> Rainbow Factory Condemned > by LordCarn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After an extremely long day at flight school, you walk into your house, say "hi" to your mom and go into your room for a nap. Soon, your mother awakens you and calls you down for dinner. "So how was school?"Your mother asked this question everyday at the same time, and the same answer is always given, "Tiring." "Your friends stopped over earlier, they wanted me to tell you that they wanted to see you as soon as you woke up." "Did they say what about?" "No, they only said to meet them outside the theater around 6:00." As you glance at the clock you notice that it's already 5:30. You knew why they wanted you to meet them. 5 hours ago "Now now, everypony settle down, history is about to begin." Students began to scramble to get to the seats that they wanted. You sit in the back along with your herd of friends around you. As the lesson begins you realize that today's lesson is on the one thing that you had been waiting for since the beginning of school, The Rainbow Factory Incident. Your teacher begins to elaborate about the specific practices of the "Rainbow Factory" how they would take flight test failures and, through a painful process, turn them into rainbows. The main overseer of this factory was none other than the infamous Rainbow Dash, the only one to have knowingly pulled off The 'Sonic Rainboom.' You sit upright in your desk devoting your entire energy into paying attention. Your friends around you are are paying attention quite closely as well. It had only been five years since it had occurred and no one truly knew what happened in that looming factory. What your teacher did tell you about the factory was extremely limited and censored for school purposes. Most of the class ignored this, but you could not. Your father had mysteriously disappeared from work one day and was never seen or heard from again. One of your friends leans in close to your ear and says "Hey ______________, ever wonder what they aren't telling us?" He leans back, confident that his rhetorical question sparked interest in you. After class, your friends all gather around their usual lunch table and begin to eat. Many were talking about the lesson they just had and it all led you back to the same question "Ever wonder what they aren't telling us?" After school you and your friends are flying home and still they are talking about the factory when suddenly the subject of the conversation changed. "So ______________ are you ready for your 'test'?" The question catches you off guard and you almost lose your flight stability. "Well it's time. Remember your video camera. We'll tell you where to meet us later today. Make sure your ready." Present You knew what they meant by the theater, and you knew why they had chosen today. " I'm heading out mom." "Alright ________________ , I know it's Friday but I still want you home at a reasonable time." "Alright I'll try to get home around 9:00, I'll see you then." You arrive at the factory 5 minutes early, but everypony is already there. You don't see the colt that had whispered in your ear earlier that day, but it didn't matter. You check the battery life on your camera to ensure it will survive the night. Your group of friends approach you. "It's time, are you ready?" You wave your video camera at them. "Alright, we've managed to force open one of the factory's doors, you have to stay in for at least 3 hours and you can't just hide in a corner." You knew the procedure. It was different for everypony who wanted to prove themselves. It was a practiced ritual among flight school attendies. They made new students do some very disturbing and horrible things but this took it all to a whole new level. Word of what was going to happen must have spread because a much larger group had gathered around the factory, waiting to see if you would actually enter the factory, and if you would return. The factories doors had remained shut since it's condemnation and now that the doors were open, you weren't sure you wanted to go inside. Silence fell over the crowd that had gathered as they all waited for you to make the decision. The entryway to the factory was shrouded in darkness like a mystery wanting to be solved "Ever wonder what they aren't telling us?" Your mind made up, you take a step forward and enter the impenetrable darkness that shrouded this infamous facility. > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You cautiously enter the factory and try to make sense of what you see, but the darkness clouds your vision. You search around for a light source when you notice a lever attached to the wall labeled "lights." You take another glance around the room and decide that if you are to continue, you must turn them on. Everypony else glances with worried eyes into the darkness only to be greeted by a small 'click' and bright lights turning on for the first time in 5 years. Then a female announcer's voice rings over the intercom. "Power restored, door suspected of tampering, activating anti-escape protocol 17739, lockdown initiated." Suddenly, metal bars slid down from above the door and blocked any possible exit from the factory. Panicking, as any sane pony would do in such a situation, you run back to the door and try to force it open. Pegasi on the other side attempt to do the same when the same female announcer's voice rings over the intercom once again "possible breakout in progress, security drones activated, any and all unauthorized personal will be sedated and carried to the nearest holding cell." There was no possible way to open this door again, you frantically turn around and search for a way out. You notice another door across the hall and a pounding noise coming from the other side. You continue to examine the room you are in. You can't hear anything beyond the yelling of the pegasus and the pounding coming from the other room. You yell at those beyond the door to be quiet, and then resume your search of the room. You notice a small note lying on a table entitle 'notice of eviction.' You read it slowly, trying to absorb any useful information. "By order of Princess Celestia, this facility is to be shut down and everypony involved in the workings of this factory are to be arrested and put on trial for murder. Their families shall not be informed of this event and it is to never be spoken of again." Lacking a better place to store this note you place it within your mane. In the distance, you can hear the clanking of metal and scraping across the floor. You glance back at the pegasus beyond the iron bars and give them a small smile and turn back toward the only other door in the room. The door opens automatically for the security drones that immediately identify you as an escapee. They begin to slowly converge upon you. Their bodies resembled pegasi except where their eyes should have been, there instead, was a digital screen with a single red dot. Their bodies were made of conjoined metal. They even had wings, but who knew if they could actually use them. As they grew closer, the screams behind you grew louder and one of the drones revealed a taser within its chest cavity. Slowly the drones closed in. One of your friends behind you muttered "I'm sorry_____________" and you knew deep down he was, no one could have known this would happen. You take a small glance behind you to reassure the colt who had said it but that was a mistake you couldn't think about for the world had gone black, and you didn't want to wake up. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You wake with a start and heavy breathing. You could still feel the electricity coursing through your body as you tried to stand. Your mind was clouded with pain. An occasional relapse of pain prevents you from moving too far. You examine your surroundings for anything that might be of use. You notice a few broken metal bars lying around your cell and look up from where they had come from. A pony sized gap was near the very top of the containment cell. You stretch your wings out in an attempt to fly, but immediately cringe with pain as the electricity in you system forced your muscles to contract. You decide to wait until the electricity leaves your body. You feel something trickle down your back and you attempt to reach for it. Your hoof lands in the path of the liquid. After it drips onto your hoof, you bring it around to look at it. You find out that's it's blood. You reach farther behind you and find a device slightly embedded into your back. You pull it out quickly to avoid it doing more harm to your body. As you examine the device, you learn that it embeds itself into whatever it lands on and runs a steady but slow electrical current through its body. You quickly smash the revolting thing and wait for the electric shock's effects to wear off. You search the cell one more time when you notice your video camera lying on the ground next to where you woke up. You pick it back up and secure it firmly to your neck so it will see everything you do. Feeling that the the electricity had finally run its course, you test your wings before flying up and out through the hole you saw earlier. Feeling content that you could do so, you fly out of the hole. After landing outside the cell you notice a control panel with a note upon it. You glance cautiously about the room and notice two doors and few pipes running up and down the walls. After deeming the room to be secure, you walk over to the control panel and pick up the note entitled 'Extras' "This message is for all factory workers, if you suspect anypony of treason or of somepony who has grown suspicious of our facility, please report them to the Weather Director immediately. If suspect is proven true, the accuser will be rewarded heavily. Anypony found withholding information shall be treated with the same care as our 'guests'." What you've just read sickens you to know that pony's lives were meaningless to the factory. Not even it's coworkers were safe from its control. You glance around at your surroundings and notice an air vent you didn't see the first time. You hope you won't have to hide in such a cramped space. You check both doors. One is labeled armory. You check it's handle but it's locked. The other door isn't labeled, but is unlocked. You approach the door cautiously and open it. Upon entering the room, it appeared to be just like any other room in the factory. Pipes ran along the walls, tables were scattered about the room, but something was different. There was strange contraption on the far wall with several chains dangling from the back, a grate was placed below this 'elevated table' and the smell of death hung within the air. You checked your video camera to ensure it was still recording, you had been in the factory a total of 30 minutes. You cautiously approach the device, and as the smell of blood and decay grew stronger, you begin to gag. You glance about the room and notice another door. You continue to approach the machine, drawn to the sense of sadness that hung in the air. As you reach the grate, you peer inside only to be revolted at what you see. Many skeletons of pegasi lay scattered among a deep pit. Strangely though, one of the bodies was fresh. > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You begin stepping backwards examining the machine at a distance. The elevated table was covered in blood. A small scalpel hung in the air, connected to a device on a small track for moving it in and out of the way. As you begin to realize what truly happened here, you become sick, and throw up on the floor causing a loud commotion. After the urge subsides, you glance back at the door you saw earlier, you wanted to put as much distance between you and this..... machine, as soon as possible. You approach the next door. From the other side you can hear pounding and the hiss of steam. You open the door slowly. Beyond it are large pressing machines that are hammering a convetor belt. Large vats, labeled different colors of the rainbow, were placed in a line so that each color lined up with its place in the spectrum. These machines still worked after 5 years of siting idle, and they didn't seem to be in terrible condition. You glance at the far wall where an already open door lay waiting. Not wasting time you begin heading towards the door but then stop, for a mechanical drone was stalking the halls and it had just spotted you. You back track and slam the door you had just come through shut and grab one of the loose tables and shove it up against the door. You return to your previous containment room and look for another way out, but there was only one. Quickly, you scramble to remove the grate from the air vent. The vent had been screwed down, but due to the lack of care it had been subjected to, the entire frame pulled off. You could hear the drones breaking through the door as you climbed Into the vent shaft. You replace the frame and slowly crawl away from the drones. You stop for a moment to catch your breath and to ensure the drones hadn't found your escape route. Silence greeted you as you turned around. Relieved at this discovery, you return to the pathway laid ahead of you. Seeing only darkness you glance at your camera to ensure it was still recording. As you do so, you notice something ahead on the camera that you couldn't see before, a divergence in the pathway. You approach the intersection, and peer down each tunnel. Each had a smell of death, but a loud pounding echoed from the one right passage. You assumed it lead back to the room where the drone had first spotted you. You turn left in hopes of finding an exit from this nightmare. You've been crawling for several minutes when you feel something scratch your back. You assume it's another one of those horrible electrocution devices. You quickly reach behind you and grab the wretched thing and attempt to pull it off of you but then you realize... it wasn't one of the devices. You glance upward and see another shaft that led into your current one. You find yourself pulling on the leg bone of an unfortunate pony who had been lodged in the ventilation shaft and now, you just pulled the entire thing on top of you. > chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bones upon bones fall from the shaft sending loud echoes throughout the entire ventilation system. This will not go unnoticed. You quickly free yourself from the mass of bones and frantically crawl your way forward into the unknown. You reach another grate and attempt to push it open. Upon failing, you decide to try to kick it open. You turn around and give it one hard kick and it immediately pops off. You quickly exit the ventilation shaft and enter what appears to be a maintenance area, but something was different. From within this tunnel, everything appeared to be normal. To the left, you see factory workers assembling pipes and tubes into a smelter and out the other side came perfect rainbows. You can't believe what you were seeing. This is how you imagined a normal factory would operate. Workers were smiling, dressed in blue suits. Many had clipboards and were taking notes. This was normal. But it couldn't be real. You glance down the catwalk you are on and see a wall made not of the normal white cloud, but a quietly thundering fog. Many warning signs are posted about the door. You glance back at the 'workers' and notice a brief flicker and the one worker you were focused on disappears and a few seconds later another pony walk up and takes his place. You glance beneath the cat walk and notice projectors securely fastened to the bottom of it. You step away from the edge of the rail. Nothing surprises you now. You turn back to the thundering wall and approach it. The door is surprisingly unlocked. You open it and peer around the door. Seeing no danger, you walk forward. The door closes quietly but you could have sworn you heard footsteps on the cat walk you had just come from. What you've just entered appears to be the cloud factory portion of the complex. You glance around and notice nothing of great importance. You walk toward a control panel next to a moisture machine. Upon approaching it you notice a note taped to the console entitled 'purge'. "To today's console operator, we will need to purge the factory of moisture today, the pressure levels have become to high. When clearance has been given, pull this lever here to activate the fans you see overhead. This should dry out all the moisture in the factory. Just make sure that clearance has been GIVEN we don't want somepony who's still working to be suddenly sucked up into the blades just because they're flying." You glance overhead at the incredibly large metal fans hanging from the ceiling. You hear a small click and turn back to the door you had entered through. Slowly, the door opened to full length, held it's position for a few seconds and then begins to close. Your eyes widen in terror as the closing door reveals the figure of a pony. It wasn't one of the drones but your instincts tell you it's much worse. It's dressed in a suite similar to that of the ones in the other room except it was pure black. The figure's head turns toward you and appears to smile. > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The figure was bigger than you, and appeared to be a lot stronger as well. It spread it's wings and took off from the ground at lightning speed. Startled by this lightning fast flyer you accidentally step backwards into the lever on the control panel. A small click is heard and the fans overhead begin and start instantly providing a noticeable air current. The figure in mid flight tries to fly against the current to come right for you but slows down dramatically before being forced to land. But there wasn't time to examine the situation for it was still coming after you. You dart left in an attempt to escape through the cat walk but discover that the door was locked. You continue running through the weather factory, glancing behind you to ensure it wasn't catching up. You notice another door straight ahead labeled "directory". You quickly run through this door and activate a lever next to it labeled "sound proof barrier". A muffled but very audible "No!" was heard behind you. It sounded feminine. A glass screen slides down from above the door. Now slightly safer from the mysterious mare, you are able to examine her at a closer proximity. She was wearing a black latex suite and her tail was dyed an unnatural black. She wore tinted goggles to hide her eyes. She points at you and slides her hoof across the bottom of her neck, turns around and walks back to the factory door. She inserts a key and opens the door. She turns and looks at you for a couple of seconds but then vanishes through the door. The door closes itself automatically. You breath a sigh of relief now that the danger had passed. You begin to take in your surroundings. You are in a control booth. You examine the control panel, several operate doors. There was even a map of the facility, except it had nothing on the rainbow factory section. There were stacks of paper scattered about the room. As you begin to flip through them, one catches your eye. It's entitled 'To my beloved' "To my wife who lives here in Cloudsdale, I wish I could see you again after what I've heard from the director, and I learned a terrible truth about how rainbows are truly made. Now I have only one choice, work in the factory or accept the same fate as many ponies have in the past. If anypony finds this letter, take my advice and avoid any contact with anything from upstairs. And... and if you could tell my wife and my beloved (son/daughter), _______________ that I love them very much and I'm so sorry for abandoning them like this. I can hear the guards coming now, I'm going to conceal this letter within my office. I hope somepony finds it." You slowly walk over to the chair within the room and sit down, stunned at what you've just read. Your father wrote this letter. You quietly sob to yourself, knowing that your father died trying to expose the truth about this evil place. > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Several minutes pass before you could conjure the strength to proceed. You look towards the door, rise from the chair, proceed to raise the lever, and solemnly walk out of the directory office. You look back at the door the mare had gone through. You approach the door and attempt to open it and, as expected, it was locked. You renter the directory office and begin examining the map. As you do so, one thing on it catches your eye, Director of Weather's office. If there is a way out of here, that would be your best bet. You take a spare piece of paper and a pencil off of the desk and begin to sketch out the best pathway to the office. After completing it, you head out of the office and begin to follow the map you had just drawn. The farther you go, the more the factory seemed to turn into a commercial office. You approach the door you seek, and attempt to open it. Once more, you find another locked door. You notice an assistant's desk nearby and begin systematically searching the desk for anything that might be of use. Taped under the desk, you find a key. Assuming this is the key to the Director's office, you return to the door, insert the key, and open it. Entering the Director's office was like entering the mind of a madman. Writing covered the walls, paper littered the floor, and in the center of the room is a coffee table and upon it, a key with a small sticky note on it. 'The Key to the Madness.' You cautiously enter the office, taking note of the words written upon the walls. You begin to feel as though you are being watched. You glance at the walls. The words upon them seem to shimmer and warp. Some converge with each other and form.... eyes. All around you, staring at you. You cringe under their gaze. As you grew closer and closer to the key within the center of the room, so did the eyes. The key was close now. You reach out to the key and discover that it was not close at all. You look towards the walls around you for there was nothing else you could see. The eyes upon them focused their gaze on you. All around you, four walls, no escape. You close your eyes to escape this madness. After a couple of minutes you reopen them to find yourself lying on the ground in the middle of the doorway to the Director's office. The key was in your hoof. The words on the note had changed. 'Always watching.' An eyeball was drawn underneath the words. You glance back into the office and see two yellow and glowing eyes within the darkness. You quickly scramble to your hooves, slam the door, and run. > Chapter 7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You ran. What else was there to do? Something unnatural was happening here and you didn't want to stick around to find out what it was. You rush past the office complex and the directory office. You quickly approach the factory door, insert the key, and open the door. You continue running through the catwalk but stumble when you notice the walls had changed. The factory was darker, there were no ponies to be seen. You examine the walls more closely and notice a dark blue pony with a vibrant yellow mane, dressed in a lab coat, step out onto a balcony. He begins shouting orders at some unknown ponies. Soon, a random pony was brought in by a machine and was systematically secured onto a table. A yellow mare with an alternating green and yellow mane steps out from behind a control panel and looks towards the one in the lab coat. The blue colt gestures to a pony behind him who then joins him at his side. The mare had a rainbow mane and cyan colored fur. This figure was recognizable even at a long distance. It was the infamous Rainbow Dash. The blue colt made a wide gesture at the factory before him. "So Rainbow Dash, do you want to know how rainbows are made?" She gives him an inquisitive look. He nods at the yellow pony bellow him who then smiles and pulls a lever. Rainbow Dash watched as a mechanical device slid out from a nearby wall and placed itself right in front of the restrained pony. A scalpel slides out from a long arm from the machine. The blue colt smiles as he sees Rainbow Dash's horrified face. The scalpel searches for its entry point and as soon as it finds it, plunges into the unfortunate pony lying helpless upon the table before them. Rainbow Dash slowly backs away from the edge of the balcony, turns and runs. The blue colt just smiles and says to the yellow mare "Glaze, make sure she doesn't make it out." Glaze walks over to a small microphone, speaks into it for a couple of seconds, then turns and nods at the blue colt. "Joe, do you really think she can help us? We've been doing this for longer than I can remember, does she have the ability to help us change? "I don't know Glaze, but the only way to find out if she can is to drag her right into the middle of it. She'll get used to it. After all, we did." Both ponies walk off of the screen and the film cuts off. Why are these videos playing? Was somepony changing them? You turn your attention back towards the door on the far side of the catwalk. You approach, and open it to find yourself once again in the center of the facility. > Chapter 8 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You enter the next room. All around you are surveillance feed monitors and, from this room, you can see every inch of the factory, but there is no map. You examine a few of the monitors. Out of the corner of your eye you see the black hooded mare enter one of the camera frames. She casually walks across the room and opens a door. You start to hear hoof steps in the distance. Quickly realizing the danger, you search for a sufficient hiding spot, find a nearby closet and quickly conceal yourself within. Soon, the black hooded mare enters the room and looks around. She notices the open catwalk door and slowly walks through it. After a few seconds, you open the closet door quietly and peer out of the closet to see where the mare had gone. You notice she was sitting on the catwalk, staring at the screen which now displayed a different scene. You begin to walk toward the opposite door but then stop when you hear crying. You slowly return to the doorway and gaze out at the wall before you. The scene is of the same area except a different time. Rainbow Dash stands menacingly over an unconscious orange filly with a purple mane. Rainbow Dash attached her to the machine and waited. As soon as she woke up, Rainbow Dash was most pleased. "Oh good, you're awake. I wanted to personally do this myself. Now, any final words you miserable, worthless whore of a foal?" The orange filly looks toward Rainbow Dash with a look of great dignity and says "You have beautiful eyes." Nothing happens for the longest time and the screen cuts off. Still aware of the consequences that might befall you if you stayed, you quietly exit through the opposite door. After making sure you were outside audible range, you begin running without care to where you were going only to find the exit to this place. You pass many halls and machines, having to duck under wires and pipes as you traverse this part of the facility. You could fly above them but you would risk being seen. You continue aimlessly into this maze of wires and machines and wonder what the strange mare was doing. Was she enjoying watching you struggle through this mess? You finally come out the other side, there being only one door ahead of you. You proceed to attempt to open it and find out it's locked. You check the label on the door and discover that this is the door control room. Your eyes widen as you realize you could lift the security protocol if you could get into that room. You attempt to use the key you found in the Director's office with no effect. You glance cautiously about the large room you are in and begin searching for something that might be able to open the door. It was hard to find anything in the tangled machines. You come across a large vat of a cloudy liquid plastered with acidity warning labels. An idea comes to mind, if you could melt the lock on the door, you could get inside. You pick up a nearby metal container and scoop some of the acid out of the large bowl. You quickly attempt to find your way back to the door. After a few minutes of wandering through the maze, your bucket's bottom completely melted away and releases the acid unto the floor ahead of you. You drop the bucket and quickly backpedal away from the acid to prevent it from harming you. You examine the situation. You could not navigate the maze and make it back to the door in time. There was only one option. You return to the acid vat and prepare to scoop another bucket. You fill the bucket, and take off flying, heading for the only closed door in the room. You splash the liquid close to the doorknob and glance behind you. Nothing had followed you. At last, a little bit of luck. > Chapter 9 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The wooden door's lock quickly melted from the corrosive liquid. After the lock had been melted, you push open the door. What you see on the other side surprises you more than scares you. Beyond the door frame you see a strange looking pony lying in a hammock suspended across a double stairwell. "That was much too rude for somepony so young, perhaps a knock and I would have come." You couldn't see his face but you knew you had heard that voice before. The figure sat up from the hammock and casually dropped off the side and began plummeting toward the floor below. You rush over to the rails and look into the darkness below and see nothing. "Oh I'm sure he'll be fine." The figure startles you as he was standing right beside you. The figure had a pony body but was absolutely unrecognizable as one. He had distinct yellow eyes and oblong pupils. His wings were that of two different creatures and an unusually large tooth hung from his mouth. "Now my dear, it's impolite to stare, but I'm sure your friend will be just fine just you wait and see." You blink and he completely vanishes from view. A few seconds later the same figure appears walking up the steps below. "Oh I just love free falling! It's so pleasantly horrifying to most ponies. Sometimes you can just drop one over the edge and hear their screams all the way down. Well my dear pegasus friend, it seems your caught at a crossroad once again, a choice you must make, up or down, your path of choice will test your will but overcome it if you do, your objective shall be fulfilled." His face holds a look of mischievous wonder. Instantly you knew where you've seen him before. He was the one who had whispered in your ear during class. "Ever wonder what the aren't telling us?" You mouth the words to yourself. "Oh but I can't not tell you anything without telling you about It." You glance at this colt with confused look. "I feel the need to stretch my limbs, this body does not suite me very well." The colt reached the same floor as you and started ' stretching'. His limbs elongated, his body parts were changing. His front right leg became that of a lions. His left became a griffin' s claw. His middle elongated into a large serpentine body. His back legs changed into that of a lizard and a mule. His tail thickened into a dragon's tail. His face was contorted slightly and it gave him a very cynical look. He had two different horns on his head, one of a deer and the other you assumed was a warped unicorn horn. You recognized this figure now. This was the legendary creature known as Discord, the deity of chaos. > Chapter 10 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Why so surprised? You've seen me more than once since you've entered this place. But back to the matter at hand, or in your case hoof, but be it hoof, paw or claw, your path is a grievous one. Either choice you choose will have consequences of the dire nature, now... or later. Should you choose to ascend, you shall remain ignorant about your father and continue to find your escape from this place but, should you choose to descend, you will be granted a glimpse at the past. But I warn you now, what you learn will change you, for better or worse, only your decision will tell." This greatly confused you. You knew what happened to your father. He was taken by the factory and imprisoned. You pull out the letter again and look at the date. You remember it. It was the day your father started sending more money home from the factory. You and your mom had celebrated that night. Your father sent a letter along with most of his weeks pay. He said he received a promotion and that he loved both of you very much. You place the note back into your mane and look down the stairwell. "What didn't he tell you?" Discord cooed. There was no other choice. The path you would choose was clear. You begin to walk toward stairs that descended into the darkness. Looking over the edge of the rail, you try to see the bottom but it continues down until it's impossible to distinguish stairs from open space. Your curiosity overwhelms you and you begin down the steps. "Excellent choice, but not for you." You turn around to look at Discord only to find a brick wall blocking your path. You look back toward the path laid before you. There was no turning back now, you were forced to move forward. You begin down and pass many flights of stairs. You begin to see bones littering the stairwell. Just an occasional bone at first but soon the stairwell was almost impossible to navigate without sending a bone tumbling down the stairs. You'd gone down at least twenty-five sets of stairs when you see something standing in the middle of the stairwell. It's body was composed of the bones of the fallen. You attempt to back your way up the stairs only to discover the brick wall had followed you. You gaze into the lifeless eyes of this creature standing before you. You gather your strength, and begin walking down the steps once more. The creature doesn't move as you approach it. You cautiously walk past it and continue down the stairs. On the next flight of stairs, there was another creature standing there, looking at you. You hear clanking behind you and turn to see the first creature standing over the edge of the next flight of stairs. You look back toward the second creature, who hadn't moved from it's position. You walk past it and continue down. You glance back and see the first shambling construct had joined the second on the edge of the of the the staircase. This same process repeats itself many times. Soon you have a small crowd of these shambles following you down the staircase. Only expecting this staircase to never end, you finally find the bottom. The only thing there was Discord sitting in a rather comfortable looking chair. It had several buttons on the arms, a microphone and was on a swivel. He was slowly rotating in the chair before coming to a stop facing you. The same maniacal smile still hung upon his face "Well how was the journey, I'm sure it was quite long. But how do these shambling pegasi relate to your father you might ask? Well, these are vengeful spirits. They seem to congregate towards you, I wonder why? Perhaps you remind them of somepony they once knew ." The skeletal pegasi begin to surround you. "Well, if I have to spell it out for you' Discord continued' your father murdered these foals. He may not have been the ones who strapped them in or chose them from the cells, but he was the one pressed the button that snuffed out countless lives." There was no escape now, you were completely surrounded by the shambling pegasi. They stood there, watching, with their empty eye sockets. "He sent all of them to their deaths and for what? A pay raise? Was he so afraid of death that he would go so far as to cause it?" You close your eyes and cover your ears but the whispers still got through. "He killed us, why would he kill us? What didn't he tell you __________________?" You could take no more of this, you lash out at the nearest thing in front of you. Your hoof contacted hair and skin, not bone. You open your eyes and see the monstrosities were gone. You are now in the last photo you had of your father, and your hoof just hit him square in the jaw. He recoiled from the force of your hoof and looked at you with helpless eyes and mouthed the words " I did it for you." Tears well up in your eyes as you are about to apologize, but your father dissipates in a puff of black smoke leaving you alone in the stairwell with a single door ahead of you. > Chapter 11 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Realization of what you had just done finally registers within your mind. You break down and begin crying. You look up and see Discord sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. His sadistic smile still hung upon his face."Why do you linger? Your objective is close at hand but, is it remorse I sense or just resentment against me. It was not I who laid this path before you, but your own free will brought you this sadness." You can't help but to pour your hatred into your gaze as you look at Discord. "You remind me another pony I once knew, but she's gone now. But why dwell on the past? You can't change time. Now, I'm afraid, I must show you the door." Discord approaches the door, opens it, and gestures you forward. A large conveyor belt appears below you and propels you toward the door. Stale metallic air flows into your nostrils forcing you to sneeze and land on your plot. You slowly stand and glance behind you to discover that you had just gone through the door you had melted the lock off of. Everything that just happened was for his entertainment. You stomp your hoof in frustration. Sadness begins to creep into your mind again but you manage to subdue it. You proceed into the door control room. This room was unusually tidy for the condition the rest of the factory was in. It's walls were of a different texture. Many levers and buttons lined the walls. Papers were stacked neatly about the room. You walk to the left side of the room and begin examining the papers. You come across an interesting paper entitled, 'H8_SEED prototype, emotion log.' "Day one, the H8_SEED prototype has been completed. With this new technology we will be able to phase out pony workers and completely rely on these drones. A log will be taken of the prototype's emotions for a month so we can see if it's stabilized. It will be activated at noon today. I hope it operates properly. Day two, the prototype is working exceptionally well. It performs all commands without hesitation. It's even starting a routine. The emotion data was collected and showed no significant changes in its AI core. The cap we put on its level of understanding seems to be deteriorating though. We will have to install an inhibitor to prevent the entire machine from malfunctioning. Day three, inhibitor was installed correctly. Core appears to be stabilizing. Nothing out of the ordinary has occurred with the prototype. However, I do feel like he's being neglected by the other workers. The only thing different about his appearance are his wings, but the workers still joke about him. Day eight, nothing else significant has happened until now. The prototype accidentally stopped production but everything was fixed in a couple seconds. I will examine the prototype more closely before allowing it to rest. I will report my findings below. It's incredible! The machine has gained a conscious that is distinctly it's own. It is however, most unfortunate. With this new conscious, it cannot perform the tasks we require it to do. I will have to report my findings to Dr. Joe in the morning. We were so close to finding the answer and we lost it! Day nine, the prototype broke out of the facility today. It even on knocked Dr. Joe into one of the containment cells. The Device had chosen him next but we were able to deactivate it before it caused any physical damage to him. Everyone in the factory is, however, very worried what the H8_SEED prototype will do outside the facility. Many of our outside agents are looking for him but nothing has turned up yet. I hope they find him soon or it will be me they'll terminate." > Chapter 12 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You continue reading. "Subject was recaptured and disassembled. Everypony it talked to has either been bribed or taken care of. However this accident has proven useful. We were completely over thinking our design process. Instead of giving it it's own thinking matrix, we need to, instead, give it an input command core. The only problem we have with this design is that somepony has to overlook the machines and tell them what to do. It's much cheaper than our original design, but doesn't have the level of understanding that we were tying to capture so it could operate on its own. Still, the progress is instrumental. With this new design, we will be able to reduce the amount of workers we need to operate this facility properly." Continued examination of the papers provides no new information. You continue searching the room and locate the door control panel. There are many buttons and switches but one catches your eye, "lockdown." You begin to reach for the switch but then stop when you remember the announcer. You glance around the room and notice a crowbar lying in the corner. You pick it up and return to the switch. If the mare returned, you would at least have something to defend yourself with. You flip the switch and dart toward the door only to stumble at what lies before you. The dark factory walls no longer reside outside the door. Instead, a catwalk with many pipes and valves lined the walls. From what you can see, there isn't a floor beneath the catwalk. You step outside the door control room. There was no gust of wind, only the loud resonating thunk of your hooves on the metal catwalk. Glancing back reassures you that the door control room was still there. Continuing down the catwalk, you notice a door on your right, it was already open. You look inside and see a containment cell, two large vats of an unknown liquid, and an old blasted out computer monitor sitting on a desk. The cell door was wide open. You scanned the room for another way out, but the doorway you're standing in is the only one. You see nothing of great importance within the room so you continue down the catwalk. After walking for some time you see a skeleton of a pony with a wrench lodged within its skull. Glancing beyond it, you see many more skeletons skewed across the catwalk. You notice another path leading off to the left and away from the battlefield before you. You begin down this path. The catwalk twists and turns around several pipe complexes. Some pathways were blocked by exploded pipes. Whatever happened down here must have interrupted the entire facility. Eventually, you find another door, this one was closed. Many 'DO NOT ENTER' signs were posted about the door. You could tell by their age that they were placed before the factory was closed. You attempt to open the door, but it was rusted shut. You try to use the crowbar to pry it open. After a couple of seconds the door swings open and reveals the room where it had all started. > Chapter 13 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before you laid a familiar scene. Rainbow Dash stood menacingly over the orange pony with a purple mane. The same scene from the recording you saw earlier. "You have beautiful eyes." Raindow Dash hesitated a moment before yelling, "Get everypony out of this room. Seal it off. Lock it down. No one goes in unless I say they can." A nearby worker pony began to complain, but was interrupted, "Do as I say! Use the backup devices for now. The main theater room is to remain off-limits to everypony! "What do you want us to do with the foal?" "GET OUT! Just leave me be. I'll deal with this meatsack." The worker pony stumbles before breaking into a mad dash for the door. He bumped into you as he left and the door slammed shut behind him. You quickly rush to it in an attempt to push it back open but fail to do so. You turn back to Rainbow Dash and the orange pony with a purple mane. "Oh Scootaloo... why? How could you fail me like that?" Dash walked over to a nearby table and began to examine a large array of cutting tools. She picks up a scalpel and begins walking back toward Scootaloo. "No... no Dash no... I'm sorry!" As Raindow Dash grew closer to her she began yelling. "I DIDN'T TRY TO FAIL YOU! ILL GET BETTER! I'LL BE BETTER FOR YOU, RAINBOW DASH!" Dash pinned one of Scootaloo' s legs to the table and hovered above it with the scalpel. "STOP! LET ME GO! LEAVE ME ALONE, I'M SORRY!" The scalpel' s descent had begun. "NO, NO NO NO NO" as the scalpel pierced Scootaloo's flesh, her screams pierced the room. The pain did not silence Scootaloo, instead it drove her into more of a frenzy to escape. "LET GO!" It was more of a plea than a command. "I'LL TRY AGAIN AND I WON'T FAIL, I PROMISE! I'LL NEVER FAIL ANYPONY AGAIN! ESPECIALLY NOT YOU! DASH, PLEASE, I LOVE YOU! YOU WERE... no..." the scalpel closed in on her other leg. "NO PLEASE DASH NO!" Screams filled the room once more. Scootaloo began crying as her partly severed legs bled profusely. Scootaloo took one last painful look into Dash's shrouded eyes and collapsed. Soft clapping could be heard. It slowly grew louder. A single set of hooves. Dash turns and screams at the onlooker. "I SAID THIS ROOM WAS OFF-limits......" Dash's sentence slowly fades as she sees who was watching. "Discord." > Chapter 14 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discord held two coconut halves in each of his hands and was banging them together. After a few seconds, he tosses them aside."How strange it is it, to see so much chaos not caused by the lord himself. The Element of Loyalty, acting so out of suit; I dare ask, what caused such a "virtuous" mare to adopt this lifestyle? Drawn to disorder like a moth to the flame, I have come to see what path you have laid. "Shut up" Dash muttered. "Silence isn't the answer I seek. So tell me Rainbow Dash what would your friends think of you now, murdering a foal, especially Scootaloo, would they still accept you, who are you loyal to?" "I KNOW WHERE MY LOYALTIES LIE! I DIDN'T MURDER A FOAL, I MURDERED A FAILURE! MY FRIENDS ABANDONED ME A LONG TIME AGO!" "That's all I needed to know." "STOP FOLLOWING ME!" Dash yelled in a panic. Discord only smiled gently as he slowly fades into the background wall and completely vanishes. "Ms. Dash?" The door slowly opened behind you. "Dr. Atmosphere....." Rainbow Dash's composure slowly crumples as she feints and collapses with a small thud. Dr. Atmosphere rushes to Rainbow's side and yells at the ponies outside "WE NEED A MEDICAL DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY" a pony in lab coat with medical supplies quickly enters the room and heads for Rainbow Dash. "NOT FOR HER..." He looks at Dash, "For her" he points to Scootaloo. The doctor stumbles before nodding and rushes over to the table she was tied down to. "As for the rest of you, carry her to her quarters." You notice an empty saddle bag on the floor, pick it up and strap it across your back. Several ponies standing outside rush in, pick Rainbow up and carry her out of the room. You watch them as they rush past you. Discord' s words echo in your mind, "a choice you must make". You lack the time to properly assess the situation. On impulse you rush out the door and still see the ponies carrying Dash. You have to run to keep up with the workers. They weaved their way through the wreckage getting farther and farther away from you. They turn a corner and escape your sight. You run to catch up but, as soon as you turn the corner, they were gone. All that was left, was a single door. > chapter 15 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You knew where this door led without glancing at the door label. You open the door and step inside. The room was in a state of disarray. Sheets were lying on the floor, paper fluttered about the room. There was only one bed. A small night stand stood beside it. It had a single drawer that was locked with a small padlock. You look around the room and could see a million hiding places for this small key. You decide, instead, to bash it open with the crowbar. After a couple of good hard hits, the lock breaks, allowing access to the contents of the drawer. Within the drawer you find an orange feather, a tattered journal, and a small ink vial. The ink had long dried out. You look at the feather with disgust, knowing where it had come from. The only thing left in the drawer was the journal. You pick it up and discover another book underneath it entitled "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone." You place it within the saddle bag and return to the journal. You take the leather-bound book out of the drawer, sit down on the bed and place the book in front of you. The book was not labeled, but you knew what it was. The only question now was if you wanted to read it... You open the cover. "This diary belongs to Rainbow Dash." You turn the page. August 3rd "Wow, this is really awkward. I'm not used to writing my thoughts down, but Twilight suggested I do this instead of going to her every time I had a problem. After all, she's pretty busy being a princess now. But it's ok, all of my other friends are still here. My job in Ponyville is still laid back as usual, but I received an unusual letter today with the weather pattern schedule for the week. It has something to do with the weather factory. I'll check it out later, but for now, I think I need to go talk to someone..." You flip a few pages ahead After turning to the next page, you could see splotches of what appeared to be water damage. August 26, "I... I don't know what to do... they told me that if I told anyone they would kill me. I tried to talk to my friends but... they're all busy. Applejack is busy with apple season, Rarity is moving to Canterlot now that her designs are getting noticed by the general public, Fluttershy is starting a school for animal care. I'd go and talk to Pinkie but I doubt she would take me seriously. I don't have anywhere else to go... I... I just don't know who to go to anymore. I don't understand... WHY ME!!! Of all the ponies they could have asked... why me.... They...they told me I could come and go from the factory but, only because I have a lot of friends around who care about me. I don't know if that's true anymore. > Chapter 16 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 27 "It was my first day. They had me handling some pipes. I wasn't killing anypony but, it still felt so wrong. I hope I never have to kill anypony, I hope I stay here, handling pipes. I mean, it's not all bad, it gives me something to do. My weather job is so easy, I can do it in ten seconds flat! But that leaves me with nothing to do for the rest of the day since my friends are all busy. Applejack purchased more land and tripled the size of their ranch. They had to hire a few ponies to help out but, it still keeps them preoccupied all day. The only thing I can do outside the factory now is to help Scootaloo prepare for her flight test. She's been doing really well from where she first started. It's just.... I can't lose her too." Good to know the leader of the factory was at some point sane. You flip the page and continue reading. August 29 " Today was my birthday but, only one filly remembered. Pinkie has been granted full control of Sugarcube Corner and has been busy renovating and remodeling. She of all ponies forgot my birthday.... even if she didn't have a party planned, she could have stopped by to say hello. At least Scootaloo remembered. Still handling lower factory things, but... the other workers... I think they despise me. I remember being told that they aren't allowed to leave the factory. I understand why they let me leave, since I'm the Element of Loyalty, somepony would notice if I went missing. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. The more time that passes... the more I truly believe... NO! I have not abandoned my friends and I never will! Tomorrow I'm going to go visit each of them and see if they need any help with their daily work! You continue to the next page. August 30 "I was sent home early from the factory today... the workers... they beat me up. There were at least five of them. They surrounded me, and kicked the air out of my lungs. I was helpless. A higher ranking worker came in and broke it up. All of the workers seemed scared of him, like he had considerable power in the facility. I couldn't see his name plate but I saw that he was wearing a white lab coat. I remember that feeling of helplessness. I've felt it before. When Discord took away my wings, he should've just taken my legs as well. The sky is my sanctuary, and he took it away from me... I don't ever want to feel that way again." "I can't go out today, not just because of my own pride, but the factory doesn't want anypony to see me so bruised. Someone might get suspicious and question me about what happened. Oh Celestia how much I want to walk out my front door. I probably would to if I knew they weren't watching. But now I know... they've been watching me ever since I first preformed the Sonic Rainboom. > Chapter 17 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You flip a few pages ahead. September 18"They forced me to do it. I pulled the lever and it killed her. A small flight test failure. She had a dark red coat, with pink irises and a pink mane. She reminded me so much of.... of Scootaloo. I saw her smile at me before I pulled the lever. A smile only someone with no hope could conjure. The look of someone who had long ago accepted their fate and greeted it with open hooves. If only it were that easy for me. I can feel myself slowly slipping away into darkness, I don't know how much more of this I can bear. If one caused this much damage to me, imagine how much ten would do to my conscience. They've almost completed a second theatre room, where 'it' happens. I can only hope they have somepony else to operate the device." Flipping to the next page reveals a few water stains. September 23" twenty-one... I killed twenty-one today. There was no one else who had been introduced to the device yet, so they came down to pipe-control, and brought me back up to the device... I can... see their faces every time I close my eyes, and I hear their screams still ringing in my ears. I had seen a few of them before, playing outside with their friends and family, and now they're here, in the Rainbow Factory. I remember when I was just a filly, right after I took my flight test. I had passed with flying colors... but one of my friends did not. He smiled at me before he walked to the failures gate. I remember hoping that wherever he was banished to, he would be alright. I didn't ever think about him again. And now, he's part of a rainbow in the sky that brings joy and happiness to all the land's residents. Hmm, I never would have thought a phrase such as that would upset my stomach. I don't want to talk about the factory anymore, not after today. If... if only there were some way for me to escape this nightmare. I'd like to instead write down what kind of dreams I've..." the text cuts off and begins a new paragraph. I've been having strange dreams, all of them about loyalty. The first dream takes place a long time ago. When I had been offered a place among the Shadowbolts. There I am, standing between the bridge and the Shadowbolts. I slowly start to walk forward and leave the bridge behind me. I can hear Twilight behind me, screaming for me to come back, but my dream self doesn't seem to care. The second dream was of my encounter with Discord in the maze, but instead of reliving this event firsthoof, I saw it from above the maze. I could not move or speak, only watch what happened. As Discord touched me, the color drained from my body, my wings reappeared, and I took of flying as fast as possible away from the maze. Discord smiled and began laughing hysterically. As his laugh died down, he looked at me, the dream me, and his grin only seemed to have deepened. Why am I having these dreams now! Of all the times I could be plagued by my dreams... why do they start when I am the weakest..." > Chapter 18 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You start skimming a few of the pages. "I can't do it anymore, I'm going to end it now. This is my last.... The workers stopped me from doing it, why do they need me alive!... I killed more today, to many to count.... they showed me a video about the factory, how it works, why it exists, and what the failures are to Cloudsdale, material.... WHY CAN'T I GET THAT SONG OUT OF MY HEAD!!??... In the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through. Yeah well, I bet the workers don't make it either.... Scootaloo is ready! It's not nearly time for her test but I know she's ready! There's no way in Equestria that she could fail. I can't help but get nervous though, I don't know what I'll do if I see her in here.... WHY DID THEY FREE HIM!!! It's like he's stalking me, questioning my every move... Dr Atmosphere seems to have taken interest in me, I just want to be left alone... STAY AWAY FROM ME DISCORD!!! How could I my dear, it's so fun to mess with other ponies brains, forcing them to write things I tell them to.... How can there be so many failures, I didn't know how many there were until now. The Dr. has been talking to me, telling me the circumstances of my recruitment. I guess the only way they could have been sure was to tell me what really was going on in the factory. I mean, it's not like some colt is gonna come up to me and say 'Hey Rainbow Dash, can you come to the Rainbow Factory section of the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation so we can see if your Sonic Rainboom' s spectra can be collected and stored so we can stop killing flight test failures and harvesting their blood so we can create rainbows to spread joy and happiness to Equestria and beyond?'..." "It's all happened for a reason right? I mean... why would I have this ability that no one else has. I've decided that, since I'm stuck here, I might as well make the best of it while I'm here. But, as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to fly out of here faster than I've ever flown and go straight to the princesses and in going to tell them everything and have this vile place shut down!!! It's just, I don't know if my mind can continue to handle the strain of this place until that time comes. He has been visiting me every once in a while. It's kinda sad that the only connection I have with my past life is Discord. He's been talking to me inside my head, constantly asking me questions. He gets on my nerves so much that I actually yelled at him to shut up in the middle of the factory... I got a few stares after that". "I got called into Dr. Atmosphere's office today, we had raised rather long conversation, but I can't get this one thing he said out of my head. I'm going to write down what I remember of our conversation. "Come in Ms. Dash". "You wanted to see me Dr.?" "Please, just call me Hide". "So uh, you wanted to see me?" "Yes, it has come to my attention that you have begun working exceptionally hard these past few days, and I'd like to thank you for your effort to our cause. However it has also begun to concern me. Tell me, has something changed recently in you life? Perhaps a family member died?" "I don't... have any... family..." "I'm sorry to hear that Ms. Dash, perhaps something else?" "No no, I'm fine really". " Ms. Dash, I understand your friends are all very busy, and I know how loyal you are to them, but Ms. Dash, I must tell you that loyalties can change". > Chapter 19 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I can't believe he said that to me, loyalties can change? That defies the very definition of loyalty! But I can't help but shake the feeling that he's right... Scootaloo keeps pushing off my attempts to make her practice harder and it worries me more than anything. They keep telling me that I'm protecting Cloudsdale's name, but I just... can't see how." You skip a few pages. "A filly somehow managed to pass the flight test even though he was terrible. When he moved on and got a job, he wore the Cloudsdale name, and carried it with him as he performed his job horribly. Word spread around that a pegasus from Cloudsdale was probably the worst licensed flyer in all of Equestria. He brought shame to us all. We... 'decommissioned' him promptly and sent the best flyer we had waiting to be assigned there. But the damage was done... we were never looked at the same again, always getting odd glances every once in a while as they recalled "The Worst Flyer they had ever seen." I can see now why they take them away from Cloudsdale, away from our city's great name, I just can't see why killing them is the best solution. I guess it helps us in both situations, our need to keep our name clean and our need for rainbows but it's just... I can't say I support their cause but, there's too much blood on my hooves to deny what I've done. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave this place, no matter how hard I try." "They have psychological therapy for all the factories workers. I went to one of the sessions only to feel more insane when I came out. If you denied you were insane you were insane for doing so. If you said you were insane the therapist would agree with you and tell you that he was going to make you feel better. Either way, I couldn't handle the pressure. I felt as if she was causing me more pain than resolving. I don't think anyone can..." You stop reading for a moment and rub your eyes. You flip the next page to discover that the rest of the diary had been ripped out of its binding. You search the floor to discover that the papers about the room were not part of the diary. You pick one of them up, it was some kind of party invitation. Balloons covered the page. After examining your surroundings, you notice a sign on the wall. Pictures of a who you assume are Rainbow Dash and the small filly called Scootaloo were taped all over the sign. The words and letters that were still visible spelled out "Do it for Her." You start to hear hoofsteps approaching from the metal catwalk. You look around, panicking at the thought of getting caught. You notice a pair of storage lockers next to the door, just large enough for you to fit in. You quickly dash to it and conceal yourself within. The entity approaches the room you are in and steps inside, is was the hooded mare. She looks around the room as if she was searching for something. She notices the diary lying on the floor, you hadn't even noticed you had dropped it. She walks over to it, picks it up, and appears to start reading it. She giggles for a moment before tossing the diary across the room and onto the bed. She looked at the storage lockers and approached them slowly. As she reached them, she quickly opened the one right next to you. Her head turned to the one you were hiding in, her hoof inches from the handle. A loud crash of metal fills the room and she turns around searching for the source. She walks to the other side of the room to investigate and notices the crowbar lying on the floor next to the bed. She cautiously lifts the bed skirt and looks underneath it. Now was your chance to escape > Chapter 20 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You burst out of the locker in full force, quickly turn, run through the door, and slam it behind you. You could hear her running after you. You begin your long run back to the crossroads where the skeletons littered the floor. As you approach the first skeleton, you remember the wrench and, the original purpose you had for the crowbar. You free the wrench from the skull and continue running down the only path you haven't taken. Glancing behind you reveals that she was not right behind you but you could still hear her running to catch up with you. You quickly rush down this path, trying to find another way to escape the mare. The path didn't continue for long before you ran into an elevator door with only one button, up. Quickly, you press the button and glance behind you, checking for the mare. The elevator dinged, and opened slowly. You rush inside and press as many buttons as you can. As you look back to the catwalk behind you, the mare had just turned the corner, saw what you were attempting and charges the elevator. Frantically, you start mashing the close door button. She gets closer and closer to the door. You didn't have any other option, you throw the wrench at her. It catches her off-guard and she has to crash dive to the left side of the catwalk to avoid getting hit square in the face. The elevator door closes and begins its accent into the upper portion of the factory You slump to the floor in the back of the elevator and take a deep breath. You glance up at the digital screen above the door. You've almost reached floor two. Abruptly, the elevator stops and all the lights in it shut off. You stand up in the darkness and attempt to find the control panel. The lights turn back on, the elevator dings, and starts moving again. Looking at the digital screen reveals you were going down. You press the emergency stop button only to find it had been disabled. You quickly attempt to find a way to escape and look up. There was indeed a safety hatch. You fly up and open it with a little difficulty. As soon as you're out, you close the hatch and then fly over to the service ladder at the far end of the shaft. You take a moment to rest before beginning the long climb back up to the second floor. You finally reach the second floor, fly over, and attempt to push the doors open. They open slowly with what pressure you put on them. What was on the other side nearly killed your spirit. Beyond this door was a loading dock that led to the outside, but the elevator door was boarded up. You attempt to push the boards off with no success. A small 'ding' echoes throughout the shaft and you look down. The elevator had finally reached the bottom of the facility again. You hear an agitated yell come from the elevator. You quickly fly upward to reach the next floor to see what was beyond it. The elevator began to rise. You open the third floor' s elevator door, revealing a familiar room, and a security drone. You let that door close and fly up to the next one, you were getting tired of flying. Opening the third floor reveals a long hallway with a broken door at the end. The elevator grew closer and closer. You enter this floor and head straight for the large room at the end of the hall. When you approached the door, you look back to see the elevator had gone past this floor. You return your attention to the door ahead of you. You could hear a few small machines still running on the other side. You take a deep breath before opening the door. Stepping inside reveals a multitude of things. There are a few tables littered with notes, a large device, which you assumed was the more modern Pegasus Device, and a fully grown orange pegasus pony lying on her back staring at the ceiling. > Chapter 21 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A small device beside her bed rose and fell in unison with her chest. Her mane looked expertly groomed and her hooves were folded across her chest. As you approach her cautiously, you notice she doesn’t move, and in fact, doesn’t seem to acknowledge your presence at all. She stares blankly into the dark ceiling above. Several surgical tables seem to float aimlessly around the bed; their tools were as pristine and clean as they would ever be. One table had a small note attached to it and it read, “Dear Miss Rainbow Dash, we have made some progress in reviving her, but she will never move or speak again. The electricity from the liquid thunder fried her nervous system. We are however, very certain that she can hear and see. How much good this will do, we don’t know. But, at the least, you can have some closure with her before we let her go. We’re not going to keep her here without a purpose. We hope you’ll understand. Sincerely,….” The name was scratched out multiple times and had words written by hoof underneath it. “LIAR, SHE CAN STILL BE SAVED.” You place the note back on the table. Why is she prolonging her life? You move onward to some of the farther off tables. Many notes were scattered about the surface. You pick one at random and read it. It was a little crumpled, “Dear Miss Dash, Me and my co-scientists have been looking for more efficient ways to extract our resource from our host bodies when we accidentally discovered something absolutely magnificent. We have learned of a process that can extract our resources from the host body without killing it! This sparks many different possibilities for future renovations. With this knowledge in hoof, I hope you will take deep consideration in what we further expand upon in the future of our great facility.” Well that wasn’t in history class. If what this note says is true, then the entire “killing all the flight test failures in Cloudsdale” thing could have been avoided had they done a little more research! Still, this doesn’t explain why this wasn’t brought up in history class though. Glancing about the table you notice what appears to be a diary entry, but it was not of Dash’s handwriting. “Due to our most recent employee’s stature and importance to the citizens of Equestria, I have assumed the duty to record important events that occur while she is present in the factory. Day 1, she cried a lot more that I thought she would. Of course, once she understands our purpose, I’m sure she will see things our way. Day 5, had to break up a couple of workers who were attacking Rainbow Dash. They have been disciplined. I understand why they resent her so much. I too, in a way, despise her ability to come and go as she pleases. I am however, the one who gave her such a privilege. Day 22, we had her handle the device for a few minutes and she displayed the common first reaction. Day 56, I called her into my office today to personally check up on her, she has been holding out her full support until today. I do believe that she has alternative motives. After I pressed her into talking, she threw a… ‘temper tantrum?’ Yes, that would be the best way to describe it. She wrecked my office in a matter of seconds, being as small as it really was. I believe her seeing me, waiting for her to finish, only enraged her more. I got her to sit down after a few minutes and tried to coerce her into telling me about her current living conditions. She casually brushed off anything I asked her until I told her something that I believe to be an utter fact of life. ‘Loyalties can change.’ She remained silent for the rest of the meeting. I dismissed her and suggested she go to one of our mental therapy sessions. Day 77, still holds out on our cause. If I’m going to have her succeed me, I need her to have some experience running the factory before I pass. I don’t feel like I’m going to die anytime soon, it’s just, accidents happen, and ponies can be killed by these ‘accidents.’ I need to have a backup plan should something happen to me, and Rainbow Dash displays many qualities that would make her an excellent candidate for replacing me in the future. At its current progression rate however, I believe it will take many years for her to be fully on board with this facility. However, I have devised a way to help nudge her in our direction using her extremely high ego. If it works, we can bypass the large chunks of time it would take to break her psyche so she can truly accept her place among us in the factory. Day 102, held another conference with Rainbow Dash. I placed a few hidden cameras within my office to record our conversation. I will analyze the tapes later to ensure the proper message was received. Meeting went fairly well with little interruption from Ms. Dash. Day 103, seems to be reluctantly conforming to the factories beliefs. My message must have done what I intended it to do. She still isn’t completely supporting us according to her diary. Only time will tell if she truly adopts our beliefs. Day 110, questionable material found within Dash’s diary has been removed by faculty. She was very unhappy to discover that not even her diary was safe from our eyes. On another note, she has been seen talking to herself recently. We’ve seen it before but it was not worth recognition until now. It concerns me deeply; she may be losing her mind completely. If this is indeed what is happening, she will be reduced to a blubbering mess, rendering her useless to us. I greatly hope that this is not the case. > Chapter 22 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Day 113 , due to unfortunate circumstances, Dash has taken permanent residence in the factory. She is, however, still allowed to come and go as she pleases. Day 114, Dash has stopped writing in her diary since the ‘incident’. We just now have discovered this. Dash has started going out with the pickup crews recently. I don’t understand why she so desperately wanted to start picking up the failures. Perhaps it only reassures her something hasn't happened to the last light in her life. We have realized how much of a distraction she has truly become. Scootaloo is the only thing that is keeping her sane. She is the only reason for Dash to continue functioning properly. It is also the reason she still holds out on us. We have to find a way to eliminate this ‘distraction’ from her mind. Day 120, we've been monitoring Rainbow Dash’s activities outside of the factory. She spends most of her time training Scootaloo for her flight test. Upon checking the schools records, we have learned she is to take said test in about four weeks. It is, unfortunate, that we must get her involved in this mess, especially since she is such an exemplary flier. I would even go as far to say that she might have become one of the best fliers in all of Equestria. It is a shame that her death is the only way to truly break Rainbow Dash. When she finally sees her previous life has abandoned her, she will have nowhere else to turn. Only then, will she be ready. Day 122, preparations are being made, the judges have been bribed and false friends have been made. I’ve had to pull so many strings to prepare for this event. Now as the events unfold, I await, eagerly, my predecessor.” …You can’t help but hate this guy the more you learn about him. You place the note back where you found it. A rather agitated yell fills the room, followed by a small ding, the same ding the elevator makes. Quickly, you search for an adequate hiding spot and notice the large machinery directly across the room from Scootaloo. You conceal yourself behind the machine and wait. The door leading into the room is ripped from its hinges and is thrown across the room. It crashes into several tables, scattering their contents about. The hooded mare enters and begins systematically scanning the room. Eventually, her eyes fall upon Scootaloo. She approaches her and sits down beside the bed on which she resides. She uses her front hooves to lift the black mask from her face revealing her dulled prismatic mane and cyan fur. Her eyes were full of sorrow and remorse. “I’ll never let them do anything to you ever again. I’ll always protect you. I’ve taken care of them all, the doctor, the workers, even the scientists. None of them can take you away from me now.” She slowly stroked Scootaloo’s mane in a comforting fashion. “It’s just you and me, forever.” Rainbow Dash slowly stands and walks over to a nearby balcony, you hadn't even noticed you were on a raised platform. As Dash looked down at the factory below, her gaze intensified as she started shouting. “NO YOU IMBECILE!!! That’s supposed to be in storage, not the manufacturing room!” She quickly leaps over the edge and dives into the factory below, shouting commands as she went. You emerge from behind the machine and check your surroundings. There was only one safe, viable route for you to take. You return to the elevator down the long hall and press the up button. The elevator opens immediately, admitting you inside. You look at the control panel and press the button for the top floor. The door closes, the elevator rises, and the doors open once again in a matter of seconds. A smaller hallway lies before you. Several closed doors line the hall but the one at the end was wide open. It appeared to be brightly lit and filled with electrical equipment. You begin walking toward the room at the end of the hall, systematically attempting to open all the side doors on your way there, but to no avail. You realize that if this room at the end of the hall was a dead-end, you would be trapped. As you approach the door, you notice many security feed monitors, similar to the ones you saw when you reentered the rainbow factory portion of the facility. Your nostrils are assaulted by a foul stench, you use one of you hooves to cover your nose. You enter the room and immediately begin searching for another path to lead out of the room and notice a door to your right. You approach it and just as you are about to turn the handle, you hear a small ‘click’ and a short burst of static. As you look at the monitors, you notice it seems to be replaying footage from a much earlier date. The one that caught your eye was the one that had several ponies in it, all of different ages; Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, two small fillies and an unknown red pegasus. > Chapter 23 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The primary monitor displays the room where you found Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash and an unknown red pegasus appear to be preparing for something. On a small side monitor, you can see two fillies, who appear to be slightly older than you, standing in the middle of the hall leading into the same room with Dash and the other Pegasus. A familiar pair of violet eyes join them at the hall’s entrance. They converse for a few seconds and then, the two fillies approach the open door at the end of the hall. The red pegasus conceals himself behind the large machinery and as he’s doing so, you are able to read the nameplate on his lab coat. “Dr. Atmosphere.” The two fillies bust through the door and seem to be caught off guard when they see nopony was there. Rainbow Dash flies in from the ceiling and forcefully lands on a suspended catwalk, causing it to shake violently. She seems to go on a long rant about… well, you don’t really know because you can’t hear anything. She approaches a nearby valve and places both of her front hooves upon it. She turns and appears to address the foals below her. Even seeing it happen on the monitor sent chills down your spine. She quickly turns the valve, releasing a continues stream of a neon blue liquid. One of the foals ducked for cover and the other flew above it. Dr. Atmosphere exploded from behind the machine and swatted the one filly out of the air, and pinned her to the ground. Rainbow Dash seemed to remark on the incident, take off from the platform and launch herself at the other filly, hitting him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The unconscious filly was then carried over to the large machine and placed upon a conveyor belt that lead into the maw of the machine. Both the Dr. and Rainbow Dash have a short burst of laughter before proceeding over to the machines controls. Looking back at the hallway monitor, you can still see Scootaloo looking cautiously into the room, her eyes searching for a way to save what you assume are her friends. Her eyes fall upon the valve at the top of the catwalk. Her eyes harden in determination, and she flies up to the valve. She yells at the top of her lungs and everything seems to stop. The conveyor belt stopped, the machine stopped churning it gears, and Rainbow Dash’s eyes swelled up with tears. The Dr. seems to be shocked as well and attempted to convince her to ignore Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash quickly brushed him off and refocused her attention on Scootaloo with disbelieving eyes. A smile spread across her face. Scootaloo began talking again and what she said must have caught Rainbow dash off guard for her face turned sour. She stomped her hoof in frustration and yelled toward Scootaloo. Scootaloo placed her hooves on a higher valve and turned it, releasing the pipes entire storage of the strange blue liquid right on top of her. She spread her wings, and then started to fall toward the floor. Rainbow Dash dove to catch her but, landed short and her body disappeared through the cloud floor. The Dr. confidently approaches Rainbow Dash. His face only displayed pity toward the old mare in front of him. He spoke a few words and Dash’s face lit up with comprehension. She stood and seemed to begin to question the Dr. He calmly responded to every question she asked. Rainbow’s eyes widened for a moment and then stared accusingly at Atmosphere. Rainbow began to say something, but was cut off by Dr. Atmosphere’s foreleg slamming into her cranium, knocking her unconscious. He stands there for a moment before taking in a deep sigh and turning back to the two fillies they subdued earlier, he calmly collect both of them and leads them out of the room to the elevator. All of the side monitors turn off leaving the main monitor alone. Rainbow Dash remains unconscious on the floor. Two horns rise from the cloud floor below, slowly revealing their owner. Discord rose above the cloud floor, his eyes full of pity. You hear a small speaker spring to life, filling the room with a faint hum. “You poor, poor pony. You’ve lost so much in such a small time.” Rainbow’s eyelids flickered to life, revealing her dilated pupils. She attempted to rise on shaking hooves, but failed to do so. “But I’m afraid you journey is not done, there is one more task you must complete.” Discord snaps his claws and the body of Scootaloo appeared in his outstretched paw. “She is not dead… yet.” Discord casually tossed Scootaloo’s body into Dash’s outstretched hooves. Dash stared blankly at the… ‘gift’ given to her. “She needs medical attention immediately, I suggest you hurry.” Dash stared blankly into the distance for a few seconds, then quickly stood on her back hooves, and took off flying. The other monitors spring back to life and the recording begins fast forwarding. You can still make out what’s happening, ponies are cleaning up a few messes, devices are being dismantled, Rainbow Dash and Dr. Atmosphere appear to be escorting Princess Celestia on a tour of the fa... wait… you knew the princess had condemned the place, but why was she now wandering… The other monitors shut off once more. The central monitor changes its view to a security surveillance room. After examining your surroundings, you determine the monitor displays the room you are currently in. You could hear their voices before they entered the room. “Well that went better than I originally expected.” “Better? She nearly lost her stomach several times before we actually entered the device’s room!” “True, but Ms. Dash, you must remember, most ponies are not accustomed to the whole ‘killing little fillies to make rainbows’ thing. Even if she is the Princess, I’m sure she hasn’t seen something of this magnitude in her lifetime.” The door to the room is pushed open and both Rainbow Dash and Dr. Atmosphere enter the room. “The Princess wants us to clean up our own mess so we might as well start here in the control room. I’ll start over here, if you could sort out the ones over in the corner that would be great.” “What exactly are we supposed to do with these files anyway?” “Get rid of them. Burn them, it doesn't matter, we just need to dispose of them. Just be sure you don’t throw out anything about any expansions or changes we’ve made to the factory.” The two silently begin shuffling through filling cabinets. As Rainbow Dash casually flips through them, one folder catches her eye. It had her name on it and had a small sub-folder inside it labeled Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash cautiously glances over her shoulder at the Dr. to ensure he was occupied. After seeing he was, she pulls out a familiar looking document and begins reading it. The farther she gets in the log, the lower her ears droop. Her mouth stood slightly ajar as she mouthed the words written on the page. She struggles to keep hold of the paper in her trembling hooves. As she finishes reading it, Dr. Atmosphere casually glances over his shoulder to check on Rainbow Dash and as he notices what she’s reading, his eyes widen in terror. Rainbow dash silently placed the document on a nearby table. A long period of silence brewed within the room. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence, her voice was shaking with rage. “You… you planned this… from the very beginning. You forced Scootaloo to fail. You forced her to come here. You’re the reason she’s paralyzed…” “Now Rainbow Dash…” “You’re the reason I was forced to kill all those defenseless fillies.” “Don’t do anything you might regret in the future…” “You’re the reason I was forced to come to the factory.” “Please Rainbow Dash, you have to understand that I did all of this for the betterment of the…” “You’re the reason I gave up on all my friends” Dr. Atmosphere slowly backs away from Rainbow Dash toward the door, when a familiar maniacal chuckle fills the room. The door slammed shut and locked itself. The Dr. rushed over to the door and began trying to unlock it to no avail. It appeared to be jammed. Rainbow Dash slowly extended her wings. “You once told me that loyalties can change. How wrong I thought you were at the time. But now, actually realizing such a change has occurred, I can say with a strong belief that you were right. But no matter how right you were, and no matter how well you ran this facility…” In an instant, Rainbow Dash flew across the room and pinned Dr. Atmosphere, by the neck, to the door, with her foreleg. “it does not give you…” Her wings flapped again dragging the Dr. with her. “The right…” She flew higher and higher, dragging the red pegasus along the concrete like cloud, scrapping the skin off of his back the higher they went. “to toy…” Rainbow Dash slammed her back hooves into the Dr.’s wings, crushing them between the wall, and her seething hatred. “WITH MY FEELINGS!!!!” Rainbow Dash grabbed the Dr. and pulled him off the wall and into the air. When she reached the highest point in the room, she threw him at full force straight at the ground. As he fell, his mouth was ajar from inexplicable pain or sheer terror, you could not tell. He tried desperately to spread his wings so he could glide to safety, but was unable to do so. The Dr.’s eyes continued to search for some form of salvation but could find none. As he approached the ground, he finally accepted his fate and closed his eyes. A sickening thud echoes through the room. The Dr., somehow managing to survive the fall, struggled for air as he coughed up the blood that was blocking his airways. Rainbow Dash flew down and landed in front of his crumpled form. “You’ve taken so much from me; my friends, my home, my conscience, my sanity…” She places a hoof on his shoulder. “My family. I had a pretty good life. And then you showed up. You heartless, cruel, selfish monster. I couldn’t live the rest of my life knowing such a colt was still alive, playing with other ponies lives.” Her expression turns sour as she lifts the Dr. off the ground and dragged him to a nearby, small, personal belongings locker and began stuffing the shell that was once Dr. Atmosphere, inside. Bones cracked sending chills down your spine. Yelps of pain emerged from the locker until one final ‘Snap.’ The cries of pain ceased, but Rainbow Dash continued trying to fit him into the small cubic storage space. Blood dripped from the bottom of the locker unto the floor. She still continued to kick the corpse inside the locker until it seemed there was no recognizable thing to kick. She slammed the locker door which bounced off the lock and swung back open. Rainbow Dash turned her back on the locker and stood in the middle of the room. The door leading into the room shimmered slightly as a long and tall figure entered the room. Discord looked precariously into the locker. “Tsk, tsk, Rainbow Dash, I don’t believe a pony’s spine is supposed to bend THAT way.” Rainbow Dash remained silent. “Such a long way you have come, so many lessons have been learned. I do believe my job here is done.” I know you don’t want this to end Discord. We can help each other out. You need a way to release your chaotic energy without the little miss goody two shoes Princess finding out and I need an excuse to keep Scootaloo on life support.” Discord only raised an eyebrow, “They’re going to let her go… the only family I have left. I ask this of you now Discord, help me accomplish this task, and you won’t have to keep all that energy pent up inside your horrendous form.” “Ahem, I don’t particularly like being called such downgrading names… but you offer intrigues me. Alright Rainbow Dash, I’ll play along, as long as I can keep that overbearing ‘Princess Celestia’ off my back, she’s always pestering me! Fix this, fix that UGH what a drag.” Rainbow Dash’s face remained calm and collected as she chose her next words carefully. “Of course, if we want to successfully pull this off we're going to need HER help.” One of Discord’s eyebrows raises to form a question. Rainbow Dash doesn’t move, nor give any hint as to whom she is talking about when Discord’s eyes widen in realization. “OH NO NO NO NO NO NO, I will NOT go to her for help. She’s just so… serious.” “Well, who else could accomplish what she can?” Discord searches for an answer before finally admitting defeat. “Only her… But if she says anything about my horns were going to have to find somepony else.” The recording stops and all of the screens fuzz out. You return your attention to the door you were about to open. > Chapter 24 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You place your hoof on the doorknob and turn it. It resists the force you put on it but open just the same. The door is forced open by a strong gust of wind. You steel yourself against the current as it threatens to carry you away. Beyond the door you can see a suspended catwalk bent counter-clockwise around a circular room and led to another door. There is no other path to take. You hug the guard rail near the inner side of the room and proceed to cross. The further you went, the less you could feel the wind and about halfway across, it had completely vanished. It was replaced by a faint squeaking which almost sounded like a rusty fan or perhaps a small screw coming undone… You look back toward the door on the other side of the room, and look beneath the catwalk. Due to the light coming from the opposite room, you couldn't tell exactly what was there, but you could see movement among the shadows. A long metallic groan fills the room--now was the time to run. You turn tail and bolt for the opposite door. A loud crack echoes through the room. As you look back, you see a section of the catwalk had collapsed and was dragging the rest of the catwalk with it. A small breeze began to blow around the room once more and slowly progressed until it was once again a raging torrent of air. The collapsing sections had caught up with you. You wouldn't have enough power to escape the howling wind should you have to fly. The door was only a few feet away, but so was the collapsing catwalk, there wasn't enough time. You dive for the open door and fold your wings as tightly as possible against the sides of your body. You could feel the wind swirling around your as you flew through the air. The catwalk beneath you detached itself from the wall and fell into the darkness below. The door, which was directly in front of you, slowly drifted off to your right. Your body passes through the door frame, is slammed up against the left wall and falls to the ground. The impact had dazed you slightly and you took your time in getting up. You glance back at where the catwalk was supposed to be. And notice movement in the doorway across the way. Rainbow Dash entered the surveillance room and immediately spied the open door and you. You could still feel the wind blowing through the room, but it felt like it was dying down. You turn and run. The hall seemed to curve counter-clockwise around the room you were just in. You continued running until you came to a door with yet another familiar label, ’Armory’. Testing the knob reveals that it is unlocked. You quickly enter and close the door behind and notice a bolt lock on the door. You set it in place, and examine your surroundings. Farther down in the room was a similar door with a bolt lock already in place. To your right, there was what appeared to be a small storage room. You cautiously enter and look to the left. Several storage lockers hung open and appeared to be empty. You look left and come face to face with a security drone. You begin backing away but trip on a small stray cord and fall to the ground. You crawl backward away from the drone but stop when you notice it hadn’t moved. You sigh in relief; the drone had been deactivated long ago. As you prepare to stand, your hoof lands on something. You examine it as it’s lying on the ground and realize you’ve seen one of these before. It was slightly damaged but you were almost certain you could still use it. You pick up the taser and place it within your saddlebag. > Chapter 25 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You exit the side room of the armory and start walking toward the door on the opposite side of the room. *Thud* You look back to the door you had locked. *Thud* it shook violently. You burst into a full gallop toward the next door. You hear another thud, mixed with the sound of breaking wood. You've almost reached the next door. *Crack* You take a quick glance behind you to see a familiar wrench being pulled from the door. You reach the opposite door, unlock, open it, and as you turn to close it behind you, you see Dash's hoof reaching through the hole she had just made, trying to unlock the door. You slam it shut and turn around. Its nice to know you just made a giant circle. You rush past the small desk and cage on your right and head toward the door beside the now broken grate. As you enter the next room, you see the desk you pushed in front of the door had been pushed aside and the door had swung open. you waste no time and rush through the door. you knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't be long behind you. You remove the taser from your saddle bag. if you ran into another drone, or if Rainbow Dash caught up to you, you wouldn't hesitate to use it. As you look down the hall, you are relieved to see that there isn't a drone. You close the door and start running. You flap your wings to increase your running speed. You look around, and are still amazed that all the machines are functioning properly. However, it concerns you that there are still large amounts of spectra flowing from the vats and unto the pressing lines. you look back toward the door you just came through and notice that there is a bolt lock installed upon it. You quickly change direction using your wings. As you quickly approach the door it started to open. There wasn't enough time to turn around now, you hit the partially open door at full force with your shoulder. You feel sharp pain run up your leg, and hear a surprised yelp on the other side of the door. You use your other hoof to set the bolt lock. the door knob jiggles in place a few times before it is forcefully removed from the door and is replaced by a rather angry violet iris which focused its gaze upon you. You quickly stand and run for the opposite door. Your shoulder pulses with pain, but you're sure you can walk it off. You cautiously enter the next room. To your left, another door and to the right, the backside of several drones exiting the room. You quickly, but quietly, proceed to the door on your left, open it, and close it quietly behind you. You turn and examine the room you are now in. A catwalk surrounds the one half side of the room you are on. Below it is what appears to be large storage crates, which obscure most of the room from your view. But there appeared to be a rather convenient clear path running straight through the middle of the room leading to another door on the other side. You place one hoof on the catwalk and peer down at it's supports to ensure nothing was tampering with them. Seeing nothing, you proceed out onto it. You look around for another exit from the room but could not find one. As your gaze drifts back to the door on the other side, you think you see a small white light. You try to obtain a closer look at it but as you try to do so, its light grows brighter. You are forced to shield your eyes from its light, it almost seemed as bright as the sun. > Chapter 26 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The light dims and you are able to see once more. Standing in the middle of the open door on the other side of the room, was the ruler of the land. Princess Celestia stood in the middle of the open doorway at the end of the hall. You stand, paralyzed in awe of her regality, but the feeling is quickly changed to fear when you see the expression upon her face. Pure anger seemed to resonate throughout the entire room. You take a few steps back and seem to bump into a wall, but the wall starts to push you out of the way. Rainbow Dash approaches the edge of the balcony. You sigh in annoyance, another ‘vision’. “So this is the path you've chosen.” Celestia was the first to speak. “After everything you have done, and after it was all exposed, you still continue this madness?” “Oh, you found out about that, huh?” “Rainbow Dash, we know you've abducted three fillies and brought them here! Return them to their homes and end this madness!” "Oh, well, heh, I’m afraid I can’t do that. You see, they’re already dead.” Princess Celestia looked as though she’d been hit with a hammer. she quickly regains her composure and addresses Rainbow Dash again. “Then you have left me no choice, guards,” several armored pegasi enter the room from the door behind the Princess. “Arrest Rainbow Dash for treachery… and murder.” The pegasi withdrew their spears from their sheaths. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that Princess. I have a promise that I have to keep. I will protect Scootaloo from anypony who wishes her harm, even if that pony is you.” Rainbow Dash crouches and spreads her wings, but then disappears in an instant. “Find her.” The guards begin to fan out to search the dark corners of the room. one of the large storage crates on your right is shoved violently across the room. It pins one of the guards to the wall. Two of the pegasi fly into the air to try and catch where she had gone. One of the guards on the ground let out a scream of agony as the golden spear of the first guard breached his spinal cord, right behind his neck. The two guards charged the location the scream had come from, but were swatted out of the air by their fallen comrades spears. One final guard attempted to avenge his brethren, but was pinned to the nearby wall with another spear. Rainbow appeared once more in the center of the room. “I cannot let this continue. You leave me with but one choice.” Rainbow Dash leaps from where she’s standing straight toward the Princess. She was temporarily caught off guard, but was able to set up a barrier spell before Dash came into contact with her. The spell holds, but a dent begins to form where her hoof was trying to interrupt it. “WHAT!” a fearful tone came from the Princess. “What dark magic aids you!” Rainbow Dash only began to push harder upon the bubble. “ENOUGH!” Princess Celestia reinforced her barrier and expelled Rainbow Dash from the shield. She was thrown into the center of the room, where she seemed to be unconscious. “I have felt this magic before… Twilight, I’m afraid that you cannot speak with your friend... for she is no longer here.” Celestia slowly exited the room and began giving orders to some other guards, leaving a purple alicorn alone, sitting in the middle of the doorway. She looked toward the figure that was once her former friend, and stood up. A single tear ran down her cheek. She turned and left this room behind her. > Chapter 27 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The door closes behind Twilight. Rainbow Dash’s eyes immediately flicker open and she stands. She brushes a small bit of dust off of her shoulder and turns her back on the door. Her eyes focus upon the ground and she solemnly flies back up to the balcony and exits through the door she had come through. The remaining guards bodies slowly begin to fade telling you that the vision was indeed over. You hover down to the floor and head toward the opposite door. You open the door and proceed forward with caution. As you look around the room you see a door, directly opposite of you start to close, there was a keypad next to it. You rush over to the door and prevent it from closing. You take a second look around. There were no other doors in the room, just piles and piles of boxes with strange labels upon them. You examine the keypad; it operated several bolt locks which would slide in and out-of-place to secure the door. If there was one door in this entire factory that Rainbow Dash couldn't break down, this was it. She probably has some sort of keycard for the door so you decide to break the keypad. You hold the door open with your front hooves and prepare to kick the keypad with your back. You strike the keypad with your back hooves and examine the damage you had done. The keypad was only slightly tilted to the side. You sigh annoyance and prepare to kick again. You hear a loud thud. You look out into the room you just came from. The door on top of the balcony had been thrown open to reveal an angry eyed Rainbow Dash. You frantically begin hitting the side of the keypad repeatedly. Rainbow Dash leaps off the balcony and charges you. Another hit popped the keypad off of the wall, Rainbow Dash passed through the door you just came through. You grab the keypad, wires still attached, and pull it through the door. Rainbow was halfway across the room. You slam the door on the wires and hear several bolt locks being set into place and then, silence. You slump to the floor and release the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Rainbow Dash had been mere inches from the door. A moment to rest at last… You allow your mind to wander away from the events occurring in the factory. How was your mother? She was probably worried sick that you hadn’t returned yet. What about your friends? Were they still waiting outside the factory’s doors, hoping to catch some sign that you were still alive? Your world comes back into focus to the objects around you. An office desk lie in the middle of the room you had entered. A small chair rested on your end while three much larger ones dominated the other side. A small projector sat in the middle of the table, pointed at the nearby white wall. The projector sputtered to life but at first, only with sound. The Piano notes seemed to resonate through the entire room. > Chapter 28 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You calmly stand, walk over the the table, place a hoof on the small chair, pick it up, and throw it across the room at the projector. The chair collides with the projector, breaking it open and sprawling its contents onto the ground. "My, my my, so much anger stored in such a little form. I believe we have a program for releasing such pent up rage, it however mainly focuses that anger upon another." The voice echoed all around you. "It unfortunately only worked best in the short run. ponies started to complain that it was turning them into sadistic monsters when they released their anger upon the failures, or it was perhaps because they were no longer usable to the machine after the 'therapy' sessions." wires from the projector began to entwine themselves together, snaking their way toward the ceiling. "Oh what does it matter now, we need a solution for YOU. perhaps instead of running around more, you take a seat and relax." The wires reached the ceiling and attached themselves to it. A griffon's claw, and lion's paw reach through the wires and spread them apart. Discord steps through the open hole. "Why heeello again, its been awhile since I've seen you, I’d just thought I’d stop by and check in on you." You glare at him. "Oh here I am trying to be nice and all you can do is glare... Well I've noticed that you're such a bookworm that you've been reading just about everything you can and I just thought, maybe, You'd like to take a breather to read a little more hmmm?" He gestures to a computer behind him. "Stored within are two small journal entries written by employees of this factory, one alive, and the other dead. You will however have to gain access to their user accounts." he begins to mumble to himself. "yes well she's the antagonist... but uh.... OH! Have you ever heard of the book called the curious case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Yes well its a marvelous book about a pony who loses their mind and transforms into an abomination. Kind of like the kind of thing you'd see in a horror movie when thunder strikes on a dreary lane." He smiles to himself. "Yes well that is all the information i'm going to give you, now if you'll excuse me, I have a few other fillies to visit." He steps back through the hole in the wires and disappears. You walk over to the computer and sit down in one of the chairs. you look at the screen and it asks you for the username. > Chapter 29 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash's journal seemed to have been recently updated. You push back from the desk and proceed back toward the next door. It was an ordinary door, no locks of any kind held is closed. You reach your hoof out toward the door knob but then hesitate. A chill runs down your spine. Something told you that you were close to the end, close to freedom from this nightmare. You take a deep breath and open the door. This room appeared to be some kind of worker checkpoint. Metal detectors lined the middle of the room. There was a single door on the far side of the room. Several ventilation shafts led into the room, papers littered the floor. You cautiously walk over to the security checkpoint. A control box to your left held the skeleton of a who you assumed was a guard. You pass through one of the metal detectors and head for the next door. After opening it, you peer into the next room. Two doors, one on your left and the other to your right. You hear a metallic crash come from behind you. You look back, and see that the ventilation shaft that was on the ceiling's grate had fallen of its frame. A wrench dropped down into the room. You slam the door shut and run to the door on your right. You open it and see a maintenance shaft in the middle of the room. The walls were lined with an assortment of strange tools. There was a ladder that lead down into the shaft but you ignored it and flew down instead. The shaft continued horizontally from the ladder. A loud boom echoed from your left.It seemed very familiar. You proceed running left. Gears spun around along the sides of the wall, making seem as though this hallway was some sort of clockwork machine. It almost seemed alive. As you progressed, the pounding grew louder. You reached the end of the maintenance shaft and start climbing up the ladder. You hear a thunk on the other end of the tunnel. You could only assume it was Dash. She would have a much harder time traversing the narrow shaft. You reach the top of the ladder and scramble off of the ladder into the room that looked eerily like the one you entered into it from. You throw open the door and are bombarded with sound. This room was a fully operational rainbow compression room. The spectra flowed freely within clear tubes throughout the room. Steam hissed next to your ear causing you to cringe from the sound. Further down the room are more pressing machines. Why was this all still operational? You look around and see two other doors in the in the room. The room you exited from was in the middle of this compressor room. You estimate that the door to your right would lead you back into the factory. You head left toward the door farthest away from you. The hammers on the machine seemed to shake the entire room. You could feel its energy traveling through the floor into your body. It made you dizzy and sick. You reach the door and open it. You hear hoofsteps behind you. They were close. You bolt through the door toward the strange view in front of you. The sunlight was blinding, but there were shadows among it. Had your friends waited for you to return? The shadows began cheering, at first it seemed they were cheering you on, but as you got closer, their voices began chanting in unison. "RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!" You stop dead in your tracks. What? These were your classmates,you recognized some of their voices and a few of their faces. You reach the exit and try to push your way out, but everyone outside shoves you back in. No... Why was this happening? It was like an angry mob begging for the exectioner to finish his work. Your primal instincts took over. I must keep fighting. Twenty of my classmates, or Rainbow Dash? You pull the taser from your saddlebag. You only had one shot... The wrench connected perfectly with the taser in your hoof, sending it flying across the room. You turn toward the thrower only to see the forehoof about to connect itself with your skull. Your camera flies off of your neck and rolls across the ground. The time read 8:00am. Your unconscious body lies in the middle of the room. Dash triumphantly walks over to your body and begins to arrange it into a manageable pile. She glances over to the camera and smiles. "Ooo, home movies." She picks it up and drapes it over your body. She picks up your body, places it in a nearby cart, and begins rolling it back into the factory. She started humming softly to herself. "Where not a single soul gets through..." > Chapter ??? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You open the front door to your house and step inside. A voice calls out to you from the kitchen "Sweetie is that you?." "Yes mom." "Did something happen? You're home a little early." "Yeah, the movie we all went to see was terrible so we left early." Your mother steps out of the kitchen with a quizzical look on her face. "And why did they want you to bring your camera, they didn't want you to record it did they?" "No, they didn't want me to record it. Trendy was thinking about buying one and he wanted to take a look at mine." "Alright, alright, you can't blame me for being suspicious. Now come here." You roll your eyes and embrace your mother in a hug. "I love you, I know its been hard since your father..." "Mom, it's fine" "I know its just, I think that I don't tell you enough how much I love you." "It's ok mom, I love you to." they hold their embrace for awhile. You glance toward the clock on the wall which read 8:30pm. "Well, all that running around has me beat, I think I'm going to hit the sack early." "Oh, alright" she releases you from her grasp. "I guess I'll see you in the morning." "Ok, goodnight mom." "goodnight..." As you head up the stairs, a smile crosses your mother's mouth, and a smug grin crosses yours. So much love, you thought, enough to feed dozens. > Chapter 30 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your eyes flicker open slowly, only to see darkness beyond them. You were lying on your back. You tried to move your legs but you felt that they were restrained. You pulled at them but to no avail. You hear a small click, and a light above you begins producing a light that blinds you, forcing you to close your eyes. "You know you made it much farther than any other pony. I'm honestly very impressed. It's such a shame that all of your struggles were in vain." You open your eyes slowly to adjust them to the light. Rainbow Dash stood behind a control panel on the far end of the room working a few levers and buttons, occasionally glancing up at you. "Now Rainbow, it's not polite to play with your prey." Discord's voice rang out from the darkness. "But this filly isn't prey. By saying that it is, you imply it has the chance to escape." A new voice entered the conversation. It was feminine, and almost demonic. "Oh, always so technical about your grammar. Why must everything you do be so precise. Where is the fun in everything being so strict." "I'm not here to argue with you, I'm here because of the offer she made me." "Will both of you SHUT UP! We've gone over this before, I need both of you to help me continue my research, and to do that, we have to keep this factory running. Discord, I'm sure being able to release some of you chaotic energy is payment enough, and Chrysalis, your getting 'food' for your subjects... I still don't understand how that works..." A green glow erupted from the darkness, resembling two eyes. The black figure stepped into the light. "Yes well you don't have to. All that matters to you is that this entire operation is being covered up by my minions." "And Discord, I'd like to thank you for creating a hole in the princess' spell." "Oh well I'd do anything for one of my close friends!" ".... Don't push it." "Ahem, don't you have something to attend to?" "Ah, yes. Now that everyone has been acquainted with each other, let us begin. Hello you poor young filly. I'd like to be the first to thank you for volunteering for this project of mine. Oh, and I almost forgot," She pulls down on a lever. A machine slides out from a nearby wall, travelling along a metal track , and positions itself directly in front of you. A rod slides out from the middle of the machine to reveal a knife. It spins and rotates until its seems to have found an optimal entry point. "Welcome to the Factory."