Twenty years.

Murder.

Screams.

Death.

My name is Absentia, and I am a mare that was robbed of a beautiful life.

My real name disappeared long ago, along with my sanity and ability to feel anything.

My blood is ice.

My heart is stone.

My life is misery.

Killing the pony I despised at the time of my admission here was only the start of my descent into a sea of hopelessness, later to sink to the bottom and become a fossil of my former self; a mare with golden curls and beauty unmatched.

I had a sister.

Her name was Sapphire Glaze.

She was beautiful too, with a mane of blue curls and white fur. Her eyes were a bright violet, and her talent was singing.

Her voice was like an angel's, soft and emotional, but also energetic and radiant. I always wondered after so many years if my talent was related to hers, because, while I was once beautiful and wanted to be a model , my cutie mark was the symbol of a theater of actors; comedy and tragedy.

Was I an actress but couldn't find the courage?

Was I a talented singer of operatic ranges?

Was I a gifted scriptwriter?

I always asked myself these things and would cry myself to sleep thinking about it, but, after time, the hopes and dreams of my past life became obsolete to me.

I'm a murderer now.

An executioner.

A taker of innocent lives.

I'm ugly and rotten like a wicked witch or monster in fairytales. My beauty had faded along with my hopes and dreams, replaced with a life of an endless cycle of tragedy, grief, and regret.

I was trapped and cursed for eternity.

When would death finally greet and free me from the darkness?

I thought I found the answer when Scoots ambushed me that night. I prayed in my mind for that to finally be the answer to what I'd wished for for so fucking long!

But, once again, my hope was nothing but a fool's illusion.

It's been three years since the day she forgot who I was.

She has killed over a hundred pegasi in that time and enjoys it.

I tried several times to get through to her, but Scoots has long since vanished into the void of this place, just like my hopes, dreams, memories, and name.

She's become a hollow shell, just like the rest of us. What I thought was finally a sign of hope and freedom.

I've given up, and, like a zombie, mindlessly just do what fate gifted me.

Murder.

Kill.

Obey.

That's my life.

An endless cycle of watching other ponies die a cruel and painful death.

It's so natural to me anymore that I don't even flinch or feel emotion at their screams of pain and torture.

It's disgusting.

Immoral.

Unforgivable.

Hell.

Ponies say that Tartarus is a place of endless torture and misery, controlled by the most vile monsters imaginable.

That's the Rainbow Factory.

A literal Tatarus in reality, cloaked by the facade of an innocent purpose.

Rainbows.

Beautiful creations that are meant to symbolize the aftermath of a storm.

It's all a lie, but nopony will ever know. Nopony except the slaves forever bound here.

Both in life and after death.

My name is Absentia, and I am no longer the mare with golden curls and unmatched beauty.

I no longer have a sister.

I no longer have a destiny.

I no longer have hope.

I am a shell trapped in reality's Tartarus.

I am nothing.

The same alarm that wakes me every morning blares in my ears as I open my eyes and remove my bed covers from atop me. I repeat my usual daily routine, moving to my hooves and walking to my closet to pick out my everyday attire; the same black rubber suit that prevents me from conducting any electrical currents and receiving any nasty effects from the vapors of concentrated spectre.

Spectre.

Sounds harmless, but it's actually pretty nasty and potent. Over the years of the factory's existence, ponies have learned through contact with fully concentrated spectre that it can cause fatal issues.

The vapor that releases from spectre is known as Spectorium, and inhalation of it is an immediate death ticket. It has a very sweet smell very similar to cotton candy, but that sweet scent is a very deadly venom to the lungs. The vapor contains little microscopic bubbles of another liquid that resembles hydrofluoric acid, so breathing in even a speck of the vapor will result in your lungs getting eaten away by the acid-like micro-liquid.

A very horrid way to die at a very slow pace.

I've seen at least ten workers die at different rates, and, to say the least, it's a mix of suffocating, organ failure, and dying of severe blood loss, only internally. It's a horrible thing to watch, and, to end the victim's misery, are usually shot in the head out of mercy.

It's a relief that I don't even have to go near the processing plant where the rainbows are produced and released. A very dangerous and delicate process that requires the same amount of caution as a surgeon performing brain surgery. That's why spectre must be stored in the tubes and shipped very carefully to the upstairs area, otherwise things will get nasty and very bloody.

Now dressed, I move out of my room and start for the elevator to the factory floor. I'm there in less than a minute, due to my unintended habit of walking fast, and, with a push of the right button, the elevator descends, docks, and opens to the sight of my usual workstation; the base of the Pegasus Device.

I'm in charge of keeping the machine's heart pumping, and have managed to keep it running smoothly for over twenty years. The machine has never broken down, and, as long as I was maintaining the engine, it'd never break down. Its guts consisted of two main circuits that controlled the two main separate parts of the machine; the engine and spectre extractor.

The most important was the latter, seeing, like I said before, spectre is very toxic and deadly. If that shit didn't extract into the storage tubes correctly, it would leak into the lower section and kill whoever had to clean the blades next.

Upon examining the two sets of wires, I clarify that the machine is ready to run. There's a group of failures coming in soon, so, to avoid pissing Dash off, I look over the two circuits one more time. The result is the same, so I close the metal hatch that covers the practical arteries of the Pegasus Device and take off to the nearby bathroom to do my private business.

It isn't too far away, the walk taking me a mere twenty seconds to find, enter, and perform my bodily duties.

After doing my work, I approach one of the three sinks to wash my hooves clean. The cold water embraces the ends of my front limbs as soon as I turn the tap, reaching for the soap and pumping a bit-sized puddle onto my left hoof. Upon rubbing the lemon-scented fluid together, it quickly turns into suds and begins to disinfect my hooves.

After a good amount of scrubbing, I rinse my hooves, shut off the water, and pull some paper towels from the dispenser off to the side to dry my ligaments clean of any residual H2O. Once I'm dry, I toss the moistened cloth into the garbage and walk back out, but, upon exiting, the sound of the intercom erupting to life with Dash's voice makes me jump in mild fright.

I open my ears wide, knowing this is important.

"All main floor workers please report to the main conference room on the second floor. I will be holding an emergency meeting regarding a major issue in ten minutes."

I don't like the sound of that, but know I should just play along. There hasn't been an emergency meeting in years, so whatever is going on is clearly critical. I brush my speculations aside, work my way across the factory floor, and enter the elevator to attend the meeting upstairs.

The conference room is quiet as I sit in wait for the meeting to start, eying my fellow colleagues all around the table.

'Colleagues' isn't the right word for the other ponies I work with, seeing as we never associate or talk with one another often. We usually keep our distances and just do our job in this hell in Equestria. This place isn't a casual workplace where you befriend your co-workers and have a laugh while talking during the lunch hour.

This is more a case of ponies just trying to survive in a life of misery.

There's no happiness, relief, or comfort; only despair, horror, and fear.

Everypony is just trying to get through their lives and survive, hoping for death to free them in an act of mercy.

The main door opens, pulling me from my thoughts as Dash enters and walks to the far opposite side of the room, a project positioned dead center.

She stops in front of said device, and turns her gaze to all of us.

"Good day, everypony. I apologize for the unexpected announcement, but, upon analyzing our current spectre levels, it's become clear that the same crisis we faced three years ago has arised yet again. With a current level amount of 28.5% and only two days until another storm is scheduled to happen, even with a group of three failures arriving later, that still won't be enough.

Therefore, my fellow pegasi, that means we must resort to something that I really don't want to do, but I'm aware many of you hate it here, so allow me to give you your ticket to freedom."

My heart skips a beat. There is no way she is about to ask what I think she's going to…

I'm wrong.

"Who's willing to give their life to save the factory? I'm giving three of you the opportunity you've been looking for for years, so raise your hoof if you are willing to be given your freedom for your spectre in return."

My stomach turns.

This is another level of evil that I can't believe she actually resorted to publicly. The room becomes lively with chatter, and, just by looking at the expressions on the others' faces, I can tell that some are actually thinking about submitting to Dash's offer.

This is disgusting, immoral, and just plain demonic.

I look at Dash and notice that she has a smirk on her face that speaks carelessness. Her eyes are burning with a fire that gives her the appearance of some kind of malevolent creature, causing every speck of my fur to stand up straight.

This is nothing to her. To her, this is nothing but ridding her empire of a bunch of useless bags of bones that, through manipulation and control, served her for decades.

My blood turns to ice upon seeing a hoof raise high into the air, the worker being a young stallion with a brown coat and black mane.

He is so young and still has so much to live for, and seeing his life being taken away from him causes my blood to boil.

I refuse to just sit and watch this madness succeed!

"Stop!" I bark, standing up from my chair on my back legs. "This is madness, and I'm not going to sit and watch innocent pegasi throw their lives away because of this bitch!"

The room falls silent and nopony is moving an inch. My objection has clearly caught their attention, and that is exactly what I want.

I want to show them that the Overmare isn't invincible, and that she can be stopped.

"Don't you all see what she's doing?! She's making you throw your life away to keep this place alive! Don't feed the machine, my fellow pegasi! If we don't give her what she wants, this factory will finally be investigated and found out!"

My words have shaken my fellow kin, due to them beginning to speak and understand that my words are the truth.

However, the next voice I hear isn't any of my brothers and sisters.

"Well well, seems like you've finally shown your true self after all these years," Dash taunts me. "Hahaha! Do you really think they'll listen to you? Here's a fact, these ponies would rather escape this place than give a shit about the consequences! Your little speech is nothing but empty words to them.

These slaves lost their strength and will to hope for anything years ago. They're nothing but soulless husks that live to serve me, so you're wasting your time in trying to persuade them to listen to reason, fool. Now, do me a favor and shut your muzzle. Don't worry, you'll be dealt with when this is all over."

Is Dash right? Am I just wasting breath on a hopeless cause, and, now that I've opened my mouth in objection, am going to die after this chaos concludes?

I want to cry, but I choose not to as I start to move back into my seat.

However, something stops me. A voice.

"No! She's right!"

I look across the table and see a stallion standing tall.

"She's been manipulating our minds and plaguing us with fear to keep us from seeing past the real truth! Open your eyes, everypony! Open your eyes to the truth!?

The volume of the chatter increases, expressions turn from fearful to determined, and more pegasi begin to stand in objection to Dash's statements prior.

My words were beginning to root in the minds of my co-workers and blossom.

"They're right!" a female voice calls.

"It's the truth!" another mare shouts.

"We can fight back for our freedom!" another stallion shouts in determination.

More and more voices of the prisoners of the Rainbow Factory stand up in protest, ready to fight for their lives.

The tables are turned, and Dash has no chance of winning against over a hundred ponies that are deadset on tearing her to shreds.

I eye Dash with fire blazing in my eyes.

"You have no chance, Dash. Surrender now or we attack!" I command.

Dash just looks at me with a crooked smile.

"Hehe, you have no idea how outmatched you are, Absentia," she says calmly. "All of you either take your seat and obey, or you can be fools, and face the penalty of disobeying the Overmare."

Nopony budges at her threat. While her calm demeanor is unsettling to my instincts, I'm dead if I just surrender, so it is better to go out fighting than surrender like a coward.

"We'll never take another order from you again, you fucking monster," I answer with unadulterated pride.

Dash sighs in return.

"Shame. I really thought you all were smart and obedient, but now I see that even the most loyal ponies will just end up stabbing me in the back at some point. Whatever, come at me then, peasants, and learn the price you pay for stepping out of line."

I ignore her and initiate the attack.

"We're taking back our lives that you stole!" I clarify. "Everypony, show her no mercy! Show her the pain you've felt ever since being forced here!"

I lead the ponies forward, every single one not holding back in their charge toward the twisted mare they all hated.

However, just as we all got close enough to knock her on her back, something immediately stopped us.

Dash hadn't been bluffing.

A piercing ringing sound and heavy pressure attacks my skull, and, upon looking around, I'm not the only one. Every single one of my fellow brethren are holding their heads, gritting their teeth, screaming in pain, and collapsing onto their backs.

I can't even think straight, due to the sensation puncturing every single fiber of my skull, feeling as if my head is being crushed by a vice. It gets worse with every second, and, upon peeking my eyes open, I see it.

The heads of every single one of my soldiers in the assault on Dash were exploding, killing them instantly. It's a horrible sight to watch, their craniums popping like balloons and blood and brain matter flying across the room.

Some's eyes eject before the explosion, while others suffer longer before they are finally spared. It's a gruesome and visceral nightmare that seems like it's never going to end, however, it does after the longest thirty seconds of my life.

Strangely, unlike my comrades in arms, I'm somehow still alive by the time the horrid sensation ends. When the deafening ringing finally dissipates, I'm barely managing to remain conscious, Dash's hooves right before my eyes shortly after the horror show.

"Confused?" her voice echoes in my ears. "You should know by now that I don't lie about anything serious, fool. To give you the easiest explanation on what just happened, it's quite simple. Whenever I recruited a worker, I secretly implanted a microchip into their head that would act as a control device, should the pony get out of line.

The usual level would do no more than cause the victim discomfort, and temporarily make them unable to move or focus. However, when activated at the highest level, the frequency is so high that it causes a massive amount of pressure that will eventually cause the head to explode.

That said, with you being my most trusted Orchestrator, I intentionally made it so it wouldn't kill you. I knew you'd eventually jump out of order and rebel, and, when that time came, I'd kill you the most fitting way. Blowing your skull to pieces isn't enough of a punishment.

No. You deserve to go out the way you were originally supposed to from the day you were brought here."

I can't say anything, but I know what my punishment is.

The dishonor of becoming an artificial rainbow.

Before I lose consciousness, I look around at the bloody massacre again, and, upon eying the table, I see one lone pony still seated and alive.

The pony I once called a friend.

The pony Dash would make my executioner.

"S-scoots…" I practically whisper before I pass out.

Author's Note

So, did any of you figure out the password? Hope you enjoyed this story, sure was a fun fun fun time writing it!