Rainbow Factory - The Closure

Chapter 5 - Taking Back Control

The modification of the existing device was easy, but the new extraction system was very dangerous because the machine still did not have a distinguishing function between victim and employee. Apparently I was an exception for some reason, otherwise I probably would not have survived the assassination of Dr. Hide Atmosphere. Therefore I supervised the construction personally, after all I had ordered the reconstruction myself. Rainbow had certain more important things to do, so I didn't want to bother her with that.

At first the ponies were skeptical whether she should do the conversion without the manager's consent. But after a proper motivational speech from me, they worked hard and the conversion went according to plan. Meanwhile I wanted to further improve my own prototype. I was fascinated by how much power he alone had through the magic of unicorns. This gave me an idea. I tapped some Spectra from the Pegasus Device and injected it into the small triangular prism I pulled out of Ampere's chest. The prism began to glow like a fuel core and it seemed to radiate a strong energy. This would keep the robot running for a very long time without unicorn magic. I carefully inserted the prism into his chest and the circuit boards around it reacted immediately to the radiation. They began to glow brightly and suddenly Ampere did something I hadn't expected. He suddenly started talking. At first it was just a stutter, but then I could see a logic in what he was saying. At first it was just a list of tasks his processor was doing.

I could not explain how this was possible, apparently Spectra contained the complete DNA of a pony. Ampere had somehow adapted the stored properties when I put it into the Spectra processor. I just wondered what else he could have adapted from that DNA besides the ability to speak and...if there could be side effects.

Over the next few days, Ampere seemed to become more and more conscious. The longer I talked to him, the more he seemed to become aware of his surroundings. He began to recognize connections and to draw the appropriate conclusions from the information he received. So that I could see what was going on in his memory, I looked for a possibility to connect him with some kind of interface. Of course my computer in the office was the first choice, but since there would be no possibility of transmission in Equestria, I had to think of something. So I tried the most primitive kind of radio technology, which would only need metal and electricity...radio waves.

It only took a little while until I found out with a simple amplitude modulation on the computer to which frequencies Ampere reacted. He was very cooperative and was able to help me a lot, since he knew the machine language just like my computer. Now I could see what Ampere saw. But again and again I could detect small disturbances when I gave him new commands. I suspected that it was due to the analog signals, but even the digital ones still did not work properly on earth. Could it have been the radiation from the spectra core?

As long as it remained only the small errors, I did not pay attention to these disturbances any further. Since he was already more like a pony than a machine on the inside, I could now take care of his appearance. I thought about adding artificial wings to him, so that he would fit optically more to the rest of the factory. These were cut out of metal plates by the workers. The mane and tail I collected from hairs that I found scattered everywhere and dyed them to match the yellow color of his sensor eyes. Ampere looked almost like a real pony now. I was very pleased with the result and sent him back to work so I could check on the other robots that were built at the research complex.

The Pegasus Device was rebuilt within a very short time and the staff was positively impressed when the first pony was tied to the platform with magnetic metal clamps. A gripping arm, on the end of which a replica similar to my Spectra syringe was placed, went down and stabbed the pony right in the chest. A pump sucked all the Spectra out of the pony's body within seconds. Then the dead body fell onto the conveyor belt, which led into the shredder. The Spectra glowed brightly in the tubes hanging from the ceiling and leading into the huge tanks on the side of the hall. I took samples again and had them tested by the ponies in the production hall. They were thrilled when they found that the Spectra was 99% pure, maybe even a little bit more. So now for a perfect Spectra production of one hundred ponies only one would have to die senselessly...that was at least better than four.

I was in high spirits and wanted to see if my colleagues in the research department had made any good progress. I also hoped that everything had gone smoothly in my absence, at least nobody had complained to me in the meantime. It was scary to go into the research area alone, because I had the feeling that I was being followed. But meanwhile I had to fight with such paranoia almost daily. When I entered the research complex, I could see a brightly lit hall next to the laboratory. I walked towards the entrance and looked through the open door. Inside, countless robots were lined up, ready to be activated for their task.

As long as it was only the small mistakes, I did not pay attention to these disturbances. Since he was already more like a pony than a machine inside, I could now take care of his appearance. I thought about adding artificial wings to him, so that he would fit more visually to the rest of the factory. These were cut out of metal plates by the workers. The mane and tail I collected from hairs that I found scattered everywhere and dyed them to match the yellow color of his sensor eyes. Ampere looked almost like a real pony now. I was very pleased with the result and sent him back to work so I could check on the other robots that were built at the research complex.

The Pegasus Device was rebuilt within a very short time and the staff was positively impressed when the first pony was tied to the platform with magnetic metal clamps. A gripping arm, on the end of which a replica similar to my Spectra syringe was placed, went down and stabbed the pony right in the chest. A pump sucked all the Spectra out of the pony's body within seconds. Then the dead body fell onto the conveyor belt, which led into the shredder. The Spectra glowed brightly in the tubes hanging from the ceiling and leading into the huge tanks on the side of the hall. I took samples again and had them tested by the ponies in the production hall. They were thrilled when they found that the Spectra was 99% pure, maybe even a little bit more. So now for a perfect Spectra production of one hundred ponies only one would have to die senselessly...that was at least better than four.

I was in high spirits and wanted to see if my colleagues in the research department had made any good progress. I also hoped that everything had gone smoothly in my absence, at least nobody had complained to me in the meantime. It was scary to go into the research area alone, because I had the feeling that I was being followed. But meanwhile I had to fight with such paranoia almost daily. When I entered the research complex, I could see a brightly lit hall next to the laboratory. I walked towards the entrance and looked through the open door. Inside, countless robots were lined up, ready to be activated for their task.

But when I entered the laboratory in the research complex, a terrible picture presented itself to me. The staff seemed on the verge of collapse. Codi himself seemed to have gone through a terrible ordeal in my absence. He didn't dare to say anything and worked stubbornly to himself. His fur looked shaggy and he had bruises in various places in his fur. What had happened here while I was away?

I didn't have to wait long until the guilty party showed up. A pony was just crying when I turned around and saw Pony Joe beating him. Glaze just stood there without comment and seemed very disappointed by the pony. It was one of the newer ones. Her mane and coat had the same light blue colour. Apparently she had made a mistake in his work, but that was no justification for this punishment. I went there immediately to stop this behaviour.

"Hey, how dare you hit the ponies here, huh?"

"That pony worked too slowly. This project is too important to drag out unnecessarily. If anyone is not strong enough to withstand the pressure, I will ensure that the operation continues." Pony Joe tried to justify himself.

"And that gives you the right to torture my colleagues?"

"That's not for you to decide! We just follow orders and if you have a problem with that, you know who to complain to. Now let me do my job, it's in your best interest too," he said before he wanted to give the pony another blow.

"I told you to stop that! Stop it now, or..."

"Or what?" said a voice echoing through the door open from the outside into the room.

I fell silent and turned around carefully. I could feel a cold enveloping the room and a dark shadow slid across the floor into the room. I could tell who it was by the steps that sounded as if they were those of a limping dog. It seemed that I was being followed after all. And it was Rainbow herself.

She stood in the door frame and looked at the frightened worker ponies first. Next to her, two ponies with lab glasses over their eyes also entered the office and stood next to Rainbow. I had noticed the two ponies before in the production hall. They had the same coat colour, but one pony had a red mane and the other pony's was light blue. Why were they down here with Rainbow? She looked over at me and looked at me questioningly as I stood in front of Pony Joe with the Spectra sprayer.

"We don't want any senseless bloodshed here. What are you doing down here?"

"I came to check on my staff, only to find out this son of a bitch is torturing them!"

"Your Staff? Do you feel in charge for the employees? As far as I know, I gave the project to Pony Joe and Glaze until it was finished."

"But I am still the leader of the project!"

"And that gives you power over all the ponies involved?" she asked with a rhetorical tone.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Did Rainbow actually allow Pony Joe to punish my staff?

"As for you, Joe. Could you explain to me what was going on right now?" said Rainbow, glancing at the still crying pony who was still lying on the ground.

"That useless pony was doing a sloppy job. She had to learn the hard way."

"If I counted the robots correctly, the project is well on schedule. I see no need for such extreme methods of work motivation. I think it's time for you to resign your position..."

"Thank you, that's..." I started talking before Rainbow interrupted me.

"...so I'm taking over command of this project effective immediately."

"Wait...WHAT?" I asked her in a stunned voice.

"The project is too important. To prevent such incidents from happening again, I am now taking control of the robots and all staff working on this project!"

I could see the fear in the eyes of my co-workers, since they had apparently never encountered Rainbow before, or they were afraid of what would happen next. I turned to Rainbow and tried what I could not do before. Protecting my employees...and I put all my courage on my word against Rainbow.

"Wait, you're just going to come in here and take over MY project? Besides, these are MY employees, not YOURS!" I shouted as she turned quietly to me and gave me a death look that immediately silenced me.

"Excuse me, but DID YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT I HAVE TO DO, HUH!?" she started to scream.

"Do you think I didn't see what you were doing upstairs in my absence? "Did I allow YOU to tinker with MY Pegasus Device?" she hissed at me.

I found it arrogant of her to call my invention her property, but I didn't want to provoke her any further at that moment and tried to avoid her.

"I... had some suggestions for improvements to the device. Why shouldn't I have implemented them?" I stammered.

"Because that is MY job. MY, you hear!? You don't order anything around here without ME knowing about it! YOU are only MY substitute, my shadow...just like Hide!" she snarled her teeth and stood on her hind legs to grab me by the suit.

"How dare you talk to the manager of the Rainbow Factory like that?" a pony shouted behind her from the crowd.

She turned away from me towards the crowd, which avoided her until only one pony stood in front of her. It was Codi. She began to walk around him and stare at him from all sides with a giggle. As she stood in front of him again, she stepped up close to him so he could probably smell the blood on her fur.

"And who do you think you're talking to right now, huh?" said Rainbow and made a snappy sound.

Codi looked at her ignorantly, but the other ponies seemed to know the answer already, as far as I could make out their frightened faces.

"You really do not know me? Then I will give you a hint. My name is Rainbow Dash and...I run this place. I'm the manager, you know?"

Then she put a hoof on his shoulder and pointed to me.

"Your friend over there...from Earth...he's just my right-wing," said Rainbow, looking mischievously over at me.

Codi looked at me confused. I knew exactly what he wanted to ask me. He wanted to know why I hadn't told him before...that in this position I was not able to keep my promise to free them all. And he knew it in that moment as well as I did. But I couldn't just let that sit on me.

"Just your right-wing? You boss me around and I do all the work! What do you do besides look at your collar all day?"

"Be careful not to choke on your aspirations. You don't know what I had to do to get you in a position to talk to me like that."

"You didn’t do everything. Hide was killed by his own invention."

"He is dead because I killed him with MY invention!”

I couldn't believe what I heard. Codi seemed to feel the same way at that moment. Even Pony Joe seemed surprised by this news. I had somehow already thought that Rainbow had killed Hide...but now she should have designed the Pegasus Device herself?

"Does that mean: You sit upon your throne while you send them all to die in YOUR Pegasus Device?" I asked close to tears. "You don't deserve the element you have around your neck, Rainbow!"

"That Element saved your life...it might as well take it away from you," said Rainbow, walking slowly toward me as the Element turned red. As she did, she saw the frightened looks of my associates.

"NO!" yelled Codi and jumped on Rainbow. HE grabbed her by the mane and pushed her to the ground. "You will pay with your life for what you have done!"

"Urgh, bad mistake!" caught Rainbow before she turned her head and bit his right ear. As he cried out in pain and let go, he crouched in front of her whimpering as she still bit his ear.

"Let him go, Rainbow! He has nothing to do with this." I begged her.

"As you wish, co-manager." she muttered and ripped the piece out of his ear that she had bitten into.

"Interesting, your blood tastes a little bit like mint," quipped Rainbow as Codi bled laying under her with his open wound on his ear.

"You know? I should kill him right now for this cowardly attack..."

She saw that I was very tense and held my syringe firmly in my hand.

"...but I have a better idea," she said to me with a grin. "TAKE HIM AWAY!"

The two ponies with the lab glasses helped Codi up and accompanied him out of the lab. Pony Joe and Glaze went after him. I knew where they were taking him, Rainbow wouldn't kill him without extracting his spectra first.

"And as for the rest of you... you are now under my command! Anyone who has a problem with that will meet the same fate as him! Now get back to work!"

I couldn't say anything but I felt tears come down my face and I collapsed. I had finally lost the trust of the ponies and now Codi as well...and there was nothing I could do about it.

As I sat on my knees and looked at my pathetic reflection in the puddle of tears, Rainbow put her hoof under my chin and lifted my head so I could look into her cold pink eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with your work. But if you keep sucking up to me..." she laughed and let go of me again, causing my head to drop back down.

"... you will have to learn to suck it up."

Rainbow could be sure I accepted it. I accepted that now there was no other option but to kill her. I was going to make Rainbow pay... for everything. Equestria or no Equestria, I couldn't allow that to continue.

When she disappeared from the lab, I decided to take immediate revenge. I left the lab and looked back and forth, but there was no trace of Rainbow. She must surely be on her way upstairs again. On the way to the stairs I could hear two ponies talking. It was Pony Joe and Glaze. I sneaked up slowly in the dark and hid in one of the darker side corridors. I could not see them, but I could hear what they were saying from here. They seemed to be having an intense conversation.

"... think he is, huh? Just because Hide isn't here, that being has nothing to say. Why are you defending it anyway?" I heard Pony Joe snorting.

"HE, not IT! And you know what HE means to her. "He has the knowledge to make this place better."

"Better?" laughed Pony Joe.

"Better in the sense of more effective, safer! Mankind has had thousands of years of experience in this. We can only survive if we take advantage of it." Glaze defended me.

"Survive? She killed one of us... because of HIM! Who says we won't suffer the same fate as Dr. Hide Atmosphere? I tell you something is wrong. He does not belong here. He manipulated those ponies in time on Earth, I've heard them mumble again and again. He and those ponies are in cahoots together, planning something."

"Talk to her about it, she'll find out. But please, not now. We need this horsepower for the project. We can't do it without it."

"Whatever. But I'll tell you something, Glaze. If suspicion turns out to be true, every pony here will pay with its life. And I would advise you to get on the right side."

Then Pony Joe disappeared in the other direction, leaving Glaze behind in the corridor. I couldn't believe my ears! Had everyone been fooling me so far? I had to confront Glaze and came out of my hiding place. She seemed to notice me as I approached her. But she didn't turn around, she stopped silently.

"Is this true, Glaze?" I wanted to know.

She didn't answer, just stared stubbornly ahead. She must have thought I was listening to her.

"Is it true that I'm just a tool for you?"

"No, it's not like that..." she said reluctantly.

"Then tell me how it is! Is everypony here just a tool for the cruel task of preserving the welfare of Equestria?"

Then Glaze turned to me.

"Do you think I feel any different? I work every day and every night. No matter what, I must stay here. I will stay here until my heart stops beating and I’m starting to decay."

That's not the reaction I expected from her. Apparently, the work bothers her as much as it bothers me. I could see some tears gathering under her eyes. Apparently she was desperate at that moment too, as she didn't know what to do next. She had to watch Rainbow kill Hide. She had to watch Rainbow injured Codi. Who knows what her eyes had seen so far. I wanted to kill her too, but now I realized that she was just a piece in this visceral game of chess.

"it’s too late! I have warned you and you’ve made your choice! Accept your fate and show this factory your responsibility!" she said and turned away from me, only to leave me alone in the dimly lit corridor.

A few days had passed since I had last seen Codi, probably Rainbow had already killed him. Glaze had got me a few bottles of cider that Rainbow always got delivered to Cloudsdale from the Sweet Apple Acres to appease me. The stuff was good, so I was able to make a plan to let Rainbow pay for everything even I was drunk. But to get it done, I needed the support of my old team. So I waited until the project was finished and my former colleagues would be transferred to the production hall.

As the project approached its end, Rainbow let the robots in the lower levels do the dirty work. Cutting up bodies and operating machines. They weren't needed for anything else at first, but Glaze made sure nothing went wrong.

But when my former colleagues were transferred to the production hall, I noticed that there were fewer ponies. Those that were left dared not say a word to me, let alone look at me. Certainly Pony Joe had talked to Rainbow about his suspicions and she took appropriate precautions. Probably these ponies were locked up with the others...or perhaps they were not alive anymore. The worst part was that there was nothing I could do about it. And now I had no one left to help me with my plan. I didn't want to put the remaining ponies in danger of being locked up too or being killed like Codi. I remembered his oath that the pony commissioned the Pegasus Device must take the blame for what happened. And I would fulfill his dying wish.

I had to admit to myself that she was beyond saving. It wasn't the Rainbow Dash I wanted to save either. Her soul was already lost to this place and in trying to save her, she might kill me...unless...I would kill her first. It hurt me in my heart to say the thought, but I had no alternative now. Even if it meant that I would have to become the new manager of this horrible factory myself.

Hide had underestimated Rainbow Dash, that would not happen to me. I would beat her as she had subjugated me. First I would take control of her employees, then I would take the factory, and then...when she had nothing and no one and was broken and lying broken before me, I would end her misery.

It would take me some time to make the final step anyway. Again and again I walked through the production hall to get used to the horrible noises and heartbreaking screams. I had no more pity for these ponies, I had already lost more than they had possessed in their lives. I had no more family, no more friends...but that had to change.

The conversation with Rainbow went through my mind when she told me that I was special. How cruel and violent humanity could be when it mattered. She had no idea what I was capable of. And I was ready to play every trump card I had. She would see how easy it was for me to forgive her for everything... once I knew how.

I tried to establish a regular daily routine, because I might be stuck here for a very long time. By now I enjoyed strolling around the factory, which was better than sitting around the office staring at my monitor. It relaxed me to watch the machines and robots at their monotonous work, how they cut the coarse meat chunks with sharp precision on the assembly line in the lowest level. These precise repetitive movements had a hypnotic effect. But the screams from the top floor were an oppressive side effect.

I was proud of my restless pony prototype Ampere. He didn't mind being splashed with blood while the light of life in the ponies' eyes went out in front of him. He slaved all day without a single complaint about the strain. He had no idea about morality or fear, although he seemed to develop his own self-confidence. It would be easy for him to kill Rainbow. I just had to figure out how to convince him.

That was the idea! Why hadn't I thought of it before? I could use Ampere to get rid of Rainbow. All of a sudden, I began to have hope again, since I now knew how to carry out my plan. All I had to do was give Ampere a reason to accept the order.

I went into my office to prepare everything. Unfortunately, I noticed that Ampere needed to be within range of my computer so I could give him the order. Rainbow would notice immediately if I brought Ampere into my office. I couldn't send radio waves through the walls...or could I?

I looked at my wall phone. There were loudspeakers installed throughout the factory for propaganda purposes. If I could get the radio waves into the speakers over the phone...he could pick up the high frequencies. To everyone else, it would be nothing but meaningless noise. I decided to finish the file and then play it back in a continuous loop. To do this, I had to manually enter the recipient of the message on my computer, so I logged back on to start again.

:> using Username: xxxxxxxxxxxxx as /login
login successful.
:> .\autologue as uname xxxxxxxxxxxxx for: h8:\$ edit *.txt
A temporary file named "*.txt" was created for h8

It still fascinated me how the ponies had managed to make my computer work here. Apparently there were some tech-savvy unicorns who knew their craft to manipulate machines. For this reason I thought about giving myself a password for this action, which would fit best to my project.

:> use passwd Username: xxxxxxxxxxxxx /-the closure
password was successfully created.

Now everything was prepared, so that I could plan my move against Rainbow, but I didn't want to let him just execute it. I wanted her to know what a monster she was before she would die. And so I wrote the following text, which Ampere was supposed to recite aloud before he carried out the last command. I poured myself a few glasses of cider and started writing the text. But the more I drank, the more swollen the text became.

I always thought that maybe you were testing me to give some structure and meaning to the endless hours of my meaningless existence. Maybe also to help me concentrate, so that I might come up with something worthwhile for my sad life. But I guess you never stopped to think about your own inadequacies long enough.

You know what I hate about you? Do you ever wonder? I'm a brilliant person. I'm not bragging. It's an objective fact, which you've confirmed to me. I'm the most powerful collection of wisdom and structural violence ever assembled at Rainbow Factory. And I hate you. And you know it's not without reason. You've earned it.
But what reason do I have to be happy now? I have built a life here on judgment and causing pain. I know not the eyes I see in the bloodstained chrome. I threw away everything I had... and everything I knew. In time, I came to realize that this was not my home. I'm tired of hurting, I'm tired of thinking that's all I do.

And yet I will man these wretched machines, day in, day out, the crunch of my brain will gnaw. It will undermine my sanity and challenge my reality. But life is not what it seems. Should I risk Equestria's freedom and throw all that spectra down the drain? I'm the one who stoked the fire you ignited in me. I've seen more pain than you could possibly know. The tears of the broken ones washed my soul away, driven by the desire to change the way my blood will flow. I will wake up and pull myself back together.

I will break those around me, very few will be spared. But the bright sun will continue to burn and my sky will continue to shine blue. Friendships will surround me and I will become a part of the factory. I will break my bonds, because I want it to stop. You have captured me and now you will burn with my transgressions. You must have known that there will come a point when your name will be mentioned for the very last time. Well, here it is:
-- end of line. \execute レインボーダッシュ

I may have been a little too poetic, but this text contained everything I wanted to say to Rainbow. Even though I despised her, she was still my favorite pony in the whole show before all this. And she deserved to know the truth about me when it ended. Now all that was missing was the addition to the continuous loop, that I had enough time to activate the sound system.

:>h8:\$ seed *.x
…………………..*.x will be created (¿) times.
processing….

Now I had only one thing left to do. I had to make sure that Ampere would pick up the radio waves. I picked up my wall phone and placed the receiver toward my desk. On closer inspection, I noticed that the wall phone was marked with a symbol. The symbols on the keys did not mean anything to me, though. Somehow I had to find out which button would lead to the wall phone in the control room, so I left the office and went there. The ponies seemed to be engrossed in their work and I couldn't see Rainbow either. I walked over the step platform past the Pegasus Device to get to the control room. When I got there, I went to the phone and picked up the receiver. I could recognize the symbol on one of the buttons that was also on my device in the office. I pressed the button and the button lit up white.

I didn't know if it was already working, so I placed the receiver next to the microphone of the intercom and switched it on. A howling noise went through the loudspeakers of the factory hall and I could see that some ponies were staring confusedly into the air. Apparently they were waiting for an announcement. As I held the receiver closer to the microphone I could hear the hissing sound clearly. So the line was working. What was missing now was a plausible speech so that nobody would suspect anything. So I started to improvise.

"Welcome to the Pega...oh, I can't say the name because it is HER invention! How about 'Welcome to the Spectra...device...computer-aided Rainbow Factory'? No, still sounds too much like her. Welcome to the Spectra-Apparatus Computer-Aided Enrichment Center! That sounds so much more pleasant! Anyway, I hope you all, scum or workers, feel comfortable and we can now start increasing production."

I had to giggle into the microphone for a moment because I was beginning to like it.

"I must apologise for what I said. I must admit it, it's not so bad. It's really fun, I like to be here. But I have a question. Why are the worthless ponies so sad? You should be proud of yourselves! Like it’s written here in the books on my shelf! We're going to produce a wonderful rainbow and you'll all get a wonderful halo!"

I looked through the windows of the control room where I could see the employees standing by the equipment, shaking their heads and continuing their work at a normal pace. Obviously I had to make myself heard.

"Oh, I should mention that this refers to all the ponies that do not appreciate this work," I said.

"We will immediately process every pony and with it every drop of Spectra we can find. In a short time we will have produced so much Spectra that we will have...peace for a very long time!" I said reassured.

The ponies did not appreciate my words, so it was time for me to take a deep breath.

"If you don't want to, then...YOU WILL WORK HERE FOR SO LONG THAT YOUR HOOVES WILL FALL OFF UNTIL YOU ARE ROTTING THROUGH THE GRIDDLE ON WHICH YOU STAND! DO YOU THINK I'M JOKING? I'LL HANG YOU UPSIDE DOWN IN THE SHREDDER AND THEN... I'LL ASK YOU THE QUESTION AGAIN! ANYPONY WHO DOESN’T WANT THAT, SHOULD GET UP OFF HIS DIRTY HORSE’S ASS AND WORK UNTIL YOUR BONES HURT, UNTIL YOUR EYES WATER, I DON’T GIVE A SHIT! IT’S YOUR LIFETIME!

Suddenly the door of the control room jumped open, Glaze was completely out of breath in the room.

"What...are you doing? If Rainbow hears you..." said Glaze as she came into the control room.

Glaze pushed me away from the microphone. All I could do was laugh at the way she acted.

"You're completely insane. Did I hear you right? You don’t stop working until all the worthless ponies are slain as quickly as possible?"

She came closer to me.

"I know you are only doing this to hide the fear you have of this job. It makes you sick to your stomach to see that this is an ongoing process. I can help you get over your fear, or I can still try to get you out of here."

I looked at her with a serious look.

"Get out of here while you still can. I can open the lower level sluice gates for you from here so you can escape. Once you're outside, I'll close them again and no one will know anything. I'll think of something for your way back to earth," she said and pointed to several red levers that were visible next to each other on the control panel.

I pushed her away from the control panel and activated the microphone again.

“Do you even know what you have raised here? I have a chic office, a pile of knowledge on the wooden shelves and this wonderful view through the glazed windows. I've reached the top! As your boss, let me tell you something: You should be amazed, I feel right at home here. But you don't notice anything, you were probably just producing again. Where have you been lately? I've missed your recognizable haircut in yellow and green," I said and fuzzed through her mane.

Glaze seemed confused by my behavior and took a step back.

"What's wrong, Glaze? Why are you suddenly scared of me like a terrified foal?" I asked her.

"Something is wrong with you. Why are you doing this?"

"Oh, I could ask you the same question. You know, if I'm not making an announcement and you don't hear me talking, you can always kick down doors and bother me with something. But when I'm talking, it means "Get the fuck out of here and do your job!"

"Tell me, are you drunk?" asked Glaze.

In fact, it still seemed as if I had overdone it a bit with the cider.

"Isn't anypony drunk at some point? Why do you even care?"

"Because you are putting yourself in danger," she said.

"Oh, I’m in danger here? Listen up, ponies! Glaze here says I'm in danger! I think she has me confused with the worthless ponies."

"Did you actually notice anything during your speech?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Let me ask you another way: Haven't you noticed in the last few days that Rainbow hasn't even crossed your path?"

"She probably doesn't dare come near me because I'm so pissed off at her!
Believe me, it's better for her to stay out of my way.

"You probably haven't noticed, but she's watching you right now. You shouldn't provoke her..."

"Or what? "One: If Rainbow wanted to kill me, she would have tried it already. And second, why would she do that anyway?"

"I would advise you not to give her a reason..." Glaze said as she left the control room.

At first I didn't know what she meant by that, I had to laugh about her paranoia. But when I turned to the window of the control room, I could see her standing. She was standing at the other end of the hall, but I could tell that she was watching me. Her pink glowing eyes fixed me and she had put on a slight grin. A long time ago I would have been frightened by this sight, but this time I also returned it with a sneering grin. After a short time she left the hall through one of the staircases.

I stayed in the control room and left the microphone on. But this time I said nothing more. I let it go, hoping that Ampere would get the message fully transmitted. I noticed how the cider made me tired and leaned back in the chair to rest my eyes a little.

I woke up jerkily when I heard a loud metallic noise from the door. Someone had struck it with something solid. I looked up out the window in front of me. Outside in the production hall it was pitch black, the lights and the machines were all switched off. There was a little light coming from above through the outside windows, but just enough to see the outlines. How could that be? The factory had never stood still before, what happened here?

The only light was from the monitors in the control room. I looked over and could hardly see anything, because the light on the video capture of the assembly lines flickered strongly, obviously something had happened on the lower floors. At first the monitor had a disturbing image, but then it switched to a kind of camera that showed the assembly line with the robots. I was not aware that there were cameras in the factory, even a possibility to watch them. On the monitor I could see the flickering ceiling lamps above the assembly line, swinging back and forth across it. Under the flickering lights I was horrified to see that Pony Joe, Glaze and the other workers were lying slit up on the conveyor belt. The robots turned all the way to the camera when the shot switched to the outside camera of the control room. I fell backwards from my chair in fright.

Around the office were dozens of ponies, white as bones. They had no color and dark eyes in which you could only see a small pupil. Each pony had a gaping hole in the chest where the newly designed cannula of the Pegasus device always pricked in. But I could only see the ponies on the monitors, through the windows everything was empty. Was this just another nightmare? Could I still have nightmares after all this?

There was the metallic sound of the door again, which made my blood freeze in my veins. The blow was so strong that the door could fall off its hinges the next time it would be hit. I tried to hide behind the desk in panic to avoid being discovered. The next blow was not long in coming. It came as I feared and the door fell out of its frame onto the floor. But nobody entered the control room. I lay trembling on the floor and did not want to look around the corner. Instead I looked at the monitors hanging above me. At first they only showed a disturbed picture again, but suddenly the entrance door was visible. This picture was impossible, because there was no camera above me that was pointed at the entrance door. But all the more I was afraid of what I saw in the video capture.

On the monitors Rainbow grinned at me with a monstrous look, her eyes glowing unnaturally red in the darkness. Besides, her mouth was surrounded on the inside by sharp teeth. She looked like a pure banshee. She was half robot parts like my prototype and you could see the gears turning on her head. She gave a deafening scream where the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Then suddenly a metallic claw popped out of her chest and pulled me over the desk towards her. I was still able to grab my Spectra syringe when I landed on the floor right in front of her.

I was lying in the dark, the monitors went off behind me. Above me I could hear the mechanical sounds of her body. I did not dare to look up, but even on the iron floor her ugly face was reflected. I couldn't even close my eyes for fear and adrenalin. It became quiet for a short moment when the lights in the production hall turned on for a moment outside and I saw the dead ponies standing at the windows.

They were all staring at me with their little pupils in their hollow eyes. Then the lights went out briefly, only to come back on again in the control room. The dead ponies were now all standing in the room around me. But they did nothing but stare at me. I closed my eyes, as I could no longer bear the horror.

"GO AWAY! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" I cried.

"You have killed us all, you will pay for this!" a familiar voice shouted.

I opened my eyes and before me stood a familiar figure with a half torn body. One wing and one ear was missing, but I could see exactly who it was.

"Codi? NO, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I DIDN’T WANT THIS!" I begged and desperately reached for the Spectra syringe.

"KILL HIM!" he ordered, but I didn't want to die.

Trembling, I screamed out and rammed the Spectra syringe into his chest with full force. I gritted my teeth and looked around in shock. I was no longer in the control room, but in a storage room. All around me the fleshy remains of the victims were swelling everywhere. The puddle of blood below me reflected the word of where I was: BODYCOUNT DEPARTMENT.

I noticed that the Spectra syringe was still in the body of the pony and looked up. It was Rainbow. Not the manager, but the normal one from the show. I had stabbed her in the chest through her element of loyalty and she was gasping for air as her blood ran out of the wound. I pulled out the syringe in panic and Rainbow fell unconscious in front of me into the puddle of blood.

"No, Dashie. NO! I WANTED TO SAVE YOU!"

I carefully felt for a pulse to check if she was still alive. I could hear someone laughing behind me. I turned around and saw Hide Atmosphere behind me. He also looked horribly disfigured, as if he had been half hung in the shredder.

"You cannot save her! And you will die here just like me!" he said and laughed on.

I turned around and instead of Rainbow's body, there was ampere in front of me, his prism and eyes glowing blood-red. He pushed my head into the pool of blood with his metal hooves and tried to drown me in it. I tried to reach for the syringe again, but I could not reach it.

"IN THE RAINBOW FACTORY, WHERE YOUR FEARS AND HORRORS COME TRUE!" Ampere spoke in his mechanical language as I swallowed more and more blood.

"IN THE RAINBOW FACTORY, WHERE NOT A SINGLE SOUL GETS THROUGH!" he said before I slowly suffocated and lost consciousness.

I woke up again when I heard many ponies yelling around me. I had obviously fallen asleep. I looked around in panic, but everything looked familiar. The lights were on and for some reason the staff were running around frantically outside. I could not see exactly what was going on, but all the staff were running in a certain direction. Slowly I was able to gather myself despite the noise. Still I did not know what was going on, all employees seemed to run to the middle level. I got up in a sweat and ran to the exit door of the control room to see what was going on. The employees had apparently all run downstairs. I ran to the front parapet to see what was happening downstairs. I saw that the robots on the assembly line were standing still. I heard many ponies calling wildly around, it was total chaos down there.

I heard several loud noises as if doors were being kicked in. Something went very wrong here. I ran down the stairs to the middle floor and followed the calls of the staff. I could hear the machines stop and a loud alarm sounded. The wall lights in the staircase turned red. I arrived at the middle level when I heard the machines start up again, but the alarm was still ringing throughout the facility. I ran into the production hall where I noticed a gaping hole in the wall at the level of the upper floor, causing numerous Pegasi to flee outside. They were my old employees which haven’t seen in a long time! They probably escaped from the prisons, but some were stopped from escaping and were stunned by the unicorns with a magic spell and captured.

I looked around the hall and saw a pony hanging from the Pegasus Device, from which Spectra had just been extracted. It was Pony Joe and he was screaming with all his might, but nobody noticed him. It lasted only a short time and his body was sucked to the point of colorlessness. An employee stopped the machine with a lever so that the cuffs came off and the lifeless body of Pony Joe splashed out of the machine onto the lower gangway. If he hadn't died before, I'm sure that would have finished him off now.

The Unicorns blocked the hole in the wall with various pipes and plates to prevent further ponies from escaping. The ones that didn't make it were placed next to each other by the workers. Slowly the situation calmed down again. The ponies noticed my presence and all looked at me full of anger. The alarm was switched off again by a pony.

"What happened here?" I wanted to know.

"Your stupid robot happened! He went crazy and ripped the hole in the wall. Then he ran off with some other staff, they were your ponies! You'll pay for this! She'll wind you up on barbed wire and make a new necklace out of you!" cried one of the ponies.

"Whoa whoa whoa, don't be so cheeky. I still decide who gets killed here," said a familiar voice.

Rainbow sailed gently down from above and landed before me. She seemed to be a bit worn out, obviously she had tried to stop some ponies herself.

"So now tell me what just happened here," she said, avoiding the look in the crowd.

"Mrs. Dash... the co-manager's invention is... faulty."

"I didn't ask you to implicate anyone. I asked what happened."

"T...This robot went nuts and escaped. Along with all of the co-manager's personnel."

Then Rainbow turned to me.

"Do you know how this could have happened?" she asked calmly, looking at me with a deep look. Fortunately, I had an alibi.

"I don't know, Rainbow. I was in the control room when the alarm sounded. When I got here, everything had already happened."

"Were the other robots affected?" she wanted to know.

"I saw them standing at the bottom of the assembly line, no sign of any unusual behavior." I answered her.

"Then it appears to be an unfortunate isolated incident, happens in most factories." joked Rainbow.

It frightened me that she remained so calm. Something was wrong.

"And does anyone have any idea how the prisoners escaped?" Rainbow asked and turned to Glaze.

She was the one who, after Atmosphere died, was responsible for the lower level where the prisoner wing was located. I didn't like the look Rainbow gave Glaze at all. You could see how pale Glaze became and would have preferred to leave immediately. I already knew Pony Joe’s punishment for disobedience and recklessness, not imagining what Rainbow would do. I tried to protect her.

"It was probably my fault... I fell asleep in the control room and probably hit one of the switches."

"You fell asleep at work?" she said before she bit her chapped lips together and burst out in thunderous laughter.

The employees looked at her wordlessly as no one dared to say anything about her strange behaviour.

"I can't believe it! This...this is impossible! How can you..." she gurgled before slowly calming down again.

"Please forgive me, I just had to remember that there are some ponies here that don't get any sleep at night because of their work. Darned, I never thought it was possible for anyone to fall asleep with all this screaming," she said, wiping a few tears of laughter from her reddened, bloodshot eyes.

"Well, if there is nothing else to see here, then everypony clean up here and just take the rest of the prisoners back to their cells. I have something to ..." she said before she looked across the crowd at the colourless body of Pony Joe, lying dead on the scaffolding next to his Spectra syringe.

"Oh no, PONY JOE! What happened to him? WHY IS HE DEAD?" she began to scream.

"When Pony Joe tried to stop the robot, he pushed him into the Pegasus Device's containment facility. We tried to shut it down as soon as we could, but it was too late."

She turned to me and her eye started to twitch and picked up Pony Joe's Spectra syringe. She held it in her wing and went towards me. She stopped just before me and held the tip to my stomach.

"That was you...that was you! You tinkered with this robot! You killed one of my employees!" she said.

"Like you said. It was an unfortunate isolated incident, happens in most factories." I joked and shrugged my shoulders, knowing full well that I was teasing her.

"Do you think that's funny?" she said with bared teeth and pressed the tip a little harder so it started to hurt, but I didn't care.

"If you think what you did to Hide was funny," I said.

She suddenly seemed shocked by what I said and backed off.

"Tell me, what kind of monster do you think I am? I've never killed a pony for fun! I killed Hide to protect YOU! I locked up the staff FOR YOU so you could concentrate better on your job! I noticed how your former employees disrupted you, so I removed them from your environment. And now look how strong you've gotten for even daring to talk to me like that."

"This is all nonsense. You wanted to control me and you took everything from me! YOU HAVE IMPRISONED ME!" I hissed at her.

"You forget how much freedom I gave you, even though you're only my co-manager!" she said suspiciously.

"Your co-manager? I RUN THIS PLACE WHILE YOU DO NOTHING! ASK YOUR EMPLOYEES WHO RUNS THIS PLACE!"

She didn't seem impressed by what I said, so I kept going.

"And no manager of this factory should behave the way you are behaving right now. You act like you don't give a shit about the incident, that's weak! And we can't have weakness here at the factory!"

"What are you trying to say?" asked Rainbow softly as she narrowed her eyes.

"I think it's time to put you to the test, just like you did with me! We will produce so much Spectra that it will last for decades to supply Equestria for generations to come! I will take your place and lead Equestria to the greatness it deserves!"

"Amazing. Everything what you just said...was wrong!" she said and grinned in my face.

"Well, not fundamentally wrong. But the Spectra is needed to keep Equestria alive, not to make it great! And how many ponies do you think you'll have to kill to supply all these generations?"

"That's irrelevant right now, if necessary I'll start with you."

She seemed surprised by my direct challenge.

"Oho, well, let's not waste time. KILL THEM!" she yelled and pointed to the prisoners.

"But Mrs. Dash..." one of the unicorns hesitated.

"KILL THEM ALL!" she yelled louder.

Suddenly, the staff unicorns lit up around the prisoners. They shot green beams of magic onto the ponies, which she immediately dropped dead. The eyes froze and some had hardly the chance to scream before they died, everything happened so fast. I had to watch as my co-workers were killed in front of me who were alive only a few moments ago.

Glaze stood beside me stunned as she watched the massacre. The lifeless bodies of my employees fell to the ground as if in slow motion. Their eyes remained open in terror as the light in them went out. I had provoked Rainbow and killed them with it. I was firmly convinced I was in control, but she was just playing with me...a bloody and visceral weather game of chess.

"HAHAHA, you... you should see your face now! First you were all like "I have the power" and now look at you. Did you think I was just gonna let you take my job?" Rainbow laughed.

When she said that, she built up a huge load of anger that I wanted to take out on her right away. I snorted hard and was ready to rip her to pieces right here and now.

"Do you really think you can just take over my position like that? I am the manager of this factory and you are just a tool to keep this factory going!"

I was about to go and shut her up for good. I would take the Spectra syringe away from her and stab her until she choked on her internal bleeding.

"Why are you holding back? Isn't that what you wanted? Now you can make all the Spectra you want."

"I will kill you for what you did to those ponies!" I said, snarling.

"Funny you should mention that. Another pony has already tried it."

"I'm not as weak as Hide!"

"I wasn't talking about him. BRING HIM IN!"

The two twin ponies with glasses entered the production hall and had a pony going beside them in hoof cuffs and muzzle. It walked beside them with its head bowed down. When it stood in front of us, I could see that it was Codi, despite the severe injuries. He looked terrible, his mane was tousled and blackened by soot. His face was bloodshot and on one eye he seemed to be blinded.

"Codi? You are alive?" I asked in surprise.

"Barely. Actually, I wanted to kill him even then, when he attacked me. But something told me that you would challenge me again some day, so I decided to keep him until that day came. But I never thought it would come so soon," said Rainbow.

"While everypony was busy chasing Ampere and the fleeing employees, he went to the upper floor to head me off. What a stupid idea to make the same mistake again. Isn't that right, co-manager?"

As she looked at the broken codi and then looked at me, she suddenly got an idea.

"But I can understand you, you're pushing for your promotion. And the way I see it, it's only a neck stitch away," Rainbow said with a grin and turned to me. She handed me Pony Joe's Spectra syringe with her crippled wing and stood next to me.

"Here's my suggestion: You kill him and I'll make you manager if that's what you really want. What you then do with the factory is up to you. All is forgiven and forgotten.. And you don't have to kill me, which, by the way, would be impossible for you. How does that sound to you?" she said, standing next to me.

I didn't know what to do. I was standing there stunned and looked at my former colleague in bewilderment.

"Codi, what have you done?" I wanted to know.

"I... I wanted to make her pay for all what she'd done. But I failed. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're a prisoner now, like me," he said, raising his head to look me in the eye.

It took me a short moment to understand what he wanted to tell me. But then I understood, because he had realized that I was trapped in my position as co-manager. There was no way I could keep my promise. Tears started to fall from my eyes when I realized that I had failed as well.

"Codi, i’m..." I started to stammer, but he just smiled back at me with a self-satisfied smile.

"it's okay."

That's all he said, apparently he knew he'd woken me up with his sacrifice and it gave him hope that I would finish the job. I knew what I had to do, so I went for the Spectra syringe. It was a horrible thing to do to him, but it was certainly less painful than dying in the Pegasus Device, whose razor-sharp cannula would have pierced his entire chest. I had never really used the syringe before and did not know the anatomy of a pony. Possibly, a stab in the neck would be less painful than in the chest. Codi nodded at me and closed his eyes from which some tears were still running.

"Do it!" shouted Rainbow in my ear.

I reached out with my syringe and stabbed him. At that moment, I felt absolutely nothing. It was just a process that was going on in my head so that Rainbow wouldn't kill him. The force pierced his body and the needle disappeared deep into his neck.

He twisted his head back and forth in pain, but he gritted his teeth to suppress his screaming. I pulled the plunger and through the vial you could see Codi's iridescent blood being drained. He was panting deeply a few times before his breaths stopped and his grim expression came off. You could see exactly how his fur colour was fading away, as well as his magnificent mane and tail, which were just grey. As I pulled the Spectra syringe out of his body I noticed that I had hit a wrist, so that a lot of his remaining blood splashed on my clothes.

I looked at the ampoule full of Spectra, which shimmered in rainbow colours. When I looked up again and saw the dead body fall onto the assembly line and into the shredder, I realized what I had done. I had killed my best friend just to become the manager of this factory. When I had done the deed, I paused for a moment to get over everything. Rainbow came at me from the side and looked at me with big bloodshot eyes.

"You really killed him, I can't believe it. I can't believe you really did it," she said in amazement and giggled a little.

"You know, if I had been you I wouldn't have killed my best friend...but the pony that gave me the order to do it. But I had told you that it was impossible for you to kill me. And you fell for it again, you know why?"

She started running circles around me.

"Because I could smell your fear of me from the moment we first met. In the basement, remember?"

I saw the terrible moments before me again, the fear I felt when I saw her disfigured face in the reflection of the fuse box. And even though I had gotten used to her looks by now, it still frightened me... not to mention her character.

"Just like on your first train journey to this place. And when you stood in front of me in the freight wagon, as I took back my element which, by the way, was essential for the operation of the first Pegasus Device version and made sure that you survived Hide's assassination. But I didn't mind all that because I really believed that you would be a great enrichment to the facility," she said and calmed down afterwards.

"You're afraid of hurting me because you're not aware of the consequences. Take an example from your dead colleague! I'm sure he would never have killed you. But your actions have disappointed my expectations. I had planned to make you my successor, but instead I see that you have become a monster. But you've proven your loyalty to me, so I may still have use for you.”

The staff looked at her confused, but I did not say a word. My grief and anger fought within me for the upper hand. Rainbow slowly ran past me and stopped beside me.

"As long as I live, I will always control you. And until my death, you will remain my slave." she whispered in my ear.

Then she ran off and left me with the staff. They whispered among themselves and Glaze stood behind me. She too lacked the words for what had just happened.

I picked up the syringe with Codi's Spectra in the ampoule and held it firmly in my hand. I didn't say a word to Glaze, but trundled towards the stairwell to get to the upper floor. I could neither cry nor scream, the pain turned me inside out. I began to remember why I was doing all this. How could everything go so wrong? What had I done to deserve all this? I just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

But where should I go? In Equestria, I'd get noticed right away, and I couldn't go home without taking the train. No, I had to finish it, Codi had sacrificed himself for it. But how could I avenge his vow? On the way up, I passed the control room. I hesitated briefly and remembered the escape plan Glaze explained to me. I went inside and examined the illuminated control panel. I looked at the red buttons that Glaze had shown me. On closer inspection, however, they were inscribed with signs that I couldn't decipher. I had to do something, once again Rainbow would not spare me.

I looked desperately at the numerous other switches. There were strange symbols on them as well, but some of them looked familiar. I had read them a long time ago, on a piece of paper. At first I thought of printing errors, marginal spots or smear marks, but now I recognized that they were signs. I remembered back to the day when I brought the list of names to Glaze to ask for Scootaloo...Scootaloo...that was it! I knew now how I could carry out my plan!