Iridescent Plant

All pegasi must die!

* * *

Fillies stood stunned trying to understand what happened when two pegasi landed before them. They were dressed in gray robes and had backpacks. Their cutie marks looked like Rainbow Dash's, but rainbow was closed by grill.

One of them began to quietly speak by radio, and second targeted children some sinister device. At this moment on bloody fragments laid under site near a tree landed Rainbow Dash.

"Emden, quickly check presence of components in the remains," said she by steel voice.

Pegasus gave up talking and took from backpack strange stick with a disk on its end. He momentarily forgot about fillies and started go round from epicenter, checking every square inch.

"Rainbow, we must get 'em!" begun second pegasus.

"No. I must notify princess."

"Don't you understand? They'll tell about it!" said pegasus desperately.

"Don't you know, blockhead, – they're leading children characters! We can be not simply deprived bonuses we may be closed at all!" shouted Dash.

"Rainbow…" said Scootaloo with shaky voice. "What happened?"

"Damn," whispered that. "You've seen too much. And I think, it will be not too bad, if I tell you that experimental device passed the test." Rainbow grimaced looking on blood. "Let's go. I should wash you. Grilljoe! Clean up here."

Second pegasus nodded grimly.

"If we meet anypony, tell you got dirty in cherry juice," taught Rainbow on the way to the river. "Much more better, if nopony will see you. Generally, on the plant there is dangerous biological manufacture. Somepony may became insane, and work is so dangerous that we can't let them live. Before accident… well… before it was nothing like that! But now we began exploitation of the new safety device. That's it. I think you need disinfection. Just in case. That pony was… from chemical lab. I don't know what else was on him."

Fillies walked silently beside Rainbow Dash. Sweetie Belle trembled, Scootaloo forgot her scooter. Apple Bloom looked better, but suddenly tears flowed from her eyes.

"What are you doing there?" asked she with sniffling. Looking at her two other girls began crying too.

"We… emm… producing rainbows!" said Rainbow Dash.

"I knew it!" squeaked Sweetie Belle. She almost lost her voice from shock. "Remember Tiara told – on plant adult pegasi kills foals?! And I didn't trust her!!!"

"Silent!" snapped Dash. "Nopony killed. Well… almost. It was an accident! Believe me, it's much better if… if… contamination begin, yeah, that's it!"

"Contamination?" said Scootaloo. "That pegasus… He said about contamination too."

Rainbow sighed with relief.

They came to the river.

"Quick wash yourselves!" commanded Rainbow Dash.

Blood was already dry, so they spent more quarter of hour when all traces of "industrial accident" were cleaned up.

"Oh, fillies, what I shall do with you?.." said Rainbow Dash sadly. "How can I save that which not destroyed already?" whispered she for herself.

Behind the bushes on the other side suddenly jumped Fluttershy and ran to Rainbow.

"Dashie, we have a problem! Oh, hello, girls," Fluttershy paused awkwardly.

"Ahem. What happened?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Butterflies! They flew away! Problems with cooling. Eighth and half of the seventh container! This is terrible!"

"Butterflies?" said Scootaloo. "Trifle!"

Apple Bloom only sighed.

"What to do? You said production stability depends on the supply!" Fluttershy tilted her head. "I let you down. This is very bad."

"Quiet," Rainbow Dash thought quickly. "Perhaps we should tell everything to this small wrigglers. You see, they have seen as a new device worked."

Fluttershy lay on the ground in the shock and covered head with her hooves.

Rainbow stamped her foot in irritation. "That's enough! Get it together! I must notify Celestia about the incident, and you may do the perfect introductory tour. These fillies are too important. They're special," Rainbow smirked.

Fluttershy looked at her from under her mane with huge eyes.

"With raw do so," continued Dash, "use backup containers. Test will be hot, since on a cold testing was not enough time. Do it, I sailed," and waving tail Rainbow Dash sped into the sky, almost at once developing ultrainbow speed.

"I've never seen before that she can fly so fast!" whispered Sweetie Belle to Scootaloo.

"Yeah, and without a boom!" nodded she.

Fluttershy rose up. It was evident that she was still very upset. "Rainbow did not say what… is going to do with you?" she asked nervously.

"Gosh, I bet she wants to dismember us and make a rainbow!" squeaked Sweetie Belle.

"O-o-oh, well, it's unlikely, girls" Fluttershy laughed nervously. "It didn't come yet. Although…" she sighed heavily.

"That Grillbar wanted to dismember us!" said Apple Bloom. "And Dash forbade him!"

"Grilljoe," mechanically corrected Scootaloo. "I think we should tell everyone what happened."

"Girls, girls, wait!" Fluttershy soared in excitement. "Let me first show you the earth stage of production. You'll see, there is nothing scary!"

"Give the word," said Sweetie Belle.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!" vowed Fluttershy. "I'll die if something bad happens to you."

* * *

Cutie Mark Crusaders walked across the meadow.

"Now we are on the roof of the first container," enthusiastically told Fluttershy. "It's full, and because it's in reserve, workers will fly for it now."

"Filled? What?" Sweetie Belle asked incredulously.

"Filled with butterflies, of course! Now I'll show you." Fluttershy soared and began singing. Many butterflies flew to her from the flowers. "Enough." She went to the stump on the edge of the meadow, and open a cover of it. Then she began to fly in circles when something buzzed inside stump. The butterflies caught up by air flow tucked inside.

"Previously, there was no protection, and one day I was sucked." Fluttershy blushed. "So I sat there to the evening, until Rainbow Dash flew. Enough." She slammed the lid of the "stump", then grabbed one of the roots by teeth and pulled up. "Technical hatch. Now see." Fluttershy dug under the roots and took the glass vessel. "Cyclone," she explained. Many butterflies flitted inside it. "Generally, they are usually gathering a lot, and they can not fly. Then we cool them and lulls. They can be stored for two weeks! I could not invent it, it's Rainbow and prof."

"Prof?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Accidentally not the Angel of Death? Who make horrific experiments on twins! He wanted to kidnap Cake's kids!"

"Not for toffy!" said Fluttershy. "He had not engaged in such anymore. It's difficult time, we all need to focus on one theme, and he comes up how to increase production." She put the vessel back under the "stump". "Let's step aside. Now container will be picked up." Indeed, there was a noise in the trees soon.

"Is it a pegasi?" asked Scootaloo.

"Not only. You'll see. The container is very big!"

Over the tree crowns huge aerostat floated majestically. Apple Bloom gasped when the earth started to slip away from her feet. Fluttershy pulled her to the edge of the clearing. Moved turf opened perfectly flat metal surface.

"The drive is disconnected," said Fluttershy. "It disconnects automatically when the roof moves. Now pegasi will secure the load, take it and put in a hole an empty container. Careful! Do not fall."

Four pegasi flew with cables and hooks to fasten edges of the container. The huge steel box slid on rails up when the aerostat began his ascent. After some time the second flew and started lowering the empty container. At this time he was handled by eight pegasi because sometimes gusts of wind strongly skewed the empty box. Gently hitting corner guides, pegasi flew aside. Fluttershy went up to him and began to utter:

"Ensure that containers are cleaned better! Old cargo residues dramatically reduce storage life!"

Pegasus chief nodded, then pegasi unhooked four corners, and all of them flew together with the aerostat. Fluttershy landed before pals. Turf slowly crept to the top of the container.

"Two containers in a day take to the plant, and there produce a rainbow from butterflies! You see, that's okay!" Fluttershy sweetly smiled to Sweetie Belle.

"Anyway, one pegasus died right before our eyes!" objected Apple Bloom. "This is terrible! Why you could not simply isolate him?"

"As far as I know, there not enough staff" said Fluttershy sadly. "If insert safety device into every pony on plant and threatened 'em with death when someone issue a secret, you can greatly reduce the guard and transfer free pony to production. I do not know the details."

"And you have that device too?" said Scootaloo.

"Me? No, of course, I'm not involved in the production!" Fluttershy shook her head.

"And what if you tell anyone something, which is why was killed pegasus?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I… I… I cannot tell! Because if my work will known, everepony will condemn me!"

"But if it will save Ponyville from the threat, it would be the right thing to do!" advancing Apple Bloom.

"No!" firmly corresponded Fluttershy. "It will be worse. If everypony will know about the price we pay for a delicate balance, everything will collapse instantly! And then it all will not care who to blame. Everypony will die."

"Come on, girls," said Sweetie Belle. "She's stubborn. We'll know all by ourselves."

"Don't dare to tell anyone anything!" cried Fluttershy following.

"Don't worry, we will not tell," remarked Scootaloo. "At first we'll find out everything! And then we'll decide what to tell. Maybe we shall become detectives!"

"What do you suggest?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"They take second container at the evening. Backup, remember? The first backup, then the second – it will be next. We penetrate the plant and will see everything with our own eyes!"

"It's necessary to prepare," said Apple Bloom. "It can be very dangerous."

"That's all right," said Sweetie Belle. "In the worst case we'll be dissected."