-Prima-
Welcome back.
We had sooo much fun last time.
We though you would never return. But...
Here you are. hehe...
--
Cloudsdale Weather Laboratories
By AceZora
-Prima-
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March 12th, 5014.
1:32 pm.
Cloudsdale Judicial Hall.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?”
“We have, your honor.”
The judge paused a moment to look over the courtroom. "Proceed." She instructed, looking back again to the jury.
“We the jury, find the defendants Rainbow Dash and Hide Atmosphere, guilty of crimes against Equestria.” The juror spoke with clarity and precision, allowing each word to resonate through the courtroom before moving on to the next.
A cyan mare and dark red stallion could be seen standing silently at the defendant's desk. Wings tied and front hooves cuffed, they no longer wore white lab coats, instead, they were dressed in dull orange jumpsuits. Royal guards surrounded them, not letting a single movement go unchecked.
The two pegasi remained focused straightforward, painfully deep in thought, they made no eye contact of any type, unblinking, unmoving, both certain of their fate.
Hatred and anger scarred their aged faces, engraving the stress of the factory into every wrinkle and pore, making them as much a part of the factory as the very machinery inside of it. They epitomized evil geniuses, Dr. Atmosphere even had the hair to match. It is true that no pony could deny their vast intellect, however Ph.Ds do not excuse genocide.
The courtroom was motionless and nearly silent, save the occasional shuffle of papers or muffled cough. The judge stood behind her podium at the front of the room, her watchful eyes judging every movement, every facial expression, every twitch of a tail, and every nuance of an eyebrow.
Her coat was an off white, with a short, grey colored mane and tail. An experienced judge, she was one of Equestria's most valued. Seen every kind of trial one could imagine, from candy theft to brutal murders, that wise mare knew everything there was to know about Equestrian law.
The Judge spoke “Rainbow Dash and Hide Atmosphere.” She accused sternly.
The two defendants reluctantly lifted their heads to look upon the judge before them.
“For the brutal murders of 6 million filly pegasi, you two are hereby sentenced to death by hanging at 12:00 pm tomorrow night.” With that said, she quickly lifted her gavel and slammed it down onto the podium, creating that iconic SLAM! of justice.
--
3:15 pm.
Town Hall
The Cloudsdale Weather Factory loomed over the abandoned weather district, its dark walls cold and unforgiving. The building was now surrounded by multiple layers of barbed-wire fences littered with signs reading: CONDEMNED, DO NOT ENTER, DANGER, and other various warnings.
The fate of the vacant facility now lay in the hooves of the Royal Cloudsdale Congress. They must decide quickly on how to heal this deep and bloody wound left by those maniacs, for they and the rest of Equestria knew very well that chaos would ensue if weather production were to be neglected.
“It must be destroyed!” Shouted Gust Venture, a highly respected congresspony.
“Are you suggesting we simply block it out of our memory, Gust?! That we all forget and carry on like nothing happened?! No! Further investigations must be facilitated in order to understand exactly what happened in that factory! Only then can we prevent something of this horror from happening again!”
“Are you mad, Veil?!”
“Perhaps.”
“That facility is a death trap, anything within a 10 kilometer radius is in danger! What makes you think our detectives can simply waltz right into that hell and decipher anything without being burned, melted, electrified, or dying in some other horrible way! Not even a bomb squad could manage such a feat!”
“We will find a way!”
“The pipes are leaking liquid thunder for Celestia’s sake! That facility is a dangerous tumor, and it must be demolished at once!”
“A tumor it may be, but the technology inside is too valuable to neglect researching.”
Another congresspony spoke up ”Technology!? Do you mean the technology they used to massacre millions of innocent foals!?”
Veil turned to the third congresspony “Despite their purposes, the entire facility is filled with machines far beyond our current level of weather production.”
“We civilized pegasi do not want their horrid technology!” Gust injected.
“Do you realize we currently have no other methods of weather production now that C.W.C is decommissioned!? They were some of the best minds in Equestria! How will Cloudsdale survive?!”
“We have scientists, they can find new ways!”
“By then the Griffins will have stolen the show and Cloudsdale will be little more than a dot on the map!”
The courtroom was surprisingly silent for a moment as they all recoiled from the shouting match. Gust suddenly realized how important the CWC was to Cloudsdale. Not only was the risk of chaos erupting certain, but they may also lose their biggest income to another, far more equipped race. They must stay ahead! They must find ways of creating weather! And soon.
--
March 13th, 5014
2:45 pm.
Manehattan Residential District.
A lime green mare with a darker green mane named Ward Dreaming paced back and forth in her apartment, uncertain of how to feel about her new assignment.
The Royal Congress of Cloudsdale had sent her a letter, requesting her to locate and retrieve three convicts needed for interrogation by the 15th, which was in two days. All three of the prisoners were being held at the Maximum Security Prison of Canterlot. However she lived in Manehattan and therefore would need to travel by train in order to get there within a reasonable time. The letter informed her that tomorrow morning at 6:00 am, a chariot would arrive at her door and take her to an all expenses payed, first class train ride to downtown Canterlot, which was a plus. Attached to the letter was a list of the ponies she must find and where she could find them.
The list read:
- Gauge Canter [Race: Pegasus]; (Prison Quarters: Cell 735) Threat: Moderate.
- Gentle Butterwing [Race: Pegasus]; (Asylum Quarters: Cell 412) Threat: High.
- Contrail [LAST NAME MISSING]; [Race: Pegasus] (Asylum Quarters: Cell 1453) Threat: High.
The paper stated that some of the convicts may have deteriorated mental statuses of varying degrees, so she was to maintain extreme caution when confronting them. This last note left a bitter taste in Ward's mouth, she had dealt with ponies like this in the past but this one was different. A guard would be present in case an interview got violent but the whole arrangement made her feel uneasy.
It didn't matter if she liked it or not, if she refused they would find somepony else who would, And that meant no mortgage payment this month. Ward decided to take her mind off the matter with some relaxing television. She levitated the remote over to herself and pressed the power button.
The screen lit up the room as Ward levitated the remote back to it's original location, the floor.
The television displayed a neatly groomed stallion sitting at a desk, behind him was a map of Equestria illuminated by blue glowing lines. A stream of text scrolled on the bottom of the screen flowing into an Equestria News logo. The text was moving too fast to catch Ward’s attention, she was interested on what the anchor had to say. Ward turned the volume up.
“More protests today outside the Cloudsdale Judicial hall.” A graphic of protesting ponies slid into view. Below the picture were the words UNREST IN CLOUDSDALE. “For more we go to our live correspondent Cheryl Breeze, Cheryl.” The screen changed to a double headshot view. The one on the left was the original anchor, but the one on the right was a turquoise mare standing in front of a crowd who were chanting “Make them pay! Make them pay!” In unison. Some had signs around their necks while others were holding, or at least trying to hold, signs with their wings.
A few were flying above the crowd holding posters with their hooves instead, some flew closer to the camera for the audience to read. GIVE THEM A TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE was poorly marked on one with red spray-paint. Another’s had: Let's see how they like it scribbled, slightly neater this time.
The reporter took a short breath before speaking, she seemed nervous. “Thanks Ron-Rob! I mean.” She looked down to briefly reset herself. “As you can see, quite a lot of ponies have conjugated here on Feather Avenue right outside the Judicial Hall.” She glanced behind herself, motioning a hoof to the agitated crowd. “As we speak more are arriving to support the cause.”
“That’s quite a spectacle Cheryl, can you tell us what their cause is?” He was trying to give the new reporter some on-the-spot hints.
“Right! Yeah, the protesters are enraged that the Rainbow Factory masterminds received such a humane sentence. They are demanding that they be mutilated in the machines they built.” She paused for a moment. The crowd was chanting even louder now. “However, officials have informed us that any punishment of the sorts would be considered un-ethical and thus could not be given in a court of law. But the protesters are having none of it.” Cheryl explained.
The television powered off. "I can't watch this." Ward said to herself. She got up and walked over to the largest window in her apartment. The lime green unicorn gazed out the window down onto the busy streets below. Ponies of all types passed by each other at a constant and never ending rate. She dreaded tomorrow.
--
11:55 pm.
The night air was cool with a slight breeze. High up on Cloudsdale, Ponyville was easily seen through the darkness, its lights stood out from the immensely vast forest surrounding it. So peaceful, so innocent, all the lovely ponies living together in harmony, throwing parties, bucking apples, designing dresses, caring for animals, learning magic, soaring though the clou-no.. not anymore...
A tear ran down her cyan cheeks. "I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash said, her lips beginning to quiver.
The floor was then swiftly removed from beneath her hooves. Rainbow Dash, surprised by the suddenness, began to fall. The cool air once again flowing over her cyan coat and rainbow colored mane. It was like flying, she loved flying, flying cheered her up when she was feeling down, she flew when she was bored, she flew when she was excited.
But ever since she joined the CWC full time, flying became a seldom enjoyed activity. Yet as the cool night air was fluttering her mane and tail, she remembered how much she had missed it. After all, falling was basically the same as flying right? One last jolt of pain surged through her aged body when the noose pulled tightly around her neck as she came to an abrupt stop in the air.
The question would not be answered.
--
1:00 am.
As Luna's graceful moon slowly swept over the night sky, all the ponies of Equestria were fast asleep.
All except the Factory, the beast was restless, it's walls creaked and it's pipes hissed though the night. Hungry again.