Entering Death

Fluttershy woke up she didn’t know where she was but she was terrified. That scary book that had sucked them in, blood all over the walls, and the weird tubes filled with Rainbows. Then a booming voice from seemingly nowhere stated:

“There’s long been rumors as to how, exactly, rainbows are made in Equestria. While a great amount of Pegasi ponies are employed in the Rainbow department of the weather factory, almost all of them do the low-end work. What’s know is that great streams of Spectra, the individual colours of the rainbow, flow through large grates and into vast vats. From there, workers carefully and equally mix the spectra into the coagulated rainbow pools that dot and run through the factory and surrounding city. Next, that mixture is pumped to the floor below, where other employees atomize it and store it until the active weather Pegasi deploy it in field. However, no one knows how individual Spectra is made. Supplies are never seen being brought in, leaving not even a clue what goes into a rainbow. Tourists, when visiting the factory, are treated to an extremely foreboding and plain wall, with massive solid doors baring entry to anypony at any time. While most of the facility’s various signs and architecture is bubbly and welcoming, the Rainbow Factory’s upper floor was protected by harsh imagery of potential hazards and death, and the cloud wall was made not out of the clean white of the rest of the city, but of a black, quietly thundering fog. To become an employee of the upper Rainbow Factory mean sacrificing any life outside those black walls. Workers are sworn to secrecy and forbidden from leaving, and live inside the facility itself. Those few who ever managed to make it out not in a body bag were twisted and disturbed, too damaged to ever bring themselves to talk about it. A lot of theories were proposed; Dark magic from captured unicorns, chemicals and environmental hazards that no sane pony would tolerate, and even thoughts of another unknown sister of Celestia’s, destined to create the Spectra instead of raise a sun or moon. None of them could be farther than the truth.

”

Fluttershy screamed. ‘What was the truth?’ She thought ‘and more importantly, do I want to know?’

A pony wearing a black coat (like the outfit not a horse’s coat) stepped out of the darkness “By now, you’ve all clearly determined that you are not going into exile.”

“You all?” Fluttershy questioned, she turned around to see a group of 3 fillies including one she recognized Scotaloo

“There is no deportation.” Continued the pony “There never was. You are in The Factory. You will never leave The Factory. And while you may be called useless, that’s also not entirely true. You’re worthless to the flock as a Pony. But, you still have purpose! Purpose to all the ponies in this land, far and wide. You get to help us make rainbows! Beautiful, magical rainbows, doesn’t that excite you?” The mysterious announcer grinned ecstatically, taking in all the disgusted looks from every foal on the floor below him. “I thought so,” she chuckled. “It is just such an honor, you know, it leaves every pony entrusted with the task speechless too! Now, do we have any volunteers?”

With the exception of fluttershy who shivered with fright, everypony below glared at the mysterious with hate. One brave pony, a light pink one from Levitating Acres, walked forward a few steps, then yelled.

“How could you ever get away with this? How could Celestia, or even Luna know about this and tolerate it? It’s slavery! It’s torture!”

“I think you’ll find it’s more than that,” a second official pony walked out the shadows and up to the podium. The pony was in a suit, and masked. The first pony walked off the podium and allowed the second to talk. Scootaloo noticed that it was the rose-eyed pony from before. She watched, more intently now. The voice was familiar.

“A thousand years ago, when Celestia banished Luna from Equestria and sent her to the moon, she was charged with three tasks. She originally was in charge of raising the sun, and showering the land with rainbows. But, with the moon being an additional task, she had to hand down the responsibility of rainbows. Celestia entrusted the Pegasi of Cloudsdale to make the rainbows for her, from them on. For the first dozen years, we were given powerful unicorns to help create Spectra. Spectra is pure pigment, pure colour. Everything is full of Spectra, but you can’t just harvest it. You can never separate colour from an object. So it was made artificially with magic.” The masked pony never took her eyes off the brave pink one. “That is, until our top engineers made a breakthrough. They discovered an ingenious way to extract pigment, and it was so beautiful even a simple machine could do it. But it couldn’t be done with just anything. The conditions had to be right.”

“What did those horrible people do,” the pink pegasus screamed, growing angrier by the minute.

The mysterious pony whipped off her mask, unveiling more than her rose eyes. Her skin was a light cyan, and her mane was a gorgeous rainbow. Several of the fillies gasped; Fluttershy’s knees weakened as it hit her. It was Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy’s thoughts raced through her mind, and the room started spinning. It couldn’t be. An evil twin, maybe. Perhaps some neglected sister. Rainbow Dash couldn’t be this evil. She was her friend. How... How? How was all she could think.

“Now, one of you is not like the others” Rainbow Dash said pointing at Fluttershy “you! You’re from outside this universe, sucked into this book! This is a game, how it works is: if you win you get to escape this book of horror stories!”

“A book of horror stories?!” Fluttershy exclaimed ‘that’s why I’m in this horrible place! I must have been sucked into the book, and this is no cookbook

“And if I win” this false, sick excuse for Rainbow Dash continued “I get to go to the real world and explore Equestria. You will stay here. Now the game is... well I’m sure you know by now”

“B-b-but” Fluttershy stuttered “how could I win?”

“Just try to escape,” Rainbow explained. “Workers! The brown one, there! Him first!”

“No!” Scootaloo, Aurora, Fluttershy, and Orion all jumped. Suited ponies cornered Orion, pushing the other two to the side. He tried to leap out of the way, to run, but one of the stallions spun around and kicked at him. The hoof connected to his shoulder, and Orion collapsed with a shout.

“Get back,” more Suits yelled at Aurora and Scootaloo as they dragged the whimpering Orion to the front of the room. The giant machine at the back started humming to life, and the assembly of chains lifted off the top and moved towards the floor. Everyone noticed they were shackles now, and the Suits clasped Orion into them. Braving a look up, he turned to Scootaloo.

“Don’t worry, Scoots. I love you. Goodbye.”

“...Goodbye, Orion,” Scootaloo gasped. “I... I love you too.”

With that, the chains pulled tight and lifted the brown Pegasus all the way up to the gears. The chains grew taunt, and stretched each of Orion’s limbs straight up and down.

“We find the machine works better if the ribs are broken,” Rainbow Dash explained apathetically, as the chains spun around, in opposite directions, twisting Orion. His screams almost covered the echoing ‘pop’s and shattering noises. One or two jagged bones tore through his side, and his yells faded to a slow, quiet rattle of breath. The chains untwisted, and then the shackles opened, dropping the shattered pony into the single opening.

With horror, Fluttershy watched. Her brain, overcome with what was happening, detached from all emotion. She noticed that the top of the machine wasn’t rusty. It was blood. Blood, just like what was being tossed up from the mangled remains of Orion, as the rest of his body was swallowed into the great machine, finishing with one lone hoof directed straight up, and then nothing was left.

As the hoses over the Green and Red vats of Spectrum started spewing their brilliant colours, Scootaloo’s vision started to fade, and the last thing she noticed was Aurora’s concerned, broken voice saying her name as Scootaloo flopped to the side.

“Alright now that you’ve seen what you’re up against” Rainbow Dash said “it’s your turn Fluttershy.”

Several workers grabbed Fluttershy and hauled her to the machine. “You can’t do this” Fluttershy sobbed “Please.”

“Sorry Flutters” said Dash “but, I really want to hang out in Equestria with the rest of the murderous six!”

“How can you be sure...” Fluttershy started but was interrupted by Dash.

“Ha like anyone could survive us” she chided “I’m 100% sure no pony will or has escaped.”

“Cupcakes, Butterflies” Pinkie shuddered on that second one “Rainbow Factory, Rarity’s mannequins, Pages Of Harmony, and The Elements of disharmony. Huh I wonder what all those mean?” Pinkie notices two that where different ‘Cupcakes’ was glowing bright red and ringing really loud. ‘Butterflies’ was glowing green and with a flash of light disappeared. Pinkie all the sudden dropped as ‘Cupcakes’ the word she was standing on dropped to reposition itself above ‘Rainbow Factory’. This caused Pinkie to bounce upon impact, and fall onto the ‘Rainbow Factory’ story.

Rainbow Dash walked over near the device, Fluttershy was sobbing now. She thought for sure this was the end but then, a flash of red light on the celling and Pinkie appeared and fell onto Fluttershy knocking her out of the grasp of the guards. They then hit Rainbow who went flying up and landed in the contraption which automatically locked. The pair then bumped into a button which Fluttershy's wing got in. When they bounced it ripped out Fluttershy's right wing. She screamed in agony, but the bouton had been pushed none the less. The machine began pushing at Rainbow’s ribs, as she joined Fluttershy's screams (although these screams were more angry) Pinkie and Fluttershy bounced off the railing. As they where falling they heard a cracking sound and Rainbow screaming “Nooooooooooooooo!” As if on cue at the end of Dash’s cries a red portal opened on the floor and Fluttershy and Pinkie fell in skidding into Twilight’s castle.