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 one 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 fur-less 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 galred 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.