Chapter 9
Grahm grinned to himself as he flew into the desert. In his oh so humble opinion, this had been an excellent plan. Outright infiltration with a hefty helping of sneakery? It sent shivers through his chitin and he loved it.
But as he flew, something occurred to him. He had been on pit cleaning duty for so long that he hadn’t seen a Wonderbolts show for almost ten years. What if ponies had retired, died, or left since then? It would certainly blow his cover far too early if were he to appear as a pony that had died five years previously.
After some thought, he decided that he would do the safe thing, and disguise himself as a pony that he knew was both alive and kicking, and a current member of the Wonderbolts.
* * *
A griffon soldier lowered his binoculars and turned around. “Incoming!” he called.
“Changelings?” another asked excitedly.
He snorted. “Unless changelings suddenly started farting rainbows, no.”
“Farting rainbows?” A female griffon pushed her way up and snatched the binoculars away. She peered through them and growled. “I know that pony...”
* * *
Grahm landed and skidded to a stop, sending sand flying. He grinned. Perfect landing.
And his arrival was quickly heralded with brandished sharp beaks, claws, and various knives and daggers.
His winning smile didn't fade. “‘Sup, guys?” he started.
“What are you doing here?” asked the griffon with the biggest helmet.
The best lies were composed mostly of truth. “Oh, you know. Just doing a little recon, flight practice for distance; you know, that sort of thing. Thought I'd stop and say hi.”
“Sure, you did. And it’s not because killing a Wonderbolt would tick off the entirety of Cloudsdale and universally paint us as bad guys?”
Grahm gave her a cheeky grin. “Nah. Nothing like that. But seriously. What are you all doing this far from home? Military exercise?”
The griffons chuckled. “You could call it that,” one answered.
“We’re hunting changelings.”
Grahm shuddered. “Ugh,” he said. “Had plenty of those at the royal wedding.” He reared up and threw a couple punches. “We kicked their sorry butts, though!”
His lovely, planned spiel on how much he hated changelings was interrupted as the griffons were pushed aside and a griffoness poked her head through the crowd. “Rainbow Dash,” she growled.
“Ah, I see my fame precedes me,” Grahm said, taking a bow.
“Fame?” The griffon laughed dryly. “Yeah, sure. Famous for running into trash cans at flight camp.”
Obviously, Grahm had never even seen this griffon before. But the real Rainbow had. Awkward. Maybe he should have tried a more obscure Wonderbolt, like that Soarin guy. Or did he end up quitting? He had no idea.
Still, when acting under pressure, ponies crack; changelings act harder. “Yeah, sure. I hit those trash cans going so fast it was like they were standing still.” He looked wistfully off into the distance, as if remembering some great feat.
“They were standing still, dweeb,” the griffoness said, but she seemed to be cracking a smile. Small, but definitely a smile.
It was working. “I make everything look like it’s standing still. Just that awesome.”
The griffoness rolled her eyes.
Acting harder, Grahm neared and flicked her with his tail. “Aw, don’t be jealous; you know I still love you.”
The griffoness punched Grahm in the shoulder. “Don’t you get sappy on me, Rainbow Crash,” she said.
Ah. Nickname. Horseapples. Grahm didn’t even know this griffon’s real name! But the majority of names started with G. If Rainbow only knew one griffon, she’d probably do something with that. G-ster? No. G-girl? Sounded like a lame superhero. Maybe just…? “Aw, come on, G,” Grahm said. “You know me. I don’t get sappy; I get awesome.”
The griffoness rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Dweeb.”
Grahm grinned as he sensed her pleasure at seeing an old friend. His ploy had worked. Still got it.
* * *
Grahm followed along with the rest of the griffons as they searched. They were out looking for any traces of the changelings, like hoofprints or slime.
Just like Twilight had thought. What a good queen she was!
It seemed to be going smoothly so far. On the way, he learned that they didn’t really know what they were looking for, didn’t really know how to tell who was a changeling, and he also learned that the griffoness’s name was Gilda.
And then it was time for lunch. Grahm made like he wasn’t hungry—and he wasn’t—but Gilda held out a chicken leg for him anyway.
“You’re crazy, G,” Grahm laughed, gently pushing the meat away with a hoof.
He expected a laugh, maybe some teasing.
He did not expect a pause, and then sharp claws to suddenly come swinging at his face.
“Whoa! What the hay?” Grahm shouted, the pony curse sliding easily off his tongue as he skittered back to get out of her slashing range. Her fellow griffons grabbed her as well, holding her back. “Gilda, what is your damage?”
“That’s not Dash! That’s not Dash!” Gilda shrieked.
Grahm froze.
The other griffons didn’t let her go, but they did relax their grips a bit. Their expressions slowly turned accusatory, and Grahm took the tiniest step back.
“The real Rainbow Dash ate meat at flight camp! She took some off my plate! And you know what else? She liked it!”
Grahm paused. This mare sounded like she’d be down for some crazy things. Perhaps he should get to know Rainbow Dash better.
But first, he had more pressing matters to focus on. Namely, his survival.
Grahm had a couple options here. First, he could try and convince them he was joking. Maybe he’d lost the taste for meat, or didn't want to in front of everyone else. He could also try and convince them that Gilda was crazy. There was also the soap opera route, proclaiming himself an evil twin.
He chose a fourth and safest option—getting his chitinous hide out of there a bit earlier than planned. He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry,” he said, and reverted back into changeling form before turning and flying away as fast as he could.
Problem was, changeling wings are designed more for hovering and precise movements than speed, which the quickly pursuing griffons (whose wings were designed for hunting) had.
Luckily for Grahm, he wasn’t stuck with changeling wings.
As his attackers drew closer, he burst into flames and shifted again into a copy of Gilda, and used her much larger wings to give himself a bit of room. Then, he shifted again, making his griffon body thinner and his wings larger, giving him an abnormally long and thin body with a great speed and distance advantage. A body like that with wings that large could never have taken off, but since he was already in flight, he had… well… quite the advantage.
Amid furious screams of frustration, Grahm safely made his escape.
* * *
Back at the hive, Grahm made his report, ending with, “and they should be on their way soon.”
“Good,” Twilight said, looking on her map. She raised a piece of chalk in her green magic and marked an x. “That places that squad here, and if they report to the main group and continue here, following your route, sandstorm squadron Delta should be right in their path.” She cracked a small smile and glanced over. “Thank you, Grahm.”
He bowed. “I live to serve my queen.”
Twilight pursed her lips. She felt that was a bit overkill, but still, she was getting that a lot recently. Changelings must really love having an actual queen. “Just out of curiosity, which Wonderbolt did you choose?”
“Rainbow Dash, my queen.”
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Out of all the Wonderbolts you could have chosen from, you chose Rainbow Dash?”
“Yes!” Grahm said proudly. He paused. “Was that wrong, my queen?”
“No, not really,” Twilight said softly, “but it's good that you left when you did. Rainbow Dash didn't show up for practice last night. When they report to the main group, they'll probably find Rainbow there. Captured,” she added quietly.
Grahm nodded. “And will we rescue them, soon?”
“Not yet,” Twilight said carefully. “The decision to foalnap my friends came from the top; from Grinda herself.” Her eyes narrowed. “And this is all going to end with her, as well.”
* * *
Standing guard knowing that the changelings were close was a bit of a harrowing experience for Grant. He held his weapon in claw, jumping at every little movement. It certainly didn't help that he couldn't see very well at night.
And then someone approached. Grant hefted his spear, but lowered it slightly as he recognized who was there. “Gilda?”
“‘Sup?”
“Thought you were going to bed,” Grant said suspiciously.
“I did,” she said, not slowing down, “but then I had to pee.”
“I didn’t see you leave camp,” he said suspiciously, pressing the flat of his spear against her chest.
Finally, she stopped and rolled her eyes. “You were looking away, idiot,” she said, pushing his spear away derisively, “and I didn’t feel like giving you a heart attack. Next time I have to take a leak, maybe I won’t leave camp, and just do it on your bedroll. That sound better to you, dirt brain?”
“Fuzz off,” he grumbled, but made no further motion to stop her.
She continued on, and ducked into a nearby tent.
Where Gilda was laying on her bedroll, scowling at nothing in particular. She looked up at this intruder, and opened her beak to scream… only to get a face full of green slime, sealing her beak shut. She reached up to tear it off, and another two blasts of slime tied her claws to the ground.
“Sorry about that,” Grahm whispered, “but I can't have you screaming. I don't think I can get away from you guys a second time.” He gave her a little smile.
Gilda’s death glare let him know that she did not appreciate this compliment in the slightest.
Grahm cleared his throat. That was ok. It had been a lie, anyway. “I came back to say I'm sorry about that whole thing earlier.”
Gilda obviously snarled under the slime.
“No, I really am sorry. I could feel how strongly you felt about Rainbow Dash. And… I mean, I’m not you; but if I were, I’d definitely go look her up.”
Gilda rolled her eyes.
“Don't give me that,” Grahm said, crossing his arms. “I sense emotions, remember? You were so relieved and so happy to see your old friend again. Ponies may not be very perceptive, but there's no way that Rainbow Dash won't notice that.”
Gilda looked down. A slight crack appeared in her façade.
“Talk to her. Trust me. For both of your sakes.”
There was a brief pause. And then...
“She really ate meat, though?” Grahm asked, morbidly curious. “Like, she, a plant-eating pony, ate animal flesh?”
For the first time in this entire conversation, a positive (if a smirk could be considered positive) expression flashed across the bound griffoness’s face. Gilda nodded.
Grahm expelled air out his nose. “I gotta meet this mare,” he murmured as he turned to leave. He looked back one last time, and gestured at the slime. “If I undo that, will you attack me?”
Gilda nodded once again.
Grahm shrugged. “Welp, I'm willing to take that chance.” He reverted to his changeling form, darted forward, ripped the slime off with his fangs, and darted out of the tent.
Gilda was as good as her word. “Changeling!” she screeched, tearing the remnants of the slime off her face. She reached for her weapons and stumbled out after him. “Changeling!” she repeated.
Grahm paused hovering in mid-air long enough to let himself be seen, stuck his long tongue out in a taunting gesture, and flew off.
The griffons followed, shouting angrily… and sleepily.
Perfect.
Griffins may have evolved from hunters, but they were daytime hunters. Nighttime hunting was not their forte. Tracking a creature with black chitin? They were quite literally flying blind.
There was a green flash of fire off in the distance, and the griffons looked up into the sky and squinted; but try as they might, the changeling was nowhere to be seen.
Grant slammed his weapon against a nearby rock, cursing angrily. But no matter how many bad words he said, the changeling was not coming back. Eventually, all the griffons returned to their camp.
There was silence.
Then the rock shifted ever so slightly, and then Grahm reverted back to his changeling form. He chuckled and took off, heading back towards the hive.
Dang, it felt good to be a changeling.
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Grahm is most likely doing this because his Queen, Twilight, wanted to tire out the griffons to make them tired and unable to fight :3
I like the idea of pegasi at least being able to eat meat.
7992154 Equines in general can actually eat meat but they only choose to do so when there's no alternative.
Good tactics, and Grahm planted a few seeds.
Twilight's cat and mouse game is underway! Exhausted enemies make more mistakes even than when enraged, so good move!
Keep going! ;)
Queen Twilight is coming, and she will show the griffons the Art of War.
Soooo loving this story, and this chapter made me laugh quite a bit. XD
things are getting interesting now and it's good to see the Changeling doing their job in a good light.
A story named Dash Eats Meat... and it NOT a clop fic!!!!! Will wonders never cease?
Fun chapter. And that ending line
I have no idea whats going on here, why did he go back? What was he talking about going to talk to her? Why would she know to do that? Wtf was this chapter
Oh nice some good cloak and dagger
7992676
Twilight is the one person that I wouldn't want to meet on the battlefield. You know she is going to study. She is going to read and read and read. By the time your army meets her on the field, she will be a master tactician.
The Monk
At first I thought Grahm screwed it up, but then I was like, "damn, Twilight, you scary".
Looking forwards to seeing Gilda's reaction when she sees Rainbow Dash in a cage. And Dash's response to Gilda working for the somebirdies who locked up her and her best friends, and that are trying to wipe out the species of one of said friends. Now that Twilight knows that Gilda is there and cares about Rainbow, will she be using that as another avenue to help her friends or get to Grinda?
7993217
From what it looks like, Twilight's manipulating the movements of the griffons by controlling when they report back, then laying units of her own to presumably intercept and infiltrate them for later integration into the main group. From there, I presume that she's intending to find a way to get access to Grinda and/or get in contact with her friends for coordinating their later escape (as it isn't feasible now). It seems like she's been studying their groups, movements, and patrols for a while now.
It also looks like he's intentionally riling them up; somebirdy could easily have found Gilda and freed her if he just let her be, but he let her go after knowing that she'd raise the alarm. So I'm guessing that he's trying to keep them exhausted and not let them sleep; his impairs their judgement, reaction time, etc., making it easier to ambush and replace them, making flaws in their acting less noticeable, and letting character slips be easily explained by "I'm grumpy, sleepy, and tired so fuck off".
As for the advice... Grahm sounds like a nice fellow. And changelings certainly have reasons--tasty, tasty reasons--to encourage others to spread love and friendship.
I am liking the story but still don't understand why Celestia and Luna can't do anything when they know that griffons have abducted some of their citizens...
OK so looks like Twi got hold of a copy "Art of War" mehehehehehe *starts to dig a large BBQ pit* Hope we have enough hungry mouths as it looks like we be having BBQED griffin to night!
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/561/702/880.jpg
Twilight wants them to get on edge?
7994389
They have zero evidence that the griffin did so. Suspicion is not evidence. If they invaded or reacted aggressively it could be seen a's a war crime and then it would be dog pile on Equeatria because they might invade anyone saying that nation took their people.
Without evidence they cannot act at all no matter how much they'd want to.
... do I wanna know what the fic of influence was?
8360939
Dash Eats Meat. 'one story' is a link. Or here: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/33205/dash-eats-meat
Right, where's that guy with Dash eating bacons as profile pic?