Why we stayed

by Nightlist

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Princess Luna, Original Character, Horror, Violence, Princess Celestia, Tragedy, Main 6, Profanity, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 1234

Almost all ponykind has heard of the Rainbow Factory. But did they wonder of the pony's who worked there?

*set in a time after the Rainbow Factory has been discovered*

Equestria has fallen to dark times after the betrayal of The Element of Loyalty, Princess Celestia, and countless other pegasi. But has anyone ever wondered about the poor souls who worked at the Rainbow Factory? Has anypony, anypony at all, ever wondered, why we did what did? Has anypony ever wondered, why we stayed?

Cover art by this wonderful artist: http://viperviolist.deviantart.com/art/Rainbow-Factory-364362088

Published 2017-04-15 02:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-05-25 17:28:46 UTC

Luna: Promotion

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? :moustache:

Toxic: Trial

Her Highness, Princess Luna, glares down at me, pure hostility in her eyes. I hang my head, wishing I could feel shame, or regret. But all those emotions have been purged out of me. "State your name, cutie mark and occupation" Luna says, spitting out the last word like venom.

I raise my head. "My name is Toxic Waste. I was an employee at the Rainbow Factory. My cutie mark is a gear with a toxic hazard sign on it." I say with a hollow voice. "Toxic Waste." Luna sneers, a mix of cold satisfaction and disgust on her face. "A fitting name for somepony like you." I don't say anything, but I know she's right. After everything I've done, I am just waste. I know I didn't have any control over what I did, but I could have tried to resist a little longer. Instead, I was turned in just a few weeks.

"You have been accused of assault, murder, foal-napping, and being an accomplice to all of these things. Do you deny any of these charges?" she asks, voice filled with disgust and cold hatred.

"No, your Highness." I respond. "All of these charges are true." Luna looks slightly annoyed that she doesn't get a reaction out of me, but that's barely possible anymore.

"Do you have any defense for why you committed these crimes?"

"Yes." At this, Luna looks surprised. "But it's too long of a story to tell. And I would rather spare the ponies here from hearing what we went through."

"I am an Alicorn," Luna says. "I am capable of casting a memory spell to see your... reasons for your crimes."

I nod. "Go ahead. I won't fight you." I close my eyes and lower my head. I take a deep breath, and wait.

Author's Note

Except in speech, all royalty (Luna, Twilight, Cadance, etc.) will be referred to by first name for writing purposes.
Also, the title of each chapter shows which character's PoV its from.

Memory: Introduction

Author's Note

All memory chapters going forward will be from Toxic's PoV.

Memory: Introduction

Something hits me on the back of the head, and I black out. I wake up Celestia knows how long later, in a small room. Immediately, I start to feel nervous. Almost all Pegasi are at least slightly claustrophobic, probably because we're so used to wide open spaces. I look around the room, trying to gather my surroundings.

The walls are a simple gray color, nearly the same color as my coat, but a little darker. There are what look like speakers in each of the ceiling corners, but other than that, there's nothing else in the room. Well, besides me of course. All of a sudden, feedback screeches through the speakers. I wince and instinctually fold my ears back to try and muffle the sound.

"Good morning Toxic," A polite voice sounds through the speakers. "I must say, I'm impressed. It usually takes another hour before they wake up."

"Who-" I begin, but my voice is rough and scratchy. I try again. "Who are you? Where am I?" The voice chuckles darkly.

"Why, Toxic dear, this will be your new home until you decide to work for us willingly." The voice says, as waves of confusion wash over me. A click sounds, before a holographic screen expands in front of me.

"And this is why it will take time for you to work here willingly. We don't let ponies outside the Factory know what we do for a reason." I'm about to ask what the voice means, but a video starts to play.