Agent Con Mane in Mission to the Griffon Kingdom (to be rewritten)

by Fairytail

Chapter 2: General Griselda

It was a humid, moonless night. The Pegasi flying the chariot landed and brought it to a stop. The Griffon, wither her uniform decorated with medals and colorful bands, stepped off the chariot and looked around the poorly lit castle courtyard with disappointment. She had hoped that her arrival would heralded by some sort of welcoming. An annoying whining sound bothered her ear. She scratched at it with her hind lion’s paw in hope that it was just some sort of gnat or mosquito. The buzzing only grew louder and she could see some sort of bright object flying towards her from the direction of the castle.

The bright pink object flew towards the Griffon and performed loops and twirls through the air. “Ah, finally! The General has finally arrived! Yay! Yay!” The tiny thing chanted with a squeaky voice. It finally stayed still long enough for the Griffon General to see what it was. It was a pink pony, a young filly by the looks of it. She had curly, out of control hair with purple and white swirls that made it look like ice-cream. As the filly bobbed up and down in mid-air, the General couldn't help but noticed that she had no wings. By all accounts she was an Earth Pony, but she was being suspended by a tiny buzzing propeller attached to a multicolored, childish hat. The Griffon was bewildered by the sight. But what was even more off putting about the over-excited pony was her eyes. They weren't ordinary eyes. Instead of irises, she had large swirls that spun around in her sockets. They were mesmerizing and unnatural. “The General is always SO much fun!” The strange pony continued, “Howdy-Doody, General Griselda! Your beak is looking extra sharp and deadly today!” The strange pony giggled innocently. “My name is Screwball, Mistress of DISCORD Castle! Welcome! Welcome!”

Screwball buzzed around Griselda in circles. The Griffon was tired and impatient and Screwball’s spinning was making her dizzy. She flared her wings in frustration which froze the levitating pony. However, she still buzzed in midair and smiled jubilantly.

“Is the pony I requested ready?” Griselda asked.

“As ready as piping hot muffins out of the oven!” Screwball sang. From literally out of nowhere, she produced a thick manila folder and hoofed it to General Griselda. “Here’s his file! Full of all sorts of chaotic goodness!” Screwball licked her lips hungrily.

Griselda didn't bother imagining what was going through the little oddities’ demented mind. She read the file carefully. ‘Subject name not recorded.’

“I like to call him the Grey Pony!” Screwball blurted out as if she somehow knew what Griselda was thinking, “You know why? Because he’s grey!”

Screwball flew around in a fit of laughter while Griselda continued to read. ‘Total Chaos conversion 100%. No traces of Harmony present in heart. Previous personality, emotions and memories wiped clean. Coat colors drained and Cutie Mark eliminated as side effect. Magically augmented and base abilities multiplied.’
“Excellent.” Griselda said once she was finished. “Where is he now?”

Screwball happily pointed at the castle. “Chained up all alone inside his solitary holding cell, duh! Can’t have killer psycho ponies running through the castle whenever they want. I mean I know I love chaos and disharmony and all but that’d be just silly! I’ll go bring him here, lickety-split!”

Screwball was about to take off at light speed towards the castle, but Griselda grabbed her curly tail and forcefully yanked her back. “No. Take me to his cell.”

“Oooo-Kaaay.” Screwball shrugged and led the General into the castle. “But we’ll have to go through the conversion chambers. The Grey Pony has accepted the corruption better than any pony before. The evil in his heart made it super easy. Still we do our best to instill chaos and eliminate harmony in everypony we can. At least until they become our mindless puppets.”

Griselda was led into the castle dungeons. The damp chamber was filtered with an eerie green light. The air was filled with the most horrifying screams Griselda had ever heard. Ponies of all three races were shackled to numerous cold, hard operating tables, still conscious, as wires and needles were fed into their bodies. They struggled and wailed in agony as the heinous machines pumped and drained heavens know what through their bodies. The walls of the dungeon were lines with glass tubes filled with sickly green smoke. The ponies trapped inside the tubes looked near death. They no longer resembled the brightly colored and jubilant beings that Griselda was used to. Their coats and manes, normally striking and bold, were all dull and muted. None of them had Cutie Marks, or their Marks were heavily faded and transparent. As she passed one of the cylinders, the Pegasus inside awoke and moaned like a banshee as he scratched his hooves against the glass in desperation. Griselda grimaced at the gaunt pony’s horrid wails and sped up her gait. The next tube did not house a pony. Inside was a Griffon. Her claws and wings were bound up and like the ponies, her once proud fur and feathers were faint and pathetic. The Griffon opened her eyes at stared lifelessly at Griselda. The sadness and torment in her eyes pleaded at her kin. Griselda stared at the unfortunate soul with cold eyes before abruptly turning her head in uncaring disdain and continued on with Screwball.

“I hope our work here meets with your approval?” Screwball asked innocently.

“Brainwashing is useful,” Griselda answered, “but there is no substitute for experience.”

“Oh Yes, I agree!” she cheered. “Once a pony’s hearts been corrupted and their coat turns dull, we have them practice on live targets. And thanks to your contributions, we've been able to start running our corruption tests on Griffons as well! Oh it is so much fun! Anyway, this is it! You can see him through the bars all nice and cozy in those metal chains.”

General Griselda peered through the bars of the cell at the large, hulking mass of muscle that was hunched in the corner. The beast was still and showed no sign of life beyond shallow breath.

“Call him” Griselda ordered.

Screwball theatrically cleared her throat and banged on the cell. “Hey, you ugly abomination wake up!” She screamed like a banshee. Griselda was slightly taken aback at the shrillness of her voice. The grey mass in the cell began to lurch. The heavy chains scraped against the stone floor as it stood up on all fours and Griselda was able to appreciate the size of the beast. It slowly sauntered into the light, dragging its chains behind it. The creature was a large Earth Pony Stallion. His coat, mane and eyes were all the same monochrome color. There was no soul in his stare.

The Grey Pony breathed heavily. The breaths turned to grunts and the grunts turned into ferocious roars. The pony came to life in a fit of anger. He wrestled with the chains that bound him. Griselda had never seen such monstrous brutality in even the most war-hungry of Griffons. The heavy metal restraints shattered from his bulging muscles. The anchors were ripped from their stone foundations. Griselda cautiously backed away in fear of the monster. Screwball laughed maniacally. Within a few moments, the Grey Pony calmed down again. He went back to his corner and continued his sulking.

“Yes, he seems powerful enough.” said Griselda, “Have him report to me in the Griffon Nest in twenty-four hours.” The General had seen enough. She couldn't get out of the torture chamber fast enough. Even as she boarded her chariot and flew far away from the castle, the agonizing screams and image of the raging Grey Pony lingered in her mind.

It was a bright and beautiful day. Roseluck could hear the birds singing outside the window of her tiny work room. She finished filing away the last document of the day then stretched her back as she raised herself from her chair. She checked herself in the mirror before leaving the room. She straightened her scarlet mane so it wouldn't stick to her forehead and applied a little extra makeup to her cheeks. She winked at herself and walked out of her workroom carrying the report of all the work she did that day. She gave the report to the Griffon at the lobby and walked outside to the cobblestone streets of Griffon Nest Community no. 7. The other ponies that worked in the archives with her said farewell as they trotted off to their designated living quarters before curfew hit.

Roseluck looked up at the sky. The Great Storm Cloud seemed thinner than usual. The billowing grey roof above her stretched outward as far she could see. However today, she could make out a tiny orb of intense light almost poking through the cloud barrier.

“Celestia is really trying her hardest today.” Roseluck said casually to herself. She caught her mistake and shrank back in fear. She looked around the street. Luckily none of the nearby Griffons heard her. The last thing she needed today was to spend time in correctional.

Roseluck walked in the opposite direction of her quarters. During work that day, she received an unmarked letter from her chief specifically for her. She read the message and it told her to go to the abandoned motel after work hours and to come alone. It had no signature but was stamped with the crest of Skyclaw. She arrived at the hotel and found the room number designated by the message. She knocked and was half expecting to be left out alone. No one had occupied the building for generations as it was closed down after the annexation. But then she heard a voice from the other side of the door.

“Who is it?” The voice was female and spoke in a Griffyk Accent.

“I am Roseluck, milady. Earth Pony, worker class. ID Number 23145. Currently assigned to Griffon Archives.”

“Come in!” The voice ordered. Roseluck pushed against the door and it slowly creaked opened to a dark, dusty room. All the furniture was gone save for a simple desk behind which sat a female Griffon wearing a military uniform. On her beak she wore a pair of massive, round reading glasses. Roseluck carefully trotted inside and closed the door behind her. She was frighteningly aware of every noise she made.

“Do you know who I am?” The Griffon asked. She didn't look up from the paperwork in front of her.

“General Griselda.” Roseluck answered obediently, “Head of Operations for Skyclaw. I saw you once when I was brought in for duty from the internment camps.”

“Did you tell anyone from the archives that you were coming here?”

“No. The message said--”

“Yes, yes, I know. I sent it” Griselda closed the file she was looking at and looked up at Rose. The glasses on her beak magnified her eyes so much she looked like an owl. Roseluck felt the urge to giggle at how silly it looked, but her fear and conditioning kept her in check. Griselda removed her glasses and stared at Rose with her piercing Griffon eyes. “Your work record is excellent. The aerie is proud of you.”

“Thank you, Milady.” Rose stayed polite, but emotionless. It was the proper way to speak to a honorably ranked Griffon.

“Now flip your mane.” The order was so stately sounding that Rose dropped her guard. She stared at the General with complete confusion. “Do it!” The General barked. Rose was hesitant. She thought maybe it was a trap and she would get in trouble for breaking protocol. Eventually she obeyed and flipped her medium length mane to the other side of her shoulder. It felt uncomfortably wrong. “Now turn around.” Rose did as she was told and spun around in a circle. “Pose for me!” the General continued, “flaunt your plot!”

Rose’s cheeks burned red. “Why are you making me…?”

The General ignored Rose’s behavior. She came out from behind her desk and was circling Rose. Rose could feel the General’s piercing eyes examining every inch of her demure frame. “You are rather pretty,” Griselda mused, “for a pony. It says here you once trained for the ballet?.” So referred to the file that sat on her desk.

“Well, yes,” Rose clarified, “But then I grew an inch over regulation height and so…”

“And then you have had three lovers.”

Roseluck had had enough. She felt furless and exposed. “Why are you asking me such intimate questions!?”

General Griselda ruffled her feathers in anger and whipped her lion tail at Rose’s hooves. Rose jumped as the resounding crack and was immediately regretful. “You are not here to ask questions! You forget to whom you are speaking?”

Rose bowed her head in shame to her master. “I am sorry, Milady! I… I was in love.”

Griselda returned to her her stone cold calmness. “And if you were not in love?”

“Well I suppose that would depend on the stallion.”

“Sensible answer.” Griselda said. She grabbed a small photograph from her desk and showed it to Roseluck. “This stallion for instance.”

Rose looked at the photo. It was black and white and so some details were hard to make out. A beefy stallion in a white apron stood proudly in front of a shiny new diner on a street corner. His hair was messy and his muzzle was a bit too round but his smile and eyes were very charming. His cutie mark looked to be a donut. “I cannot tell.” Rose answered, “Perhaps if her were kind and good towards me.”

“Proper.” General Griselda marched across the room around Roseluck. “I have selected you for a most important assignment. It’s purpose is to give false information to the enemy. If you complete it successfully, you will be promoted to Recognized Pony Class. From now on you will do anything he says!”

Roseluck could feel the weight of the Great Storm Cloud pressing against her. “And if I refuse?” she asked.

Griselda turned and glared at her with deadly seriousness. “Then you will not leave this room alive.” Roseluck’s pale yellow face turned as white as paper. She regretted coming to the hotel. How she wished she could go back in time and choose to walk to her quarters instead. She looked to the door but knew she wouldn't be able to escape the mighty speed of a Griffon.

“I will obey your orders.” she said meekly.

“Good! These are your instructions: You are to report to me here, but none of the other Griffons or inferior classes are to know i am here in the Nest. This is classified far beyond their level.”

“I will tell nopo… no one.”

“If you do, you will be killed.” This last statement was punctuated with another whip of the General’s tail. Her feathers prickled and her talons flared. Rose nearly broke down. Her knees buckled in fear and she fought against the tears that were forming in her eyes. Griselda took notice of the pony’s condition. She calmed herself and smiled at the young mare. She put one of her talons around her shoulder and lifted her frightened head up with the other. The Griffon’s lion tail caressed Rose’s, lovingly. “Come, come my dear.” the General spoke softly, “You must be honored that you have been chosen for such a simple, delightful duty. A real ‘Labor of Love’ as they say.” Roseluck shut her eyes tight while Griselda caressed her scarlet mane and laughed the falsest of laughs.