Shadows in the Dark [Gilda, Grey Shadow, Request]

[moontrot]

The sun had long ago set and the stars were just barely visible above Manehatten. The city lights kept the majority of the night sky from being visible and the sounds prevented the typical silence of the night that Moon Trot could find enjoyment in, but in this case they were boons to her mission. The mission itself was far from a boon.

Equestria was under attack. Invaded by Diamond Dogs and Dragons, Moon Trot's talents were being wasted on a political favor. The daughter of a rich archaeologist was robbed and instead of being sent behind enemy lines to find information that could help Equestria combat these intruders to their land Moon Trot was ordered to stake out out the Rainlock Estate and if the criminal happened to appear, she was to pursue and capture. If he did not appear, she was to investigate further and try to track the 'Grey Shadow' down.

Despite her reservations of being wasted on such a trivial task, Moon Trot knew her duty. Hers was not to reason why, it was but to do or die, and the orders had come down from those higher ranked than her. She gave her professional opinion on the matter, was heard and overruled, so now here she was, standing in the deep shadows cast by the bright city lights. Invisibility spells were tiring, so she took advantage of her naturally dark complection and masked her hair in a black sack, using a Silence Spell to keep her completely inaudible as she waited for the slightest sign of...anything, really. She doubted that she would find this Grey Shadow tonight and tomorrow the much more boring and much more tedious task of investigating would begin.

She sighed, her jaw moving soundlessly as she blinked to remoisten her eyes, then she followed the shadows to other places around the Estate, always keeping out of the light.

[Gilda]

Gilda knew when the going was good so she made sure she got her tail out of central Equestria the moment those unsavory types which showed up at the doorstep Ponyville and Fillydelphia, they were quick, dang quick. Gilda admired that much of it, she never held Diamond Dogs high in regard but they could get into a place quick and Fillydelphia never saw it coming. Though they were nothing compared to the reports that were circulating around that Blackmane himself had appeared over Ponyville. There was no way she was going to stick around with Blackmane and a bunch of drakes cruising around – and Dang if she was going back to the Griffon Kingdoms, Whitefeather could jam it up his tail for all she cared. Besides, she’d been meaning to check out the big city of Manehatten. A sucker was born every minute, and this city teaming was hopefully teaming with them, heck, maybe even start a little black market of some sort of refugees started flooding in. Could be good bits to be had.

Gilda had flown the last day and half, not stopping but for a quick bite, since the attacks begun. It perhaps wasn’t the wisest thing to do, in the long run. Her wings ached, her eyes were dry and feathers frazzled. The night air, its cool chill wasn’t helping her flight – with its biting fangs lapping at her back. With the lights of the city now washing over her, she felt exasperated but excited to finally be at the end of this leg of her wanderlust journey.

A quick glide over the city, darting between the tall buildings, she looked for a quiet place to land. She wanted someplace dark, someplace outside the city-central. Wasn’t sure how prominent griffons were in the city and didn’t want to attract any undue attention, so she find a quaint little street lined with the clearly wealthiest of the cities inhabitants. Wasn’t ideal but she was getting tired and wanted her feet on the ground as quick as possible. Her eyes spotted a nice dark stretch, vacant, around some-sort of estate. Perfect, she thought and fanned her wings and went in for the landing, softly falling. Then something moved below her, subtle, Gilda wasn’t sure if the shadows had played tricks on her. Her decent continued, when suddenly, what appeared to be the darkly outline of a pony appeared below her, masked by the shadows. It was too late, she couldn’t divert, and suddenly crashed into the pony that had been sneaking around below.

Gilda struck the pony’s body with her rear paws first, stumbling in the foiled landing and spun out, crashing into the stone street before the pony. She rolled several times and tumbled into a few trash cans, making a terrible racket. She groaned and moaned, her wings feeling as if they were on fire, she also swore she must of sprained something. She pushed herself up out of the trash, disgusted and cursing her misfortune. She stumbled out from the bins, waving her arms in the air in anger. ”What gives dweeb! Can’t ya’ see I was landing there!?” She exclaimed loudly at the dark and purple pony. ”Gonna be pruning for a week thanks to you!” She flashed her wings and leaned her head over to run a few feathers through her beak. Blasted ponies, always getting in the way.

[moontrot]

Stake outs were never Moon Trot's favored missions. She liked having a target in mind, someone she could see and someone she knew the location of. She preferred missions where she could sneak in, grab something or listen to something or observe something. Those missions were quick and often decisive. Sitting here and waiting for someone or something that may or may not even show up was less than preferred. In fact, it was rather irritating.

Moon Trot was in the midst of exploring the past few months of her actions, inactions and interactions with others that might result in her being punished with such a mundane and senseless assignment when the faint flutter of air passing through feathers caught her attention.

Perhaps the Grey Shadow is a Griffon or a Pegasus she thought as her eyes turned skyward. She saw a large figure looming towards her only to realize that it was not particularly large, but it was entirely too close. It collided into her.

The two bodies rolled and flipped along the ground before disentangling entirely by accident. Moon Trot's horn got caught in the ground and her momentum flipped her onto her back and hurt her neck a little. She struggled to roll over and get up, pushing against the ground so she could pull her horn out of the dirt and grass.

She shook her head a little to recombobulate herself then looked over at the griffon, a scowling glare on her face which was replaced with shock as the hybrid blamed her for the collision.

Moon Trot opened her mouth to unleash a scathing reply, but halfway through her rant she realized that the silence spell was still in effect. She blinked and sighed then her horn glowed green for a moment to dispell her enchantment.

"My fault? I'm doing an important mission. What are you doing flying around this late at night?" she asked as thoughts raced through her head. What if the Grey Shadow is a griffon... "And what are you doing flying onto private property in the middle of the night?" she added in a more accusatory manner. She took on a more assertive stance and glared at Hilda, waiting for what had better be a convincing reply.

[Gilda]

Gilda flicked her head-feathers to the side with a tweak from her neck. Who did this pony think she was? It was, after all, the pony who was sneaking around in the dark on an otherwise perfectly good and secluded landing spot.

”Whoa, check the ‘tude, loser. I wasn’t the one stalking around in the dark like some sort of lame-o creeper.” She boasted, standing tall and defensive. ”I was just trying to find a quiet spot to land, away from you ponies – what good that did. You all are a bunch of gawkers when a griffon is around – not that I could blame you. Besides, didn’t know this was ‘private property’.” Finishing with air-quotes. ”Doesn’t explain why you’re out here, creeper. You don’t look like somepony that could afford to own some ‘private property’, ya’ planning on swiping something?” She took in her first real scan of the surroundings, spotting the mansion nearby and the rest of the estate – that explains why it was so vacant in an otherwise congested city. Whoever owned this piece of land must be loaded.

”Nice mark, real fancy here. But explain how a dweeb like you made it this far without getting spotted, moseying like you were on a perfectly good stretch of land.” The griffon snipped. ”Real amateur – but, hey, it’s cool. Whatever ya’ think works.” Shrugging off her care, ”And I won’t go tell on you. I have no love for some rich old pony and their stuffy old junk.” She lied, she’d love to get her talons around something worth a few bits – make starting anew here pretty swanky, bet this old pony had some dust ridden things they wouldn’t know was missing till long after they were 18 hands underground. ”So you going to apologize for being in my way, or are Manehatten ponies rude as well as creepers?”

[moontrot]

Moon Trot dug her forehooves into the ground and exhaled slowly out of her nostrils. This griffon was more than a little unpleasent, even moreso than most griffons. Their prideful ways were often annoying to her, but this female in particular was really grating. Moon Trot was toying with the idea of putting a Silence Charm on this inconsiderate hybrid, but managed to keep her composure. Truthfully speaking, she wasn't worth Moon Trot's time.

"I am not going to appologize because you were about to land on private property, whether you knew it or not. I'm here for my own reasons but I assure you I am here legally and with no intent of...'swiping'...anything." She backed up so that she was once more in the shadows. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would now leave so I can get back to work."

She had no intention of telling Gilda anythign about what was actually going on since it was possible that either she was the Grey Shadow, worked for the Shadow, or more likely was just an unwary interloper but the Shadow could be watching.

[Gilda]

Gilda scoffed at Moon Trot’s remarks, as if to say ‘typical’ with the flick in her crown-feathers and quick claw slicking them back. ”Psh, ponies. Ok rent-a-cop, play the big stallion.” As she wiggled her claws at Trot, ”And I can still see you in those shadows, creeper.” She said as she pulled down her lower eye-lid with her claws, making a funny face at the mare. Though she actually saw worse in night than day, her keen eyesight still made her stand out in the blackness at this distance. ”You’re as stealthy as a one-winged Roc adorned with bells, you dweeb.” Gilda was over this pony, she had bigger fish to fry in a city like Manehatten. A war was on, bits were to be had, and she wasn’t going to be stopped by some ‘mare-do-well’ on a power bender. She wanted to guard a stuffy old pony’s grounds, she could have it.

Gilda begun to trot away, giving one glance back to the mare in the shadows. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Was she serious? ”Listen, you’re not going to get the drop on anyone, pony or otherwise with those armature tactics. If a real thief were to sneak in here, they’d be in and out before you could count the freckles on your muzzle, and that’s if they don’t kill you before.” The griffon explained with an air of pride. Her voice now dwarfing into a whisper, ”I could help you – for a cut.”

[moontrot]

There was something about Gilda that made Moon Trot start to feel an irrational desire to drive her horn through the griffon's claw as she made the vague gestures and stupid faces. She was not about to do that, however, nor was she about to prove Gilda wrong and just vanish with a spell. She needed to vanish from all sight first before she could cast her spell re-emerge unseen from the building. Otherwise anyone watching would see her vanish and would know one of her tricks.

Moon was glad when Gilda turned to leave. She herself turned to head back for the house so she could go inside, turn invisible, then come back out behind someone else- a guard, most likely, that she could talk into taking a short walk- but Gilda turned around and spoke.

Moon Trot blinked and, for a moment, felt indignant. Where did this griffon get off telling her how to do her job, or even that she wasn't doing it right? Moon Trot had done dozens of covert missions for the Kingdom, but she had to admit that guarding a mansion had never been one of them.

Swallowing her pride, she turned and looked back at Gilda. She decided not to mention anything about a price or 'cut' at the moment, but instead probe for what help Gilda could give.

"If I did....request your ..." She began saying, right as she disappeared under a very heavy looking piano. From above, Gilda could hear shouting.

"AND THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOUR STUPID URN!" A voice cried as an urn shattered nearby. From the bloody pool now building underneath the piano, it was obvious what the grim fate the unicorn had just so suddenly experienced. Perhaps for Gilda it would be best to leave the area. Looks like Lady Rainlock wouldn't be getting her way today... unless of course, the riches and rewards interested Gilda herself.

[Gilda]

Gilda was just breaking into a prideful, cocky smirk the moment Moon Trot turned back to the griffon. Gilda smugly cracked her neck, knowing this pony was about to acquiesces to her. How she loved to make these hoofed lettuce eaters rely on her. Now the unicorn would be malleable in her claws - that was until, from seemingly out of nowhere, a piano fell from the sky and crushed the poor pony under the weight of wood and wire. Gilda's beak hung open with eyes wide and in complete shock. The urn that crashed beside her spooked her so that she let out of a startled squawk and fluttered into the air. Her head turned skyward, to the skyscraper that pressed against the lovely and elegant grounds of the estate.

With apprehension, Gilda fluttered down beside the crashed piano, tip-toeing over the pooling blood and flipped up the piano lid, "Yo, pony, you alright?" she asked, "Oh, what do we got here?" She reached into the piano's top, rummaged about and pulled out a talon full of bits and a small little item. She looked down at her loot, cringed and flicked off the pony bits and blood before pocketing her ill-gotten goods in the pouch she kept around her neck, shuffling the contents around a few of her personal effects.

*Acquired loot from Moon Trot.
-Minor Trinket: Silent Walk. Small Charm capable of masking the sounds of the wearer's movement.*

Gilda slammed the piano lid back down, tapped the top with her knuckles and padded off towards the mansion on the hill. She thought on how to explain the situation. Clearly, that unicorn was on the prowl for some sort of bad-flank thief and whoever this rich mare was that wanted them caught, was desperate enough for a pony that was easily smited by a simple piano dropped from a tower. Maybe she was senile, perhaps the old bat would just throw money at her if she could promise a few sweet lies and in no time, she'd be on a sweet ride to the best fun a griffon can have in Manehatten.

She reached the large double doors, gave them a quick glance over, and snorted. Rich ponies, what snobs. She raised her claw to the door and rapped loudly against it. Three strikes, waited for a moment, then pounded her first against the hard oak. "Hey!? Old bag! We need to talk, its about that pony you had creeping around your property! Yeah, she had to... um... had to go pay the Cable Company. Had me come here to take her place." She banged harder against the door, "Come on, open up. Want to keep that thief out - or whatever - I'm your bird. Now open up!"

[Red Charge]

On her final bangs, Gilda found she was banging on the chest of a massive pegasus wearing the dark colored uniform of the Rainlock Security Forces and a stern demeanor. He motioned for her to follow him wordlessly and led her down the entrance hall and past a creepy looking corridor full of portraits and suits of armor to a large ball room, which was now arranged more akin to a war room.

In the middle of it sat a beautiful, young looking mare in an outlandish suit of armor, the famous Ursa Helm resting on the table in front of her. The young mare turned her gaze to Gilda, bright blue eyes seemed to pierce through her as the blonde mare studied her above her interlocked hooves.

"You're not who I was told would be coming." She said simply, a group of guards near the door began to move towards the griffon. Gilda noticed that lady Rainlock had what appeared to be a plant stick out from her left hoof, while the right hoof crackled with electricity.

The bulky pegasus who let Gilda in quickly passed a device over her, "Not a changeling." He said.

"Of course not, if she were, she'd have disintegrated as soon as she entered the grounds like the others. The question is, what's her purpose in being here." Lady Rainlock said calmly.

[Gilda]

Things just kept getting weirder and weirder for Gilda, she had almost sworn that the gorilla Pegasus in the suit was itching to break her talon or give her a swift buck out of the lawn – he could try, but Gilda wouldn’t let some pony land a cheap hit like that on her. A sense of foreboding grew with every step as she padded her way through the corridor in tow with the uniformed pony. He eyes shifting from one unsettling dusty object to the next – this pony certainly had a taste for the drab and dreary. She figured the old pony must be a real piece of work.

Then when her eyes laid upon the surprisingly young and elegant mare in armor that would rival even that of the finest royal griffon armorers, Gilda was taken back. ”Whoa.” She stuttered out, her beak slightly hanging ajar in shock. Her precognitions were grossly shattered and now she was thinking about the quickest way to back out of this – and what was with her hooves? This pony was unnatural, or something, she some sort of bogus wizard or unclosed circuit?

She was about to reply to the mare, when form the corners of her eyes she caught the guards closing their distance. She backed up, preparing herself to fight her way out if this suddenly turned sour. She recoiled when the Pegasus drew the strange device and passed it over her. ”Hey, what gives. Get your lame device out of my beak – I ain’t no loser changeling. Yeah like she sa-“ Gilda turned to the fancy mare, eyes wide with surprise, even her cackles were on end when she mentioned ‘disintegrated’. What type of ponies were these she asked herself over and over again. ”Wha- yeah… Having a bit of a changeling problem? Yeah I can totally see it with all the love that this place just drips with.” She pulled away from the guard at her side and took a few steps forward, adjusting her wings and brushing her frazzled feathers down against her neck. ”So the pony you hired got a little overburdened, so I took her place. Said you needed help with something, didn’t give too many details, but I gathered you’re having a bit of a thief problem of some sort. Well I just landed in town, looking for work, and know a thing or two about thieving.” She chuckled to herself, thinking back to how that unicorn thought hiding in the shadows going to catch a talented thief. What a dweb. ”Certainly a lot better choice than that unicorn you had. May she rest in pi...ec – To point, you need some help I’ll help.”

[Red Charge]

"I see." Said the blonde mare, turning back to her business without another word.

"We can't expand the spell past the mansion, it could go awry on such a large radius and it's not been tested properly either. What I want is a full status report of every guard, both in the police, the military refugees and our own. Everyone from now on are to patrol in groups of four and I want methane fires in the sewer system every two hours to flush out any that might come from there." The mare explained to the other ponies around her. One seemed to be the chief of Manehattan's police while another wore a military uniform. The last was a very strict looking pegasus wearing the same uniform the others were.

"If they're planning an attack like the last one, even a single changeling can be disastrous." She instructed.

Finally turning to Gilda the mare sighed, "This war is very tedious, I no longer possess the time to worry about the artifact the Grey Shadow stole from me. However, the artifact is very important to me, in the wrong hands it could prove catastrophic. I requested someone who could help us track down and retrieve, forcefully if necessary, it back. Think you can do it? Be sure of what you answer."

[Gilda]

Gilda listened absently to the discussion the others were having in the room, instead her focus was on the helmet before the reclining mare. Gilda couldn’t help but marvel at its craftsmanship, more so than even the most atypical of pony or even griffon work. She wondered what it was, where it came from, and how to get a hold of it. She quickly dismissed the idea of swiping it – she may have thieving tendencies but she still had a semblance of griffon honor, especially if it involved possibly having to deal with several well armed thugs in uniform. Perhaps, she pondered, maybe she could even use her work as a bargaining chip for the fantastical helmet instead.

Gilda returned her attention back to Rainlock, “The Grey Shadow, huh? Though he was a myth.” Gilda asked with a coy, cocky smirk. ”Yeah, I’ll get your little trinket back. No problemo. What does some lame over-hyped thief got against a griffon like me; how about I bring him right to hooves as a bonus? So what’s this thing the Grey Shadow stole from ya’? And the usual, when, where, how, yadda-yadda… need to get an idea where to start. But most importantly, let’s talk payment.”

[Red Charge]

"You're not getting the Ursa Helm." Rainlock said sharply, "My father, that is to say, Proffessor Rainlock, had it crafted from an Ursa Major's fang." The blonde mare gracefully strode across the room, "A griffon might actually be a good idea, what with your eye for detail, you inherent flying capabilities and your combat aptitude... Yes, I think you're a much more qualified applicant than a unicorn. Especially one that had to be scraped off the road."

The chief of police, the Rainlock Security chief and the Military officer were now talking amongst themselves and coordinating with their men the census to filter out the changelings. "I'd like you to start, if you will, from the mansion, I'd like you to observe and see if you can find anything my men overlooked. The artifact that was stolen is called the Eye of Cassius (Note probably temp name until I can remember what the real one is). It is an artifact in the shape of a dragon's eye."

Lady Rainlock began walking away, "If you fail to find anything there, you'll be taken through his trail of escape, see if you can find anything there. If you succeed in obtaining information that leads to the reacquiring of the Eye, you'll be rewarded very handsomely.

[Gilda]

”Well, it certainly looked appealing sitting there. Can’t blame me for that.” Gilda replied in response to her defiant ‘no’ on getting the helm. Certainly still caught her eye though as she wondered what an Ursa Major’s fang could do when crafted into such a wondrous object. Regrettably, she may never know. Back to business, ”You ponies work quick, guess what they say about a ‘Manehatten Minute’ is true. Already hosed down the spot?”

As they explained the situation, Gilda sat down and crossed her arms as she listened to the details. She bit her beak to say something about what failures the local investigators must be if they can’t even get a decent lead on, what she assumed, was a routine theft – as routine as breaking into a mansion filled to the brim with well armed guards and a mare with electricity and a plant growing from her could be. What was the deal with that sprig anyhow? It was then Gilda realized the Mare had already begun walking away and went to catch up with her.”So this ‘Eye’, does it do anything?” She wondered, ”Don’t want to get blindsided like pancake out there.” She also had one last question before they arrived at the scene of the crime. ”One last thing before we get wherever we’re going, how do you know this was the Grey Shadow?”

[Red Charge]

"Yes, nothing relevant to your mission, and I saw him. One pony, wearing a grey cloak, gliding through the air on fire, getting past every single protective spell, monster, golem and security guard in this place, including the Manehattan Police Department. It is the Grey Shadow." Rainlock said with a tone of finality as she walked away. One of the Rainlock guards approached Gilda, giving her a short nod of the head and saying, "Follow me."

He began leading her through the long corridors of the mansions, Gilda had to admire how huge the mansion was, and how mazelike. She'd never have imagined it to be this big or labyrinthian by looking at it from outside. The guard led her through several confusing shortcuts towards the cellar where the vault was kept. Passing by several mysterious rooms as they went past. The walk seemed to take forever.