Welcome to the Rainbow Factory
It was good to be home, thought Rainbow Dash. Though her heart fluttered with nerves from knowing that she was about to compete in the upcoming Best Young Flyers' Competition, part of her still managed to take a look around, the nostalgia bringing her some comfort. There was something about this place that filled her simultaneously with pride and unease. Only the very best were celebrated here in Cloudsdale. The place had a very long tradition of being a bastion of strength and perfection in Equestria. Even a pony who'd slept through most of her history classes knew that. Rainbow knew that ponies like herself were the epitome of what Cloudsdale valued, but those who were less than perfect had a tendency to disappear... What brought her mind to ease was that weak flyers like Fluttershy and Scootaloo found happy lives and friends down in Ponyville and other surface towns. They just couldn't handle the heat, she thought. So of course they would have just moved after they'd failed Flight School. Speaking of Scootaloo... it'd been a while since Rainbow had seen her. Not surprising. Scootaloo and her new friends seemed quite busy in their quests for cutie marks, but for someone who'd once considered Dash to be her idol, something didn't seem right... She would have visited, at least.
Still deep in thought (a rare thing for Rainbow), she found herself staring at a nearby rainbow fountain. She always knew that rainbow production was one of Cloudsdale's best-kept secret. The locals treated it as a specialty, like an old-time recipe spoken about with a wink and a smile, but the truth was that nopony knew how they were really made. Sure, there was speculation, but no answers. Rainbow sighed deeply. What does it matter? It's just magic, like everything else in Equestria....right?
Hello, my dear. Welcome to the Rainbow Factory. I'm not entirely sure how you got here, Miss... what was your name again? Scootaloo? Hm. A rather plain name for a pegasus. But I suppose it matches the pony. I knew there was a reason you were brought here. It's a wonder you're even able to walk in Cloudsdale, given your performance in your Flight School final. And what a shame, too. You fell right past the safety nets to the ground below. It's a wonder you're not dead, but it's certainly fortunate. It would be a terrible thing for a lovely young filly to go to waste. While you're here, I suppose I could give you a tour of our facilities.
Yes, it is quite a marvel, isn't it? We put in all our effort to make this place as immaculate as the rainbows we create. But I'm sure it's smaller than you were expecting. There's beauty in simplicity, and there's no need to draw too much attention to ourselves. Don't want to ruin the magic, now do we?
Yes, you're right, those are the mixing vats. As you know, rainbows start out in liquid form, and have to be carefully blended into just the right shades we need. These things are so delicate, so easily ruined, you know. Just one drop or impurity spoils the whole batch, and here in Cloudsdale we strive for perfection in all things.
Let's start you at the beginning of the process. Here is the first control area, where we monitor the collection of our resources. Don't worry, the glass is very strong. Even a flightless pegasus such as yourself has no danger of falling through. Oh, stop dancing around like that, you'll be fine. See those nets down there? Every day we pull in a lovely harvest. First, we check the nets underneath the hospitals. You do know the procedure, right? When a pegasus is first born, they are set down on the ground outside. If they fail to stand on the clouds, they are collected onto our nets and ours to take.
Cruel? My dear, that's where we get our purest colours. A dull rainbow doesn't inspire or capture interest. To make a quality rainbow you need to have colours that stand out. We can't just have all gradients, that would be boring.
Let's move on... Ah! A Flight Test is taking place! Let's watch... Oh, there goes one already. What a shame. We'll collect him later. Won't make for as bright a shade as the younger ones, but... well, you know how hard it can be to get a natural blue.
You get the idea, Moving on... Here is the holding area for our subjects. Oh, now there's no need to have that look on your face. You should be happy. Your only defect is that you can't fly. Look at some of them. What else are they good for? If all they're able to do is pace in circles or hobble around on solid ground or spout gibberish, why shouldn't they at least go towards creating something beautiful? Believe me, our entire race becomes stronger for it, and... Just one second, we have another runner... aha! Got you. Oh, you're a young one, aren't you? And such a lovely purple. For that, you can go straight to the chute. In you go! Bye bye, little guy! ...Excuse me. Back to business.
Here we have our processing plant. Ah, look, it's the one I just put in. See him going down the belt? Aaaaaand, in he goes! I was right about him. Just the shade we nee-... Oh, please. If you're going to throw up could you at least turn your head? I have a job to do here and I don't want to get dirty.
If you're quite done with being sick we can move on. Yes, we're back in the vat room. Easier to appreciate now that you've seen where the magic happens, hm? You look rather faint. Don't worry, you can rest now. The tour is over. No, I'm sorry, we've already locked all the doors. If you want to rest you'll have to do it in here... You know it's really rather funny that you're as pathetic at running as you are at flying.
Have you got her? Good. Bring her over here. Give her to me. Thank you. Now come on, Scootaloo... in you go!
Rainbow Dash shook herself out of her reminiscing long enough to see Pinkie Pie dip her hoof into the rainbow fountain, giving an experimental lick over a patch of orange hue.
She still doesn't know why, but the sight made her shudder.
