Chapters Rainbow Factory: The Tour
"Well, your application is impressive. So tell me, why do you want a position with us?"
"I don't know." Booster said. "I just need a job is all." he made up a reason. The office was small, well-lit compared to the rest of the factory. The stallion speaking to him, a yellow colt in glasses named Quarterly, sat behind a modest desk and looked over his application via computer screen.
"Well, as you know the Rainbow Factory has had to go public about a few things recently. Some cutbacks have had to be made in some unfortunate places and I can't really promise you the benefits I could've a few months ago." Quarterly explained, gesturing with his hooves as he did so.
"That's fine. I... I understand." Booster replied. His expression was somber, stoic. He, like many others understood how the Rainbow Factory worked already. He didn't need another explanation but that wasn't going to stop him from getting one apparently.
"We've always had to do what is necessary here, some of us don't like it but somepony has to do the tough jobs. We might as well try to make the best of things, right?"
"Right, right." Booster nodded, his expression didn't change.
"We wouldn't normally consider an applicant who didn't finish flight school but as you've seen, times are difficult right now. We're all having to make some sacrifices here and there. We will endure however and soon we should see things back to normal soon enough."
Booster nodded again and looked the yellow colt right in the eyes. "I understand, right now I just need some regular work, something close to home."
"Well, that I can promise you." Quarterly said with a chuckle. "It just so happens we do have some positions open and if everything checks out, we could have you started here by the end of the week."
"Sounds great." Booster replied, trying to sound enthusiastic and reserved at the same time. This place had a reputation, Booster knew that and Quarterly knew Booster knew that. He had to play the 'no other options' card as long as he could. Sympathy, he was only doing what was necessary. Sounded good on paper. He was already the same as the ponies that worked here. But would Quarterly buy it?
"So, how about a tour while we process the background check?" Quarterly got up from his desk and walked over to the door. Booster got up slowly, not speaking. He tried to make his face seem a good combination of nervous and glum. Thinking about how to do that confused him, oddly enough accomplishing the desired expression. Quarterly led Booster out of the door and back into the entrance hallway. They turned right, walked down the dimly-lit corridor and went through a pair of double doors into the factory. Booster took note of the sign that read "AUTHORIZED PEGASI ONLY on the side of the door.
Beyond the double doors was the another long corridor, doors lining both sides. Past an intersection directly ahead of them was yet another set of double doors.
"The first rainbow was actually discovered by accident." Quarterly began as they walked. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Booster was paying attention but kept moving forward. "A group of pegasi were trying to create a cyclone when an unfortunate mishap occurred. Nopony knew it at the time but the loss of all those pegasi at the same time during that storm is what created the very first rainbow seen in Equestria. Lasted almost forty minutes and was seen from Ponyville to Canterlot. Truly, it was inspirational... and unfortunately very tragic."
Pictures hung on the walls as they walked by. Booster thought about Quarterly's words as he eyed each frame. Some were pictures of ponies, pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies. One picture made him slow down to examine it. Underneath it said "Rainbow Mill". It was a picture of what looked to be a wooden structure with several windmills on top of it. A long line of ponies stretched outside. They were in shackles being led inside this structure. An ominous rainbow, jagged and wavey in its colored rays rose out of the top of it.
"The first rainbow factory was started to try and duplicate the process that created the phenomenon that was seen in the skies that day. Pegasi researched tirelessly trying to find out what made rainbows occur. Taking colors like paint and just mixing them with the general atmospheric technology pegasi normally use yielded no results. It was discovered rainbows required a very specific ingredient: life itself."
Booster said nothing. A history lesson wasn't something he needed but it was answering a few of his questions and keeping his mind off things so he listened.
Quarterly continued. "As you know, when a pony loses hope, they lose their color. They gradually become grayer as moral drops. This process works in reverse as well. Keep in mind, this was a time when Equestria was in a state of depression, ponies were becoming grayer by the day. Jobs were hard to come by, there were too many ponies needing work. So we found a solution to keep up moral and eliminate surplus simultaneously. With rainbows."
The phrase 'eliminate surplus' hung in Booster's ear for a moment. These pegasi that worked here had been doing it for generations. Treating ponies like cattle, leading them in to slaughter to create a colorful display. All for the 'greater good', a 'necessary sacrifice'. The hope of all Equestria came first. Booster would rather live his life depressed and gray than let this go on another day. Still, he kept his mouth shut.
They stopped in front of anothe picture. Emblazoned at the top were the words "Our Founder" underneath was the name Misty Veil. A white pegasi with a pink mane and lite pink tips, she smiled softly in front of a background of clouds.
"Misty Veil was the pony that started it all, once again, by accident. She pushed a couple pegasi into some machinery one day at the original rainbow mill and after the screams subsided, the most gorgeous rainbow appeared. Shot right up across the sky. Soon after, we contracted the princess to provide 'emotional relief' to the population and volunteers started coming to us from all corners of Equestria." Quarterly smiled at Booster as he looked at the picture of the pegasus, the one responsible for starting all of this. So much horror all at the hooves of one mare. Even worse, Booster had to admit she wasn't unattractive. He examined her tail a little more closely than he wanted to and felt disgusted with himself for doing so. He was admiring a monster.
The yellow pegasus turned and led Booster through the intersection. The hallways they crossed were completely dark, whether this was regular or not, Booster couldn't tell. The floor and walls were a dull white and matched the tile they walked on. It looked more like a hospital than a factory, something that didn't bode well. They continued walking up to the double doors in front of them. FACTORY FLOOR hung on the wall above them.
Quarterly stopped and put a hoof on the door. Carefully, he turned to face Booster.
"The factory floor. Eh, this is the area that gets... shall we say, the most attention? I assure you though that it's a much more complicated process than it seems and we all do what is absolutely necessary to ensure the highest quality. I have to warn you, it's not pretty but at the end of the day it's just another job."
Booster, still stoic, nodded, forcing himself to agree. "Right. Just another job." Quarterly pushed open the door and the two entered.
Author's Note
I'm thoroughly disappointed with the lack of humor in this chapter but buildup is entirely necessary, especially with a story like this.
Rainbow Factory: The Tour
"Where is he now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I still can't see him. He's been in there for about twenty minutes." Fluttershy replied, looking through a pair of binoculars at the factory. They both hid in an outcropping of clouds that slowly drifted by. The factory had less security lately but they were still wary of getting too close. They didn't want anypony seeing them.
"He knows why we're doing this and he knows what to do. We'll just have to hope everything works out okay." Rainbow Dash said.
The doors closed shut behind Booster as he walked through. They entered a small antechamber passage connecting to the factory floor. Two security gaurds stood at attention before another pair of double doors. Quarterly approached both of them and presented a small laminated card from his labcoat pocket.
"We've lost a few members of our security personnel following the... cutbacks but security is still a priority to us and strictly enforced. You'll be assigned a badge and your own ID number to login to the factory systems with, keep them on you at all times." Quarterly instructed as the gaurd examined the small card. The gaurd simply flipped the card over, read the front and back, hoofed it back to Quarterly and gestured for the two of them to pass.
"And this is where the magic happens." Quarterly announced as he opend the door for Booster. They walked out onto a walkway that stretched across the room before them. Ahead of them was yet another pair of double doors. To their right, a railing seperated them from the factory floor. On the floor itself, four conveyor belts criss-crossed the room, seperated by spaces to walk. The light from the cieling reflected off the floor below. Something about it made Booster think the floor must've been cleaned recently and that it had to be cleaned pretty often. A drain in the middle of the floor caught his eye and confirmed his theory.
"This is where raw materials are harvested and then shipped for assembly." Quarterly said, leaning over the walkway. Booster was more tempted to back away then lean across the rail. His eyes traveled upward and a sharp trill of fear traveled up his spine. Large, mechanical devices resembling arms or claws were attatched to catwalks above. Some were bigger than others with enormous fingers of some sort. Others were smaller, equipped with tubes and wires running further up them. The tubes on the arms ran along the length of the catwalk and connected to pipes in the wall.
Booster's eyes ran along the length of the conveyor belt until he was looking through the grating right under him. In faded white letters were the words PRIMARY DISPOSAL printed on the tops of the machines he'd already seen before: the waste compactors. He knew that inside the unassuming gray boxes underneath him were enormous pistons. Waste compactors, the unused "raw materials" were disposed of by way of the conveyor belt. After all pigment had been drained from each pony, their bodies were placed on the conveyor belt and then compacted. Burning the bodies alone would cause pollution so they were treated first. Meaning crushed into the smallest pieces possible, treated then incinerated.
"Ah yes, the work of harvesting pigment produces quite a lot of waste I'm afraid. Mantainence of the compactors, keeping them clean, is quite tiresome. And messy, but it's work that has to be completed for the raw materials to be-"
"Raw materials?" temper was still in check and although he was disgusted with what he'd seen, with how Quarterly was acting, with everything around him at the moment, he was in complete control. But he needed to play a specific card right now. "You mean the ponies you're slaughtering?" he asked.
Quarterly looked up at him. "Patriots, every last one of them. They're making the sacrifice to keep moral high. Can you imagine if everypony in Equestria turned gray? We could lose everything. Nothing would be done, no progress would be made."
Booster raised an eyebrow. "So it's a sacrifice... for progress?" he asked, though he knew already how Quarterly was going to answer.
"That's right. We're only doing what is absolutely necessary." Quarterly assured him.
"So..." Booster swallowed. The next question was a tough one but one he needed to ask. "How... how hard is it to operate these machines?"
"I bet you think it's complicated, don't you?" Quarterly said, smiling. "Not at all actually. In fact, the instructions are labelled on each terminal and most of the process is automated. Key in a command using the terminal's controls and the machines execute the function."
Booster looked over at the various controls on the walkway across from them, some mounted directly on the wall. Good, it was easier than he thought it was going to be. Now, he just needed to wait for the right moment.
"Despite all the automation, the factory still requires a fair amount of direct attention. I don't know yet if you'll get selected for the factory floor but we'll get that sorted out by the time you're ready for orientation." Quarterly said. He set his hooves off the railing and began leading Booster towards the other set of double doors at the end of the walkway.
"Haven't got a weak stomach, have you?" Quarterly asked over his shoulder, grinning as he did so.
"No." Booster replied, his voice stoic.
Quarterly smiled. "Ah, I wouldn't think so if you applied here. All right, let's move on."
Booster followed the yellow pegasus through the next set of double doors marked R&D. They entered another hallway, this one was actually well-lit. More rooms lined the walls to the left and right, some had numbers on the doors, there were also windows into the rooms large enough to see everything inside. It looked to Booster more like a hospital wing or laboratory. Everything was white and well-lit, Booster looked through one of the large room-windows they passed and saw ponies inside. The occupants of the room wore labcoats and were busy at terminals, none of them looked up to acknowledge them as they passed.
"This is our Research and Development department. Here, we monitor quality control, manage resources and study and design new colors and rainbows." Booster explained as they walked.
"New colors?" Booster asked, trying to act interested. Actually, this time it wasn't an act; he was genuinely interested.
"Oh yes, since I became a manager, we've discovered 2 new colors: breen and super-white." Quarterly said.
"Breen and super-white?" Booster asked, a perplexed look on his face.
"Yes, breen's a combination of brown and green. You might remember it from that episode of Rocko's Modern Life where they try to renovate Rocko's house. Super-white, as the name suggests is the ultimate white. It's so white it's only found in suburban basements playing online games." Quarterly explained.
Booster shook his head. "Don't you think that's a bit... racist?"
"Nope." Quarterly replied. "Moving on, I'm going to introduce you to somepony and they're going to tell you a little bit about this division here while I check on your file." Booster followed the yellow pegasus to an office door. Unlike the others, this one was unmarked.
Author's Note
Come on! How could racism not exist in a place that makes rainbows? Thought I'd add a little joke in there just for the heck of it.
Rainbow Factory: The Tour
Quarterly opened the door. Inside was a gray pegasus with a light-gray mane sitting behind a desk. Unlike Quarterly, he wasn't wearing a labcoat. He sat behind a desk and looked over several sheets of paper splayed out before him.
"Hey Hazey. Got ourselves another new applicant. Would you mind if he stays here while I'm checking out his file?" Quarterly asked, hoof still on the door knob.
"Uh, sure." the pegasus, apparently 'Hazey' answered. Booster walked in and took a seat on the chair in front of the desk. The door shut behind him and the two were alone. Booster was expecting Hazey to say something but he sat there quietly, looking through papers, occaisonally shuffling them. Eventually, Booster got the courage to try to start conversation on his own.
"So, uh,... your name's Hazey? I guess?"
Hazey hesitated for a split second before breaking his attention from the papers. "Yes, I'm Hazey. Who are you?"
"My name's Booster. I, uh, I applied here a couple days ago."
Hazey put the papers down, his attention now appeared to be fully focused on Booster. "How did you find out about this place?" he asked. His voice was very soft and emotionless. Unlike when Booster tried to make his tone stoic and trite when talking to Quarterly, Hazey's voice seemed like it wasn't a carefully manufactured facade but an actual habit.
Booster grinned sheepishly. "I saw a couple music videos." he honestly admitted, putting a shy hoof behind his neck. It was no secret the Rainbow Factory had gone public recently. The statements they made included several music videos featuring original songs and animation. Instead of attempting to hide the gruesome truth of the factory's true machinations, the videos and media released embraced it, portraying the inner workings of the facility as a place where fears and horrors came true. The less-than-subtle attitude of a grim enthusiasm was communicated through the messages, as though this was a necessary sacrifice.
The Rainbow Factory's existance was widely known, though few outside Cloudsdale knew of its true inner workings. Officially, the factory was contracted by the government to produce and deliver rainbows in the sky all across Equestria, part of a program to keep the moral of the citizens high and prevent them from turning gray. The factory was supposed to collect pigment from volunteers, a process that was advertised to be "as simple as giving blood". The procedure was said to be both painless and harmless and that once completed, the volunteers were free to go. Unfortunately, quite the opposite was true.
The demand for rainbows was too great to be satisfied by simple "pigment donations". In fact, the Rainbow Mill, as it had began, started the process of simply abducting ponies, draining them of all pigment and discarding the remains, killing the "volunteers" in the process. As time went on, the process became more efficient as new technologies were implemented. Soon, the Rainbow Factory was created in Cloudsdale and the horrible work continued, the population just accepted the necessary evil.
"Oh, our advertising department came up with those. I haven't seen them myself;... mostly, they just keep me back here. Especially since the accident." Hazey said. The Rainbow Factory was a workplace like any other when it came right down to it. Accidents happened but when they happened here, it was a little more serious than somepony just getting fired. Booster hadn't heard the full details but a rainbow had been scheduled and delayed recently. While they normally ran on a tight schedule, an incident had occured that had cut the workforce in half. The workers hadn't returned home since then and the reason for the delayed rainbow hadn't been revealed. This was over a week ago, Booster thought it would be a good time to apply. He'd been right.
"I heard that something happened recently. Some kind of accident...?" Booster asked.
"Oh..." Hazey said, looking surprised. He stammered for a few moments, apparently trying to collect himself. Hazey seemed like a pony that just reacted slowly but he didn't seem clumsy, incompetent or flustered from first impression.
"Umm..." another long pause. "We're running out of green." he said. Was Hazey surprised that Booster didn't know or did he just reveal something unintentionally?
Booster quirked an eyebrow; he didn't like the sound of that. "You're running out of... green?"
Hazey nodded. "Colors are supposed to be balanced, there's supposed to be an even distribution of all colors to make rainbows. Even amounts but the raw materials we've gotten come in at random sometimes. There haven't been enough green ones lately and we didn't think we were going to make the quota on time for deliverey."
"You... you're just running out of green... ponies?" Booster asked, beginning to understand.
"Yes, uh, we never really had this problem before. We were unprepared. But we tried our best to meet demand on time but it didn't work. There just wasn't enough." Hazey said, his eyes drifting lower.
Booster had to ask now. "What did you do? To meet the quota, I mean."
"Oh, that was simple. Green is made by mixing yellow and blue, so we tried harvesting more yellow and blue. But harvesting more yellow and blue to make green meant there was less yellow and blue for the yellow and blue segments. Soon, there was a shortage of yellow and blue too and we didn't know how to compensate. We tried emptying the reserves but that didn't work either. And then the manager..." Hazey trailed off. Booster was hanging on his last words. What had happened? What did the manager do?
"Then the manager..." Booster said, trying to encourage Hazey to finish.
Hazey shook his head slightly, something between a negative response and a nervous twitch. "I'm sorry, I've said too much. I should probably let the manager tell you himself." he said. He returned to his papers and the room was quiet again.
Booster decided to try something else. "I take it you got it done though right? You met the demand eventually?"
"Yes, though it took a lot out of us. We never anticipated a problem like this. Who would've thought we'd run out of a color?" Hazey said.
"Have you ever thought about using an alternative?" Booster asked. He had to be careful but he didn't see any harm in asking the question.
Hazey looked at him, a puzzled look on his face. "An alternative?"
"To... harvesting raw materials directly. Something synthetic that could be mass-produced."
"I think we did try a few things like that in the past but... they didn't work out. You can only harvest pigment from ponies."
Booster didn't agree with that statement. He leaned forward, keeping his eyes on Hazey. "How many species did you... try harvesting?"
Hazey looked genuinely confused now. "I... I don't know, it was a long time ago. There were at least some, though."
"But when you found out it came from ponies you stopped? You didn't research further?"
"I-I don't know. I just don't-"
Booster had him now. "What if I told you there was an alternative?" he poised the question in almost a whisper.
"An... alteranative? To... to ponies?"
"Yes. There's another way you can make rainbows." Booster said quickly.
Hazey opened his mouth, took a moment to form the word before saying, "How?".
"I know you're behind quota for this month too." Booster said, revealing a bit more.
"How do you know that?"
He ignored the question. "I need access to your systems for a demonstration. If we can prove to everypony that this works-"
The door behind him opened without warning. Quarterly walked in. Booster stopped mid-sentence and turned, his heart in his throat.
"I was surprised at your background check Booster." Quarterly announced, his voice loud. "Systems analyst for Flim Flam Formulas? Those are some pretty significant credentials, it's no wonder you applied here. What made you quit Flim and Flam though?"
"I can't dance and the showtunes got annoying." Booster said, knowing Flim and Flam's reputation.
Quarterly laughed at that. "Well, thanks for keeping him company Hazey. Come on, let's head to my office. Need you to sign a few things and then we'll be done for today." he said to Booster. The blue pegasus got up from his seat and followed Quarterly back into the hallway. He took a glance back inside the office. Booster caught Hazey staring back at him with his mouth slightly open before the door closed. It seemed like he'd made a good first impression.
Author's Note
You wish them away but it looks like they might be here forever
Rainbow Factory: The Tour
Booster walked with Quarterly to another office just a few doors down from the hall from the one Hazey was in. Quarterly opened the door and as before, Booster followed the yellow pegasus inside. The yellow pegasus took off his labcoat and hung it on a nearby coatrack. This office was a little bit larger than the ones he'd already seen but more of the space was occupied. Booster took a seat in front of a desk, the third time he'd done so today. Quarterly walked around the desk to a filing cabinet, opened a drawer and began flipping through a series of envelopes.
"So, we have a few positions open. Security, maintenance, and the like. After the downsizing recently, every department's pushing hard, trying to get back on schedule." Quarterly said, his eyes fixed on the files as he went through them.
"Hazey said something about that. What happened exactly?" Booster asked, hoping to get a little more information.
"You know how many colors there are in a rainbow, Booster?" Quarterly asked, not answering the question. Booster didn't know if he was ignored or if it was part of his answer.
"Not really. I never really thought about it."
"Seven." Quarterly stated flatly. "Seven colors. Do you know how many different colors of ponies there are?"
Booster didn't know where he was going with this line of questioning but he answered. "Um, more than seven?"
"A lot more than seven. Millions. Hundreds of millions in different shades, hues and tones of the same similar colors. And we have to harvest them all evenly. You know hard that is? Trying to take samples of such a diverse population?"
"I would assume it's pretty-"
"It's exhausting in the extreme. You think siphoning all that pigment is the hard part? Try examining the background of each and every family, trying to get the colors we need. Black, white, brown. You ever see brown in a rainbow? No, because there isn't any. Yet we have to harvest evenly to get pure colors. Seven pure colors." Quarterly said.
Booster was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He folded his wings tightly against his sides. Quarterly got up abruptly and closed the filing cabinet. Booster watched as the yellow pegasus turned to him slowly.
"We ran out of green recently. Would you believe we just couldn't FIND green mares and stallions? Don't know what happened, there just seems to not be enough. So in order to meet the quota, we had to MAKE green. And how do we make green?"
He felt the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Ye-yellow-"
"Yellow and blue." Quarterly replied. He held a syringe in his hoof and stood behind the desk. Booster was tempted to just get up and try to fly out as fast as he could. Something froze him, kept him seated as his heart pounded in fear. His eyes were drawn to the needle as the yellow pegasus held it high.
"Your background check revealed something very interesting. You're 98% pure blue pegasus. With just a hint of robin's egg and sky blue on your mother's side. That's very blue, da ba dee, da ba die." Quarterly said, walking over to him.
Booster started to get up as the yellow pegasus approached. "I uh, I-" he started to say.
"We have a very specific position for you, Booster. Blue-42, a very crucial element to our rainbow system," Quarterly looked at the syringe for a moment. "I'm sorry we have to do this, really I am. But if we don't, the only color you'll see on Equestria is gray."
Booster put his back to the wall as Quarterly got closer to him. "You don't have to do this," he said.
"Necessary sacrifice, Booster. You're so pure, you're going to make a beautiful blue." Quarterly stepped forward.
That was when Booster took his chance. Tucked amongst the feathers of his right wing was a syringe of his own, probably a similar sedative to the one Quarterly was about to use on him. He turned to the left sharply and swiped the yellow pegasus with his right wing. Quarterly was too close to dodge and the movement surpised him, the needle jammed right into his neck. In an instant, Quarterly dropped the needle he'd been holding, a look of surprise frozen on his face as he brought his hoof to the side of his neck where the syringe was lodged.
"I'll be needing your glasses." Quarterly stumbled backwards and collapsed against the other wall. Booster reached down and took the glasses off Quarterly, who sat their gasping. Booster took the labcoat, checked the pocket for an ID card and then put it on. As he put on the glasses, Booster's color started to change. Quarterly's shock continued as he watched Booster change from a dark-blue to bright yellow.
"Cha-...cha-...cha-" Quarterly tried to form the word between breaths.
"Change in management, Mr. Quarterly." Booster said, finishing his sentence. He brought his hooves to his head and started fixing his mane to make it look more like Quarterly's. "And I'm only half-changling, I can only change my color. You should see my sister; her color changes with warm and icy water."
Booster buttoned the coat quickly. He now looked exactly like the yellow pegasus in front of him who gasped in disbelief.
"Come now, Quarterly. I'm sure I'm not the first pony to lie on their resume." He removed the syringe from Quarterly's neck and the yellow pegasus' head began to droop. "Enjoy your break, I'll see myself out," Booster said as he opened the door and exited. The door closed behind him but he opened it again and switched the light out. Saving electricity is everypony's responsibility.
Rainbow Factory: The Tour
"Emergency override engaged. Shutdown in progress."
"What? What's going on?" Quarterly asked. He turned to his guards. Both they and the pegasi they held captive were as perplexed as he was. An alarm klaxon rang out, the machines around them began shutting down. The controls on the terminal in front of Quarterly went dark and the siphon arm drooped like a wilted flower. A small amount of pigment and blood dripped from the end of the syringe onto the floor below.
"Emergency override engaged. Shutdown in progress," the automated female-sounding voice repeated.
The conveyor belt on the factory floor ground to a halt. The heavy piston at the end was about to come down one more time, on top of Booster's colorless body, before it stopped. Booster looked up at the metal weight hanging above his head. It shook once and the retracted into its housing. He exhaled a long, pained and slow breath; he'd lost all of his color and a lot of his blood but he was alive. He grasped the conveyor belt with his hooves and slowly began to pull himself out.
Quarterly walked up to Rainbow Dash as she was being held. "Who else did you bring in here with you?!" he demanded. "Talk! Or I swear I'll drain the mark off your flank!!" he snarled at her.
"Quarterly!" a voice called out.
Quarterly turned around. "Hazey? What are you doing here? You're not allowed out of R&D."
Hazey slipped his hoof off one of the controls and the grayish pegasus stepped forward. "Quarterly, they're right," the soft-spoken pony said.
"How can you say that?" Quarterly asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "We're behind quota. Equestria NEEDS rainbows. They need the hope that we provide!"
"Hope... we don't provide hope," Hazey declared. "We spread fear and suffering. This has to stop."
"We can't stop, Hazey, you know that. This is for the good of all ponies, all Equestria! It's a necessary sacrifice, otherwise everypony will turn-"
"Turn gray?" Hazey finished. "Like... me?" he asked, stepping closer. It was then that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy noticed Hazey was a little too gray. The pegasus wasn't a natural gray and they could tell; his color had faded to gray out of depression. Ponies lost their color when their moods changed. Keeping their spirits up was the only way to prevent them from turning gray. If their mood worsened, their colors faded, eventually becoming grayer and grayer. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had experienced this firsthoof.
"Hazey, we talked about this. Nopony knows why-"
Hazey stomped a hoof on the floor. "No amount of colors restored mine! No amount of rainbows ever filled my heart with hope! Because I... because I..." he trailed off.
"Hazey..." Quarterly tried to say. He stopped mid-sentence.
"Because I always knew how rainbows were really made. Because I was born here... in this horrible place," Hazey said, almost on the verge of tears.
Quarterly raised a hoof to say something else. "I promise you, we will find a way to get your color back. We just need a little more pigment, a few more dyes. We make quota and we'll be on schedule again. Then, we can-"
"No!" Hazey shouted. "They have an alternative to all this madness. Don't... don't you?" he asked the captive pegasi. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nodded silently as they were being held. That was all Hazey needed.
"I'm not going to allow this, Hazey," Quarterly said. "Rainbows have to be made of PURE colors. That's the way it's always been. You two," he turned to the guards. "Restrain him." The guard holding Fluttershy reached into a coatpocket and retrieved a taser. Despite being encumbered by already subduing a pegasus, he moved to comply with Quarterly's instruction.
"No," Hazey said to the guard. "Restrain Mr. Quarterly." The security guard was thrown off by the instruction. He raised an eyebrow, momentarily unsure of what to do.
Quarterly turned to the guard. "I gave you an order! Restrain him!"
"No!" Hazey shouted. "I am Hazey Veil! This factory is family-owned. And I'm its current owner," he declared. Something happened there when Hazey put his foot down. Teeth gritted, determined, the gray in his coat got a little lighter. And then lighter. Slowly, the pony known as Hazey Veil regained his color.
"My great-great-grandmother started this process... she started everything. I lost my color the day I found out that my family..." Hazey started weaping. "My family was responsible for all of this. I was responsible... I turned gray, she turned gray because neither of us knew how to stop it. My family's been gray ever since. We stopped searching for... an alternative." But Hazey's color did return. Quarterly was shocked, they all were.
"Gr... green," Quarterly muttered. Hazey Veil was a green pegasus. He was a dark green, his mane, a white with a streak of gray. Like a mist-covered forest in the morning. Adorning his flank was a a gray flower with a blue tear-drop shape in the center.
"You're the reason we ran out of green. There was supposed to be an even amount of different-colored ponies. We never considered checking the background of ponies already working here. Especially not... your family," Quarterly explained, almost overcome by all that was transpiring.
"There were a lot of things you... we didn't consider," Hazey remarked, examining his newly-colored hooves. His voice had a little more confidence in it. "It's time we started considering them. And it's itme I started taking over things around here."
"What are you saying?" Quarterly asked, raising an unsure eyebrow.
"I'm saying we need to re-evaluate your position here Quarterly," Hazey said with a little authority in his voice. "There's going to be some big changes going on around here. We're going to have to examine-"
"NO!" Quarterly shouted, interrupting. "After everything I've given this company, NO!" he quickly ripped the taser away from the guard holding Fluttershy and then smacked him the face with it. Fluttershy dropped to the floor. He then backed up to the terminal and pointed the taser at all of them. His hoof hit one of the controls as he stepped back and part of the machinary jumped in response, powering up again. On the factory floor, the conveyor belt began moving again. The rumble of the heavy piston descending on the belt filled the room.
"I've sacrificed too much to see this company changed like this. Because of some... some half-breed monstrosity. Insane notions of artificially creating colors," Quarterly said, his hoof shaking as he pointed the taser at the ponies. "You have to see how silly all of this sounds. Everything since the downsizing's just been so CRAZY, all of us are under a lot of stress," he said, his face twisting into a sort of crazed-humor. Rainbow Dash, the security guards and Hazey had the urge to back away from the yellow pegasus. He seemed like he might snap at any minute.
"Now," Quarterly began, a twisted smile still on his face. "Here's what we're going to do: we're going to siphon these two pegasi," he said, pointing to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. "and we'll be able to make this week's quota. Then, we'll call for a meeting and see about getting all these positions filled. Might even need to hire some more security. We might have to pull a couple doubleshifts but I think if we all work together then-"
From behind the terminal, Booster grabbed hold of Quarterly's neck and pulled him over. Despite being colorblind, he could still hear perfectly and matched Quarterly's voice to the pegasus he held now. Quarterly grasped at the pale hooves holding his throat, he almost dropped the taser. Hazey charged the yellow pegasus as Booster held him in place. Grabbing both of his lower legs, Hazey flipped Quarterly over the terminal. Quarterly screamed as he fell, his body bounced off the siphon arm below. His wing was scraped by the needle of the arm as he rolled off it and onto the conveyor belt. Something crunched as he landed and the conveyor belt started to move.
Booster himself slipped and fell onto the conveyor belt. He landed almost right next to Quarterly, both of them weakened by the fall.
"I guess this is what they mean by 'hooves-on training'," Quarterly said with a crazed, tired smile. They were both about to be crushed to death.
Despite everything that happened, Booster looked at the yellow pegasus in front of him. Nopony deserved to die like this, not even somepony like Quarterly. With his remaining strength, Booster grasped Quarterly's hoof and pulled him forward. Using all four of his limbs, Booster pushed Quarterly off the conveyor belt. The yellow pegasus rolled off the side and hit the floor like a rag doll.
Booster, completely exhausted, lay on his back and looked at the piston he was rapidly approaching. He threw his head back, energy completely drained. He looked up at the ceiling. The room was still black and white to him but the lights on the ceiling were red. Maybe color was returning to his vision in his last moments? He wondered if it was the last color he would see. His lower body left the conveyor belt and entered the disposal chamber.
A mechanical arm entered his view just as his head was about to leave the conveyor belt. The arm grasped him off the belt just as the piston came down one last time. He now found himself floating in midair as if saved by the hand of a steel angel. It pulled him back to the terminal and hung him over it. Hazey, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stood at the controls.
"Booster Shot," Hazey said with a relieved smile. "I don't think that's part of the tour."
"Hooves... hooves-on training," Booster said weakly.
"Are you all right?"
"Oh sure," Booster coughed. "I'm fine. I've only been drained of blood and pigment, fell on my flank and almost got crushed to death. But hey, accidents... happen... right?"
"I'm sorry about... well, everything Booster. But I do have some good news," Hazey said, manuevering the arm and placing Booster on the floor. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy moved to pick up the injured pegasus.
"What's that?" Booster asked.
"I've approved your application. This entitles you to worker's compensation. We'll get you fixed up in no time."
Booster's head went slack. Nopony laughed at the statement. "Just get me out of here," Booster said.
"Of course, I think a little vacation time might be in order afterward," Hazey said as they carried the pegasus out.
Rainbow Factory: The Tour
Some time later...
"Stick together now! We don't want anypony getting lost!" Miss Cheerilee said to her class as she stepped through the double doors. The hallway beyond was well-lit, pictures lined the walls and a smiling green pegasus with a white mane and labcoat was standing there to greet them.
"Hello there Miss Cheerilee," the stallion said. "I see you've got quite a big class." he said, noticing the minature herd of ponies behind her.
"Oh yes. Nopony wanted to miss out on field trip day!" the teacher said.
The green pegasus' smile got even brighter. "My name is Hazey Veil and welcome to the rainbow factory!," he addressed the younger ponies. "Now, who thinks they know how rainbows are made?"
The class erupted into enthusiastic outbursts. The smaller ponies raised their hooves into the air, shouted, jumped and competed for attention.
"Well, the truth of it is that the very first rainbow was discovered by accident..." Hazey began, leading the ponies down the hallway.
Towards the back of the crowd, Applebloom, Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo had their minds on other things as they followed. As the class was led down the hallway, the three of them stopped at a picture hanging on the wall to their right. They stopped to examine it.
"I wonder who that pony was," Applebloom said, looking at the picture. It was a portrait of a blue pegasus wearing a labcoat, his expression joyful.
"You think it's true what they say about this place?" Sweetiebelle asked. "How... how they really made rainbows?"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "You know, we could probably find out if we stuck with the rest of the class..."
"Psssh," Sweetiebelle scoffed at the statement. "You really think they're going to let us see the whole factory?"
"I don't know," another voice said from behind them. "The tour I took was pretty comprehensive." A blue pegasus walked out of an office door they'd just passed. He approached the three fillies and Applebloom noticed he looked like the pony in the picture.
"Oh, sorry, we were just uh-" Applebloom tried to think of something to say but couldn't.
The blue pony thought for a moment, then asked, "Looking for something a little more in-depth?" he suggested.
"Well, kinda," Sweetiebelle said. "We were just wondering... if the rumors were true about this place. That they make rainbows out of ponies here," she explained, her voice mournful.
"You want to know a secret?" the pegasus asked them. He then leaned in close and whispered, "They used to."
The three fillies gasped in fear.
"It's okay, they don't any more," the pegasus explained. "I stop by here now and then to make sure of that. To make sure that this place stays 'environmentally friendly'."
"Wow... so you're like an inspector or something?" Scootaloo asked.
"Something like that. You three want to help me out with something?" the pegasus asked.
"Sure," Applebloom said, the other two nodding. Still somewhat afraid but excited too, they were eager to help.
"Keep your eyes open while you're here. Tell me if you see anything that looks suspicious, okay?"
The three fillies hopped gleefully. "We can do that!"
"Good. Now go catch up to the tour!" he ushered them. Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle ran down the hallway. The blue pegasus smiled as he watched them hurry to get back to the rest of the class.
"You didn't mention that you were good with kids on your application," a voice said from behind. The blue pegasus turned to see a yellow pegasus entering the factory from the main doors.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but this place isn't exactly family-friendly, Quarterly."
Quarterly grinned. "It has changed a lot since you started here, Booster." The two entered the office Booster had stepped out of, this time Booster took a seat behind the desk. Quarterly had done his best to make up for what he'd done to Booster when he'd first arrived. While it had been the initial decision of the courts to simply pay Quarterly back the injustice he'd forced so many other ponies into, Booster was not so shortsighted. Despite what Quarterly had done to Booster when he first arrived, Booster had recommended that Quarterly keep his position in the Rainbow Factory to oversee production of new eco-friendly rainbows. It didn't make up for what he and the others had done but it was better than the alternative.
"We're ahead of schedule for this month," Booster said, going over the latest results on paper. "We're producing plenty of colors. We might even produce a few surplus rainbows."
Quarterly was genuinely surprised. "We've never had a surplus before. What should we do with the extra colors?"
Booster smiled. "I was thinking we might deploy two rainbows at a time one day."
"A double rainbow?" Quarterly raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Now that's just silly."
Booster laughed. "Well, we've got the extra color anyway, why not?"
Quarterly chuckled himself. "So it looks like your alternative worked."
"It would seem so. We've even got a few new positions opening up, we might need to go over some new applications soon."
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Quarterly said. "You know about the Crystal Empire, right?"
"In northern Equestria, the kingdom of the Crystal Ponies right?"
"Yeah," Quarterly said. "Have you ever been there?"
"No," Booster said. "Why?"
"Well, it's where all the crystal ponies live. All the buildings, the palace, everything is made of... crystal. It's really quite beautiful."
Booster raised an eyebrow. "Are you... implying something?"
Quarterly leaned in. "Have you ever heard of the Crystal Factory? Or the Coral Factory?"
Booster's eyes went wide. "Are you saying...?"
"I'm not saying anything. I've never been there, I've just heard about this place. But if it's anything like this place was..."
Booster felt his back sink into the chair. "Are you saying there's another place out there that's just like the Rainbow Factory was?" he asked Quarterly.
Quarterly grinned. "I don't know for sure, Booster. But I know how you can find out."
Booster leaned forward. "How?" he asked.
The yellow pegasus' smile grew just a little bit wider. "Let me see your application again. I think I can arrange a tour."
Dedicated to SHADOWtheHEJHOG
Rainbow Factory: The Tour
"Any sign of him yet?" Rainbow Dash asked, still pacing while airborne.
"I still don't see anything," Fluttershy answered, looking through the pair of binoculars at the factory entrance. It was starting to get late, they didn't know how much longer they could stay there undetected. They both knew they were taking a big risk but it was worth it; this had to end now.
They were waiting for a signal from Booster Shot, a pegasus they'd met some time ago. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had learned about the Rainbow Factory through him, what all went on inside and how they'd been keeping it a secret from the princess. While there had been attempts in the past to get the truth out, claims had never been substantiated and hard evidence was never found. Now, they had the opportunity not only to get evidence but also to provide Equestria with an alternative, a safe way of making rainbows.
"Wait! The door's opening!" Fluttershy said abruptly. Rainbow dashed over to her and grabbed a corner of the binoculars from Fluttershy. She closed an eye and looked through the right lens. In the distance, Rainbow saw the door to the factory opened and a yellow pegasus wearing glasses and a labcoat had stepped outside. She knew about Booster's "extra talent", the way he could change his color based on his mood. Using that, the plan was to infiltrate the factory, pose as one of workers and obtain access to the facility's equipment. Rainbow looked at the yellow pegasus and waited for his signal to see if the plan had worked.
The yellow pegasus non-chalantly flexed his wings and looked around. He then spread out one and closed the other, a subtle right-left-right motion. That was the signal for 'all-clear'.
"That must be him," Rainbow Dash said. The two pegasi shot from cover and flew quickly over to the factories entrance. The yellow pegasus turned around and led them inside.
"Good to see you two," Booster said as they trotted quickly through the hallway.
"Good to see you! What took so long?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It took them a while to process my application. What do you expect? They're short staffed." Booster said with a chuckle.
"Do we have everything we need?" asked Fluttershy.
"We should. All we have to do is get past security." Booster said. They reached the first set of double doors ar the end of the hallway and slowed down to a walk. Booster put a hoof on the door and opened it slow and carefully. The two pegasi gaurds were still there, standing at attention. He walked up to them and flashed Quarterly's ID badge.
"What happened to the blue guy?" The security gaurd asked, examining the badge.
"Oh, um, Hazey's taking care of him. We have a lot of applicants so I'm trying to move them through as quickly as possible." Booster hoped they bought it.
"Yeah, don't wanna be stuck here all night," the gaurd remarked. He hooved the badge back to Booster without another word. Slowly, Booster led Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy through to the factory floor. The doors closed behind them and the three of them exhaled sighs of relief.
"Okay, follow me." Booster said. He took off from the floor and flew up onto one of the catwalks on the other side of the room. Just as Quarterly had said, the instructions were clear and looked easy enough to use. Not that they had a choice anyway. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed him up to the catwalk and looked over his shoulder at the terminal that controlled one of the extractors.
"All right," Booster began. "I'm going to strap myself in and you're going to begin the process. You're going to have to carefully guide the controls and only extract enough of my pigment for us to get a clear sample. Then, we collect enough evidence and get the buck out of here."
Rainbow Dash nodded. Fluttershy was a bit too squeamish to perform this operation, even now her eyes were firmly shut. They both had to admire Booster's sacrifice. Using a sample of his unique pigment, they were going to create synthetic colors to use in rainbows. If their research was correct, they could create a new process to make rainbows using renewable resources rather than ponies. They could stop all this, change everything. They had to.
Booster went over the controls with Rainbow Dash, carefully, they examined the functions of each piece. It was all too simple; as Quarterly had explained, most of the systems were automated and easy to use. They found the correct controls to perform the action they desired. Within a few short minutes, they were prepared and Booster changed back to his normal blue color and took off the coat and glasses.
The extractor itself was a ring-shaped structure. Ponies were placed within the ring, their limbs bound as they were suspended in midair. The extractor then impaled them and drained the pigment directly out of them. The substance then traveled from the siphoning arm through pipes to areas in the factory where the colors were treated and seperated and then refined to make rainbows. All too simple and effecient for such a diabolical process.
"You ready Rainbow Dash?" Booster asked as he strapped himself into the extractor. Rainbow nodded silently and put a pair of steady hooves on the controls.
Booster took a deep breath. The clamps snapped shut on his limbs. They felt cold and smooth but held him tightly in place. His heart rate increased. How many other ponies had been held where he was and harvested for their colors? With luck, he would be the last one.
"Okay... I'm ready," he said. Rainbow Dash pressed a button. The long, siphon-arm powered up. Booster's eyes followed the long needle on the end. Rainbow used the controls to carefully guide the arm into position in front of Booster.
Booster took his eyes away from the needle, focusing on the wall ahead. He tried to take his mind off the procedure, like he told pateints at the clinic. It would all be over soon. A poster on the wall reading "DAYS WITHOUT AN ACCIDENT " hung next to a wall terminal. There was a large smudge underneath it where a number was supposed to go. Somepony had changed it recently.
"Thank you... for doing this." Rainbow said. Behind her, Fluttershy trembled in a ball on the floor.
Booster said nothing but gave a short nod and swallowed hard as was held. Rainbow pushed forward on a control stick and the large siphon's needle was inserted into Booster's front-left hoof. He winced; the process was NOT painless. They only needed a small amount of his pigment. In a few moments, it would all be over and the three of them would take his sample back to the clinic for analysis and then they could start a plan to synthisize color. Nopony would ever be sacrificed again.
The siphon began. Fluid from his left hoof was drained into a long syringe and into two tubes on the sides of the siphon. Booster felt his hoof go cold as his pigment was siphoned. In a few seconds, the process was over and enough pigment had been drained. Rainbow pulled back on the control and the arm retracted. Booster winced again as the needle came out of his hoof.
He gasped, momentarily out of breath and relieved the process was over. "Did... did it work?"
Rainbow flew over the terminal and looked at the tubes holding the pigment. "Looks like it. This should be enough for us to take back and check ou-" a whip lashed out and struck Rainbow Dash mid-sentence. The pegasi yelped as she was shocked by a cord that struck her side, a taser. Fluttershy was hit next, two large pegasi flew over and subdued both of them.
"Exactly what is going on here?" a voice asked from their side. Booster tried to see who it was but his vision was obscured by the extractor's side. He recognized the voice though and it made his heart sink.
"Unauthorized access is strictly prohibited. The three of you are trespassing on private property." the voice said again.
"Well, if it isn't our newest applicant," Quarterly said as he walked into view. He turned and smirked at Booster who hung like a piece of meat in front of him. "What are you three doing?" he asked.
"This... this is necessary. We're creating an alternative to harvesting pigment from ponies. This will save so many-"
"I will NOT have MY rainbows tainted by your changling blood! You half-breed, hybrid FILTH!" Quarterly burst into rage, his shouts echoed across the rooms. "Restrain them," he said. The two pegasi security gaurds, the two they'd just passed on the way in picked up Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and pressed them against the wall, holding them in place.
"Quarterly, we have a plan. We can make this work!" Booster pleaded.
"Silence. You disgusting abomination. It's your kind's fault that we have to maintain moral in such a way," Quarterly said as he approached the control terminal. "You lied on your resume, you lied to me. You attacked me, tried to steal company property and now you're trying to sabotage our rainbows!"
"Please. We have an alternative," Booster continued to beg. He shook the shackles that held him in place. It was no good. He was helpless.
"Oh, so you still want to make a contribution? Well, I think we can arrange something," Quarterly placed his hooves on the controls. The siphon, sitll containing Booster's pigment sample sprang to life again. Booster's heart started pounding as the needle darted back and fourth.
"It's been a while since I've done this but I always did have a knack for these controls." Quarterly moved the arm closer to Booster.
"Please, please no," Booster trembled.
"You should've took the time to read the manual. Siphoning from the hoof? That's very ineffecient. You get a much greater yield if you..." Quarterly paused and tilted forward on the control stick sharply. The siphon's needle plunged into Booster's chest like a lance.
"Ahhh, aaaaahhhh!!" Booster yelped in pain, a quieter scream as the arm impaled him. His body exploded with pain and it felt like he was going to pass out. His head leaned forward as he tried to recoil from the device that stuck in him.
"Stop it! Stop it!!" Rainbow Dash screamed.
"... go straight for center mass," Quarterly finished. Quarterly turned a wheel to the side, doing something to the needle.
Booster felt like he was going to throw up. Blood formed around the wound in his chest, leaking out around the arm impaling him. "Ahh, ahhh, ahhhgh!!" he continued to yelp as the needle was locked into place. His head recoiled backwards now. It almost seemed like he could taste blood in his mouth.
Quarterly pushed a button on the machine and Booster yelped again, a deathly, aching groan. Booster's eyes went wide with unworldly, excruciating pain. The siphon began extracting his pigment.
"Since you're so determined to make a generous donation, I'll consider using your color. To paint the south wall; it's been needing a new coat." Quarterly said with a chuckle. The machine continued siphoning his pigment. Booster was in agony, he prayed for it to end but still it continued. Slowly, his whole body grew cold, very cold.
"You want to know how I got my cutie mark?" Quarterly asked. "It was in this very room, actually. They had me working the siphons for a while. I prided myself on being able to drain the maximum amount of pigment out of subject. There's just so much color that normally goes missed. Like in the eyes, for example."
As if on cue, Booster's world turned black and white. The yellow pegasus, grinning maliciously before him turned a dull gray. The entire world's color grew duller and duller until it looked like he was watching a black-and-white movie. Booster's eyes felt funny too but that was the least of his concerns and where he felt the least amount of pain. Tears started to stream down his face, his mouth hung open and now he was sure he tasted blood.
"Using my siphoning techniques, the factory saw a point oh-oh-eight percent increase on their quarterly statement. Our stocks went up and soon after I was promoted to management. Not bad for somepony starting on the factory floor, don't you think?"
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy started to cry too as they saw their friend's color change. His body went from blue to pale white in an instant and his head hung low. The machine stopped abruptly and the arm withdrew from him. Booster's body was still as the syringe was removed.
"I'm sorry we couldn't find a position for you Booster. But your contribution is appreciated and I do thank you for taking interest in the Rainbow Factory." Quarterly pushed more buttons on the controls. The larger mechanical arm plucked the pony from the extraction ring as the clamps released. The arm dumped the pegasus onto one of the conveyor belts below. Quarterly flipped another switch. The conveyor belt started moving, carrying Booster's pale body to the disposal unit.
"So, who wants to go next? We are running low on green," Quarterly said with anothe chuckle. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other in shock and horror.
Down below on the conveyor belt, Booster's vision blurred but he could see the heavy piston ahead of him. He felt the vibrations through the conveyor belt as it pounded. His limbs felt heavy and he felt some sort of liquid in his mouth. With his remaining strength, he tried to reach a hoof off the conveyor and pull himself out. It was too smooth and he was too weak to find any traction. He breathed heavily and clutched his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine something nicer, something happier, anything. Booster sought out one, last happy thought as he prepared to be crushed into oblivion.
Author's Note
Nothing is ever completely destroyed. And all that can be broken, can be fixed.