//------------------------------//
// Ignition's Spark 
// Story: Eljunbyro 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"H-how far until we reach the t-top?!" Belle stammered, hanging dearly to Rainbow's leg.

Rainbow grinned as she bolted up, up, up towards the lavender glow.  "Until we hit something!"

"Th-that's not very encouraging!"

"If you wanted encouragement, you grabbed onto the wrong pegasus!"

"Do not worry, beloved!"  Pilate exclaimed as he held onto Dalton.  "I'm quite certain Rainbow Dash knows what she's doin—Aaaugh!" He gasped as his body surged in Rainbow's grip.

The pegasus had come to a stop, hovering within the hollow of a domed alcove.  A circular wall of consoles surrounded the group, covered with levers and switches and knobs.  As Rainbow's pendant flickered red, the golden aura caught up with her body, making the tiny room turn bright as day.

"Well, if this place doesn't look... nice and complicated?"

"Where in Spark's name are we?" Pilate exclaimed.

"Oh, so now you're panicking!"  Rainbow Dash chuckled, looking every which way.  "Hang on a sec, lemme just... Here!"  She reached for a lever that was glowing the brightest shade of lavender before her eyes.  After yanking it, the walls shook, and a platform of metal extended in a circular pattern along the interior of the place.  "Let's let you guys have a breather, huh?"

She placed Belle, Pilate, and Dalton down.  Belle reached over and checked on Dalton before giving Pilate a gentle nuzzle.  She held her beloved close as she squatted on the platform with him, gazing curiously up at Rainbow Dash.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm not all that sure, but if this works as well as it did last time..."  Rainbow Dash licked her lips and started grabbing levers and knobs at random.  "Then the world outside is gonna get a new fashion statement."

"You've done this sort of thing before?"

"Kinda, sorta."  Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly as she twisted knobs and pulled at levers.  With each manipulation, the lavender light dimmed rewardingly in her vision.  "I was a bit preoccupied at the time."

"With what?"

"Oh, it's all foggy.  All I can think of is floating lightning balls, ugly gas masks, and a bunch of dead foals."

"Wait... what... I... huh...?"

"Exactly."  Rainbow Dash pulled hard at a lever.  Suddenly, a loud hum filled the chamber, echoing down into the bowels of the machine realm below them.  "Ha!  Success!  Er... I think."

Belle's ears drooped as her face winced.

"Hey, don't be so freaked out," Rainbow Dash said.  "This formula always works for me.  Lavender light... flank kicking... machine fiddling... escape!"

"I... I don't..."  Belle's eyes narrowed.  "Lavender light?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Pilate said, then gasped as the entire place started shaking.

Even Rainbow Dash had to stop hovering.  She gripped onto a side of the chamber and held on, her knees smacking together as the alcove shook more and more violently.

"I don't get it!"  Belle shrieked, hugging Pilate close as her face paled.  "What did you do?!  Are we m-moving?"

"Feels like it," Pilate murmured.

"Yes, but where to?"

"If you wanna take my bet?"  Rainbow Dash smirked with sparkling eyes.  "Up!"

The ponies clung to themselves and Dalton, keeping steady as Rainbow Dash's dry chuckles added to the cacophony of the moment.  Bright beams of gold light emanated from the console and swam down into the depths of the metallic place.

As the glowing lines wormed their way down, they illuminated the shivering body of a muscular stallion.  Seething through his teeth, a bruised and bloodied Shell was in the midst of yanking telekinetically at a loose strip of metal.  After much grunting and effort, he snapped the platinum shard loose and levitated over beside another one.  With a pained expression, he began forming a rough splint around his broken forelimb.

When the glow of the place reached him, he paused in his agonizing ordeal and glanced up—sweating and panting—as the machine world came to life around him.  Gears moved, conveyor belts hummed to life, and pistons thrusted faster and faster.  The air filled with a rusted smell, humming with something not quite like mana, yet more powerful.

He gulped and murmured aloud, "It's her..."