Chapters Chapter One: Conscription
A fire is a peculiar thing. Match some dry tinder with a burning spark, and it erupts into a burning, living thing. This is a story about Golden Fyre, who's rise in the Royal Ranks was lit by a mere spark of Love.
Sparking a Fyre [Chapter One: Conscription]
CONSCRIPTION NOTICE: EQUESTRIA ROYAL GUARDS
To: Golden Fyre & Quick Sylver, owners and operators of Quickfyre Metalworks
Upon the request of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, the two adressed Ponies are hereby conscripted into the Equestrian Royal Guard, to serve personally under Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence themselves. QuickFyre Metalworks will be given a location within the castle work. Golden Fyre has been assigned as a personal guard for Princess Cadence, and Quick Sylver her Royal Assistant. Both will be still be expected to provide new designs in armor for the Royal Guard, as well. A wagon will be sent at promptly 0600 hours, on the third day from the date this notice was sent. Be packed and prepared to leave at that time. All property of QuickFyre Metalworks will be moved to the castle, where it shall be granted access to state of the art materials and tools.
We thank you for your service, and welcome to the Royal Guard.
Signed,
Prince Shining Armor
Golden Fyre and Quick Sylver stared at the letter, mouths agape. The guard who delivered the noticed saluted, then left. Neither of them could believe it. Shining Armor hadn't forgotten about them, and he actually wants them to serve in the castle, with them!
Quick Sylver was the first to speak. "I can't believe it!" She let out a squee "I get to work for Cadence!" "The most loving, caring, sweetest pony in all of Equestria!" She flopped back dramatically, just to be caught by Golden Fyre's deep gold magical aura. She read and re-read the letter. She never would have thought being conscripted was a good thing! Then she noticed the date it was sent. "Gasp, they sent this two days ago, we have to pack everything tonight!" Sylver exclaimed, before running off to pack up their personal items.
Golden Fyre could only smile to himself as he went to into their workshop to start packing up their metalworking equipment. He was a big, gruff looking unicorn, with mean gold colored eyes and a matching mane. He had a soft light coat, that had just a hint of blue in it. His body was scarred from years working with molten metal. Most wouldn't mess with him, but Quick Sylver saw something in him that others had not, and it was love at first sight, for both of them. Quick Silver, a Pegasus, was a beautiful mare to him. She had a plain grey coat with a shocking pure white mane, and gentle steel blue eyes. She had cute little freckles, and if one looked closely they could see a blue spot on her forehead, mostly hidden by her mane. Most found her odd, quirky nature just flat out creepy, as a result most of them stayed away from her. Which is one of many reasons he loved her. She knew exactly what she wanted, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind to anypony who would listen, but she wasn't hurtful, and she could almost always put a positive spin on things. He let out a deep sigh as he looked at the room that was their workshop. It was actually just the second floor of their home, outside was a stairway that led to a poorly installed doorway. This would be the last time he would see this room like this, this very building had been his home for years, and it felt like he was saying final goodbyes to a loved family member. Golden Fyre shook his head to clear out the thoughts, turned on some music, and started packing things away.
It was about twenty minutes before 6 o'clock, and Prince Shining Armor guided two large carts through the dank back streets of Canterlot. Flanked on both sides by Royal Guards, the small convoy arrived at a run down building. Prince Shining Armor sighed as a rat skittered past, and into the shadows. The building had definitely fallen into disrepair since the last time he saw it.
"Poor building, it didn't do anything to deserve this kind of treatment" The Prince thought "I wonder why Fyre let it get so dilapidated, it's a shame." Shining Armor ordered the guards to open the wagons and to be ready for some heavy lifting, and to not drop anything , as most of it was one of a kind. He turned and knocked on the door, a grin coming to his face when a specific young mare answered. "Sylver!" He exclaimed, obviously knowing her "It's been so long!" He said, getting a hug from the ecstatic grey mare.
"I know, we have so much to catch up on!" She made a small wink and added "And I heard you got married, I can't wait to meet the lucky lady!" She poked his armored chest playfully, before turning and shouting up to the workshop. "Golden, sweetie, Shining Armor is here!"
"Coming!" Was the muffled reply, followed by a small clang, and a string of curses. Shining Armor and Sylver shared a small chuckle as Golden Fyre walked down the stairs, rubbing a lump on his head, only getting another laugh from Shining and Sylver "Ha ha very funny" spat, his voice dripping with sarcasm, only making Shining Armor and Sylver laugh even harder.
A few minutes later, the Royal Guards had gotten most of Fyre's and Sylver's personal belongings onto a cart, and were struggling to get the cast iron metalworking equipment to the carts, and it was quiet a feat when they finished loading everything.
Fyre mustered up the courage to ask a question that had been nagging him since they received the letter. "Uh, Prince..."
Shining Armor interupted him "Please Fyre, we've known each other for years, you can still call me Shining, it makes me feel normal, being nearly worshiped everywhere you go gets tiresome."
Golden Fyre nodded, not being one to chicken out of anything. "Okay, well, I was wondering why you wanted us to move into the castle?" Fyre spilled "I mean, you're a Prince now, you could get anybody else to do it, instead of two poor ponies from the outskirts of the city, I thought you had forgotten about us..." Fyre finished, hanging his head.
Shining Armor sighed, but smiled at his friend. "I wouldn't forget about a friend, Fyre, especially one in need." Shining told him. "Now come, we are expected back at Canterlot Castle!" He swept his arm grandly and laughed as they departed for their new home.
Fyre took one look back at his now former home. "Goodbye, old friend." He thought, before facing ahead. "No use in looking back, it's not going to do me any good." With a final, heavy sigh, Golden Fyre followed the small convoy of guards and carts towards Canterlot Castle, and his new life.
And so the flint was struck, and the small ember of Golden's life was born into a flame, growing and changing with the moment.Sparking a Fyre
Shining Armor led Golden Fyre and Quick Sylver to the massive workshop that had been set up in the lower levels of Canterlot castle. There they were joined by a weary Princess Luna and a fresh and chipper Princess Celestia. The two blacksmiths were scared out of their wits, but they managed to bow before the two regal sisters.
"Rise, my little ponies, you have nothing to be afraid of" Celestia said to the frightened two, her calm and motherly voice had a visible effect on them, as they both look up to her with grateful eyes. "You two were hoof picked by Shining Armor when I suggested that he find a personal guard and companion for Cadence, as you two know, they are both becoming involved in the ruling of Equestria, with Luna and myself, and most our subjects have been more than eager to have another Princess and Prince..." She explained, then her voice went grave "But there are some who resent this change, and they have made threats on both Shining Armor and Cadence, and they have both been doing very well under the stress, but sometimes everypony needs a friend or two to help them along, you two have the choice to become Princess Cadence's personal guard and assistant, and will be given the proper training, as well as keep your careers in making Royal Guard Armor, if you wish to not become involved with the Royalty, which is understandable, we will not hold it against you, and you will be allowed to remain here in the castle and continue your metalworking business, un-hindered by any major Royal interference." She finished, looking down to the two ponies, who had both been listening intently.
Golden Fyre spoke up after conferring with Quick Sylver. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Price Shining Armor, we would be honored to become part of the Royal Staff, and we would love to be able to continue our metalworking here in the castle." He looked directly at Princess Celestia, his eyes shrank just a little as she loomed over him, but relaxed as she sighed and smiled down at him.
"Magnificent, Princess Cadence is tied up in the courts right now, and she apologizes for not being able to meet you at the moment, but we arranged a room for you two near her chambers." She spoke warmly, looking to her tired sister for a brief moment "Luna, would you mind showing Miss Sylver to her room?" She then turned to face Golden Fyre and Shining Armor. "Come, Golden Fyre, we will get you set up in basic guard training, then I would like to hear about the armor design you sent Shining Armor a few weeks ago, it sounds intriguing...." He voice trailed off as they walked down the marble floored hallway.
"FIFTY MORE PUSHUPS, PRIVATE FYRE!" Shouted the drill drill instructor, getting a grim nod in response from Fyre, the drill instructor decided to sit on Golden Fyre's back while he did them. "You are one strong pony, Private Fyre!" The drill instructor told him, while lounging on his back.
"I get asked to serve for a Princess...not exactly what I had in mind..." Fyre thought to himself, covered in sweat, but still going strong. Princess Celestia had to rush to the Courtroom, already behind schedule, and promised to have the materials needed for Fyre's special armor project sent to the workshop. In the meantime, he was instructed to go through a series of tests and drills with this...creature...that was his drill instructor. Sergeant Payne was his name, and that's how he was instructed to address him. The drill instructor knew full well who he was torturing, and that he was probably going to receive some kind of demeaning revenge later on, but he had to do his job, and making sure Princess Cadence got the absolute best pony they could give here was probably written in the fine print somewhere.
Sergeant Payne hopped off Fyre's back and gave him a simple set of instructions. "Okay, you're obviously a very fit pony, and I'm amazed at what you were able to do, most guards cracked after the first two sets, but now for the real test, I want you to stand at attention, just as you would be if you were guarding a doorway, until I tell you to stop, am I understood, Private Fyre?!?" He barked
"Crystal Clear, sir!" said as he snapped to attention, not so much as moving a muscle. "This is going to be a very long day..." He thought to himself as Sergeant Payne walked off, heading in the direction of his next victim.
Quick Sylver plopped down onto the plush bed in her new room, thinking to herself. "This place is massive!" "Why, I could fit our entire old house in this room alone!" She was astonished at how lavish and rich everything was as she walked into the bathroom and took everything in. Various bath salts and soaps were lined up in gold and crystal cabinets, the floor was a beautiful polished white marble. Everything spoke absolute luxury, and she wasn't going to waste an opportunity to overdo everything she possibly could. She started a bath running and chose the best smelling items to go in it, if she was going to meet Princess Cadence, she wanted to make a good impression. Twenty minutes later Sylver was out of the bubbly mountain of her tub and styling her hair. "I guess next time I won't put so much bubblebath in there!" she thought, giggling at the thought of the bubble mountain that had buried her. She brushed her teeth until they were as white as her mane, then she gathered up her things and headed out to the royal dining hall to meet her new employer, hoping she looked pretty enough.
"You look absolutely beautiful!" Exclaimed a very happy Princess Cadence, making Sylver radiate with joy. "I'm very glad they found somepony who was willing to help, especially one who is so very pretty." Cadence smiled as Sylver nearly exploded out of happiness.
"Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou your Highness!" Sylver said in one long, unbroken scentence. "Ahem...er...I mean thank you, it's an honor to work for somebody so caring and compasionate." Sylver stated in a much more professional manner, making Cadence giggle.
"Please, Sylver, just call me Cadence when we're by ourselves, honestly I don't know how Luna and Celestia can handle having absolutly everything and everypony at their disposal, totally willing to serve, it's like eveypony is deathly afraid of them, like they'll get sent to the moon or something!" The young princess whispered in her new assistant's ear, making her have to stifle a giggle. "So tell me about Golden Fyre!" The princess playfully bugged Sylver about it. "I've been told he's a very capable, you're a very lucky mare!" He jested, making Sylver's grey face turn a light pink.
"Oh, we aren't together like that, just kind of a mutual businesspony thing." She smiled awkwardly, hoping it was enough to convince the princess's keen abilities with all matters involving love.
The pink alicorn knew that her assistant had feelings for her companion, anypony with eyes could see that, but she decided to not push that little matter, instead, she turned to the subject of his training. "So, which drill sergeant did he get assigned too?" She inquired.
"Oh, I think it was somepony named 'Sergeant Payne', I heard a couple of guards talking about it." Sylver replied, turning to the tray of food that had been set down in front of her. Apparently somebody already told the kitchen her favorite.
Princess Cadence paled a little at the mention of Payne's name. "May Celestia have mercy on his soul..." She muttered under her breath, thankfully her new friend was entranced by a plate of food. "Oh, he's a great pony, I'm sure he'll be in perfect condition to serve as a guard by tonight!" She said cheerfully, looking over to the opposite end of the room, eyeing the Guard who walked in. "Oh, how convenient" She thought to herself, watching Sergeant Payne get a milkshake from the kitchen, before he noticed the Princess glaring at him. "I thought you were training Mr. Fyre, Sergeant." She said, her voice having gone from kind and gentle to something sharp and commanding.
"I am." Came the simple reply from the lazy sergeant. You could have cut the tension mounting in the air with a butter knife.
"Oh you are?" The princess inquired. "And what exactly are you doing to train him, whilst you drink a milkshake?" She kept up her glare.
"He's outside, standing at attention, has been for a good hour!" He replied, taking a long slurp from his milkshake. "He's one tough pony, I'll give him that, but I'll bet my bits that he's collapsed or gotten distracted by now."
Cadence simply sighed and shooed him off as she turned back to Sylver and began discussing her daily schedule, with her grey little friend taking diligent notes.
Golden Fyre stared directly ahead as Sergeant Payne poked and prodded him, looking for any sign that he something had been disturbed, and much to Payne's dismay, he couldn't find anything.
"Not a hair out of place..." Sergeant Payne muttered, watching Celestia's sun slowly descend on the Horizon, casting long shadows across the ground. "Well I'll be darned, you're probably the toughest pony I've ever tested, and I'm glad to have the honor to introduce you into the Guard, Private Fyre!" Sergeant Payne gave him a salute, then announced in a commanding voice. "Equestrian Royal Guard Private Golden Fyre, I hereby announce that you are a full fledge member of the Royal Guard, and state that you are qualified for your duties as Captain of Princess Cadence's personal Royal Guard squad, dismissed!" At that, Fyre turned from his blank stare and eyed his former tormentor, gave a salute, and said the two most shocking words Sergeant Payne had ever heard.
"Thank you."
Celestia sighed. It had been a long day, and she had to cut into her sleeping time for a brief meeting with her sister, Shining Armor, Cadence, and the their two new staff members. Luna, on the other hand, seemed as happy and excited as Celestia felt that morning.
"Oh sister, it is so great to have somepony else to share the burden of ruling with!" Luna exclaimed, trotting happily to the room where they had requested the meeting. "And I heard even Sergeant Payne couldn't break the new guard's patience!" She added, "Shining Armor was right when he requested him for Cadence, oh, we can hardly contain ourselves!" Stop stopped her babbling as she caught herself starting to use the 'royal we' again. Smiling sheepishly at her sister, they walked into the room to see that everypony else had gathered, all but Luna seemed exhausted, especially the newly appointed Captain Fyre, who was now decked out in the respective, albeit slightly outdated, armor.
Celestia spoke up. "Well, everypony, I'm glad to see you all had a good start to your new lives here in the Castle, but tomorrow starts the real challenge..."
Chapter Three: A Day in the Court
The flame grows, sheltered from the wind.Sparking a Fyre
"Ugh, Celestia didn't lie, today is going to suck!" Golden Fyre though to himself as he got ready that morning. He had spent most of the night working on his special Royal Guard armor, and only managed to sneak in a couple hours of sleep. "Why does the Princess have to be up so early? The sun hasn't even risen yet, and she's already scheduled for court duty, I mean really, who has matters so important that they can't wait until after dawn to bug the Princesses about them?!" He shook his head as he put on his Captain's helmet and headed to meet up with Quick Sylver and Princess Cadence. Skipping breakfast, Fyre went straight to the massive room where the court was held. Upon arriaval he took his place next to Cadence.
"Goodmorning Captain, you look exhausted!" The Princess whispered in his ear. "You didn't stay up all night, did you?" She inquired, a little bit of concern and scolding creeping into her voice.
Fyre shook his head. "Not all night, Princess Cadence, I got a few hours of sleep." He told her, which was the absolute truth. He wasn't going to lie to a Princess anytime soon.
Cadence shook her head. "I expect you to get more sleep, I understand if you were working, but a sleepy guard cannot perform to the best of his ability, you could at least get some coffee." She told him, the scolding replaced by an almost Celestia-like motherly tone.
"Yes ma'am, won't happen again!" Fyre said swiftly, ignoring the chuckles from other various guards posted in the room. He stood at attention while the Princess went through the various people and their needs. More and more ponies showed up as the morning wore on, and Captain Fyre zoned out for the majority of the session, while Princess Cadence and Quick Sylver had to suffer through some of the least reasonable requests and pleas in Equestrian History. Golden Fyre focused long enough at the end of a tall, wiry ponies presentation.
"...And that, your highness, is why the aglet needs to be banned from Equestria, less somebody get severely injured!" The pony finished, pushing his wire-frame glasses up his nose and letting out a sniffle, smiling proudly of the presentation he came up with.
Princess Cadence was quiet for a moment as she came up with a response. "Well, um, I'll have to talk to Princess Celestia and Luna before we can come to a conclusion, we'll contact you when we come up with an idea, thank you for your presentation." She told the elated stallion, smiling. The stallion bowed and walked out of the room, triumphant.
Sylver spoke up. "Well that was...interesting, either way, we only have one more pony to listen too before we can go, your highness."
Cadence brightened up at the prospect. "That's great, who is it?" She asked her loyal assistant.
"Somepony named 'Prince Blueblood', your highness, do you know him?" Sylver answered.
Cadence gulped. "Oh please not him..." She thought to herself before she explained to Fyre and Sylver. "Yes, he's another royal, somehow related to Celestia, anyhow, he's one of the most stuck up selfish ponies I have ever met, Fyre, if he starts to get really obnoxious I'll want you to escort him out, with force if necessary, and Sylver, I want you to write down every thing he says, so we can talk to Princess Celestia about it, if he gets too out of hand." She instructed the two before nodding to the guard at the door. "Let him in!"
"Aunt Celly I cannot believe you made me wait with all those filthy peasants in that room!" Blueblood shouted as he walked into the room in a typical Canterlot Snob manner, head high an eyes closed as he walked towards the base of the throne. Opening his eyes, he realized his mistake. "Oh, Princess Cadence, what a nice surprise, I guess you will be more helpful than my witch of an aunt, you see, I have a problem, not a single mare is willing to be with me after the incident at the Gala earlier this year, and I believe the foal who thought she could get away with disgracing the royal name be brought to justice, and might I add, if you help, I'll make it worth your while..." Blueblood winked, after finishing his self-centered rant. Cadence was furious on the inside, but she kept a smile going, and simply nodded to Captain Fyre, who walked over to Blueblood to escort him out of the room. "Eww, keep your filthy hoofs off me, you ruffian!" Blueblood cried "This is assault, I will not put up with this kind of treatment!" Blueblood stood defiantly and used his magic to pick up and throw a vase at Captain Fyre, who simply ducked, spun around, and gave Blueblood a good buck to the chin, who promptly fell unconscious on the cold marble floor.
"A few days in the Royal Dungeons might do you good, Prince Stuckup." Fyre spat at the unconscious figure, motioning for two of the guards to take him away. He turned to face Princess Cadence, who smiled her approval, and a very beautiful looking Quick Sylver. As close as they were, they never admitted their feelings to each other. On occasion something would show, such as a pet name slipping the tongue, or an accidental trip into the others arms, but neither had the courage to admit it to the other.
"Come, Captain Fyre, Princess Celestia wishes to see the progress on the armor you have been working on." Princess Cadence stated with a genuine smile. "And frankly, so do I, if my personal guard is going to be wearing it all the time, I want him to look his best, and I'm sure what you have come up with is perfect for the job, and I'm sure Princess Celestia would love to hear what Prince Blueblood tried to do." After getting a smile in return, Cadence started out of the court room, followed by Quick Sylver and Captain Fyre.
"He did what?!"
"Why that little..." Shining Armor started, the string of words that followed shocked even Celestia. "I'm going to have to give him a piece of my mind when we're done in here..." Shining grumbled, glancing at the small changing room they had set up in the workshop.
Golden Fyre stepped out of an improvised changing room, wearing the mostly complete Captain's armor for Cadence's personal guard, of which he was the only member. It was nearly a perfect blend of form and function, taking the best elements of the Solar Guards and Lunar Guards armor and putting them in one. The armor, on other guard ponies, would be enchanted to turn their manes and tails a royal purple, and match their coats to Fyre's, the Captain himself being the only exception, his helmet gets a frill that matches his mane color, and was slightly more ornate. The armor itself was a polished silver, compared to gold, The hoof guards were taller, and covered the majority of the lower leg, and the front ones have a knee cover. The silver body piece has an ornate heart on the front that matches Princess Cadence's cutie mark, to symbolize their affiliation to her, as her guard. The rest of the body piece is similar to normal royal guard sets, but has small flared edges on the back, to provide extra stability for when the guard was in the air. And for Unicorn guards, something extra was attached to the back, a pair of mechanical wings, which deploy by the unicorn's magic, which makes the razor sharp front edge of the 'wing' glow. Now, obviously, they couldn't just open them and take off, they aren't made to actively pull a pony through the air, but they can allow the user to glide down to safety from a reasonable high, say if they fell off a giant cliff or something, and they doubled as one lethal weapon. They came at a cost, though, and added several extra pounds or weight to the armor, and hadn't actually been tested yet, they were just a prototype, but hey, at least they looked cool.
Captain Fyre had just finished presenting the armor to an amazed Celestia, Cadence, and Shining Armor when they all heard an odd, and very faint beeping. It was the Castle's alarm system. Blueblood could wait, they were under attack.
Exposed to the elements, a fire will quickly be snuffed out.Sparking a Fyre [Chapter Four: Sacrifice]
Under attack. Those two words bounced around in Captain Golden Fyre's head as he followed Prince Shining Armor down the corridors, presumably to a well guarded area, with Princess Cadence and his crush, Quick Sylver, close behind, Princess Celestia herself having gone to find her sister, Luna. Who would have the guts to attack Canterlot Castle?
"Remember that group of ponies I had said weren't very happy with Cadence and myself becoming co-rulers of Equestria with Celestia and Luna?" Prince Shining Armor asked him as they kept up a breakneck pace, sweat starting to pour down all of them. After getting a nod in confirmation, Shining Armor continued. "I believe it is they who are assaulting the castle, they apparently decided to live up to their threats, let's head to the throne room, where court is held, we'll most likely find guards there." He commanded, making a sharp right turn down a large, windowed hallway that overlooked a dark city.
"Wait, dark?" Fyre thought. "It's the middle of the day, it can't be dark..." His thoughts trailed off as he got a better look. "Clouds....hayseed, they have some disgruntled Pegasai screwing with the weather, this can't get any worse, can it?" Immediately Fyre scolded himself, he was simply inviting reality to waltz slap him in the face for thinking that, and in a few seconds he got his answer as they burst into the throne room, instantly caught in the crossfire of Royal Guard Unicorns, who were firing blasts of magic from their horns, and the angry civilian ponies, who were lobbing apple pies. Yes, weaponized apple pies, still steaming at the moment, but, unlike magic, as the battle wore on they would loose their effect as they cooled. But for now, they were as lethal as anything else if they landed in the right spot, at the very least they would cause some severe sugar burns. Ouch.
Shining Armor projected a field of magic to protect them from the flying pie as they dashed behind an overturned ornate wooden table. Behind it they found Sergeant Payne and two rookie guards, Payne being an Earth Pony, with the two guards being Unicorns, horns ablaze as they fired random shots of magic.
"Status report!" Shining Armor barked, letting his shield dissipate after Cadence and Sylver made it into another hallway which had guards pouring out of it to join the fray.
Sergeant Payne gave a brief salute before speaking. "It's the anti-Shining Armor and Cadence junkies, their numbers are far greater than we thought, they took control of the skies, and have a nasty storm brewing, on the ground they have a few Unicorns but mostly Earth Ponies, they have control of the courtyards and the ballrooms as well, they have made no visible effort yet to get into the Royal Quarters, but we saw a few squadrons of Pegasi break from the weather teams and flank around the castle, I sent a few guards back there, but they'll get overwhelmed quickly."
Shining Armor nodded and turned to Captain Fyre, who had been listening quietly. "Fyre, I want you to take Cadence and Sylver to the Royal Quarters and meet up with Celestia and Luna, on your way awaken the Lunar Guards and brief them on the situation, send all but two to watch our flanks, don't want anypony sneaking up behind us." He then turned to Payne. "Sergeant, I want you and these two Privates to go with Captain Fyre and guard the princesses, do exactly as he commands, understood?" He barked.
"Yes sir!" He got in reply from the usually lazy sergeant. Apparently the heat of battle rid him of his slacking attitude.
Without a word, Captain Fyre, Sergeant Payne, and the two rookies, who identified themselves as Privates Warthog and Dart, took off into the hallway where a distressed Princess Cadence and Quick Sylver stood. After giving them a brief rundown of what they had to do, the six took off down one of the less used side hallways to the Lunar Barracks, a rumble of thunder outside confirming the reports of a storm. They ran past a large decorative window moments before it was smashed to pieces by two pegasai, who were armed with pie. Yelling at the others to keep going, Captain Fyre faced off against the two ponies, who hefted their pies while closing in on him. Fyre took up an intimidating stance, causing one of them to panic for a moment and toss the pie at him. Fyre went wide eyed as the pie sailed towards his face. Boom, headshot. Fyre had been expecting sheer agony from the molten sugar and fruit, worse than anything he ever experienced from metalworking. But oddly, it was already cooled enough to just be unpleasant and sticky as the pan it was in comically fell on the floor, a perfect face imprint left on it.
"Of course!" Fyre thought, a menacing grin forming on his face. "They were in the clouds flying around, which in turn cooled the pie quicker than it would have just being carried on foot, so as long as they're Pegasai, I shouldn't have a problem!" His revelation about the pies brought back any confidence he might have lost, and by the looks on the Pegasai's faces, they had the same thoughts that he did, only a tad too late. He chuckled as they tried to flee, and grabbed a hold of them in his magic, bonking their heads together and plopping them on the floor, unconscious. He looked out the smashed window and felt a strong gust of wind. "I guess I could test my wing invention now, can't hurt, can it?" He looked at the small drop out of the window and deployed the metal wings with his magic, only to have them promptly fall off. "I probably should have screwed them on, first." He chuckled sheepishly to himself, before taking off running.
On his way to meet up with the others, Captain Fyre passed a patrol of guards and informed their officer of the current situation, and ordered them to proceed to meet up with Shining Armor in the Court Rooms, which had been set up as a holding point for the main force of the guards. After a few more encounters with pie laden Pegasai, Captain Fyre caught up with the rest of the group, just as they made it to the Lunar Barracks. Golden Fyre pounded on the door, which was promptly answered by none other than the Lunar Captain herself. The large Pegasus mare glared at Fyre, who showed no sign of fear.
"What do you want?" She hissed, showing off her razor sharp teeth, getting quiet eep from Quick Sylver.
Golden Fyre didn't flinch under her piercing gaze as he relayed what he had been told. "The castle is under attack, a large group of disgruntled ponies want Shining Armor and Princess Cadence gone, they have air superiority right now, as well as control of multiple areas of the castle, Shining Armor and the other guards have set up a staging point in the Court Rooms, but need more ponies to guard the castle's backside." He took a deep breath as she eyed the pie bits that still clung to him.
"Are they armed?" She inquired, gesturing for other Lunar Guards to gear up.
"Yes, weaponized apple pies, most ground ponies that have them you need to watch out for, as they're most likely steaming hot, but, as you can see, some of them have cooled enough to not cause harm, mainly being the Pegasai who were up in the clouds, but be careful, a few of them know how to fight." He answered her, before adding. "Shining Armor requested you send a couple of Lunar Guards with me, we're heading to the Princess's quarters, to make sure nopony gets to any of them."
The intimidating Lunar Guard Captain nodded and went into the barracks, sending two mean looking Lunar Guards out. Soon, the eight of them were galloping into the hallway with the Princess's rooms. Cadence and Quick Sylver rushed into Cadence's room, which was at the end of the hallway, and all the guard ponies except Sergeant Payne and Captain Fyre went to get Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
"I guess this is it, Captain." Payne started as they slammed a pair of massive wooden doors shut, separating the hallway from the rest of the castle.
"Don't get all sappy, sergeant, we'll come out of this, don't worry your lazy flank about it." Captain Fyre stated, trying to sound firm, but his voice betrayed his thoughts. They weren't going to come out of this mess alive. The Princesses, sure, but not them. He was startled from his thoughts by a loud thud on the door, followed by a large crack run up the ancient woodwork. Captain Fyre lowered his head, aiming his horn at the doorway as the doors strained under the pressure of what he assumed to be Pegasai. He wasn't the best with magic, but he knew a few basic spells, as well as one he had been dying to try. The doors shattered in front of him and he released a fury of magic bolts. For lack of a better description, he was a magic Gatling pony, with a near constant stream of magic bolts flying out of his horn and into various assaulting ponies. He felt his horn heating up, and anypony who bothered to look would have noticed how hot it actually was, turning a glowing white, emitting small clouds of smoke as Fyre slowly wore himself out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something. It was a pie, flying towards him on an almost perfect trajectory. He had forgotten about them in the heat of the moment, most of them sticking harmlessly to the walls or various parts of his body, but this one was on a beeline for his head, and more importantly, his glowing hot horn, which had started to blacken from the intense amount of power it was being forced to put out. He decided to ignore the pie until it was milliseconds from impact, then he realized his fatal mistake, but it was too late. He tried to duck out of the way, but the pie made contact with his horn, and the sweet, syrupy insides instantly superheated, spewing out of the crust, and into his right eye, burning it to oblivion. He fell back onto the floor and writhed in agony, blackness starting to creep up on him. He heard a fading scream from behind him, followed by a near blinding flash of light.
"I can't pass out now...not now...I have to save Sylver..." Were his last thoughts before he was claimed by the darkness
Chapter Five: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
The fire is lacking in it's once great might, reduced to a mere pile of coals from exposure to an unexpected storm.Sparking a Fyre
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Golden Fyre awoke. He awoke to a peculiar feeling, as if he was floating on clouds. He heard slurred voices, and without even attempting to open his eyes, he cleared his foggy head to try and listen in on what ponies around him were saying, trying to drown out the odd sounds.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"I'm really worried about him, he nearly gave his life to save all of us, and he has suffered dearly, I am not sure if he could handle the mental burden of that, especially on top of his injuries." A concerned yet melodic voice spoke, leading him to believe Princess Cadence was in the same room. His magic felt dulled, and he had what he thought to be a bandage around his head.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Captain Fyre is a strong individual, am I certain with your support he will be fine, and the same for Shining Armor, with a loving wife, I'm positive he'll make a quick recovery." A gentle, motherly voice said, who's owner Fyre guessed to be that of Princess Celestia's. "As for his eye, I already sent a request to Twilight in Ponyville, asking her to come help him with some magic lessons, to help him cope." Celestia finished.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"I wish that beeping would go away..." Fyre thought, slowly willing his body to open his eyes, or rather, his eye. "The hay is going on?" He wondered, suddenly concerned. "Why can't I see?" Were the first words that came out of his mouth, startling both Celestia and Cadence, who both quickly came up to his bedside.
Cadence was shocked into silence, but Celestia quickly recovered and started to tell him what happened. "You are a very brave stallion indeed, Captain Fyre, you performed above and beyond the call of duty, and your final stand gave Princess Luna and myself time to cast a spell to placate all the attacking ponies, but sadly, your selfless actions resulted in rather cruel consequences, I'm afraid to tell you, Captain Fyre, but we couldn't save your eye, once the pie made contact with your horn it was too late, and the sugar burned through all of your right eye, thankfully your left eye was mostly spared, but you'll be scarred for life across the majority of your face, there was nothing we could do." She told him, a sad undertone in her voice.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Blind in one eye and permanent disfigurement? I guess I can deal with that, especially being a Unicorn, there's probably thousands of ways around being partially blind." He thought to himself, before asking a question that had started to nag him. "When you two were talking, you mentioned something else, another burden?" Fyre asked.
This time, it was Princess Cadence's turn to speak. "Oh, yes, it's about Quick Sylver..." Her voice trailed off and she gulped, not helping Fyre's odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. "She said she couldn't handle...loving...somepony who was violent and unforgiving, she said the way you fought scared her and...and...she said she doesn't want to be around you anymore." Cadence finished, hanging her head low.
Fyre let out a small whimper as his head slowly wrapped around what he had heard. By trying to prevent any harm coming to her, he had scared her away, and now, he was truly alone in life. Nopony left to love. Sure, he had the Princesses, but he couldn't love them, not the way he did Sylver. And Sylver was gone. At least from his life, she most likely wouldn't quit her job at the castle, but he doubted they would ever speak again. He looked up at Celestia and Cadence, who were both offering sympathetic smiles. He broke down, the tears started to silently roll down his face, matting his coat down. Cadence came up to him and gave him a caring hug, as a good friend would, and he let his tears keep doing, getting her coat and regalia wet with the salty dribbles.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Weeks later, Golden Fyre was walking towards the courtyard to meet up with Celestia's student, Twilight Sparkle, for some magic lessons. He would have preferred not too, but the princess had resorted to making it an order. During the weeks of his recovery in the hospital, he re-designed his mechanical wings, although they couldn't make him fly or glide for a decent distance, they were filed razor-sharp, and had become lethal weapons. He had taken the time to make a new helmet for himself, too, so he wouldn't have to wear an eyepatch while on duty. Now, he walked down the halls of Canterlot Castle, sporting his new set of armor, the mechanical wings were neatly folded into a small bundle on his back, and his helmet now had a decortive piece of gold formed onto where his right eye would have been, the carefully formed gold took on the shape of a flame, and perfectly fit the shape of what used to be his eye. Princess Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, and even Princess Luna had payed him a visit once or twice, to try and cheer him up. Sergeant Payne, the rookies, even the Lunar Guard Captain and a few other guards stopped by to bring his spirits up. Some lent a shoulder to cry on, and others wanted to hear stories of what he did, several got a kick out of what he did to Blueblood, no pun intended. He pushed open a grand set of doors and walked out into the courtyard, looking for his new 'teacher' so he could get the lessons over with. He spotted a lavender unicorn mare reading a book under a tree, and he trotted over to her.
"Excuse me miss, but I am looking for somepony named Twilight Sparkle, do you think you may have seen her nearby?" He asked the mare, who had looked up upon hearing him.
"You're looking at her!" She said with a happy grin, trying to infuse some humor into the situation "I assume you're Captain Fyre, Princess Celestia informed me of your situation, and I'm sure you'll want to get started soon, you probably have guard duties to attend to." And with that, they started into what turned out to be a full days lesson on magical awareness, or so she explained. According to Twilight, he could cast this passive spell and it would allow him to 'see' what was around him, although not in full detail, it allowed him full view of what was going on around him, and even to 'see' beyond thinner walls and doorways. Anypony with a basic level of magic could keep the spell going all day with little ill effect.
Dusk had settled by the time the lesson was over, and Cadence had asked him to join herself and Shining Armor for dinner, just the three of them. Quick Sylver took the night off, to visit some friends, and the other Princesses were dealing with various Prisoners from the conflict. He stopped outside an un-suspecting doorway and decided to put his new magic to the test, and he looked into the room, only to see Cadence and Shining Armor in a deep kiss. Blushing, he slowly pushed open the door and walked in, and they instantly separated.
"Captain, I'm glad you could join us, we have a matter we would like to discuss with you, about Cadence's Guard." Shining Armor stated, gesturing to a seat. He waited until Fyre was situated and had his order placed to continue. "Although you have performed exceptionally, Captain, we have realized that one pony is not enough for Cadence and myself, and we have a list of hoof picked guard ponies we would like you to review, and hopefully, approve for a new full squad of guards, which shall be dubbed the Silver Guard, in honor of your armor design."
"I agree, safety in numbers, right?" Fyre said, trying to lighten the situation, but even to him his words sounded hollow. He looked down as his food arrived and he forced himself to eat like a civilized pony. To his relief, Cadence and Shining Armor smiled and dug in like two starved dogs. Once they finished eating, all laughing lightly from each others absurd mess they left on the plates, Shining Armor produced a list of ponies and handed them off to Fyre, who took it and read over it.
Staff Sergeant David - Brown Pegasus Pony - Solar Guard
Private First Class Charming Crescent - White Pegasus Pony - Solar Guard
Private First Class Golden Charger - Pale Green Earth Pony - Solar Guard
Private Starlight Shimmer - Dark Pink Unicorn Pony - Solar Guard (Female)
Corporal Lonley Flower - Grey Unicorn Pony - Lunar Guard
Captain Wayward Spirit - White Earth Pony - Solar Guard
"Well, I trust your judgement, send them a notice, but don't force them, if they don't want to come they don't have too, I want them to be happy about being transferred." Said Captain Fyre, who was reading over each guard's record, which had appeared on the table.
"Well, Captain Fyre, you are going to go down in the books, and you're going to lead the Silver Guard to greatness, and I'll admit, you got dragged into this situation, and didn't have too much of a choice, we'll both talk to Sylver, we can tell you still love her, and she still loves you, but she was traumatized by what you did to those attacking ponies, you did your duty, and did it well, and we cannot hold you against that, but all is fair in love and war, as you have painfully discovered, but consider it a personal debt I have to you, you saved my life, and now I shall save your love." Cadence told him, her eyes deep and caring, staring deep into the recesses of his mind.
Shining Armor spoke up. "Captain, I'll have these new guards too you by morning, and you may train them as you wish, but for now, please get some rest, first impressions always matter."
"Yes sir." Fyre sighed. Captain Golden Fyre, of the newly established Silver Guard, stood up from the table and slowly walked to the door. Hanging his head, he allowed a single tear the grace the floor, before he headed off to a fitful sleep.
Wow! I would like to thank everypony for a great reaction to this story, and I'm glad it did so well, for being one of my first stories. I'll admit, not the best ending, but fear not! Captain Fyre shall be back, and he lives on in J8ck78's In the Royal Guard story-line, towards the end, and might get a mention in his next story, Scrapper
Chapter Six: If Only, If Only
Due to the sad ending I gave Chapter Five, I'll give you a brief Chapter Six, so it's not such a poor, unexplained ending to the story. Anyways, enjoy Sylver's point of view.Even after a flame has died down, there are still embers, waiting to erupt once more. Sparking a Fyre [Chapter Six: If Only, If Only]
It was late at night, very late. Quick Sylver stood in her room, and Golden Fyre was the only thing she could think about. She lied that night when she told Cadence she was going to see her friends, in fact, since the night of the attack, she has been spending her evenings off in her bedchambers, alone. She longed for the teasing smile that Fyre gave her when she woke up with a bed-head, or had a clumsy day. If only she hadn't acted so impulsively. He trusted her with so many secrets, ones he never shared with anypony. She had snuck into his hospital room when Cadence and Celestia delivered her message, she saw how much it hurt him. And she hated herself for it. Neither of them had the guts to confess how they felt, even if they knew how good it would be. They didn't want to loose their friendship, because it was all they had. She was so afraid she would loose him. So afraid that the stallion she had fallen for would be warped and twisted from the fighting. The violence. The pain. And she reacted by trying to push him away, but all she managed to do was make it worse. So much worse for him. He seemed broken. The glow she had seen in his eyes was gone. His whole demeanor had changed, but he hid it from obvious view. But Sylver knew. She could see right through his mask of fake emotions. She knew how badly hurt he was on the inside. She knew how he felt, and it was the same way she felt along time ago, when somepony else special in her life abandoned her. She wanted so badly to have him back, but she was afraid she drove him too far away, and now he was gone. Just...gone. All because of her foolish actions. She knew why he did it, too. To save the Cadence, his duty. She had taken backseat priority wise when they were attacked. She knew she couldn't blame him, it was his job, but she couldn't help herself. She felt...betrayed, and she had repaid him by doing the same. She flopped on her bed and wept. She heard a knock on her door. That couldn't be right, everypony thought she was gone with friends, having fun. But she didn't have friends. So she got up, wiped her eyes and ever so slowly, she walked to the grand door. Upon opening it she let out a small gasp at her visitor. It was Golden Fyre, sans his noble armor. One of the doctors had gotten a glass eye crafted for him, so during his off-time he could still go without an eyepatch, but his face was incredibly scarred. The fake eye nearly matched his actual eye, but upon closer inspection, it resembled the changing colors of a flame, and it even seemed to flicker and glow in the dim hallway. Quick Sylver didn't know what to say. Her eyes were red and puffy from her crying, and him showing up shocked her.
"Hello, Sylvie..." Fyre said, his voice quiet, his eyes tearing up. The sound of a broken spirit. Sylver couldn't take being alone. She hated it with a cold, bitter hate. She fell into his waiting arms and wept, and he whispered comforting words as he led her into her bedroom, away from the eyes of late night castle staff.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know what to do, it's was all...it's just all too much, I can't take it!" She mumbled through her sobs. "Please don't leave me, I hate being alone..." She ducked her head into his neck and wept, letting him run his hooves through her mane, comforting her.
"I'm sorry Sylver, I'm sorry we got sucked into this mess, I'm sorry for what happen, I'm sorry I never told you before, sorry I never asked you." Fyre looked into her deep into her eyes and held a quieting hoof to her mouth. "Quick Sylver, would you be my fillyfriend?"
She certainly hadn't expected that, but it was far better than what she had hoped. "Yes!" She said, tears streaming down her already sodden face, but this time, tears of joy. She leaned over to him and kissed him, causing Fyre's face to glow with heat, and it wasn't from a pie.
Captain Golden Fyre walked into the dining hall the next morning, and for probably one of the last times. He was going to have to eat in the new Silver Guard barracks soon. Celestia sat at the far end of the table, accompanied by a tired looking Luna and Shining Armor. Cadence was probably still asleep, and Sylver had gone to wake her. Princess Celestia noticed Fyre's changed attitude, and Shining Armor could all too well relate to the spring in his step.
"Well, looks like somebody enjoyed themselves last night." Remarked Celestia, as she sipped her morning tea, getting snickers from both Luna and Shining Armor. Fyre laughed good naturedly and took a seat next to Shining Armor, ordering some breakfast.
"I'm glad to see you and Sylver have...reconciled." Luna said with a knowing, devilish grin, causing Fyre's cheeks to turn bright red, especially noticeable on his light coat. "What? Does thou not think I know what goes on during my night? Besides, I'm sure half the castle heard it." She said with a chuckle. Fyre hid his face in his freshly arrived breakfast as he got several glances from staff, guards, and royals alike. He excused himself from the table and left, presumably to meet his new recruits, while the remaining three discussed something about a proposed exhibit in the Canterlot Museum.
