The Bureau: Wretched Machines

“Nickel?”

Rainbow Dash knocked on Nickel’s front door. No answer.

“Nickel…”

Still nothing.

“Nickel, open up!”

The door opened, but it wasn’t Nickel. Instead, it was Frostbite. “Hello, Rainbow Dash. What’s up?”

“We need help. Me and Scootaloo.”

“Come inside.”

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo walked inside. “Sometimes, I housesit for Nickel while he goes and works other odd jobs around Equestria. Make yourselves comfortable. Need anything to drink?”

“I’m okay. How about you, Scootaloo? Need a drink?” She shook her head no. “No, we’re both okay on drinks,” she said, “But we need your help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well…Scootaloo, why don’t you tell Frostbite what happened? In your nightmare?”

“Um…okay…” Scootaloo proceeded to tell Frostbite about her nightmare, not leaving anything out. Frostbite had a look of deep interest on his face.

“Hm. I see. And this was last night?”

Scootaloo nodded.

“Okay. I’ll look into it. But I need to talk to Rainbow Dash. Alone.”

She nodded and left the room, not saying anything.

Rainbow Dash looked at Frostbite. “I know what you’re thinking, and no, I don’t abuse her. I love her, damnit.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask. I was going to ask if you had the same nightmare, but from your own point of view last night. I’m also guessing you both dreamt and woke up at the same time, and you both were crying, sweating, and moving restlessly in your sleep.”

“Yeah, but…how could you know all of that?”

“They’re signs of bleeding.”

“Bleeding? What’s that?”

“I’m going to call a friend of mine. He works for the Bureau, too. He might be able to shed a light on this whole thing.”

“Who is he?”

Frostbite opened his door and called out, but using a normal speaking voice. “Doctor? Hey, I need you for a sec.”

Rainbow Dash could make out a brown pony with a darker mane with a Trottingham accent. “Yeah, sure.” He came inside. He was wearing a multi-colored scarf around his neck, and he had an hourglass for a cutie mark.

Doctor Whooves.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash. I trust you do well today?”

“I’m good, yeah.”

Frostbite joined in. “Doctor, I’m pretty sure Rainbow Dash and her daughter, Scootaloo, have been bleeding. Quite severely.”

“Ah. I see. I take it you want me to explain the process of bleeding?”

“I do.”

“Alright. Now, you see, Rainbow Dash, this may come as a shock to you. You may not believe a word that I am about to say. But, I assure you; this is completely real. I have been studying bleeding for a long enough time to make Twilight Sparkle jealous. That is a long time. Do you understand?”

Dash nodded her head.

“Good, Then we can begin. So, I must start out with one thing: you, your friends, and all of Equestria are the subject of a television show.”

“What? What’s television?”

“It’s a box that runs on electricity, and humans watch it for entertainment.”

“What the hell is a human?”

“It’s a kind of highly intelligent life form residing in another dimension. See, there are three different dimensions. You have ours, the Equestrian one. Then, you have the one your friend, Twilight Sparkle, visited a few months back to get her crown back. That dimension is a halfway point, bridging the gap between pony and human. Then, you have the human dimension. Now, see, some fans of the show have taken to calling themselves bronies, and some use us to channel their creativity in many ways. Some of their art, like stories, pictures, animations, songs, and games are beautifully made. Others, not so much. Some bridge that gap. Now, see, bleeding occurs when one of these pieces of art, in your case, a story, starts to become real in our dimension. Side effects of this include having nightmares that reenact sequences from these pieces of artwork. Now, for some reason, only bad stories happen. I’m still looking into that. So, tell me about your nightmare.”

Rainbow Dash spoke to the good doctor, telling him her nightmare, leaving no detail, no matter how small, out. “I see. I know what story has befallen you and Scootaloo.”

“Really? What is it?”

“The Rainbow Factory.”