Resilience (Under Revision)

Location: Outskirts of Griffonstone
1000 A.B. - After Banishment
Time: 6:00 PM

"Heads up. We're approaching the target."

Gilda looked up from polishing her spear to the griffon commander standing across the carriage. His steel chest plate was tarnished and covered in dents from what was probably a life time of abuse as his spear was in the same condition. Not like they would ever get any new equipment, Gilda couldn't remember the last time she handled a proper weapon that didn't feel like it would splinter after a few hits.

"Lets keep this brief. We have rumors that a narcotics house was placed somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Our mission here is to secure the building and make sure if these rumors true or not. If there is any sign of hostilities do not hesitate to eliminate any potential threats. If we find anything, a recovery team will come by to secure the compound.", Half shouted the commander over the noise of the rickety wheels outside.

The rest of the five or so griffons in the carriage, Gilda included, all nodded in affirmation as the carriage continued its way down the rocky path.

Glancing over at the other "soldiers" in the carriage, Gilda took in the griffons that she was going to be working with. Overall her hopes for an easy mission plummeted at the sight of them. Most of them were in the same tarnished armor as the commander with the exception for a male griffon far across from Gilda that wore patch-worked leather. Nearly everyone of them seemed to be fresh out whatever minimal training they were given if the fumbling of their weapons were anything to go by.

Letting out an internal sigh, Gilda rested her head on the back of here chair as she waited for the carriage ride to end as she started to feel nauseous from the constant bumping of the trip. The roads around Griffonstone had fallen into disrepair in recent years; as international debt and internal instability griped Griffonia, developers begun to pull their funding leading to abandoned infrastructure dotting the countryside and the outskirts of the city. Massive unfinished and partially collapsed building projects stood as a distant memory of Griffonia's prosperous past, but now stand as a monument of how far the griffons have fallen.

With a screech of the carriage's wheels, Gilda lurched forward slightly as the cart came to a stop. The commander was the first to rise from his seat as he pulled away the battered cloth cover and hoped out of the cart. One by one the other recruits followed suit, stumbling out of the carriage, as Gilda was the last one to leave.

Landing on the rocky ground Gilda made her way to where the commander and the rest of the guards stood. They were in front of a small, abandoned, one story house that was flanked by similar houses in the same state of disrepair. The suspected house was in an abandoned city district which was meant to sustain Griffonia's emerging population, now it just houses the of thousands of unemployed living on what little money can be provided by the crown. As expected this led to a massive increase in crime along the outskirts of the city.

"Listen up.", the commander spoke out, "Gunther, Nix, stay here and secure the the front of the house. Gilda, Dust and Tex, stay on my tail as we move into the house and make sure to check every room thoroughly, I don't want get a knife in the ass because someone was lazy."

"You got it, Griff. I won't let you down.", Tex saluted enthusiastically once Griff stopped talking.

"Great. So while you guys get all the fun inside Gunther and I are stuck on guard duty." Nix replied as sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"Don't worry, think of it like this. While we're off raiding a crap house, you'll get your first participation medal.", Dust couldn't help but snark out to the griffoness.

Nix's feathers ruffled as she glared daggers at Dust who was barely holding in her laughter. Opening her beak to giver Dusk a piece of her mind, she wasn't able to get a word out as a loud grunt was heard behind her.

"Quiet both of you. You're going to alert the place that we're here." Gunther said in a harsh whisper. Both Nix and Dusk glanced at one another before Dust roll her eyes and stood back at attention, Nix and Gunther following afterwards.

Griff cracked a small smile as he watched the recruits bricking, but quickly suppressed it before anyone could see it, Gilda was able to catch it though, having worked long enough with Griff to understand how the old griffon worked. Getting affirmations from the rest of the group Griff then turned to Gilda and whispered her way.

"Stay close to them. It's too much paper work to explain why some new recruit was got a bolt through their head after being sent to raid a drug house for their first assignment.", Griff said just loud enough for Gilda to hear while the recruits were to occupied talking with one another.

"Understood, Sir.", Gilda responded firmly.

"Alright lets get a move on." Griff called back to the rest of the group.

The griffons made their way across the front yard of the house, trash scattered across what once used to be grass, before flanking each side of the cracked wooden door that led inside. Gilda stood closest next to the right side of the door, with Dust and Nix behind her while Griff stood closest to the left side, Tex and Gunther standing besides him. Holding up three digits, Griff silently counted down before he bashed the door open with his shield. Immediately, Gilda chucked in a small bag of white power that made a loud bang that echoed through the house, a series of startled squawks following afterwards.

Holding his short sword in hand, Giff was the first to charge into the house with Gilda, Dust, and Tex following soon after. The inside of the house was a mess, scattered papers and debris strewn upon the ground as broken pieces of furniture jutted out of the filth covered floor. Gilda had to hold back a gag as the smell assaulted her senses, the various bottles as syringes releasing pungent fumes that give the room a hazy tint to it.

In the middle of the room were several male griffons stumbling around a cracked wooden table that had a distinct distillery resting upon it along with a stack of yellowed playing cards. Across the room the closest griffon was fumbling for a knife resting on the table while the others began to regain their senses. Not giving them that chance, Gilda and Griff launched themselves towards the group, Dust and Tex running around the room to corner the four griffons from the sides.

Gilda leapt over the shards of wood on the ground and tackled the closest griffon. The griffon let out a pained grunt as he was crushed under the griffoness's steel armor and his head made contact with the stone floor beneath him. Releasing a growl at the griffoness, the griffon jerked the blade in his hand and tried to drive it into Gilda's neck. Releasing a startled yelp, she brought up her sword to block the knife from the griffon below her, sparks flying as steel met steel. She hissed as the sparks flew into her eyes, bringing up her left claw to rub the dots out of her vision. Taking advantage of Gilda's momentary distraction, the pinned griffon brought up his other claw on connected it to the side of her helmet. A sickening crack could be heard as Gilda was forced off of the griffon and tumbled on the ground next to him.

"Damn it.", Gilda grunted under her breath as she got up to face the griffon again.

The griffon had stumbled back to his talons and glared at her, before releasing a yelp of pain as he gripped his broken claw in the other. Punching a steel helmet would do that to you. Letting out a low growl, Gilda lept into the air and directly towards the griffon. He barley had time to yell out before he felt Gilda's talons warp around his throat and lifting him off the ground. Gripping the griffon by his neck, Gilda yelled as she slammed him into the wall behind him, cracks spider webbing from where his head connected with the brick work. Calming her breathing, she released her grip on the griffons neck and saw his eyes flicker and roll back into his skull. Slowly his body slumped down towards the ground, a small trail of red on the wall following him. Gilda couldn't help but smirk as she saw the griffon collapse on the ground like a drunkard thrown out bar. He was in from one hell of a headache once he woke up. Reaching up to the unconscious griffon's neck, Gilda felt for a pulse. She let out a small sigh of relief as she felt a faint beat underneath his feathers. "Good. He's still alive". Standing back up, Gilda winced as she put pressure on her soldier, the griffon was a heavy bastard even without armor. Shaking her head from whatever dizziness she had from being punched in the head, she tuned around and dove back into the fight.

Griff had one of the griffons collapsed onto the remains of the middle room table which had been smashed in half in all the commotion. The griffon's leg was twisted at an odd angle and the shallow rise and fall of his chest made her sure that he wouldn't be a problem. Griff himself was sporting a brand new gash on the side of his face, if it affected him at all he didn't show it as he ran over to Dust and Tex who were struggling with the other four griffons.

Picking up her short sword, Gilda ran towards Tex who was frantically beating against a griffon who pinned him to the ground, his sword pinned beneath him as he tried to pull away the talons from his throat.

"Stop! Listen!", Tex croaked out. "Stop! Stop!"

His pleading fell on deaf ears as he felt the griffon's claws clench down tighter around his wind pipe.

"Shhh. Shhh."

The black around his vision began to creep in as his grip weakened against the griffon's grip around his neck. His lungs felt as if they were ready to explode as he stared wide eyed and full of terror towards the griffon above him, his snarling grin taking up taking up the rest of his sight.

"Please...please", Tex pleaded as the blackness consumed his vision.

Suddenly, the pressure around his throat released and he chocked out rugged coughs and gulped down lungfuls of air.

Gilda, had rushed over and bashed the hilt of her sword against side of the griffon's skull while he was pinning down Tex, sending him crashing crashing against the wall besides him. Saying she was pissed was an understatement, giving a quick glance behind her to Tex who was shivering on the ground, she snarled at the griffon rising to his feet. Shaking his head he looked up and growled towards Gilda, the twisted smile on his face contorted into one of malice as he glowered towards Gilda. Reaching to his hind paw, the griffon pulled out his own crude 'sword' resembling more of a piece of scrap metal than anything that came out of a forge.

With a rage filled shriek, the griffon charged towards Gilda who lifted her blade to defend herself from the enraged avian. Her eyes widened as metal met metal and the griffon's blade came crashing down on her sword, the force alone nearly enough the to tear it out of her claws. With a grunt, she pushed away his sword and dogged to the side, narrowly missing the griffon's sword as it cleaved through the broken table and nearly into the neck of the griffon still collapsed on it.

'This fucker's really asking for it', Gilda dodged a wide arc of the griffon's sword as it cut through the air she was standing in a second before. 'Fine then he'll get it.'

Rolling back to her feet, Gilda and the griffon began to circle one another, the sounds of fighting and Tex's gasping filling the background. Gilda's chipped sword and the griffon's jagged blade shinning in the afternoon light as they waited for a chance to strike. Gilda gave a quick glance to the griffon's back side, seeing the gap between his wings. 'Bingo'. Taking advantage of Gilda's distraction, the griffon charged towards Gilda, his blade swinging in a wide arc towards her head. Rolling under his strike Gilda rose the handle of her sword and prepared to drive it into the nerves clustered between his wings.

The griffon suddenly released a screech as he rebounded his blade to cleave through Gilda's head. Her eyes widened as she saw the blade heading for her and she released a startled squawk as she twisted her blade away from the griffon's back to block the attack.

Shunk!

Her sword sung through the air as it tore into the griffon's side severing his wing joint and leaving a massive gash down his torso.

"GAH!"

The griffon stared wide eyed down at his side, his wing hanging loosely as blood started gushing out of his severed ribs. He fell back, tripping against the filth of the floor as he sloped down the side of the wall behind him. His breathing becoming ragged as blood streaked down his beak. Looking frantically around the room, he began to crawl his way towards the open door, that was until a shadow enveloped him. Gilda stood above the wounded griffon, his eyes that showed twisted amusement as he choked Tex now showing nothing but fear as Gilda raised the blade above her head and blood pooled beneath him. With one last pain filled screech, Gilda brought down her blade and pierced through the griffon's skull and splattered blood against the floor behind him.

Glida stood still above the body of the griffon breathing heavily as blood slowly dripped from her blade. His blood seeped into the floor as Gilda's talon's became stained red. Slowly, the blade in her claws began to shake as she took a step back from the decapitated griffon before it fell from her grasp.

'I had to do it. I had to do it. I had to do it.'

Gilda collapsed to her haunches as she looked over the body of the griffon she just killed, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts per second. Anger and adrenaline faded away into guilt and disgust.

'He deserved it. He tried to kill me. He deserved it.'

"Gilda?", Griff's voice seemed distant to her as she pulled her self back together.

Gilda, released a shaky breathe as she picked up her blade and turned around to face a concerned Griff who was glancing over to the dead griffon behind her.

"I'm...I'm fine."

Griff let out a tired sigh as he turned back his gaze from the dead griffon to Gilda who was trying her best not to look him in the eyes. "Look, everyone deals with these things differently. I'll take over the paper work once we get back to the garrison, you try and take it easy for the next few days. Alright?"

"I said that I'm fine.", Gilda hissed with an obvious edge to her voice.

"And what I said was that you need to stop. You've been pulling extra shifts for nearly a month now and this is enough to rattle anygriffon. Once we get back to the garrison, you're to take a mandatory leave, that's an order."

Gilda softly glared up to her commander before shaking her head with a sigh.

"Alright. I'll take a few days off but as soon as my leave ends I'm getting straight back to my patrols."

"Fine." Griff turned around and began to walk away before calling over his shoulder. "I'll let it slide this time, but the next time you blatantly disrespect your superior, I will not take to it kindly."

Gilda stiffened up as she heard Griff walk away before looking down at the dead griffon in front of her.

'What would Rainbow think of me now?'

Tearing her gaze away from the body, she turned back and followed Griff to the rest of her squad.

The other five griffons had shackles around their claws as they were forced down to against the far wall, groaning as their various injuries kept them from giving any real resistance. At some point, Gunther and Nix must have barged into the house when the fighting started. Nix and Dust were looking over Tex who was still coughing his lungs out while Gunther made sure that none of the chained griffons tired anything.

"You neck is going to have bruising for the next few weeks as it heals. Try not to speak unless its absolutely necessary.", Dust said as she was gently wrapping a bandage around Tex's neck who could barely nod without wincing. "Good thing though, it's not that bad, griffoness's still wont kiss you though."

Tex winced as he let out a small chuckle.

"Hey, commander. You need any help with that scratch you got there?", Dust called over her shoulder as she finished wrapping up Tex's neck.

"I'll get it taken care of back at the base, just make sure that nothing is permanently damaged with Tex."

"Well what about these bastards?", Gunther called out, gesturing to the incapacitated griffons with his sword.

"They can get help once we get them back to the garrison. One because fuck 'em, and two I don't have enough supplies on me to treat them all." Dust called back.

"Now what commander? The carriage can't hold all of us and as much as I would love to leave them here for the next group to deal with, they won't last the night.", Nix asked as she stood up from besides Dust and Tex.

"We could call in another carriage.", Gunther suggested.

"No. With how much we're spread out, its a miracle we could get a carriage to take us here in the first place, much less get us back. Get them ready for the cart, we'll just have to cramp in." Griff turned to Nix. "Get the body out of here and throw it into the ditch out back, I don't want it anywhere near me when it voids its bowls."

Nix looked like she was ready to argue with Griff before thinking better of it and gripping the hind paw of the body and pulling it out of the door. Gilda couldn't help but notice that she was looking a bit more greener than usual as Nix exited through the front.

The screeching of wheels outside pulled her out her thoughts as the carriage became visible from down the street. Sheathing the sword still in her grip, she walked over to Gunther and Griff to help lift the prisoners off the ground. Dust helping Tex out of the door as they left.

Location: Somewhere In The Everfree Ruins

Deep below the ancient ruins of the castle of the two sisters stood a hooded figure in a dark cavernous room. Tapestries and artifacts of a age long since past adorned the walls and stood in broken piles scattered amongst the ground, all but one. Standing silently in the middle of the room was a simple stone pillar, mundane by itself but what sat upon it was enough to bring the figure all the way from her castle to the ruins of her old home.

Lifting off the hood of her cloak, Celestia walked towards the stone pillar, her horn illuminating the dust and cobwebs that decorated the room. Upon the pillar was a small metallic pyramid that pulsed a soft blue light along its edges and the foreign carvings adorning its surface.

"After all this time, why now? Why so soon?", Celestia whispered to herself as she gently reached out with her magic to the glowing pyramid.

Suddenly, the pyramid burst open causing Celestia to recoil slightly as the blue light suddenly illuminated the whole room. The four sides of the pyramid split apart as it lifted itself off of the ground, the light emanating from it solidifying into a rectangular screen above the stone pillar. A message began to appear on the screen as it flashed a bright yellow color.

"This is an emergency distress signal from Epsilon 12 Command Base Alpha to any and all UNC controlled territory. Multiple casualties sustained. Critical damage to majority of electrical systems, defense systems, fabrication systems, and etc. Requesting immediate assistance. This emergency alert will repeat until further notice."

Celestia stood wide eyed as she stared at the messages appearing on the screen. Silently, she clasped the pyramid in a shield and tucked it away into her cloak.

"Luna's going to have a fit that I came here without her.", Celestia whispered to herself.

Igniting her horn, she disappeared in a flash, leaving the dark room to fall into silence once again.