Rainbow Dash's Unstoppable Ego

by MagicS

The Eternal Furnace III

Rainbow Dash was right about these rooms not having much space on the inside. They made the word home look like a joke. She was basically inside a cold metal tube with a single weak light on the ceiling for illumination. It was all one room with two bunk beds built into the wall on the right, a smaller bunk on the left, and a table in the back with a counter that had a sink, some cabinets, and what might have been a refrigerator. These conditions did not exactly endear her to this city. This was so bad it really might as well have been a prison cell. Hay, prisoners in Equestria probably got better living conditions than this. It didn’t look like they had anything like books, or games, or really any sort of personal affects at all. The walls were barren, the floor was just metal with no carpet or rug, they had nothing. Dash doubted any of the other rooms were different, in fact she bet that if she didn’t already know this was Night Reader and Brilliant Star’s room she wouldn’t be able to tell it apart from the others around them.

She still happily rested on the bunk to the left when they arrived, her stomach making constant growling noises. Without asking, Brilliant Star went to the “kitchen” to get her some food. Rainbow Dash was happy to lie down and be quiet until she finally had some grub to eat. The myriad of questions she had could come after that.

Night Reader took a seat on the bunk directly opposite from Rainbow Dash and politely didn’t stare at her. Even though he was likely very curious about her as well. The stallion kept to his own business sitting in the bottom bunk, Rainbow Dash idly noticed that even though the two bunks on the right side of the room were bigger than the one she was resting on there still wasn’t enough room for the couple to share one. With the dim lighting, dull and dark coloring of everything, and minimalist living conditions she wondered if this whole place was trying to sap all the happiness and joy out of the ponies living here.

A rumbling sound from the kitchen got her attention and Rainbow Dash looked over to see Brilliant Star fiddling with something inside the fridge, the whole appliance was shaking and whirring before it stopped and an ugly plopping sound came from something inside. Brilliant Star then turned around carrying a tin bowl in her magic and brought it over to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was not excited to see what was inside but she looked anyways and was rewarded with a disgusting looking gray sludge. It had the appearance and consistency of snot or really runny applesauce, being somewhere between a solid and liquid. Despite her sniffing at it she couldn’t smell anything from the bowl either.

“What is it?” She asked the two of them as she almost cringed away from the bowl of slop.

“It’s not exactly food but it’s what we have to eat around here,” Night Reader replied.

Rainbow Dash tentatively grabbed it out of the air with her hooves and held it in front of her. It was horribly unappetizing looking but with how hungry she was she’d eat just about anything. Even pie. “Okay...”

The gruel or whatever it was was as tasteless as it was odorless. Cool and with an unpleasant texture it would’ve been difficult for her to eat if she wasn’t so hungry. But since she was she was able to swallow it down without much trouble. It wasn’t exactly satisfying like eating a real meal would’ve been but it served its purpose for now.

“Ooohhh...” Rainbow Dash groaned and panted a bit after digging in. “This is what you eat every day?”

“That’s it,” Brilliant Star grimaced.

Rainbow Dash gave Brilliant Star the bowl back and the mare took it back to the kitchen while Rainbow Dash lied down again and rested her head, closing her eyes. She didn’t know what the exact time was but it was likely getting pretty late. Brilliant Star came back after cleaning off the bowl in the sink and sat next to her husband. After a minute of rest, Rainbow Dash reopened her eyes and sat up on her bunk, looking at them.

“So… sorry if you guys don’t really want to answer this stuff or if you just want to get to sleep, but what’s up with this city? It looks like you guys are being worked like slaves in here. And what was up with that “flame” stuff that Resin pony mentioned?”

“It used to be different here,” Night Reader started. “No gangs, plenty of light and heat, real food, not just work. This housing block used to have so much more in it before it was all torn out. But now the whole city is just as bereft of all but the bare essentials.”

“But why?” Rainbow asked.

“You heard yourself from Resin,” Night Reader said. “Everything is for the flame.”

“What flame?”

“Atop the mountain there is a ceremonial furnace and flame. It leads to a smokestack that comes out of the very tip of the mountain’s peak. Originally it was nothing more than a small flickering flame, no greater than a lit candle, but always turned on as a celebration of our city. Our founders made it as a symbol of what we had created here, with the intention of a small amount of fuel always being used to keep the flame lit as a sign of our perseverance and strength,” Brilliant Star told her.

“Resin sees things a bit differently,” Night Reader said.

Brilliant Star sighed and leaned into her husband, resting her head on his shoulder. “No one’s exactly sure how it happened—or where she even came from in this city. But she took control of the city and instigated all of what you’ve seen. I don’t know why she’s like this or what she gets out of it, but Resin treats that flame burning up there at the top of the mountain like a god.”

“She diverted as much fuel and resources as she could to make the flame burn as strongly as it possibly can. Now it’s like a raging inferno and it comes at the expense of all of us down here. We get less heat and power for everything just so the flame can constantly burn strong,” Night Reader told her.

“She took away anything distracting and anything not totally necessary for us to just live and work to make sure the flame always has oil for fuel. We drill for oil or work in coke ovens everyday without break,” Brilliant Star said.

Rainbow Dash was aghast at their situation. “But why doesn’t anyone do anything?! Why don’t you leave or fight back or something!”

“Resin has her security force on her side, you saw Crush. And not just them but we’ve heard rumors that she’s created gas-powered metal monstrosities that patrol the upper levels of the mountain. What are we supposed to do about any of that?” Night Reader shrugged.

“And we can’t leave, there’s no place to go up here and most everyone that isn’t a pegasus wouldn’t be able to safely make it down the mountain,” Brilliant Star said.

“Well… yeah you’ve got a point there,” Rainbow Dash considered when she thought about what the only entrances and exits to this city were like.

“There’s also the fact that if security caught anyone trying to leave they wouldn’t just allow it. Although since you’re an outsider Crush seemed fine with letting you go back. But for anyone born here… no such luck. Resin tolerates absolutely no dissent, even the most minor of infractions or defiant behavior will have you thrown in jail. A lot of us have relatives languishing away up higher in the mountain,” Night Reader told her.

“But the gangs...”

“The gangs play by the rules,” Night Reader interrupted her. “They’re nothing more than a side-effect of what Resin has done in the first place. Ponies who feel like they’ve had everything taken from them trying to regain some measure of control or power over their lives. You saw how they immediately listened to Crush and went on their ways? They would never fight with him around or fight against him. They just fight with each other when we’re off work, and so long as the work gets done that’s all that matters.”

Rainbow Dash groaned and flopped back onto the bunk. “This whole place is crazy!”

“Not arguing with you there,” Night Reader sighed. “Resin really believes everything you just heard her say over the loudspeaker. None of the ponies in here matter to her, she just wants that fire burning.”

“You should leave the city as quickly as possible,” Brilliant Star said.

Dash frowned and sat back up. “No way. Look, this might not be my city but I can’t just ignore a place as wrong as this. In fact, things like this are kind of why I’m up here in the first place. Crush wanted me to not cause any problems? Well too bad for him.”

The couple nervously exchanged glances with each other before Night Reader looked back at her. “But what can one pony even do?”

“Everything,” Dash grinned.

“You really shouldn’t trouble yourself for us, just go,” Brilliant Star said, shaking her head.

“No deal. I’m the type of pony that stops bad ponies. That’s just how I am. I also really love adventures, so sorry but there’s just no way I’m letting this slide.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and hopped off the bunk with a defiant and confident grin on her face. “I’m stopping Resin. And I’m going to make things go back to how they were for you all.”

Night Reader didn’t look like he believed she’d be able to do that. The both of them still had dull eyes. “Well, good luck then, I guess.”

“Yeah but… what else can you tell me about this place? I’m still pretty in the dark on a lot of things. How come Crush and those other guys even follow Resin in the first place? Does nobody care?” Rainbow Dash asked them.

“We don’t have any other leaders left and they’re just following orders. Maybe for the privilege of not having to work like us either, or getting to live in a part of the city that might not be as awful as this.” Brilliant Star shrugged.

“Crush just does what he’s told,” Night Reader said.

Well at least he didn’t seem as actively terrible as a lot of the others she had dealt with up in the True North, Rainbow Dash though. “Okay, so what about the gangs? These guys fight with each other and other ponies?”

“They harass anyone who isn’t a part of their gang,” Brilliant Star said. “And they fight each other for territory. Which is really just extra rooms for them to use in the housing blocks.”

“There are four gangs and you’ve met three of them,” Night Reader said. “The Thunderbirds are a pegasus only gang, you can tell who’s in the gang by the lightning tattoo they’ll have on their cheek. They mainly live in the housing block furthest from this one. Not every pegasus who’s in a gang is a Thunderbird but most are and they’re always trying to convince the other pegasi here to join up with them. That was their leader back there who talked to you, Acid Rain. He’s going to have his eye on you the rest of the time you’re here, I guarantee it.”

“Great,” Dash grumbled.

“And then there’s the Diesel Kings. Their leader, Double Duty, you also met. They don’t care about who you are but you have to work in the lowest, grungiest, parts of the oil drilling area to get in their gang. When he was talking to you he probably just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t join up with the Thunderbirds, and then you could get real admission into his gang after working a few days with him and the others. The Diesel Kings mostly live in the block right next to this one, they cause the most problems for us,” Night Reader told her.

“Maybe that Double Duty guy will be my first visit then,” Rainbow Dash grinned.

Night Reader kept going. “The last of the normal gangs are the Wrenchers. Right now they don’t have a leader cause the last guy took an unfortunate tumble down a garbage chute, so there are three or four ponies in the gang all vying for control now. They’re mostly made up of ponies working maintenance and repairs and other stuff like that. They’re spread out through a lot of housing blocks and some of them live in other areas of the city where only ponies that are supposed to be fixing and checking up on stuff usually go. I doubt you’ll have as much trouble from them as the other two.”

“Okay,” Dash nodded. And then paused. “Wait, what do you mean “normal gangs”? What’s the fourth gang?”

“They’d be the Black Hoofs. The Black Hoofs are different than the others—they’re more like an extension of the security force and Resin’s control. Like the security force they enjoy the privilege of not having to work like the rest of us, in exchange for keeping an eye on the gangs and everyone else here and making sure no one turns their anger towards Resin. They’re like a buffer. Their leader is a unicorn by the name of Silver Tooth, he and the rest of the gang hang out in the old casino a level up from here.”

“Casino?” Dash raised an eyebrow.

Night Reader nodded. “Like I said we used to be a normal city. That casino was one of the fun things to do around here, but the Black Hoofs don’t let anyone else in now.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead. “Have the gangs ever tried fighting against Resin instead of each other?”

“Naw, the Black Hoofs also work to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Night Reader said. “Silver Tooth has done a good job of getting them to hate each other. Keeping them fighting against each other so they can’t unite is a big deal for him. And reminding them of how hopeless things are so they don’t even try.”

“You don’t know this but there’s also no way to get to the higher levels of the city where Resin is from here,” Brilliant Star said. “Every door and bulkhead is sealed shut and only Crush has the security code to open them. And only Silver Tooth has a way of calling on Crush through an emergency radio the Black Hoofs keep. It goes directly to the security station that’s also normally locked down.”

“So to get to the upper levels you’d first need to get a hold of Crush...” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“But you’d never be able to do that, he only normally comes out to make sure everyone gets to work and he always has his security forces with him.” Night Reader said.

Dash grinned. “Then we just need to trick him. Alright, I think I’m getting it now. If I can get Silver Tooth to lure him out I can get the code from him...”

“I think you’re underestimating the difficulty of that,” Night Reader said.

She shrugged. “Hey, nothing worth doing is easy. I want a challenge.”

“I don’t know how long you’ll be able to keep up that optimism here,” Brilliant Star said.

“Look, I’m promising to help you guys and I mean that. Whether you believe in me or not is up to you but just watch me. Starting tomorrow I’m gonna fix things around here,” Rainbow Dash told them. She then yawned widely. “This has kind of been a long day for me and all this thinking has gotten me tired. You really don’t mind me bunking here?”

Night Reader shrugged. “Go right ahead, we’ll let you stay for as long as you want.”

She smiled at the two of them and went back into the small bunk, barely managing to fit on the light bedding. “Thanks. I really needed this, and the food.”

The two of them politely nodded as well and retired to their own bunks for the night. Rainbow Dash had a big day ahead of her tomorrow and a lot to think about and go over, but she was sure she’d pull through again someway. Resin was just another villain for her to defeat on this long adventure. With that pleasant thought in her head and her stomach finally full, she drifted off to sleep.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

Are going to get Resin’s backstory?

How long is this story arc going to be if you don’t mind me asking?

[MagicS]

10637189
We'll learn about her, yes. This one is around 90k in total.

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

10637295
Thanks.