What Rainbows Are Made Of

by LinesPrower

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Scootaloo
Length: 7315

Several days after having a terrible nightmare, Scootaloo takes her final exam at the Academy...

Several days after having a terrible nightmare, Scootaloo takes her final exam at the Cloudsdale Flight Academy, and with the help of Rainbow Dash gains insight into the nature of her own character as well as knowledge of the deepest secrets of the Rainbow Factory.
Upd: YouTube reading by linksbro1: link

Published 2012-02-15 13:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-15 13:34:01 UTC

What Rainbows Are Made Of

Update: YouTube reading by linksbro1: link

Author: Silver Fox
Translated by LinesPrower

Now a rainbow's tale isn't quite as nice
As the story we knew of sugar and spice
But a rainbow's easy once you get to know it
With the help of the magic of a pegasus device

The last weeks before the final exam in the Cloudsdale Flight Academy were unusually hectic. Students were especially nervous at this time, though nopony wanted to show it. They were trying to convince each other that they were all geared up, and that passing the most important exam in their life was no harder than a pleasant walk over a rainbow. Some ponies particularly enjoyed taunting their rivals at every opportunity. However, most of the times it would end up with an exchange of scornful looks, and fights were rare — even incorrigible bullies preferred to spend their energy on training rather than hassling. The sharp-tongued Scootaloo surely led the pack of mockers, and few ponies dared to quarrel with her. Even her best friend Orion chose to stay away when she flew into a rage.

But this morning was all different. Normally beaming with self-confidence, Scootaloo looked dejected and dispirited today. Slight but noticeable shadows crept under her eyes. Her replies to standard taunts were reluctant and half-hearted. Everypony had noticed it, which only made things worse. By noon, Orion — who'd been watching his friend since the morning — couldn't take it anymore and finally had to ask.

“What's up, Scoot? You're not yourself today. What happened?”

“Nothing, everything’s fine!” Scootaloo snorted and puffed her chest out. Orion shook his head.

“Fine? We've agreed not to lie to each other a long time ago. Scoot, I can see right through you! Something’s been wrong with you since morning. You look as if you’ve been knocked down!”

Scootaloo sighed. She and Orion had been best friends since they entered the Academy, even though their personalities were strikingly different: Scootaloo was a crazy mixture of recklessness and self-importance while Orion was calm and sensible, exemplifying patience and understanding. There used to be rumors that they were lovers, but a few hard punches managed to cool the hot heads down. After one memorable scuffle only the dumbest ones dared to attempt a ‘Scoot and Orion sitting in a tree’ taunt in front of them. At best the taunter would end up being on the sick list for a couple of days.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what happened,” Scootaloo muttered sourly. “But first, let’s find a place where nopony else can hear us.”

One could think there weren’t such places in the Academy at all, but Scootaloo knew of a few decent nooks whose only rare visitors would be absent-minded ponies who got there accidentally rather than by purpose. A side stairway leading to the upper floors was one of them. For some reason, stairways weren’t very popular in the Flight Academy, so the place seemed secluded enough.

Once they got there, Scootaloo began without further ado. “I had a terrible nightmare last night. It was absolute nonsense, but still it felt so real that—” she paused abruptly, searching for the right words. “I still can’t shake it off.”

“Just a bad dream? And that’s all? What in Equestria did you see in that nightmare?” Orion asked incredulously, unfeignedly astonished by what her friend had just said — in fact, he’d expected that Scootaloo had gotten herself into some sort of mess again.

“Aw, I don’t wanna tell.” Scootaloo’s cheeks reddened. “I’m ashamed to say, and I bet you’ll just laugh at me,” she muttered sheepishly. In fact, the mere thought about the nightmare was sending chills down to her bone marrow.

“Then, let’s laugh together.” Orion smiled, “I know if you had a nightmare you’d better tell it to somepony, and you’ll see how impossible it was.”

Scootaloo breathed in deeply and let out a long sigh. She steeled herself and started telling her dream, at first blushing and stammering, but getting more confident over time. “Okay, it was the final exam. Examiners were very strict and tough. You know, they wouldn’t let a single mistake. And everything there was filled with anger and hatred! A pony called Aurora Dawn went first.” Scootaloo gasped and continued, nearly weeping “And she broke her wing doing the stunts, and nopony was even going to help her!”

“No way!” Orion exclaimed, startling her friend. He smiled apologetically when he saw Scootaloo’s little frowning face. “I mean, they won’t let a pony to take the exam if he’s ill or something. And who’s that Aurora Dawn anyway, there’s no such pony in the Academy, right?” Scootaloo looked frighteningly confused and distracted, and Orion was not sure if his words sank in. “Okay, okay, I won't interrupt you anymore,” he said, and then added. “By the way, did you see me in your dream?”

“Yes, I did. You felt sorry for her, and flew to help her, though doing that meant failing the exam. And I’d failed too, in a most stupid way. Flying the course, I got distracted looking at Aurora and you, and my head went all fuzzy, and I crashed onto a cloud. Fail.” Scootaloo let out a heavy sigh and continued. “And then it turned out that all failures were treated as worthless good-for-nothing bums. We were brought to the Rainbow Factory,” she flinched at the memory, “and something really terrible was happening there. A horrible machine crunched poor ponies to extract spectra!”

Orion involuntarily glanced at the huge building known as the Cloudsdale Weather Factory. Its upper part presented a massive black sphere covered by darkest thundering clouds. It hung still, far and high in the sky, partly concealed by a white cloudy haze.

“And on top of that, you know, the pony in charge of everything in the Factory—”

Scootaloo paused. She found it strangely hard to say the name out loud. The name of the pony she looked up to, her idol and role model. Fighting back fear and embarrassment, she continued in a low voice. “It was Rainbow Dash. She was chasing me with an insane look on her face. She herself fastened me to the chains of the dreadful machine. She said I’d failed her, I’d ruined her. She called me a miserable worthless piece of a foal!”

The orange pony sniffed and closed her eyes. Orion could swear she was about to burst into tears, but it didn’t happen, although he noticed Scootaloo started trembling slightly. He moved closer and touched her with his wing. “Listen, Scoot. Calm down, okay? It was just a dream, a really horrible one, but still, just a dream. You don’t think any of these awful things can be happening in real life, do you? And I think I know why it was Rainbow Dash. When they said she will be among the examiners yesterday, you nearly blacked out. And then kept saying ‘omigosh, omigosh’ the whole day.”

“Yes, you are probably right.” Scootaloo looked at her friend. “But what if it really happens?” she exclaimed suddenly. “Clear, fly, fall, complete! I know the program inside out. I practise it even in my dreams, you know, even there, at the factory, I kept doing those movements all the time. But what if I mess up? What if I fail? What if—”

“What if you fail? They throw you into a grinder? Snap out of it, Scoot!” Orion gently pressed Scootaloo down on her haunches and sat down next to her. “Look, all you’ve been doing last month is training, training and training. All you’ve been thinking about is how important is this darned exam for you ‘cause you so want to work at the factory with Dash. No wonder you’ve got nightmares, Scoots.” Orion spoke rapidly with a tint of anger in his voice. “I mean, the world won’t come to an end if you don’t get that job. Even if you fail that exam. You’ll just spend your entire life dragging rain clouds somewhere around Ponyville,” he added teasingly.

For a moment, Scootaloo looked intently at his friend. Orion blushed slightly, he doubted he’d said the right words. He sat with his mouth open unable to think of what to say next. Finally, Scootaloo spoke up. “Yeah, I suppose I overreacted a bit. Stupid dream!” A brief smile showed on her face and Orion noticed the familiar glint of self-confidence returning to her eyes. She chuckled. “Me, bucking clouds around Ponyville? No way!”

“That’s better!” Orion replied, relieved.

They sat together for nearly an hour, reminiscing about years they spent in the Academy and daydreaming about their future. They hadn’t chatted like this in a long time, swamped with trainings and studies.

“Alright, I have to go or I’ll be really late. Take care.” Orion stood up and headed away. “Hey, Orion,” the orange pegasus hailed him and smiled slightly. “Thank you. I feel really better now.”

“Anytime!” He returned the smile and trotted off down the hallway. Scootaloo stayed for a moment looking at the dark spot on top of the Weather Factory. It seemed distant and not at all frightening now, but still mysterious. I wonder what Dash’s doing up there. I’ll have to ask her when we meet next time.

* * *

Let's delve deeper into rainbow philosophy
Far beyond that of Cloudsdale's mythology
It's easy to misjudge that floating city
With its alluring decor and social psychology

Several weeks went by fast; the last and most important challenge for students of the Flight Academy was only a few days away. A despicable tradition of betting on its results had revived once again. It was an extra opportunity to scoff one’s rivals and an extra reason to do one’s best at the exam. Though some students bet on Scootaloo’s failure, there were many who supported her. It turned out that apart from rivals she also had a lot of fans whom she didn’t notice before. Seeing how they greeted her, Scootaloo grew more and more self-confident; Orion even started to worry about her friend. However, before the whole situation got out of hoof, the day had finally come.

The final exam was a special event, and a special event called for special weather. The wind calmed, white clouds hid the sun behind so it wouldn’t dazzle fliers, and the air became pleasantly cool after the morning rain which washed the Academy stadium where the exam had to take place.

Students gathered in the waiting room. A stout pegasus with a dark-yellow coat came in and stood in front of them. He cleared his throat attracting the attention of ponies. “Today is the most important day in your life,” he spoke up loudly, “so take it seriously. I know some of you feel like playing some tricks on others. But I tell you, no one has yet managed to pull off anything funny at the final exam in our Academy.”

He paused and carefully surveyed all ponies in the room. “Okay,” the instructor drawled contentedly. “I’m sure you know the task already, but I’ll explain it once more. The examination consists of three parts. Weather clearing, agility, and finally, recovery. Clear the clouds, fly through the hoops, and then fly to the marked elevation. Close your wings for at least three seconds, and finally, recover before you hit the cloud floor. The judges will watch you from above, so they won’t lose sight of you, but don’t fall too low, or you’ll get points taken off. You’ll be given points for your skills in each of the disciplines, and also for your overall performance. The results will be announced this evening.”

“Hmm... what else? I think that’s all,” he mumbled under his breath looking into the clipboard in front of him. “Alright, the exam starts in ten minutes. I’ll call you by name. Is everything clear? Any questions?” Everypony remained silent. “Alright, good luck!” He walked out, and a tense silence hung over the room.

Scootaloo was in high feather today; it was going to be the day of her triumph. The recent nightmare had been forgotten, the last training had gone perfectly, she was full of vim, vigour and confidence. Nothing could go wrong.

“I’m a little nervous,” Orion said in a low voice leaning closer to Scootaloo. “It turns my stomach. I’m feeling somewhat unwell.”

“What did you eat for breakfast? I told you to eat double potato with carrots.”

“It would’ve made things yet worse. Oh, what do I do now?”

“Calm down, Orion! Take a few deep breaths. It’s just nerves. Look, Advice Ticket is trembling like a leaf.” The pegasus with a lavender coat was indeed noticeably shivering, biting his lower lip.

“Oh, thanks, Scoot! Seeing another nervous pony is very reassuring.”

“Okay, look at me. I’m sure as hell I’ll pass that exam, I tell you!”

A chuckle came across the room. Scootaloo threw an angry look at the crowd, but her anger quickly gave way to mischievous delight. Let them laugh. I’ll have the last laugh here.

Meanwhile, the instructor returned to the room. “Alright, let’s get started.” He looked into the list on his clipboard and called out, “Advice Ticket. Clear, fly, fall, complete!” The lavender pegasus started, but then quickly collected himself. He confidently trotted towards the ramp and tilted back his head.

Scootaloo couldn’t see the judges from the waiting room, but suddenly a clear image of them invaded her mind: several ponies were sitting at a long table in the balcony; Rainbow Dash was in the center, watching the young fliers with utmost attention, noticing every single detail of their flight, every single change in their wings’ position; nothing could hide from her rose eyes.

A chill ran down Scootaloo’s spine. Concentrate! she said to herself. Breathe deeper. When they call you out just do what you like most of all. Just fly. Yes, she’s always been telling me that. Just fly. Nothing else matters.

“Barrow Arrow, you’re next!” A loud call of the instructor snapped Scootaloo back to reality. She had better stop thinking about anything because it only made her more nervous, and just wait her turn.

Minutes of tedious waiting dragged on. Ponies were called out one after another at roughly equal intervals. Scootaloo noticed that most of them needed five or six minutes to complete the task, few had done it faster. The course must be pretty difficult, she thought. Indeed, the practice one usually took only about three minutes to complete. All for the best, she tapped the floor with her hoof, it’s gotta be something really cool.

“Orion Solstice,” called out the instructor. Scootaloo glanced at her friend. The young pegasus looked unduly calm. He slowly moved off to the exit. Halfway there, he stopped, turned his head and winked at Scootaloo. Good luck, she cheered him up inwardly, following him with her eyes until he was gone from sight. Scootaloo sighed. She couldn’t see the track from the waiting room, and she could only guess what it looked like.

Scootaloo waited. Time crept very slowly to her. She watched several more ponies walk and fly away to try their luck. Finally, the instructor entered the room to call out her name.

“Scootaloo Equili! Your turn!” Scootaloo flinched. This is it, she thought. She stood up and stretched her wings. Feeling a surge of energy in every muscle, she grinned and nearly rushed herself through a small passage leading to the ramp. When she got to open air she raised her head with a sharp movement, and a smile — wider than ever — spread across her face.

She saw that the track actually looked difficult, carefully tailored for the three main flight disciplines. She immediately noticed that it could be passed in lots of various ways, using different flight maneuvers, from paltry flying to stunning aerobatics. Of course, no one expected anything extraordinary from students, and yet... She licked her lips and weighed the track against her skills. Stunning aerobatics was beyond her depth for now. But she was surely capable of a few cool stunts. Scootaloo resolved to try her best.

She turned her eyes on the balcony above. Five examiners were sitting in a row. The blue pony with a rainbow mane was second from the left. With an apparent expression of annoyance on her face she was listening to another examiner explaining something to her. Rainbow threw a glance down, right at Scootaloo. She couldn’t hold back her feelings and smiled, but then quickly averted her gaze — examiners must be objective. However, it was no secret that each of them had their favorites. Scootaloo caught Rainbow’s smile, and it made her even more confident.

Seconds later all the examiners were looking at her. Scootaloo gathered herself, a coiled spring ready to release on a signal. Five ponies nodded.

Okay. Now. Just. Fly. The last thought had crossed her mind before all her hooves hit the ramp with a loud knock. Scootaloo’s body had reacted even before she fully realized that the exam had started. The orange streak instantly reached the first of five dark clouds filled with moisture. But instead of cleaning it she drove the cloud ahead. As it bumped into another one and merged with it, the young flier jumped over the obstacle, and, keeping her speed, pushed it toward the third cloud. With a few more stunts she formed one big cumulus and then dried it up in the usual way. By the time it was done she had already thought up the path she would fly to do the second part of the exam.

There were ten rings overall, although Scootaloo didn’t count them. She was a few meters to the left of one of the upper hoops now. She rolled along the nearby cloud up to the right position and launched herself toward the first ring. All the years of hard training at once possessed her. She flew almost instinctively, flapping her wings with all her might, pulling fast and tight turns. At times she felt like her bones were crunching under the pressure of buffeting wind.

Finally, she was done with the hoops. Scootaloo braced herself for the last task which would need the most concentration. She hovered right above the finish cloud, folded her wings, closed her eyes and started counting, struggling with the instinctive desire to open her wings too early. One. Two. Three. Flap. Her descent slowed, and she gracefully glided down onto the cloud.

Scootaloo finally caught her breath. The examiners were sitting right in front of her, nodding and writing something in their clipboards. The rainbow-maned pony tried not to look at her but allowed herself a quick glance. It was overwhelmed with a mix of powerful emotions Scootaloo could easily read in her eyes. The young pegasus realized that she did really well. She wanted to jump for joy, but suddenly unbearable weariness overtook her from head to hoof. Aching in her overstrained muscles was so strong that she barely managed to stay on her legs.

“Thank you, that’ll be all. You can go now.” One of the examiners pointed at the doorway to the right. Scootaloo turned and plodded off to the adjacent room where Orion was waiting for her.

“It was... You...” the dumbfounded pegasus was groping for words.

“I’m just tuckered out,” Scootaloo replied faintly, collapsing on the floor.

* * *

But with all great things comes a great responsibility
That of Cloudsdale's being weather stability
How, you ask, are they up to the task
To which the answer is in a simple facility

An hour later Scootaloo left the shower, having washed off most of her tiredness. How to spend time until the evening? Hang out with Orion? She looked absently into the now empty hallway. Other ponies had left much earlier, while she was relaxing her aching body under the stream of pleasantly warm water. Now she was feeling more or less alright.

“Hm, Scootaloo?” She heard a thin voice. She turned around and saw a younger pony sitting at the wall.

“Yes, that’s me! What do you want?”

The young pegasus stood up and walked up to her. “I’ve been asked to pass you this note.” He handed a piece of paper to Scootaloo. “It’s from one of the examiners. By the way, you were awesome today.” The young pegasus blushed a bit. “I’ve never seen anypony flying like that before. You’re the best, Scootaloo! I’m... I’m only on my first year, but some day I will surely learn to fly like you!”

“Well, good luck!” said Scootaloo, taking the note. “Just keep your ideal, that is me, in view, and you’ll have it!” She winked. “When I become a Wonderbolt, come to see the show, and you’ll be the first to get an autograph!”

“Really? Thank you!” the pegasus chirped and trotted away happily.

Omigosh, I talk like her, Scootaloo thought, unfolding the note.

‘West Cloudsdale. The third cloud over the arcade. 3 pm. RD.’

She read it with a cheerful smile. “Yeeeah! Finally, I’m hanging out with Rainbow!” Scootaloo exclaimed excitedly. “I hope I’ve got enough time to get there.”

* * *

Days pleasant like this were rare in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash could remember that the last time it was on the Summer Sun celebration. It took a lot of effort to keep weather nice, and the joy of sunny days for ones always meant days of hard work for others. But it didn’t bother Rainbow Dash now. She lay blissfully on a cloud basking in the summer sun. Her thoughts drifted far away from tedious weather control routines. It was her day off today, up for the exam at the Academy, where she was invited as a special guest. A contented smile showed on her face. Really, she just couldn’t miss the most important performance of Scootaloo, her number one fan.

Sound of somepony landing nearby broke her reverie. “Rainbow!” panted the orange pegasus.

Rainbow cracked open an eye as she stretched herself out on the cloud. “Hey, Scoot! What took you so long?” The cyan pegasus sat up and the two friends clapped their hooves together, “How’s things? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s hunky-dory!” Scootaloo smiled and lay down on the cloud next to her friend. “Was I awesome today? I saw it in your eyes. I was awesome.”

“Well, you kinda were, putting aside some minor faults.”

“Oh, really? I thought I did everything perfectly. What was wrong?”

“You overstrained. It was plain to see. I think they’ll take some points off for that,” Rainbow looked at somewhat saddened Scootaloo, “but I bet you made it to the top three.”

“Well, you know, I just wanted to do my best, and...”

“And you did. Really. I’m proud of you, Scoot.”

Scootaloo smiled and looked away into the distance. She rarely had a chance to simply relax and admire the scenery. The world around looked more beautiful than ever from this height. One couldn’t see all its magnificence from the ground, unless he would climb the top of a mountain. A dark spot in the sky caught Scootaloo’s eye. The Rainbow Factory, almost not visible from the city below, was in full view now, in all its awful grace.

Maybe I should tell Rainbow about my dream? thought the orange pony, she’ll probably laugh at such nonsense. Only a silly filly like me could’ve had such a nightmare.

“You know, Dash, I was so nervous about the exam last weeks I even started having nightmares.”

“Nightmares?” wondered Rainbow.

“Yes, or rather, a nightmare. But it was a really scary one.”

“Wanna tell me?” the cyan pony asked after a short pause.

“Well, yes, but don’t laugh too much, okay?”

This time it was much easier for Scootaloo to recount her dream, probably because Rainbow didn’t interrupt her and listened very attentively, never once letting a smile on her face. When she finished, the blue pegasus thoughtfully shook her head.

“So, you say, I was an insane monster in your dream?” Dash asked playfully in a soft, sweet voice, and Scootaloo immediately felt guilty. “And I was crunching you little fillies in some devil machine to extract spectra?” Scootaloo nodded. “And I came to hate your guts when you failed the exam?”

“Yes, because I got to the factory, and you had—”

Rainbow smiled. “C’mon, Scoots, I’d sooner bite off my own wings than ever hurt you!” she exclaimed and gently tapped Scootaloo’s nose. “Tails up, my fan! I’d never come to hate you, even if you’d somehow managed to fail that exam. But I was absolutely sure you’d pass it.”

“Really?” Scootaloo smiled.

“Of course I was! You’ve been trained by the one and only Rainbow Dash, the most awesome flier in all Equestria. You had no chance to fail!”

The orange pony burst out laughing, “For sure! Thank you. For everything.”

“Never mind,” Rainbow said nonchalantly. She remained silent for a few moments, her face suddenly serious, and then added thoughtfully. “Hmm, your dream gave me an idea.”

“What kind of idea?” Scootaloo raised her eyebrows curiously.

The blue pony pondered for a moment and replied, “You know, we never have tours of the upper floors because we make our secret ingredients there. Our factory has many competitors in other pegasi cities, and everyone knows that our weather is just... awesome. We don’t wanna lose our edge.” She looked at Scootaloo intently and added. “But I could arrange a private tour of the upper factory for you. What do you say?”

“Really? You kidding?” The orange pegasus’ eyes went wide open.

“I’m absolutely serious.” Rainbow smiled. “So, do you agree?”

“Me? Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” Scootaloo bounced into the air in excitement and pulled off a double somersault. “When? When?” she asked as she landed on the cloud.

“Give me some time. Even I can’t just go ahead and bring an outsider to the factory.” The blue pegasus thought for a moment. “Give me three days, okay? I’ll get in touch with you when everything’s settled.”

“Alright!” Scootaloo smiled and blissfully stretched out on the cloud.

Omigosh, Rainbow Dash takes me on a tour of the most secret place in Cloudsdale. She trusts me completely. Realizing that fact itself was far more pleasing than winning any competition.

Suddenly she heard that Rainbow was laughing. “What?” asked the orange pegasus.

“Oh, nothing, just remembered an old dream of mine. One where Pinkie tied me to a table and started cutting me with a knife, torturing me with electricity, sawing off my wings and all this kind of stuff. Finally she cut my belly open and ripped out my guts.”

“And what’s so funny about it?” Scootaloo said through clenched teeth. The excessive amount of detail made her sick.

“Well, when I woke up I found myself all shaking and about to throw up. And all thanks to Pinkie’s special super-duper cupcakes by the newest recipe. Damn it! I was sick for a whole week.”

Scootaloo giggled at the thought of green and wobbly Rainbow Dash barely dragging her hooves.

“I wonder why we have these nightmares,” the orange pegasus said after a while. “You about Pinkie wanting to dissect you, me about a factory where ponies are crunched into rainbows? Why do we have them?”

“Well,” Rainbow said lazily, “if I didn’t know that Princess Luna has returned to her former self, I’d say that Nightmare Moon had a hoof here. But who knows, maybe it’s the princess who entertains herself this way.”

“She must have quite a wicked sense of humor then,” Scootaloo said with a yawn.

“I don’t know,” replied Rainbow. “But, anyways, you can’t chalk up everything to baked bads eaten before sleep. Whoever dreams up these nightmares, that pony must be really crazy.”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo nodded. She snuggled down on the cloud tucking her hoof under her head and listened to Dash who was contentedly humming to herself.

Nightmares. What a ridiculous thing to be scared of.

* * *

It was late in the evening when Scootaloo returned to the Academy, but Orion was still waiting her on the bench near the entrance. The results had been posted a few hours ago, and the pegasus couldn’t wait to tell the news to her friend. Just as Rainbow had predicted, Scootaloo didn’t take the first place, however she got the silver and was noted as the fastest and most agile student. Orion, to his shame, got a rather low score. He would probably either have to repeat a year or get some tough job in the snow department. Though he didn’t look very upset, Scootaloo understood what he was feeling and tried to cheer him up.

“Rainbow Dash invited me to a tour of the Rainbow Factory,” she said with a conspiratorially quiet voice, “and I think I’ll get a job there! Why else would she invite me there?”

“Sounds good,” whistled Orion. “I bet you’ll get it. With your talent and grit, I’m sure, you’ll go far. And I will drag the rain clouds around all my life and remember our days together in the Academy.”

“Don’t say that. Everything will be fine, I’m sure. And I want you to know, wherever I go and whatever you do, you’ll always be my best friend, Orion.”

“Thanks, Scoot.” The pegasus smiled. “So, when did you say that tour will be?”

“In three days or so,” she replied uncertainly. “Oh, what will I do for three days?” Her study had officially ended, and she had nothing to do in the Academy now. “I guess I’ll just stay at home. I’m going to need some good rest after this terrible ordeal.”

* * *

In the Rainbow Factory, where your fears and horrors come true
In the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through

A week had passed since the exam, and Scootaloo started worrying that Rainbow forgot about her promise. She and Orion visited the Weather Factory twice but they couldn’t find the rainbow-maned pony there. Meanwhile, a job opened in the rainbows department, and Orion got it — it turned out that he had a rare talent for mixing exact amount of spectra for rainbows.

One morning Scootaloo went to check her mail and found a letter from Rainbow. It said that she, Scootaloo Equili, as one of the best graduates of the Flight Academy, was invited to visit the Rainbow Factory to learn the principle methods of producing rainbow components and even to engage in that process. The last part confused the orange pony a bit, but nevertheless she was incredibly happy anticipating the upcoming visit.

Scootaloo rushed through the clear summer sky approaching the Weather Factory. She spotted Rainbow Dash waiting her on a cloud.

“Hi, Dash!” Scootaloo glided down on the cloud.

“Hi, Scoot!” said the cyan pegasus handing a warm coat to her friend.

“Hmm, what do I need this for?” Scootaloo wondered.

“We have somewhat special conditions up there. So you’d better pull it on or you’ll freeze to death,” explained the pegasus putting on a similar coat.

They dressed and set off toward the thundering sphere on top of the Weather Factory. As they got closer, Scootaloo realized how big the Rainbow Factory really was. It was immensely huge and gave off that instinctive fear of being smashed one experiences seeing a massive object hanging above.

Scootaloo spotted translucent pipes coming out from the sphere transporting pure fresh spectra to the lower factory. “Do you know how spectra is made?” asked Rainbow Dash when she noticed that Scootaloo was looking at the pipes. It was an easy question, as rainbows are explained in the first year in the Academy. Even though she wasn’t a brilliant student when it came to theory, she knew such basic things very well.

“From light,” she answered almost instantly.

“Right. The easiest way of getting spectra is to split a light beam and then collect individual colors with a special kind of glue. They call it coagulant. But you know, that doesn’t work on an industrial scale. Too expensive. Too slow. And the spectra you get is not bright enough. That’s why they’re always looking for other, better ways of producing it.”

They reached a small pad on the side of the sphere and landed near the door leading inside the factory.

“Hey, Cloud Shadow, I’m back,” Rainbow sang out.

The gray pony with a sullen face stuck his head out of the window. Cloud Shadow threw an angry look and frowned. “You brought her all the same. Okay, don’t say you haven’t been warned.”

“Come on, Shaddy, stop whining. Everything is settled. The coast is clear.” She smiled at the grouchy pony, looking straight into his brown eyes.

“Well, I’ll let you in, I was ordered to. But I advise you to think again. Last time you—”

“Open up already!” Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof in frustration, and the guard silently opened the door letting out a breath of cold air. Scootaloo shivered in spite of being dressed warmly. She thought it was very dark inside and instinctively backed away.

“Come on,” said Rainbow looking at visibly frightened Scootaloo, “don't be a chicken! There's nothing dangerous there.”

Scootaloo frowned slightly and silently followed Rainbow into the building. When the door closed behind them, the orange pegasus realized that it was not at all dark there. The factory was filled with a cold white glow, in contrast to the bright and warm sunlight outside. The light came from tubes that were mounted right into the thunderclouds, eliminating the need for a power supply.

“Don’t take his twaddle seriously,” Rainbow said to Scootaloo. “Cloud Shadow is always grumpy, even on his birthdays.” She paused for moment. “Anyways, welcome to the Rainbow Factory!”

Scootaloo looked around. She found herself in a very long corridor twisting out of view in the distance. The corridor was bustling with ponies wearing the same warm coats. Every now and then they came in and out from various nooks and crannies. They looked very busy, much busier than their fellows at the lower factory. But whenever the two pegasi came across a worker, the latter would stop and greet Rainbow Dash — apparently she was respected here. However, the moment they spotted Scootaloo they would start acting very strangely. Some ponies would immediately turn away and hurry on, some would stare at her intently, while others would greet her with a mysterious smile. This weird behavior began to annoy Scootaloo.

“Why is it so cold here?” she asked angrily.

“We need special conditions for producing spectra. You know, it’s a tricky process. Let’s go ahead, I’ll show you a condenser.”

Rainbow brought Scootaloo into a room with several large humming devices. The devices were connected by wires with a huge glass hemisphere. Scootaloo walked up closer and saw the drops of violet spectra appearing and trickling down on the glass surface.

“Look, these ingenious contraptions condense and collect spectra. Then it flows to the lower factory. There’s six such condensers in the factory — one for each color. And, you know, if the air around here gets even a tiny bit warmer than minus five, the spectra will be wasted — it’ll become dull. That’s why we have this eternal winter here.” Rainbow smiled. “Let’s go ahead.”

They visited several labs where spectra was tested for quality. And again Scootaloo felt strange looks of the workers.

“Oh, Rainbow, you brought your... acquaintance?” wondered one of the lab workers, a young pegasus with an insolent sort of expression on his face.

Rainbow looked at Scootaloo and then smiled to him. “Yes, I brought her.”

“So, that means we’re launching it today?” The pegasus began rifling through his papers so hastily as if someone gave the alarm. “The new kind of spectra, you said. Right? What is it made from? From—”

He was abruptly interrupted by Rainbow’s hoof shoved into his mouth. “Shut your trap, Windbag! I thought I’ve told you all that it’s a little early to celebrate. But if the deal pans out—” Dash faltered. She glanced at Scootaloo — the orange filly was staring at her with eyes wide open — and put on an awkward smile. “I mean... anyways... get ready, okay?” Windbag nodded and the blue pegasus took her hoof away.

“You were so harsh with him,” Scootaloo said quietly when they left the lab and continued the tour along the corridor. The orange pegasus felt a little queasy — she’d never seen Rainbow treating somepony this way before.

“Sorry, I’m just very nervous. I’ll apologize to him later. He’s a nice smart guy, but sometimes he just blabs... everything out. Oh, professor Stratospherus!” exclaimed Dash as she spotted the stately green pegasus with a pale-blue mane.

The pegasus turned at the sound of his name and smiled. “Ah, our famous expert in rainbows. How are things going? How are your experiments?” he asked and looked at Scootaloo. “Oh, this is your friend, miss Equili, I suppose. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, professor.” The orange pony smiled, trying to be polite. Even though he’s not looking at me strangely... she thought. What kind of experiments is he talking about?

“I think we’ve made some progress. Windbag will tell you in detail.” Dash said proudly. “But there were still some problems with... the reaction,” she added somewhat hesitantly. “I hope everything will be fine this time.”

“I suppose, you want to start the experiment right now?” asked the professor.

“Yes, I’d like to.”

“Okay,” Stratospherus nodded. “The chamber is ready. Let’s go.”

Rainbow turned to Scootaloo. “Well, Scoot, are you ready to join me in the experiment? It’s gonna be a real breakthrough if it succeeds!”

“Is it what you wrote about in the letter?”

“Yes.” Dash nodded. “Let’s go, there’s a special chamber nearby.” They walked along the corridor without saying a word. The weren’t any doors on the walls; the corridor was almost empty, save for a few workers they met along the way. Finally, they reached a door made of frosted glass. They walked in and got into a locker room.

“Leave your warm clothes here,” said Stratospherus pulling off his coat. “It’s too hot inside.”

Silently, Scootaloo took off her coat and hung it on the wall. The three pegasi went through a second glass door, opposite to the first one, and got into another corridor. The lights were dim here; it seemed like the air was filled with an unpleasant haze. Scootaloo felt as if she had been there before, but she couldn't remember when.

“Hey, what’s up, Scoots?” said Rainbow seeing an air of confusion on the little pegasus’ face. “You just aren't yourself today. I thought you really wanted this tour. You've got a chance to see the very heart of the Rainbow Factory. So many ponies would love to be in your place. But I invited you, because you are special!”

Scootaloo smiled slightly, but she was still feeling rather uneasy. The corridor became narrow and stifling, and the air became so hot as if they were approaching a gigantic furnace.

“Why is it so hot here?” the orange pegasus asked quietly. For some reason, she didn't want to speak loud.

“We are very close to the reactor,” the professor spoke up. “It's the place where the spectra is evaporated to be transported to the condensers. We use several patented methods of producing spectra, but we always experiment with new ones. Right now we work on a completely new technology. By the way, the idea was suggested by Rainbow Dash. It’s based on— Oh, we have arrived!”

They stopped in front of a doorway leading to darkness. Scootaloo thought she was facing an abyss, and there was nothing beyond the passage except sheer emptiness. She felt an uneasy tightness in her chest.

“Well, I have to leave you two now.” Professor Stratospherus hurriedly trotted away.

Scootaloo glanced at Rainbow Dash who caught her eye and nodded at the direction of the doorway. “Come with me.”

“Wait!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “Tell me what’s going on here. What experiments are you all talking about? And what in Equestria it has to do with me?”

These words took Dash aback. She blinked and frowned in confusion. But a few moments later a smile of revelation lit up her face. “It’s all because of that dream, right?” Scootaloo nodded and calmed down a bit. “Don’t be afraid.” The rainbow-maned pony gently wrapped her wing around Scootaloo's back. “There’s nothing to fear. Let’s come in and I’ll explain everything.”

Rainbow slowly led the young pony through the doorway. The door closed behind them as they walked in, immersing them into complete darkness. Scootaloo tried to look around, but it turned out that she couldn't see her own hoof in front of her nose.

“This is the camera obscura,” Rainbow’s voice filled the room. She took away her wing, and Scootaloo settled on the floor listening to her. “It’s the darkest place in the factory. The place where any, even most slightest, light source can be detected. You know, the sun and candles aren’t the only light sources. There are lots of different kinds of light. I realized it when I saw the Elements of Harmony. When the Elements worked I felt something. It was such an incredible feeling that words can’t describe it. Well, maybe I can describe it with a single word — Loyalty. It was overwhelming me and I felt like it was burning inside. And then I realized what else can give off light — our hearts. When we feel strong emotions our hearts can make enough light to be detected here. But all my previous attempts to evoke strong feelings from ponies have failed. There is only one feeling, only one emotion I haven’t tried yet.”

Suddenly, in the complete darkness, Scootaloo recognized Rainbow Dash’s shape. Barely discernible at first, it grew clearer and brighter, acquiring a glowing outline — a horrifying and, at the same time, immensely beautiful sight.

“And what is this feeling?” asked the orange pegasus, though, in the depths of her soul, she began to understand what Rainbow was talking about. She didn’t notice that her own body started to spread a warm flickering glow too. Scootaloo looked into Rainbow’s rosy eyes and realized everything her friend couldn’t say with words. The blue pegasus moved closer to her and hugged her tight. Their glow grew brighter, blending and exploding into bright sparkling rainbows engulfing the two pegasi.

“Scootaloo,” Dash said quietly, “You are the best thing in my life. I’m so glad I met you, my number one fan.”

Scootaloo felt the warmness filling her heart from these simple words. Though she had already heard them before, now they sounded different.

“You know, I didn’t tell you something about my nightmare,” she said.

“Really? What is it?” Rainbow asked, giving Scootaloo a warm smile.

“The words I had told you before I woke up.” The orange pony returned the smile. The deceitful dream had completely dispersed, leaving behind nothing but these true words. “You have beautiful eyes,” she cooed, soft, yet clearly.

* * *

Professor Stratospherus was sitting in the control room recovering from the shock. The amount of spectra the factory had collected in five minutes would last a few months. And it was spectra of highest quality, brilliant, pure and bright, he could see it without any tests.

The pegasus settled back in his chair and chuckled. “This is incredible. It’s a new chapter in the history of rainbows,” he muttered to himself. “You were right. Love is the brightest feeling indeed.”