Rainbow Factory: The Untold Story

Rainbow Dash landed softly on a small fluffy cloud after finishing her long and exhausting race with Hoops and Dumb-Bell. She had never flown that fast in her entire life! Hoops and Dumb-Bell didn’t even stand a chance against her. She hoped that she had taught them a lesson for picking on her friend Fluttershy.

A slight cool breeze blew through Rainbow’s mane as she laid down on the cloud for a nice long nap. She couldn’t wait to tell Fluttershy about how she had creamed those bullies in the race, but, because of the fact that she could barely stand at the moment, Rainbow Dash knew that she had to rest first. As Dash lay peacefully on the cottony white summer cloud she remembered that not only had she won the race, but had also earned her cutie mark. This was defiantly a day that she would always remember.

--Hours Pass--

Rainbow Dash suddenly jolted awake as a strong gust of wind almost blew her off of her cloud. She stretched before getting up and looking around. What time was it? The sun was setting and the slight summer breeze seemed to have drifted her a little ways away from Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash knew that if she didn’t get home soon it would be dark. She quickly leapt off of her cloud and into the cool night summer air. She enjoyed the warm summer wind on her face as she let herself freefall for a couple of seconds before catching herself with her wings and sailing back to the floating cloud city.

As she soared through the tranquil night sky she gazed fixedly at the large Weather Factory looming in the distance. Someday she wanted to work there, at Cloudsdale Weather Corporation. She wanted to be a weather pegasus when she grew up. She didn’t know which weather section she wanted to work in, but, to her it didn’t really matter, just as long as she got to work there someday.

As Rainbow Dash glided over Cloudsdale she stared down at all of the little cloud houses sitting serenely in the huge cloud city. Not very many ponies were outside, but the ones who were seemed to be older or adolescent.

“It must be late,” thought Rainbow Dash as she continued to fly over the city.

Then, just as Rainbow Dash was approaching home, a light brown pegasus suddenly flew into her from out of nowhere.

“Oww… I-I am sooo sorry,” apologized Rainbow Dash rubbing her head.

While the brown pegasus recovered from the unexpected collision Rainbow Dash looked him over. His mane was a dark yellow and he was wearing a white metallic hard-hat. He was also wearing a white lab coat, and printed on it was the name ‘Star Runner’.

“I-It’s okay…” replied Star Runner adjusting his hard-hat, “I was just flying really fast because there usually aren’t that many pegasi out at this time of night. I just got done with my shift at the factory and…”

There was a moment of silence as Star Runner stared at Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, aren’t you that filly that won that race earlier today?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah, that was me,” replied Dash with a grin, “The name’s Rainbow Dash, and not only did I win the race, but I also got my cutie mark!”

Rainbow watched as Star Runner mulled over something for a while as he hovered in the air.

Finally, he replied, “I would really like to get home right now, but I guess I could spare a few minutes and fly you over to the Weather Factory.”

Rainbow Dash could have sworn that she heard him wrong. Did he say that he was going to fly her to the Weather Factory, the place that she had always dreamed of working at someday?

“The Weather Factory?” she spoke confused, “But why do you want to take me there?”

Star Runner seemed to be shocked by this response. He quickly glanced behind him to make sure that nopony was around before he continued.

“You haven’t heard? You’ve been the talk of the town ever since that race.”

Rainbow Dash was surprised by this reply. She knew that she was awesome, but she didn’t know that she was that awesome! Besides, the race wasn’t even that special. It was just a small fillies’ race to stick up for her friend Fluttershy.

Star Runner could tell that Rainbow Dash was confused so he said, “Haven’t you ever heard of the legend of the Sonic Rainboom?”

“No…”

Star Runner motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow him while he explained everything. She followed him reluctantly, still unsure of why he was taking her to the Weather Factory.

“Okay… So the legend of the Sonic Rainboom,” sighed Star as they began to fly towards the brightly lit factory, “You see, in legend, if a pegasus is able to reach a certain theoretical speed he will create a Sonic Rainboom. A Sonic Rainboom is basically a sonic boom that shatters the visible light spectrum and creates a rainbow. Now, nopony in history has ever been known to reach this theoretical speed, but many ponies think that you might have been the first.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was she really the first known pony in history to create one of these legendary sonic booms? This was just too cool! She knew that she had created a rainbow, and she knew that it had been awesome, but she didn’t know that it was this awesome!

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash excitedly, “This is great! But why are you taking me to the Weather Factory?”

Star Runner smiled before continuing, “Well, my boss would like to see you. Ever since you’ve created that sonic rainboom you’re all he’s talked about.”

Rainbow opened her mouth, about to ask Star why his boss was so interested in her, but was cut-short as they arrived at the factory. It appeared to be a lot bigger in the dark, and it was lit up beautifully. Steam puffed out of the many smokestacks running along the roof of the facility, and even from outside you could hear the loud clanging and banging of the weather machines from inside. Rainbow Dash was so excited; she had never been inside the facility before.

“Please, follow me,” ordered Star as he trotted up to the front gates of the factory.

Dash followed him as she looked around in wonder, the sun had finally set and the stars were just starting to become visible in the night sky. She watched Star as he tiredly walked up to the front gates of the factory. Two burly guards barred the entrance. They were holding small pikes and wore the official Canterlot armor. Star showed them some sort of identification before they opened the gates and welcomed him in. Before passing through Star Runner whispered something to one of the guards, who actually chuckled, before resuming his serious attitude. Rainbow Dash quickly followed Star through the tall shiny metal gates.

Dash waited until the guards were out of earshot before asking, “Why are there guards? This isn’t like a castle or anything.”

Star Runner replied calmly, “Truthfully, I don’t know. It’s only the two of them. I think they’re here just in case something ever goes wrong, and to make sure that unauthorized personnel don’t enter the facility. Anyway, everypony that works here gets to know them pretty well since we see them every day. In fact, they’re really nice once you get to know them.”

The two pegasi walked a little farther before they actually reached the entrance doors of the Weather Factory. Rainbow Dash watched excitedly as Star Runner scanned his ID card and opened them. As they both stepped inside she looked around in awe. They were in a huge atrium that was many stories high. The ceiling was made of glass, and the stars could be seen through it. Doors lined the walls, and each door had a label printed above it. Star seemed to not be aware of the beautiful cloud atrium with a fountain in the center. Instead, he just motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow him as he trotted up to one of the many doors leading out of the main room.

Rainbow Dash noticed that the label “Area 2” was printed above the large metallic door they were about to enter through. Rainbow Dash wondered just how many areas there were in this factory as she continued to follow Star down a long polished white tiled hallway. With likeness to the main room, doors also lined the walls of this hallway. Some of these doors were labeled with strange names such as, “Area 2: Sector 1.DH4E” while others had more normal names like, “Hail Freezing Center”. Dash also noticed that she saw very few ponies walking the halls. It was almost as if the facility was vacant.

Star soon stopped in front of an elevator placed conveniently half way down the long hall. He routinely punched the “up” button on the wall before pulling a small pocket watch out of the front pocket of his lab coat and studying it, sighed jadedly.

“Half past ten,” he said as the elevator doors opened slowly.

Rainbow Dash followed Star into the elevator and watched as he pressed the button for the third floor. As she sat in the polished elevator reality finally began to grip her once more. She had been so caught up in the sudden excitement and thrill of going to the Weather Factory that she had completely forgotten how late it was and how worried her parents might be if she didn’t return home.

“Uh… Star?” spoke Rainbow Dash quietly as the elevator opened on the third floor.

“Yes?” replied Star stepping out of the elevator and beginning down yet another hallway.

“I-I don’t know if this is such a good idea…” sighed Rainbow Dash as she followed him.

“And why not?” asked Star stopping in front of a door labeled “Dr. Snow’s Office”.

“Well… You see…” stuttered Rainbow Dash hesitantly.

Dash certainly did not want to go home, but she knew how badly she would be punished if she didn’t. Running off to the Weather Factory with a strange stallion at night was definitely a big no-no.

“…I think I should probably go home,” she finished sheepishly.

“You’ll be fine,” smiled Star.

He began knocking on the thick door forcefully. A loud thump thump thump echoed throughout the large white hall.

“I don’t think you understand…” argued Rainbow Dash unsure of what to do.

“Listen, kid,” sighed Star rubbing his temple, “I took time out of my evening to bring you here, and the last thing that I want to do after my shift is over is spend more time here. So please, don’t back out of this now. Trust me, I know how you feel. I was a little nervous too my first time in the Weather Factory, but you’ll soon learn that everypony here is really nice and that you have nothing to be worried or scared about.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe what she was hearing; the daring and fearless Rainbow Dash scared? She only shook her head and was about to explain her real problem when an old cream colored pony suddenly answered the door.

“Yes?” inquired the old pony hoarsely before clearing his throat.

Star quickly explained who Rainbow Dash was to the old stallion. The doctor’s eyes lit up as Star finished his short explanation. He ushered them into his office before quickly shutting the door behind them. It was a picturesque office fashioned with older furniture. Rainbow Dash found a comfortable looking chair and sat down in front of the doctor’s big oak office desk. Star Runner and the doctor whispered something between themselves for awhile before Star Runner finally turned and, saying goodbye to Rainbow Dash, exited the room.

“So…” began Dr. Snow making his way over to his desk and taking a seat, “What is your name young filly?

“R-rainbow Dash,” replied Rainbow Dash a little timid.

“Nice to meet you Rainbow Dash, I am Dr. Snow. I assume that Star told you the reason that you are here, correct?” asked the doctor kindly.

“Not exactly,” answered Rainbow.

She had trouble keeping eye contact with the old pony. She felt a little uncomfortable now that Star Runner was gone, and she couldn’t help but think about what her parents were going to say.

“Well then,” smiled the doctor warmly, “I’ll explain right now. Today you did something that nopony has ever done before, and that is creating a sonic rainboom. You see, for years now our most experienced engineers have been searching for a more efficient way to make rainbows, and you might be the key.”

“How?” asked Rainbow Dash becoming more attentive.

The doctor stared out the large window wall to his right for awhile before responding.

“For century’s Cloudsdale has been making rainbows the same way. It is extremely expensive, time consuming, and, to a certain degree, dangerous. That’s where you come in; if we could somehow figure out how you created that sonic rainboom we may discover another way to produce rainbows.”

“Okay… So what do I have to do?” inquired Dash readily.

“You’ll need to be tested,” sighed the doctor pulling out a small medical kit from a drawer in his desk.

Dr. Snow then proceeded to take some hair, blood, and DNA samples from Rainbow Dash. Once finished he tucked everything back into the medical kit and laid it gently on his desk. He then used the intercom to call somebody who would arrive shortly to take the samples to a lab to be studied and examined.

“It shouldn’t be too long before we get the results back. I know it’s late, but you might as well just wait here.”

Rainbow Dash waited restlessly for a little while before asking, “So… how are rainbows currently made?”

Dr. Snow pondered this question for a while before answering, “Normally I wouldn’t do this for just anyone, but you’re a special guest so… come, follow me, and I’ll show you how they’re made.”

Excited, Rainbow Dash got up and followed Dr. Snow to the door of his office. The doctor proceeded to meander out the door and back down the long hallway that Rainbow Dash had just come. His hoofs clicked dully on the polished tile floor as he made his way to the closest elevator. Rainbow Dash trailed close behind, wondering how he was intending to show her. The elevator doors slid open silently revealing a young looking mare wearing a white lab coat. She nodded at the doctor in greeting before exchanging places on the elevator with him and Rainbow Dash. Dr. Snow then ensued to punch one of the many metallic elevator buttons before stepping back and facing Rainbow. The small room suddenly made a slight jolt upwards after the elevator doors had slid closed once more.

As the two pegasi stood in the rising elevator Rainbow Dash broke the short silence, “How come I’ve only seen a few other workers besides you and Star this entire time?”

The doctor sighed as he removed his spectacles. He huffed on them, wiped them clean of the condensation, and replied, “It’s in-between shifts at the moment. The day shift ends at 22:00 and the night shift begins promptly at 23:00. The entire factory is basically shutdown between those two hours, it’s the perfect time to let the machines cool down and do maintenance on them.”

“Oh, okay…” replied Dash as the elevator slowed to a stop.

The doors slid open revealing yet again another long hallway. The doctor hummed a little as he stepped out of the elevator with Rainbow Dash tailing close behind.

“Many pegasi have never seen what I’m about to show you, and, in fact, a filly of your age has never seen this before.”

“Seen what?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash curiously.

“The Rainbow Factory…” replied the doctor with a grin.

Rainbow’s eyes lit up. He was going to show her the Rainbow Factory. Just when she had thought that the day couldn’t get any better, she was wrong! Dash squealed in delight as the doctor came to a halt at the end of the lengthy hall. The only thing that stood in front of them was just one massive double sliding door. Above it read the words, “Area 2: Sector 5- Rainbow Facility”. The door was at least ten feet high and eight feet wide. It seemed to be made out of titanium and was sealed tightly shut. Five large metal bars were locked in place horizontally across the huge door making it even more secure. Dr. Snow ambled calmly up to a retina scanner built into the wall next to the imposing door. He scanned his eye before routinely punching a few buttons and stepping back. The massive door gave a jolt before the five metal bars disengaged and slid out of the way. The massive door then proceeded to slowly slide open before rumbling to a stop.

“Welcome to the Rainbow Factory Rainbow Dash, please follow me and don’t touch anything,” smiled the doctor as he motioned for her to follow him thought the opened doors.

Rainbow Dash followed Dr. Snow gleefully through the huge doors. Upon entering the facility she gazed around in awe. Massive industrial sized caldrons were filled with pools of swirling liquid rainbows. Large sturdy cloud pillars supported the room’s ceiling which was covered in a confusing maze of silvery pipes. The pipes ran along the ceiling and walls before stopping abruptly over the tops of the caldrons and water-falling their colorful liquid into them. Rainbow Dash continued to follow the doctor through yet another door that led out of this impressive main room.

“I’m taking you to the very back of the factory,” he explained, “From there, we’ll work our way up. I’ll show you exactly how rainbows are made and how you may be able to help us.”

“Alll right!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash jumping and hovering in the air a little.

After a few minutes of silence Dr. Snow opened one final door and proudly pronounced that they were at the beginning of the rainbow manufacturing process.

“This…” sighed the doctor, “Is where it all begins.”

Dash’s eyes widened at what she saw.