As Bright as Dull can be [Shadowstrike, Scintillance] (Dated)

by Red Shirt Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:59 pm

November 12, Year 4
shortly after midnight

A small group of griffons wandered down the ruined streets between two large buildings, assumed to have at one time been some sort of warehouse or office building. Protected by suits of shining, golden colored armor and armed to the beak with swords and spears; the unit of four seemed quite cocky. One griffon was a large one of his species, light gray in color, except for his slightly darker front legs as well as his wings and the tip of his tail - both black. Most of his body was covered by armor, though. His dark eyes darted about as the group patrolled down the road. He appeared to be the griffon in charge.

With him were three other griffons. One female, who was brown with black body and golden eyes. She was the smallest of the group, but also appeared to be the feistiest. Another was fatter looking with a darker red head, black body, and plain yellow beak and talons. The fourth was a normal looking griffon with a white head and brown body with normal yellow beak and talons, and blue eyes. Each searched the landscape around them for ponies out past curfew, as the sun had set several hours prior and now the skies were dark behind a sheen of dark storm clouds. It would probably start raining soon.

"Keep your eyes peeled," the teal griffon growled back to his companions.

by **Syron** Sun Oct 21, 2012 3:36 pm

Shadowstrike almost chuckled in her little hideout in the first floor of the right building. This griffon was already dead, no matter how much his subordinates looked around. The moon was high, but that didn't matter, they wouldn't see her. And they used exactly the route she had counted on. She had all the advantage now.
Quickly the mare moved through the building, to another window a little further down the street, keeping close watch of her targets. Now she had no room for mistakes, her plan had to work or she had a bunch of pissed of griffons after her, not the other way around. A few steps more...

Out of nothing, a sound came out of the right building, directly from the next door. Metal hitting metal, it was all to familiar, and in the next moment several throwing stars, four of them, came shooting at the group from the windows in this direction. However, the real problem for the griffons came from elsewhere: A load of debris came fallin down on them, from the left building. Unfortunately for the unicorn responsible, not all of the debris she had placed there really found its way through the window. She wasn't that good with levitation, so she had used a makeshift release mechanism she could easily set off, but aparently something went wrong. The remaining mass to rain down on those damn half birds wasn't enough to put all of them out at once anymore.

by Red Shirt Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:07 pm

The distraction worked, as every head of all four griffons turned and looked in the direction the sound came from. Suddenly, some stars came out of nowhere! The teal griffon felt one skim the back of his neck, taking some feathers out and drawing some blood, but the rest he saw coming. He turned to the side and let the remaining stars plink against his armor and bounce off harmlessly.

Then, the rubble fell from the windows. "Watch out!" the female griffon called. The others saw, spread their wings, and dove out of the way. The fatter griffon, however, didn't have time to notice and move before it landed on his back and pinned him down. He wasn't dead, just stuck.

"Help, guys!" he cried to his comrades. The other three stopped, drew their weapons, and stood together looking in all directions, ready to attack the first thing they saw moving.

by **Syron** Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:37 pm

Only one incapacitated, and all alarmed now, that wasn't how she had imagined it. That ment she had to lure them into the building and try to take them out one by one, as long as they stood together she would have hardly any chance, and letting them get away was out of the question. Or better: Letting the leader get away was out of the question. Shade had seen him only from the distance so far, but was already sure: He was that damn bastard that had killed Skylight. The color and pattern was right, the rank was a little higher than she remembered, but that was only plausible. He would die tonight, and his companions would follow him if needed.

Grim determination written on her face, Shade stormed down the stairs, not caring for silence for the moment, on the contrary: She tried to make some extra noise. They had to get in here, so they needed to know that their enemy was here, and luckily the staircase wasn't directly visible from the entrance door. She would have enough time to hide herself before they would come in.

The stars she had sent outside remained inactive, Shade didn't want to tell them they had to deal with a unicorn, and she didn't want to tell them that she was alone, and so another one of her weapons left the building as she left the window, from a position far away from the stairs. The aim wasn't really accurate, but much damage was unlikely anyway, the only important thing was that the griffons believed there was at least one other enemy.

Once downstairs, Shade quickly looked around for a dark corner from where she could watch the door, and found one behind some old barrels. Her black fur made her naturally hard to hide in the shadows, but her mane and tale were of little brighter color, and so she hid them under a cloak. Right now, the hood was pulled deep into her face, and to make absolutely sure she wouldn't be detected, she reduced the light around her even further. Not enough to rise suspicion, but enough to let her disappear without a new light source.

by Red Shirt Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:21 pm

Another star flung at the three griffons, which then plunked off his armor once more. "In there!" he cried, pointing his talon at the building the mare was in. "You help him, get on the roof," he ordered to the other male griffon with them. The male nodded, then ran to free his trapped comrade. Once freed, the two males spread their wings and flew to the roof.

The leader griffon and the smaller female stood outside the door, peering into the darkness and seeing nothing. They both entered, and began to survey the room, holding their swords at the ready.

The two males landed on the roof, then lept down into a hole to the level below and started to look around the room, the larger male holding a spear at the ready, the other aiming a crossbow about as he searched.

by **Syron** Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:42 pm

Perfect, half of the team away for the moment, and the main target still here. Probably they won't split up any further, so Shade had to deal with both griffons, that could be a little tricky. In a direct fight, she would definitely lose, and once one was dead, the other would probably call for help. The armor didn't make it any simpler. But for now, the unicorn especially had to make sure she wouldn't be detected. The glow from her horn mostly covered by her hood, she used a stone to make some noise in the stair case she had come from. The door was only a few steps away from her, and she had the last shuriken with her. When the leader walked by, he would suffer a way better aimed strike, and that little star was damn sharp. It wouldn't be the first time she cut a throat open with it, or any other critical spot that wasn't covered by armor.

by Red Shirt Sun Nov 11, 2012 4:26 pm

Suddenly, a sound was heard in the stair way. Both pairs of griffons heard, and peered in that direction in the darkness. They began to approach it, from both the top and the bottom. However, the leader stopped, and the female continued.

"I've got point," she growled as she moved ahead, and continued to the stairs.

The griffons at the top got to the edge of the case and gazed down in the darkness, searching for any movement.

by **Syron** Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:28 pm

The leader didn't leave the room... that was good and bad at the same time. With him the only one left here, only he could get a hint about Shade's exact location, and if everything went right he wouldn't have a chance to tell the others. But at the same time, since he wouldn't pass her that closely, it wouldn't be that easy anymore to land a lethal strike.
Of course, there always was the possibility to wait and see what happened, and usually that would be what Shade would have done, but she had waited for this moment for far too long now. She had a chance to get him right now, she wasn't thinking about letting it pass. And so the unicorn only waited until the female was out of the room, then reached under her cloak and brought forth the Shuriken. And since those birds hadn't noticed the glow the first time, she even risked picking up the stars outside again, bringing them as close to the next window as possible, without revealing them.

Then everything went fast: The Shurikens from outside entered and sped up the moment Shade had visual contact, most likely with the griffon noticing them. But he would only have time to turn his head before the Star Shadowstrike had carried with her hit its target. The throat was mostly protected, but there was a chance to get beneath the armor when the angle was right. The small weapon was flying without magic, so that it wouldn't be simple to spot in the dark, but in the last moment the glow came back and Shade corrected the trajectory to match the possible movement of the griffon.

(( I have no clue about how their armor looks like and what weaknesses there are. So I guessed a little and made a compromise ))

by Lance Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:01 am

...Curious... Lance peeked out the window of an abandoned office building across the street, which he's been using as a makeshift home for his stay in Manehattan, though it wasn't his first. the nights were normally quiet at this part of the industrial district, but Lance had been awakened to the cry of help from an earlier griffin, and had been following their events since then, especially taking note of the varied weaponry thrown out of the building at them. Scintillance's entire purpose for coming to Manehattan was to find the rebels, and from his perspective, Maybe I've finally found them... Scintillance eyed the shurikens held by another unicorns' magic as they floated near a window of the building facing his own, and quickly flew in.

by Red Shirt Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:35 am

The yell of pain was more than audible. The griffin had seen the glow of the shurikens outside the window, but it was not enough to save him from injury. the shuriken had successfully angled under the neck-armor, and had left a cut on his throat. However, he now knew that he was dealing with a unicorn, even if he did not know where his opponent was. The griffin stepped closer towards the center of the room, near the stairs, and searched for the offending pony with wild eyes, glancing spontaneously here and there, rather than really focus on what he's looking at. His sword pointed around as thoughtlessly as his eyes did, and crimson liquid oozed from under his neck-armor plating. With a cut in his throat, he either refused to speak due to the pain it would now cause, or simply no longer could.

The three other griffins had heard the shout, and were already making their way down the stairs. the female griffin that had recently left the room would soon reenter, armed with her own sword, leaving shade only a few seconds to choose between staying, with hope that her cover would not be compromised, or escaping through the door, left unguarded by the griffin leader, though still watched by impatient eyes.

by **Syron** Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:08 pm

Shade ran towards the griffon the moment he screamed, her spell still active to be dismissed in before she jumped at him. He might notice tha moving shadows, but what exactly was coming at him he wouldn't see in time to react properly. In mid-air she grabbed his head and used her momentum to pull it around.
Of course, now she was visible for everybody, she had to run and no time to check if her attack had really been successful. The unicorn ran through the door and to the building on the other side of the road.

by Lance Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:01 pm

Scintillance perked his ears to the scream of a male griffin, startled by the sudden burst of sound. after a short silence, he watched as a cloaked pony rushed out of the opposite building into his own. that must be a rebel... his eyes widened, his pupils shrunk and he jolted upright with a sudden gasp, remembering the traps he had set up for griffins as protection in case his temporary abode had been compromised. the light traps! I need to stop her! He got up and started galloping down the stairs towards the entrance to the building.

by Red Shirt Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:30 pm

A mare jumping out of seemingly nothing, and grabbing onto his head, was the very last thing the griffin saw before losing his consciousnesses, and his connection to the world of the living. He lay motionless, blooded, and with a broken neck on the staircase. The female griffin came down the stairs and paused over his carcass, near disregarding the hooded mare that just ran out the door.
"...no..." when the griffon finally focused her eyes onto the murderer, Shade was already over half across the street. the other two griffins, one armed with a crossbow, the other with a spear, had arrived down the stairs, alarmed by the gruesome sight of their leader.
"...Well don't just stand there, stop her!" she leapt over her deceased ally, and started after Shade, followed by the other two griffins.

by **Syron** Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:46 pm

As the griffons attempted to leave the building, the shurikens came to life again and started another blind atack, just to throw off their aim and buy Shadowstrike more time. The mare used the nearest window as entrance, shattering the glass with some pieces of debris before jumping through herself, a satisfied grin on her lips. She had a feeling that her target was dead, after all this years of finding no trace of him she suddenly was successful. Now she only had to escape those other three.

Inside she didn't stop running and headed to the nearest stair case she knew of from earlier this night when she had explored the area. Her steps were mostly muffled, since early foalhood she hardly walked around on bare hooves, it always had been too loud for her. To her surroundings she didn't pay much attention until she was on the second floor and a few rooms away from the stairs. After her first attack, she hadn't tried another one, she wouldn't have hit anything without looking back again, and for that there hadn't been the time. Still she believed that the griffons would have to search for her now and took a look around the room.

by Lance Sat Nov 24, 2012 11:05 am

Lance heard the crash of glass from far bellow him, sighing with relief. he had set up numerous traps, most important to him, the front door. But he never thought of griffins crashing through the windows rather than a simple door. why would they do that? I mean, really?
he kept making his way down the stairs, and froze as the cloaked pony quickly ascended from the lower level, disregarding the brown Stallion on the next set of stairs, and turned to the room near her, rushing in. A feeling that was all too familiar to him. he began making his way down the last flight of stairs between him and the mare.

by **Syron** Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:53 pm

A standard office room, there wasn't anything special about it. Like the rest of the building, the inventory was rundown and ripped of everything possibly useful, the only thing to find in the filing cabinets would be old papers with information nopony was interested in anymore, and pretty much the same probably went for the book case. As Shade approached the window to take a look at the street below - maybe she would get a glance on one of the griffons - her eyes randomly fell on some of the old literature when she passed it by, only for a moment, but that was all it needed. A dangerously bright light errupted from the whole book case, accurately aimed at her eyes. Shade instantly closed them and shielded them with a hoof, not a single sound escaping her, but it was already too late, the flash was gone and she couldn't see a thing. She had to fight to keep her eyes open, but for now that would be of no use anyway.
The whole situation seemed oddly familiar, Shade had run into a trap like this before, but that had been a long time ago, before the war. Could it be.... No, no time to think about it, her face formed into an angry frown and she quickly headed for the door to the next room, a task she could do effortlessly despite her current blindness, she had seen enough of the room before it, but the same couldn't be said about the next one.

by Red Shirt Sun Nov 25, 2012 1:44 am

The three remaining griffins had flown in through the shattered window on the bottom floor, and started to search the lower rooms. However, the flash of light, in the dead of night, had set the whole stairwell bright for a moment- bright enough for the griffins to notice. With an angry squawk, the female was quickly making her way up the stairs, followed by the crossbow-armed griffin.

"Guard the stairs! She's not leaving here alive!" She called to the third griffin, and he stood steadfast with his spear at ready for any pony that may sneak around his squad-mates.

by Lance Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:01 am

After watching his light trap set off, Lance groaned in frustration; blinding a rebel would not look good. But after an angered squawk echoed, he knew time was running short. He had to act fast.
I need to hide... and so does the blind pony... He rushed in after Shade, grabbed, and pulled her into a closet, holding a hoof to his mouth,
"Shhh!"

by **Syron** Sun Nov 25, 2012 7:11 am

Shade heard somebody coming... somepony, those sounds definitely came from hooves. She was unsure what to do, she simply continued her way in the hope that whoever this was wasn't as close as he sounded, a hope that quickly turned out false as the black unicorn felt herself dragged into... something. A door was being closed, probably they were in some hideout. Normally she wouldn't have let this happen, normally her "captor" would have found himself lying on the floor with a blade on his throat the moment he touched her, but when there was the choice between pony or griffon, pony was the obvious answer.

The room they were in was small, way too small to turn around, if they were found they would have a problem. After short consideration she dispelled her shurikens still lying on the street and reconjured them right inside here, three of them floating above, three below her. That was all she could do for preparation, and her mind drifted off to other topics... WHO THE HECK WAS THAT PONY? That light trap, she knew the pony who had developed it. Or, maybe another unicorn had come up with the same idea... Could it really be that Scintillance was standing there behind her? Thanks to himself she wasn't able to check at the moment, and she didn't want to get any stupid reactions like she knew from her foalhood "friend", and so she made sure the hood covered her face for him as they waited.

by Red Shirt Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:32 pm

The two griffins stormed up the stairs towards what they assumed to be the origin of the light flash. Both griffins entered the room containing the closet the two unicorns were hiding in. The female griffin Stepped closer to the window, and checked under the office desk near it. the other started searching dangerously close to the closet.

by Lance Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:33 pm

Lance gulped as the griffin approached the closet. visible through the blinds in one direction. no no, I can do this... I can do something...
Scintillance, finding the will to do so, leaned a hind hoof onto the closet wall behind him, and raised a front hoof up to the closet door, thankful that the blinds would only allow himself and the pony next to him the ability to see the griffin, and not vice-verse. Ten Percent physical effort, ninety Percent Will... He suddenly pushed with his back hoof off against the closet wall, launching his own body forward as the closet doors swung open. Scintillance strained slightly as he conjured another blinding flash of light, however it compressed and shaped into a single brilliant Shield of a near-tribal pattern: "The Aegis." Lance charged forward towards the griffin at the window, with his shield before him. if she does not move, She may go as far as be rammed out the window, and Lance would fall out the window after her.

by **Syron** Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:02 pm

Shade didn't know what was about to happen and assumed the plan was to just hope, especially since the other pony should know that she couldn't see much and would have problems in a fight now. She was accordingly surprised when she suddenly heard the door burst open and another bright light appeared. Though, besides the surprise, a thought crossed her mind: Typical...
Of course she didn't have time to follow that thought, there were two griffon's from what she'd heard, one of them probably would go for her. Shielding them with her hoof from the new light source she forced her eyes open a bit and located a griffon near her, though she couldn't see which one.
The shurikens shot towards him, while the unicorn quickly came out of the closet, in such a tight space she woulb be an easy target. Not that she was in a good condition to avoid attacks anyway...

by Red Shirt Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:10 am

The Griffin near the closet was knocked back and dropped his crossbow as he suffered a sudden and painful sensation to his head when the closet doors slammed into him. The flash of light to follow had made him temporarily blinded as well. Shurikens plinked off his armor, but he suffered no injury from the un-aimed shots.
Meanwhile, the griffin by the window turned her head when the sound of the closet was heard, trying her hardest to focus her view in the dark. however, such focus would cost her dearly as a brilliant wall of light attacked her irisis. she could not react as the brown unicorn stormed her her sight heavily reducing her abiltay to see him. A moment later, she found herself losing the ground... however, she knew she could fly, though barely efficiently without seeing her flight path. she tried to hover in the air.

by Lance Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:12 am

Scintillance was not done. after contact with the griffin was made, he dissolved the shield and attempted to grab onto the griffin in mid-air, intending to keep her wings pressed against her body, rendering them both flightless.

by Red Shirt Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:23 am

Her wings may have been strong, but the stallion had latched onto her, and kept a firm grip over her. Griffin and pony began plummeting towards the ground.

by Lance Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:25 am

Scintillance made his best attempt to stay on top of the griffin, so that she would take the full impact, while he had a soft, feathery though armored cushion on impact with the earth.

by Red Shirt Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:31 am

After five floors of falling, the crash finally came, and they were too fast for her legs to withstand the pressure of both a stallion and a griffin. In the noise of the collision the cracking couldn't be heard. However, the griffins's scream was clearly audible. Both her forelegs had broken... quite clearly unusable.

by Lance Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:40 am

Scintillance had felt the landing, but most of the impact had been absorbed by the griffin bellow him. He got up and off of her and noticed his handiwork; the griffin had been slammed into the concrete by the combined weights and gravity pulling them. By now, Shades' eyes should have cleared from the earlier light trap, but the remaining upstairs-griffin should still struggle slightly from being blinded more recently.

by **Syron** Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:12 pm

Blinded, but definitely not helpless. It ment a large handicap, but Shade could rely on her ears as well,
Hoofsteps rushing away from her, the other pony attacking a griffon.
The window breaking, somebody has fallen through it. Hopefully the griffon.
No sound of steps coming towards her yet, there wasn't an attack just yet.
Several times metal against metal, her shurikens hitting the armor. Unfortunate, but expected. The stars continued their way behind the giffon, then Shade opened her eyes again and took aim. Her vision still wasn't good, but she had seen the armor before and knew what she had to go for. She had heard something falling to the ground earlier and spotted the crossbow, which in turn flew past her, out of griffon's reach.

by Red Shirt Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:57 am

The Griffin nearby Shadowstrike Panicked; his armor pinged and clanked from all directions while his eyes still refused to view the world appropriately. he did not know how, but he was sure he was surrounded... but his panic ended with his life, when one lucky shot had reached his throat.

The Storm clouds from earlier in the night had grown, and could no longer hold back. It started to rain.

Outside, the female griffin lay before Scintillance, eyes clutched, teeth clenched, both front legs snapped in the wrong direction, the bones clear enough to be seen. She wasn't dead yet, but she wasn't able to do anything more, other than curse under her own breath, and shed a tear, unseen through the rush of falling nimbus. Her blood leaked from her harsh injury, and mingled with the earth into a dirty maroon, meshed with the mud formed from the hydrated brown earth.

The Fattest Griffin, armed with the spear, had heard the fall, and made himself slightly more visible as he kicked the door open to step outside and meet the cause of the crash. instead, he was met with a brilliant flash of light; the front door was trapped, after all. the now pouring rain had made it difficult to see, but under his golden armor, his expression of hate burned into his dark red-feathered head. this stallion...Is going to die. the light flash was none more than a distraction to him; his eyes closed fast enough, and even then, his helmet mostly protected his eyes. The Griffin lowered his spear at Scintillance, and prepared for the upcoming combat.

by Lance Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:57 am

Scintillance stared and felt sympathy for the griffin before him. Memories flooded him for a moment, of a similar situation years back, the difference being that this wasn't an accident. Lance was struck back into reality, however, when the front door light-trap was set off. He saw the other griffin, who almost disregarded the flash of light. Lance's eyes shut, and his horn caught a flash of his signature magical color, a bright yellow. Light around him bent and compressed; The desolate air illuminated with his aura, and a beaming rod formed beside him. on each end of the rod appeared a pendulum-like twin-hook. Scintillances' preferred weapon in close combat: Martyr.

Held by levetation, the Martyr was spun around as a quick check by Scintillance. never actually used this in a fight before... physicality? the Martyr cut into the earth slightly. Check. Mentality... I haven't passed out yet... check. when working with unpracticed constructs, scintillance is prone to losing consciousness, either from his inability to focus on both keeping himself attached to the world as well as the construct, or over exertion. however, Scintillance had practiced the Martyr construct before, and could handle it better than most of his other spells... Alright... For Equestria. Scintillance charged at the griffin, Martyr before him.

Spoiler:

by **Syron** Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:54 am

Not good. The griffon did hardly do anything, and yet Shade mostly hit armor at first. At least she wasn't the only one with sight problems, she actually had the time to try as often as she needed, and finally scored a lethal hit. When her opponent fell to the ground she quickly checked if he really was dead, then went straight to the window. The absence of the other unicorn wasn't really a good sign, but the glow from outside already told her that he was still fighting, and that Shade probably should be careful when looking down, being blinded again wasn't what she cared for. Blocking out the light source with her hoof, she saw the pony charging at the last griffon, the female one lying seemingly motionless on the ground.
A short look to the left revealed a rain water downpipe, old and rusty and certainly not strong enough to hold a pony, but that was alright now, it was only supposed to slow the descent a bit. With trained movements the mare grabbed it and let herself slide down to the lower floor, landing with her hind hooves on the window ledge. She didn't remain there but directly continued with the next floor, her hooves protected from the friction with the layers of cloth that where supposed to muffle her step. Quickly she was on ground level, and ready to support the other pony in this last fight, if there still was the need to.

by Red Shirt Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:03 am

Readily prepared, and Positioned for a fight, The large griffin lunged with his spear forward at Scintillance, when he galloped close enough

by Lance Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:05 am

As Lance got near the Griffin, he recalled one of the many childish maneuvers he had practiced. most normal ponies would have developed a proper form of combat, with a stern guard stance, prepared to hold off and deliver blows that would prove valuable in a fight. Scintillance however, was always in his own world, and had his combat based on unpredictability, and essential "awesomeness" that was, effectively, difficult to counter.

just like I practiced... Scintillance, before he got too close to the griffin, had suddenly turned and galloped to the side of the griffin, while his Martyr had been levitated to the other side of the griffin. the the spear hit neither, and Lance rammed into the Griffin from one side, while the Martyr spun rapidly before swinging from the other side.

by Red Shirt Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:06 am

Though his spear had missed his target, his armor was more than strong enough to protect himself from the combined forces of the unicorn stallion and the peculiar weapon formed by light. though his armor bent slightly, and somewhat pressed into his skin, the Griffin swung his spear at scintillance, who was already too close to be cut by the pointy end, only harmed by the full length of the pole.

by Lance Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:07 am

Lance felt the impact of ramming into the griffin more that he did; fully crashing his body into a bulk of metal certainly turned out to be a bad idea after all, and his Martyr wasn't going to penetrate the Griffin's armor so easily. Lance dizzily side stepped thinking I really didn't think this one throu-OOOAAAHH

when the spear swing back at lance, he had no armor, no defenses against the pole, and though it was a blunt it, it hurt, and launched Lance a few feet back, landing on his side. His Martyr had dissolved as he had lost his focus on it, but Lance was still conscious, getting up onto his hooves, readying himself for whatever else the griffin may pull.

by Red Shirt Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:08 am

The Griffin turned to the stallion, an unseen smile under his helmet. He was getting confident. He charged the stallion, spear forward...

by Lance Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:09 am

With such a predictable technique, Scintillance had easily dodge to the side, however he was unarmed, and thus had to conjure his Martyr once more during the few moments the griffin had given him while he attempted to end his charge, struggling to slow down after Scintillance had moved. with a brilliant flash, the Martyr had appeared once more, and lance turned to the griffin.

by Red Shirt Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:11 am

The griffin had struggled to stop over the combined earth and water formed mud had caused him to slide, slightly. After eventually slowing down, the griffin, turned to the stallion once more, and started his forward charge anew, this time with his spear held slightly to his left, preparing to slash at the unicorn this time.

by Lance Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:12 am

bingo Lance had mentally prepared himself to dodge the incoming Griffin, as well was to hook his Martyr into the spear as he would run by swinging it. as the Griffin got close enough, and his spear had started to arc, Scintillance re-positioned the Martyr in a way that its hook would latch into the spear, and telekinetically keep it there, spinning rapidly.

if his plan works, the Martyr would eventually strike the griffin, preferably the face, and if the Griffin allows himself to let go of the spear, now more dangerous to himself than to the unicorn, the momentum from the Martyr would launch it several feet in an unknown direction.

by Red Shirt Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:13 am

The Griffin was not necessarily harmed, but more startled as the incredibly bright weapon was suddenly latched onto his spear, and the light increased in intensity as it swung towards his helmet. there was no permanent damage, but the strike still thumped his head, and left a ringing noise within the protective gear of metal clanging into metal. the headache and impact had caused the griffin to lose his grip on the spear, and it flew far behind him. however, he was more occupied b the still ringing noise from within his headgear.

The griffin pulled his helmet off, unable to cope with the ear-splitting echo. his dark red head was now clearly seen, though in the rain,it was illuminated by the Stallion's bright weapon, now in the mud near the Griffins spear. he did not bother going after the spear; all sense was lost to him as his instinct forced him to charge and tackle the pony, possibly rip his throat out.

by Lance Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:15 am

Lance couldn't dodge this time; he had hoped the griffin would go after his spear, allowing Scintillance to strike him once more. however, with the Griffin's helmet remove, he would have an actual chance at him now. it's too bad the griffin had already Rammed into the office building's wall, and held him against it. Scintillance was struggling to break free, but it was nearly futile; his own strength couldn't match with that of a larger griffin, be it armored, fat, or otherwise.
This is...bad... he said under his own breath, his eyes widened and pupils shrunk as he had realized, it might be the end for him.

by **Syron** Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:52 am

Right in the moment Shade landed on the ground, the light from the weapon suddenly was gone. Not that this was a bad thing for her, but from what she had noticed in the last moment was that this other unicorn had taken a hit. He definitely needed help.
Currently protected by darkness, Shade positioned herself behind the griffon, just in time to be out of sight when the light came back. She didn't attack yet, the risk of failing was too high, and so she just made sure she wouldn't be seen, swiftly following every movement, always staying behind him. It was risky, one false assumption of movement could reveal her, but outmatching a fat griffon in terms of agility wasn't too hard.
Finally the chance was there. The helmet was taken off, and the griffon faced a wall. That the other pony was between him and the wall, this didn't matter much, it would be over in a moment. Shade didn't even have to get in herself, in a position like this it would be a wonder if she missed.
The stallion might have seen it coming, a blue glowing shuriken showing up behind the griffon, but one blink later it was already there, took a sharp turn, and did it's job before vanishing in the darkness again.
The enemy sank to the ground, and for the first time Shade had a clear look at her "friend". And indeed, as unlikely as she would have thought it, that was Scintillance standing before her. The heat of the fight gone, old memories began to fight their way to the surface, especially their first game of hide and seek, all these years ago. She had thought about this before, when she had triggered his trap, but then it had been shoved away again. As it happened again now. Along with memories of this little game they had played, the third participant demanded a thought as well. As sson as pictures of Skylight crossed her mind, the shadow hued unicorn banished her memories from her active thoughts again. She couldn't allow herself to be melancholy now, and thinking of her foalhood friend always led towards this.
Her hood still pulled deeply into her face - she wouldn't change this as long as she was outside - she slowly approached that incarnation of annoyance she knew as Scintillance, talking with cold anger in her voice.
I thought I told you to never blind me again...

by Lance Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:55 am

never blind you again..?
Scintillance stared blankly at the hooded mare. her voice sounded familiar, though distant... his memories were broken, and he could hardly recall... until something clicked. He remembered that there was a pony who he'd blided before... long ago, back in Celestia's School of Magic... he wound up pranking one of his classmates...

Saphire? is that you?

by **Syron** Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:46 pm

No, not exactly
Though Scintillance probably couldn't see much of it, Shade raised an eyebrow in surprise, she had expected something like "Shade? Okay, now I'm gonna die", or something of the sorts. But not even being recognized was unexpected, despite knowing that he could hardly see her face.
If I weren't myself I'd probably feel insulted now, we did quite a lot together. Though I can't say I always was very happy about it. I was your first involuntary test subject for the light trap. Any bells ringing?
The anger was gone, she was talking casually now, which ment that it was hard to hear any emotion in her voice. She quickly checked on the fat griffon, and after finding him certainly dead walked over to the female one, only now noticing that she was still alive. Once again she sent one of her shurikens to finish the job, not caring about the fallen warriors any further.

by Lance Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:26 am

Oh, they've rung alright... With those words, memories hung through his head... there was one filly who he had blinded long before the prank... in a pointless game of hide and seek, Scintillance had only caught her after using that trick -the event lead to both of them tumbling down a long flight of stairs- and She'd thrown death threats at him at a constant basis ever since...
Shadowstrike! How've ya been? lance cringed slightly after watching Shade's shuriken mercilessly finish the last griffon.
Looks like you haven't changed a bit! He trots up to his old friend, So... what changed?

by **Syron** Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:31 am

Skylight's dead, Shade thought instantly, causing her to stop in her step for a moment. She wished the fight back, it had kept her distracted, and with Scintillance there was now one more reminder of events she'd rather forget. But those events were the very reason why she was here in the first place.
Later. This isn't the place to talk about old times, she said and walked to the last griffon, the leader and original target, lying there in the other building with a twisted neck. To the outside still mostly calm, as far as Scinitllance could notice in this moment, but Shade had already given up to get control of her emotions now. She walked around the victim to the head, looking for any detail that could finally tell her that she has found the right one, a task supposedly easy with the cruel pictures in her mind, but she still needed some light, and so Scintillance got a look on her face under the blue glow of her horn, and would probably be surprised by what he saw, because he had most likely never seen it before: Shadowstrike was near tears.

by Lance Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:30 am

Old times... There was a filly Lance couldn't forget. His memories were filling gaps, of the Filly he'd first had a crush on, of the foalish trio he had once been a part of, of the days his life had turned for the better. Years of solace without Skylight... Years of solace... how could he have been so selfish, to disappear like that... But Lance had brushed the thought aside... he had to, in order to conserve his past, part of it lay before him. Scintillance trotted after the filly -no... she's long outgrown that title- the mare, as she stood over the dead griffin.
Now... there was a Joy to his voice, though he stopped mid-sentence before a sight he'd never, ever, even imagined possible. Shade was... crying. his jovial eyes toned down to a look of concern, and he held a hoof to Shade's shoulder. He lowered his head, level to the mare's, and spoke in a softer tone. Now now, this is very un-shade like of you... gather your thoughts, and then we can catch up... Doesn't matter if it's not the place, whatever's on your mind best be dealt with...

by **Syron** Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:56 am

Shade looked back at Scintillance, then closed her eyes as a shiver ran through her body. It was getting worse with every moment, she saw the scene again as if she was there again. The shelf breaking down, revealing their hideout. Skylight trapped in a corner after a short escape attempt. And then... Skylight's empty look when the spear was pulled out again and she broke down.
She didn't want to speak it out, she wanted to get over with it, finally know that this bastard was no longer in the world of the living. She was already sure that this was the one, she couldn't make out a difference from how she remembered him, and yet, somehow it was hard for her to remove the helmet, something inside her screamed that she didn't want to take a look. Twelve years ago, when she had to flee from him he had lost his helmet, revealing that his head wasn't entirely teal, but that a black stripe from his body extended over the back of his head. It was an usual enough feature, it would be the final proof, and so far everything esle did fit, why did she hardly dare to get the last confirmation.
With an unusual shaky hoof she finally pushed the helmet of and turned the head. No black stripe came out under the neck protection of the armor.
Shade's teeth had been clenched all along, now she tensed up completely, trying not to lose the last bit of control she had over herself. She wanted to scream, to finally make way for the sorrow and anger she had bottled up inside her over all those years, but in the end somehow managed to suppress the urge again. The tears however, she couldn't hold back as she left the griffon.
Let's go, she said, hardly able to let her voice not sound like sobbing. Outside, she headed towards the next side street, heading away from the scene as far as possible.

by Lance Fri Dec 14, 2012 12:07 pm

Scintillance was utterly baffled. Even for Shade, even for anypony, this was an extremely unusual behavior. Scintillance quickly got ahead of Shadowstrike, and stood in her way. he always knew Shade was a very... shady filly, after all. but she's no longer a filly, and secrets could get dangerous, what with the griffins out and about. especially when the secrets are apparently linked to said Griffins
Hold on now, you're telling me you get into a fight with some griffins in the middle of the night, meet an old friend, cry over the dead body of a griffin dry your tears, and with no explanation expect me to just go with you to where, or whatever it is you're heading off to? I'd much rather an explanation, Shade.

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