By Coffeebean

“So, let me get this right, you want me to perform a job for you? After that little complication with P-L?” I asked, animating the manila folder placed in front of me and sticking to the acronyms that this client had requested be used. Drawing it near, I had a quick glance at the information within before closing it, waiting for the stallion sat across from me to speak up again.

“Well, whilst she was a little shocked with you bursting into her shower like that, she hasn’t given any indication that you’re to be dealt with. Heck, half of the guards think she enjoyed the experience. P-C was upset with you assaulting P-B-B...” he replied, still masked by the heavy brown robe he was wearing. I knew who he was, of course; he was Sir Duke of Canterlot, head of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, knight of the realm, hero of the battle of Canterlot and a true professor of strategy and situational analysis. He’d also been a good mate of mine when we were in the guard together, although I had eventually left to follow a more... profitable career. As for P-C, or Princess Celestia as I’m sure you’ll know her better, that was a little complicated, and will be made more so later on by an experience with Luna, her sister.

“Well Dee, you know how much of an arse the guy can be. He tried to hire me once you know, wanted some filly disposed of after some upset at the Gala.”

Duke, or “Dee” only really came to me when he needed a job done. It was the same story with a good ninety percent of my clients, usually the job involved the complex and often stealthy assassination of those proving too difficult to be kept alive - bankers, highly respected merchants, criminals who stood no chance of conviction via the usual methods. The ponies with connections in all the right places, or wrong places, dependent on your point of view, I guess.

The job he was talking about at the moment however had been a very fun one, working on the training of the Castle Guard and Royal Protectorate, and any contract where I get to avoid taking a life is always a nice easy pay cheque. The “training” I had supplied had been a relatively simple exercise; get into Princess Celestia’s bed chamber and steal her crown, then escape and hand it in anonymously later - naturally, as the client, she knew that I was there for a reason and she had graciously allowed me to get away with the crown for a whole thirty seconds. Granted, she and I had been in the room together for a good couple of hours prior to the start of the exercise, and I’m far too much of a gentlecolt to tell you exactly what we did... But I will tell you that I hoped to “complete the set” at some point.

My name, for the sake of such things, is Chameleon. This is of course a nom de plume, a professional moniker and to be completely fair, I thought it sounded cool when I came up with it. The talent that earned me this nickname was one that had helped me evade a group of bullies at school at the age of ten; the focus of my magic as a unicorn was that of affecting my appearance, similar to the “Shimmer magic” employed by the guards and military, but not as drastic as the innate abilities of changelings.

I grew up in a rather large city to the northwest of Equestria named Manechester, it was a very green city, based partially within a forest, some three hundred miles north of Trottingham, where I attended boarding school with my brother. We both decided that military service was our best option, although he had three years and what at the time felt like a tonne more magical power than me. Sadly, he ended up shuffling loose the mortal coil around five years after I came into her Majesty’s forces, leaving behind a heavily pregnant wife who I still send money to, from time to time. I should probably remember to go visit her and the kid at some point...

There had been one or two “jobs” in the past that had required me to have my species changed, a very difficult and excruciatingly painful magical operation that required me to stay conscious throughout whilst my physical form was altered by an extremely powerful unicorn. In this case, with the client being the Equestrian government, that wouldn’t be a problem; although it would still hurt like hell, unless Celestia and Luna get involved.

“I assume you’re going to read and dispose of the intel in the folder following our agreed usual parameters. P-C has commanded that I ensure you understand the nature of the job in full, so I would like you to stay for a while to let me explain.”

I took a brief look around the decidedly shady drinking establishment. The Burning Lyre was not the sort of pub that offered a family friendly environment; usually I would have avoided it purely for the cliche of arranging assassination contracts in such a place, but the client had insisted. I knew that several of the rather large stallions stood at the bar were guards - a scar under the tail of one rust-coloured colt had identified him as Duke’s second in command, presumably he was not the type to watch strangers in the reflection of beer glasses hung behind the bar. Looking back at Duke, I agreed to stay for the explanation.

“Recently, there have been fits of ultra-violence within the city. I’m sure you’re aware of them, being the type to keep an eye on the news? Ponies going mad with blood lust, we had one perfectly sane stallion kill his parents and bake them into cupcakes - another tortured two children to death before meeting his own end. There have been others, but I shall spare you the rest of the details.”

This news had reached me, it’d have been hard to avoid the front pages of every news paper in Canterlot for the last six weeks even in if I had been in deep cover rather than a brief bit of R and R that I had been taking since the job up at the castle.

It had been blamed on a new drug on the streets called “Fury”; I had discovered that it was something that the gryphon clans had produced, made from the dust found on the underside of certain plant leaves. In small doses, it improved the users eyesight, and had become quite popular in academia until the side effect had been discovered - removing the need to sleep entirely in larger doses.

The problem with these “larger doses” was that they made the user hunger for blood. Unfortunately, this was quite often the blood of innocents.

“Don’t you usually have a contractor for these sorts of things, Dee? That Earth Pony in the bow-tie? With that gorgeous bit of pegasus traipsing after him?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He isn’t really suitable for this job.”

“You mean expendable.”

“Maybe I do. Regardless, you’re the best wet work asset in the business, Chameleon.”

“Please stop making cliches, it’s getting tiring. So you want me to get rid of a few drug dealers? Surely Snappy over there would be more suited for that sort of thing?” Duke face-hooved. He should have known that I’d be aware of his little bit of backup, and to be honest, I thought they’d have been better at it than sticking out like sore hooves. I saw Snapshot’s ears prick up before he copied Duke’s motion and went over to another booth with the five non-uniformed guards that had accompanied him.

Stupid bastard.

“Getting rid of the dealers wouldn’t solve the problem. They’re like weeds; you’d need to kill the root if you want to stop new ones from springing up. You need to kill the suppliers, if not the manufacturers.” I eventually said, having had a few moments of contemplation as to how I would deal with the issue.

“Which is where you come in.” Duke responds.

“Which is where I come in, of course.”

“What we need, is the head of one of the gryphon clans disposed of... specifically, the patriarch of the Whitefeather Mountain Clan; the foot of Whitefeather Mountain is where ninety percent of the crop comes from.”

“Fine, I assume he’s guarded, so it’ll be a little higher than the normal payment - one million bits directly into five different bank security boxes.”

“There is one more thing. We have a way for you to get in.”

“Yes?”

“The patriarch has a daughter. She was exiled for refusing to kill a childhood friend that had strayed into the clan’s airspace... naturally, we wish to sow the seeds of war between the clans. You’re going to need to become a gryphon.”

“Hmm, transfiguration magic again? You know that stuff is painful... Not to mention unreliable, you remember Manehattan, don’t you?”

“Of course, and we are very sorry that it ended up like that. This time however, P-C gives her personal promise that the spell would be permanent until your return.”

“Well, regardless, my costs have just tripled.”

“Deal.” Duke responded, sliding an envelope and a contract my way. I had expected the contract itself, and animated a pencil into signing it.

“Please, considering the nature of the contract, seal it inside the envelope.”

“...alright” I said, raising an eyebrow at this change of usual practice. Using my magic, I slid the sheet into the envelope and licked along the adhesive strip. It tasted weird, almost like a flavour that I knew from somewhere else... Exactly where I couldn’t be sure, because it felt like my brain was slowing down...

I managed to get to my hooves before the poison took hold, and I honestly thought I wouldn’t wake up, but I did - several hours later, aching from head to hooves and sat awkwardly on some sort of wooden chair.

As my senses returned to me and the pain dulled, the first thing I noticed was the weight of wings on my back. The melodic voice of Princess Celestia then filled my mind, almost like she had left a message there.

“Mister Chameleon, thank you ever so much for helping me to protect the citizens of Canterlot. It is ever so appreciated! My sister and I were able to give you a new body! Sadly, you won’t be able to use magic until you return and we change you back, but I’m sure you will find the opposable thumbs just as much fun!” her voice faded away for a few seconds, before returning, almost as if she had forgotten to give me important information.

“I don’t know if Duke told you, but there is a contact for you in Ponyville; I imagine you’ve dealt with him before and I suggest you start there when you begin your search for the patriarch’s daughter. When you can see, you will find yourself guarded. Wait until the anaesthetic has worn off fully, then you will need to escape, please don’t hurt the guards too badly! Hopefully a successful escape from the castle will help with the cover story Duke prepared for you - it’s in your saddlebag with the intelligence gathered for this mission. Good luck.”

Turning my head once my eyes got used to the light, I could see that I had a guard either side of me; they were obviously new to the job, having stood so close to their captive. Moving surreptitiously at my bonds, I felt a new sensation, being able to move parts of me that I hadn’t felt before. My escape being the primary objective, I decided to try and get the two guards to do something stupid.

“So lads, first time on prison duty?” I asked, looking at each one, standing at attention in their bronze armour. They tried to avoid looking at me, but the one on the left occasionally glanced over to his companion. I repeated the question, and the one on the right began to flick his eyes over at the one on the left. Eventually, their eyes met and moved down to me.

“C’mon, there are no rules about chatting to prisoners, I assure you I’m a nice enough chap. I’m just a little... down on my luck? What are your names? Surely that would be allowed?”

The one on the left eventually gives in.

“Alright, I’m Featherstone, he’s Leaf Sway... Would you mind being quiet? Please? We don’t want any trouble, we’re just doing our jobs.”

“You lads are with the protectorate aren’t you? I must be very important, if not dangerous enough to pull you away from guarding the princesses?”

“Yes.” Featherstone eventually replies. By this point, Leaf has began tutting under his breath.

“Ah, did they do that old hazing ritual? My old photo is probably on that board you know.”

Leaf finally breaks, laughing.

“A gryphon? In the guard?”

Oh, that’s right, I had forgotten that I wasn’t a pony anymore. Why is it that working for the government always involved me being drugged and having to escape from somewhere for the sake of maintaining cover? I realised that my wings weren’t bound. I wondered if this was done on purpose, but decided to run with it anyway.

“Alright, let’s change the topic of conversation. Who taught you lads knots? My wrist bindings are pretty secure, and I’m satisfied with the ones around my hind legs, but you forgot two rather important factors.”

“What did we forget?”

“Well, for a start, you tied my rather sharp claws close to each other, out of your sight and with what feels like incredibly cheap rope.”

They looked at each other again before checking my bindings. Leaf laughed again, seeing the knots still intact.

“I should also mention, that you didn’t bind my wings.” I finally said, coolly, as they checked again. Seeing both of their faces so close, I couldn’t help it. In one swift movement, I unfurled my wings, powerful muscles causing the feathery limbs to strike the two rookies in the face hard enough to knock them out cold - a lesson they won’t soon forget and will hopefully help them should a real prisoner be put into their custody.

Realising that I’m now on the clock, I quickly freed myself using my talons to cut the rope around my wrists and rear legs.

As I headed towards the door, I looked back at the two kids, feeling a little guilty. Fortunately they had landed in a way that wouldn’t have hurt them any more than the nicely bruised ego and thorough telling off they’d no doubt receive. Thinking about them being punished didn’t sit right with me, so I figured I’d need to track down Luna or Celestia before making good my escape.

I grabbed my saddle bag and pushed at the door, which swung open to reveal the guard captain with a key between his lips, obviously having just unlocked the door.

Grinning to myself at the convenience of this, I seized the startled guard by the edges of his chestplate before swiping his helmet off with single slash of talon as I raised his face to mine.

“Hello Snappy,” I started, my eyes staring into his as they changed colour, “The two lads back there were incredibly polite and upstanding guards. See to it that they’re not punished for my escape, even if it’s just to keep up appearances.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Seeing the wide frightened look in his eyes, I could tell that obviously he hadn’t been let in on this part of the plan. After the initial surprise, his eyes narrow and he tried to punch me with one of his forehooves wrapped in those damned armoured shoes. Normally this would have hurt - the captain was by no means a weak or small stallion, yet my new body seemed to be far tougher than it’s usual form. Cracking a smile, I smashed my forehead into his and threw him aside. Sadly, I didn’t manage to knock him unconscious, but he was dazed enough not to want to have a second attempt at trying to stop me. Laughing at having one upped the colt again, I trotted onwards and up the stairs out of the dungeon.

I found myself in a long corridor leading to the throne room of Celestia herself. Thankfully I appeared to have escaped during the changing of the guard onto the night shift, having noticed that it was dusk outside. A thought occurred to me - the guards were unaware of my escape as of yet, so why not pay someone a little visit?

It had been dusk the last time I tried to escape this place, and I knew the layout well enough, having served as both a member of the castle guard and as a member of the royal protectorate before retiring into self employment.

Smiling, I ran towards a staircase at the back of the hall and counted the doors as I passed them. I took the third set of double doors on the left and then continued down to a single wooden door on the fourth right. Oh yes, this was it - my chance to complete the set, finally here. Hearing hoofsteps from further back down the corridor, I fixed a cocky grin on my face and pulled the door open as silently as I could, closing and locking it on the other side.

I had always been impressed with how in touch with interior fashion Celestia was; I’d wandered into the very place I was hoping for, white marble tiles, an elegant sink and mirror at the back of the room next to a window... heck, even the toilet looked fancy. Steam holding a herbal scent was flooding out of the top of a curtained off bath tub on my right side, with a light young voice humming something I thought I recognised.

Slowly, I poked my head through the curtain. I was right, it was the pretty young alicorn I had stumbled in on during my last visit to the castle. Smiling, I slowly crept in behind her. She didn’t seem to be concentrating, looking up into the shower head and letting the water flow over her face and mane. I decided to go for it anyway, following the discussion with Duke in the pub, and just gently nipped at her neck with the tip of my beak.

She gasped at first, before realising what was going on. Turning her head, she looked at me like some sort of crazy pony.

“You again?”

“Hi there.” I said, with a wink.

“It’s not very polite to sneak up on somepony when she’s showering, you know.”

“That doesn’t sound like a ‘Get Out’ to me.”

She blushed. I grinned and tried my best to stroke her mane with my new claws, eventually finding a way that didn’t make me wonder if I was about to hurt the filly. From the “oohs” and “aahs” coming from her, she was at least getting something from the sensation and I was learning more about using my talons. I had an idea brewing in my mind, and slowly drew the tips up her flank, eliciting a gentle moan from her.

This was too perfect. I nipped at her neck again as I traced one claw around the larger dark blue part of her mark, and was surprised to find a pair of dark purple lips pressed against my mouth.

Now, one of the downsides of this body, as I soon learned, were that certain parts of me, specifically my beak, didn’t behave exactly as their equivalents had done and were nowhere as sensitive as they had been when I was a pony. Whilst the kiss was nice, it wasn’t one hundred percent effective until she started to use her tongue - for a mare who had been stuffed away in the moon for a few centuries, she certainly knew a fair bit of technique... probably more than her sister. By the time we broke apart, the tips of her wings were spanning the width of the admittedly large curtained cubicle, and I briefly considered leaving her like this, but when else would I get such a perfect chance?

I realised that I could wrap my talons around the base of her wing, and rubbed up and down... She definitely liked that, and after a few more strokes she was pretty much willing to do anything for me.

Understand this, my dear reader; I want to tell you more, just so that you know, but like I said near the beginning of this tale when referring to Luna’s older sister, I’m a gentlecolt. It’d be bad for my image in the professional world to go about graphically explaining how I managed to mate with both royal sisters within a month of each other.

I will say that she practically screamed the door off of the hinges when she climaxed though.

The feedback was great, and to be honest, she’d been the best shag I’d had in a rather long time... Don’t get me wrong, Celestia was great, but she wasn’t as emotive as Luna - nowhere near as passionate, and if it hadn’t been for my feathers, the bruises on my neck from Luna biting me would have been on show for weeks.

Her ecstatic response, together with her lateness for the moon-raising ceremony, caused a pair of guards to burst in. I’d had time to get out of the shower and hide on the other side of the door whilst they banged on it, thankfully. After a little discussion about exactly why Luna was screaming “Oh me, yes!”, which boiled down to the guards being told where to go, she dried herself and trotted out of the door shortly after them, of course making sure to wink at me and blow a kiss on her way out.

I sat in the bathroom for a few more minutes, watching the moonrise out of the window, before noticing myself in the mirror. I wasn’t sure at the time what constituted as attractive by gryphon standards, but the body was certainly in great shape. I was covered in white feathers from the top of my head to my chest, whilst my fur had turned a dark charcoal grey, close to black, a similar colour to that of a tuxedo I had once owned. My eyes were blue, which was a nice touch, my beak and talons being the usual shade of yellow associated with gryphons.

I trotted up to the window and looked out - just as a patrol of pegasus guards flew past. Realising I’d been made, I did what felt most natural at the time and dove out of the window. You should probably know that I don’t normally dive out of windows, but considering I was still riding on post-coital adrenaline and feeling invincible, not to mention wanting to try out my new wings, it seemed like the right thing to do.

I was correct, it was the right thing to do. Hurtling towards the courtyard, I opened my wings about ten feet before impact, immediately gliding to the ground. A flash of blue magic soared over my head and I saw a unicorn guard firing those damned signal flares at me; not exactly a killing blow, but being on fire is almost as painful as being awake for a transfiguration.

Still running on adrenaline, I flapped the massive feathery wings once, immediately launching myself back into the sky and over the battlements of the castle walls. I let one flare lightly graze my right wing, before wheeling back and diving at the guards whilst avoiding the pegasi trying their best to keep up with my new found speed and agility. Another flare got close to my saddlebag, which I realised hadn’t been removed for the entirety of my little session in the shower with Luna. Turning over mid flight, I managed to dump a good few litres of water that had collected in the bags over the unicorns firing at me... As well as the folder holding my intel. Thankfully, the paper was wet so it stuck together, with a small cloth bag landing next to it. One of the unicorns made a move - I wasn’t having that.

I dove again, flapping as I flew towards the ground at speeds far higher than I had been capable of as a pegasus those few times, my larger and more muscular wings obviously being far more suited to their job thanks to the gryphon’s naturally predatory evolutionary path. In half a second I held the folder in my mouth, retrieved mid-swoop, with the bag clutched firmly in my talons. It was quite heavy, probably around the same weight as a large bag of sugar, so I stowed it back in my saddlebag as I flapped over the castle walls.

One thing I will say about pegasus guards is that they don’t give up easily. Dodging the occasional flare from the city below the castle, I was pursued for probably a good ten miles before they eventually stopped trying to chase me.

I decided that I should make my way to Ponyville - another ten miles.

Next Chapter: Part 2 - Transaction Estimated time remaining: 39 Minutes