Ch. 7: Room 0

Two workers flanked me on my way to the top floor, both of them having witnessed the fall of the Overmare and wanting to help me in my final act in burying this Celestia-forsaken hell for eternity. Their names were Flurry Twist and Lightning Flash, and they carried the same hatred as me for this place, and were willing to assist me in detaining the real puppetmaster that had been pulling the strings ever since the beginning.

We arrived in no time, and, after a short walk, found the door to the executive office. The keypad on the door was something more complex than the other ones throughout the entire factory, having more than just the casual nine-digit interface. This one had letters instead of numbers, and had the entire alphabet as an interface, to which I followed by entering the phrase that my sister had mentioned as the password.

Upon finishing, the red light that signaled the door as "locked" turned green, and, upon turning the knob, it opened to a darkened room where only a single light lit the large desk on the far side. However, something told me that this wasn't all the room had to offer, and upon passing the doorway, I was right.

In the corner to my right was a wooden chair that looked like some kind of torture device, straps for the head and all four hooves meant to restrain the victim nailed to the arms and legs of the chair. Off to the side of that was a giant pinboard that was layered with hundreds of pictures of young pegasi.

Targets for the factory and Pegasus Device.

I shivered at the sight of the demented display, approaching it and following the pins across the board. From what I was getting out of the pattern, it was clear that the monster of this establishment had eyes on specific pegasi that they would intentionally fix their test to get into the flying exam, and, from there, led here.

Judging from the selected victims' grades and stats, none of them were not very good at flying and lacked the skill majorly. In other words, they were passing bad fliers for easy spectre; this was their solution to low spectre levels, and it was horrifying to even think of it being a real ploy somepony had come up with.

Lightning said it before I did.

"Holy shit…they were literally picking runts of the litter for easy production…"

Flurry jumped at his words, clearly disturbed, but I knew this wasn't the only thing Dash had wanted me to find. There had to be something else here. Something huge.

"While this is a massive discovery, I doubt that everything this place has to hide," I stated. "Keep searching, but be sure to watch your backs."

They both nodded and turned in the opposite direction of the room to search further. I decided to start by searching the desk, seeing it was where a variety of bloody deals and schemes had been arranged. I pulled out every drawer and searched their contents very thoroughly, the majority of the clutter being paperwork, diagrams, and a variety of pens and pencils.

Nothing particularly relevant to my goal, and, up until I had finished rummaging through the clutter, had I realized exactly why my search had ended in failure.

Things meant to never be revealed to the public were usually kept hidden away in things such as safes or hidden compartments. Upon realizing the flaw in my actions, I began to search again, but, this time, I fixed my focus on a different target.

A key.

However, to my disappointment, no such thing met my sight after sifting through the mess of papers and casual things you'd find in any office space. That's when I realized that this was going to be harder than I had originally anticipated, and completely abandoned the mess at my hooves.

Flurry and Lightning had the other side of the room covered, so I decided to see if I could find any entrance to a hidden room. There had to be more to this room than what we could see, so I walked up the left wall and planted my right ear to it. If the wall was hollow, I'd be able to hear through, meaning my guess of a secret room would be proven true.

Immediately, a sound of a very subtle and muffled cry grazed my eardrum. I was right, but the question was, how do I open the wall?

I didn't have to think for too long, Lightning answering the solution to the matter quickly.

"Hey guys, take a look at this," he called from about ten feet behind me.

I quickly turned and walked to his position, a grandpony clock just in front of him and open. Upon eying the inside of the clock's chamber, I saw a clear hole big enough for a grown pony to crawl through. On the opposite end I could hear the same muffled sound that I'd heard just a moment before, meaning we'd found the way into whatever hell was intentionally hidden away.

"Good work, Lightning," I assured as I moved toward the secret passageways without fear or worry of what could be in the opposite side. "I'll take point and let you two know if it's safe to go."

Neither of them argued, likely scared out of their wits of whatever secrets they were about to discover. I wasn't afraid, knowing that whatever was on the other side was what Rainbow Dash had wanted me to find in her last moments. Therefore, I moved into the passage and carefully crawled through to the other side, making sure to stay cautious the entire way.

Upon reaching the opposite end, I heard something aside from the muffled crying; whistling. That assured me that there were two occupants ahead, and, judging from the differences of their demeanor, I knew that the one whistling was hostile. With that in mind, I knew I had to be careful, so I proceeded forward as quietly as I could manage.

Upon meeting the other side, I was met with a sight that made my blood freeze. The room was the same diameter of the office with only a single light illuminating the wide space, however, that wasn't the chilling aspect. Across the room, a pony was restrained to a wooden chair very similar to the one in the office, and, off to the side, was a tray of several tools made of metal.

Off to the side, prepping themselves for whatever horrible procedure was about to happen was a very familiar face that I had encountered upon my arrival to the factory for the first time.

Dr. Atmosphere.

His blood-red fur and white lab coat were a dead giveaway as I watched him grab something out of my line of sight and approached the seated and muzzled pegasus.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked his victim in the same voice and tone as I remembered.

The mare only continued to cry in her despair, trying her hardest to break free.

"Good. You don't deserve comfort after your pathetic performance. You're an embarrassment to all of Cloudsdale, dear, but, do not fret, because your failure will make up for hard labor. Now, allow me to put you to sleep for awhile. Don't worry, when you wake, you'll be a brand new pony with only one purpose; to obey the great Overmare and question nothing else."

He held up a syringe, and, upon seeing it, I knew what it meant. I didn't know what he planned to do to her, but it couldn't be anything good, so I took action. I shimmied out of the hole and worked quick to stop the mad doctor from further progression in his tactics.

"Drop the syringe, now!" I yelled, catching his attention instantly and making him freeze.

However, his response was as calm as usual, responding first with a chuckle.

"And what is a rat doing out of its cage?" he responded. "Has the effects worn off and you have managed to wander somewhere you shouldn't be? I'd suggest you wander off elsewhere."

"Don't talk to me as if I'm a test subject, you monster!" I snapped back. "I simply came to my senses from whatever the hell you did to me!"

"How interesting," he said, finally turning to face me. "Ah, Experiment 067138. It's been awhile hasn't it? Hehe, you certainly are a special case, indeed. A pony I swore was eliminated by our beautiful machine, yet stands before me all these years later as if nothing ever happened.

You certainly were the first subject to ever come close to escaping, but eventually was caught in the trap and tossed in the garbage. I must give you credit for your incredible resilience and ambition, but just as it happened all those years back, you'll never escape this place. Not as long as we have control over you."

It was infuriating to listen to him speak so nonchalantly as if I were still chained above the maw of the Pegasus Device, but I refused to let him win and dashed his confidence in retort.

"You have no control. The Overmare is dead and this factory is finished."

He only chuckled again, catching me off guard.

"Child, it doesn't matter if the Overmare is dead or not. You see, our grip on rainbow production goes beyond just this establishment."

He paused, starting to pace over to where he originally had been upon my arrival.

"Allow me to tell you a story. There once was a grand pegasus that could fly so fast that he could break the barriers of sound and speed itself. One day, said pegasus decided to try going beyond the limits of both, and, in doing it, created the phenomenon known as, the Sonic Rainboom. This event caused a massive explosion of a spectrum of colors, catching the eyes of many, and leading to those many wanting to recreate what he had performed.

They had worked and tested several methods to create an artificial Sonic Rainboom, but always ended up falling short in terms of stabilization. Then came the day that everything came full circle, and the answer to stabilizing the experiment was founded. During a test of attempting to convert colors of objects into a liquid form, a worker in the experiment accidentally fell into the very machine that was designed to extract pigment from the target. A terrible tragedy, but, out of it, came a perfectly stable recreation of what that pegasus had made.

On the very close of a storm that day, ponies looked up to the sky and witnessed the very first rainbow to ever exist, but knew not the process of how it had been made. Even the princesses had seen it themselves, and, given how ponies had reacted to its presence on the eve of a storm, had made it a tradition for a rainbow to grace the skies after every downpour had passed. That accident is the very thing that led to the production of rainbows, and, in all the time since that day, every single one you've ever laid eyes upon was made through the same method as now."

I wanted to throw up. Could this really be the true story of how rainbows were discovered and made?! If that were true, then the machine that had killed that pegasus on accident was…

The dots connected instantly, and I could feel goosebumps rising on my skin at the horrid truth of how this whole nightmare had started.

"The truth is quite appalling, isn't it?" he mocked. "Now you know, child. There was never any moral way to make rainbows; it has always been done the same way as it started! Even if you were to somehow expose the process to the princesses, do you seriously think they'd stop what they declared as a tradition?!"

He really was insane. The mere thought of the princesses allowing this genocide to continue just because they had set it as a traditional occurrence was baffling.

"I know they would!" I fired back. "Tradition or not, if they knew how this all began, the Pegasus Device would've been terminated instantly! Unlike you creeps that have no love for anything except your pathetic selves, Celestia and Luna would never lead their beloved subjects to slaughter!"

Dr. Atmosphere only chuckled under his breath, somehow thinking that the rulers of Equestria would allow pegasi to be treated like farm animals that were only fed to be killed for their meat. There was no swaying a pony who had already lost his mind and become a monster that lived only for murder and profit.

"Believe what you wish, filly, but I know the truth about the cruel reality outside these walls," he attempted. "Now, back to the present. What do you plan to do now that you've killed the Overmare? Are you going to kill me as well? Free the worker's here who lost their sanity years ago? Obtain victory by being nothing better than the Overmare or I?"

"I'm nothing like you and never will be," I answered simply with confidence. "Killing you isn't an act out of the purpose of obtaining power or profit; it's a victory in ending the horrors that have remained hidden behind these walls for far too long. It's also a declaration of freedom for every soul trapped here, and the workers that you forced into lives of misery and pain. By killing you, they can finally escape their life here and heal from all that you've done to them.

That is my purpose and promise I made to all of them. To all of the victims that gave me this opportunity to finally end the Rainbow Factory for good!"

He chucked again.

"You're wasting your time. Think about it, releasing these weaklings is like releasing patients of an entire mental ward out into the world without any sort of control. Their grip on reality has been severed over the years of being forced to contribute to the purpose of this factory's existence; they've lost their way and can't see past anything except their life in this place."

I gritted my teeth in anger, but kept myself still as I countered his words.

"You're wrong. I've been here long enough to see the pain and grief hidden behind their fear of being killed if they even make one small mistake. Absentia was one of them, and she had been here for twenty years. She remembered pieces of her past that you bastards forced her to forget by shoving that medication down her throat!"

Dr. Atmosphere jumped at the mention of the practical poison, his smile slowly beginning to collapse into an unsure expression. I capitalized upon the clear opening that he'd given me to shake his core to nothing but dust.

"Surprised!? You didn't expect me to remember anything about what you used to lock me away for Celestia-knows how long, didn't you!? Well, I've got news for you, there's too many pegasi that are counting on and supporting me to finish the very thing you started! Does the name Crystal ring any bells?! How about Orion or Aurora?! The pegasi you and the Overmare you forced my sister to become killed out of nothing but selfishness and desperation!

I, along with every worker and past victim, remember everything! Our pasts and the futures that you and the Overmare took away! We are not zombies or puppets that you control through fear anymore! Everything you tried to use to make us into nothing but lifeless shells failed, and now it's our turn to deliver you the very pain that you did to us!"

Another chuckle escaped his lips.

"Whether or not you were able to figure out what kept every one of those dogs leashed and disciplined doesn't matter to me. You talk big, runt, but how do you plan to kill me? You know well that I am able to submit you in more than one way, and with as many years as I have in this factory, you should know full well that you are outclassed in both experience and agility.

I don't need the Overmare to beat a filly who doesn't know how to stay dead, and will finish you just as you were all those years ago. Therefore, I invite you to take your best shot, but after you've failed to bring me down, I'll be sure to strike back in a way that will be sure to put back to sleep, and, this time, I'll make sure whatever fragment of you remains stays dead."

It was a trap, and I knew he was just trying to egg me into an inescapable strike. I didn't bite, and, instead, responded with something that even he couldn't have predicted.

"Lightning! Flurry! Come on through!" I called, to which the madpony flinched and froze.

Before long, my two companions successfully wiggled through the tight space and were at my side. Upon seeing Dr. Atmosphere, they shivered in fright, up until I reassured them that he wasn't anything they needed to fear. He was outnumbered now, and his confidence that he could easily submit me had dwindled.

"You two have nothing to fear," I assured. "It's three to one, and he knows he can't take all of us. As long as you show him that you aren't afraid, he will no longer be able to control you!"

Flurry and Lightning heard me clear and knew I was right, both of them smiling proudly and nodding in agreement. Their gazes then turned to the monster before them, eying him with confidence and anger.

Dr. Atmosphere's lips slowly curved into a deranged smile that made him look even more unhinged than he already was. Following that, he slowly began to laugh in a way that didn't seem confident or evil, but more like a surrender. His laughter started slowly, then gradually built up to the point where every intimidating feature of his being began to disappear. He was more like a colt who had not gotten something they had wanted for their birthday, and it was actually quite disturbing to watch.

In his descent into absolute madness, Lightning and Flurry had taken the initiative to release the mare bound to the chair, while I just watched as the real monster behind this macabre facility accepted his defeat and continued to delve deeper into his sea of insanity.

Once the mare was free of her binds, she didn't waste any time and walked over to my current position and began to serve the scientist justice. She punched his left cheek hard enough to knock him to the floor, and, in absolute anger and rage, dealt him a cold serving of revenge, pounding her hooves down onto his head.

After the first punch, his unhinged laughter was still hearable, but, after the second, his laughter turned into the sound of crackling and gurgling. The third hit produced the sound of blood splatter and a gushing sound when her hooves made contact with his brain matter, now littered on the floor. Every hit following produced that same gorey and slushy noise, up until she finally stopped after the tenth stomp.

Nopony had attempted to stop her, because we all wanted to do the same thing. However, given her situation prior to my interference, Flurry, Lightning, and I just let her destroy the monster as she wished, having not said a word or moved an inch the entire time. She breathed heavily and was drenched in her act of revenge, having turned to us and said something we weren't expecting.

"I'm sorry…but I had to."

Lightning had been the first to speak, to which I was thankful.

"You don't need to be. He deserves nothing less than to be stomped on, just like he did to all of us for countless years."

She nodded, turning her gaze to me, and expressing a look of desperation.

"Everything you said…is it actually true?" she asked me, her voice hopeful and pleading for my previous statements to be true.

"Yes. The Overmare is dead," I assured.

She gasped and tears began to form in her eyes at the relief of the very pony who had trapped her here, could no longer control her.

"Then a-are we finally f-free?! C-can we all finally g-go home?!" she asked in a way similar to a foal being found after being lost in the woods for weeks.

I smiled in assurance, nodding my head and giving her an answer that she'd thought would never have come for the rest of her life.

"Yes."

She smiled and broke down into a fit of happiness, crying tears of joy and absolute relief. She'd never have to wake within the walls of this prison ever again or have to witness the horrors of pegasi being grinded to nothing but spectre.

Never again would a rainbow manifest upon the closing of a storm.

Never again would a pegasus be ridden of their goals and dreams.

Never again would the Pegasus Device awaken to devour the innocent.

It was over.

However, there was still one thing that needed to be done.

"Lightning, take her and lead all of the other workers out of the factory," I commanded. "Flurry, I still need you to help me find what you'll need to make sure this place is buried."

"Gotcha," Lightning agreed, turning his sights back to the hidden passage that he'd shuffled through to get here. "Let's go," he addressed to the other mare, to which she followed him, leaving Flurry and I to investigate further.

Once the coast was clear, Flurry started by asking me a very obvious question that I knew was coming.

"What exactly are we looking for, Scoots?"

"Evidence of the murders that happened here," I answered. "Words aren't enough proof, so we need something that will give definite proof of the truth of what happens here."

"Ah, I see, so something like documentation of all of the victims and their death dates?" she guessed.

"Exactly," I confirmed. "Now, the question is, where would that be?"

Flurry and I both put hoof to our chins, thinking about where Dr. Atmosphere would store a collection of documents regarding all of his victims. One thing was absolutely clear, we were in the right place; this room was hidden, related to the victims, and was usually occupied by the puppetmaster of the factory. Another factor was that I don't think Rainbow Dash had just wanted me to find the true monster. It was surely one of the things she wanted me to find, but there had to be something else that would really open the truth about this place.

Then it hit me. The answer was right in front of me.

I approached the remains of Dr. Atmosphere and began to search his lab coat pockets for something that I knew would be there; a keycard. Upon checking his inner right pocket, I found it and gripped it in my hoof, reading the text along both sides of the card.

While it was dimly lit where I stood, I could make out the text, and, upon one glance, I knew where I needed to go to find the truth.

Dr. Atmosphere's bunker.

"What did you find?" Flurry asked.

"The key to the truth," I answered. "Come on, Flurry. We're going to Room 0 aka. this monster's living quarters."

Room 0 wasn't easy to find, but luckily, Absentia's advice had finally led me to the keyslot of the place Dr. Atmosphere had called his home. There were only three specific large pipes that did not connect to the main network of the entire factory's pipe system, and, after checking the very one that led deeper into the bowels of the factory, had found another hole in the wall that looked like a result of erosion over the decades of the factory's existence.

However, it was also the perfect disguise for a secret passage that housed something forbidden, so, after passing through and walking about a-hundred-and-fifty yards, we came to the door we now stand before. It wasn't any different from Absentia's door, only more hidden away to keep something from the eyes of the public. It was very clear that there was something hidden beyond, so I stuck the keycard into the provided slot and awaited to be granted entry.

Upon hearing the metal lock shift, I turned the knob and prepared myself for whatever was to come. Once the door was fully open, a light flashed on within, revealing a massive room full of file cabinets that were alphabetically sorted.

Jackpot. There was no doubt that this was the place we needed to find and expose.

Flurry and I remained silent as we entered the large room of nothing but metal cabinets that held all of the secrets that were needed to destroy this place for good.

The question was where do we even start? However, I was answered as I moved deeper into the room and came across a cabinet that was labeled "resources."

This cabinet had caught my attention the most, and I didn't know why. All I knew was that I needed to investigate this cabinet, so I did, grabbing the handle and pulling out the contents. Upon seeing the guts of the case, I knew my instincts were correct to open this container first.

Inside, all I saw was red.

A red hue that had been from the several packaged crimson pills that were neatly sorted in rows. I recognized the sight instantly as the poison that Dr. Atmosphere had used as a suppressant and controller for the pegasi who were initiated by Rainbow Factory Dash.

However, upon a second glance, I noticed something that disturbed me to no avail. There were names at the top of each of the slabs that harbored the packaged supplement; the names of those who were forced to take it and forget their families, dreams, and pasts.

It was disgusting to look at, but it was a piece of what was needed to fix those still affected by the venomous medication.

Flurry had caught sight of me, and, upon her meeting my position, had matched my expression.

"Celestia above…" she whimpered in shock and horror. "I-I remember…that fucking red pill…I'd be aware…then I'd….vanish into just black. I-it wasn't until I…woke up with t-that…headache that I… escaped and…just pretended….to take it and acted…l-like a zombie…to s-survive…"

Her description matched the same exact experience I had had while I'd been forced to become somepony else against my will. I'd be conscious for a minute, but then I'd lose memory of what I was doing and just get swallowed up by nothing but darkness. However, her comment about a headache had confused me, but that was besides the point, so I came out of my thoughts and addressed the situation.

"I know how you feel, and this is one piece of what we need to prove this factory 's true purpose," I assured. "All we need now is documentation of the murders, so let's keep looking."

Flurry nodded, shaking off her initial emotions and focusing on the clear objective.

I closed the cabinet and continued the search, moving to another cabinet right next to the current one. This one especially caught my attention, the label reading "special subjects."

This was it.

While I hadn't looked yet, I knew this was where the thing lied that Dash had wanted me to find.

Opening the drawer to the cabinet, I was met with an estimated amount of fifty files, all neatly organized in alphabetical order. However, I knew which one I was looking for immediately upon seeing one lone file under R.

It was my sister's folder.

I didn't know what I was supposed to find, but I knew it would be obvious once I saw it. I grabbed the folder and pulled it from its confined space, flipping it open and seeing the horrors of the process and creation of the Overmare.

Subject name: Rainbow Dash
Gender: Female
Age: 26

Experiment A

Patient was captured and submitted by the use of a taser, to which she quickly lost consciousness and was taken to the conversion chamber. Conversion started with an injection of a liquefied version of the main medication used to control and make all subjects forget about their pasts and families.

Injection was a success, the patient having reacted in a very negative manner, having screamed and cried upon the liquid meeting her bloodstream. The injection process lasted for a total of ten minutes, and, in that time, the patient never once stopped exerting exclamations of pain. Whether or not the effects of the medication were successful remains yet to be determined, and we will check back in the morning to check if we were successful.

Analysis A

After analyzing the patient, I can concur that the injection process was successful, but she will need further observation to determine how much influence the medicine has over her psyche. This will take several days, so I will continue to administer the serum in low doses over the next 72 hours to avoid causing her mental stress of fatal levels.

Analysis B

After 72 hours, the patient has suffered mental trauma and continues to sweat profusely. Patient claims to be experiencing severe hot flashes and has occasional episodes of her complaining that "acid is flowing through her veins." I suspect this as nothing but a side effect of the conversion process and will continue to monitor her for any abnormal occurrences.

Analysis C

It has now been 168 hours since injection of the serum. In the time since the previous entry, patient has become increasingly physically weak and unresponsive. Nothing to worry about, this is all part of the conversion process, and soon her current self will cease to exist.

Analysis D

It is now day nine, and I can confirm that my patient is ready for the next step in the conversion process. I will administer the catalyst for the activation of the next procedure and wait for the process to naturally take its course.

Experiment A-1

The catalyst, Calcidium, has been administered, and, as per usual, the heart rate is slowing to fatal rates. This concurs that the second step of the conversion process was successful, and it is now safe to administer the last serum to complete the process.

Experiment A-2

The heart flatlined one minute prior to this documentation, leading me to administer the last step of the process. I have begun the vaccination of Calidine, the second catalyst that will react with the main substance and cause a reignition of the heart, usually taking around five seconds to fully process.

Conclusion

In final, Rainbow Dash's conversion process was a success, but I will be keeping an eye on her for a week to be absolutely sure that nothing remains of her previous self. I will continue to administer the capsule version of the main agent to assure I remain in full control. Shall any abnormal events occur in the time she is under my control, I will perform the necessary procedures to assure my experiment remains successful.

I lost it.

Tears escaped my eyes at the horror story that I had just read.

Rainbow Dash had been tortured and slowly killed against her will with no hope of escape or mercy, and yet I had somehow reawoken her true self from deep within. How had I done it? I could only assume it was fate intervening in an unlawful and truly horrifying situation that had resulted in nothing but pain, anger, and murder.

That didn't matter now though.

She was dead and free, and the monster who had caused it all was burning in Tartarus. All that mattered now was the truth, and burying the horrors along with the factory.

I went to close the folder, until I noticed something out of place; a lined paper that looked like it had been hidden behind the main contents for a reason.

I flipped the paper over, and, upon seeing the hoofwriting I knew I had found what my sister had wanted me to find.

Her proof that she wasn't the one who murdered all of those pegasi.

To whoever finds this, I'm writing this to you as a last stand for myself.

My name is Rainbow Dash, and I am not a murderer. I have been kidnapped and am slowly in the process of dying as I write this, and want the pony who finds this to know the truth. The weather factory is a death trap for pegasi, and rainbows are what those victims become after being harvested through a machine that siphers their pigment to make the spectre that's used to produce rainbows.

I managed to wriggle out of my binds long enough to write this final testimony. The damage is already done, and I'm already starting to slowly lose my memories, forget my name, and lose hope of anypony miraculously coming to save me. Therefore, to whoever reads this, please take this letter to the princesses as evidence of my remaining existence.

They must know the truth and end this madness before it's too late, and innocent pegasi become victims of a horrible way to die. Rainbows were never beautiful, and were the beginning of a bloody production line. So please, if Princess Celestia or Luna are reading this, as my last wish and will, protect the pegasi of Cloudsdale.

Destroy the weather factory's secret business of murdering pegasi!

-RD

This was the answer to ending the factory, and now it was time to fulfill my sister's last wish.

"Flurry, come here!" I called, being met by said pegasus not long after.

"What is it, Scoots?" she asked me, but before I opened my mouth to reply again, something became clear to me.

I didn't even need to test it to see if it was true. I couldn't be the one to deliver the truth, because I was still dead and trapped in the factory.

"Scoots, are you okay?" she spoke to me again in a worried tone.

I didn't even hear her, and, instead, spoke what I needed to say before I would go back to the void again.

"Listen to me," I started, closing the file and handing it to her. "I need you to take this to Canterlot and show this to the princesses. It's all you'll need to prove everything about this place."

She took the file and held it tightly, but upon lowering my hoof back to the floor, she questioned me further.

"I will, but we're going to do it together, right?" she questioned. "Scoots, you're scaring me."

I wanted to say the truth, but knew I couldn't. I could feel myself beginning to get lighter, and, upon looking around, I could see something that made me smile.

Just behind Flurry was Crystal, Absentia, and my sister smiling in a proud display. I was frozen in place, but I could feel a warmth fluttering inside of me, knowing that, while it hadn't gone how I'd expected, my mission was accomplished.

I no longer had anything to do here.

"I'm sorry, Flurry, but I can't leave here," I said with a smile. "Don't worry though, your nightmare is over, so as a last request, do what I can't and take that evidence to the princesses."

She was beyond confused, but there wasn't much I could do. I just gave her my last wish as I began to feel as if I were floating.

"Wait, what do you…

She stopped and just stared at me, and, at that moment, I knew that she knew that I wasn't lying and had to be the one to finish the job. I just smiled as I saw Rainbow Dash say one lone thing from across the room.

"It's okay, Scoots. Come home."

So I did, and, with only a smile on my face, walked forth past Flurry. She didn't move and just stood completely still as I rounded the corner and returned back to my family and friends.

My work was done. Flurry had to be the one to take the next step, and, as I met up with all of the ponies I cared for in this place, I was surprised. The void was no longer cold or felt unwelcoming; it was warm and comfortable like you'd imagine life after death should be.

Then, off in the distance, a bright light graced the darkness, tearing through the endless black like a knife and growing with every passing second. It was blinding, but I knew that this radiant light was the next place for all of the victims to finally pass onto. They were finally free of the shackles of the factory, no longer bound and trapped in purgatory.

It was finally time to go home.

Absentia and my sister touched my shoulders, smiling brightly at me in the moment we all had been waiting for for so long.

"Ready to go, Scoots?" Rainbow Dash asked me, to which I smiled and nodded my head.

"Yeah," I answered. "I think we all are."

With no other words, I held my smile as Absentia, Rainbow, and I walked forward into the next step in our life beyond death. Upon passing the light and feeling a warmth envelope my body, I finally cried tears of happiness that I had wished to shed many years ago.

I'm finally home. I'm free at long last.

THE END