The Color Factory

by jwombat

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Human, Sad, Romance
Length: 2743

From the darkness can come a great light. A light that just might save us all.

Four generations after the the discovery of the elements, a lot has changed. The rulers, Celesta and Luna are dead, killed by the new rulers of Equestria. Without the power of the Diarchs, the sun and moon have fallen out of balance, threatening to destroy the world with extremes. The Ponyville rebels are holed up under the dome, and dying in big numbers as the winter drags on.

But all of this is about to change. And it starts with an unlikely hero. A rainbow-haired human that just might be able to save the world.

If he doesn't kill himself first.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-16 21:10:02 UTC

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There are many worlds, many stories, many beginnings and endings. It is a world on the edge where our story takes place, on one hand the center of a darkness like no other, on the other  about to be the home of one of the brightest lights in the multiverse.

Now let us go there, first we go to a cubular galaxy, nothing special there, but looked at another way we see that it is held together almost completely by magic. Now look to our goal, a solar system on one of the outer edges. You see it? Yes, the yellow one. Now as we zoom in we see that this star is barely bigger than the planet it orbits. That is right, this a geocentric solar system. But looking closer we realize that it is barely stable. The sun orbiting close enough to make the seas boil in the summer and freeze in the winter. The planets moon and asteroid field create tidal forces that threaten to tear the planet apart.

Now we look to a piece of the world, shrouded in night and licked in the heart of winter. There buried in the snow lies a building. The word that describes it best is vast, but that is neither here nor there. Our destination lies deep in the heart of this foreboding place. A room that is also vast, containing an entire village. And in one of these houses lies a woman deep in labor.

“He’s coming!” she grasped breathing heavily to dial down her fear and panic. Her hair sparkling bright enough to turn the dark of the birthing room to bright noonday. Her hands groping around for  some sort of reassurement, but none was to be found in this sterile room. The robots watching her could care less for her pain. There equine forms emotionless and some how cruel.

I don’t think I can watch, no, I KNOW i can't watch. Too much pain. So instead I will summarize the events.

The child was born on New Year’s, 0:01 hour’s (12:01 at night) in the year 1,000 of the rainbow lords. (More on them later) He was born in the Caul and breach. His mom had a sickness that prevented her blood from clotting, the Hemorrhage would have killed her, if the robots had not taken her away to harvest her color one last time.(ouch) The child wasn’t even given a name just a serial number: ISA-5-19. And if the rainbow lords had an other dimensional book they would know to be very worried.

Sixteen years later...

“ISA-5-19 it is your turn for the final color sap, do not resist.”

“What?” he said dumbfounded as the robots handcuffed him. “I’m not even twenty five yet!” And truly our sad hero was only sixteen years of age. Those years had not been kind to him. With no mother or father he had been raised communally until he was old enough to care for himself. At that point he was dumped to fend for himself with the rest of the homeless. His face and body was scarred from his many fights with the guards.

“ISA-5-19 do not struggle, you are late for the final color sap.” Said the unicorn guard, a high end unicorn model robot, directly controlled by the slave manager AI known as DRAGON.

Ignoring the unicorn Isa continued to struggle as the robots dragged him out of the village and into the factory. As the robots dragged him along miles of corridors they passed many unusual preparations. Assembly lines worked overtime to create the necessary weapons and supplies to equip the thousands of living and nonliving soldiers they passed on there way through the factory.

Three hours later...

The unicorn bot had passed while DRAGON began the long process of opening the color sap door. Now or never Isa thought as he worked his hand out of the cuffs and grabbed the knife he had fastened from a old unicorn bot horn. But before he could plunge it into his heart his surroundings turned gray scale and a voice said “Are you sure you want to do that?” Isa jerked as his knife dispersed.

“Who are you, and why have you denied me death?”

“Turn around.” The voice said now behind our hero.

Unusually curious, Isa turned around and beheld the strangest figure. He was a short fellow, a full foot under Isa’s six foot six. With an unruly mop of ginger hair that stayed one hue no matter how long Isa stared at it.

“You don’t have to die like this,” the stranger said tossing the knife from hand to hand. “Alone in the dark, with nothing but regret to send you on your way. You could do more, take this knife.” He said holding it out to Isa. “And strike back at your tormentors. Wond the dragon,” He gestured at the frozen Unicorn bot. “And at the very least, die knowing you did something.” As he turned to go, he looked over his shoulder and said, “They have a chink in the armor right on the back of the neck joint.” And with a wink he was gone.

Isa looked at the knife in his hand and at the bot. Die for something, he thought gripping the knife tighter, Might as well. And with that he leapt forward and stabbed it, right in the sweet spot.

At once all the color returned to the word, and the robots started to twitch and spark like they were broken. Not wasting time Isa immediately started to run down the corridor and out of site.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

*BEEP BEEP BEEP* Went the alarm of Rainbow Sunrise, waking up the multicolored pegasus.

“YAWN” Went Sunrise as she slipped out of bed. “Good morning world.” she said to turn off the alarm. “Another day in Ponyville.” this command folded up her room revealing a fully equipped bathroom. With another yawn she went to the mirror, picked up her brush in her front hooves and began to brush her steel gray coat, and blue wings. “What is on the agenda?”

“Too much I’m afraid” said the masculine voice of her room. “The south armada is losing moral just as  fast as there losing people, and the undertakers lost another squad to flash freeze, and The Mage Guard are getting stir crazy.”

“Better skip the shower than,” she responded finishing her brushing. “Let's get dressed.” and with that the bathroom folded away to make room for a rather sparse wardrobe. Pushing a button on the floor Rainbow Sunrise selected her default winter outfit: A sky blue skin tight bodysuit covering her from neck to tail with holes for her wings and maine, a quartet of red with gold highlight leg warmers made of synthetic fur, and green wing covers. When she finished getting dressed, Sunrise stepped out of her room and into the hallways of the Rebellion Headquarters.

Home sweet home. Thought Sunrise as she trotted through the living crystalline halls. Now what should I do first. South? no they can hold out ROOM always overstates them. The Guard is closer. Then she spotted an earth pony listlessly pushing a cart down the hall. Uh-o incoming depressed pony.

“Hi Green tree!” She said walking over to the plodding pony. “How are you?”

“Not well Sunny,” He responded gloomily.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just feel bad. My brother is in the undertakers and was injured in the flash freeze, I don’t know if he’s ok or not.”

“Is he in the MainCare?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m sure he'll be fine, CareNet is the best. Is that a cake?”

“Ya.” Said Green Tree, made a little happier by the change of subject. “Bubble berry’s having another party for the Mage Guard and a contest of skill.”

“Good that will keep them occupied.” She said starting to walk away.

“Wait!” called Green Tree. “Dusk Shine set word that he wanted you in his lab when you woke up.”

“Ok see you later!” And with that Sunrise trotted off down the hall leaving behind a much happier pony.

Now I’d better go see what Dusk Shine wants. Sunrise thought as she picked up the pace. A few minutes later she was knocking on the door of the Shining Labs.

“Come in!” Called a voice from inside the lab. Sunrise opened the door and walked inside. On the other side of the door was a huge room absolutely filled to the brim with scientific instruments. Large telescopes and microscopes, things bubbling in jars and computers composed of pure gemstones.

“Dusk?” Called Sunrise seeing that there was no one in sight.

“I’m in the shop!” came a voice from behind the instruments.

“Ok I’m coming.” She called back, carefully picking her way around the largest telescope. In order to maneuver herself out the back door.

The shop itself was just as chaotic as the main lab, with bits and pieces of half finished products strewn about the room, a smell of machine oil and raw magic everywhere. In the center of the chaos there was a cleared area where Dusk Shine stood next to something under a tarp.

“Hi Dusk, what do you want?” Said Sunrise as she walked up to him.

“Well I was working on my improvements for the city's heat grid when I realized that the weather gems could be miniaturized with my minimizer scope and because of the Square-Magic law would not lose their power. And that lets them do more in smaller areas thanks to Starswirl’s Principle of Area Effect. And with the mini tablets I've recently developed the magic can be controlled in real time!”

“Thats impressive, but why am I here?”

“Let me show you.” And with a small magical tug Dusk Shine pulled the tarp off, revealing an dressmakers mannequin covered in several metal bands that connected different colored gemstones that glowed with magic. “Using the now small whether gems and a mini super tablet.” He said pointing with a lavender hoof at the device on the top of the assembly. “I can now generate personal fields of optimum weather. That can be generated without the support of the village grid.”

“So someone wearing this could go outside the grid in the winter or summer?” Sunrise said looking thoughtfully at the mannequin. “Thats great! But have you tested it yet?”

“Thats where I need your help. You're the best flier I know and you can take advantage of the hope this device can bring better than anybody.”

“The pegasi could walk on clouds again!”  She squealed jumping up and down in excitement. “Suit me up Dusk, you have your volunteer.”

Smiling Dusk proceed to do just that, lifting the device piece by piece and affixing it to Sunrise's torso and head.

“Now you have to be careful, this is delicate and I dont know how much it can take. So don’t stay out of the grid to long.” He said as he fastened the last buckle.

“I understand. Now how am I to get outside the grid in the first place?”

“I have a waygate that will take you to the edge of the grid, Gard has been alerted and will let you out.”

“Ok Lets go.” I said stepping onto the magic circle he indicated.

“Wait !” Dusk said handing her what looked like a new small form of the ear communicators the military uses. “This will let me keep in contact while you are off grid.” And with that he activated the waypoint and teleported her over seven miles to the edge of the weather control grid.

Woo that was fast. Thought Rainbow Sunrise as she stumbled out of the other circle. Guess I’m testing three new inventions today.

“Rainbow Sunrise come in, I repeat Rainbow Sunrise come in.” Came Dusk Shine’s voice from the earpiece in Sunrise’s hoof.

“I’m here.” She said placing the piece in her ear. “What do you want?”

“Do you see the edge of the grid?”

“Yes.”

“Good, There should be a gate in the barrier that will let you throu. Good luck.”

“Roger that. I’m off.” Responded Sunrise, as she started to hike to the aforementioned edge of the grid. Standing before Sunrise was a huge semi transparent red barer stretching miles in the sky, to eventually curve over in a giant dome that covered the entire 100 square miles of the main Rebellion headquarters. The dome itself was so tall that it ran into clouds, making them condense against it, creating a sheen of water on the outside cover that made rainbows when the sun hit it in the spring. But right now in the dead of winter the sun was too far away to light up the now half frozen water.

But it’s still beautiful. Sunrise thought as she hiked up to the black circle in the dome that marked her exit. To many see it as a prison. As she got closer to the exit a red dot on the top of the circle lit up and identified Sunrise as someone to let through. When She was close enough to touch the exit, it spiraled open letting in a blast of cold, ice bearing, air.

Burr, Thought Sunrise as she stopped short of going out. Better call Dusk and make sure that the personal weather control field is on.

“Hey Dusk the door is open, can you make sure your experiment is working?”

“It should turn on when you start to exit the city control field.”

“Ok here I go.” And with that Sunrise stepped out of the shield. Befor her hoof touched the snow coated ground the various gems flared to life and she felt a lot warmer. As she stood in the snow it started to melt and sizzle from the heat that her shield was giving off.

“It’s working!” Yelled Sunrise as she jumped in the puddle of melted snow.

“Good -....- the earpiece -...- not gonna be able to -...- go walk on a cloud and report ba -...” and with that the earpiece cut out.

Dang, Thought Sunrise as she took out the earpiece and stowed it in her pocket. Dusk is gonna be stewed, oh well, better stretch my wings and go walk on a cloud like he said. Stretching her wings, Sunrise leaped up and took flight, Looking around for a good first cloud to walk on.

There's one, She thought as she alighted next to a medium sized cloud. And with a little trepidation she flew in close and set her hooves down. The results were a surprise, the cloud was soft and warm, despite being a snow bering winter cloud. With a small flap of her wings she stirred up the cloud creating patterns that no pegasi had sean in generations.

“Oh my gosh.” Gasped Sunrise as she flopped down on her rump. “It’s beautiful.” The patterns in the cloud swirled and looped in 3D fractal formations. Unknown to Sunrise these patterns were created by the interactions between the her native magic and the clouds background magic, and because no pegasi had been out on the clouds in generations, they were a bit eager.

“Hun? What's happening?” Shouted Sunrise as hundreds of clouds started to be gathered by the suddenly fierce wind. Before she could even spread her wings the winds ripped her from her perch and tossed her head first into the infant (But fast growing) blizzard.

Cupcakes! She thought as she spread her wings and tried to fight her way outside the storm. This is bad. The winds tossed her about and set her tumbling wildly out of control. She pumped her wings as hard as she could but to no avail, no matter wat she did the storm pushed her out faster that she could fly back in.

O man, Dusk is going to blow a gasket if I break the new whether control harness. She thought as she barely dodged the lightning that was flashing between the clouds. And I have to get home.

But try as she might she might she could not break free from the storm’s pull. But just as she was about to pass out she spied a cave through an opening in the clouds. Pulling up the last of her strength she dove for it. Not knowing that it would lead her on the journey of a lifetime.