Twilight slowly opened her eyes. The trips were becoming easier to the point where she could simply close her eyes and wait to open them when her hooves touched the ground. The first thing that Twilight noticed were the sounds. There were noises coming in every direction. Everything sounded like it was moving. Steam was shooting out from somewhere and heavy metal objects were clanking and groaning.
Then there were the sights; Twilight was currently standing on a gangplank being suspended by chains. To Twilight's surprise, it seemed to go on for quite some distance. It met up with some others that inter locked with it but it just kept going. Twilight glanced to her right and saw rows and rows of large tanks. All of them appeared rusty and steam was filtering out of them. Twilight glanced to her left and saw the same thing. But she could also see a wall made of what appeared to be some kind of solid metallic cloud.
Twilight ran of hoof through her mane, “I must be in Cloudsdale.” Twilight glanced around her again. “I don’t remember there being such a big factory the last time I was in Cloudsdale. But then again, I am in another Equestria. Is it possible that this Equestria or at least Cloudsdale has entered some sort of new industrial revolution?”
Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought just a smell wafted into her nose. Twilight scrunched her face as she swatted the air with her hoof. “Ugh, what is that smell? I can’t place it but Celestia that smells awful.” Twilight swatted the air again. “Ok, just need to ignore it for now. If the piece is in the factory then at least I won’t have to look far. Maybe I should look for somepony in charge.”
Twilight glanced in front and behind. Unsure which way to go, she flipped the bit in her head. Heads go forward, tails go back. The imaginative coin landed on heads. Twilight nodded to herself and began walking.
*
After a good 10 minutes or so of walking, the tanks that surrounded her ended and room opened up a bit as the floor below her also dipped downwards. She could now see several tanks filled with different colors and a strange machine attached to all of them. It looked like some kind of scalpel at the end of a large syringe attached to a large jar. Gears and wires and other components Twilight could not recognize also covered the device. The scalpel device was facing a silver board with a large open ring attached to it. Twilight cocked her head slightly, unsure of what a crazy device like it could be used for. Her eyes fell back onto the colored tanks. “Am I in some kind of-“
Twilight did not get to finish that thought as a flood of pegasi came flying in from another part of the factory. Twilight jumped in surprise as young fillies flew past while older ones wearing lab coats flew from behind. Twilight blinked in surprised as she recognized the one leading the flock. It was Scootaloo.
“What in the world?”
Scootaloo, the pony who was known by most to be one of the few pegasi possibly handicapped was currently flying right before her eyes. Twilight stared as she led the fillies upwards before turning around and flying back where Twilight had come. Twilight stared for a good minute in shock.
“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but I wonder what’s going on?”
Shaking her head, she decided perhaps it was best to find somepony who actually worked here, rather than try to chase Scootaloo down. “There’s no way for me to catch up anyways.” Twilight thought to herself.
Twilight glanced ahead of her and began to walk forward again. She glanced back up at the strange mechanism, keeping her eyes on it until it disappeared from sight. As she moved into the next room, Twilight could see she was surrounded by moving parts of all sorts. Things were pulling and pushing, but it was hard to see exactly what was going on. But one thing did catch Twilight’s eye. A certain rainbow haired Pegasus was standing down below on another scaffold looking agitated.
“Rainbow Dash? I wonder why this world's Rainbow works at a factory?” Twilight shook her head, “Guess I can ask that once I get down there.” Twilight stared at the scaffold far below her, “Now the only problem is getting down there.” Putting a hoof to her chin, she thought about teleporting down, the only problem was that if she misjudged it, she could end up face planting hard into the cloud like steel. Or going too far and missing entirely. No telling how that may go as the ground far below could be softer than it looks, but there was no real way to tell. Twilight also considered finding some stairs, but the only problem was that she had yet to find any so far.
Twilight glanced back and forth, between the way she came and a possible way she could go, but no stairs were in sight. Twilight thunked her hoof against her noggin, “Of course, this is a place for pegasi, why would anypony need stairs?” Then another thought entered Twilight’s mind, “Wait, instead of going to Rainbow, why not just have her come to me?”
Twilight took a deep breath and put the edge of her hoof into her mouth. What happened next was a large whistle that really did not make much sense in terms of how she made such a sound with her hoof, but hooves are one of life’s greatest mysteries. Rainbow nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the whistle. Quickly glancing upwards, she appeared even more shocked when her eyes locked on Twilight who casually waved back at her.
“Twilight?!”
Rainbow extended her wings and took off towards Twilight, landing right next to her in mere seconds. Her face went through so many mixed feelings, it was hard to tell what Rainbow was thinking about her right now other than complete surprise. “Twilight… What? How? Why are you here?!”
Twilight rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, “It’s kind of a long story. But I was hoping you could help me. See I really can’t explain how I got here but one thing I do know is that I have no clue where I am. I am sorry to bother you and I can tell that I have come at a bad time. If you could just tell me where I am and maybe how to get out of here, I will quickly get out of your mane.”
"Best not to make things any more difficult for her by wandering around. Who knows, maybe the piece isn't in the factory after all? Can't imagine how I am going to find it here anyways."
Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight silently, her jaw hanging open as her mind seemed to have completely broken. After a minute or so, Twilight began to worry she may have broken her when Rainbow suddenly slammed her forehoof into the railing. “No, you’re not supposed to be here. This is not right!” Rainbow Dash's breathing quickened as her body began to shake, “Why today of all days must you be here?!”
Rainbow breath quickened even more, she looked like she was on the edge of hyperventilating. Twilight took a step forward, placing her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, “Hey, calm down. Whatever is going on, I can help you. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
Rainbow’s eyes locked into Twilights, “You being here, that's what’s wrong.”
Twilight dropped her hoof and stepped back, “What do you mean?”
Rainbow slammed her hoof into the railing again. “Why today, why now?”
Twilight began to grow more worried, “Rainbow, what is going on? Why are you freaking out like this?”
Rainbow shook her head, “This is messed up. I have to be having a nightmare. It’s the only way this day could possibly make sense. First Scootaloo, now you too? Why are you all showing up here?”
Twilight frowned and tilted her head, “Rainbow, where is here? And why is Scootaloo here?”
Rainbow took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering, “Twilight, this is the Rainbow Factory. There are things here that no pony should ever know about. I never imagined things ever going so wrong in one day since I first took this job here. But everything is falling apart!”
Twilight took step forward and looked at Rainbow Dash sternly, “Rainbow? What in the world could be so secret about this place that it could make you act like this?”
Rainbow blinked as she suddenly began to calm herself, “You know what? It doesn’t matter.” Rainbow Dash extended her hoof, “Come on Twilight, I need to get you out of here now. It's clear to me you haven’t seen anything yet so if I get you out of here now and you promise to never speak of this to anypony, then maybe this day won’t be so bad.”
Twilight considered for a moment. It was possible she could get lost or hurt in a place like this. Maybe she could enlist the help of her friends down below. She was about to take up Rainbow's offer when a shiver ran down Twilight’s spine. Twilight’s face scrunched in confusion. Rainbow shook her hoof in the air. “Come on Twilight, what are you doing?”
Twilight shook her head, “Sorry, just felt a bit cold for some reason.”
Now that she thought about it, Rainbow looked… Different. Sure she was the same on the outside but her aura was fluctuating. No longer was it full of light and the feeling of loyalty. There was something dark brewing within her.
Twilight took another step back, “Rainbow, I want to go with you. But something about you seems off.”
Rainbow Dash facehooved, “Ugh, Twilight we don’t have time for this. I need to get you out of here now before it’s too late.”
Twilight felt her ears drop as another chill ran down her spine. There was something about this place and this Rainbow Dash that made her feel cold and somewhat scared. Maybe it would be best if she did get out of there. Twilight was about to extend her hoof when something of the corner of her eye appeared. Twilight and Rainbow both glanced off to the side and saw four pegasi carrying a small orange filly between them. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, “Damn it, the one time I wished these guys were a bit more incompetent.”
Twilight blinked in surprise as the pegasi got closer, the orange filly became clearer to see. She had a short purple mane, nice long wings and eyes that shown rebellion despite looking dazed and being held in place. No matter how crazy it was to Twilight, this was Scootaloo. “Things really do change depending on the world,” Twilight thought.
After getting over her initial shock, the next thought hit her like a train. “Why are they holding her like that?” Scootaloo was bound and being carried by four pegasi. What’s worst, she appeared to have a bit of blood running down her mouth. Her head was hanging low and seemed un-responsive.
Twilight looked back at Rainbow in surprise, “What’s going on?”
Rainbow looked back her Twilight, her aura growing darker as she did so. “Sorry Twilight. You should have just taken my hoof without a second thought. But now things have gotten complicated. Now that you know she is here, there is no way you aren’t going to tell anypony that. This may lead others to come here looking for her. Certain ponies we really don’t want to find out about the goings on of the place.”
Twilight jumped back, her stance changing to a more battle ready pose. “Rainbow, I demand you tell me what’s going on right now!”
“I am going to have to hold here forever now, that’s what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash screamed.
Twilight’s face fell, “But, we’re friends.” (Kind of.)
Rainbow glanced off to the left and nodded, “Twilight… This is the Rainbow Factory. Here we create the rainbows that send hope across Equestria. But what ponies don’t know, is what we use to make those rainbows.” Rainbow’s eyes fell on Scootaloo.
Twilight glanced between the two, the puzzle pieces in her head beginning to match. “You can’t be serious!”
Rainbow looked back and locked eyes with Twilight again, “I am Twilight. I know what you are thinking too. Why me of all ponies? It is simple Twilight… I understand the necessity.”
“For murder?!”
Rainbow shook her head, “No, for keeping the peace down below. No matter what the cost.”
Twilight growled, “This isn’t right. This isn’t you!”
Rainbow took a step towards Twilight, “I’m sorry. But there is no other way. Now come quietly or I am going to have to make this harder than this already is.”
Twilight jump back again, “No, I made a vow long ago to protect those I care about. No matter what world I am in, I can’t allow this to happen.”
Twilight stared determinably at Rainbow as she flashed in her Keyblade into existence.
Rainbow took a step back in surprise, “What in the hell?”
Twilight grinned, just as she was about to swing some justice down at Rainbow, a stingy feeling entered the back of Twilight's neck. Twilight immediately felt her body go numb and her vision become blurry. “What?”
Twilight felt her body fall but she didn’t feel the impact. She glanced up and saw a pegasi hovering over her with a syringe and needle. She could just barely feel something being placed over her horn. “Wow. Never thought this protocol would ever happen. I guess those guys upstairs think of everything,” said the pegasi holding the syringe.
“Just get her to the lower cells. And be careful with her.”
A blurry image of Rainbow Dash turned back to Scootaloo.
“You have beautiful eyes…”Came a voice from off to the side of her. It almost sounded distant.
Twilight felt her whole mind go hazy. She knew that she was being moved but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Her mind was nearly blank now as well. So it was no surprise that while one moment she felt like she was flying, the next she was laying in some dark room.
Twilight tried to lift her head but it would not move. She tried to summon her Keyblade but it felt like her connection was becoming harder and harder to connect. Her eyes felt heavy. A voice was calling out to her. She wanted to answer but the need to close her eyes was stronger.
“Twilight…” The voice called out to her.
Her eyes were barely open.
“Twilight!”
It almost sounded like Rainbow’s voice. Only this one felt more warm and caring.
Darkness quickly began to take her as the voice continued to call out to her.
“Twilight?”
“Twilight?!”
“Huh?” Twilight’s head shot up and she glanced around. Her desk lay out in front of her as the warm feeling of her tree home washed over her. Twilight blinked and glanced to her left; Rainbow was standing next to her looking concerned. “There you are. You’ve been staring at the wall for the past ten minutes. What’s going on with you?”
Twilight shook her head, “Nothing, everything is fine.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, “Twilight, I don’t have to be Apple Jack to tell you're lying. Come on, tell me what’s up?”
Twilight let out a long sigh, “Sorry Rainbow, I just haven’t been sleeping very well lately. Every time I try to sleep, these weird black creatures show up. And for some reason, they frighten me to the point I wake up panicky or sometimes, screaming.”
Rainbow put on her cocky smile, “Is that all? Twilight, it’s all in your head. Just a bunch of crazy dreams right?”
Twilight shook her head, “I know that but… They feel so real. Every time I try to sleep it feels like they are getting closer and closer to me. I feel so alone and helpless.”
Rainbow put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “Relax Twilight, they can’t hurt you. And lets say that they are real or something, I will always be there to help you. Those dark creatures may want to attack my friend, but they haven’t met the invincible Rainbow Dash yet. Once they see my awesome moves, they’ll run away scared. Then you can dream about books or whatever it is you eggheads dream about.”
Twilight let out a small chuckle, “Thanks Rainbow. It does help, knowing I can count on you.”
“Of course Twilight, I’m the element of Loyalty; it’s practically in my job description. Right next to future Wonder Bolt!”
Twilight chuckled again as Rainbow grinned back at her.
“I will always be there for you Twilight. Always…”
*
Twilight opened her eyes, the floor was cold and her body still felt kind of numb. But at least her head was starting to clear. Twilight noticed her right forehoof was somewhat movable. She stretched it out before placing it over her heart. “I think I need you now more than ever… Rainbow.”
“I’m close Twilight, just hang on.”
Twilight would have jumped had she been able to fully move. Rainbow Dash’s voice was clear as day. Twilight did her best to move her head to look around her cell but was alone was far as she could tell. Twilight blinked and sighed. She relaxed onto the floor. Her body was weak but her heart felt stronger than ever. She snuggled her hoof against her heart. “Alright, see you soon.”