Gilda's Downfallby Daray DementiaChaptersIntroductionChapter 1Chapter 2Introduction~Gilda’s Downfall~ ~Introduction: This Day in Age~ ~History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid~ ~Dwight D. Eisenhower~ A missile flew overhead, somewhere behind him it struck a target and ponies screamed in pain. Vel took a chance and looked behind him to see what the missile hit. A war chariot was up in flames with bodies spread around it. He focused his attention to the missile silo that was slowing their advance. ‘Something must be done about that silo! If not, we aren’t going to last very long out here!’ Vel thought to himself. He looked around for anypony else who could assist him in taking down that silo. But everypony else was already preoccupied with the griffon attackers. It was up to Vel to stop the bombardment from destroying the encampment. Right when he was about the charge, a hoof grabbed his hind hoof and pulled him down into the trench. He turned around expecting a griffon to strike at him but it wasn’t a griffon. “Are you crazy? Charging at something like that alone?” shouted Quickfire. Vel lowered his defences. He hugged Fire, then backed off embarrassed. “Well, that’s one way to greet somepony.” “Sorry, I haven't seen you since the days before all this!" "I know, and I'm sorry for that! But I was trying to stop an oncoming war! It didn't really work but at least you're still here!" Vel pointed at the sky to a platoon of griffons heading their way. Fire understood and readied himself for the incoming wave of griffon soldiers. They got down and waited for the griffons to fly over their position. When they were completely overhead, Vel and Fire jumped up and started firing their rifles up at the griffons. A couple of them fell to the earth with a bone-crushing thud, others screamed in pain but continued their flight. When the platoon of griffons were out of sight or attacking other ponies, Vel and Fire rushed forward toward the silo. Vel noticed a blur flying past them. A pegasus with a blue and black mane and a tan body was flying beside Vel with a smirk on his face. Evening Mist was first to reach the silo, he sat at the base of the silo waiting for the others to arrive. When they did he ran up to them. They all sat together, pondering whether the other two were real. "Guys...I thought you were dead!" Mist said, breaking the silence. They sat there for a few moments, until an explosion shook them out of their trance. They started walking around the silo looking for a weak spot in the metal. Vel eventually found one and started placing semtex all over the side of the missile. "You know when this goes off its going to tear up everything within a couple miles radius." Fire stated while watching Vel place the sticky explosive to the silo. Vel just looked at him, He could never tell if Fire was being serious or just messing with him. “Well, then we’ll just have to be extra careful.” said Vel. “Ha-ha, you're so funny. But we will need to clear the area before we set off the charges.” Mist noted with urgency. “Yeah, Mist and I will go and alert the others to pack up camp and move further back.” Fire stated while walking away, pulling Mist along with him. Vel nodded and went back to the task at hoof. All his life, he was a quick study. It never took him much to learn how something worked or how much abuse something could take before he could bend it to his will. It only took him one time to learn about explosives. It almost cost him his life. But after that experience, he treated those things with much more care. When he was finally done with the sabotage, he stood up and double checked his handy work. The others joined him while he was around the back of the silo. Fire walked up to Vel. “Hey, the others are gone and we are ready to do this. You know when the explosion goes off, griffons are going to come out of the woodwork to see what caused the noise. If you haven’t been in a real fight before, you will soon.” Vel just shrugged and trotted back around to the front of the silo. There were still a few ponies, but they were there to escort them back to the camp. Vel turned to the others. He took a deep breath and started forward. While on the way back to the safety of the camp, Mist admired the scenery, something he hadn’t done in ages. He knew it would be gone soon, no doubt the explosion would scorch the limbs off the trees. The bright autumn leaves, all the greens and oranges, would disintegrate once the evil fires made their way into this forest. He couldn’t help himself, he flew over to one of the trees and stuffed one side of his saddlebag full of leaves and acorns. It wouldn’t seem like much to somepony not enthralled by nature, but Mist was a nature pony at heart. He may have lived most of his life in the sky, but to him, nothing compared to the beauty of nature on the ground. He flew back over to his company; they had knowing looks on their faces, they were having the same thoughts of destruction. The rest of the trip went unhindered and overall quiet. The only ponies capable of chatting was the escort ponies that stayed behind to help them out. They were talking amongst each other a mile a minute. ~~~ Back at camp, the ponies readied themselves for a full charge upon the military camp just on the other side of the mountain. But Lieutenant Shining Armor didn’t want to advance until Vel and his squad returned from their search and destroy mission. He was in his tent when a couple of soldiers ran past yelling about something. He strode over to his tent flap and threw it open. As soon as he did, a griffon flew right into his way. They were both thrown back and collided on the floor. The griffon jumped up and started attacking Shining, giving him no time to recover from his shock. But underestimating Shining, he threw the griffon off him and used a containment spell on the griffon. When he was sure the griffon was subdued, he plopped down right where he was standing. He hadn’t slept in days, insomnia and fear of an ambush while he slept kept him on constant alert. He stood up and walked out of his tent to assess the situation. The griffons attacked first, while the ponies had their backs turned. Ponies were scrambling around trying to prepare themselves for the attack. Most were already fighting back and moving unarmed soldiers to the barracks. Shining ran for the general's tent. MP’s were all around the tent, defending it at all cost. He ran inside and noticed that inside was just as hectic as outside. There were papers scattered everywhere, ponies knocking each other over to get to radio’s to call for backup or just readying themselves for the fight. He pushed two ponies out of the way to get over to the table where all the high ranks were sitting. They were planning what they should do about this attack. He went over to his seat and listened to what they had to say. “We need to counter-attack! Strike them like they striked us!” “How are we going to do that when we are preoccupied at the moment trying not to die ourselves?” The constant bickering wasn’t getting them anywhere. Shining stood up and started to leave when the others turned and looked at him. “Where do you think your going?” “To defend my country! What are you doing?” he snapped back at them. They all sat there mouths agape, never before being spoken to like that. Then one of them stood up and walked over to Shining’s side. One by one, they all got up and prepared themselves for what they were about to do. Shining walked outside to see the damage. Bodies littered the ground, both ponies and griffons alike. He noticed some soldiers had taken refuge in the barracks, blocking off any griffon that tried to enter. Griffons were all over the skies, but the pegasus were not going down without a fight. They were doing whatever they could to ground the griffons, that way, the ponies on the ground at least had a chance. But while the pegasus were taking the griffons down at medium to long range with their rifles, they were powerless to the griffons up close. The griffons sharp claws would tear through the flesh of anypony unfortunate enough to get close. ~~~ Vel stopped the group on the trail they were following, and all went quiet for a moment. Then a distant noise was heard by the entire group. “What do you think it was?” “I don’t know, but it sounded like it was coming from camp.” Then they all looked at each other with a worried look. Vel sprinted down the road with the others in tow. They climbed over a ridge and saw the massacre before them. Griffons and ponies were battling everywhere. Bodies were scattered all over the ground, and ponies were running around in a frenzy. Shining was the first to see them. He ran over to where they were hiding. “As you can see, we are kind of in a bind here. If you would be so kind as to lend some assistance that would be great.” Fire pushed past the others and pulled Shining off to the side. “What happened? How did nopony see them ahead of time?” “We were all preoccupied with getting ready for the assault on the enemy camp!” Shining was tired and was in no mood to explain everything that happened. He walked back to the group and pulled them all in a circle. “Alright listen up! We are seriously outnumbered here! The griffons basically have control of the sky. There are ponies in the barracks but they won't last long without support.” The group nodded and broke out of the circle, they walked over to the ridge and risked a quick glance at the battlefield. Mist told them he would help out in the sky and the group agreed with his plan. The ponies got into position and took a deep breath. Climbing over the ridge they charged down the hill. Author's Note Special Thanks to TARDIS915 for the main OC, Velgar Navus, and for assisting in the creation of the story. Chapter 1~Gilda’s Downfall~ Chapter 1: Vel ~War does not determine who is right - only who is left~ ~Bertrand Russell~ Vel (flashback) Vel was always the quiet one in the back that never really brought much attention to himself in class. He had potential, but never had much self-confidence. He remembered one specific day at Celestia Academy. That day was the reason his life changed forever, for better or for worse. He was sitting under his favorite oak tree studying for his end of the year exam when an earth pony came over to him and asked why he always sat there studying alone. He just shrugged and looked back down at his book. Not thinking much about the pony, just figuring that he was another passerby. When he was done, he packed up his things and started back to his dorm. He was staying in the Academy dorms because his parents moved to Ponyville. He didn’t enjoy the constant smirks from the older, much more athletic ponies. They always taunted him and the other smart ponies. He was never really affected by their words; all they wanted was attention and he never gave them that so they picked on him the most. It was getting dark pretty quickly and he was still a little ways away from his room. He knew of a shortcut that would get him there faster, but he didn't want to take it because it wasn't really safe at night. When the sun completely descended under the horizon, he figured he couldn't be out much longer. He turned the corner around a bakery and slammed right into the jocks that constantly messed with him. The lead jock got back up on his hooves and looked at the pony that knocked him down. He gave a devilish grin when he saw who it was. “Well, look who it is! Our good buddy Vel! How you doing buddy?” He asked, putting his hoof around Vel as he tried to slip away. Vel struggled for a minute then gave up after realizing the jock had no intention of letting go. He took his hoof off of Vel and shoved him to the ground. He got up and when the jocks hoof came down for a strike Vel countered the attack and smacked the jock right in his jaw. He stumbled backwards and fell on his flank. When he recovered from the shock, he jumped up and yelled and charged at Vel, his friends joining the attack. Everyone who met Vel always assumed that he was weak and couldn’t handle himself in a fight, when in reality he was trained in advanced fighting styles. Everyone assumed he was studying things like basic spells. If they took a closer look, they would notice the books were about fighting and learning how to defend yourself. He was well trained, but even with his advanced training, he couldn’t handle a group of ponies swinging everywhere around him. He was quickly knocked down. There were just too many of them to handle. They stopped for a second, and that pause gave Vel just enough time to get on his hooves and see why they stopped. There was another pony; he pulled one of the attackers off of him. He threw him a few feet away and picked up another pony and held him with one hoof while smacking him with the other. Vel wiped blood away from his lip. The savior casually strolled over to him and held out his hoof. Vel grabbed it and was pulled up onto his flank. He didn’t really notice his savior until his vision returned. It was the pony who came up to him at the oak this afternoon. He didn’t understand why this pony was here or why he was following him. “Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” He was snatched out of his thoughts and thrust back into reality. He looked at the pony and realized his apparel; he was wearing a guard uniform! But he was an earth pony. How could an earth pony be a member of Celestia’s army? “I’m... fine I think.” “Do you need a doctor or any medical attention?” “No, just some scrapes and bruises, nothing that can’t be healed with time.” He frowned and looked around for anypony else. Except for a couple a few blocks away, they were the only ones out here since it was pretty late. The guard walked him back to his dorm room. When they got to his door he handed him his notes. Vel looked at them and completely forgot about those. “Thanks for saving me back there.” “No problem, I just couldn’t leave someone in trouble. It’s not in my code.” “Oh, and thanks for grabbing my notes! I would most likely fail my exam if not for these notes.” “It was nothing. By the way I’m QuickFire; you can call me Fire for short.” Vel (Present) He would never forget that night, or the pony who saved him. There were visible scars that marked that night, and Fire always checking up on him, always had his back after that night. Once word got out that Vel was friends with a royal guard everyone knew not to mess with Vel. He had become popular, gaining many friends. But he always knew who his real friend was, all these ponies were just acquaintances compared to the guard. He still treated everyone with respect, the jocks ignored him for the rest of the semester. When graduation finally rolled around, Vel had excelled at the top of his class. When his name was called to receive his diploma, he had a smile from ear to ear. He grabbed his diploma and looked at the crowd. Everyone cheered for him. He noticed a familiar guard standing in the back of the crowd with a grin on his face. Vel walked off stage and over to the other graduates. They then were released to their friends and family. Vels family swarmed him and bombed him with questions about what he is going to do now. He answered them the best he could. This was the happiest day of his life. Nothing could change that. When the crowd finally died down and most ponies went home. Vel joined his friend, they were walking through the hallways looking in the classrooms. “Just think... this is the last time you will see this hallway.” “Yeah, I know! I don’t know whether to be excited or scared.” “What do you mean?” “The easiest part of my life is over, now comes the hard part. Living” Fire looked at Vel with an understanding look. Fire was probably the only pony who knew what Vel was going through. A very authoritative voice from behind them spoke up. “Vel! You must be so excited with your graduation!” The voice was from none other than the estemed princess Celestia. Vel and Fire turned to see the alicorn walking over to them. She had a smile that could rival Vels. She put a wing on Vel and looked at Fire. “Excuse me Fire, but would you excuse us for a moment?” “Of course your highness.” “Thank you.” When Fire had left Celestia looked down at Vel. he wasn’t sure why Fire couldn’t be here. She quickly explained why she asked him to leave. “I have a job proposition for you. Since you have excelled at your studies and seem very dedicated to your studies, I would like for you to relocate to the everfree forest. There you will learn about the forest and its properties. When you find out anything, I would like you to report what you find to me.” “I... I don’t... I don’t know what to say. Tha- thank you! I will do this for you!” “Thank you! I knew you would accept, you leave tomorrow.” A realization struck Vel, his smile quickly faded and one of sadness showed up. “But your highness! What about my friends and family! What about my life here?” “I’m sorry, but you must leave them here, you must do this task alone.” He looked down in sadness, he was going to do what he always wanted to do. But he was going to leave everything behind to do it. Fire came back over to Vel, he tried to hide his sadness. Fire knew something was wrong, but he decided against it figuring it was only for Vel and the princess to know about. He didn’t want his friend to be sad today of all days. “What do you want to do now?” “I don’t mean to be a joykiller but I kinda want to be alone right now.” “Alright bro, you know where I am if you need some help with anything.” Vel watched as Fire walked away, this was probably the last time he would see his friend. He trudged back to his dorm room. He started packing what he was going to take with him to his new home. His life was about to change dramatically, for better and for worse. 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.
Introduction~Gilda’s Downfall~ ~Introduction: This Day in Age~ ~History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid~ ~Dwight D. Eisenhower~ A missile flew overhead, somewhere behind him it struck a target and ponies screamed in pain. Vel took a chance and looked behind him to see what the missile hit. A war chariot was up in flames with bodies spread around it. He focused his attention to the missile silo that was slowing their advance. ‘Something must be done about that silo! If not, we aren’t going to last very long out here!’ Vel thought to himself. He looked around for anypony else who could assist him in taking down that silo. But everypony else was already preoccupied with the griffon attackers. It was up to Vel to stop the bombardment from destroying the encampment. Right when he was about the charge, a hoof grabbed his hind hoof and pulled him down into the trench. He turned around expecting a griffon to strike at him but it wasn’t a griffon. “Are you crazy? Charging at something like that alone?” shouted Quickfire. Vel lowered his defences. He hugged Fire, then backed off embarrassed. “Well, that’s one way to greet somepony.” “Sorry, I haven't seen you since the days before all this!" "I know, and I'm sorry for that! But I was trying to stop an oncoming war! It didn't really work but at least you're still here!" Vel pointed at the sky to a platoon of griffons heading their way. Fire understood and readied himself for the incoming wave of griffon soldiers. They got down and waited for the griffons to fly over their position. When they were completely overhead, Vel and Fire jumped up and started firing their rifles up at the griffons. A couple of them fell to the earth with a bone-crushing thud, others screamed in pain but continued their flight. When the platoon of griffons were out of sight or attacking other ponies, Vel and Fire rushed forward toward the silo. Vel noticed a blur flying past them. A pegasus with a blue and black mane and a tan body was flying beside Vel with a smirk on his face. Evening Mist was first to reach the silo, he sat at the base of the silo waiting for the others to arrive. When they did he ran up to them. They all sat together, pondering whether the other two were real. "Guys...I thought you were dead!" Mist said, breaking the silence. They sat there for a few moments, until an explosion shook them out of their trance. They started walking around the silo looking for a weak spot in the metal. Vel eventually found one and started placing semtex all over the side of the missile. "You know when this goes off its going to tear up everything within a couple miles radius." Fire stated while watching Vel place the sticky explosive to the silo. Vel just looked at him, He could never tell if Fire was being serious or just messing with him. “Well, then we’ll just have to be extra careful.” said Vel. “Ha-ha, you're so funny. But we will need to clear the area before we set off the charges.” Mist noted with urgency. “Yeah, Mist and I will go and alert the others to pack up camp and move further back.” Fire stated while walking away, pulling Mist along with him. Vel nodded and went back to the task at hoof. All his life, he was a quick study. It never took him much to learn how something worked or how much abuse something could take before he could bend it to his will. It only took him one time to learn about explosives. It almost cost him his life. But after that experience, he treated those things with much more care. When he was finally done with the sabotage, he stood up and double checked his handy work. The others joined him while he was around the back of the silo. Fire walked up to Vel. “Hey, the others are gone and we are ready to do this. You know when the explosion goes off, griffons are going to come out of the woodwork to see what caused the noise. If you haven’t been in a real fight before, you will soon.” Vel just shrugged and trotted back around to the front of the silo. There were still a few ponies, but they were there to escort them back to the camp. Vel turned to the others. He took a deep breath and started forward. While on the way back to the safety of the camp, Mist admired the scenery, something he hadn’t done in ages. He knew it would be gone soon, no doubt the explosion would scorch the limbs off the trees. The bright autumn leaves, all the greens and oranges, would disintegrate once the evil fires made their way into this forest. He couldn’t help himself, he flew over to one of the trees and stuffed one side of his saddlebag full of leaves and acorns. It wouldn’t seem like much to somepony not enthralled by nature, but Mist was a nature pony at heart. He may have lived most of his life in the sky, but to him, nothing compared to the beauty of nature on the ground. He flew back over to his company; they had knowing looks on their faces, they were having the same thoughts of destruction. The rest of the trip went unhindered and overall quiet. The only ponies capable of chatting was the escort ponies that stayed behind to help them out. They were talking amongst each other a mile a minute. ~~~ Back at camp, the ponies readied themselves for a full charge upon the military camp just on the other side of the mountain. But Lieutenant Shining Armor didn’t want to advance until Vel and his squad returned from their search and destroy mission. He was in his tent when a couple of soldiers ran past yelling about something. He strode over to his tent flap and threw it open. As soon as he did, a griffon flew right into his way. They were both thrown back and collided on the floor. The griffon jumped up and started attacking Shining, giving him no time to recover from his shock. But underestimating Shining, he threw the griffon off him and used a containment spell on the griffon. When he was sure the griffon was subdued, he plopped down right where he was standing. He hadn’t slept in days, insomnia and fear of an ambush while he slept kept him on constant alert. He stood up and walked out of his tent to assess the situation. The griffons attacked first, while the ponies had their backs turned. Ponies were scrambling around trying to prepare themselves for the attack. Most were already fighting back and moving unarmed soldiers to the barracks. Shining ran for the general's tent. MP’s were all around the tent, defending it at all cost. He ran inside and noticed that inside was just as hectic as outside. There were papers scattered everywhere, ponies knocking each other over to get to radio’s to call for backup or just readying themselves for the fight. He pushed two ponies out of the way to get over to the table where all the high ranks were sitting. They were planning what they should do about this attack. He went over to his seat and listened to what they had to say. “We need to counter-attack! Strike them like they striked us!” “How are we going to do that when we are preoccupied at the moment trying not to die ourselves?” The constant bickering wasn’t getting them anywhere. Shining stood up and started to leave when the others turned and looked at him. “Where do you think your going?” “To defend my country! What are you doing?” he snapped back at them. They all sat there mouths agape, never before being spoken to like that. Then one of them stood up and walked over to Shining’s side. One by one, they all got up and prepared themselves for what they were about to do. Shining walked outside to see the damage. Bodies littered the ground, both ponies and griffons alike. He noticed some soldiers had taken refuge in the barracks, blocking off any griffon that tried to enter. Griffons were all over the skies, but the pegasus were not going down without a fight. They were doing whatever they could to ground the griffons, that way, the ponies on the ground at least had a chance. But while the pegasus were taking the griffons down at medium to long range with their rifles, they were powerless to the griffons up close. The griffons sharp claws would tear through the flesh of anypony unfortunate enough to get close. ~~~ Vel stopped the group on the trail they were following, and all went quiet for a moment. Then a distant noise was heard by the entire group. “What do you think it was?” “I don’t know, but it sounded like it was coming from camp.” Then they all looked at each other with a worried look. Vel sprinted down the road with the others in tow. They climbed over a ridge and saw the massacre before them. Griffons and ponies were battling everywhere. Bodies were scattered all over the ground, and ponies were running around in a frenzy. Shining was the first to see them. He ran over to where they were hiding. “As you can see, we are kind of in a bind here. If you would be so kind as to lend some assistance that would be great.” Fire pushed past the others and pulled Shining off to the side. “What happened? How did nopony see them ahead of time?” “We were all preoccupied with getting ready for the assault on the enemy camp!” Shining was tired and was in no mood to explain everything that happened. He walked back to the group and pulled them all in a circle. “Alright listen up! We are seriously outnumbered here! The griffons basically have control of the sky. There are ponies in the barracks but they won't last long without support.” The group nodded and broke out of the circle, they walked over to the ridge and risked a quick glance at the battlefield. Mist told them he would help out in the sky and the group agreed with his plan. The ponies got into position and took a deep breath. Climbing over the ridge they charged down the hill. Author's Note Special Thanks to TARDIS915 for the main OC, Velgar Navus, and for assisting in the creation of the story.
Chapter 1~Gilda’s Downfall~ Chapter 1: Vel ~War does not determine who is right - only who is left~ ~Bertrand Russell~ Vel (flashback) Vel was always the quiet one in the back that never really brought much attention to himself in class. He had potential, but never had much self-confidence. He remembered one specific day at Celestia Academy. That day was the reason his life changed forever, for better or for worse. He was sitting under his favorite oak tree studying for his end of the year exam when an earth pony came over to him and asked why he always sat there studying alone. He just shrugged and looked back down at his book. Not thinking much about the pony, just figuring that he was another passerby. When he was done, he packed up his things and started back to his dorm. He was staying in the Academy dorms because his parents moved to Ponyville. He didn’t enjoy the constant smirks from the older, much more athletic ponies. They always taunted him and the other smart ponies. He was never really affected by their words; all they wanted was attention and he never gave them that so they picked on him the most. It was getting dark pretty quickly and he was still a little ways away from his room. He knew of a shortcut that would get him there faster, but he didn't want to take it because it wasn't really safe at night. When the sun completely descended under the horizon, he figured he couldn't be out much longer. He turned the corner around a bakery and slammed right into the jocks that constantly messed with him. The lead jock got back up on his hooves and looked at the pony that knocked him down. He gave a devilish grin when he saw who it was. “Well, look who it is! Our good buddy Vel! How you doing buddy?” He asked, putting his hoof around Vel as he tried to slip away. Vel struggled for a minute then gave up after realizing the jock had no intention of letting go. He took his hoof off of Vel and shoved him to the ground. He got up and when the jocks hoof came down for a strike Vel countered the attack and smacked the jock right in his jaw. He stumbled backwards and fell on his flank. When he recovered from the shock, he jumped up and yelled and charged at Vel, his friends joining the attack. Everyone who met Vel always assumed that he was weak and couldn’t handle himself in a fight, when in reality he was trained in advanced fighting styles. Everyone assumed he was studying things like basic spells. If they took a closer look, they would notice the books were about fighting and learning how to defend yourself. He was well trained, but even with his advanced training, he couldn’t handle a group of ponies swinging everywhere around him. He was quickly knocked down. There were just too many of them to handle. They stopped for a second, and that pause gave Vel just enough time to get on his hooves and see why they stopped. There was another pony; he pulled one of the attackers off of him. He threw him a few feet away and picked up another pony and held him with one hoof while smacking him with the other. Vel wiped blood away from his lip. The savior casually strolled over to him and held out his hoof. Vel grabbed it and was pulled up onto his flank. He didn’t really notice his savior until his vision returned. It was the pony who came up to him at the oak this afternoon. He didn’t understand why this pony was here or why he was following him. “Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” He was snatched out of his thoughts and thrust back into reality. He looked at the pony and realized his apparel; he was wearing a guard uniform! But he was an earth pony. How could an earth pony be a member of Celestia’s army? “I’m... fine I think.” “Do you need a doctor or any medical attention?” “No, just some scrapes and bruises, nothing that can’t be healed with time.” He frowned and looked around for anypony else. Except for a couple a few blocks away, they were the only ones out here since it was pretty late. The guard walked him back to his dorm room. When they got to his door he handed him his notes. Vel looked at them and completely forgot about those. “Thanks for saving me back there.” “No problem, I just couldn’t leave someone in trouble. It’s not in my code.” “Oh, and thanks for grabbing my notes! I would most likely fail my exam if not for these notes.” “It was nothing. By the way I’m QuickFire; you can call me Fire for short.” Vel (Present) He would never forget that night, or the pony who saved him. There were visible scars that marked that night, and Fire always checking up on him, always had his back after that night. Once word got out that Vel was friends with a royal guard everyone knew not to mess with Vel. He had become popular, gaining many friends. But he always knew who his real friend was, all these ponies were just acquaintances compared to the guard. He still treated everyone with respect, the jocks ignored him for the rest of the semester. When graduation finally rolled around, Vel had excelled at the top of his class. When his name was called to receive his diploma, he had a smile from ear to ear. He grabbed his diploma and looked at the crowd. Everyone cheered for him. He noticed a familiar guard standing in the back of the crowd with a grin on his face. Vel walked off stage and over to the other graduates. They then were released to their friends and family. Vels family swarmed him and bombed him with questions about what he is going to do now. He answered them the best he could. This was the happiest day of his life. Nothing could change that. When the crowd finally died down and most ponies went home. Vel joined his friend, they were walking through the hallways looking in the classrooms. “Just think... this is the last time you will see this hallway.” “Yeah, I know! I don’t know whether to be excited or scared.” “What do you mean?” “The easiest part of my life is over, now comes the hard part. Living” Fire looked at Vel with an understanding look. Fire was probably the only pony who knew what Vel was going through. A very authoritative voice from behind them spoke up. “Vel! You must be so excited with your graduation!” The voice was from none other than the estemed princess Celestia. Vel and Fire turned to see the alicorn walking over to them. She had a smile that could rival Vels. She put a wing on Vel and looked at Fire. “Excuse me Fire, but would you excuse us for a moment?” “Of course your highness.” “Thank you.” When Fire had left Celestia looked down at Vel. he wasn’t sure why Fire couldn’t be here. She quickly explained why she asked him to leave. “I have a job proposition for you. Since you have excelled at your studies and seem very dedicated to your studies, I would like for you to relocate to the everfree forest. There you will learn about the forest and its properties. When you find out anything, I would like you to report what you find to me.” “I... I don’t... I don’t know what to say. Tha- thank you! I will do this for you!” “Thank you! I knew you would accept, you leave tomorrow.” A realization struck Vel, his smile quickly faded and one of sadness showed up. “But your highness! What about my friends and family! What about my life here?” “I’m sorry, but you must leave them here, you must do this task alone.” He looked down in sadness, he was going to do what he always wanted to do. But he was going to leave everything behind to do it. Fire came back over to Vel, he tried to hide his sadness. Fire knew something was wrong, but he decided against it figuring it was only for Vel and the princess to know about. He didn’t want his friend to be sad today of all days. “What do you want to do now?” “I don’t mean to be a joykiller but I kinda want to be alone right now.” “Alright bro, you know where I am if you need some help with anything.” Vel watched as Fire walked away, this was probably the last time he would see his friend. He trudged back to his dorm room. He started packing what he was going to take with him to his new home. His life was about to change dramatically, for better and for worse.
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.
