Chapters Crunch was ready for his flight test, the final hurdle before he and his friends could earn their wings and join the elite Aerial Corps. With the wind at their backs and the sky stretching out before them, Crunch’s heart leaped into his throat. He took a deep breath and summoned all his courage. “Alright, are we all ready?” he said, his wings fluttering. “No more goofing around. This is serious business. We’ve trained for this moment.” His friends nodded in approval. “Let’s do this!” He called, looking at the others as he waited. “And may the best pony win.”
Crunch flew through the first few obstacles, weaving through the cones and hurdles with ease. He was doing great, and he could finally taste victory. But, the last obstacle was the hardest. He had to fly through the fire, which was blazing hot.
He thought to himself, “I can do this!” and charged straight toward the flames. He felt them burning his wings, but he kept flying, determined to make it to the other side.
Then, he looked to the other side of the course, looking at his friend as he waved at him, and while he was distracted, he hit a pole, and then all of a sudden, blackness.
Crunch opened his eyes, feeling confused and dazed. He looked around and saw 3 masked pegasi looking down at him with blank expressions. “W-what happened?” he asked, his ears drooping. “I-I swear I wasn’t distracted. I’m s-sorry!” he stuttered, feeling panicked.
”We’re sorry, but you failed your flight test.” said one of the masked pegasi, her voice sounding stern and cold.
“W-w-what?!” Crunch said, still panicked.
“You failed to meet the minimum requirements to graduate, and thus, are being transferred to the Rainbow Factory.” said another pegasus, their voice sounding sympathetic. “Don’t worry, everything will be explained once you arrive. For now, please get up and follow us. I promise it won’t hurt.”
Crunch immediately calmed down after being reassured. “Alright. The Rainbow Factory doesn’t sound bad.” He says with confidence. He stood up and followed the masked pegasus to a brown wooden carriage with no windows in it.
The masked pegasus didn’t say much as they led Crunch to the carriage. They didn’t want to scare him, after all. But once he was inside, they shut the door and the carriage started driving off.
The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable, besides the other pegasi who failed the test, but it wasn’t too long before the carriage came to a stop. The door opened, and the group along with Crunch stepped out, seeing one guard gesturing for them to follow them. They led him and the group into a dark, cavernous room with rows of machines and tubes running along the walls.
Eventually, the group of failed pegasi along with Crunch were lined up in front of one of the machines, waiting for their turn. Crunch felt scared for them, but he couldn’t do anything to help them.
“You’re next,” said one of the guards, motioning for Crunch to step forward.
“Is t-there anything I do to avoid this horrendous fate? P-please!” Crunch said, desperately trying not to anger the guard.
“No!” The guard said sternly while trying to prod him onto the machine. He mumbled, stupid pegasi... but was interrupted by Dr. Atmosphere flying down onto the floor. The guard got out of the way while Dr. Atmosphere slowly walked over to Crunch.
“Heh heh, as long as you stay quiet about what happens in this place, you can work here.” Dr. Atmosphere said, slowly lowering her voice to a whisper as she leaned in closer. “Nothing will happen to you if you stay quiet... Nothing at all...”
Crunch shuddered. That last line had sent a chill down his spine.
“A-Alright.” Crunch said, surprised that he can manage to say even a single word.
“Good,” said Dr. Atmosphere in a satisfied tone. “You won’t get in the way of our work, and you’ll be well-compensated for your silence. And who knows, you might even find the work... Rewarding.”
Crunch looked at the pony with a mixture of fear and intrigue. She was going to do something horrible, but there seemed something strangely appealing about this offer.
“Just sign here,” said Dr. Atmosphere, gesturing to a piece of paper. “You’ll be ours before you know it.”
Crunch took the pen from Dr. Atmosphere and signed the paper without even reading it. “Welcome to the team...” said Dr. Atmosphere, smiling at Crunch. “Go to your sleeping quarters so you can get some rest.”
The rest of the failed pegasi looked at him in shock while Crunch walked away scot-free.
Crunch wakes up the next morning to one of the guards kicking him, and shouting: “Get up!”
Crunch opens his eyes to see the guard looking down at him.
“This is your first shift and we don’t have much time, so get up, we don’t need people who sleep on the job.” The guard says menacingly.
“Alright, alright.” He stands up, walking over to his locker while the guard stared at him sternly. He unlocks his locker, and puts on his black latex suit, with an eye mask, and latex gloves.
“Everyone, time to begin the shift!” Dr. Atmosphere shouts.
Crunch and the other workponies are escorted by some guards to a room where the Spectra is made with a giant machine in it. The machine has tubes connected to it that lead to some nearby tubs on the floor.
Dr. Atmosphere walks in after the last workpony gets in. “Alright, let’s get to work!” She orders the workponies and Crunch to walk over to the giant machine and begin working.
One dead body of a pony suddenly collapsed right next to Crunch, making him shudder. “Don’t stop working, it’s best if we can meet our daily quota.” Dr. Atmosphere says as she grabs some of the tubes out of the dead pony’s body, making a pink and purple Spectra. “While you ponies keep working, I’ll explain the rules here at the Rainbow Factory.” She says, walking around the room to check on how you and the other workponies are doing.
“Here at the Rainbow Factory, our number one rule here is: ‘Work hard!’. It is a very busy place here, so we need every pony we can get to keep up with the work.”
“Rule 2 is ‘Don’t slow down’. Everypony is expected to be working 100% every day.” Dr. Atmosphere says, walking around the room. “And the final rule: If you slow down, you go to the machine. No exceptions.’’ She says as she glares into Crunch’s eyes.
“Oh, and rule 4 as well. ‘Don’t get near the machine’. You all know what this machine is capable of, so it’s best not to get near it at all because it will devour your body , and use the color of your body to create Spectra, and that you do not want . Understand? ” Dr. Atmosphere finishes.
”Yes ma’am!” All the workponies say, including Crunch.
Dr. Atmosphere looked at the clock and then looked at the empty bin of dead bodies which meant that they were done. “Alright, the daily quota is over, you can use the rest of your free time to do anything you want.”
Crunch follows the other workponies back to the sleeping quarters and after they get there, they sit down on the end of their bed.
“So this is your breakro...” Suddenly, Crunch was interrupted by one of the workponies screams and shouting.
”MY LEGS, THEY’RE GONE! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” The workpony screamed in a high-pitched voice.
Yep, I regret this. Crunchthought. “Wow, such a funny joke...” Crunch says sarcastically.
“It’s not a fucking joke!” The unnamed workpony cries out. “Please help me! My legs are actually gone!”
Crunch goes over to the fallen worker’s side, not seeing anything wrong at first. Upon closer inspection, they see that both of the worker’s legs are gone, replaced in place by a pink and purple Spectra, then Crunch realizes... “Oh god, that’s what the factory does with you if you slow down...”
The unnamed workpony tries to get up from the ground but soon realizes that they don’t have any legs anymore and falls over, screaming.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god, OH GOD!!!” The workpony screams, their face now a mix of fear, and pain. “Please, help me! Somebody, help me!” They scream, crying.
“Stop it! The guards are gonna notice us at any moment!” Crunch frantically tries to cover the workpony’s mouth.
The guards are already coming over to see what the commotion is about.
“Let us go! They’re gonna take us to the machine!” The worker cries out, clearly in shock and extremely frightened.
“If you don’t shut...” Crunch realizes what he has to do. “No, they’re gonna take YOU to the machine.” Crunch stands up, looking down at the helpless workpony.
“ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU ARE JUST GONNA LEAVE ME...” Crunch could not hear the rest of the workponies’ words, as he heard the hooves clopping of angry guards coming. He immediately got into his bed and covered his ears, pretending to go to sleep.
The door slams open as the workpony gets picked up by the guards. Crunch could still hear the screams of the workpony as the guards take the workpony out of the sleeping quarters and Crunch hears a mechanical whirring sound coming from downstairs, after a couple of seconds Crunch hears the screams of the pony they had just tried to help die down.
Then, there is only silence...
Crunch wakes up the next morning, and sees an empty space next to him where the dead pony used to sit. Crunch sighs to himself, “He was a nice pony, but in the end, he was weak... I needed to do what I needed to do.” Crunch says. “I can’t fall behind now, or else I will be just like him... I can’t let that happen to me...” Crunch says to himself determined as he goes to get up. Crunch looks around and sees that all of the other workponies are already at their job. “I have to get moving because I’m sure they’re waiting for me.”
Crunch puts on his equipment and forces a smile, following the other workers to the Rainbow Factory. “I won’t let what happened to that poor pony yesterday happen to me,” he says to himself.
“Alright, let’s get to work!” Dr. Atmosphere calls out to everyone. “You know what happens to anyone who slows down so don’t bother.”
Everyone nods while Crunch walks over to the machine. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “You can do this Crunch,” he says to himself. “Just don’t slow down, and you will be fine.” He opens his eyes and grabs the handles of the machine. “Ok, here I come, Spectra... Bring it on.”
He slowly works the machine, learning how to do it step, by step. But his thoughts are interrupted by somepony shouting at him, “Hey you!”
“Yeah?” Crunch looks back at the pony, who is pointing at him.
“I need someone to bully, so come over here!” The pony said, sternly looking at him.
“Couldn’t you umm, pick someone else?” Crunch said, standing his ground.
“Nope. I pick you, so get over here.” The pony says menacingly. “You think you can talk back to me?”
Crunch sighs, knowing that there is no way to get out of this, “Alright...” He says defeated walking over to the pony.
Dr. Atmosphere comes over to see what the commotion is about. “What’s the problem here?” She asks.
“He was talking back to me,” the pony says.
“Is that true?” Dr. Atmosphere asks while looking at Crunch.
“No, she’s just acting like a brat.” Crunch responds back.
Dr. Atmosphere sighs, “Alright everyone, get back to work.” she says tired and annoyed as she walks away. “I swear, the new recruits just don’t act like what they used to,” she says under her breath.
“Ha, ha!” The pony said. “I don’t get to work, unlike you.”
“Who even are you?” Crunch asked.
“My name is Jade, Jade Specter. I’m like Dr. Atmosphere’s right-hand pony, so she doesn’t care about anything I do, basically.”
“So what, does that mean I’m supposed to give you special treatment then?” Crunch asks. “Because you’re ‘special?’” He says mockingly, “If you’re so special why are you here?” Crunch asks the pony.
“Because I like to bully other ponies...” Jade replies.
“Oh, and why’s that? Got nothing better to do?” Crunch says back smugly.
“Because I can,” Jade replies, “And what are you gonna do about it?” She says, giving him a sinister look.
“HEY!” The guard interrupts us. “No fighting, or else you both will get taken to the machine!”
Jade Specter turns to the guard with a smug expression and says in a very sarcastic tone: “Oh, I’m sorry!” She says in a mocking tone. She scoffs and walks off with her nose up in the air.
The guard then looks at Crunch with an annoyed expression. " I would suggest you be more careful next time... She gets very angry, very easily...” They warn him.
“How come she hasn’t been taken to the machine with that attitude?” Crunch questions himself.
“Well... Let’s just say she has connections,” the guard says, winking suggestively. Their smile turns into a sinister grin. “She’s almost like Doctor Atmosphere’s right-hand pony, you see.” They whisper to Crunch in a soft, menacing voice.
“And that means she can get away with anything, as long as she doesn’t slow down or get in the way of The Factory...” The guard adds with a smirk.
Crunch nods, “Yeah, I get it.” He says. “So, she’s the boss’s favorite pony. I won’t let it get to me.” Crunch says as he walks away, knowing that there’s nothing he can do to fight back at this point without risking his own safety.
He sees Jade standing by a nearby machine, watching him closely as he works. Crunch tries to ignore her and keeps working, but after a while, Jade speaks up. “You’re not special, you know,” she says coldly, “Just another pony like the rest of us.”
Crunch feels offended by what Jade has said, but he tries to ignore her and keeps working. But after a while, her insults start to get to him, and he decides he’s had enough. He stops his machine and faces her and says, “Fine if you’re so much better than me, do you mind telling me what exactly you do here? You just stand around and do nothing, but act like you’re important.” Crunch says. “But from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just as much of a workpony as the rest of us.” He ends.
Jade is taken aback by Crunch’s sudden outburst, but quickly recovers and snaps back at him, “I already told you, I’m more important because I’m Doctor Atmosphere’s right-hand pony.” She said with her nose still up in the air.
Crunch rolls his eyes, “So you’re just a glorified boss’s pet.” He replies, trying to hide his growing anger at her haughty attitude.
“Yeah, you could say that,” she says smugly. “At least I’m special, unlike you...” she adds, clearly enjoying provoking him.
Crunch feels himself lose control. Before he can stop himself, he grabs the closest object, a wrench, that is in front of him, and he throws it at Jade, hitting her right in the face. Crunch immediately realizes what he has done. He stands in shock as the other ponies’ eyes go wide with surprise, while Jade stares at him, a mix of shock and anger on her face.
“You- you hit me!” Jade exclaims, clutching at her cheek, “You can’t just hit me like that!” She says, her voice tremulous with anger, “Who do you think you are?!”
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t... I didn’t know what got into me.” Crunch said.
“What do you mean you didn’t know what got into you?!” Jade shouts. “You did that on purpose! You could have killed me!” She screams, still clutching her face, and the other ponies all gasp in surprise as Jade points toward him accusingly. Crunch can tell that he’s in trouble.
Crunch can feel sweat starting to bead on his brow as Dr. Atmosphere comes over to investigate. “What on earth is going on here?” she asks sternly.
“He- he attacked me!” says Jade.
“Is that true?” Dr. Atmosphere asks. “Did you attack Jade?”
Crunch feels himself freeze up. He doesn’t know what to say and is scared of telling the truth. “I...” he stutters before Jade cuts him off.
“Of course it’s true!” she says with a furious look. “How else would I get hit?”
“STOP OVERREACTING, YOU DUMB BITCH! ” Crunch yells out all of a sudden, covering his mouth.
The other ponies all gasp at the sudden outburst even Jade is stunned in sheer shock. Crunch can see the look of pure fury on her face as she stares at him with an even stronger force of anger.
Dr. Atmosphere sighs and puts her head in her hooves, shaking her head before looking at Crunch and saying, “What is wrong with you?!”
Crunch just stays silent, his mouth agape as he can’t bring himself to say anything as he waits for what is going to happen to him now that he has completely screwed up.
“Just follow me.” Dr. Atmosphere says, sternly looking at Crunch.
“Yes ma’am,” Crunch says, sounding a little frightened as he follows Dr. Atmosphere. He isn’t sure what she is going to do to him and for a second, he wonders if he should try to get away, but the other ponies are still watching, so he decides to do as he is told. Crunch has no idea how bad this day could get.
Crunch follows her to a solitary cell, presumably for him. “Inside. Now!” Dr. Atmosphere says sternly, pointing at the cell before locking the door behind him.
Crunch looks around the small, cramped cell, realizing that he is trapped inside by himself. Dr. Atmosphere gives him a smug look of satisfaction once she sees him locked away, and she walks away, probably happy to be rid of him for at least a little while. Crunch can only stare after her as he is left alone to think about what has happened, and what is likely to happen to him next...
Why did he burst out all of a sudden? He questioned himself. He really didn’t know. Crunch thinks to himself, He just snapped. He had no control over his emotions. And now he’s paying the price for it.
But was it worth it? Was it worth losing control and attacking Jade? It felt good to stand up to her for once, to show her what he thought of her, but it just lead to more troubles.
Crunch sighs, thinking about the mess he is in now just because of his sudden outburst...
But he is interrupted by a slamming noise, who could that be? He looks outside the tiny window and sees a pegasus coming towards his door. Scared that it might be Jade, he hides so she can’t see him.
“Hello?” The pegasus asked, which seemed to not be Jade’s voice, so he peeked into the window and it was a robot pegasus looking back at him. “Oh, you’re one of Jade’s victims huh? Here, let me help you.”
His heart starts to race as the robot pegasus opens the cell door. Crunch looks at the robot, still cautious. Is this another trap?
What’s the catch... Who put this robot here to help me? But he doesn’t have time to question it as the robot pegasus is standing at the open door, waiting for him to make a move. Crunch hesitates for a moment before stepping out of the cell.
“Ok... I’ll trust you... But just to make sure, what’s your name?” Crunch asks the robot.
“Sky. Helper of all people who fall to Jade’s traps.” The robot says.
Crunch nods, “Ok, Sky... What’s your purpose here? Are you just here to help me, or is there more to it than that?” Crunch asks, still cautious, but he is trying really hard to be reasonable and trust that this robot is actually on his side.
“Jeez, you’re a talkable one, aren’t you? Relax, I’m not here to kill you. Jade used to be a friend of mine, but we umm... Aren’t friends anymore, ok I don’t know why I just told you that.” Sky said, awkwardly.
Crunch can’t help but smile for a second in confusion at the robot pegasus reply, Does this robot know how odd he is acting?
“Ok... So what happened if you don’t mind me asking?” Crunch asks, “What changed between you and Jade?”
“No questions, now let’s just get out of here before the guards come to check on you,” Sky says, already walking over to the exit.
“No questions? Wait... Is this robot working for Dr. Atmosphere too?” Crunch thinks, “I need to know if I’m walking into a trap!”
But... Sky saved me from that cell for some reason... Maybe I really can trust him... Crunch sighs, “Ok... No questions, I’m just gonna follow you.” Crunch says with a small nod, falling in line behind the robot as they start to make their way out of the Factory.
Before they can get out of the Factory though, they are stopped by two guards with tasers. “Is there a problem here?” The first guard says, clearly threatening them both.
“Umm, no! I’m just taking him back to his sector, I g-got lost.” Sky says.
Oh, come on... Crunch thinks, Is this really gonna happen? Is Sky just gonna turn on me that easily?
A million questions are being asked in Crunch’s mind but only one seems to matter at the moment...
How do I know if I can trust him? How do I know he’s not just going to sell me out to Dr. Atmosphere again? He can’t go against his programming... Can he?
“Ok, so I may have a... Toggle for killing people. I can’t kill people unless it’s toggled on, but it’s not toggling on!” Sky quickly whispers to Crunch.
A toggle for killing people...? That’s a really convenient piece of code... Crunch thinks to himself.
“Am I supposed to just believe him? Why would they even program something like that into him? It doesn’t make any sense...” Crunch thinks to himself as he is left speechless by the robot’s statement the two guards just stare at him waiting for an answer... What if it’s a bluff to trick me into following him?
But it could also be true... Do I really trust this robot..? Or do I take my chances by going it alone...
The guards start to raise their eyebrows, getting suspicious.
“Ok, you know what, just follow me back to the sector and when I get back, I’ll help you later, I promise,” Sky whispers to Crunch.
Crunch looks from Sky to the two guards, clearly conflicted. There’s no way the guards are just going to let me go just like that, right?
It seems that Sky is my only chance now... Crunch thinks to himself as he tries to stay calm.
“Alright...” Crunch says finally. “I’ll trust you. But if you double-cross me... I’m going to find a way to make you hurt, ok?” he says to Sky, before taking a deep breath and walking out of the room, following the robot down the halls.
“I reassure you, I’m not evil,” Sky says, walking down the halls while Crunch followed him. Eventually, they got back to his sector. “I guess this is goodbye for now,” Sky says, smiling.
After all of this, he’s just going to dump me off as if nothing happened!? He thinks to himself as he stares at Sky, his anger starting to build up inside of him again, but this time he keeps a lid on it, just barely. He has a feeling there isn’t any other choice... As much as he hates to admit it, Sky had the upper hand and held all the cards now...
“Alright, see ya!” Sky says, leaving the sector that Crunch is in.
He starts working the machine again, but his thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a whistle, indicating the start of their workday. While he’s distracted, a cart full of dead ponies rolls down to him, scaring him.
“It’s you again... I thought you were still in there.” A voice from behind says. Wait, is that Jade Specter?
Crunch’s fears are instantly confirmed as it is indeed Jade Specter standing next to him, with a very sinister look in her eyes.
“You must be Crunch, right?” Jade Specter says with a sinister smile on her face. “I heard that you have a special test today...” Jade Specter adds a sinister tone to her voice. “Follow me.”
Crunch gulps, the thought of this special test already beginning to fill his mind with an immense feeling of fear...
Crunch groans as he seemly wakes up in a black void. “Wh-what just happened? Am I dead?” His head starts to hurt as he tries to make sense of it all.
“I must be... This all must be some kind of hell... Or... The after-life...” Crunch mumbles, their words coming out in a small, hushed, and scared tone. He walks around, looking for some sort of clue.
Crunch finds what they’ve been looking for almost immediately... His eyes spot a door with a large sign above it that says “EXIT” in big, bold red lettering.
But... Crunch’s fears get the best of them... He is afraid to go through the door... It feels like the door will just lead him deeper into hell... The exit seems suspicious... But he has to escape... So he takes a deep breath... And he opens the door.
Crunch immediately regrets that decision as he is pushed back by a huge hoove, making him fall. He gets up and looks at the monster that beholds him and gasps.
The beast in front of Crunch is nothing short of nightmarish as the beast stares down at him. He tries to scream. This is it... They’re going to die here ... They should have never done the test in the first place.
The beast is made out of dead ponies, who are assumed to be the victims of the Rainbow Factory. Crunch shakes in fear as he cries, looking straight at the monster with remorse in his eyes.
“You can not hide from me, Crunch.” Says a raspy voice from behind Crunch’s shoulder... The beast appears to have appeared behind him in an instant and now towers over him. He tries to get up and run for the door... But he is stopped by the beast’s sharp claws which rip into his back.
“AGH! God damn it...” He coughs out blood, laying there hopelessly. He closes his eyes until he hears a scream from the beast, and as he opens his eyes, he saw the ghost in his vision when he went into the pool of mercury spectra. The beast lies on the ground, still screaming. The ghost is standing there, who just beat the beast. “S-Scoot, is that you? I cough couldn’t hear your name last time we cough, cough met.”
“Don’t... Call me... That...” The ghost replies in a raspy voice... As they have just been through a terrible ordeal.
“I... Am... Scootaloo...” The ghost adds as they look down at Crunch.
“How... Did you do that?” Crunch asks, and the fear in his voice is clear.
Scootaloo lets out a long sigh after hearing Crunch’s question... Like they are exhausted. “My wings...” Scootaloo says with a deep sigh... “They... They have been... Corrupted...”
Scootaloo then looks down at Crunch...
“Like yours...” Scootaloo replies... “You must come with me...”
“Where... Where are we going?” Crunch asks, confused.
“We’re in a black void, figure it out,” Scootaloo answers in a calm, serious tone, looking straight ahead, but there is something unnatural about her, her attitude, and her coldness.
“It is here... That you will die...” Scootaloo replies after a long silent period.
“WHAT?!” Crunch stopped. “I’m not dying, not yet! My story is not over yet... Right?”
“Don’t fool yourself...” Scootaloo replies in a raspy voice once again... “You are here for one reason... To die...”
“You are weak... And worthless...” Scootaloo adds.
“You aren’t the Scootaloo I once heard about. You were energetic and was fun and all that stuff, what the hell happened?” Crunch said, concerned.
“What makes you think you are so special...” Scootaloo replies, stopping and turning toward Crunch in an instant.
“You’re not her, aren’t you? You’re just a fake!” Crunch runs towards her, punching her in the face.
“Oh... You... Want to fight, do you?” Scootaloo replies. Her eyes then light up with an evil flame. “Well, then...” Scootaloo says in a voice that sounds similar to Jade Specter.
And in one fluid movement, Scootaloo punches Crunch, making him hit an invisible wall of sorts.
“What’s wrong?” Scootaloo says as she laughed. “Are you too weak to fight me? How unfortunate...”
Crunch grins. “No, I’m not, I’m just gathering some energy.” He spread his wings and flew the fastest he could, hitting Scootaloo back very hard.
“Is that all you’ve got!?” Scootaloo says with that same cold, uncaring tone in their voice... The tone sounds almost like a taunt... The tone that makes his skin crawl...
Scootaloo then spreads her wings in return and charges straight toward Crunch, a fight between him and her erupts as the two race through the black void at a fast speed.
The speed was so fast that Crunch is sent spinning out into the black void as his vision is blurred for a second... An overwhelming feeling of pain washes over him.
“You are weak...” Scootaloo says with a laugh but as Crunch attempts to get back up, Scootaloo transforms into Jade Specter, smirking. “You are not using your full potential... You USELESS, weak stallion. You play like a filly.” She scoffs. “You knew it wasn’t me, so good job on that. At least you’re not completely dumb.”
Crunch is immediately taken back to reality, where he is wrapped around and on a table, a VR headset right next to him.
“Huh? Where the hell am I?!” Crunch says with a gasp, his head spinning as he attempts to gain his senses.
“Pfff, stop overreacting Crunch, does it look like something bad is happening to you?” She walks over to him, grinning. “I don’t know where that beast came from though, maybe just a glitch.”
The white-hooded pony pushes Jade out of the way before she can belittle Crunch with insults, sinisterly smiling. “Hello, Crunch. It seems like you’re not ready yet.” They said. “I will have to remind you if you’re not ready yet, we might have to throw you away with the other... Useless experiments.”
“What?! No, I don’t want to be thrown away, but I don’t want to do whatever I’m getting ready for.” Crunch says, shaking. “But all of that feeling that Scootaloo or Jade said felt so... Real.”
“Then good for her acting career. But you... You need practice.” The white-hooded pony says, disappointed.
“Where is the real Scootaloo?!” Crunch demands. “Did I make all of that up in some kind of weird dream?!”
“SILENT!” The white-hooded pony shouts, making the room go immediately quiet. “You WILL be ready, even if it ends up in your death!” They say, stomping with their hooves.
“Who are you?!” Crunch finally manages to stammer out in a quiet, hushed voice.
The strange white-hooded pony laughs and looks at Crunch with an aloof and arrogant expression on their face...
“Who am I?” the strange white-hooded pony repeats with that same arrogant smile on their face...
“You’ll see...” the strange white-hooded pony adds with a hint of an unhinged giggle in their voice...
“Soooon...” the strange white-hooded pony whispers as their eyes turn pure black.
“Boss, there’s an umm... P-problem,” Jade says, even scared of them.
“WHAT. IS. IT?!” The white-hooded pony looks sternly at Jade.
“Something is flying towards these doors, really fast...” Jade says, peeking through the window. “Oh wait, it’s just Sky-” She is interrupted as the doors are knocked down and she is hit back towards the wall, hitting it, and making her unconscious.
“Who are you?” The white-hooded pony looks straight at the pegasus who just knocked down the door.
“My name is Sky, and I can not let you hurt him.” Without a moment’s glance, Sky kicks the white-hooded pony into the wall, making him fortunately unconscious too. “Now, you. We have to talk, but not right now.” Sky unwraps Crunch making him free.
“Oh thank god, it’s you Sky!” Crunch says, relieved.
“Yep it’s me, now get out of here before...” The alarms already are sounding. “That! Go, go, go! That stupid hooded pony called the emergency alarm before I could get him unconscious.” Sky gestures towards the exit, nodding for him to go.
Crunch nods back, preparing his wings, and flew out the door, leaving a trail of fire behind. He goes through the hallway, trying to find an exit.
Can Crunch find an exit, or will he be captured once again?
2 years before...
Dr. Atmosphere puts the last few finishing touches on Sky... They can’t help but let a smile form on their face as they look upon Sky.
“There... Perfect.” Doctor Atmosphere says as they inspect Sky.
Rainbow Dash storms in, clearly angry at what Dr. Atmosphere made. “What have I told you about making these ‘experiments’ of yours?”
“Oh... Rainbow Dash...”
The smile on Doctor Atmosphere’s face never leaves as they turn to look at Rainbow Dash with that uncaring stare.
“These experiments,” Doctor Atmosphere replies with a smirk... “are necessary... They are what will help us succeed...”
“I know, but have any of your experiments worked for a change?” Rainbow Dash says, tinkering with Sky as she talked.
“I’ll have you know, this is different.” Doctor Atmosphere replies, smiling down at Sky... A sinister smile... The same kind that Rainbow Dash has seen many times before...
“Sky is different... Sky is perfect.”
“This one will work...” Doctor Atmosphere adds that same sinister smile on their face as they look down at Sky.
“Alright, but hey! Do you know what you need? A break, yeah! How about you go take a break and I’ll fix whatever mess this is.” Rainbow Dash says, sternly looking at Sky as if she was still deactivated.
“Yeah, ok. I’m tired, I do need a break.” Dr. Atmosphere said groggily. “Don’t mess with her though!” She said as she headed out the door.
“Ok...”
”Alright then...” Rainbow Dash says with a sly grin as she looks down at Sky... A cunning plan beginning to unfold...
”I have a proposition for you Sky...” Rainbow Dash says with a grin. “If you abandon Dr. Atmosphere and go against her wishes to kill people, I won’t throw you out and make you useless like all the OTHER experiments.” Rainbow Dash says. “Instead, you will be one of the workers at our Rainbow Factory. How is that? If you decline, I’ll maybe have to turn you into scraps.” She smiles.
“No!” Sky suddenly moves and pulls out her giant claw, gesturing to fight.
“Hey, hey, hey, put down that weapon!” Rainbow Dash yells, taken by surprise by Sky’s sudden attack... Sky is so fierce and aggressive, even Rainbow Dash’s cold and arrogant heart starts to race with fear as she backs up...
“Woah... Calm down...” Rainbow Dash says as she slowly raises her hooves in the air, trying to calm Sky down. “I was only kidding...” She says, giving Sky their most disarming and charming smile. She quickly moves around the room, dodging Sky’s claw as Sky tried to grab her, and she was trying to find a weapon.
After a moment of dodging Sky’s claw... Rainbow Dash grabs a heavy crate off the ground and throws it at Sky... Rainbow Dash is trying to be quick... Sky is dangerous and not taking any chances with Sky...
As Rainbow Dash throws the crate at Sky, she instinctively jumps out of the way, just barely avoiding it... All the while Rainbow Dash dashes over to a nearby workbench... Where she spies a heavy wrench... Perfect for Sky... Rainbow Dash grabs the wrench and stands in the ready position... Just waiting for Sky’s next move.
The final move that Sky made would make her lose the battle and unfortunately accept the deal too. As Sky tried to grab her with her giant claw, Rainbow Dash managed to dodge it before she could even do it. Rainbow Dash, seeing this as a moment to attack Sky, did, hitting her with the heavy wrench several times.
“Accept the deal, or I’ll destroy you completely!” Rainbow Dash said, still hitting her.
“OW! Okay! I accept! Just stop!” Sky yells as Rainbow Dash continues to beat Sky down with a heavy wrench...
“Alright, alright, I accept, I accept! Jeez, what’s with you?!” Sky asks, backing back and holding the wound in one of her wings... “Calm down!”
“Now... Do you swear fealty to Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash asks with a smirk.
“Yes. Yes,” Sky says reluctantly, “I’ll do it, please just don’t hurt me anymore.”
“Good... Good...” Rainbow Dash says, still holding up the wrench, just in case... “If you don’t want me to hurt you anymore, you’d better not even think about going back on your promise...” Rainbow Dash says as they look down at Sky with an arrogant and smug smile... A sinister, mocking grin... As if this was all some twisted game to Rainbow Dash.
“Now... Make your oath by leaving a note, and then getting out of here.” Rainbow Dash says, pointing to the paper and the pen on the table. “Now.” Rainbow Dash grabs the paper and pen off the table and throws them at Sky with the same force that she threw the heavy wrench at Sky...
The sudden attack is unexpected as Sky catches the paper and pen in mid-air, just barely avoiding falling to the floor as the force of the throw pushes Sky back...
“Write down what I tell you.” Rainbow Dash snarls as they glare down at Sky with a sinister and threatening expression.
Sky nods and takes the paper and pen, and begins writing down what Rainbow Dash tells Sky to write... Rainbow Dash watches impatiently.
Sky finishes writing...
Rainbow Dash snatches the paper from Sky and reads the contents of the paper...
“Good...” Rainbow Dash says, finally letting their guard down... “Sign it.” Rainbow Dash demands.
Sky nods and signs the bottom of the page with her claw...
Rainbow Dash then throws the paper at Sky... “Take this to Dr. Atmosphere... She’ll know what to do with you... Now get out of my sight!” Rainbow Dash says in a cold, disdainful voice... It’s a voice that seems to send chills up and down Sky’s soul.
It’s not known what was written on the paper, but today for Sky was a disappointing day.
“And one final warning... do not fail me...” Rainbow Dash says with a stern look on their face... Their once charming and charismatic smile was replaced with one full of cold and calculating cruelty... A smile that is full of menace... A smile so cold it makes Sky’s entire soul freeze... Rainbow Dash turns and storms off as they leave Sky... The poor and innocent creature they once used to be is now long gone.
Rainbow Dash looks back at Sky as they walk off... One final piercing stare... As cold as ice.
Sky silently walks over to Dr. Atmosphere, looking down. The room was so quiet, her clops echoed through the room. She gave Dr. Atmosphere the note, making Dr. Atmosphere silently read the note that Sky gave them... A deep frown formed on their face as they read... Their once soft smile quickly turned into a look of anger.
Dr. Atmosphere then looks up at Sky, their eyes filled with nothing but malice and ill will. “Sky...” Doctor Atmosphere utters through gritted teeth. “If you want to do this... Then... Then, fine.” She drops the note on the ground, turns around, and walks away.
A single tear rolls down Sky’s cheek as Sky feels... Rejected. But it’s worse than that...
It’s not just any rejection... It’s the worst kind of... Betrayal.
The kind of... Rejection... That could only exist in a twisted world... A world where there is no love... A world where there is only suffering... A world where the innocent are doomed to suffer endlessly and the guilty are rewarded with riches and power.
Sky walked into the Rainbow Factory, ready to start her first shift. The Rainbow Factory is a massive, cold, steel and concrete building... It towers over the clouds with its imposing, facade... It is a hideous blight on what little natural landscape exists in Sky’s home... And Sky... Poor, innocent Sky... Sky is about to enter the Rainbow Factory... A building designed to crush whatever emotion remains in her.
She sighs as she starts working on the machine along with some other workers. The conveyor is full of dead bodies as workers sort them into carts, all of them dead on the inside too. But when she’s cursing at herself, she is interrupted by a worker tapping on her shoulder.
“Hello? I need some help here.”
Sky jumps in surprise at the interruption... She is so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the other worker...
“What is it?” Sky asks, turning to look at the worker.
“I need help, what do I do?” The unnamed worker asks, confused.
“Ok, um, well you put dead bodies in a cart and that’s it. You gotta grab the dead body as it’s moving and put in it the cart, um... Jade Specter.” Sky says, looking at the worker’s nametag. She’s at least happy she gets to speak to someone nice.
“Thank you!” Jade says, walking away.
Sky starts to relax... They let out a tense breath... Just a little bit... The first of many many more breaths the Rainbow Factory’s cold, unfeeling, brutal production line will squeeze the breath out of Sky... But for now... For now, the first day is always the easiest.
“No problem!” Sky says, smiling. Even if it is a hollow, sad smile. But it is Sky’s smile and it is enough... For now.
But a loud alarm starts sounding... It’s a blaring and pulsing red alarm, as it blares through the facility... A warning that something has gone wrong... And it can’t be good...
The alarm continues to blare... It sounds so loud and intense that it shakes the whole building.
Sky realizes why the alarm is sounding... THERE’S A FIRE!
A fire?!
A fire in the Rainbow Factory?!
A fire in THE Rainbow Factory?!
Sky’s eyes go wide with fear... Sky realizes that if there’s a fire in the Rainbow Factory... It must be a BIG fire...
“The Factory’s on fire!” Sky says in shock.
”Get out! Get out!” Sky yells as the sound of collapsing and breaking metal fills the air... The smell of smoke and burning wood fills their nostrils...
Sky dashes out of the section as the fire spreads... The whole section of the factory starts collapsing from the fire’s fury... Smoke and flames fill the air, the section is collapsing... They need to GET. OUT. NOW!
Sky realizes she left Jade behind and she goes back into the fire... Brave... Stupid, perhaps... But brave... The smoke is thick... Visibility is extremely limited and the heat is incredible... All in an attempt to try and rescue this worker she doesn’t even know.
The fire has gotten even hotter as it ravages the factory... The screams and agony of the other ponies can be heard throughout the inferno... But no matter how hard it is to see and how hard it is to breathe... Sky can still see a silhouette of Jade waiting helplessly to be saved...
Can Sky save her before the section collapses?
Fortunately, she can and manages to get Jade out of the sector before it completely collapses, saving her and Jade. Jade and Sky flee out into the cool, clear, morning air... The blaze raging behind them...
Jade takes a deep breath... Her legs are shaking... Her heart was racing... “Oh my god, did we just do that? Did we just go back into that inferno and save each other?”
Sky smiles... Their heart still racing... Their legs still shaking... But this time... This time they are full of relief... And joy...
“Of course we did... We’re special, aren’t we?” Sky says with a grin.
“I barely even know you and you saved me... Why did you do that?” Jade said, looking at her.
Sky shrugs, “You’d do the same for me... Right?” Sky says with a sly grin.
Jade chuckles and nods, “Yeah, I suppose I would... We’re in this for each other... Right?”
“Right...” Sky says with a smile.
Jade smiles, “Well then... I guess you’ve got yourself a friend...” Jade sticks out her hoof for a hoofshake... The first step in a strong friendship...
Sky shakes her hoof, making this a relationship that would, unfortunately, end up in both of them separating.
The Factory Must Have Its Way
The walls of the hall seem to breathe as Crunch walks through them, almost as if they are alive.
Then she says in a creepy, professional tone: “That, my friend... Is death.” Jade Specter says as she looks down at Crunch with a sinister grin on her face.
“Um... O-ok.” Crunch said, trying not to be scared. He wasn’t exactly sure what the Rainbow Factory was, but he didn’t like the look of it and certainly wasn’t about to try any of those machines.
“There’s a lot of death in this place,” Jade Specter says in a cold and professional tone. “Most of it, unnecessary ...” Jade Specter says as she looks down at Crunch with a sinister smile on her face.
With that, Jade Specter continues walking down the dark hall and Crunch decides to follow her, not sure whether or not they made the right decision...
Jade Specter slowly walks through the long hallway, which is dimly lit by the occasional flickering lantern and the yellow glow from the lightbulbs hanging up from the ceiling. The walls are lined with strange machinery and weird contraptions that seem like they may have been used for some sort of horrific experiment or torture. There are no windows anywhere in sight and all of the doors are shut tight. Crunch can see now where the ‘death’ came from. It seems that every machine in this room has at least one dead body inside of it, ranging from pegasi or even ponies.
The sight of all the lifeless corpses of dead ponies fills Crunch with fear, but Crunch knows that they’re too deep into this situation to turn back now.
The factory must have its way, Crunch was starting to realize. He is scared to see what happens next, but at the same time, Crunch feels a strange sense of morbid curiosity as well... What could happen during this special test they speak of. His mind is filled with thoughts as they follow Jade Bubblegrim down the dark factory hall.
There seems to be a light resurfacing at the end of the hallway, which is growing brighter and brighter as they continue to walk. They were almost there when suddenly, something bright flashed across their path. Crunch thinks it was just a flicker from a machine or maybe an odd light bulb burning out, but then he noticed that it wasn’t going away.
“What the?” Crunch said, curious.
“Don’t worry, just keep walking,” Jade Specter says in a cold, professional tone as she walks straight towards the light, Crunch following her.
As they enter the light, Crunch’s eyes begin to adjust to what they’re seeing.
What Crunch is seeing is a room made out of pure, raw Spectra. It looks almost like a... Rainbow-colored liquid, almost like a pool filled with colorful mercury.
Crunch gasps... How is this possible!? How can these many Spectra exist in one place? The machine that is emitting the Spectra looks like a large, hexagonal prism that is made out of silver. And sitting in the middle of that hexagon is a small, white pony wearing a black, hooded robe.
The small, white pony in the black, hooded robe looks up at Crunch as they look around the room in wonder.
“You have come so far...” says the white, hooded pony. “And now we shall test if you are one worth keeping...” They add a calm, sinister tone.
“But, I have been working for 2 days now... How have I come so far?” Crunch said, standing his ground.
“That does not matter.” Responds the white, hooded pony, with a smirk on their face. “Only this matters...”
“I’m waiting...” Responds the white, hooded pony, their eyes still locked on Crunch.
Crunch gulps... His heart starts to beat faster... He does not know what to do... He wants to run and never look back, but he knows they can’t.
He walks up the stairs which lead to the pool, looking down at Crunch.
“Jump.” The white, hooded pony says in a cold, sadistic tone. “You will either fly... Or drown.” The white, hooded pony’s eyes now look right into Crunch’s soul.
Crunch knows that they can’t turn back now. No matter how terrified Crunch is.
“YOU SHALL JUMP!” Commands the white, hooded pony, now raising their voice.
“Alright, alright!” Crunch says while being interrupted. He jumps into the pool, closing his eyes. It is silent, except for the sound of Crunch’s beating heart.
Crunch opens his eyes, as he is in a black void. He tries to look around, but they can only see darkness. He is petrified, but he keeps trying to move.
Suddenly, Crunch realizes that he is falling. He closes his eyes as he sees the ground, but he hears a voice. “Who are you?” Crunch asks, a little relieved.
“How did you get here?” A voice answers back.
“Did the Factory send you to save me?” Crunch asks, now feeling a little more relaxed.
“How did you get here?” The voice asked again.
“I don’t know! How do I get out of here!?” Crunch screams, panicking.
“Please stay calm... I’m sorry, but I cannot help you right now. I am not allowed to talk to anypony who enters here,” replies the voice. “But I can get you out of here. But I have to tell you one thing.”
“What is it?! Just hurry up and get me out of here!” Crunch yells.
“The Factory is watching you, Crunch,” The voice replies in a very calm and matter-of-fact tone. The voice sounds almost familiar... But Crunch is not sure just whose voice it is...
“Your fate now lies at the mercy of The Factory... If you wish to live... You must listen to me and only me... Do you hear me Crunch?” The voice commands.
Crunch gulps at the thought of The Factory... They don’t want to die here, they don’t want to die at all... But they are not sure what this voice will make them do...
“I have a very limited time before you wake up, and I need to tell you, that my name is Scoota...” The voice fades out, which was a sign he was waking up. He tries to speak to the voice but it was too late, he woke up.
Crunch sits up with a gasp for air. “What... What just happened?” He says after waking up. “Is this a dream...? Was this a vision? Is all of this even real?”
Crunch’s head starts to hurt thinking about it... It was just too strange to be real... But... What if it was real?.. What if that horrible place is real? What if those ponies really are dead?... What if he is really in danger?
Crunch suddenly feels a cold, ominous feeling fill his chest... This feeling is just too familiar... It’s fear .
He gets out of the pool, shuddering. The mercury spectra turned to blood once they dried, making him scared.
Crunch gulps as he stares down at the blood-colored Spectra, feeling his heart rate rise once more... what is happening? He thinks.. is this all just a dream?
Just then, an idea suddenly hits Crunch, “Maybe it was all just a dream...” He attempts to calm himself down... But the thought that it might all be real still lingers in their mind, the feeling of fear still filling him.... So he attempts to convince themselves that it was just a dream... This is all just a dream... It’s all not real... Right?
The white-hooded pony interrupts his thoughts, raising his hand. “It worked.” They said, seeming to be excited but not showing any feelings. “Look at your wings.”
Crunch’s eyes shot to their wings... And then Crunch’s eyes become wide with shock... Crunch’s fears have been confirmed.
The mercury spectra are made out of each victim that has lost their lives to this... Rainbow Factory.
“We have made your wings be genetically edited so they can be better, stronger, and faster.” The black-hooded pony said.
“What have you done to me?” Crunch says, fear and tears now filling his eyes.
Crunch starts to step away, fear and concern in his voice as he stares into the eyes of the white, hooded pony making him feel like they are staring into the abyss... Like they are staring at a monster... Like they are staring at something that is not of this world.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME???” Crunch shouts, their wings now shaking.
“Guards, subdue him now!” Jade Specter said, pointing at Crunch.
A guard immediately lunges forward, tackling Crunch to the floor as he puts up a fight... But it is no use, he is quickly subdued and is forced to lay on the floor as the white, hooded pony walks up to Crunch... The white, hooded pony’s eyes staring down at him. His very being felt fear as it had never felt before... The feeling of dread filling him.
The white, hooded pony smiles down at Crunch as he falls unconscious...
“He’s the perfect candidate... ” The white, hooded pony says as they step away...
It’s clear as day what the white, hooded pony means by that... Even Crunch, unconscious as he is... Can not help but feel a powerful sense of dread as though their very soul is being threatened just by being in the presence of this... thing .