Ascend
Gigamix

“The rainbow factory. It used to be known as a place of glory. The product it produced always put smiles on the faces of the ponies around them. What they made truly were magnificent. But now it’s a product of mourning. Earlier today we heard that one of the most beautiful things were made from the lives of others. We all want to know what more about how and why the factory got away with this terrible crime for so long and what Celestia will do to make sure this never happens again. All of this should revealed within the next few hours. Come join us then and we shall shed some light on this very dark turn of events. We wish you all a good day, and thank you for listening to the Ponyville Public Radio…”

With a small hiss, the radio cuts out leaving a heavy silence over its audience. Two bewildered stallions were sitting side by side in a field of apple trees. They wait what seems like hours before either takes any action. The first to move is a large stallion name Fire Stripe. He has been working on the farm for just over 5 months. He has a bright yellow coat with a deeper yellow mane and tail. A long division of red that runs down the course of his back. Which, in fact is how he earned his name. He has dark rings under each of his raging orange eyes from countless hours of work on the farm. He looks over at the much younger white unicorn with concern etched in his eyes. His friend looks subconscious. An almost dead look in his electric blue eyes. The young white unicorn stares up at Fire Stripe and says with a voice quiet and shaky says.
“How and why would they do this. He opened his mouth to help comfort his friend but was interrupted by a shout from behind them.

“Firestripe, Spark Plug, lemonade an’ applepie! Come and get it while its fresh!” It was the very tomboyish voice of AppleJack calling them over to the front of the house. Firestripe slowly gets up placing a comforting hoof on Sparks shoulder before turning away. Spark soon getting up to follow, staying just a few paces behind Firestripe.
As the farmhands neared the quaint two story house, Applejack noticed the worry evident on their faces. She frowns but quickly speaks up, “I know its been a tough few days fellas, but I believe we can meet our apple bucking quota for the month. Yall picked enough the last few days to make up for me getting all hurt like ah’ did.” Its true, she had hurt her right foreleg while working with some of the heavy equipment in the shed. This had put the Apple family behind in their yearly schedule and also why Fire and Spark had been hired. “So, if tats what this is all about, you can be darn tootin that we’re ahead of schedule!”
Her smile starts to slip again as Fire and Spark don’t relax, if anything they seem more tense. They sit there for a few minutes before Fire speaks up.

“I’m truly sorry, but that’s not what its about at all. It’s a bit more serious than that.”

The way Firestripe was speaking began to scare AppleJack. He was usually so laid back and calm. She had never seen him this tense or worried.

“What happened? Is somethin wrong with the apples or livestock?”
Spark couldn’t hold it anymore.

“No, its none of those things. It has to do with the dissapearances of all the Pegasus colts and fillies. More so, its about the Rainbow Factory.”

Author's Note

I know how bad this, but remember this one is unedited. I would really like to finish this someday when I have more time. Sorry if there was anybody looking ahead to reading To Fall or Fly.