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// Section 5: To Cloudsdale 
// Story: Into the Rainbow Factory 
// by Ractrin 
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Scootaloo peered into Rainbow’s bedroom and saw her laying on her bed, her back to the door. She heard the cyan pony crying, and could see her chest rising abruptly with each sob. She walked over to her and laid a hoof on her chest. Rainbow jumped and looked over her shoulder. She sighed and rolled back to facing the wall. “Go away squirt” she said annoyed.
“What’s wrong Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked concerned. Rainbow wiped away some of her tears and rolled over to face the young filly.
“I-I can’t make it to your exam tomorrow.” she finally said, her eyes not looking at Scootaloo’s. Scootaloo made a surprised whinny.
“Why not?” she asked, her ears now flat on her head.
“My job in Cloudsdale…they want me to go to Appleloosa tomorrow.”
“Appleloosa? What’s so important about Appleloosa!?” Scootaloo spun around and sat on Rainbow’s bed, her arms crossed.
“Look, kid, you don’t need me there to do an awesome job.” Rainbow said as she sat up, holding herself with one hoof.
“It’s just, I’ve always imagined my big sister there to cheer me on.” Scootaloo said harshly.
“But you don’t have a-”
“You’re my big sister Rainbow Dash. Ever since we first met I’ve looked up to you as the big sister I never had!”
“Scootaloo I-”
“No Rainbow Dash, if you don’t wanna come to my exam tomorrow that’s fine. I understand that you’re not very rich and need all the bits you can get.” Scootaloo hopped off Rainbow’s bed and started to storm away. 

Before she could get a whole four set of steps Rainbow dashed off the bed and was embracing the orange foal. At first Scootaloo was reluctant, but after a moment she finally returned Rainbow’s hug.
“I’m not doing it for the money.” Rainbow finally said after a few moments. “I’m doing it to protect you.” they separated and Rainbow made a weak smile.
“Protect me? From what?”
“I’m trying to make sure you won’t be deported.”
“What, you don’t trust me to pass my test?” Scootaloo’s anger began to return.
“No of course I trust you…just…” she sighed and looked at the floor. “I can’t tell you either Scootaloo. What I’m doing tomorrow…is top secret.” Scootaloo’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“You’re going on a top secret mission!? Man I wish I was going with you! That’s so cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed in excitement. She hopped next to Rainbow and nuzzled her wing. “I knew you were totally awesome!” Rainbow looked at her surprised.
“So, you’re not mad at me?” she inquired with concern.
“Tartarus no. You’re going on a top secret mission. That’s totally awesome.” Rainbow sighed in relief.
“I really need to get to bed squirt. I gotta get up bright and early for that ‘mission’.” she said with an innocent grin.
“Of course! See you at the award ceremony?” Scootaloo asked as she began to trot out of the room.
“I can definitely make that.” Rainbow stated with a smile.
“SWEET!” Scootaloo zipped out of the room. 

Rainbow stared at the door for a moment and then let her smile drop into a remorseful frown. Her perked up ears fell flat again. She returned to her bed and laid in it, staring at the ceiling thinking of the next day. Images of faceless ponies standing in the Machine Room danced through her head. Her memories of how she enjoyed them falling into the machine played through many times.
“He’s right.” Rainbow muttered to herself. “That damn place has changed me.” she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Scootaloo trotted back into the living room to see Raptor and Orion arm wrestling over the cloud table in the middle of the room. Almost as soon as she entered the room Orion slammed Raptor’s fist into the table. “Geez, you ponies are strong.” Raptor stated as he held his arm.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m one of the weaker guys!” Orion said with a laugh. Scootaloo just shook her head and smiled as she joined Orion on the couch. Raptor examined Orion’s muscle structure and noticed that while he may be a weaker pony, being one in general gives him plenty of stamina. He looked at Scootaloo and noticed the same thing. Strong powerful fore legs that were capable of a lot of damage.

“It’s because y’all walk on all fours.” Raptor explained. “Y’alls muscle structure is built for it. I would hate to get into a fist fight with any of you guys.”
“So I could kick your ass with no problem?” Scootaloo asked jokingly.
“Most likely. Good thing I brought these.” he reached behind the chair and pulled one of the swords from its sheath. He held it up in front of him and smiled.
“What is that?” Orion asked with great curiosity,
“It’s a sword. It’s meant for rending people in two. Works very effectively against unarmored foes.”
“That looks cool. Can I hold it?” asked Scootaloo.

“Sure thing, just be careful, it’s really sharp” Raptor warned as he handed it to her. She took it in her mouth and looked up the blade. She stepped away from them and swung her head. The sword made a loud swooshing noise and caused Scootaloo to smile. “Uh…gimme that back please…I didn’t realize you would use your mouth.” Raptor said concerned. She chuckled slightly as she spat it back into his open palm. He checked for bite marks in the handle but found none. He re-sheathed it and looked at them. 

After Scootaloo had returned to her side of the couch Orion had begun talking to her about Ponyville. Raptor watched for a moment uninterested. He found the planet he was on very out of the ordinary. Everything ran by magic produced from the ponies. It had his concept of the universe in a bind. He laid back on the chair drowning out Scootaloo and Orion’s conversation and pondered about what he had been told, that there was no such thing as magic. Anything that would seem like magic was actually produced from spirit energy, or energy put off by one’s soul that can be manipulated. He glanced over at the two ponies and wondered if maybe it was their spirit energy that made it seem so magical. Maybe Unicorns’ horns were a Spirit Energy Conductor like the two swords he had and that was why they could use “magic” so well. He couldn’t shake the thought of it. If the land was magical then maybe it was somehow alive as well? Maybe God created it as a world allowed for magic? His ponderings soon led him into a fast sleep. 

Hours later, Rainbow Dash jerked awake from her slumber by a nightmare she had. She shook her head and sighed in relief to know it was just a dream. She sat up and looked out of her bedroom window at the starry night. She saw where the moon was positioned and decided it was early enough to go get ready to leave for her task. Lazily, she hopped out of bed and hovered over to the bathroom. She used it and then walked to her closet. In it laid a black suit that would cover every portion of her body. She had only worn it once or twice, the first time being when she tried to steal the Danger-do book from Ponyville Medical a few years back. She donned it and then slid the hood over her head, completely concealing any recognizable features about herself. Her rainbow mane and lighting bolt cutie mark were well hidden, as well as her cyan coat. Only thing visible was her rosy eyes and rainbow tale. She quickly took some black dye out of the closet and ran it through her tail. She made sure that every last inch of color was covered in black ink. Her eyes weren’t a concern to her, after all, a lot of ponies had rosy colored eyes. 

Quietly she started to sneak out of her bedroom and past everyone asleep in the living room. Orion held Scootaloo between his front hooves on the couch and Raptor snored on the chair. Just as she walked past him he shook and opened his eyes. She looked at him nervous about what he was going to ask. He simply looked at her, shook his head in apparent disappointment and then went back to sleep. She sighed in relief and then continued out of her house. She stood on the porch looking over Ponyville. 

Watching all the dark houses, she took in a deep breath and then leapt into the air like a rocket. She flew at a steady moderate pace. It would be a good few hours of flight to Appleloosa so she wanted to make sure she didn’t wear her self out by flying to fast. She knew that she was supposed to meet up with some pegasus pony there that would help her maintain order with any of the mercenaries that got to curious about what they were doing, but she didn’t know where in Appleloosa. She had only been there one other time and she was to busy fighting buffalo to take in the scenery. Also it was a long time ago, how could anypony expect her to remember such details.

Raptor shot up in his chair in a cold sweat. After he had watched Rainbow Dash leave the house had been having a nightmare about pools of blood that poured into a rainbow puddle below them. No matter how much blood flowed the puddle never got any bigger. He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. “Where did the blood come from?” he thought. He fought to remember the dream. He looked up at the two sleeping foals when he remembered. The blood was pouring out
of Scootaloo and Orion’s sides as they were chained up above him. “Blood and rainbows, they were from them?” he looked up, past the ceiling, past the atmosphere of the planet. “God why are you giving me these visions? What does this place havta do with’em?” he laid back down and stared at the ceiling. 

He wished he could be in the black marble room that God always pulled him to whenever he had something important to tell him. He wished he could ask God directly, instead of the usual way. Face to Face was always the way he preferred to talk, even to God. He let out a sigh of irritation and watched the two ponies sleep for a moment. Upon seeing how Orion was holding Scootaloo, he chuckled. 

He jumped up and went into the kitchen. He knew that Rainbow had nothing but grass to eat but he figured he may have overlooked some vegetables or fruit. Digging through some cupboards he finally found some carrots and tomatoes. “I know Rainbow Dash wouldn’t mind me eating these…I hope.” he sat them in front of him on the kitchen table and sighed. He didn’t want to be rude and just eat someone else’s food. He hoped Scootaloo would be a wake soon so he could ask her for permission. He walked over to the living room and noticed the two were face to face with one another. Scootaloo was tucked in tight to Orion, her hooves curled up in front of her so that his could be around her. Their snouts were together. “Ahem” Raptor coughed. They both separated their faces and looked at him.
“Oh uh…hey Raptor” mumbled Orion.
“So I guess y’all are together now huh? I musta missed a lot when I fell asleep.” Raptor chuckled as he leaned on the door frame.
“Yeah I couldn’t wait till this afternoon, I had to ask her last night.” Orion grinned down at Scootaloo. Raptor huffed and looked out the window.

“So when’s y’all’s  exam?” he asked as he returned his gaze to them.
“About three, why?” asked Orion as he tried to sit up. Scootaloo opened her wings and lifted up, sliding out from Orion’s hold. Her doing this flipped him over onto his back with a surprised look. She looked down at him with a innocent smile. He flopped off the couch and walked over to the window, Scootaloo landing next to him. “It’s not for another couple of hours. We don’t havta be there till about noon.”

“Good, lets go get some breakfast. I’m starved.” he said as he returned into the kitchen and put everything away. Scootaloo walked up to the door way and watched him for a moment. 
“Why didn’t you just eat that?” she asked looking at the food he was putting away.
“Because, I’m not sure if I have permission to.” he said as he closed a cupboard.
“Permission?” she raised an eyebrow and then started laughing. “I’m sure Rainbow would be okay with you eating anything here Raptor.”
“I figured as much,” he said walking over to her, “but I didn’t want to be rude.”
“That’s rather nice of you, I guess.” she said as they walked into the living room.
“So what’s a Human eat for breakfast?” Orion asked as he peered down on Ponyville.
“Eggs, bacon, or pancakes.” Raptor replied as he walked over to the chair to retrieve his stuff.
“Eggs?” Orion asked looking over his shoulder at him. “That’s rather nasty.”
“Well y’all are herbivores like I said. However,” he pulled on his stuff and looked at Scootaloo, “Do you know a place that sells pancakes?”
“Yeah, Sugar Cube Corner.” she said with a smile.
“Wait isn’t that where Pinkie Pie lives?” Orion asked as he hopped off the window seal. Scootaloo looked at him with a smile.
“Yep!” she grinned. Both Raptor and Orion sighed.
“Anywhere else?” Orion groaned.
“Well, yeah, but Sugar Cube Corner has chocolate chip pancakes.” she said licking her lips.
“Chocolate chip? Pfft, gimme some regular ones.” Raptor laughed as he walked to the door. 

Orion huffed as he joined Raptor at the door.
“You okay Orion?” Raptor asked.
“Yeah, I’m just not so sure about going to Sugar Cube Corner. I mean, Pinkie’s okay and all…just she’s rather annoying.” he said with a subtle frown.
“I got it!” exclaimed Scootaloo, causing Raptor and Orion both to look at her. “Screw Sugar Cube Corner! We can go to Sky Cloud’s Breakfast Shoppe!”
“Oh wow. I haven’t eaten there in years.”  said Orion with a grin.
“Yeah, me nether! Mom usta take me all the time when we lived in Cloudsdale. I passed by there a few days ago so I know Mr. Sky’s shop is still open!”
“It’s in Cloudsdale?” Raptor asked curiously. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at him.
“Rainbow was right, you don’t listen very well.”
“I was just making sure, Scoots-a-loo.” Raptor mocked causing Orion to chuckle slightly. She glared at Orion for a moment with him finally speaking to break the silence.
“Anyway, because it’s in Cloudsdale we won’t have to worry about being late for the exam.” he said with a smile as Scootaloo still glared. She sighed and walked past them opening the door and continuing outside.

“Yeah you’re right.” she said as she looked back at them. “Besides, I can’t wait to get that fucker outta the way.” she lifted up and waited for the two men to join her. Orion walked out first as Raptor looked at the porch timidly. He stepped out very carefully in an attempt to not fall again. As he put all his weight onto the porch his foot slipped from under him and planted him on his back inside the doorway. The two Pegasi just chuckled in amusement at his clumsiness. 
“I certainly hope none of these clouds are in Cloudsdale.” Raptor huffed as he picked himself up and straightened his backpack on his back.
“No promises.” Orion chuckled as Raptor climbed on his back. They lifted up, joining Scootaloo, and headed off to Cloudsdale. 

Raptor watched Ponyville fade in the distance and relaxed a bit as he made himself comfortable. Orion was a very stable flyer, even if he wasn’t confident in himself. Orion glanced over his shoulder to make sure Raptor was okay and then noticed Scootaloo was trailing behind. He slowed down to even himself with her and looked at her with concern. “Are you alright!?” he yelled over the wind.
“I’m fine!” she returned. “I’m just don’t want to stress my wing before the examination!”
“Okay!” Satisfied, Orion put a little bit more distance between them to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally drift into one another.