I stare down at this pitiful excuse for a pony, bearing the name of Toxic Waste. She lowers her head, as if offering her mind to me. I stare down at her for a minute, suspicious, before casting the spell to allow me to see inside her memories. I feel a falling sensation, before I am inside her mind, seeing Toxic's memories from her perspective. I skip past multiple memories of her growing up, before I am suddenly transported to a specific memory, as if she wanted to show me a this memory. She's walking around the Weather Factory in Cloudsdale. She appears to be checking to see if everything is running smoothly. I recall her cutie mark, and figure she must be a technician.

We look up at the Rainbow Factory, and I hear her voice inside our head. I wonder what goes on in there? I'm surprised at the change in her voice. Before, she sounded hollow and emotionless. Now, her voice was full of curiosity, and she sounded... Innocent, kind even. Not the hollow shell I'd been talking to before. I come to the realization that this must be right before she started working at the Rainbow Factory. My suspicions are proven right when one of the ponies from the Factory calls out to her. "Hey! Toxic! Come over here!"

Her head jerks around, and when she sees the pony, she takes flight, and in a few seconds is standing next to the mare. "Hey Emerald! What's up?"

"Your job," Emerald says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asks Toxic, laughing slightly. I get the impression that they're friends.

"It means you're getting a promotion. You get to work with me and Shadowblaze now."

Toxic's jaw drops. "Seriously? I'm getting moved up to the Rainbow Factory?!? I thought only the best of the best worked there!"

Emerald snorts. "I think we can handle a few exceptions."

In retaliation, Toxic replies: "Obviously. Since they already are." They both look at each other, then start laughing.

After they calm down, Toxic asks: "When do I start?"

"Today. After lunch to be exact."

"Cool. See you then. but for now, I gotta get back to work," Toxic says, then flies back over to the snowflake builders, and checks the machine that holds them, making sure everything is fine. After that fiasco with Rainbow Dash, this thing better not quit on me. It doesn't, and she goes on with her work.

The memory speeds up, until it stops at Toxic walking down a hallway, with Emerald in front of her leading the way. "Umm, where are going?" asks Toxic.

"I'm taking you to the conference room. All new employees go there to meet the boss and get their job assignments."

"Okay."

They walk in silence, winding through multiple hallways. I can tell Toxic is starting to get nervous, which is a common thing for Pegasi when they're in a confined space. Eventually, they reach a room with a closed door and Emerald says: "We're here. She's waiting in there for you."

Toxic takes a deep breath, then pushes open the door. Standing across from from her is Rainbow Dash. "Hey. I'm guessing you're the new mechanic?" asks Dash. She seems friendly now, but I know the truth about her. I know that she's a psychotic, ruthless murderer. Just the sight of her makes anger and disgust roll through my veins.

"Umm... I guess so. Probably," responds Toxic.

"Neat," says Dash, grinning. She walks over to Toxic and extends her hoof to shake. Toxic accepts the hoofshake, and Dash's grin becomes a little more sinister. "Welcome to our family of the Factory."

Author's Note

Hey. Cheesepone. You see what I did there?