Reborn

The blaring of the factory alarm was what woke both Absentia and I the next morning. I had no idea what time it was, but it didn’t matter, seeing I had not slept well. The fact that I was in a place of death and horror had me wide awake the entire night, and I doubt that I was the only pony within this place that was restless. I had only been here for less than one night, while others like Absentia had been here for countless years. The factory was their home now, as was it mine, but not for long. I didn’t plan to stay in this factory for long. I had to get in, do what I came here to do, and get out.

Absentia groaned, as she rose from the bed, following a message over an intercom. The voice was all too familiar, and made my blood boil at the sound of it. The Overmare. Rainbow Dash.

“Good morning, workers,” Rainbow Dash spoke sarcastically. “As you all know, our latest group of failures caused our beautiful machine’s blades to jam, and the next import of failures will arrive in two days. So, somepony will have to clean those blades, and since I know that all of you will refuse, the worker will be chose randomly from our worker database. Also, due to last night’s storm, our main power supply was damaged by a lightning strike, causing the security cameras to lose power. Somepony will have to fix that as well, but be careful not to get electrocuted. As for our spectre handlers, the amounts of spectre produced are dropping, therefore a meeting will be held to fix that issue. Now, onto choosing the worker to clean the Pegasus Device. ”

The way Rainbow Dash spoke was unlike anything I had ever heard. It was a cold and ruthless tone. It was as if she didn’t care at all for her workers, and only cared that pegasi were being murdered through the Pegasus Device. How could Rainbow Dash pull off such a misleading act as a pony who represented loyalty, defeated evil tyrants, and inspired other pegasi, when she was really a cold-hearted monster?! It blew me away at just how well Rainbow Dash could pull it off, after countless years of being the Overmare in this factory. The intercom static was replaced with Rainbow Dash’s cold voice once more.

“The worker cleaning the Pegasus Device, will be “067138,” confirmed Rainbow Dash.

Absentia gave me a look of horror, as I raised an eyebrow.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s you,” she confirmed.

My heart dropped, as I saw the numbers embedded into the name tag on my suit. It was as if Rainbow Dash was taunting me. Why did THAT have to be my first assignment?! Not to mention that I couldn’t clean that machine in this heavy suit. My cover would be blown!

“Dammit!” I cussed through my frustration. “What do I do, Absentia?!”

“Hey, calm down,” she started, putting her hooves on my shoulders. “First, don’t panic, otherwise you’re going to expose yourself to the Orchestrators that survey the factory floor.

I’ll be honest with you, Scoots, there’s nothing you can do except obey and watch your back every second you’re in that machine. There’s only one way in and out of that thing, so you’ll need to be absolutely careful and just do your best to get the task done ASAP. However, there’s one thing needed to be done before you even think of stepping into that machine, so come here.”

I raised an eyebrow at the comment, answering with an appropriate response.

“What for?” I asked.

“That mane of yours is just asking to get tangled up in those blades, so I’m going to save you a potentially easy way to die and cut it short enough to where it won’t get caught kn anything,” she concluded.

That actually wasn’t a bad suggestion, it would help with my identity, and Absentia wasn’t kidding about my mane; It was long and unkempt after years of no maintenance. Strangely, I had grown in my time in the void as if I’d never stopped living, and that had always taken me aback, seeing most say that when you die you don’t age beyond death.

But I had aged and grown into an adult mare, so either ponies were wrong about life after death or the void had properties to it that were beyond my understanding.

The sound of Absentia impatiently clearing her throat made me come back to reality, deciding not to question her any further, and walking to where she was. I planted my flank to the cold floor as she pulled a knife from the drawer next to her small bed that she had outgrown over her years in this place. She lightly lifted and tugged my mane to where it was sturdy enough to cut through with ease, stating only one thing before starting the task.

“It’s not going to be anything pretty, just something good enough to prevent getting caught on anything in that machine,” stated Absentia. “So, hold still and don’t cry when you see your reflection.”

I nodded, doing my best to keep my head still and feeling the blade’s edge touch the outer strands of my tangled fleece.

With accuracy and gentle care, Absentia applied the first cut , the cold steel cutting through as if my hair were butter, and, after meeting the opposite side of my mane, tossed it into a nearby garbage. The weight upon my head had lowered massively, as she worked more toward my neck, cutting it to where it only stood two inches off my neck.

“So, what’s your story, Absentia?” I asked, attempting to make conversation.

“Nothing important, kid,” she answered rather quickly.

I didn’t accept that.

“I don’t think so,” I started. “Something tells me that you’re different from other workers here.”

Absentia winced at my words, and, with that, I knew that my assumption was correct.

“What makes you say that? For all you know, I could be pulling a ruse and be waiting for the right moment to kill you. I could slit your neck right here if I wished.”

“I know you won’t, because I know very well that you could’ve easily overpowered me last night, but you held back, hoping I’d just kill and free you from this place. If you were like the others, you would’ve taken me to Rainbow Dash and had me thrown into the Pegasus Device.”

Another wince. She hadn’t expected me to be so thorough, and that was enough to break through the mask she wore to avoid looking weak in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. I’d managed to bring out her true self that existed before the horrors of the Rainbow Factory had corrupted her mind and personality.

“I’ll give you one thing, Scoots, you are excellent at reading ponies. You’re right, I did hold back last night in hopes of you breaking my neck or suffocating me into the bliss that is death. I’ve wanted death to greet me ever since I became Dash’s second-in-command, having to do things that I could never forgive myself for.

I never dreamed of becoming an elite flyer, but my parents forced me to. I was doomed from the moment I signed the document that admitted me into the Flight Academy. I was never good at flying and wanted to actually become a model for magazines, because where I failed in flying I made up in beauty.

Believe it or not, my mane used to be full of long curls, and I was admired by most pegasi as a fashion icon. I had caught the eye of a very known company in the fashion industry and had even landed a spot as a model, up until my parents got in the way and ruined it all. I was sent to Flight Camp before I could even have a chance at my dreams, and, as soon as I failed, was taken here to be grinded into spectre. Hope the bastards are proud now.”

A ping of anger and sorrow pierced my heart. Absentia’s dreams had been taken from her out of selfishness and pride, only to be replaced with assured death. However, the fact she was alive rendered that ending impossible, so that led to my next question.

“What did you have to do to get on Rainbow Dash’s good side?”

Absentia sighed, continuing to cut further up my neck.

“Things that I regret. When I was admitted, I was admitted with another pegasi that gave me shit on a daily basis. I was confused and lost, and had no idea what to do, or what to think in the darkness of the factory. During the first night, the effects of the factory plagued my mind, and I decided to get some much-needed revenge. The asshole that had treated me like shit all my years in flight camp was at his most vulnerable, so I took my opportunity, and beat him to a pulp. He begged for forgiveness, but he didn’t deserve it, so I killed the ungrateful bastard.”

Absentia’s voice was cold and bitter with a hint of sorrow and grief. The sound of her words made my ears twitch, along with the sound of her blade slicing through my mane. I shivered, as Absentia continued her story that I had asked for.

“After he was dead for sure, I had expected to feel happy or satisfied. I didn’t feel like either of those things, and, instead, felt sad, horrible, and looked at myself as a monster. I had killed one of my fellow pegasi, and, despite all he had done to me, I felt terrible. If anything, I was no better than Rainbow Dash. It became clear the next morning, when Dash came to the containment room and saw what I had done.

Blood was everywhere, and I was covered with it. Dash took it as an opportunity, and made me into a factory worker on the spot. I’ll never forget that devilish smile and stare; she just had laughed and applauded me for my actions, and, after the fact, had patted me on the head and said only two things.

”You may be worthless to all pegasi as a flyer, but it’s clear you have use to me in another way. Welcome to the weather factory, worker.”

“I couldn’t believe I was still alive, and I had only been relieved that I had been given another chance. However, not long after, I had wished that Dash had killed me that day. I had been forced to end other’s lives over simple mistakes that hadn’t even affected the factory or its progress in committing murder to produce artificial rainbows.

However, that’s not what Dash thought, and had tasked me with smashing their skulls against the ground until their brains littered the floor. The sounds of their final moments still echo in my mind, and their faces haunt my dreams. I have never lost count of how many I killed, and will never forgive myself for letting my fear and hope for survival result in the gruesome end of seventeen ponies that were no different than me.

Pink Diamond, Minty Fresh, Stormy Cloud, Windy Trail, Blue Skies, Ember, Lightning Flash, Starry Night, Sunny Day, Dazzleflash, Shining Star, Snowflake, Rocky Twister, Silver Wing, Twinkle Star, Ivy Rain, and Starry Breeze. Their lives all taken in gruesome manners by my own hooves.

It wasn't until seven years after the day I killed my worst enemy that I was finally promoted and freed of my role as an executioner to pegasi who didn’t meet Dash’s standards. I was beyond relieved, up until I had learned why, and, to avoid ending up like him and the filly that had joined him in their escape attempt, I just buried the old me and learned to just follow the rules and play along.”

Her story nearly brought tears to my eyes, realizing that if anypony wanted to get on Rainbow Dash’s good side, they’d have to do something so morbid that it would cause the pony to become somepony they weren’t. Luckily for me, I planned to do it another way, unless an opportunity was given. I will kill the bitch, along with this factory.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“Twenty years, kid,” she replied. “Long enough for me to forget my birth name, become a hollow shell of nothing but pain and trauma, and devoid any sort of feeling or emotion. Something nopony would ever want to become unless their life depended on it.”

I could only imagine Absentia’s pain. She had been here for twenty years. Twenty long years of murder and nightmares. I had been dead for countless years, before I was reborn into this living hell, only this time, things were going to be different.

Absentia had finished the haircut, to where my mane was only two inches off my neck and head. An easy buzz cut to where I looked just like Absentia.

“There. Now you look like the rest of the workers and are safe from any potential danger while inside that death machine,” said Absentia.

Out of the silence of the room, the intercom erupted once more with the sound of Rainbow Dash’s cold voice.

“Worker 067138, report to the factory floor!” commanded Rainbow Dash.

Absentia gave me look of severity.

“Best go before she comes looking for you,” she stated. “Her and her security squad.”

I nodded my head, as I turned to leave, until I was stopped by Absentia.

“Almost forgot,” said Absentia, grabbing something from her nearby makeshift closet that was nothing more than a hole in the wall. “You might want to put this on.”

Absentia tossed a black rubber suit toward me, which I recognized as the same one she wore. I didn’t question her, and quickly slipped on the flexible rubber suit. It was surprisingly comfortable, and fit me perfectly. Once the uniform was on, Absentia handed me a small button, one that had the label of the weather factory on it.

“You’ll need that, or Dash will be all over you,” stated Absentia.

I stuck the small button on the suit, feeling a sick feeling come over me. I looked just like one of the factory workers no; a fact that I refused to accept, seeing I was only wearing it temporarily. It was the only way I could stay out of Rainbow Dash’s sight.

“Good luck, Scoots,” said Absentia. “You’ll need it.”

I nodded my head as I turned to exit the room and make my way to the factory floor, but was stopped shortly by Absentia.

“Hey kid,” she called out, to which I turned to look back at her.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the chat.”

I smiled and nodded my head before turning to the door and exiting to the factory.

Through the night, Absentia had given me some pointers on how to get to the factory floor without an elevator, due to her being here for twenty years and gaining access to the places that most of the workers don’t know of. Rainbow Dash and Absentia must be close to know of all the secret passageways within the factory. There was secret halls, staircases, and even simple tricks to get past the scanners on the doors. Tricks I needed to know if I planned to survive here.

As I walked across the skywalk, I passed other factory workers, each of them looking at me with looks of curiosity. All of them were Orchestrators, due to their outfits being just like mine, each of them wearing their own share of scars, and manes cut just like mine. Absentia wasn’t kidding when she said that I would look just like every worker, but, even though I looked like the workers, I was far from safe. I was scared to death, because one wrong move is all it would take to earn a one-way trip through the Pegasus Device, so I had to be on alert at all times.

At the end of the skywalk, I was accompanied by a familiar face.

There stood the cyan pegasus with her rainbow mane and rosy-pink eyes.

There stood Rainbow Dash; the mare I despised with all of my being.

She was winged by two other guard ponies holding two electric spears, meaning I couldn’t attack.

Not now.

My anger rose on the inside, as I stood less than two feet from her. I rose a hoof to my forehead, as she examined me from head to hoof, giving me a look that spoke pure death.

“You’re late,” stated Rainbow Dash with an annoyed sigh. “I’ll let this mishap slip for now, but I expect better manners from now on, worker!”

The little amounts of sense that I had left were the only thing keeping me from lunging forward, as I swallowed my pride in response.

“Yes, ma’am,” I spoke, swallowing the small bit of vomit I had in my mouth.

She didn’t say anything, only moved her head closer to mine, looking at me closely. I noticed a nasty scar just visible on her forehead, which I figured was from the anonymous pegasus that stated he had left a “nasty impression” on her head during his escape attempt. It had even left a dent in her skull, changing Rainbow Dash’s appearance as the once bold pegasus she used to be, and instead, showing her more as the monster she really was.

Her sudden observation toward me made me feel uncomfortable, and only grew more uncomfortable as she raised her right hoof toward my head. I expected her to do something, but all she did was gently brush her hoof against my mane, watching small bits of loose strands of my freshly-cut mane fall to the floor.

“Hygiene,” she said to me. “Work on it. I won’t deal with shedding around my factory.”

“Will do, ma’am,” I replied, continuing to hold my breath.

“Good. Now, let me show you to your station,” she said, turning from me, and placing her hoof against the scanner of the elevator.

I followed her, as the elevator doors slid open, and I, along with the rest of the party of murderous pegasi, entered the small space. The entire time I stood in the elevator, I had to hold back the urge to attack, but I knew what the outcome would be if I attacked. If I was going to get Rainbow Dash, I had to wait until she wasn’t guarded. I had to play my cards right, and right now was not the time to play the ace. I’d just have to wait, and stay out of trouble.

If only it were that easy.

The elevator came to a stop on the factory floor, where I could see the Pegasus Device in full light of the florescent lights that hung from the rafters. The giant grinding machine was silent, and I was about to enter it’s blades. My heart skipped a beat as Rainbow Dash approached the bottom of the machine, a small slot leading to the inside of the device open and long hose off to the side of the opening.

“Your job is simple,” said Rainbow Dash. “You just have to use this hose to spray the blades, but not just the bottom blades, all the blades. I want this thing spotless. Not a single speck of remains from the last run better be visible when I check back, worker, or there will be consequences. Got it!”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

“Good. Now, get to work!” she commanded, handing me the hose.

Rainbow Dash turned from me as I held the hose in my hooves. My anger level was at it’s peak, but I kept myself calm.

Now was not the time to strike. I would just have to cooperate for now, and stay out of trouble.

“Water on!” commanded Rainbow Dash, as I noticed a worker on the far side of the room turn a water valve, immediately following a high pressure within the hose.

Water burst out of the end, nearly causing me to lose my grip, but I somehow managed to hold on.

“Remember. Not a single speck, worker!” stated Rainbow Dash, as she walked out of sight.

Once she was gone, I immediately turned to the inside of the machine and started to clean the blades. The sharp elongated daggers were coated with dry blood, chunks of rotting flesh, and some clumps of meat that hadn’t cycled through. The bottom section of the machine was coated with bone and teeth fragments, several fur fragments that were a plethora of colors, and blood stains along the walls of the interior that had been the result of the death device’s last meal.

The area was permeated with the smell of lead and death, nearly causing me to vomit, but I powered through the overwhelming stench somehow, remembering Absentia’s words clearly. I did my best to just blank out the smell and decided to start with the bottom of the machine, seeing it was easily the most accessible section of the inside for a much-thorough cleaning job.

I aimed the hose at the steel walls and washed away all of the blood that had stained them. It didn’t take much effort, the high pressure of the water stream making quick work of the stains as I did a 360 to be sure I got every single bit of the crimson litter. After a good five minutes, the entire bottom was as clean as it could get, so I moved to the upper section, aiming the water stream at the stained blades above me.

Once again, the high pressure made quick work of the clutter, releasing their hold on the steel with just one hit of the raging water. Upon contact, the blades spun as well, making my job easier and faster. I kept the hose aimed at the spinning blades while making sure to wash every inch of the blades as well, knowing that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been lying about anything she’d said prior to entering the machine.

I had to be absolutely sure I got every inch and groove of the massive metallic teeth spotless, otherwise I’d become the next meal for the Pegasus Device. I just kept repeating those words in my mind as I continued to spray the blades clean of the debris left by whoever had last met their end through this machine, up until something broke my concentration.

A deafening roar pierced my eardrums as I lost my grip on the hose, the metal floor beneath me beginning to rumble at the magnitude of a massive earthquake.

The machine had been awoken with me inside of it.

My worst fear had become reality.

I immediately abandoned my task and turned toward the exit, only to find that it was shut tight and the hose was still spraying out and filling the lower floor of the machine with water at an alarming rate.

I was trapped.

My heart sunk at the realization of the situation as I scrambled to find any solution. The roar of the inside of the machine made it hard to think straight, but I knew I had to act fast, so I pulled my thoughts together amongst the chaos and formulated my options of escape. I couldn’t go up without being grinded to pulp, so waiting for the water to raise me up wasn’t an option, and I couldn’t open the only escape door, because it was locked.

My only literal option was to either yell and hope somepony would hear me from among the sound of the Pegasus Device’s roaring engine, or I’d have to hope that the hinges of the door were as fragile as glass. The water level was rising quick, so, with all my strength, I took a deep breath and bucked both of my back hooves against the door, hoping that the hinges would shatter upon contact.

As expected, the door remained shut and didn’t budge an inch, immediately causing me to enter panic mode.

“HELP!” I yelled, praying for somepony to hear me from among the deafening rumbling of the machine.

As expected, nopony could hear me, and to make matters worse, the water was already to my upper torso.

My time was running out.

“HELP!” I yelled again, but there was no answer.

I continued to buck my hooves against the door, the water making it hard to exert any sort of force against the door. The water level was at my neck now, and my heart was racing at a rapid pace. I didn’t have any other options, except death. I couldn’t budge the door, and I couldn’t go up.

I was dead. I had failed again.

The water was now just past my muzzle, as I took my final breath of life, and dunked myself underneath the water.

Beneath the water, I searched for any sort of alternative that could save me as a last ditch effort, but only one option came to me in the murky water, and I doubted that it would even work. The water pressure from the hose might be enough to force open the door, or was I just wishful thinking now. Seeing my options were not the best, I decided to try it, quickly grabbing the hose from the floor of the machine and aiming the nozzle at the door, praying for my efforts to be rewarded with freedom.

However, fate taunted me, and the door remained stiff and strong.

I was dead.

Despite my efforts, my second chance at life had been cut shorter than my original life in Ponyville.

I dropped the hose as my lungs began to collapse from the lack of oxygen in the cold and murky water. In my final moments, the burning sensation in my chest turned into serenity in the dim light of my second grave. My body began to turn numb as I saw my life flash before my eyes for the second time, and, in my defeat, I spoke my last humiliating words.

Congratulations, Rainbow Dash. You win again.

With that final statement, I took my last breath, feeling the cold liquid surrounding me turn my chest into ice. My sight became blurry and lifeless, falling into a deep darkness, and in a cruel twist of fate, the Pegasus Device had killed me once again.

“Come on, kid!” spoke a distant voice, as my eyes slowly opened.

The voice was familiar. A voice I had heard before.

I could feel a force against my chest as well, like two rough hooves pressurizing against my upper chest.

“Come on! Wake up!” spoke the voice again.

The voice became more clear, as I felt a large amount of water escape my lungs and extract from my mouth onto the cold floor. I started to cough massively, coming back to reality. I was next to the Pegasus Device and Absentia was just above me wearing a face of worry and horror. Her hooves were wet, as were mine, along with the rest of my body. That’s when I remembered what had happened, as I lunged upward, only to be pushed back down by Absentia.

“Easy kid,” she stated.

Out of my blurred vision, I struggled to speak, breathless and dumbfounded on what had come to pass.

“What happened?” I asked in a weak voice.

“You tell me,” stated Absentia. “I just saved your life. The door was locked from the outside of the machine.”

My head was groggy, as I attempted to stand up.

“Somepony trapped me in the machine! It was no accident, but an attempt to kill me!” I snapped, continuing to cough.

Absentia gave me a look of severity. We both knew who had set it up.

“What in Equestria happened here!” shouted a familiar voice.

Rainbow Dash walked toward Absentia and I, her face angry.

“I gave you a simple assignment and what happens?! My factory floor ends up flooded!” she snapped.

Absentia objected to Rainbow Dash’s words, seeing it was clear that this attempt was set up.

“Hold it, Dash,” stated Absentia. “Somepony deliberately locked her in from the outside in an attempt to drown her! I had to save her, and even performed CPR for ten minutes before she came back to life!”

Rainbow Dash expressed an angry look, but surprisingly, calmed down.

“Is this true, worker?” Rainbow Dash asked me.

Catching my breath and continuing to cough, I gave her my best response.

“Yes, ma’am. I was locked inside the machine while doing the task I was assigned,” I responded. “The machine was started unannounced and the door was shut from the outside by somepony in an attempt to kill me.”

Rainbow Dash sighed as a response, grabbing her radio from her belt.

“Security, I want you to check the footage of all the cameras positioned around the Pegasus Device. Apparently, the worker assigned to cleaning it was nearly killed due to somepony intentionally closing the only exit and locking it from the outside.” She spoke.

A voice came back over the radio.

“Yes ma’am,” spoke the security guard. “Give me around an hour to go through the footage and I’ll get the results back to you as soon as possible.”

“Copy that. Get to work,” Rainbow Dash replied.

After finishing her short conversation with the security pony over the radio, Rainbow Dash turned to Absentia and I with a strict look.

“You two better not be lying, or I’ll have both of you disposed,” threatened Rainbow Dash. “This little mishap has cost me valuable time, and now I need to postpone the arrival of the next group of pegasi.”

Her gaze met mine instantly, her magenta eyes glaring at me with murderous intent.

“You!” she commanded in my direction. “Get out of my sight. You better pray to Celestia that the footage proves your claims true.”

Her gaze averted to Absentia.

“As for you, Absentia, you’ll take over this failure’s duty. I trust that you can finish the job in time and without any sort of issue?”

“Affirmative, ma’am,” Absentia accepted.

“Good, then get on it!” Rainbow Dash commanded, to which Absentia followed immediately.

Following Absentia’s departure, Rainbow Dash turned her gaze back to me. She eyed me in a way a predator would stalk its prey, but said nothing. It felt as if a spotlight were on me on a stage, but instead of it being on me to present me as the main focus, it felt like tiny daggers were being shot at me, tearing me apart thread by thread.

I just tried to remain calm and give no reason for her to suspect me any further, and, after what felt like eternity, Rainbow Dash finally averted her gaze elsewhere and left without another word. The silence scared the living hell out of me, seeing I had no idea what she was thinking in her head. There was no use in worrying about it now though, so I did as Rainbow Dash had told me and took off out of sight, unaware of what was to come for the remainder of my first day in the hell known as, the Rainbow Factory.