//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Fate and Fear // Story: Cloudsdale: The Flutterfamily Chronicle // by Fluttersnake31 //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Fate and Fear I hate blood tests… They always hurt for the rest of the day. Rainbow Dash thought as she finally got back into her room in what felt like days. She layed down onto her bed and then fell asleep (although she was trying to stay awake). When she woke up in the morning, she went downstairs to see if her parents were home. She saw her mother eating a sandwich. No dad home, typical. She went over to start making herself some food. “Hey mom, when’s dad getting home today?” She asked her mother. “He is home, but he’s busy downstairs… There is.. Something he wants to show you I think. Has something to do with your tests yesterday. Rainbow Dash was excited now that her dad was home in the morning, that hasn’t happened in a long, long, time. She went downstairs into the basement entrance where a large heavy door protected with passwords stood in front of her. She was never allowed down here because she could get infected with all the bad chemicals and viruses her father worked with trying to make new cures and such. She waited for a little while until her father came and opened the door for her. She went up and hugged him as soon as she saw him but he had a grim look on his face. “Dad, what’s wrong?” She asked. “I don’t think you want to know Rainbow… It’s about Fluttershy…” Rainbow Dash assumed the worst, “Oh no dad what happened? Is she still alive?” “It’s worse than death dear… She wrote us a note… She blames us for her fall and said she hated you and if you ever see her again she’ll hurt you… She said she pretended about the whole shy thing, it was just a trick to use us… especially you… I’m so sorry Rainbow Dash…” Rainbow Dash had another flood of emotions. She felt guilty for knocking her off that cloud, she felt confused because Fluttershy wouldn’t hurt her only friend, and she felt anger that she used her family for her own benefits. Rainbow Dash knew that Fluttershy’s garden and mini house costed a lot of money from her parents… In two more years, they were going to graduate flight school together. Now Rainbow Dash will be alone or have to make new friends. Her anger grew over all the other emotions now. “I will make her pay for using us! And for using my family! I will have revenge on hers!” Rainbow Dash said in frustration. “Rainbow Dash, we can’t blame her family for all this, her parents were nice people.” Her father gently stated. “I don’t care about her anymore, we did everything for her and this is what we get? I’ll um… I’ll probably kill her if I see her again!” Rainbow Dash replied. Again, her father spoke in a soft voice, “Now Rainbow Dash, killing isn’t nice.” “Dad, she used us, she made me feel like a fool not even realizing I was on radio! I should’ve said yes to that mare, and if I see her I will kill her!” She was very annoyed and angry now. At that statement, her father started heading into the basement Rainbow Dash never was allowed to see before. Confused somewhat, Rainbow Dash started to follow. They were going along this long underground path with tons of strange technological stuff that Rainbow Dash has never seen before. It seemed like miles, but eventually they entered a strange facility with pipes and chains and many other technological stuff. “Where are we dad?” The young filly asked. She got no response. They went into some separate offices and then Rainbow Dash noticed signs posted all over reading DANGER or TOXIC and other related things that spelled out to her that this wasn’t a place to play in. Then they entered a larger room. They were standing on a scaffolding looking over an empty room down below, except for some giant machine and six large vats of different colors. “This is where I work Rainbow. I am the manager here, and this is my factory.” Her father finally spoke. “Um… cool? So what exactly do you do here? Make pudding?” Rainbow Dash was now more confused than anything else. “No Rainbow, but that would be fun too… We make rainbows here.” A spark of insanity appeared in her father’s eyes as he spoke the last sentence. “Oh! Rainbows! That’s totally awesome dad! I wanna make a rainbow! But why did you keep it a secret? Wouldn’t you want to tell anyone?” “Now this is the part where you just have to trust me and not be scared, dear, can you do that?” Her father said while getting lower to look her in the eyes. “Of course dad, what’s to be afraid of?” Rainbow Dash said excited to learn about real rainbows. Her father took a deep breath. “A long, long time ago, Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna from the world and trapped her into the moon. Luna’s duty to Equestria, the raising and lowering the moon, needed to be done by Celestia due to Luna’s absence. Celestia already had the tasks of raising the sun and bringing rainbows to all ponies. But when Luna wasn’t there, Celestia had to take care of the sun and moon and gave authority of the rainbows to powerful unicorns. However, eventually those unicorns became old and their magic was weakening. They needed to find another way to create Spectra, the individual colors of a rainbow, so they searched for the smartest engineers around and found an engineer named Dr. Atmosphere, a colt at the time, but was smarter than most stallions I know at his age.” At that point a young stallion wearing a lab coat came in. “May I finish the story Sir?” The stallion asked. “Not today, Dr. Atmosphere, i’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash’s father replied and continued the story, “As I was saying, Dr. Atmosphere here figured out a way to extract the Spectra, this pure color, from things using a machine. But we tried using many things to extract from, but nothing gave us colors good enough for rainbow use… We tried with flowers, with butterflies, with bunnies, birds, squirrels, we tried every pure substance in Equestria, except one… We had sworn not to use ponies. It was cruel and evil for our intentions, but as time was running out, we were left with no choice. The last heirs of the great rainbow unicorns were dying out, so we took a pony from the prison, a pony who was known for a mass murder at the time and was sentenced to stay in the jail forever. There was no hope left in that pony when we asked to use him for this scientific breakthrough. He agreed even knowing that he could die in the process. He was old and pleading for forgiveness and we gave in. We found out what the machine truly wanted, what it’s preferred main dish was… Our machine needed to be live ponies. We learned quickly that magic and Spectra ran freely together in pony DNA. At first it was a horrible conclusion, having to use ponies to get perfect quality colors, but over time, we realized that it was a good way to enact justice on ponies who broke major laws. Back then, it was common, but over time, we got rid of all the criminals… We had to improvise. We created new laws, more harsher, laws. That’s why your mother runs the police and news here in Cloudsdale. I became a doctor and brought in terminal patients or ponies stuck in coma that were allowed to be taken off of the life support. But, we’re running out of ways to get more ponies…. I need your help because one day, you will take my position.” Rainbow Dash was stunned. She was horrified of the fact that ponies were being killed here every day! But was curious about the whole process and wanted to know more, even to help clear the world of criminals. She could be like a superhero! But she didn’t want to kill anyone… But wait, I do want to kill someone… Just one….. Fluttershy… She betrayed me after I helped her! At that, her anger returned and didn’t care about anything else except exacting her revenge on that traitorous filly! “Dad, I only want to kill Fluttershy, and that’s it. She was the one to hurt my feelings and we need to do justice! I want her found and killed!” Rainbow Dash said angrily. “It’s about time, my daughter, we eliminate that family.” Rainbow Dash was confused again, “But I said just Fluttershy dad. Nobody else.” “Rainbow Dash, did you know that her parents were criminals?” “What? They are? Is that why they had to leave?” “Yes, but they didn’t leave, they were put in prison. In exchange for their daughter’s life, they went to prison.” Rainbow Dash’s father explained. “Fluttershy was born on the day Celestia came into town to open the new hospital. Nobody was to use that hospital but Fluttershy’s parents snuck into the back of the hospital and used its facilities. Her father was another doctor I worked with and knew how everything worked. I found out two years later and had to fire him. Your mother noticed a law stating if anypony was in the hospital while Celestia was in Cloudsdale that day, they would go straight to prison. They must have found out before they were taken in because they begged that we would take care of Fluttershy but to change her name so she wouldn’t be sent to prison. “ “So I have to find her and bring her here to enforce justice on her. I will find her!” Rainbow Dash said. “First, I need to know if you can go through with putting someone in the machine.” Rainbow Dash replied, “Of course I can, I have to!” “Can you take care of her father to prove so?” Her father persuaded. “Well, he broke the law and I’m angry with his daughter, so sure.” Rainbow Dash emotionlessly said. Her father then made two distinct stomps on the ground and two masked ponies came in with an old golden pony with a faded dark blue mane. He was strapped to some kind of lift on wheels and they gave it over to Rainbow Dash. She took it with a blank look on her face. No emotions ran though her. It was the same way she dealt with blood tests and it worked, so why change it? She wheeled him to the opposite side of the scaffolding and opened a part of the fence that was over the maw of the Spectra machine. “Any last words Mr. Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked. The old pony replied, “You are ruined child and can never find the same friendship you had with my daughter.” This enraged Rainbow Dash. She turned the old man around to face her and bit all the straps off with her teeth and turned around and bucked him into the great machine. She turned and watched him fall in, being crushed, ripped apart, stabbed by machinery that sucked whatever life he still had left in him out. Blood spewed out of the top of the machine all over the cyan filly. Her shocked staring turned into a look of content, which turned into a look of happiness, which turned to an overjoyed face of madness. Nothing remained of the old pony except the beautiful colors being spit out into the yellow and blue vats of color. When it was all over, Rainbow Dash was happy. She hadn’t felt anything like this since she got her cutie mark, which was actually tingling in memory of it, or a second half was finished of it, she didn’t know, she didn’t care. She was happy for the first time in what seemed like weeks, even if it was only two days. It was time to search for Fluttershy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Fluttersnake woke up, he realized he had injured his left wing. He was in a great deal of pain and needed medical attention. He was back in the unused kitchen and it was almost morning. He stumbled out the back door somewhat uneasy about the fact that all the guards are gone. He needed to save that old pony, He reminded Fluttersnake of his father in looks, but he couldn’t be that old if that was the case… It’s been so long but he wasn’t going to take any chances. When he got into the main town some of the older ponies just stared at him, some looked confused, some with disgust. What’s up with all them? They don’t know me… Unless they think I’m my sister… I know she’s not too good a flier but I’m sure she never had people stare like this just cause of that… Fluttersnake made it to the hospital finally after all those stares and was taken in to be fixed up. The doctor working with him finished and gave Fluttersnake some pain relief medicine. As Fluttersnake was leaving, he saw a doctor who had a cyan blue mane rushing out the door. Why was that guy in a hurry? I wonder if he knows anything about Thunderstar. Fluttersnake stalked the doctor all the way to a large mansion that everyone knows who owns. I followed Rainbow Dash’s father? Oops… Wait! He knew my father! If I can manage to get his help, I can save that old pony if he really is dad! Fluttersnake snuck into the house using an open window on the second floor. It was like trotting into an acid trip. Colors and rainbows were everywhere, including various posters of the Wonderbolts. This must be Rainbow Dash’s room… only fillies like her would have the Wonderbolts on her walls…Ick…. He snuck downstairs and saw a colorful haired mare sitting facing outside half asleep. He snuck past and went downstairs to a metal door left slightly open. He entered not knowing where this went shutting the door quietly behind him. He went down the long hallway until he reached some offices. He cautiously looked around them for random information he could use. He didn’t find anything too interesting until the third room where he found files of all the criminals in the prisons for the past 15 years. He searched through it until he found what he was looking for. His father was accused of some ridiculous felony same with his mother. But it said that she was terminated. His father was going to be killed! He had to stop whatever was going on here! Then, there was noise outside the door of something loud crashing and whirring and other industrial noises that doubled in volume. He snuck into the room and saw the pony with the cyan mane, two masked ponies next to him, Rainbow Dash, and blood squirting out of a giant machine in the middle of the room. Fluttersnake pulled out his tranquilizer and fired at Rainbow Dash, the pony who killed his father. This notified all the other ponies in the room. The two masked ponies ran towards him but were both tranquilized before they were within 10 hooves away. The cyan mane pony looked at Fluttersnake. “About time you got here! It’s time for you to join this man in a beautiful rainbow!” The doctor said while laughing maniacally. “Who was that man you had your daughter kill!?” Yelled Fluttersnake “I killed Fluttershy’s father! He broke the law and I dealt him justice, and Fluttershy is next!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Confused, Fluttersnake took a few steps back lowering his gun, “How did my tranquilizer not work on you!?” “Ahahahahaha! You foal! I made sure she was immune to things like that! I knew that one day, it would be necessary! And now you can die with the rest of your family!” Then Thunderstar charged towards Fluttersnake and hit him full force. Fluttersnake was stunned so bad he couldn’t move. He was hit full force by the sound and shockwave of Thunderstar’s attack. Thunderstar picked up Fluttersnake and dropped him in front of Rainbow Dash. “Do it my child, throw him in!” Thunderstar commanded excitedly. Rainbow Dash saw the last memories of Fluttershy run through her head. She missed her friend, but doing this will soothe her mind. This ponies’ resemblance to her friend would be close enough to Fluttershy if she made herself believe he is her right? She didn’t want to kill him though… He wasn’t her. Just then, Thunderstar lost his patience and took Fluttersnake and was about to throw him in. NO! You can’t kill him, it’s my job! I have to do this father!! She instinctively turned around and bucked in their direction. She heard a loud, painful scream. She accidentally pushed her father in! OH NO!!!!! WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!! “FATHER!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!” She shrieked. Her father became a mangled mess but Fluttersnake was barely holding onto the scaffolding, also screaming in pain. Blood was everywhere. Fluttersnake was covered in Thunderstar’s blood and his own, as he got cut up severely on his back legs. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and pulled Fluttersnake out. She too was covered in blood. She opened her eyes after bringing Fluttersnake up and out of the machine. His lower calves of his back legs were shredded, blood was pouring out of the wounds. “R-rainbow, don’t take it out on my sister, promise…. Leave…. Her…….Safe…..Ponyville…” Fluttersnake spit out between coughs and his whole body shaking. “I promise, but I have to continue my father’s will. I still hate her, but I promise not to hurt her.” Rainbow Dash replied. “Th-thank….. you…….” Fluttersnake said, his life nearly gone. Then she whispered into Fluttersnake’s ear as the last thing to run through his head, “But from now on, this place will be known as the Rainbow Factory, and not a single soul will ever get through.” With that, the young filly let out a laugh even more insane than her father’s laugh, the laugh echoed throughout the entire factory……