//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 - The guild begins... // Story: A Bhaalspawn in Equestria // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// A normal day. For once. Is that too much to fucking ask for?! I'd just walked out the front door of my new home to get a griffon landing on me. Or quite nearly so. I heard the wingbeats at the last second and dodged out of the way of what would have either been a landing or a pounce. I rolled across the ground, stood up, swiftly drew steel, and confronted the griffon. I noticed a few things about it even as I was sizing it up. Female. Small. Young adult, or a runt. It always hurt me a bit to hurt the younger generation...but then again, with my age, nigh everyone was the younger generation. She was more shocked to see me than I was to see her, clearly. "What the buck are you and how did you dodge that blow?" I merely smiled and started circling. The girl didn't disappoint when she started to circle as well. "The only answer I could give you that your might respect is one that I'm not sure you've heard of. Marketh Shadeblade. Forestwalker, Ageless." I paused for a moment before saying the final one. "Doom of the Diamond Dogs." Huh, apparently the griffins have heard of me. Or rather, my exploits. Her beak dropped and her eyes widened. "No way. That was you?" I smiled and nodded, but didn't drop my guard at all. "Took out a good portion of them before the rest finally realized that I wasn't anyone to mess with." The griffoness's eyes couldn't get any wider. "Dude! You're, like, a legend!" I blinked. "Really?" Then I crossed my arms and pouted. "And I try so hard to stay out of the limelight." She waved a talon around. "Not quite like that! Once the Diamond Dogs ran back with their tails between their legs, a griffon trader came back with the story. It spread like wildfire back in Gryphus." I uncrossed my arms and quirked an eyebrow; this was getting interesting. "Really?" The gryphoness nodded. "Yeah, griffon culture is all about military exploits and honor, things like that. To hear that one being stood against a war party of Diamond Dogs for ponies...we're sorta split about the story. A third of us disbelieve that it actually happened. A third of us use it as motivation, to try and match what happened in the story. And a third of us wonder just why in Tartarus anyone would bother defending the ponies." I sheathed my blades then and looked at her with the same intrigued expression. "And where do you fall?" She looked askance for a moment. "Bit of the second, lot of the third." And then she focused on me. "Just...one question? If you're the one who stood against them, and that was a hundred years ago...just how old are you?" I laughed then. "Didn't you hear the 'ageless' bit? To me, age is but a mile marker, telling me how far I've come in this thing called Life and Time. I don't know when, if ever, I'll get off this ride, but I intend to enjoy it." Her eyes narrowed then. "Alright, so that's my plan set then." I tilted my head to the side. "Oh?" She nodded once, firmly. "Yeah. If I can bring you to Gryphus, everyone'll forget about what I did and focus on you instead." I waved my hand at my new house. "Sorry, just got settled. Ask again in a few decades." Her claws unsheathed with a disturbing schnick noise. "Who said you were being given a choice?" I raised my eyebrows and held my arms to my side. "You really think that's a good idea? Considering what I've told you about myself?" She smirked at me with the cockiness of a thousand young recruits. "Hey, I don't need to beat you. Just knock you out and drag you there." I sighed and motioned for her to try. "Fine. Let's get this farce over with." She was good, I'll give her that. The problem with being good is that it's merely the starting point for my recruits. I saw every blow of hers as being telegraphed and flowed around them. I didn't even touch her, I just let her tire herself out trying to hit me. She progressively got more angry as more blows missed, and eventually she just lay on the ground, panting, swearing with what little rational thought and breath she could muster. "Not bad, kid. You have potential." She glared at me and snarled. I was undeterred. "Y'see, I'm not just someone who can whip a whole lot of behind when needed. I can also avoid confrontations, or solve them before they even start. Combat is but one facet to me, skilled at it I may be." I carefully placed a hand on the underside of her beak and guided her to look at me, despite her feeble clawing motions. "I was the Grandmaster of every competent thievery guild in Equestria for the past...millennium or so. The only reason I disbanded them was because the Guard came closing in on us. I know tricks to combat that you've likely never even thought of. Want to know where you rank?" Warily and wearily she nodded, and I smiled. "You're one of the more talented apprentices I've seen. The only reason I'm rating you like that, is because I wasn't trying against you. I don't know if you're better than that yet. However, your endurance is to be commended, and perhaps, once I show you some tricks, I can see if you can actually hold your own." She'd finally gotten her breathing under control. "Are you...offering to train me?" I shook my head. "Not quite. I'm offering you a spot here, at this house, as one of mine. An apprentice in the next guild. Do you accept?" She considered for a good, long while. "Wouldn't that make me a criminal?" I smiled wickedly at her. "Heavens no! Criminals are the ones that get caught." And for the first time since our little bout, she smiled as well. "Can I have your name, miss?" She shrugged. "Call me Gilda." ----- Dash was upset. This was not quite a normal mood for her. Yeah, things upset her from time to time. But either she dealt with it by being her, or she figured out why they upset her and solved the problem. Occasionally by talking, but more often than not, with a hoof to a face. This problem, however, was quite bothersome, in that the reason for her mood was too far away to talk to/punch. Gilda had proven to be a horrible, terrible friend. By all rights, if she wanted to be a griffon that couldn't get along with ponies, she was free to be that sort of griffon...far away from Dash. However, she was still a once-loyal friend to her. Maybe it was something she had against ponies other than her? Maybe Gilda just couldn't deal with the idea that Dash could have more than one friend? Their time in flight camp together had formed a nice foundation. One she wasn't willing to throw away. She couldn't betray her friends either, though. Was there any way to get everything she wanted? Any advice Rarity would give would so not apply. To Gilda or her. Flutters wouldn't be happy about the mere idea of confrontation. Pinkie...yeah, she wouldn't be happy with the mere mention of the name. Applejack might have some good advice, but once again, Gilda was too far away to punch. And Twilight...She'd probably suggest researching her, gack, feelings, figure out why she felt this way, and send a letter to the prin- Dash's eyes widened and her breath caught. That was the answer. She raced home from the cloud she'd been sulking on. She had a letter to write.