Controlling the Pegasus Device
“How many times do I have to say the same thing to all of you?” I ask the amassed pegasi workforce at the weather factory in Cloudsdale.
“I continuously have to remind ALL of you that this facility will NOT return to its previous machinery!” I shout as I gesture to the most evil machine that could have ever been created. It was a device for using ponies as a way to create rainbows. It would kill the pony that was strapped to it before extracting all the color from the body to be used in the rainbows around Equestria.
I growl as I walk up to the machine that caused so many deaths, only happy that there was one left in an operational state.
“Any of you want to explain to me why a little FILLIE WAS GROUND INTO PURE CELERA AFTER I SPECIFICALLY SAID NOT TO?!” I scream at my work force. All but one head hung in shame: One rainbow maned head that I knew too well.
“Sir! She was convicted of murdering three other ponies!” She shouts up to me. I growl at this before Lighting my horn with my pure black magic, and grabbing the Pegasus by her throat, before quickly levitating her up to me.
“Then explain to me why she was later proven innocent!” I shout at the mare, known as Rainbow Dash. She is my best employee, yet she was also the hardest to reign in, as she was the one to operate the celera extractor.
I continue to choke my employee before turning to the evil machine, and flipping the large lever that gave power to it, causing the machine to awaken once more. The un-oiled axels and hinges in the giant screamed as they started to move again.
Ancient gears ground for a few seconds before their teeth could mesh back together. As the machine slowly started rumbling, I watched the clouds that my factory was made out of darken to black. I hear the demonic growl of the device, and turn back to the mare in my grasp.
I loosen my grip on her airway, letting her take a few gasping breaths before looking her in the eyes.
“Why do you think your mane color is not very common anymore?” I ask her. I could hear the machine starting to power up fully as I could hear the deep whine of its ancient engines starting to turn. I hear the exhausts start to push out their tainted fumes out into the atmosphere around the factory, signaled by the sound of roar winds in the giant tubes that ran straight through the roof.
“Who can answer my question?! Why is a natural rainbow mane so rare now?!” I shout out to the rest of my employees. I saw one stallion step forward. I look to him before teleporting him up next to me, and magically raising his voice so all could hear him, even if he whispered.
“Tell us all why.” I say to him, as I bring Miss Dash closer to the stallion. His eyes squeezed shut. I could see him wanting to just run away from the evil dark past the machine has.
“Those that were born with a natural rainbow colored mane, and tail, were used as the main ingredient to making rainbows. They were hunted down, and brought here to be killed in the celera extractor to make the brightest rainbows in history.” He says as tears fell from his eyes. Rainbow Dash’s head was hung in what seems to be anger.
“Did you all hear him?!” I shout to my workforce. I chuckled as they all flinched at my amplified voice, before I looked back to Rainbow Dash to see her eyes wide while she quivered in fear. I brought her close to me, so I could whisper in her ear.
“You thought it would be a grand idea to use the machine that killed thousands like you on a little defenseless filly. Why should I not return the favor to you? Give me ten damn good reasons.” I growled quietly in her ear. She started whimpering.
“I’m not the only one to do it.” She whispers to me in a pitiful whimpering tone.
“Who helped this mare with her heinous deed?!” I ask my company. I see another mare come forward, and she caught me by complete surprise.
“I did!” My most skittish employee says with anger in her eyes. I could tell she did the task, but I was also confused on why. How could the kindest of all ponies help commit such a devious and dark deed?
“Good, you are braver than I thought you were…Fluttershy.” I say to the mare before teleporting the stallion nearby me on the catwalk I was standing on. The teleport swapped Fluttershy and the stallion, placing the long pink maned pony next to me.
I restrain her with my magic before turning back to my employees.
“Any others that wish to announce their guilt?” I ask them. None dared to look me in the eyes. I growl at my workers before dragging the two ponies in my magical grasp with me to the darkest machine ever created.
I listened to the machine idle for a few seconds, hearing the steam powered pistons beat against the metal as though they were drums from an era long past. The bloodstained metal that held countless lives seemed to beg to me, almost as if pained from its hunger that is rarely sated.
Looking back to the two ponies I held near me, I see that Fluttershy was about to cry, and Rainbow Dash was staring at the machine that killed too many.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t use this machine on both of you.” I say as I press buttons on the control panel, causing two plates on the machine to grind, and screech open. I hear general bedlam behind me as my other employees started yelling at me to stop what I was doing. Two tables that had restraints slowly extend to the catwalk.
“WHY SHOULD I SPARE THE LIVES OF THESE TWO!? THEY MURDERED AN INNOCENT CHILD IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE! WHY DO YOU SEE THIS AS EVIL, WHEN IT IS JUSTICE FOR THE CHAOS THEY FED OUR COUNTRY?” I shout at all of the ponies that gave outcries to my soon to happen actions.
“Because I need them to raise me!” I hear a tomboyish child’s voice say from the back of the mass of pegasi. I stopped what I was doing, and looked to the owner of the voice. I’m also curious how she was able to get into this part of the factory, as it is very well guarded.
“Who are these two ponies to you young one?” I ask the small orange Pegasus filly with small trickles of shock. She looked so familiar for some reason.
“They are my adopted parents.” She tells me as she makes her way to the front of the crowding pegasi. I summon even more of my power, and teleport the filly up to me before looking out to my employees.
“Leave, you are all dismissed, but let me warn you. If this device is ever used again without the Princesses’ direct orders, you will be the next to feed it with your own lives!” I tell them all. As my workforce quickly fled the building I turned back to the ancient device, and pressed the buttons to retract the two restraining tables back into their hiding places, before powering the dark machine down by throwing the large lever once more.
I hear the machine slowly grind back into its sleeping state once more. Once the celera extracting device was quiet again, and my factory transitioned back into bright white clouds, I turned to the three ponies that I had nearby. My horn was aching at the large amount of magic use that I was making it produce.
“You three are coming with me to my office, now.” I say as I release the two adult mares from my hold, causing the pressure in my horn to melt away.
They all followed me without hesitation as I led them farther into the factory. My office was our destination, and it was at the far back of the factory in the rooms behind the celera extractors.
As we walked we passed by the other fourteen celera extractors that could no longer operate without destroying themselves completely.
“Excuse me…” The orange filly says.
“Dark Spectrum.” I tell her my name as we enter my office on the far side of the factory. My dark purple, nearly black, mane gently rustles as I let the three ponies into my sanctum.
“Why would you have killed my mom and mother?” She asks me. I walked around my desk, and took a seat in my chair. Before any of the three ponies could say anything I opened a nearby closet, and levitated three cushions out, placing them in front of my desk.
“You may all want to take a seat we will be in here for a few hours.” I say to the mares and filly in front of me. I am still trying to figure out why she was so familiar to me.
“First of all, who are you?” I ask the filly.
“My name’s Scootaloo.” She answers with a cocky grin. I chuckle at her mannerisms that she obviously learned from the rainbow manned stunt flyer next to her. Her name was also familiar, but I still couldn’t remember who she reminded me of.
“Scootaloo, what I am about to tell you is going to scar you for the rest of your life. You see, back before the ponies were united under the Princesses’ joined rule, the pegasi of Cloudsdale had created the machine that you saw today. This machine was the only way the pegasi knew of to create pure celera, or color. The only problem is that no matter what they put into that machine to make the rainbows you see, they found that the machine works best with ponies being used as the main ingredient.” I start to tell the young filly.
“But why is that a bad thing? Wouldn’t the ponies just lose their colors, and turn to a greyscale?” She asks me. I smile as she asked the same question I did before I became the manager of the weather factory.
“Yes, it does turn the ponies it uses grey in appearance, but as it siphons the celera out of a pony it also drains the pony of their magic. I’m sure you know that all ponies have magic in them, but I’m also assuming that you know that all ponies cannot live without magic.” I say before opening a nearby filling cabinet, and levitating a few scrolls from inside the bottom drawer. I carefully unroll them, as they were older than Equestria herself.
“Then why not destroy the machines now that the factory has a safer way to make rainbows?” She asks me. I stopped looking through the scrolls I had placed on my desk, and looked into the eyes of the filly. Her eyes cause my mind to stir in thought, but I still couldn’t remember.
“The reason why is that we don’t know how to without having any of them blow up. When the celera extractors were built, the pegasi made them so that they would never be able to take them apart without having the team that did so killed. So it was decided that the machines instead would be locked away or run without ponies inside them until they broke.” I tell the little Pegasus that looks so familiar.
“Before we move on, who was your biological mother?” I ask the orange filly. This question catches her off guard.
“I don’t know, she died when she gave birth to me. The doctors said that my father never came to get me since he was outside of Equestria on royal orders. I was put into the orphanage because no one could claim me.” Scootaloo now had tears in her eyes, “But what does this have to do with anything?” She asks me, almost seeming angry.
I had completely stopped moving when she said her mother died after giving birth to her.
“What was your mother’s name?” I ask almost in a whisper, hoping that it wasn’t the name of my beloved.
“Cloudy Sunset.” She answers. My eyes widen, and I look into the filly’s eyes to see my Cloudy’s eyes looking back at me. Her orange coat almost the exact same shade only a bit darker than her mother’s.
“But… how, how are you alive? The doctors told me that you were a stillborn foal. How did you live?” I ask in shock.
“Wait, are you saying that you’re Scoot’s father?” Rainbow Dash asks me.
“I don’t know, but I could find out if she is, and it would only take a few minutes.” I say before looking back to Scootaloo.
“How old are you?” I ask her.
“I’m nine years old in twelve days.” She answers me. She has the same birthday as my Sunset. This made me even more sure that she could be my daughter.
“Can you fly?” I ask her. She hangs her head, and shakes it slightly. She has the same problem Sunset does. She won’t fly until she gets her cutie mark.
“Are all of you okay with me doing a few tests?” I ask the family in front of me. Fluttershy, and Rainbow shake their heads, but Scootaloo looks a little worried.
“What would you be testing?” She asks me. I smile kindly at her nervousness.
“Nothing, I would just be using magic to see if you are my daughter.” I tell her. She seems to relax before nodding her head to me.
In response I light my horn with the simple spell to see if she was actually my daughter. My black magic aura surrounds the orange filly, and reads her DNA before telling me what the strings of DNA could tell me.
“Positive 100% mix of my and Cloudy’s genes.” I say before letting my magic rest again.
“What does that mean?” Scootaloo asks in confusion mixed with slight fear.
“It means… um that he is…your biological father… oh dear.” Fluttershy says before taking a closer look at me. She then looks down at her hooves.
“Wait, so where were you when Scoots was born?” Rainbow Dash asks me. I look over to the prismatic maned Pegasus.
“I was away on a royal mission to negotiate the import of goods to Equestria in exchange for a few exotic trained weather teams for the Zebra capital city. I was overseas for at least two years, and when I got word of my wife’s death, I let my secondary manager take over so that I could get back to Equestria as swiftly as possible.” I say slowly hanging my head in sorrow.
“I returned just in time for her funeral, and asked where my child was, only to be told that it never lived.” Tears are falling from my eyes as my memories arise with just as much, or more pain as when I lived them.
“My life spiraled into depression, and the rest is what you all know. I returned to Cloudsdale, and took my position as weather factory manager soon after.” My eyes are closed as I mourn for my loss.
I gasp when I feel somepony embrace me, and look to see Scootaloo was hugging me tightly. I let out a sob before returning her embrace. My eyes were seeping so much that it was impossible to see anything clearly.
“Had I known you were still alive…” I say quietly as I hug my daughter for the first time.
“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” Scootaloo tells me. We stayed together like this for a few minutes before she let go of me.
“Where have you been this entire time?” I ask her.
“I was in Ponyville. It’s one of the few towns that have an orphanage.” She answers before looking back to her mother and mom.
“Dash and Shy came to me a few years ago, and offered to adopt me. I agreed, and the rest is as you can expect.” She says before moving to her new family, and embracing them both. I smile at the heartwarming sight before remembering what these two did just six hours ago.
“I’m going to need you both to return custody to me.” I say in sadness, knowing that the laws I have to keep are going to tear this family apart.
“WHAT!?” Rainbow Dash shouts at me. I sigh before standing up, and moving over to the small bookshelf I have in my office, and pulling down the newest edition of Equestria’s laws.
“Because I now cannot put you in the celera extractor, I have to resort to a different punishment.” I say as I return to my desk, and open the book before stopping on the page that I needed to explain this.
“Why would you take Scootaloo from us?” Fluttershy asks in anger.
“It is the only other way I can punish the two of you without killing either of you, and I can read to you the law that this covers.” I answer before looking down to the book that I had set on the desk, and read aloud for them.
“Law of child custody, and additional exceptions. If a foal and its parents are separated for more than fifteen years then whoever adopted the foal during those fifteen years is now the permanent legal guardian. However, should either parent be found, reunited etc. and the adoptive parents are both unfit for caring for the child by either not having a suitable living space, not being able to provide of the child’s needs, are abusive, or have committed a serious crime, then the child will be returned to the biological parent if the biological parent can provide for the child in all aspects listed above.” I look up to the now wide eyed pegasi mares before me, and close the book.
“You both admitted to committing murder. You are legally unfit for caring for Scootaloo, so by law she is to return to my custody until both of your punishments are dealt, and carried out.” I say with a firm tone, but I was screaming at myself on the inside to disobey the laws for just this once. My loyalty to the system won that conflict.
“I’m sorry.” I say before pulling out a scroll with my seal on the upper left corner before quickly penning a letter to the Princesses about what had transpired.
“What’s going to happen to us?” Scootaloo asks in fear, confusion, and panic. I froze at those words, my heart tearing at me to stop what I was doing.
“I have to take you away from these two.” I say before finishing the letter. I soak the scroll in my magic before sending it directly to the Princesses high priority notice carrier so that either of them would be notified within the next three hours.
Before another word could be said there is a blinding flash of light in front of the four of us before Princess Celestia is left standing there in the light’s wake.
“Dark Spectrum, is what you sent me true?” She asks me. I nod before looking over to the family behind her, and coughing to let her know that her rear is on display.
She looks behind her, and sees the three pegasi before moving around to my side.
“And why haven’t they been fed to the extractor?” She asks me in a hushed tone.
“They have my long lost daughter, and had saved her from an orphanage. I see this as a small mercy as a thanks for bringing her to me. You also told me to not kill any parents, or you would cut off my horn.” I whisper to the solar goddess. She looks to Scootaloo with widened eyes.
“Young one, what is your name, and who was your mother?” Celestia asks my daughter.
“My name is Scootaloo, and my mother was Cloudy Sunset.” Scootaloo says with wide eyes as she gazes into the Solar Princess’s eyes.
“The doctors told me you died.” Celestia says as her eyes narrowed.
“Dark, are you sure she isn’t a changeling?” Celestia asks me.
“I used a high class DNA spell to be sure your majesty.” I say with a nod. She nods a few times in thought, and looks between me and the others in my office.
“Well, since Lord Spectrum cannot feed you both to the extractor for the simple reason of you both caring for Young Scootaloo, and for the mercy he wishes to provide, you will return legal custody to Dark Spectrum, and be removed from the factory permanently without a chance to be re-hired at a later date.
“You have ten days to have all of Scootaloo’s belongings at Dark Spectrum’s home before an even harsher punishment is issued.” The Princess says as she summons forth a small stack of legal documents, and sets them on my desk.
Scootaloo looks up to me with heartbreak in her eyes, and tears streaming down her cheeks. I close my eyes before a few tears leak from them.
“Princess, if possible, I would like to move to Ponyville, and purchase a home there. I also wish to retire from my position as the factory’s manager. I am growing too old for the daily tasks, and I will still allow Scootaloo to visit her adoptive parents, so long as I am with her for these visits.” I say as I look to the small photo of my dearest Cloudy, and knowing that she would approve of this.
“Dark, are you sure this is wise?” She asks me in return. I look into her eyes with my tired, and stinging pair. I blink once before shaking my head.
“No, but I couldn’t live with myself if I tore my daughter from the ones that saved her. I also know that my wife would have hated me if I didn’t at least ask for this.” I say before looking over to Scootaloo, who now has hope in her eyes, and the two mares behind her have tears of approval for me silently streaming down their faces. When I return my gaze to Celestia, I see she has a small smile, and pride in her eyes for my questions, and reasons.
“Then it shall be. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will be punished for the murder of an innocent filly by returning the custody of Scootaloo to her biological father, who will be retiring and moving down to Ponyville, and as thanks for his long years of service to Equestria, will be granted any unoccupied house of his choosing, payed for by the crown. Scootaloo will be able to visit her adoptive parents twice a week with her father accompanying her to ensure that nothing of legal note happens.” Celestia declares before a few pages of the stack on my desk are removed, and replaced with new edited versions.
“Thank you Princess.” I say with my head bowed before Scootaloo jumps over my desk with the help of her growing wings and tackle hugs me before quiet sobs can be heard from her.
I softly smile before returning my daughter’s embrace.
“If that is all that needs to be done then I shall take my leave. Dark, please read and sign the documents I have left you before returning them to me, or giving them to the mayor of Ponyville.” The Princess says before she looks to the couple on the other side of my desk.
“Be warned you two, you were spared out of pure luck, and given a kindness greater than my own. I will not be so forgiving should we meet like this again.” With those words said, Celestia lights her horn and, with a bright flash, teleports back to her Castle.
“Scootaloo, you need to come with me for tonight while your mothers pack your things to be moved to our new home. And we need to go choose our new home.” I say with a small smile before we all make our way out of the now unoccupied office.
Before the door shuts, I light my horn, and levitate a few of my things out with me. First and foremost was my picture of Cloudy Sunset, and a small Photo Album of the two of us.
I look over my picture of Cloudy with a sad smile.
“Is that mom?” Scootaloo asks me. I smile as a tear falls from my eyes, and lands on the medal walkways of the forbidden machines.
“Yes, and you look so much like her.” I say before letting her hold the photo.
“Wow, your right, I do look like her. The only difference is our mane colors, and styles.” She says to me. I chuckle before looking up to the Celera Extractors.
“Yes, and I know she is very proud of you for surviving for so long on your own, and is even happier that you found a family to live with.” I say as we exit the darkest room of the factory, and exit the factory itself.
I see that the clouds are glowing in a rich orange and red of the sunset, and I smile as more tears fall.
Scootaloo sees this, and jumps up onto my back, and embraces me. As my tears fall freely now, I look towards the sunset, and see a bright burning orange mare, with a deep red mane flying to the sun, and I know that the mare I saw, was the spirit of my Sunset, finally moving on to the greenest pastures of paradise.