Legion of Shadows

by Strythio

Gilda the Lightning Strike

In a brightly lit concrete locker room, Gilda sat on a wooden bench, head hung low in thought. She had a solemn look, silence making even the occasional flicks of her tail audible. It would have been maddening under any other condition, but the griffon was used to hanging out alone by this point.

The sound of a metal door opening briefly brought the griffon's head up, revealing a purple tipped, feathery fringe that shaded the griffon's face.

“Package for Gilda.” The sound of a thump accompanied the announcement, before the metal door once again closed shut.

Gilda broke into a wide grin, practically jumping from the bench and down the narrow pathway of the locker room. Dashing past shining silver lockers, the griffon skidded to a halt to see the bound brown package that had been brought.

The image of a griffon holding a letter bound the string that kept the package together. Two envelopes and a brown box were tightly kept together, and Gilda eagerly seized the package in her talons.

Returning to her bench, she tore away at the rope like a ferocious lion its prey. The envelopes were sorted onto one side of the bench, one getting special attention. It was a black envelope, standing out greatly from the rest of the white envelopes.

“Mom.” Gilda brought the envelope to her chest, practically hugging the letter in a strange show of affection. Well, strange from an onlooker who had no idea of the context. Equestria was a great place, but there was little greater than getting messages from her parents.

Come to think of it, Gilda did not even recall why she was even still in Equestria in the first place. Ever since her alteration with Rainbow Dash, she had not had much of a personal motivation for sticking around, except for completing this tournament that she had been thrust into.

Gilda gazed towards where the steel door leading to the cold outside air lay. Homesick did not come near to describe how she felt right now. She could just walk out right now, not lift another talon in this silly competition, and return home second best.

Gilda shook her head and laughed. She really had been hanging around ponies too long if she felt that way. Opening the envelope, Gilda began reading the letter with ernest, eager to hear news of home.

Bonjour Gilda! Your father and I just wanted to wish you luck in the upcoming finals of the Street Fighter Class 1 match coming up! If I send this right, then it should arrive just in time for your match!

Gilda smiled. Never late, her mother's packages always arrived whenever she so deemed it. She was the envy of the griffon world, as anyone else attempting to send messages across the seas would have to go through so much red tape, there would be no telling how long it would take. Sometimes it would take a week, sometimes a year. But Gilda's mother always managed to get her packages in whenever Gilda needed them the most. Putting it on her list to pay home a visit after the fight, Gilda read the remainder of the letter.

Your father as always wishes you good luck! He even wanted you to have something of his from back in his earlier GPF days.

Gilda blinked, eyeing the relatively small box. It was unmarked, and hardly seemed to carry anything in it of great value. GPF, the griffon Adaptive Peacekeeping Force (sometimes shortened to just Griffon Peacekeeping Force), had been around since the second Equestrian War (or the second griffon War let the Equestrians tell it). Its purpose originally had been to quell rebellions while the main forces went off to war, but when the griffons lost yet more territory to the alicorn sisters, it became clear that the objective needed to be to avoid further war with the Equestrians.

As a result, the job of GPF had been to maintain the peace at all costs, often assassinating even members of their own government who were advocating armed conflict with Equestra. They also attempted to prevent rebellions and terror attacks, but preventing a war with their more powerful counterparts held top priority.

From a member of such an organization, what could the box possibly hold? Gilda placed the letter atop of the torn string and, with an outstretched talon, ripped open the box, and stared at the contents.

It was nothing more than a small sweater!

Gilda almost screeched in rage from this letdown, grabbing the sweater and preparing to hurl it into the air. Upon grasping it, she felt something much harder than fabric within the sweater. Looking around to make sure nopony snooped, Gilda carefully opened the folded sweater. An envelope clattered to the floor, clearly containing something heavier than another letter.

“I should have known.” Gilda smirked, taking a moment to chastise herself for doubting her father's pleasant surprise factor. Casting the sweater aside, Gilda snatched up the envelope. With a surgeon's cut, she sliced open the envelope at the bottom, the contents dropping onto the bench.

A letter, of course, and a medallion. Disregarding the medallion for now, Gilda carefully opened the letter, once again scoping the room before reading.

Gilda, honey, this is the big one. By the time you get this letter, we will already be underway on our latest mission. It is supposed to be classified, but all things considered, I want there to be a written account giving the jist of what we are up to.

You know, just in case. I do not like griffons lying about what I did and what I did not do and desire.

“Get to the point already,” Gilda murmured, as if she were actually talking to her father right then and there.

There is an exchange going on between some very high profile targets in Gritaigne. We believe that they are plotting with Equestrian conspirators to weaken the alicorn sisters.

“What is the problem with that?” Gilda chuckled to herself, temporarily thinking in her mind a weakened Equestria. At best, every country in the world would hesitate before doing anything, wanting to see bodies before jumping to conclusions. No state messed with Equestria and left unscarred, for though Celestia was very benevolent, she did not take too kindly to enemies of the state. The griffons had learned that the hard way.

Oh and the look on all the ponies' faces if they really did have to witness the death of their longtime monarchs. Have them go through a regime change for once! Finally she could then gloat to Rainbow Dash about the superiority of Griffia when her precious harmony and friendship crumbles once the facade finally dies down.

Gilda cast a look towards one of the lockers, as if they had stated some offending word to her. Why did she switch tracks to Rainbow Dash again? Gilda sighed, and then looked back at the letter. She continued reading, begrudgingly coming to terms that she had not entirely gotten over that burned bridge.

The reason I am telling you this is that I want you to be careful, as I know that you once were involved with one of the Elements of Harmony.

Her alteration with Rainbow Dash had not been in any of her letters back home; she had purposely omitted that for personal reasons. Apparently her father kept more tabs on her than she had thought.

Anyways, no matter what happens, I just want you to know that I love you, and that we are doing everything possible to maintain the status quo. Enclosed is my medallion; I wore it for good luck on missions, but I think I will need more than silly luck to get me through this one.

So I want you to have it. I know you have a fighting match tonight, and I want to wish you good luck. As always, fly like the wind and strike like lightning!

Gilda broke out into a smile again. She looked back down at the medallion, taking the time to study it now that she knew that it held some sort of significance.

Made of steel, the slightly rusted metal square dangling from red ribbon hardly seemed lucky. On closer inspections, Gilda realized that the likelihood of that rust being rust would be slim to none. Twirling it around, the coin weighed enough to notice in the hand, and yet, the single circle where the ribbon looped around had just sliver of gold, giving off a shine in the lighting.

The lights to the locker room suddenly dimmed, jerking Gilda from her viewing of her gift. It was almost go time.

Placing the medallion around her neck, she briefly went to the mirror to admire herself before fitting into her costume, which she retrieved from the locker that she had given the death stare to earlier.

The dark blue jumpsuit did not have much protection to it, but the flashy lightning bolt along the sides drew much attention, and allowed everyone in that arena to know what she went by. Zipper in front and tuckable, the streamline design allowed for flex movement while reducing friction, important when facing pony opponents.

They could grip you still with their teeth, but they would have a hard time gripping her with their hooves with this design, not to mention it would be easier to slip around their blows. Donning a matching mask, the griffon stuffed the remainder of her articles in the locker.

Closing it, locking it, and giving it a good kick for good measure, Gilda felt satisfied in marching towards an opening leading to the arena. The sound of cheering and general uproar could be heard from the outside as the steel door at the far end opened seemingly on its own.
A long and very dark hallway held only a single occupant. A bright blue unicorn with a pair of black shades and a horsetail styled azure mane awaited Gilda with a wide grin.

“Are you ready?” The voice was gruff, but sincere, as if more time could be spent preparing.

Clutching the medallion underneath her uniform, Gilda gave a confident grin, and with swagger attained after years of competing with ponies, she strode forward forward to a small flight of stairs leading upwards.

“Born ready.”

Walking up these stairs, Gilda’s heart raced with anticipation. This was going to be the big fight, the one that would finally make her new career! At a very young age too, now that the griffon thought about it. It would be an early conquest of the top, with decades ahead yet still to knock down any who challenge her position.

The double doors at the top of the stairs opened wide, and the flashing snapshots of cameras almost blinded her, the cheers now a deafening roar. Stepping into the stadium of sorts, the air conditioned, inside area of combat already had the smell of sweat and excitement. The fans had worked themselves up into a frenzy, and the fight had not even begun yet. Gilda did not mind; she liked an attentive, over-excited crowd. They tended to make the silence after a victory all the more significant.

“In this corner, the fastest griffon Equestria has yet seen in this arena, a competitor that has mastered both the single and double matches, Lightning Striiike!” The announcer’s microphone voice could hardly be heard over the crowd, the stomping of hooves and talons cheering Gilda on as she journeyed down the aisle leading to the actual arena.

The large arena at the center of the crowd-packed stadium was brightly illuminated. The four roped square had been the stage for many fights, a few mildly bloody, as broken muzzles and beaks were commonplace in the higher tier fights. Gilda expected a very tough fight, but had very little doubt that she could, and would, take care of the competition and walk out in great enough shape to not have to take a trip to the infirmary.

Her theme music, electric, with a screeching bird in the background, pumped up the crowd. Even Rainbow Dash had never been able to rear up a crowd with her taste of music alone, even if she had been more into speedy flight competitions than more messy brawls.

Gilda scowled at herself, her thoughts once again wandering in that accursed direction. If this turned into a surprise double fight, then she would be stuck on that cyan Pegasus for the rest of the evening.

“And in this corner, the reigning champion, undefeated in the ring and armoured to the hoof, Tin Caaaan!”

Gilda scoffed while the announcer introduced the clearly over-rated pony. The earth pony, clad from head to toe in heavy, medieval armor, strode down the aisle on the other side of the ring. Despite the sheer weight of the armor, as Gilda could hear the sound of each hoofstep even in this roar, the pony did not seem hindered at all.

No wonder no pony had ever beaten this competitor before in the ring. Just punching him/her in the face would do no good, as his/her helmet looked at least as hard as steel. Gilda’s mind went to work, as the competitors were allowed to bring almost anything to the arena, as long as it was not an instrument to assist in drawing blood.

A hammer came to mind when she first got a glimpse of the infamous gloater, but thanks to Celestia’s regulations, anything that could also crack skulls was also banned. Shame really, for a hammer would have saved Gilda many hours of slamming her opponents into the arena floor. The pony hopped into the arena, causing a mild shaking. The armor did not seem to have any openings, but Gilda knew that there had to be some way to beat this pony. The customary trash talk now came as the two approached center ring, with a griffon referee in the middle.

“I want a good, clean fight. A few splots of blood is fine, but if either of you start flowing the match is off.”

The Can cackled, and then spoke with a very echo in the tunnel voice, “I hope it is not that time of the year, Lightning. Would be a shame winning by default.”

Gilda hooted, and despite not being an owl hybrid, she did a fairly good hoot imitation. The crowd had long fallen silent to hear the jeers of these two.

“You know, I think your head is as empty as the can you call armor,” Gilda jeered, “That does not count for blood flow. Or did you forget the humiliating defeat Spitfire burned you with five years ago when that shit mouth of yours ran off to her?”

The pony snorted in anger, steam emitting from two holes Gilda assumed were the nostrils. Yeah, that had struck someplace on the pride dartboard.

“I still have the mark to prove it. That was not in the ring, however, and at least my friends do not disown me for being myself.”

Now that had bullseyed Gilda's own ego dartboard, the mentioning of that particular blemish on her history causing her to grind her talons into the arena floor, reminding herself that the floor was far less sturdy than one might think. “At least I got ditched for the Elements of Harmony; your friends would leave you for a far cooler tin can. Maybe one with an apple label on it.”

Tin Can laughed, and then stalked back to his/her corner. “ I am going to enjoy crushing your lungs.”

Gilda stepped back to her own side, puffing out her chest proudly. “And I am going to enjoy cramming my new title up your…”

Ding!

The bell rung and the match had begun, much to the delight of the crowd, whom once again were in an uproar. Normally Gilda would have at least had time to finished her bit, but it seems that they were in a rush today. Circling the center ring, Gilda trained her eyes on the metal deathtrap in front of her.

This would have been easy; punch to the left, another hook to the chin, maybe a kick if she were feeling particularly vile. However, this champion did not get their name for nothing; the metal armor would make it very difficult to land a devastating blow.

Tin Can charged straight towards her, knowing very well that she would not be charging him/her back. Of course, Gilda leapt into the air, using her wings to stay afloat. Tin Can, by some miracle, defied gravity and jumped up after her.

Though Gilda managed to lift her talons out of the way, the pony somehow managed to grab her tail with its teeth. The incredible weight of the armor brought her down to earth, and before she knew it, she was being slammed into the floor of the ring.

Her body slammed against the wood, shattering some bits of the flooring upon impact. No doubt mere inches from splinters, the griffon cawed and kicked out, her feet meting metal in a painful reminder of who she dealt with. Though it warded the pony off for a bit, the price of stomping against metal was a ringing foot.
Sprawled on her back, her foe reared up and made to slam onto her right wing. Gilda swiftly moved it, the subsequent landing creating yet another hole, which the pony fell through in a rather clumsy, yet comedic way.

Gilda would have laughed had this not brought an idea to mind on how to win. Back on her feet again, Gilda prepared to take off again when, emerging from the floor beneath her, a metal hoof made contact with the underside of her beak.

Sent backwards and upwards by the force of the punch, Gilda was quite dazed. Another strike to her left, then to her right, and stars were beginning to buzz around her head like the swirling air. Stumbling towards the end of the arena, she tried to regain her sense of location, but yet another swing sent her tot he ground.

“You know, I think I am going to take my time with this one.”

The harsh words hardly even registered before a flash of light shrouded the area. An intense burning sensation on her chest forced Gilda to remain still while she regained her bearings. For just a moment, she felt herself on a wooden table, staring face to face with a blue eyed pony that she had met only some time ago.

The name escaped her, but some innate anger did rise from her body. She flexed her talons, head finally returning to her senses. Before she could strike, the burning sensation returned, and the griffon was forced to refrain from striking out at the pink pony.

The burning sensation began to dull, and moments later another flash of light overtook her. Gilda flopped back onto the stage, hearing the sound of confusion ringing out. Back on her feet, she looked around to see ponies and griffons running about in a sort of panic, confusion settling in. No doubt whatever happened startled the crowd.

Gilda's focus, however, was not on the crowd, but on the slightly dazed Tin Can, who shook his/her head clear and looked towards Gilda.

Her opponent spotted her return snorted, and then charged at her a second time. Much like last time, Gilda rose to the air, but this time, she took off with much more force, not wishing to repeat her earlier mistake. Also once again, the pony leapt up, aiming to drag her back down to the ground in a similar fashion as to last time.

But this time, things were going to be different. Rather than trying to fly higher and leaving her tail exposed, Gilda dove talon first towards the leaping pony, using her own body weight to shove her opposition down head first towards the arena floor.

The end resulted in a satisfying slam dunk, the clang of metal and a sharp snapping noise announcing the downfall of being so heavy and landing in such a fashion. The arena area completely shattered from the force, forming yet another large gaping hole, with wood splintered everywhere.

Reaching her talons around Tin Can's neck, Gilda dragged the heavy, limp pony from the splintered crater out of the center of the ring, where she proceeded to remove the helmet with surprising ease. The latches were nothing more than two buckles on either side, and rather

Tin Can had a red mane, a coat of red, and even red eyes. Even the face flowed crimson, obscuring the natural coat color of the pony, presuming it was not red. To some extent, this seemed rather extreme, as she had been going for a more internal sort of injury; on the other hoof, her opponent would not be getting up anytime soon to challenge the challenger's clear victory.

“I said I wanted a clean fight dammit!” the referee rushed over on all fours with a few ponies in in white smocks.

Gilda, the fight being rather anticlimactic for her personally, could only sigh. She had really been hoping for a more prolonged slugmatch when she had first started. However, as fate would have it, that would not be happening, and in hindsight, it was probably for the best.

Gilda stalked away for a few moments, looking for her manager while the ponies and griffon attended to the knocked out competitor. Nowhere to be found, Gilda turned impatiently back to the referee and the attendants, intent on claiming her prize before charges set in.

“I am sure it is bad and all, but where is my championship belt?”

She had not come all this way and nearly gotten herself stomped on to have to wait for her title. She had a threat to fulfill after all, and she had every intention on finding out if Tin Can was a mare or a stallion.

The referee looked at her with some disgust, as if he could not believe that she had just said that. “Is that really all you care about? This pony is seriously injured…”

Gilda would not have cared more if she had outright killed the pony at this point, as long as it did not interfere with her receiving of her title. “He she it knew what they were getting into when they stepped in. I am going to shove my belt so far…”

Gilda did not get the chance to finish this boast, the burning sensation living back up again. Gilda collapsed, feeling her body become like dead weight in an instant. What was with this medallion? It was as if some magic were triggering it to do this. Losing feeling in her body, darkness began to creep around her vision, as if her body were shutting down.

It did not make much sense, but her hearing seemed to become even more acute, despite the other signals that her body was giving off. The sound of panicked screaming turning into a zapping noise, drowning out all else for a few moments. The zapping was accompanied by burning, the cackles of flames, and the howls of surprised ponies and griffons.

So they wanted to burn her alive and claim it a magical accident huh? Sometimes life was just not fair. Gilda wanted to have a serious chat with the ponies about her suspicion, but their shouts were beginning to get ear splitting, as if there was a serious threat to their lives.

Numbness fully settling in, all Gilda could hear consisted of zapping noises, dropping weights, and screeching. Finally, all went silent, with only the sound of a few clopping hooves being heard. Eventually, the hoof sounds got onto the wrecked stage, and Gilda ended up blacking out entirely.