Rainbow Factory: The Prequel
Rainbow Dash woke up in a strange room, with no recollection of getting there.
She knew she had passed her flight test. Her teacher had told her so. So why had she been taken? Being taken was for foals who failed. Those foals were never to be seen again, ever since Rainbow could remember, and possibly even before that. Rumors had circled Equestria that they were being used, tortured, or worse, but Rainbow had never believed them.
A door hinge squeaked, and Rainbow turned toward the noise. A sky blue pegasus with a yellow mane was staring at her. She grinned, and Rainbow suddenly felt uneasy.
“Excuse me?” Rainbow whispered, then swallowed and repeated her question a bit louder. “Excuse me?”
“Yes?” The pegasus was still staring at the young filly, and Rainbow forced herself to answer.
“I… I’m Rainbow Dash. I passed my test. Can you explain who you are, and what I’m doing here?” The words sounded braver than she felt.
“I’m Cyan Zap.” The pegasus- Cyan Zap- bent down and stared the young Dash in the eyes. “And you are here to help us.”
“With what?” Rainbow was confused.
“I am part of a top-secret project.” Cyan opened the door, and stepped back so Rainbow could exit. “Before I tell you more, however, I must tell you something. You are not a prisoner here. However, if I am to tell you more about this project, then you must swear on your life that you will not tell anypony.”
“On my life?” Rainbow laughed nervously. “Isn’t that a bit… extreme?”
“Not in this case.” Cyan said it solemnly, then turned to Rainbow. “Are you in or not?”
“What happens if I refuse to be part of the project?” Rainbow cocked her head and looked at Cyan, who just smirked.
“Oh, you’ll be a part of it. Agree or refuse, you’ll be a part of it.” She giggled, and Rainbow was once again confused at the implied joke.
“I don’t get it.” Rainbow said.
“Oh, you will, soon enough.” Cyan looked at Rainbow. “Now, what’s your answer?”
“I swear on my life.” Rainbow swore, then looked at Cyan. She still had no idea what she was getting into, but she wanted to know answers, and Cyan seemed trustworthy.
“Now come on. I want to show you our crowning achievement.” They got to the end of the hallway that they were walking through, and Cyan pushed open a door. Inside the room that they entered was a huge machine. Rainbow could clearly see the words “PEGASUS DEVICE” on a bronze plaque on the wall.
“What is this?” Rainbow looked at it in awe. She had no idea what it could do, but she could see that it was powerful.
“This is the Pegasus Device. It’s called that because its creator was a pegasus. It’s also called that because of what you’ll soon see with your very eyes.” Cyan looked wistful. “A long time ago, rainbows were scarce in Equestria. The founder of this project discovered a way to create rainbows artificially, and this is the result of all that research.” Cyan looked at it with pride. “We here at the Rainbow Factory have dedicated ourselves to creating rainbows for all of Equestria to enjoy.”
“The Rainbow Factory? Is that where we are now?” Rainbow asked.
“Exactly.” Cyan smiled.
“But you said this was a top-secret project. Why is the artificial creation of rainbows top secret?” Rainbow asked, confused.
“Well…” Cyan sighed. “It’s not the creation of rainbows that makes it top secret. It’s the way we create them that makes it top secret.”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow couldn’t stop herself, but she was intrigued. She wanted to know.
“Are you sure you want to see?” Cyan had a worried look on her face. “We chose you for the project because we saw your incredible flight ability. We need that here. But we also need a tough mind, and a soul that won’t break under intense pressure.”
Rainbow nodded determinedly. “I want to.” She didn’t know what would happen, but she was too close to answers.
With a smile, Cyan pressed a button on the wall. “Behold! The Pegasus Device in action!” The Device powered up, and gadgets activated, causing the whole room to become suddenly very loud.
A small whirr made Rainbow look up, and she saw a claw-type object pick out something that she could swear she had seen before, yet couldn’t place. With a start, she realized that it was one of the foals that had failed the flight test- Lightning Blitz, if her memory served her correctly. The young colt was yelling something, but she couldn’t hear what it was.
The claw lowered until it was level with the top of a funnel-shaped part of the Pegasus Device. Lightning Blitz was squirming, trying to get away from the claw, but it had a firm grip on him.
“Oh, you silly colt. Don’t squirm! If the claw drops you… it’s bye bye Blitzy!” Cyan said, sighing. Rainbow gulped.
“Um, Cyan? What’s the Device going to do to him?” Rainbow asked, her eyes wide.
Cyan turned down the volume on the Device a bit, and now Rainbow could hear Lightning Blitz’s yells. He wasn’t yelling… he was screaming in terror. She caught his eye, and he turned a pleading gaze toward her.
“Please… Rainbow Dash… help me…” He pleaded with her, tears in his eyes. She turned away sadly. She needed to know the answer to her question, and Lightning Blitz would only get in the way. She felt sorry for him, but… she needed to know.
“Well, Rainbow… just watch.” Cyan had a weird look on her face, and she grinned as she pulled down a lever. The claw dropped Lightning Blitz, who fell screaming into the funnel. Suddenly, Lightning’s screams cut off abruptly as a horrible sound of shredding filled the air.
Rainbow shrank back in terror. “You… you killed him.” Her face slackened suddenly. She turned to Cyan fearfully. “Is that why I’m here? You’re going to kill me too? I know you said I had incredible abilities but…” She trailed off as Cyan shook her head.
“You’re not going to die. On the contrary, in fact. I brought you here because I wanted to see if you could handle this sort of thing. If so, I wanted to offer you a job. You see, good ponies at the Rainbow Factory are slowly becoming scarce, and we need new blood.” Cyan looked down at Rainbow, whose eyes grew wide.
“You want… me?” Rainbow gasped, but then she looked scared again. “Cyan… may I ask you a question?”
“Of course, Rainbow.” Cyan said, smiling.
“Why did Lightning Blitz die?” Rainbow looked at Cyan pleadingly. She may have wanted to know the answers before, but to this question she needed them.
“He failed his test,” Cyan said simply. “Cloudsdale needs strong fliers. Fliers like you. Fliers like me. Fliers that win. Fliers that don’t fail.” She stressed the last part. “Foals that fail… are killed. They become the next rainbows.”
“Oh.” Rainbow looked sadly at the floor.
“But enough sad things.” Rainbow felt Cyan’s hoof gently push her head up so that the two were at eye level. “Time for happy things. What do you say to my proposal? Would you like to join the project and come work at the Rainbow Factory with us?”
Rainbow looked around. On the plus side, the place was huge. There were so many other ponies to get to know. And, for all its morbid reminders, the Pegasus Device really was a marvel of technology.
Still, Lightning Blitz’s face passed in her mind, his screams of terror suddenly stopping as the young colt was sliced to bits to be turned into color. The way that he had asked for her help, and Rainbow had turned away. Her eyes narrowed, and the emotions that accompanied such memories were suppressed, replaced with a determination to never fail like Lightning Blitz or the rest of the foals destined to become rainbows. She turned toward Cyan Zap, and smiled.
“I accept the proposal.” Rainbow then turned and looked at the Pegasus Device. The last time she had looked at it, only 10 minutes ago, she had been a scared little filly. Now, she was still a filly, but she wasn’t scared any longer. No, she was excited, in a grim kind of way. She smiled. “Prepare the claw and the Device. It’s time to make some rainbows.”
