Dejectedly walking down the gaseous street, was a pony that most would not recognise in this world. A pony whom has done nothing, and is worth nothing. Memories ran amok in her mind of an all-too recent event of her father all but kicking her out. His words still echoed through her brain as she followed a trail etched into her muscles, "I'm sick of you doing nothing but sitting around all day. If you don't find a job within the week, you're out of this house!".
A stream of tears carved paths down her stained cheeks and merged with the floor. Her vision having gained a fine haze, she almost didn't recognise where she had trodden to.
A distinct wooden board coming into view, she looked up to gaze upon the listings. 'Hmm, how curious. An opening at the Rainbow Factory?'. She then began reading the entry requirements for the position. 'A flight test? Why do they need to know how well you can fly?'. Going further to read the fine print she stumbled upon an intriguing statement:
"We are not liable for any accidents that occur including, but not limited to..."
Her gaze dropped off after eyeing the long list of supposed accidents that they described. 'Accidents? How dangerous could making rainbows be?'.
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"This is your new workstation. You'll be staying here for the entirety of your shift. Don't wander off."
Cadence glanced at the blue mare as she departed. 'How did she get her mane like that? Is it natural?'. Sitting down with a sigh, she began her new life as a factory worker. It was mostly all the same, making sure the pigments were correct and chucking any which weren't. The workstation she had been assigned to was almost entirely barren. Having only the pigment machine, delivery tube and other assorted workplace décor. Few other ponies were present, performing the same labour as her. They moved almost mechanically as if they existed solely for work and their eyes were glazed over as if all life had been sucked out. 'Is that what I'll be like? Stuck forevermore working this shift?'.
She stared deeply at the floor and felt pinpricks stabbing at her tear-ducts. Breathing deeply, she finally began to sort through the build-up of colours that had arrived during her 'moment'. 'At least Dad won't kick me out now that I have a job'. Hours had passed before the signal of the legally-required break went off. Snapping out of a daze, Cadence began walking to the employee break room. 'That passed quicker than I thought. Maybe it won't be so bad working he-'
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggghhhhhhhhh!"
A loud piercing scream interrupted her thoughts as what appeared to be a foal ran towards her. The foal crashed into her whilst begging for help. Wrapping her forelegs around the child, she began soothing them. "Shh. Shh. Calm down. Calm down". Cadence began to gently rub the foals back whilst whispering reassurances. After a few minutes, she calmly asked, "Why were you running, sweetie? Do you mind telling me?".
"They were- They were gonna...". The foal burst into tears before finishing her sentence. Before she could begin to comfort the child again, two large, burly stallions came running into the room.
"There she is".
"Miss, if you could hand over the child, we'll... escort her to the exit".
Looking up at the two stallions, she gently nudged the crying child. "Go on, sweetie. Go with these two gentlecolts, they'll help you".
"But-"
"It'll be okay, I promise". She gave the child another squeeze before gesturing to the two waiting guards. She stared forlornly before turning around and slowly walking to the two guards.
"Come on, little miss. You've caused enough trouble as is". Getting up, Cadence continued her trek to the employee break room whilst pondering the strange scenario that just occurred.
'What was a foal doing in here? Did she break in somehow?'.
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The factory stood tall, towering over all that surrounds. Smoke churned out of sky-scraping pillars, black as pure corruption. Leering windows watched her every move as Cadence trotted nervously up to the front entrance. After the experience of yesterday, she just had to know what had happened to the poor foal. She walked up the front desk, a slab of distilled contempt, and asked daintily, "So, do you know what happened to that foal yesterday?".
The receptionist looked up from his filing and stared uncomfortably at Cadence, making her want to defenestrate herself. "Mmm... What foal?".
"Uhh... The one that broke in?".
Suddenly, she noticed something shift rapidly in his eyes, as if a great realisation had come upon him. "Mmm... That foal. She was, mmm, escorted off the premises".
She stared longer still, as if daring for more information to spill forth, but none did. "Okayyyy then. Thank you". Cadence walked away from the strange receptionist and headed towards her workstation hoping that the day would pass quickly.
It wasn't until the next morning that a faint terror began to creep upon her. As she was walking to her new place of work, she happened to glance upon a missing pony's poster. Unfortunate, but not unusual in these parts. But as she peered closer to inspect it, only then did a stake of dread pierce her heart. It read:
"MISSING PONY:
If you have seen this filly, please report to the Cloudsdale Guard Detachment."
And upon the poster, was an image of a very familiar looking foal.
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Throughout her shift, Cadence worked with a heavy heart. 'I just don't understand. Did she run from her home life? Is that why she was scared? Is she still out there, somewhere, or is she...'. Choking back a sob, she cleared her mind and focused solely on her work, desperately trying to avoid the feeling of failing the young foal. The next day was not any better.
Cadence had returned back from her gruelling shift, and her family had begun to notice her morose attitude. "Dearie, why are you acting so despondent?", but she quickly dismissed them with a hard glare. 'Why should they care', she thought bitterly, 'I'm finally useful to them'.
Many hours after, the factory worker was sorting through the pigments as per usual, when an all-too-familiar colour arrived. She stared fervently at it, thinking it was just some trick of the eye. But no matter how long she stared, the colour always remained the same; the colour of the young foal's coat.
Author's Note
Many thanks to the wonderful Lilyheart for proofreading this!
