The chains lifted her slightly, bringing her small body eye to eye with a pegasus in front of her. The pony was a deep, blood red, glistening in the artificial light of The Factory. Her mane had small spots of glorious colours of the rainbow, but was mostly the same red colour as her coat of fur. Chunks of skin were missing from small spots, and her hair was ripped in some places, bald patches of skin in others. The only clue Scootaloo had as to who this used to be were the rose iris’ focused on her.
“Any final words, you miserable worthless whore of a foal?”
Scootaloo brought her chin high, still demanding even the tiniest fraction of dignity.
“You have beautiful eyes,” she cooed, soft, yet clearly.
Deep in the pages of history
Lies a shadow hiding in a mystery
A late night story buried far away
Until it once again sees the light of day
It had been two months since the incident, and any mention of the matter earns you a cruel death, courtesy of the Pegasus Device. The workers have been kept busy and the machines were covered in blood. It was the dreaded Rainbow Factory, and like their co-manager sings every time an innocent life is taken from it's yanking chains.
"Where not a single soul gets through," he sings in deep amusement.
His name was Glaze. He had been working at the Factory since he first knew about it. His jade-green and canary-yellow mane and pale green coat used to be loved by everypony in Cloudsdale, but the years henceforth had tainted the mane, smearing it with what looks darkly like... blood.
He turned to the small mare at his right and he smiled. "Absentia," he called to her, "Operate the device."
The mare was bruised and bloody, and almost unrecognizable, if it weren't for her mane. She nodded, and began the Spectra Extraction process, therefore killing the innocent filly. The Device, then, collected the remains and produced a bright ray of blue and red. Glaze gave a smug grin.
"Well done, Absentia," he called, and as he trotted away, he yelled, "And return to your dormitory. It's Joe's shift."
She nodded once more, and left the control room. Absentia had never spoken, nor did she had the desire to, and if she did, she wouldn't know what to say. A colt, with a canary-yellow mane, night-blue coat and orange hooves, along with cold, dark black eyes also wearing a blood-covered jacket, walked into the room and started to toy with the machine. The mare began her short journey up the spiral, cold staricase and reached the dormitories. She looked in the mirror and saw what today's progress had done.
She saw that her coat had more blood than usual. Her magenta mane, in which had a streak of scarlet, because of the blood, and her amber orange coat and jacket were also stained in blood. The only thing that wasn't blood were her magenta eyes, which held something that other workers at the Rainbow Factory never held for years.
Guilt and sorrow. She had that feeling ever since she could remember how she came to work in this coloured dungeon, but all she remembers was her name, Absentia. She hopped into her bed and closed her eyes, hoping her break was longer that her shift.
And when the little colts and fillies turn out all lights
And tell a story of a factory as black as night
The luxury of rainbows comes at a price
Just ignore the screams, and don't think twice
Fillies were either whining or crying their way to sleep in the chambers below. They were remembering their parents, sibling and friends, hoping they would be able to see them again, but by seeing the little colt dying in that gigantic machine the workers call the Pegasus Device, their chances were as thin as a roll of parchment. Their destinies were sealed, their hopes and dreams shattered, and also, ther bond for Cloudsdale. (No complaint there.)
Slyph Storm was one of them. He had a silver mane and tail, decorated with a cyan blue coat, which was bruised from his exam at the Cloudsgary Flight Academy, from western Cloudsdale. He failed, and all faliures, (so they said) get deported and banished from Cloudsdale, finding their own life on the floors of Equestria. The Factory was proof that the deportation was all a lie... it was murder and torture!
"How could they have not told us?" screamed Slyph. "They can't do this to us. Princess Celestia will save us, I hope!"
"How will that happen," said a pony from the back. "if nopony knows where we are?" Slyph hated that reply, but it was true. Noone, not even the Royal Princesses knows where they are.
"I bet Mom and Dad probably are worried about us." said a bubblegum, pink mare, with a night-black mane. "I bet everyone will be worried."
"I wouldn't bet on it," said a cruel, devious voice from the chamber door. The eyes were peering through and it's scarlet rose iris were shining through the peephole. She was wearing a mask, hiding her mane and coat, but her eyes were unlike any other. "I've listened to your little chat. Heh, I never heard such ridiculous stories from a bunch of failures."
"You just wait," shouted Slyph, whose muzzle was turning red, not with fear, but anger. "Princess Celestia, and maybe even Luna, will help us, rescue us, and of all the good thing in Equestria, kill you, you son of Tarturus!" The other fillies were crestfallen at this, and trotted back a few hooves. The masked mare didn't take lightly to this.
"You better keep your bucking trap shut, foal," she growled, "or I'll shut it for you!" She slammed the hole shut and trotted out of the Corridor of Failures, in which she locked the entrance up, making sure that no failure escapes. Because if they do, the secret of the facility will be broken and they will soon know...
That the manager was Rainbow Dash.
