Rainbow Factory: The Untold Story

The room was filled with crates upon crates of gems! They came in every single color that Rainbow Dash could ever imagine, and they all glittered beautifully. Once she was able to finally tear her eyes away from the wonderful gems they refocused on another object that was sitting in the middle of the spectacular room. It was some sort of a machine. It was a silvery metallic color, and seven conveyer belts protruded out of it.

“This is the gem sorter,” explained the doctor, “Gems are continuously dumped in the mouth of this machine. The device then sorts the gems into the seven main color groups and places them onto the conveyer belts. Each conveyer belt transports a different color of gem.”

“For example, that’s the red belt, and that’s the green belt,” said the doctor as he pointed out two different conveyor belts, “The gems are then transferred on the belts into in next room which begins the next step of the rainbow making process.”

“So… rainbows are made out of gems?” asked Rainbow Dash somewhat puzzled, “But how do gems make rainbows? Do you grind them up or something?”

“I wish it was that easy,” chuckled the doctor, “The next room should answer most of your questions, but before we continue I highly suggest that you wear these. We wouldn’t want to ruin those pretty eyes of yours, after all.”

He then proceeded to hand Dash a pair of safety goggles which she put on without delay. He also put on a pair himself before they entered into the next room.

Rainbow Dash noticed that in this room each conveyor belt stopped above a large glass container. Each container was filled with a different color of gem. On the opposite side of the room were seven small capsule shaped machines. Each of them glowed a different color. Large metal pipes also led out of the capsule devices. The metal pipes snaked along the walls of the room before imbedding themselves deeply into the hard cloud walls and out of sight.

“This is the…”

Dr. Snow was cut off by a loud ringing noise that rang throughout the entire weather factory.

“What was that!?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash startled.

“What was what?” asked the doctor confused, “Oooooh, the bell. Sorry, I’m so used to hearing it that I barely even take notice of it anymore.”

“What does it mean?”

“Nothing special, it just means that the night shift has begun and everypony should report to their assigned duty.”

As he was speaking multiple pegasi dressed in white lab coats and safety goggles started to enter into the room. The conveyor belts above the large glass containers suddenly rumbled to life and the capsule machines started to glow more vibrantly.

“Anyway, like I was saying, this is the spectrum extraction room,” continued the doctor, “The conveyor belts empty their gems into separate containers. Each gem container is directly opposite of its designated extraction capsule. The gems are then scooped and dumped, by the bucket fulls, into the extraction capsules. For example, red gems go in the red capsule, blue in the blue, orange in the orange, and so on. Once the extraction capsules are full of gems they are then sealed tightly shut and powered on. The extraction capsules remove all of the spectrum from the gems. The extracted spectrum is then pumped through those pipes and into the next step of rainbow manufacturing.”

“What happens to the gems?”

“They become worthless and are discarded.”

Rainbow Dash watched as some of the pegasi finished filling the yellow extraction capsule. They quickly sealed it shut before flipping a switch. The machine hummed to life. After a few minutes the pipes leading out of the capsule began to glow bright yellow as the spectrum passed through them. The capsule then unlocked revealing dull and colorless gems.

“So, where does the color go?” asked Rainbow Dash inquisitively.

“Here, I’ll show you,” replied the doctor making his way out of the now busy room, “Oh, and it’s called spectrum, not ‘color’, more specifically, raw spectrum.”

“Raw spectrum?”

“Yes, raw spectrum is the substance that is extracted from gems. It’s extremely toxic and dangerous.”

Rainbow listened carefully as the two made their way out of the spectrum extraction room and into a short hallway. It seemed to be a secondary hall. Unlike the main ones it was unpolished and musty. Wires and pipes of all sizes crept along the walls and ceiling of the old corridor. Every so often one of the pipes would give off a hissing sound and release a large puff of steam. As the two pegasi made their way through the almost eerie mist Dr. Snow continued his explanation about raw spectrum.

“…that is why you are wearing those safety goggles. Raw Spectrum was so vibrant and colorful that it can cause seizures, or even blindness, to unprotected eyes. However, that isn’t even the worst part of it. Raw Spectrum also lets off an extremely damaging, invisible, and scentless gas that causes massive damage to the cerebrum and most often instant death if the exposure rate is too high. That’s why it is securely contained in those titanium pipes. Also, every room of the rainbow facility has a supply of emergency gas masks, just in case.”

“Woah, I never knew that making rainbows is so dangerous!”

“Well, it’s not too dangerous. There are very few raw spectrum leaks or safety hazards in this facility. I mean, we’ve been running it for more than millennia, right? No, more than anything making rainbows is just costly. That’s why we’re so interested in you. You were able to make a rainbow without gems. You might be the solution to a more efficient rainbow manufacturing process.”

Rainbow Dash smiled to herself as the two of them went through a door at the end of the old hallway. She noticed that they were now in a somewhat larger room with many doors and small passageways leading out of it. With likeness to the old corridor that they had just passed through this room was also cluttered with many wires and pipes. Gears and pistons clanged loudly overhead as Rainbow Dash carefully made her way through the room.

“Sorry, but we’re taking the back way to the next step of the rainbow process,” apologized the doctor as he ducked under a low hanging pipe, “It’s much faster than going the main way.”

Rainbow Dash continued to follow the doctor through many twists and turns until they finally reached an elevator labeled, “Reactor control room”. They quickly squeezed into it and rode it to the top.

“This…” exclaimed Dr. Snow as the elevator doors slid open, “Is the Rainbow Reactor Control Room! It is the most important step in all of the rainbow manufacturing process.”

The room was fairly small with a large glass wall overlooking some sort of a machine. There were at least half a dozen sophisticated looking computers in the room. Two massive computer monitors were hung above the glass wall. Smaller monitors were also scattered all throughout the hectic room. At each of the smaller computers a factory worker was sitting deeply engulfed in complicated work.

Dr. Snow walked Rainbow Dash over to the glass wall overlooking the strange machine, “This is the Rainbow Reactor. All of the pipes containing raw spectrum lead into it. It uses extreme heat, up to nine thousand degrees Fahrenheit, to purify the raw spectrum. The heat causes the liquid spectrum to vaporize into a gaseous state. The reactor is then able to separate the spectra from the poisonous gases. Once the spectrum is purified we call it pure spectrum because it is no longer a threat or safety hazard.”

Rainbow Dash watched as the reactor's many gears and pistons turned and pulsed reminding her of a gigantic heart. Every so often the machine would let off a large cloud of steam which got sucked out of the many air ducts in the reactor room.
“Also, those massive metal doors that we used to enter into the rainbow facility are the only way into the rainbow facility. You see, in case of a reactor meltdown, those doors will go into an emergency lockdown and seal shut containing all of the raw spectrum in this sector of the weather factory. Nothing will be able to get in or out of this sector until the lockdown is lifted.”

“Okay, cool. Now may I ask a question?” asked Rainbow Dash as she continued to stare at the impressive machine in awe, her face practically plastered against the glass.

“Of course,” replied the doctor adjusting his safety goggles.

“What happens after this? Is the rainbow process over?”

“For the most part, yes, after the reactor the pure spectrum is transported to a cooling area where it becomes liquefied again. While it’s in its gaseous state spectra releases some of its color making the pure spectrum slightly less bright and vibrant and safe for unprotected eyes. After that it is stirred in those caldrons that you saw on your way in and then it’s ready to be painted into the sky.”

As Dr. Snow finished his explanation of the rainbow process one of the workers in the control room signaled him over to one of the many computers.

“I’ll be right back,” assured the doctor as he wondered over to the seemingly distressed employee.

Dash didn’t even seem to notice the doctor leave as she continued to watch the great machine. She couldn't quite tell but she thought she heard it making a small noise that it wasn’t making before. Meanwhile, the doctor was becoming more and more anxious with the employee. Without looking Rainbow Dash could tell that something was wrong. Dr. Snow hovered over the worker impatiently as he instructed him on things that Rainbow Dash didn’t understand. Just as the problem seemed to be resolving itself the worker suddenly winced as it he had forgotten something important. Slowly and hesitantly he whispered it to the doctor.

Suddenly, without warning, Dr. Snow burst out in unexpected anger, “What do you mean you didn’t switch the nano-shutters off! Don’t you remember the basic twelve to eight spectra load capacity of the reactor!?”

“I’m s-sorry I…”

“Don’t apologize now; fixing this mess should be your first priority! Re-stabilize the thrust carbon propulsion units and try to erasure the critical pressure obstruction in the green spectra transport conduit!”

Suddenly a low rumbling sound came from the reactor. Following it was a loud pop. All of the workers in the control room were now running around furiously and stealing uneasy glances at one another.

“I just…It won’t…I can’t!” sobbed the distraught worker not being able to think clearly.

“Pull yourself together and fix it!” exclaimed the doctor irately, “No, don’t do that… ugh, no wait… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”

At that the already hysterical worker lost it and burst into tears, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… It’s all my fault, I…”

Another deep rumbling sound from the reactor cut him off in mid-sentence. Pushing the worker aside the doctor quickly took his place in front of the control computer.

“I’ll do what I can, but you really messed this up!” huffed Dr. Snow, “Go get some gas masks from the emergency supply closet, just in case. Oh, and Rainbow Dash! Please step away from the gla-”

Suddenly the reactor rumbled so violently that it shook the entire control room. Rainbow Dash, who was still standing within inches of the glass wall, was thrown into it with immense force. Her head pounded against the glass wall with a dull thud before she fell backwards onto her back. The collision cracked the viewing glass as well as her safety goggles. As she lay sprawled on the ground Dash’s head throbbed with great pain. She could do little more than moan as the control room suddenly erupted into complete pandemonium. Everypony was scrambling wildly to get a gas mask, except the doctor who was still trying to fix the major problem. Then, there was another unexpected popping noise and the sound of leaking gas. Rainbow Dash though she heard one of the workers shout “The green raw spectrum transport pipe just burst because of the pressure build up” as she continued to lie dazed on the floor.

Just as she was regaining her senses Rainbow Dash noticed that the reactor room was filling up with a blindingly bright green gas. As she tried desperately to cover her eyes a fit of uncontrollable coughing suddenly overcame her. As Rainbow Dash gasped for air she felt as if her head was going to explode. Everything in the room began to spin wildly and her vision began to blur. The last thing she remembered seeing was one of the workers rushing towards her with a gas mask before everything went black and she passed-out.

--8 hours later: Ponyville Hospital--

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly as she started to shift around. Her head was on fire and her lungs felt as if they had been torn to pieces. Slowly, and with great effort, she opened her bloodshot eyes. She waited for them to focus before looking around at her surroundings. She seemed to be in a hospital room. The walls and floor were painted white and there was a small window to her right. Golden rays of sunlight poked through the closed blinds and into the bland room. A constant bleeping sound rung into Dash’s ears as a machine tracked her heart rate. An IV also hung from her upper leg, and to her left sat an old pony watching her intently.

“So, you’re finally awake?” sighed the pony with relief.

Rainbow Dash licked her lips trying to wet her dry mouth before responding weakly, “Where am I? What… happened?”
“You’re in Ponyville Hospital,” replied the old pony who Rainbow Dash recognized as Dr. Snow, “You were in a major accident.”

There was a pause as Dr. Snow called for one of the nurses. Upon arriving he instructed her to contacted Dash’s parents immediately and tell them that she was awake.

“You’re parents were just here about an hour ago but they left because they had no idea when you would wake up. The doctor said it could be days,” explained Dr. Snow solemnly.

Rainbow Dash sat quietly for awhile as she tried to remember what had happened. Gradually, it began to come back to her. She had been at the Weather Factory, in the Rainbow Reactor Control Room, and something had happened. The strange thing is she couldn’t remember what it was. The last thing she could remember was smashing her head into the viewing glass and falling onto the floor. She knew that something else had happened but she couldn’t remember what it was.

“What happened in the control room?” stuttered Rainbow Dash faintly.

“There was an extreme pressure build-up in one of the raw spectrum transport pipes,” explained Dr. Snow, “And don’t worry. That idiot who caused the mess was fired immediately and got charged over 25,000 bits. The pipe broke because of the pressure and filled the reactor room with raw spectrum. The crack you made in the viewing glass was just big enough for some of the spectrum to seep through. You weren’t wearing a gas mask so you breathed some of it in. That’s why you passed out and most likely have a terrible headache.”

Dash winced as a sudden pain shot through her head, “Yeah… my lungs hurt too.”

Dr. Snow nodded as if in agreement, “You’re very lucky. You are the only known pony to have survived breathing in raw spectrum. Not to mention that your goggles were broken. Thankfully, you breathed in very little and the doctor said that you should make a full recovery.”

“That’s right,” acknowledged a yellowish tan pony as he walked into the room.

His mane was a light brown and he was wearing a doctor’s coat. Around his neck was a stethoscope and on his face was a pair of oblong spectacles.

“We were pleased to find that you will have no pediment physical or psychological damage. As far as we can tell your brain is fully functional. That was definitely a surprising relief to all of us. Especially since the toxin in raw spectrum greatly affects the function and performance of the cerebrum in the brain, primarily the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe controls things such as reasoning, behavior, emotions, and personality. So, if you feel depressed, confused, homicidal or suicidal, and/or not yourself within the next few days please contact me right away. Of course, like I said, you show no signs of mental damage,” smiled the medical doctor reassuringly before being called out of the room for another critical patient.

Rainbow Dash stared at the wall distantly. She had a hard time focusing with her headache and it still bothered her that she couldn’t remember what had happened after she had hit her head in the control room. Every time she thought she started to remember a sharp shooting pain would fly through her head and she would forget again. With great effort she then rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes.

“What happened after I passed-out?” she muttered languorously.

“I cut off the raw spectrum flow through the pipes long enough to repair the damage. All of the raw spectrum was then safely vacuumed out of the room. After that we quickly rushed you to the hospital. By the way, do you need anything? Food, water, more pillows?”

“Maybe a glass of water… and one last question?”

“Yes?”

“Did I pass the test? Will I be able to help you make rainbows?”

Dr. Snow suddenly teared up at this question. Rainbow Dash could hear him choke under his breath that it was ‘all his fault that she got hurt for nothing’.

“Um… well I did get the results back a few hours ago.”

“And..?”

The doctor hesitated greatly before responding, “No. No you didn’t pass.”

“Why not?”

Instead of answering the doctor just got up and walked over to the open door, “I’ll come visit you again soon Rainbow Dash.”

With that Dr. Snow disappeared out the door leaving Rainbow Dash with nothing but her own thoughts. How did this happen? If only she hadn’t listened to Star. He was the one who brought her to the facility in the first place after all. Of course, it wasn’t his fault; he was just doing his job. Dr. Snow had also built up her hopes so much. Dash had pictured herself jumping with glee when the tests came back positive, being announced the hero of rainbow making, and getting appointed a great job at the Weather Factory. But instead she was lying in a hospital bed with her dreams shattered, a terrible headache, and other small injuries. She felt like she was on the brink of tears. She hoped her parents would arrive soon. She would give them a huge apology and give her mother a big hug. However, at the moment, she was alone, completely alone.

“No,” thought Rainbow Dash in a sudden swing of attitude, “My dreams aren’t crushed unless I want them to be! I can still work towards them. Even though I might not be the key to revolutionizing the way of creating rainbows doesn’t mean I can’t still work at the Weather Factory. And my injuries? The doctor said that they would heal, right? Yes, when I grow up I’ll work at the Weather Factory. Better yet, I’ll work in the Rainbow Facility! I’ll be the best worker there ever was, and if I can’t be the key to a new source of rainbow manufacturing then I’ll make one.”