~If we don't end war, war will end us~
~H. G. Wells~

Fire (Present)

Fire waved at his best friend as he boarded the train that would take him far away from Canterlot. He was unsure as to why Vel had to leave, but it was on the princess's orders, and he would never question the princess. Maybe he could go and see Vel one day. But he had to return to Celestia because she had an important mission for him. Once the train was out of sight, Fire headed toward the castle unaware that his life too would be dramatically changed. He was standing outside the doors to the throne room waiting for clearance to enter. A guard opened the door and informed him that the princess was waiting for him. He pushed the door open and was greeted by the princess from across the room. “Hello Fire, I’m glad you arrived with such haste.”
“Of course your highness, I would never keep the Princess of the Sun waiting!” She smiled and walked over to the stained glass windows that explained the history of Equestria. He walked over and stood beside her. She either didn’t notice or was preoccupied in her thoughts to see him. Finally after a couple of minutes of silence, she finally spoke. “How much of Equestria’s history do you know?”
“Uh, only what they taught us in Royal Guard Academy. Why?”
“Do you know of the reign of the Griffon Empire?” He looked up at her, shaking his head no. She turned back to the glass window and started walking, looking at every window pane as she did. He followed after her in a half walk half trot. “You would never know, nor would anypony else that wasn’t alive during that time.”

She got to the end of the hallway; and there was an old door there. She approached the door and placed her horn in the lock. Fire stood there, not really understanding what was going on. He was trying to figure out why the princess had asked him those questions about griffons and empires. He was lost in thought and almost didn’t realize that the princess was talking to him. “Hello? Are you going to answer me or just stand there in a daze?”
“I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”
“Are you prepared for what I am about to show you?” He pondered what she had asked. What was she going to show him and why was the door so off to the side? He simply nodded. She accepted that answer and opened the door. The Princess stepped in first and Fire quickly joined her. Intially he felt like she led him into nothingness, but as his eyes adjusted, he took note of his surroundings. They were in a room no bigger that Celestia’s bedroom. There wasn’t much furniture, just some chairs and a large table in the center of the room. He let his eyes completely adjust to the dark before he moved about the room. Celestia was at the table moving old papers around. He walked over to the other side of the table. Celestia used her horn and made a shining ball of light. Fire had to look away from the brilliance of the blinding light in the darkness. When his eyes readjusted to the light, he noticed that the walls were bookshelves lined with dusty old tomes. He enjoyed reading, but these were probably not very entertaining. She noticed his curiosity and used her levitation magic to pull a book from the shelves. When she did, she interrupted the years of dust and decay. Dust fell from the book, and dust motes filled the air around them. Fire held back the urge to sneeze for fear of throwing more dust into the air. She brought the book to the table and flipped it open. He sat silently, watching as Celestia skimmed through the book looking for something. She stopped on a page and started read from the book. "During the reign of the Griffon Empire, they controlled all of Equestria. They forced the ponies to pay extremely high taxes and worship the griffons gods. The ponies were miserable and hated the griffons, but were too tired and weak from working in mines for the griffons to fight back. When all hope was thought lost, a group of ponies escaped from the evil empire and went in search of a super weapon called the Amulet of Vanquishing. Only with the amulet could someone bring an end to the reign of anyone that the wielder wanted. The ponies discovered the amulet and used it to stop the griffon conquerors that threatened Equestria. But the amulet was cursed by the soul of the leader of the griffons. The ponies responsible for saving the world were corrupt by the amulet. They fought amongst each other until they turned on each other. The amulet was lost in the Grand Wasteland." She looked at Fire with serious eyes. He stared back at her with a horrified look on his face. Why had she told him all these horrible things? What do any of those things have to do with what's going on now? Celestia noticed that Fire was bewildered and completely confused about their current situation. He was trying to understand what she had told him. He was concentrating so hard he didn’t realize that another pony had joined his side. It was a burly stallion; the kind that looks like he has worked all his life. He was hulking compared to Fire and lanky. The large stallion was watching Celestia as she skimmed the book again.

Fire was getting agitated from the stallion watching him. Wherever he moved in the room, the stallion kept an eye on him. He was starting to feel uneasy when Celestia finally spoke. “Ah, Brick, you’re here!”
“Yes ma’am, I came as soon as I got your message.”
“Thank you, we are just waiting for one more pony then we can begin.”
They sat there waiting for some other pony joining them. Fire was getting impatient when a voice spoke from the doorway. “Lets get this over with.” It was a pony wearing a torso vest. The vest was a weird shade of pink. It looked like the color had faded, but the pony didn’t care. He trotted over to where Fire and Brick were sitting and just stood there next to them. The group turned their attention back to Celestia. “You may all be wondering why I have called you here?” They nodded in unison. She looked back down at the book. “I wasn’t explaining to you about Equestrian history for no reason. I believe that the griffon empire has returned and is going to attack us once again.” Fire swallowed hard and saw the others give nervous looks to each other. “But your highness, didn’t you say that the Amulet of Vanquishing destroyed the griffon leader and stopped the attack?”
“Yes, but I also said the amulet was lost. Time and hatred has fueled the evil soul inside the amulet, he has grown powerful. I fear he will soon escape his imprisonment and wreak havoc upon the land again.” Brick walked over to the book to get a better look. He was looking through the book while Fire and the mysterious pony sat next to each other. “My name is Clips by the way.”
“My name is QuickFire, but you can just call me Fire for short.” Clips nodded and trotted over to the book. Fire just sat there by himself trying to figure out what had been thrust upon him. He couldn’t understand why she had told him; he was nothing special. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize that Celestia had come over and stood beside him. She nudged him slightly to snap him out of his trance. He shook his head and blinked several times. The princess gave a small smile at his foalishness. “Why have you told me all of this? Surely there is somepony more experienced at this sort of thing! What about Vel? Does he know anything about this? Was he sent away because of this? What is going to...” She shushed him, silencing his bombardment of questions. “Please don’t worry about any of this yet, all of your questions will be answered in good time.” He wanted so badly to understand what was happening, but he knew better than to go against his princess's wishes. He figured that he should be more educated in this subject. He got up and went to get information about the griffons and this amulet.

The three ponies in the musty room had bound their lives to the other. After they had accepted their mission and were better acquainted with each other, they signed a blood contract. They swore loyalty to the princess no matter what happened in the future. They were sworn to protect each other and anypony in need. They had to uphold their loyalty and beliefs of a free Equestria under any circumstances. No matter what happened to them in the near future they would protect their secrets with their lives. They became Celestia’s personal soldiers. They became the Circle of the Royal Sun.