The Secret I Hide

Darkness shrouded Ponyville, the light glimmering from the moon and stars above concealed behind a heavy layer of low, dark clouds. A slow, heavy downpour had been scheduled for the night, but a royal decree to “show the beauty of my fair night” had scrambled those plans. Every weather pegasi had been called out of bed, much to their collective displeasure, in order to quickly comply. Even more than losing sleep, the pegasi feared the royal lunar princess and her wrath.

And so Rainbow Dash flew through the sky, grumbling and muttering to herself as she worked vigorously. There was nothing she hated more than being awoken when it wasn’t absolutely necessary, with or without a royal order. Clouds withered before her, crumbling into vapor and foam as she burst through them. Upon clearing her delegated patch of clouds, she flew up, above the other pegasi, and scouted around for more clouds that needed to be cleared. The only patch remaining was floating on the edge of the Everfree Forest, near Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Ugh, that pony is almost as lazy as Thunderlane whenever an animal isn’t involved! Just because she had flying problems once shouldn’t mean she gets to skip boring work like this whenever she wants! If she’s asleep, I swear I’ll drop a cloud on her house.” With that, Rainbow took off towards the Everfree Forest.

Nearing the cottage, Rainbow Dash crouched down, sneaking towards the window to take a peek inside. The windows were dark, as was the rest of the house. “Did Fluttershy actually report for weather duty?” Dash couldn’t believe that. That shy filly was probably hiding in a tree somewhere nearby. The *click* of the door unlatching was all the warning she received before the door opened.

In the doorway stood Fluttershy, wrapped in a dark cloak, with a large sack tossed over her back. Quickly closing the door behind herself, she threw a quick glance around before hurrying down the path in front of her home, then down the road towards Ponyville. It was only a few meters before the shadows enveloped her, surrounding her completely.

Letting her get a head start, Rainbow Dash sat in a thundercloud hanging far above the ground, pondering Fluttershy’s curious behavior. What was with the dangerous mission outfit? What was in the bag? Why was she leaving her cottage at night? She of all ponies should know not to go wandering in the dark.

Curious, Rainbow dropped deeper into the cloud and, hiding herself in it, set off after Fluttershy. The thought of personal privacy never even crossed her mind. Fluttershy was below Rainbow now, twitching at every gust of wind or snapped twig, but resolutely marching on. For a pegasus, Rainbow thought, Fluttershy was awfully two-dimensional, never looking above her, in the fashion land-bound ponies frequently do. Even Twilight Sparkle was beginning to think three-dimensionally, or, rather, more so than her previous nerdiness had allowed.

Returning her thoughts to Fluttershy, Rainbow noted the presence of a building emerging from the shadows before her, along the dark path. Was this Fluttershy’s destination? From the smell of sizzling hay bacon, juicy lettuce burgers, and grilled carrot dogs, this building below was a restaurant. A midnight snack? That, Rainbow could understand. Dismissing the strange behavior as “Just Fluttershy being Fluttershy”, she almost turned away and flew off. What stilled her flight was the sight of two guards flanking the entrance, griffons of all creatures.

That, in and of itself, was strange, as griffons weren’t seen too often in Ponyville. But guarding a building? That was just downright strange. Rainbow Dash focused on Fluttershy, who was quickly nearing the building and the guards. Was this her goal after all?

Approaching the building, Fluttershy whispered greetings to the guards, who merely responded with a curt nod. Standing back to allow the pegasus to pass, the griffons stepped back to blockade the entrance once more. Figuring out Fluttershy’s master scheme of sneaking out to grab a bite to each, Rainbow Dash dropped her cloud cover, landed, and walked up to the guardsgriffons.

“Hey! I’m just here to get a quick bite of food.” Dash waited, albeit impatiently, for the guards to remove themselves from her path. They did not.

“No ponies allowed,” grunted one of the griffons.

“What the hay? My friend Fluttershy just went in there! She’s a pony! Why can’t I get in?”

No response.

Flustered, Rainbow Dash gave a quick look over the guards. One on one, she’d have no problem, but she likely couldn’t take both in a fight, not armored as they were. Perhaps a tactical retreat was in order. With a quick huff of “I’ll be back,” Rainbow flew away. Not long after her takeoff, the exact wording of the rules came back to Rainbow. “No ponies allowed.” A plan forming in her mind, she turned towards the center of Ponyville.

~~~

Landing next to the tree that substituted for their library, Dash dusted herself off before swinging the door open, revealing their local librarian and princess closing it down for the night. Stepping inside, she waited, knowing the dire consequences of interrupting the schedule. Shelving the books that had been returned that day, Rainbow did not have to wait long, as the library saw little to no use from the Ponyville citizens. Turning to Rainbow Dash, Twilight set aside the newly ordered checkout cards, and cast her an inquiring glance.

“Hi Rainbow! Are you here to checkout a book?” she asked, unable to contain her excitement at the prospect.

“Uh, not really...”

Twilight was just as unable to contain her disappointment. Nopony ever checked out her books.

“Actually, I came here to ask you—”

“The next Daring Do book will be released in seven weeks.”

“No, not that. But mine’ll be here in six weeks, four days, seven hours, forty-two minutes, and sixteen seconds. But, what I came here for was—”

“Umm, Rainbow? You know the mail doesn’t come that reliably, right?”

“It does when you give a large amount of bits to the right people.”

At this, Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, are you bribing public officials?”

Time for a new subject. “Aaaaaanyways, I came here to ask you if you could turn me into a griffon. I need to be one to sneak into a griffonian restaurant to see what Fluttershy was doing in there. Please?” How did Fluttershy do this next part? Rainbow had trouble remembering; she had never needed it before. Here goes... *squee*

Twilight was unimpressed. “Sorry Rainbow. That only works for Fluttershy. And we went over this already. I’m not going to turn you into a griffon or a dragon. And that’s ignoring the blatant disrespect for Fluttershy’s privacy. It’s immoral to do this behind her back. If you really want to know, go ask her yourself.”

That wasn’t going to happen. “Why won’t you transform me? You transformed Fluttershy!”

“That was a special case. I had to turn her into a special kind of tree so she could rehabilitate some injured animals.”

“What about Applejack then?”

“We had to turn her into an apple so she could find a cure to the Applewilt disease that was infecting her crops. She would have had to sell the farm if we hadn’t!”

“Rarity?”

“If we couldn’t look at the microscopic crystal-lattice structure, her crystal dress may have turned into ordinary table salt! That would have ruined her career!”

She always had an answer to everything. Luckily, Rainbow Dash had an ace up her wing, saved just for an occasion like this. ”Them, I might be able to understand. But what about you?”

Twilight was taken aback. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

Rainbow grinned; she had Twilight right where she wanted her. “Wasn’t your birthday on the date that Journal Entry #65 - ‘Magical Mystery Cure’ was written?”

“Well... yeah, but I can’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Here’s what I think: Celestia put together a little test for you on your birthday; something she knew you could handle. Once you completed it, she gave you a birthday present, the experience of a lifetime, the thing every little filly has always wanted: to be a princess.

“So, having solved the puzzle, she cast a spell on you, transforming you into an alicorn. She didn’t tell you that it would wear off over the night. But she never knew how much attention you were actually paying to the spell. With your magical talent and analytical mind, you were able to duplicate it. How am I doing so far?”

Twilight still had an expression of confusion on her face, but a dark gleam was entering her eyes.

“Ever since that day, you have been casting that spell each day, keeping your royalty and your wings. Celestia couldn’t just strip you of your princesshood, she was expecting the reversion to do that for her. In her plan, you and her would enjoy the day, and share laughs about it afterwards. She never expected it to last. But then, she was politically stuck, having named you a princess, and not having a real reason to remove you from being one. So, here we remain.”

By this time, Twilight’s look of confusion and innocence had long worn off, and was currently glaring coldly at Rainbow Dash. “Blackmail and bribery? You’ve sunken so low, Rainbow. I’m disappointed in you.” Closing her eyes and emitting a long, drawn-out sigh, she levitated a box off of a high shelf. Inside it was numerous genetic samples from numerous species. Alicorn hairs, bear claws, rabbit fur, and many, many more was contained within. A griffon feather was lifted from the gene bank, before the box flew back up to the top shelf.

A few minutes later, a cyan griffon with an oddly chromatic feather pattern left the library. “Thanks, princess!”

She didn’t need to look back to imagine the death-stare she was receiving.

~~~

Flying through the sky, Rainbow Dash quickly grew accustomed to her new griffonian form. Both flying quadrupeds, the forms were similar enough that she could fly immediately after the transformation. After only a few minutes, she was the fastest pony or griffon alive in the air.

Being right on the outskirts of town, the restaurant was only a short jaunt away, as the pegasus flies. Rainbow landed on the main path, around a sharp turn, out of sight. The path was currently deserted and empty, luckily for her. Sometimes her distinctive mane was a hindrance. Mostly, though, it was just awesome.

Bringing her confidence and assuredness around her like a cloak, she turned the corner, bringing the restaurant into view. The two guards still stood sentry there, waiting for any foolish pony to attempt to enter. Rainbow walked forward, a slow, haughty pace, just like Gilda had always done.

Rainbow Dash didn’t allow herself to be nervous. The spell was foolproof. It couldn’t fail. She would walk right past the guards. Nothing would go wrong. Nothing.

She grew closer to the guards. Forty meters. Thirty. Fifteen. Ten. Five meters. Three. One! They would catch her!

But they didn’t. Not even batting an eye, they allowed the griffon through, just like any other customer. Once inside, Rainbow Dash allowed herself a slight sigh of relief. Perhaps she had been just a bit nervous. But she was amazing, so that made up for it.

Passing through another doorway, Rainbow found herself to be in some sort of ballroom, with a dining table thrown in. Tables were arranged in a hemisphere around a stage, where entertainment would presumably take place.

However, upon the stage now was not an orchestra or DJ, but a timid pegasus. Fluttershy. Next to her on the stage was a griffon, who appeared by his air of seniority and wealth to be the proprietor of the restaurant. He was in the middle of clearing his throat, and began to speak.

“Griffons and griffonesses, please direct your attention to the stage. For this meal tonight, as well as many others, we have dear Fluttershy to thank. She takes a great risk delivering our meals to us here, and for that, we will be eternally grateful. So enjoy your meals, and be sure to thank Fluttershy if you have a chance. Have a good night!”

The pegasus onstage was currently trying to hide her face behind her mane, and was pawing at the ground almost habitually. Rainbow Dash watched her from her dark corner, mulling over what she had just heard. Risks? What could Fluttershy possibly be doing that was dangerous?

Hunger began to permeate her consciousness, right before an accompanying growl from her stomach. Apparently her earlier meal had failed to transform. She would need to talk to Twilight about that. It took her a moment to remember where she was. When in Roam...

She lifted the menu up that lay before her, and cracked it open. Scanning the contents, her stomach dropped. She was no longer hungry. She suddenly understood, with frightening clarity, what dangers Fluttershy had faced. Leaping to her feet, she darted for the door, shoving several patrons to the floor, and rocketed towards the library in town.

~~~

Once again a pony, Rainbow Dash exploded from the library, not having spoken to the resident within beyond her simple reversion request. Flying through the air at a blistering rate, she thought of the questions she had for Fluttershy. In the darker corner of her mind, she imagined the worst possibilities and reason Fluttershy could have had for doing what she did.

Growing ever closer to the cottage, emotions warred for dominance within her. Fear, anger, hurt, suspicion, confusion, horror, all waged in a conflict of emotional consequences. Blinking liquid anger out of her eyes, she wrapped her emotions within a cloud of determination, then hid it deep within herself. She would have time to deal with them later. Now was the time for action.

Suddenly flipping heads over hooves, she brought her back legs into a blazing buck, straight into Fluttershy’s front door. The door, no match for the force of nature that was Rainbow Dash, splintered into fragments, propelled across the room. In no way a silent or inconspicuous entrance, the yellow pegasus within the home emitted a sharp cry, and keeled over.

Slightly concerned, Rainbow Dash trotted over to Fluttershy and checked for a pulse. Still breathing. That was good. Settling in, Rainbow Dash waited...

~~~

The first thing Fluttershy noticed when she woke up was the cyan mare above her, currently eyeing her warily. Slowly rising, Fluttershy looked over her living room in silent shock, over the torn furniture, the shattered windows, the hole that used to be her front entrance. She turned back towards Rainbow Dash, who was still looking at her with the same cold, detached eyes. She was afraid to ask the obvious question, but Rainbow spoke first.

“You have some explaining to do, Fluttershy.” Her eyes were hard. Cold, calculating, unemotional, and utterly terrifying to Fluttershy.

She sunk back towards the ground, cowering. “Wha-what do you mean?”

Rainbow Dash reached for a folded booklet that lay by her hooves, and tossed to towards Fluttershy. It hit the ground a few meters in front of her, and slowly spun around and around, until it touched her hooves. Now unfolded, the words shone out, dark and incriminating.

Cringing away from it, she backed away towards her stairs. “I-I don’t really want to talk about this right now, may-maybe some other time. Or never. Never would be good.” Continuing to edge towards her stairs, she suddenly bumped into an obstacle.

Fluttershy turned to see what the obstacle was, and found herself staring into a pair of deep, magenta eyes.

“Now.” Rainbow gestured to the couch least serrated by shrapnel. “Have a seat.”

Meekly obeying, Fluttershy thought of all the places she could be besides here. The list was quite extensive, but deep inside, she had always known that this day would come. She simply had held on to the hope that it never would.

Letting out a sigh, she turned back to Rainbow, who remained standing, silent. “It isn’t what you think.”

Rainbow allowed a bitter sarcasm to fill her voice. “Of course it isn’t. It was just some other pony up onstage, taking credit for MURDER! Do you realize what was going on in there? They were EATING THEM! And it isn’t what I think it is?”

Flinching under the verbal assault, Fluttershy began to tremble. But she steeled herself to the possibility of losing her friend, and began. “It’s... They... It isn’t...” She sighed. This would never get any easier. “Nopony is forcing them to do it. It’s completely voluntary.”

“Huh? No, that can’t be! Nobody would ever want to be killed, much less eaten! You’re lying! You’ve got to be!” Rainbow couldn’t accept any being simply lying down and choosing to die. It went against the very core of her being, not having the loyalty to friends and family enough to keep yourself alive.

“You have to remember, the societies of cows and pigs are far different than ours, Rainbow. They place the honor and safety of their family above even themselves. Thier families are well compensated, and the chance to help not only their families, but also a society of griffons, places great honor upon their sacrifice. When they are nearing the end of their lives, it is a greatly respected choice to do this.”

“But... but... they’re eating them!”

“Just like we eat hay and grasses, they... do this, eventually fungi and plants will absorb them, and the cycle of life starts anew. This is just nature in a more peaceful manner. They don’t feel any pain, and have time to say goodbye to their families. The griffons don’t starve, the family is paid well for their sacrifice, and I... help with the transition.”

Rainbow took another glance at Fluttershy. She still felt conflicted, but Fluttershy’s logic was sound. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, you see... Zecora has this one remedy, one she has shown to very few ponies. For illnesses that can’t be cured, it... gives them peace instead. I... I know it. Somepony has to make it for the griffons, and so far, I’m the only one who knows. So, it’s fallen upon me to take care of them while they... prepare.

“So that’s the secret I hide. Are you going to report me to the princesses? Or stop being my friend?” Tears welled in her eyes as Fluttershy knew the answer to both questions. Nopony would even consider being friends with a murderer like her. For all her thoughtful words, that was still what she was. And the princesses had to be alerted, this was a serious—

“Of course not! Regardless of my decision, you’re my friend, and I’ll stay loyal to you till the end!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t decide if that was too sappy. it probably was. Oh well, she had already gone and blurted it out.

Suddenly, she grinned. “And as for trouble with the princesses, I think I can help you with that. A certain princess seems to owe me a favor...”