The whine of nearby machinery cut through the air like a circular saw through a lead pipe. Given the amount of multicolored sparks showering from above, this was probably not that far from the truth. Rainbow Dash gaped at the sheer size of the facility that Celestia’s Day Guard had brought her to. Chains dangled from towering cumulonimbus clouds that rumbled with barely hidden lightning, suspending massive vats high in the air. The glow of molten metal that bubbled and hissed within the large metal containers as they moved slowly along an overhead assembly line, making the dense clouds glow from within as they passed from room to room, was an awe inspiring sight to say the least. All around were pegasus hard at work. Dash's parents worked in a factory much like this one, but while she'd visited several of the other weather facilities on school trips she had never been to the Lightning Factory before. It was a dangerous place, even for the experienced weather ponies, and no children were allowed within several miles of the dark clouds that harbored the industrial site. Yet here she found herself, flanked by two royal guards, following them through its twisting corridors and cavernous work floors.
As awed as the little filly was, she wasn’t so distracted that she didn’t notice that all of the weather pegasi were studiously ignoring her and her escort. At first she thought they were simply too busy. After all, one moment's inattention while fashioning a lightning bolt and your goose would be cooked - along with the rest of you. Even so, they refused to even glance in her direction, and once or twice when it seemed like a worker was going to look their way, a stern glance from one of the guards would send them into a panic. Rainbow Dash already knew she was in a huge mess; a mess that for once wasn’t her fault, or at least she hoped nopony would try to blame her. She was still trying to processes what she had seen, what she had heard. The sheer carnage she had witnessed in that forest on the ground was staggering. It made her shiver, despite the furnace like heat of the factory.
Distant sounds of ponies hard at work were drowned out by a thick set of doors that yawned open and then closed behind Dash and the Day Guards. As soon as the sounds of the factory began to fade behind them, a wave of apprehension swept through her. Dash liked to think of herself as brave, but she realized she was deep in a government facility with two ponies she didn’t know and nopony, not even the Flight Camp counselors, likely knew where she was. They were in a much older part of the Lightning Factory now. The machines in the rest of the factory had looked old, but at least it was clear they were well used and cared for. Here instead, long disused machinery coated in a thick layer of old grease creaked and groaned like sad forgotten hulks looming to either side. As they wove their way through the dense darkness around the machines, it was hard not to think of them as long dead, yet dreaming monsters ready to leap to life any second if Dash were to lay one hoof too close to their mouldering forms.
Only the occasional flicker of distant lightning dispelled these thoughts,illuminating their path into the heart of the storm. Dash hesitated as they came to another set of doors, these had clearly been chained shut until not too long ago. The fresh cut metal of the massive padlock that had once held all the chains in place gleamed in a way that was almost more disconcerting than the silence of the Day Guard. The little filly thought for a moment of making a break for it. Sadly the guards were pegasi just like her, larger, and though she hated to admit it, almost certainly faster than she was. One of the guards smiled as if he had read her thoughts. Perhaps it was meant to be reassuring, but to Dashie it was just one more thing she didn’t like about this whole situation.
Screwing up her courage, Dash walked through the creaking double doors. Immediately she had to cover her eyes with one forelimb as blinding light blazed all around her. The guards bowed low as Princess Celestia, the source of the brilliant illumination, turned to acknowledge them. They immediately stepped back from their former charge and posted themselves on either side of the door they had just come through. Dash understood what this meant. While they were here, they would not be disturbed by anypony, for good or ill. Rainbow Dash found herself kneeling almost instinctively. The aura of sheer power that resonated from Celestia was at once overpowering and comforting, not unlike the noon day sun. A little of her apprehension faded while she was engulfed in the Princess’s royal glow.
“It’s good to see you again little one,” said the Princess of all Ponydom. “We have much to discuss and very little time to do it in, I’m afraid. Please, walk with me, we shouldn’t need the Day Guard’s protection beyond this point.” Celestia guided Rainbow Dash deeper into the chamber. Unlike the corridors leading to this place, the halls here seemed well scrubbed, almost antiseptic. The scent of old hospital rooms clung to the pure white walls. The clouds, extra thick and fluffy, silenced all sound from the noisy factory yet the ever present rumble of distant lightning still shook the floor from time to time. What few machines were here hummed quietly, their purpose completely lost on the chromatic filly. It struck her as extremely odd that such a place could exist at the heart of the Lightning Factory.
“Um...Princess...I know, it’s probably not my place to ask, but where exactly are we?” Dash had to hover slightly, fluttering along on her wings to keep up with Celestia’s long strides. The Princess didn’t even glance back at her as she answered.
“Long ago, before the founding of Equestria, your pegasus ancestors controlled the weather without the benefit of factories. They received the bare minimum of cooperation from their unicorn brethren, yet even so they came to be aware of the magical properties of their fine work. Many secrets about weather production and its properties have been lost since the unification, but a few secrets are still known to the pegasi of Cloudsdale and the Royal House of Canterlot.” They came to a long corridor. One wall made of glass, allowing observation into a large room. “These chambers house one such secret, one I’d hoped could remain buried here in the clouds. Sadly it appears we will have to utilize these old machines if we are to have any hope.”
Rainbow Dash was just a little filly it's true, though she was trying hard, it was very difficult for her to grasp what exactly her Highness was talking about. It was only when she noticed the tiny form of Fluttershy strapped into a chair through the observation glass, wires leading in and out of a harness secured to her head, that she gained an inkling of what was going on. Several pegasi in lab coats, rubber boots, and goggles swarmed over the machinery that took up most of the rest of the room on either side of Fluttershy. Dynamos hummed silently with stored lightning that arced from diode to diode, thick tendrils of power barely restrained. “You’re going to electrocute her!? Oh Princess, you can’t! I mean...I mean you mustn’t! I know that she did some horrible things to those boys we found, but they were jerks! They had it coming!” Tears welled up in Dash’s rose tinted eyes. “She was hurt, alone, and afraid, you can’t hold her accountable for...for what she did. She doesn’t deserve to die!”
Princess Celestia’s looked the hovering pony full in the face with an air of disbelief, “You think that I’m going to...what?” She paused for a moment, and then started to laugh melodically. Under the circumstances Rainbow Dash didn’t see what was so funny, but Celestia’s laughter didn’t sound like that of a tyrannical despot. Much of her fear washed away into confusion as Dash waited for the Princess to catch her breath. When the ruler of Equestria finally calmed enough to speak, she still couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as she tried to allay the little ponies fears. “I assure you, it’s not my intention for your friend to die dear. By no means! Take a closer look.”
Dash was still confused, but did as she was told. Fluttershy appeared to be in a deep sleep. A frown creased her forehead, but aside from that her face was unmarred. Indeed her entire body was completely flawless, there was not so much as a scar from the many wounds that had covered her friends body the last time she’d seen her. Even her shattered wing seemed whole and perfect, hanging languidly at her side. “Oh my gosh, you fixed her! How did you do that!?” There was no way that Fluttershy could be all better after a single day. That kind of healing power was beyond contemporary medicine.
Celestia nodded, “There is much and more that magic can do for a broken body if one is willing to devote their power to it. It can mend flesh, knit bones, and even restore vitality to limbs that should long be dead. Even so, it has its limits.” The Princess’s eyes grew sad as she continued. “You’re friend will be able to fly again one day, but she will never be as strong or as agile as her fellow pegasi, save perhaps in short bursts at extreme effort and cost to herself. She will ever be fragile and delicate from this point forward. Far too delicate to dwell in the cloud cities of her birth. She will have to remain on the ground until she has recovered some of her strength. This will likely be the last time she is here in Cloudsdale until she has blossomed in adulthood.”
Celestia turned from the glass and walked to a door that let into the room that contained Fluttershy’s sleeping form. The technicians turned as she entered, bowing low and backing away from the Pegasus Device. “Then what’s with all the wires and things?” asked Dash as she followed the Princess, subconsciously lowering her voice so as not to wake Fluttershy. “Why are we here?”
“As I said, magic has its limits,” Celestia continued, her horn glowing slightly as she began to adjust knobs and dials on a nearby machine that seemed to be monitoring Fluttershy’s vital signs. “She could be shattered down to the very last fiber of her being, and yet with my power I could make her a new body a thousand times over. It would tax me, but it could be done.” She paused again, and directed Rainbow Dash’s attention to one particular monitor. It made no sense to Dash, just a jumble of lines arcing wildly up and down across the screen. “But no magic known to pony-kind can fix your friends mind. Her ordeal has left her shattered, and while the wounds of her body were swift enough to mend, the wounds in her heart and mind prove far more stubborn. As it stands, even with her weakened body, she is a threat to not only herself, but everypony around her. If she were to remain like this, she would spend the rest of her life in a facility dedicated to the care of broken ponies like herself. It would be a long, grueling process, with very little hope she’d ever truly recover. She would lose her childhood, and very likely most of her adult life, behind cold grey walls with no family or friends to help mark the time. At last, in her waning years, if she proved herself reliable, she might be allowed back into society but only under the closest of monitoring for fear her years of isolation may have rendered her incapable of functioning outside the facility. Many ponies find life within those sheltering grey walls to be far easier than having to adjust to a world of light and color after going so long hidden away.”
Dash couldn’t help but weep for her friend. She had heard of such facilities before. It was even rumored that her friend Derpy’s mother was in one, though the grey filly would deny it vehemently if it were mentioned to her. Life in such a place wasn’t all bad, but the shame and stigma that came with it was usually enough to lead the family’s of those who had to dwell there to disown them, and do their best to forget they had ever existed. It was a sad fact of life that very few ponies, especially in pegasus society, were willing to put up with having a 'damaged' pony in the family. “Isn’t there anything you can do for her?” asked Dash with tears in her voice.
Celestia smiled warmly at the concerned filly, “That is precisely why we are here my dear. As I said before, this facility houses an old secret of your people. The pegasi race has dealt with all forms of weather for generations, but no form has proven more deadly, nor more useful, than the lightning that arcs through the sky. It can be used to power great machines, light up entire cities, and even perform feats that magic alone cannot.” She turned her full attention on Rainbow Dash. “The dangers of its use and manufacture, however, are well known. A single jolt can burn a pony to the bone, stop her heart, or kill her out right. But there are benefits to being exposed to lightning as well, in small doses. It was discovered early on that a mild shock, while disorienting, could have positive effects on otherwise depressed or disturbed ponies. The only noticeable side effects being disorientation and temporary memory loss.”
Dashie was having a hard time following again. She knit her eyebrows in concentration, “So you think this machine can fix her mind?”
Celestia’s smile turned into a frown. “Not in the slightest. For all their successes, this device’s positive effects always proved temporary and many of its negative effects were all too fatal. It was used as an execution device, rather than one for healing, on more than one occasion.” Celestia used her magic to guide a lab coat and a pair of boots and goggles from a hook on the wall and place them on herself, magically securing the protective gear as her smile returned. “However, that was before the unicorns had a chance to analyze the machines properties and its effects on the minds of ponykind. With the power of this machine we can harness what was previously considered a negative side effect and use it to our advantage. With this Pegasus Device we can erase the last few weeks from Fluttershy’s mind, undoing damage that magic alone cannot repair!” She smiled triumphantly, “And with a few choice spells, I’m fairly certain we can make her remember things differently. In one fell swoop we’ll turn her nightmarish experience into the best memories of her life!”
She couldn’t help it. Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung wide open. She’d never heard of such a procedure before. She couldn’t shake the feeling that it sounded horribly wrong. “You mean you’re just going to blank her memory? But isn’t that dangerous? Besides, even if she doesn’t remember, won’t everypony else?”
“Not at all. We’ve already used the procedure on those two boys your friend injured and healed their bodies. They believe that they’ve been enjoying their summer at flight camp, both attributing any residual soreness to over exertion. As to the others who were searching for Fluttershy, they believe she was found unharmed, frolicking with animals on the ground.” Celestia adjusted a few more dials on the machine and the lights in the room dimmed. “Our hope is the procedure will be as successful with Fluttershy as it was with Hoops and Dumbell, but we are concerned that there’s a chance she may relapse. She may be prone to episodes of paranoid delusion, unreasoning fear, outbursts of rage, and sadly perhaps even some casual cruelty. But if the magic holds and this device does as it has previously, we can transfer some of that fear into bravery, some of that rage into love, and a good share of her cruelty into kindness. Still...she will have to be watched.” Celestia leaned intently over the machine, a rumble of thunder rolling somewhere nearby. “I’d like you to do that for me, Rainbow Dash.”
The filly had landed as the machine was powering up, afraid that an errant bolts of lightning feeding into the machine might snake out and smite her from the air. But at Celestia’s words Rainbow Dash gave a little jump and almost gave herself the same kind of procedure Fluttershy was about to undergo. “You want me to what!?”
“Watch her, dear. As I said before, she will have to be somewhat isolated from the rest of pony society, preferably on the ground as her body will be weak for some time. As her mind adjusts, I’ll need somepony to keep an eye on her and protect her. And, with luck, slowly guide her back into society. I understand that before all of this she was a somewhat shy filly. She still will be. She will need somepony who is assertive and patient to help her along the way. I think that pony is you Rainbow Dash.”
“But... Why me?”
“Because you found her. Because you are her friend. I know that giving up living in Cloudsdale will be tough, but we’ll get you a nice government job working the weather of some small town. Someplace nice, I promise. It won’t be all bad. You’ll have respect, a job for life, and at least one familiar face so you don’t get lonely. I think its fair compensation for this service we are asking of you.” Celestia smiled mildly, as if she weren’t dictating anypony’s fate at all.
“But...but I’m just a kid! I haven’t even finished flight camp! You can’t expect me to give up my life to take care of somepony I barely know!” Dash was shaking, a mixture of fear and guilt wracking her frame. Part of her wanted to help Fluttershy in any way she could. But that wasn't the part that was strongest in her right now and all her fear and doubt washed through her again like a wave crashing against the shore. “I’m sorry Princess, but I can’t do this for you. She might be my friend, but I don’t owe her, or you anything like this. She can get better on her own!”
“Oh dear, it appears you misunderstand my little pony." Celestia threw a switch and the lights dimmed further. The quiet hum of the machine rose ominously in pitch. "Are you perhaps under the delusion that this all occurred by chance? By happenstance? This is why you are here, why I am telling you all this in the first place.” Celestia smiled gently as the Pegasus Device let out a scream of tormented metal and crackling lightning. The overwhelming scent of ozone and burning tin flooded the chamber as a thick bolt of lightning was pumped through Fluttershy’s dormant brain. The yellow pegasus filly's entire body convulsed as seizures gripped her and destroyed much of the "damaged" parts of her mind “Rainbow Dash, you don't have a choice in the matter. You never did.”
With a shuddering groan, the electroshock machine spent its energy and whirred down, going back to its previous background hum. The lights in the room came up again but a few sparks could still be seen licking over the wires feeding into the harness on Fluttershy’s head. Rainbow Dash, however, only had eyes for the Princess. Her mouth had gone inexplicably dry, so she struggled as she said, “What do you mean I don’t have a choice?” For the first time Celestia glared at the chromatic filly, her elegant feature twisted by a mixture of anger and disdain. She had lost her patience.
“Exactly what I said! I am your ruler and you will obey me, or you will soon wish that you had! Now enough of your prattle, as I mentioned this is a delicate operation and I need my full concentration at this point.” Princess Celestia turned abruptly from Dash, giving her full attention to Fluttershy’s still slightly smoking form. Her horn began to glow with brilliant sunlight as she carved glowing runes into the very air. The symbols remained hanging there for but a moment before settling upon the unconscious pony’s head and seeping through her skin. “After all, you wouldn’t want your dear friend to end up as some drooling, cross eyed idiot because you couldn’t be quiet for a few minutes.”
Dash had no response to that what so ever. There was a finality in the Princess's words that let her know she meant every one of them. So this was going to be the rest of her life, taking care of a pony who couldn’t take care of herself, whether she liked it or not. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair, but Celestia had declared that she didn’t have a choice. Rainbow Dash looked around the room as Celestia worked, much of the lightning had quelled and the technicians were busying themselves checking the cooling machinery. Dash didn’t have a choice huh? Well buck that! Before anypony could so much as sneeze, the little speedster was out of the operation room and down the corridor. The first shouts of surprise barely registered on her ears as she flew through the white corridors and back out into the darkened factory, darting passed the Day Guards so fast she doubted they had even truly registered what she was. Still she heard them shouting for her to “Halt!” but she wasn’t about to make their job easy on them.
There was no plan here, only flight, only the knowledge that she was one of the fastest ponies in her age group and she wasn’t about to let anypony, not even the Princess herself, tell her how to live her life! She’d make it back to her parents and if they sided with her Royal High-and-Mightiness then she’d run from them too! She thought about ducking through the cloud walls that made up the facility, but she had no idea where she’d come out at and the entire structure was still supercharged with lightning. If she did try flying straight through the clouds, that would have to be a last ditch effort. Right now she fed as much strength into her wings as she could as she dodged and darted around the greasy hulks of machinery she had passed on the way down here. She could hear sounds of pursuit behind her and couldn’t help but smile when she heard what sounded like a suit of armor clanking into the side of one of the hollowed out machines. Time would tell if the Day Guard were faster than her, but they certainly couldn’t maneuver as well as she could in these tight spaces.
That thought must have betrayed Dash, because no sooner did she have it than she flew head first into a very startled pegasus, knocking into her hard enough to send her hard hat flying. The sound of their heads cracking together echoed in Dash’s skull before she regained herself enough to realize she was sprawled on top of a pink pony with a pair of blue lightning bolts for a cutie mark. She recognized the pony immediately as Firefly, one of the most popular pegasi in Cloudsdale. Dash could hear the royal guards making steady progress through the darkness behind her. There was no way she could stay ahead of them now. Firefly looked at Dash dazedly for a moment and then shook her head, a smile already playing across her lips. “Wow kid, where’s the fire?”
“I don’t have time to explain but you have to hide me! They’re after me!” There was a pallet piled with empty canisters that had been knocked over when Dash had crashed into Firefly. Getting to her hooves, the older pony seemed to assess the situation and quickly motioned for Dash to hop inside one of the empty kegs. Without hesitation, Dash ducked inside the metal barrel. Just in the nick of time too, because as Firefly secured the lid on her hiding spot Dash heard a rush of wings go by that had to have been her pursuers.Tentatively she lifted the lid off of her hiding spot only for Firefly to glare at her and force it back down.
“Nuh-uh kiddo. You stay in there. I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in, but if you have the Day Guard after you, you’re not going to be safe until you get out of here. Stay in there and stay quiet!” The filly had no choice but to do as she was told. Within a few moments there was movement and the sound of a squeaky wheel. Firefly must have sorted out all the other barrels and was moving them with a pallet jack to where ever she was going in the first place. As the kegs rocked back and forth, Dash noticed a bit of light seeping in from a hole in the lid of her own canister. Through it she could see that they were back on the shop floor, surrounded by other ponies still hard at work as if there were no clandestine government facility buried underneath their factory or a cadre of royal guards searching for a little pony. Part of her wanted to leap out and tell everypony what was going on, but she’d run the risk of getting nabbed by the guards if she revealed herself now.
Pressing her eye to the hole in her hiding spot, Dash could see the massive vats of molten metal going by over head. They were passing underneath them now and dribbles of the red hot liquid hissed as it slopped over the sides and passed through the cool cloud floor. They must have been getting close to where the lightning bolts were forged, the sound of constant hammering echoed loudly around the shop and vibrated every bone in Dash’s body. She was thankful when she felt that they had turned a corner and the sound dissipated, but her thanks were short lived. Dash tumbled over as the pallet came to a sudden stop. There was some distant shouting, but she couldn’t quite make it out. Then she heard Firefly whispering, “Stay calm kid. I’ve gotta leave you for a moment but you’ll be safe here till I get back.” Then in a much louder voice, “I heard ya the first time! I gotta secure the empties going to recycling for MIC don’t I!? Or do you want another nasty letter from their supervisor?!” Dash could just make out the sound of Firefly fluttering away. Then she only had the sounds of the shop floor to keep her company, the whirring of machines and the distant rumble of hammers steadily rising and falling.
Alone for the moment, with the fear of imminent discovery fading as time went on and with nothing better to do, Dash found her thoughts going over and over again what she had seen in the heart of the Lightning Factory. The Princess had been so nice and kind to her, explaining everything, answering all her questions. But then she had done something so monstrous to Fluttershy without so much as batting an eyelash. How could erasing another ponies mind and giving her false memories be right? Even if they were bad memories being destroyed to make way for good ones, doing it without Fluttershy knowing, it couldn’t be the right thing to do! And all those machines! Had they really been made by pegasi long ago? What other secrets were tucked away beyond Dash’s knowledge. Were there other Pegasus Devices at other weather factories? She didn’t want to know what the one at the Ice Factory could do. Though she was curious if there was one such machine at the Rainbow Factory where her parents worked.
Lost in thought, Dash never noticed that she had started moving again. The hum of the electric forklift mixed in with the other general background noise, and the ride was so smooth over the cloud surface compared to her jostling journey before, that it wasn’t until a magnetic clamp was affixed to the lid of her keg that she noticed anything was wrong. She panicked for a moment sure that the Day Guard had found her somehow, but the lid stayed firmly in place. In fact...with a tentative nudge...Dash discovered that the lid had been sealed on! The magnetic clamp held tight to the metal surface as the barrel Rainbow Dash was in was slowly lifted into the air. Dash tried to look out of the hole in the lid, but her view was blocked by the magnetic clamp. That wasn’t the worst thing though, her tiny prison was heating up, fast. Already she could barely breath, but now the air was baking and the metal under her hooves was almost painfully hot.
A terrifying thought struck Rainbow Dash. How did you recycle a metal keg? Just beyond the sound of sizzling steam, she thought she could hear the steady bubbling gloop of one of the vats of molten metal. Dash panicked in earnest now, screaming and bouncing back and forth, sending the barrel she was in rocking and bouncing at the end of its chain. No matter how much she struggled inside her metal coffin she couldn’t shake it from the magnet that it was suspended from. Her hooves were burning. She could smell the stench as they baked. Smoke rose from her as agony wracked her legs, every movement laced with fresh pain. She tried to spread her wings, tried to move away from the burning heat, but the keg was too small for that. Already blisters were forming and popping, the blood sizzling as it trickled onto the burning metal, the awful stench of her own flesh cooking making her sick to her stomach. Dash wouldn’t have to worry about anypony telling her how to live her life now. After all, it was about to end! There was a sense of free fall as the magnetic clamp let the barrel loose...followed by a loud splash and a roaring hiss as the metal hit the liquid below.
“--can’t believe you were so reckless! Oh, hey kid, why don’t you hop in this canister, it’s only going to be melted down into slag!” The voice was faint, but angry.
“It’s not my fault! You can blame that featherbrain Ditzy Doo! She’s supposed to pick up the recycling at six in the morning, not six in the evening!” That sounded like Firefly. She was angry too, but there was a plaintive note in her voice, along with more than a little fear. “Besides, if your lot weren’t chasing her through an industrial bucking workshop --”
“You’re just fortunate that basin of rainwater was full and the child was uninjured. If anything happened to her the Princess’s plans would be completely ruined. All of Equestria could’ve fallen because of your bungling.”
“You promised me when we first started this project we wouldn’t be going back to how it was in the old days! You're not supposed to involve the factory workers! The Throne of Storms has been misused before. What you’re doing down here scared the kid half to death. I will not stand by and watch this facility be used to flash fry ponies again!”
"There’s no need for you to worry about that,” This was a new voice. High...somewhat whiny, full of itself. “We’ve reduced the rate of severe injury to about twenty percent. Fatalities are even less. The closest she has gotten to being ‘flash fried’, as you put it, was when your misguided attempts at subterfuge nearly killed her.”
“Yeah, well the kids fine! See...she’s waking up now. How ya feeling kid?” Dash felt her eyelids flutter open involuntarily. She was groggy and hot, like she had woken from a long sickness. She could feel rough linen bandages on each of her legs and there was a breathing tube down her throat. Her mouth was dry, the tube made her gag, and it hurt to breath, but aside from that she felt okay and said as such. A look of relief spread visibly over Firefly’s face. “Thank goodness. You gave us all a real scare there for a bit. Looks like you got a little cooked small fry, but they say you should be alright.” As Dash’s vision adjusted she saw who Firefly meant by ‘they’. She had been expecting a doctor and a staff of nurses. A Captain of the royal guard stood next to her as did one of the lab coated technicians, and while it was clear they were interested in her condition, it was not concern that showed on their faces. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw where she was. They were back in the room where Fluttershy’s ‘operation’ had occurred. Only Fluttershy was gone...in her place...
Rainbow Dash struggled weakly, but she was already strapped in. Technicians rushed to her side as she struggled, holding her down. “I’m sorry Miss Firefly, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave." Intoned the Captain, "It’s clear the ordeal has left our charge over wrought. It’s best if you get back to work and let us take it from here.” Dash wanted to shout, she wanted to scream ‘No’, but all she could manage was a thin, high whimper as one of the technicians slipped a needle into the base of her spine. Just like that she went limp. Without being able to so much as whisper, she watched Firefly’s retreating form. The pegasus looked back for a moment, but her eyes said it all. She didn’t approve of what was going on, but she had known about it, and she was going to let it happen. Dash’s last, best chance for getting out of this place walked away, shaking her head.
It wasn’t long before Princess Celestia entered her field of vision. She was still wearing her lab coat and rubber boots, but she had removed her goggles to let them hang around her neck. She smiled as Dash's eyes focused on her. “Ah, Miss Rainbow Dash, did you enjoy your little jaunt?" Her voice was inordinately chipper. She truly seemed to be pleased with herself. "I wonder if you actually thought there was a way out of this facility? I wonder if you thought you could actually defy your Princess. Did you really think you could run from an entire kingdom? Did you think the ponies in this facility didn’t know what we were doing here?” Celestia leaned over Dash and brushed a stray strand of hair from in front of the filly’s face. “I want you to know, even if you had died in one of the molten crucibles, there wouldn’t have been an escape for you. I would’ve healed whatever remained of you, just as I am going to heal you now. You’re body will be restored...but I’m afraid I’m going to have to do something about your mind.”
The Princess used her magic to pull the breathing tube out of Dash’s throat slowly, making the filly gag again, but the drugs had so relaxed her muscles that no bile could come up. With exaggerated care, Celestia slipped the harness over Dash’s head, attaching each wire one by one, pressing the cold metal tips to Dash’s burned flesh. “If it makes you feel any better your friends operation was a complete success! It seems she wanted to forget those terrible memories as much as we wanted her to. After a few days of observation and lots of bed rest, Fluttershy will be ready for her new life!” The ruler of all Equestria slipped her goggles back over her eyes and smiled sadly, the smoked lenses making her eyes look like empty sockets to her patients mind.
“You, on the other hoof, dear, are a fighter. This is maybe the...fourth or fifth time you’ve gotten loose from us? Though it is the first you’ve gotten as far as the manufacturing part of the facility. I had really hoped that this time you would have submitted to your ruler and served me loyally.” Celestia’s smile brightened, "Don't worry though, I'm sure we'll get there in the end!" Her words caused a cold snake of dread to coil in Dash’s stomach. Fragmented memories came rushing back to her, of when she first arrived here...and of the many, many times she had escaped. There were flashes of being locked in a room, and though the walls were mere cloud, an invisible force rendered them impenetrable. How long had she truly been here? The procedure was imperfect, but they were slowly burning those memories away. Already she could feel a part of her that wanted to be loyal to Fluttershy, to Celestia, vying for dominance inside her head “Even if we have to shock you over and over again! It’s only a matter of time until you see things the way you ought to!”
The Pegasus Device hummed to life. The pain of the lightning bolt burning away her soul was not as terrifying as the realization that she was getting used to it.
Princess Celestia turned from the still smoking form and used a nearby rag to wipe some of the perspiration from her face. The spells she had laid on Rainbow Dash’s mind were triple the usual strength, but far more subtle than what she had tried before. It was difficult work inverting a ponies personality...but if Discord could do it, than there was no reason she couldn’t as well. Rainbow Dash was a little rebel, but that made her a perfect candidate for inversion. She would be the very essence of Loyalty before Celestia was through.
“Think she’ll get loose again your majesty?” The voice was young and light, a little stilted, but it made Celestia smile all the same.
“Oh, more than likely, but all we can do is hope that she’ll stop being stubborn.” Celestia removed her lab coat, letting it fall to the floor, then she slid off her damp boots one by one. She was overheating and could do with a bit of fresh air. As she left the room a small figure flew behind her.
“We’re going to have to be hoping for a while then I think," the younger voice said with a giggle, "That ones as stubborn as a minotaur in a maze.” Her words seemed to cheer Celestia considerably, even though if she were right it would only mean more work for her. More pain for Rainbow Dash. As they moved down the hallway they passed several more observation rooms. Here was Fluttershy, sound asleep, tucked under a blanket of warm cloud. If Celestia was right, she'd have a new cutie mark by the next dawn. In the next room was a young unicorn, staring into a mirror with blank, soulless eyes. She might have overdone it a bit with her in their last session. Celestia would have to make a note to try and be slightly more gentle with the little lady. Further down there were two rooms opposite of one another. Each held an earth pony, one constantly bucking angrily against the walls, the other wedged firmly into a corner with her long straight pink mane hiding her face. Though the blonde maned filly seemed to have more energy, the worst she was capable of were a few lies and a kick or two. It was the pink one, ever unsmiling, that was a danger to herself and those around her.
At the end of the corridor, just before the exit was a room by itself. Behind the darkened glass was Celestia's true prize. It had been difficult to find a unicorn who was truly terrible at magic. There had been so many tests, so many failures, but even the worst filly had a spark of magic in them. Not this one. She would be the ultimate triumph or failure of Celestia's project. She would have to be kept close. When the time came, she would bring the others together. Right now, they all had but one thing in common, their flanks were blank. That would change.
“She’ll come around in the end. They all will. They must." Said Celestia, though to herself or her companion, perhaps even she was not aware. "The Elements of Harmony will need new wielders now that I and my sister are no longer connected to them.” The pair walked out of a side door onto a balcony that overlooked the loading dock for the facility. The sun had long since set and the moon was so large and round, it seemed you could reach out and touch it. The Mare in the Moon glittered darkly. Celestia seemed to wax morose. “When she returns, when Nightmare Moon finally breaks from her prison, they will be ready for her. It's taken me nearly a thousand years of research and preparation, but I think we are finally ready. In turn, this facility will also be ready...to wipe away as much of her hatred and rage as we can.”A small, grey filly flew into the moonlight beside her Princess.
“And if that fails?” asked the little pegasus.
"Then, though it pains me, she will have to be destroyed. We cannot have her distracting the chosen when they face Discord. They must be ready for that task above all others. That’s why I need you to keep an eye on them for me, miss Hooves.” Celestia spread her wings and gently engulfed the child floating next to her.”I can't have my royal guards following them everywhere, and they will never suspect a filly of their own age to be watching them." She cradled the filly close as if she were her own foal. "Remember, if this process works on them, we may finally be able to help your mother.”
“I know," said the little filly, clinging close to Celestia, "I’ll watch over them for you Princess, and I’ll let you know how they adjust to their new memories and personalities.” The child lay her head against Celestia's chest. “But please, just call me Derpy. Everypony else does.”
With exaggerated care, Twilight slowly closed the book. Once again all around her was darkness, but it was the darkness of a quiet back room in a library close to midnight. All the color had been leeched from her body, though if this was a trick of the light or the existence of the tome before her it was impossible to say.
As for the book itself, it sat motionless for a few moments. The word 'Broken' was still clearly legible, even in this poor light. Slowly another word took glowing form beneath the title. Loyalty burned a brilliant crimson before fading away. Kindness flared in pink, followed by a shimmering Generosity in violet. Laughter blazed a blinding sky blue, before Honesty faded into view, the word the orange glow of a summers sunset. As each word was absorbed into the books cover, a final word exploded in violent purple. The word Magic pulsed and throbbed over the book before evaporating as the others had.
Tears were streaming from Twilight Sparkle's eyes but, as she turned her back on the book she had been pouring over for what had felt like an eternity, she began to laugh. It all made sense now. Everything...all of it...was a lie.
