Rainbow Factory: A Look Inside

Chapters

Chapter 1: Ebony
Chapter 2: Storm Twirl
Chapter 3: Dream Darling
Chapter 4: Ebony's Secret

Chapter 1: Ebony

It was a normal day at the Rainbow Factory. I was walking to the control center with some of my friends and co-workers. Lightning Dancer; the one who was the glue that held us together. Dream Darling; the mare who could get a party started anywhere and who was excited about everything that would happen. She was a lot like Pinkie, but they had their differences. And alas, Storm Twirl. She was the one outcast that we had come to love, we gave her a home.

It was early morning. All the clouds had just been cleared from the sky. It made a good sunrise look amazing from the view that I’ve ever seen. I just wanted to go and stare at it for days, yet that couldn’t happen, due to the work that had to be done.

When we all had arrived, the foyer had just been cleaned and looked sterile as ever. White marble floors illuminated the sunrise from a great distance, making the walls a warm yellow/orange color. Lovely rainbow trimming glittered on the embroidered walls, giving the walls a warm glow, like a beach at sundown. Anyone could see this was a great place to work…. but it also hid a terrible secret. For this was the Rainbow Factory. They had the task of creating rainbows. They were excited for, all the ponies who came inside; (never used the out entrance again) would never see the light of day again.

The security droids were nice a usual; to the extent of their programming, they let us go past. It was then, that all of the ponies that worked there started going through their normal routine. I could barely make out what they were saying; all I heard was that they were having fun with the rainbow making process. I really wanted to go out to the public and tell the Pony Press that this factory was killing all the ‘visitors’; yet if I ever did, I’d be killed on spot. That's why I’m always quiet when I’m out.

“Hey guys, ready for another day at work?” I chimed cheerfully, breaking the silence between us.

“I can’t wait to get started!” The other pegasi smiled cheerfully, for they loved their job as much as I did.

“Yeah, its going to be great!” Replied Lightning Dancer. She pranced slightly, showing off the excitement she always had.

“Where do you think we'll be today, guys? The control room or out in the pasture?” Inquired Dream Darling. She looked at me, then Storm, smiling from ear to ear. She rarely slept, always drinking too much caffeine, which earned a slight giggle from me.

“Ooh! I hope we’re in the control room. That way we see the ‘clients’ faces. I do so love to meet them.” Storm Twirl exclaimed, giggling they set off; flying down the stairs into the lobby. Knowing about her past, left me no questions about her killing plans. They put their IDs on and checked in. Since this was the Rainbow Factory, there was a lot of security; they had a strict code, no souls beyond the gates. Who ever entered that didn’t work at the factory, would be knocked out. Then be sent to the main heart of the factory.

I looked at my card, today Dream Darling and I were working in the control room; while Storm Twirl and Lightning Dancer were out in the pasture.

“At least we're with one friend.” I muttered. We all liked to be together, neither of us didn't knew the other workers very well.

“Yeah… Well, have fun in the Control Room! We'll see you at lunch.” Storm Twirl gave us a smile and ran off with Lightning Dancer.

“Well, lets go Dream Darling, we have work to do. We’re almost at the one billion rainbow marker!” I said in mid-flight, smiling slightly. I was uncomfortable with the one billion mark for some reason, but that was subsided for I was with Dream.

“Oh my gosh, I completely forgot Ebony. Thanks for reminding me, lets go!” Lightning Dancer dashed off; her mane flying in pursuit of her beating wings. She zipped through the hallway and disappeared into Lab Section A. I started walking toward the stairs and began to make my way to the control room on the second floor. Dream Darling followed in hot pursuit and soon we were making our way past the platforms toward the looming tower. The plaza, as the workers called it, had a great view. The sunset vanished, leaving the yellow glow from the sun; making the halls of the factory a mild yellow color and letting the embroidering of the rainbow trimming on the walls glow and shine. I loved the view that I had in the factory. I could see the sun rising at a slow pace creating small heat waves. I’m sure that Dream loved the view as much as I did. For when she made it into the control room, she’d look at the sun for a few minutes and then get back to working.

Chapter 2: Storm Twirl

So Lightning and I had the pasture once more. Oh how I love the pasture, I thought silently to myself. I slowly looked around, making sure I was flying right. All I could see was red. I didn't know if it’s my eyes were being blinded by the sunglasses that I’m currently wearing, if the feeling was kicking in, or if my disease was ruining my vision.

Few years earlier, when I was in an alley way, I was abandoned from my original family and pretty much tossed out into the sides of the streets, praying for someone to take me in. All I had was myself and little bits of food, meaning I was suffering of anorexia. I really wanted to find a home but no one wanted me. If anything, I was called a serial killer because of the that one feeling that I always got. Anything I did was considered dangerous and people were warned to stay away from me.

When I ran out of food, I was on the verge of death. I would physically crawl out of the alley way begging for food. My skin shrank and you could see my bones from where my ribs where located along with all the other bones that I had. You could see every bone in my body which was scary to most, others gave me enough food to last through the afternoon or so.

Basically, I was dying from hunger. The feeling kept getting stronger and stronger. I don’t how I was controlling it, but somehow I was. Is this how I’m gonna die? Starving of hunger? Will I ever see the light of day again? I kept asking these kinds of questions while I was dying, until that one day. That day I’ll never forget. This was the day I met Ebony and the crew.

So, I was in my alley way, dying basically, I crawled out from the dark asking for food. When I did, I see this amazingly beautiful pony, probably in her early 20’s, walking over to the alleyway that I was currently living now. She and her friends came over to the alleyway, striding past the dumpster and me. She turned back to notice how skinny and beat up I was. From the corner of my eye, I saw her gasp and call over an ambulance. Ebony’s hair was longer then and dyed a deep brown. I’ve never seen anything like this ever in the years that I’ve ever been alive, even in the evening light she looked like an angel; it was probably just the light, but now I’m not so sure.

The color, red, at the edge of my vision; dissipated. For the first time in a long time I felt hope. These strange ponies stayed with me the entire time. They rode with me in the ambulance, and flew alongside the bed as it was wheeled into the emergency room. Always her lovely eyes locked with mine and murmuring with her gentle voice,

‘It’ll be okay you're going to be fine. You're safe now.’ That’s when I blacked out, doctors surrounded me all with kind loving faces. I had no idea where I was, but it was all white. I was beginning to think that I was dead and these were angels, but something told me that this was something different. In the room, I was still in pain but it was dull. They had given me some kind of drug to ease the pain. No one had ever cared for how I felt, if I was in pain or sad. This was new and different, I felt wanted, like I wasn’t a waste of space. So, feeling safe, I allowed myself to slip into the darkness.

When I awoken I felt cold, and wrapped my hooves around myself. My guardian angel was sitting in a chair by the bed, fast asleep. A small smile formed upon my face, and I set about looking around the room to see where she had lead me to. The room was a pale white color with tile covering the ground. There wasn’t much furniture, just the hospital bed I was laying on and a small metal chair that she probably dragged in herself.

Thats when I noticed the bill in her hand. Little have I known how to read and write a little bit before my family cast me out. With all the strength in my hooves, I grabbed it to see what it was; what was written made me cry.

Bill $30,499 pony bits

For patient: AA320

Paid in full by: Ebony Runwick

Treatment: Full body Restoration and Rehabilitation

Room rented for: 3 months

She had spent her hard earned pony bits for a complete stranger, this truly was my guardian angel. I turned my head up as footsteps came down the hall, the angel’s friends walked into the room their eyes resting on her curled up in the chair.

“Ebony, wake up silly. The mare is awake!” The light blue one giggled as her cyan companion said this.

My angel, Ebony, stirred and sat upright, “She’s awake? Why didn’t anyone tell me!” Her eyes rested on the receipt I held in my hand.

“Well now, somepony’s been up and about! Hey girls, look what our little mystery mare found.”

They both looked at the bill, then at me, back and forth for a moment and then they finally spoke.

“Well we got a bright one here,” said Ebony, “she’s looking mighty fit now thanks to you.” Lightning chimed. I looked down at myself, I was no longer skinny and pale with bones showing. I was full and not a single bone was showing. Even my hair color had returned.

“Say what's your name?” Ebony said.

“Storm Twirl,” I replied.

Chapter 3: Dream Darling

Yay, another day in the control room with my friend Ebony. Oh, how silly of me, I’m Dream Darling. The happiest pony around, I work mostly in the cupcake department of the rainbow factory, developing new extraction techniques. Ebony and I zoomed up the stairs, ready to start our work. I stopped on the walkway, which lead to the control room and took a look into the pit.

It was as dreary as ever. I had wanted to paint it but the boss wouldn’t let me. Fooy, what a meanie pants. But oh well!

Well, everyone else is giving a sob story about their past so I will too, I’m dream Darling and I was born up here in Cloudsdale. My parents were cloud farmers, which is BORING! So I’d hang out with my best cousin foreva, Pinkie Pie! Pinkie rocks, we have so much in common, our parents don’t understand our need to have fun and we both have a serial killer mode! So we’ve pulled a few job together, that doesn’t mean were mean. I mean its just what we do for a living, I work in the Rainbow Factory and she makes cupcakes. Also, never have the pony special cupcake… Trust me…..

Anywho, Pinkie and I were bored one day as fillies so we decided to look around for somepony to… play with. We walked along Main Street looking for a playmate, when Pinkie whispered to me.

“Hey, look over there. There is a yellow filly with long brown hair! She looks fun!” Little did I know that that filly was a mare who was soon to be one of our best friends, so we trotted over oblivious to who she was or what she was capable of.

“Well hello there,” I chiddled.

“Are you new here? I haven't seen you around, like ever!” I giggled, she was pretty, extremely… But she looked very lonely too…

“Um yeah, new… My name is Ebony, Ebony Runwick.” She shuffled her hooves on the ground uncomfortably and adjusted her wings so they lay flat on her back. Pinkie bounced up and down and joined in.

“Hey yeah, nice to meet you, say do you wanna come and play?”

“Um, sure, what are we playing? Do I get to use these?” She pulled three wing blades out from under one of her folded wings with the other wing and flicked them with deadly accuracy at a tree, slicing three of its large limbs off of it. Then like boomerangs, the knives changed course and flew back into her outstretched wing. Ebony smiled and tucked them back under her wing, me and Pinkie starring with our jaws dropped. This pony wasn’t one to make cupcakes out of, she was a playmate to CREATE the cupcakes. With her knives we could have WAY more fun than before with my mothers kitchen knives!

“Yes you will! Now all we gotta do is find somepony to use them on, since you’re the guest you get to pick. Anypony you want Ebony, its your choice.” Pinkie exclaimed, while she was still bouncing like crazy. She hummed and looked around the plaza, looking for a good playmate.

Her eyes rested on a darker blue filly with short purple hair and pointed to her.

“That one.” She smiled evilly.

“But we can’t have just one, you girls pick another so we can all join in the fun and nobody is pushing and shoving.” Pinkie nodded at this and bounced up and down with excitement, she picked a gray colt with green hair. So later the two ‘friends’ were at Pinkie’s house in the basement and the colt was strapped to an old surgical table that my dad had given them to use for storage purposes. In one corner we had a box of my mom's old kitchen knives, the other filly was backed into a corner staring defiantly at Ebony with fire in her eyes.

“Tear my flesh, kill me for all I care, it doesn't change the fact that you’re all monsters!” She shouted. Ebony went up to her, taking a hoof and gently rubbing the underside of the filly’s chin. “Oh, my sweet innocent,” She cuffed the filly’s ear. “And naive friend, there’s no reason to be frightened.” Her face was now a mask of maniacal killer instinct, and she smiled. “It’s just a ‘game’…”

Pinkie and I approached, both of us with a cleaver in hand. The filly kicked out and grabbed a steak knife from the box. “S-stay back!” She looked frightened, extremely frightened, at the time I wasn’t used to that face…that’s when I recognized her, her name was Lightning Dancer and a young recruit for the rainbow factory scout team.

“Lightning Dancer?” I questioned.

“W-what do y-you want?” She stammered. Ebony looked back and forth between us and her, then shrugged. “If you know her, we can all share the colt.” With that she trotted over to the colt bringing out some nails and a hammer. I turned back to Lightning Dancer and saw no more of what Ebony was doing. Though I could hear the colts screams muffled under the gag, I looked a Pinkie Pie for what we were going to do.

“Well, the more the merrier! Now we have our own little gang!” She bounced up and down and bounded over to the box of knives drawing out a long one with sharp teeth. Then walked over to Lightning Dancer. “Here you go! Have fun with the colt, imagine it as a game.”

She smiled maniacally and drew the knife up to inspect it. “Sounds fun!”

Chapter 4: Ebony's Secret

Another day of work, grinding up unicorns and making them into our magical rainbows.

Now to head home, I mean, I work in Cloudsdale, but my house is in Ponyville. I did this because the land is cheaper there and I wanted a big house. I flew down off of the edge of Cloudsdale and swooped down gliding over the acres of farmland that is Sweet Apple Acres, making a left turn and flying for a few more miles to the edge of the Everfree. My house comes into view, its a four story house on the surface with a network of tunnels and rooms underneath.

It’s layed out like a big lower case N, with the door on the inside of it, the sides protecting it. The house itself is old brick with long sweeping vines covering the sides in places. A high wall of pale newer brick surrounds the 20 acre house and lawn, and a gravel path going up to the door with hedge bushes planted at the edges. I land just beyond the front gate of the wall and start walking up the path. Turning my head to the right I see my small pagoda in the middle of a pond and the bridge that connects it to the land. A grove of weeping willows surround the pagoda and leave an opening so you can see the bridge clearly.

Now I’m not an eccentric pony, this home of mine I only use a few rooms regularly. The extensiveness of the house is solely for the purpose of my… staff… I mean, this whole house and nopony here? Please, everypony gets lonely! I finally come up to the front door, which is hand carved mahogany with pegasi flying around a cloud with Princess Luna standing on it raising the moon. I take out a key and walk into the door and into the foyer, my butler nods to me and shambles past. Dinner will be soon, and he is a very busy gentlecolt. The foyer itself is large, like a hotel foyer with stairs running on either sides of the wall and the center open to the next set of rooms, a crystal chandelier hangs on the ceiling and the ceiling is painted with scenes of Princess Luna and Celestia, but mostly Luna. The stairs are made of dark gray marble and banisters of maple wood, the floor of the foyer is made of white marble and the walls are made of walnut.

I walk straight under the staircases and walk into the hallway, it is much simpler with the same floor and walls, but manny door adorn the walls. All of them are made of smooth birch wood carved with different carvings designating what function they have. One has a pony stirring a cauldron for the kitchen, which maids and my butler enter and exit hastily. Another across from it has ponies in elegant dresses and tuxedos dining on fine food, for the dining room. I turn to a door with carvings of creatures on the walls, smoke and fire clouding the faces and most of the creatures are obscured unless you’re really looking.

I reach up to my neck, to the black choker I always wear and pull it off revealing a key attached to it. Inserting the key into the locked door and disappearing inside locking the door tight behind me. More carvings are all over the small room, and stairs of black marble lead down into blackness. Carefully stepping down the stairs, for for an eternity I come to the ancient looking library, brilliant white marble walls with gray columns every 6 hooves and bookshelves in between. Aisles of bookshelves line the room, a sort of hallway between the columns of books, at the end is another door, this one made of wrought iron. Older looking but it has aged well, not even a bomb can get through that puppy, and I have the only key.

I begin to walk down the hallway between the books toward the door. As I pass every shelf, pedestals with old looking armor and weapons sit on top in glass cases, battered but still polished. I reach for the key around my neck again and unlock the gigantic door, pausing to admire the mosaic painted on the ceiling. The ceiling is white marble covered in a mosaic of the battle between Celestia and Princess Luna a thousand years ago, with ponies of every race and coat color clashing for their favorite Princess.

I unlock the door and inside before it closes you the reader can see white covered with red, red and dark red everywhere, carpets, walls, flooring all red…not blood, but who knows? White mist leaks from inside the door and out into the hallway for a moment. Then with my back hoof, I slam the door shut.