The Storm Factory
WARNING TO ALL WHO READS THIS FANFIC: This story will contain; violence, blood, gore, strong language, and torture. If you do not want to read any of that, then close the tab right now. To everyone else, enjoy.
Hope is never lost, unless you lose it within yourself.
It had been six months since his first days within the mental hospital. The bars of his and two other cells opened as eight AM struck. A young pegasi walked out with scars over his muzzle. He looked back at a picture in his cell, an old friend who told him a quote that kept him from committing suicide within the walls of the hospital. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed, then looked at the window in front of him.
“All right you mentally impaired shits, you’re going to be tested today,” A guard said, walking by the three standing outside their cells. He stopped and looked at one of the three patients. “Darknut. Well that name won’t be fitting you anymore. You have made great gains over these past Six months. Good luck on the testing.” He walked to the next patient and stopped in front of the other, “Hex, you shall be tested and I can’t say you’ll pass it.”
Hex huffed at the guard but didn’t say a word.
The guard walked up to the last patient and looked down at him. “Well well. Shade, I hope you pass but at the same time I don’t.”
Shade looked up at him and growled, “What the hell does that mean you asshole?”
The guard chuckled to himself, “Just move along kid.”
The three turned and walked down the hall, and Shade couldn’t keep himself from looking inside the cells at the other patients. Some of them reading, others drawing on the wall, and some playing cards with others. He was was one of the unlucky ones who was stuck alone, but got to be next to someone who he worked with throughout his time staying here: Hex.
They stopped in front of double doors, no windows, and a knob that would shock any patient that would touch it. The guard walked up to a scanner and scanned his card, then opened the door and let the three of them walked into the testing room.
Hex and Shade stuck together, Darknut on the other hand walked on his own and sat about sixteen feet from them. Hex looked down at Shade and smiled at him, “We’re going to do fine kid. I know we’ll pass.”
Shade looked up at Hex nervously and nodded, “Yeah... lets just hope so.”
Three doors opened and five unicorns walked out with clipboards, looking at them.
The middle one stepped forward and looked at the three of them, “As you know, six months is up for you, and now we test to see if your mentally able to go back into Equestria. First up is Darknut.”
Darknut stepped forward in front of the doctors and huffed, smiling. “Alright lets get this over with please. I like to get back to my family.”
The doctor nodded, “Lets.”
They asked him some questions, and ones any sane person wouldn’t fail at answering. Then tested his ability to think properly in another room, the doctors left while Shade and Hex were left to talk to each other.
“So... Hex, what do you plan to do when you get out?” Shade asked, looking up at Hex.
Hex looked at Shade and shrugged, “I don’t really know. I might go and just move to Ponyville and see if I can get a job there, but in all seriousness, I really don’t know what I’m going to do. What about you?”
Shade looked down and thought to himself. He never thought what he would do as soon as he could get out of this place. He had no family, his father died when he was just about a year old and he killed his mom and sister. He looked away but stayed quiet.
“Look, I’m not the kind of colt to talk about stuff that hurts someone. If you don’t want to-” Hex tried to help Shade.
“No no, just thinking. I may try and get adopted by someone. But like you, I don’t know.” Shade said, looking up at Hex.
Hex nodded and looked at the door, seeing the doctors come in again.
“Looks like your friend has passed his testing. Now its up to you two. Hex, since your older you’ll be tested first.” The head doctor said, looking at the two.
Hex stepped forward and nodded, looking back at Shade, “Don’t worry, we’ll make it out one way or another kid.”
Hex looked at the doctors who were already writing notes down on the clipboards then looked up at him.
He answered the questions almost flawlessly, missing only a few. When it came to the mental testing, it was a completely different story, he had failed. He had no choice but to accept it and stand by the black door, the door where no patient would ever come back from.
Shade gulped and looked up at the doctors who were looking right at him.
“Alright little one, you just have to answer the questions right and then the mental testing. The physical testing is just seeing if you need physical therapy since you didn’t get to go out much while in here,” The head doctor said. He pulled his clipboard out and looked at him. “Now, you ready?”
Shade nodded slowly and gulped, “Y-yes. I am.”
He wasn’t though, he got twenty-five percent of the questions wrong because he was so nervous of what would happen if he failed, his mental test even worse. He wasn’t mentally prepared at all, He needed to have another six months at least to have him prepared for this.
The head doctor nodded to the door, “Go on . Go with your friend.”
Hex smiled at Shade, “Stay on the bright side, maybe we’re going somewhere better to help us with our problems!”
Shade nodded and smiled, “Yeah... thats it! We’re just going somewhere better...”
They walked through the black doors and were cuffed, and put onto a closed cart. The driver was wearing a mask and goggles with a yellow tint, and Shade couldn’t really tell who he was. Shade sat down and looked at the doors that closed, and felt the cart moving. He knew this was going somewhere, but no where that was friendly.
Memories haunt you for life, good or bad.
Shadow sat in the cart and thought of his past, thinking of what he had done. He looked up at Hex who was laying down and staring at the floor, thinking to himself. Shade looked up and sighed, thinking of the day that he killed his only family he knew.
-Eight months earlier-
Shade had been thinking about his life for a few weeks, and had been talking to his friends around him. They kept telling him to kill his mother and sister, that they were just there to ridicule him and make his life terrible. He sat alone in his room, with a knife sitting in front of him.
He shivered, “I-I can’t do this... But... But I must...” Shade stared at the knife. He felt cold looking at it, and alone. He looked over his shoulder at the window and saw his friends, Black-Eye and One-face sitting there.
Black-Eye looked at the knife, “Come on, stop being a wimp. Just pick it up and slice her neck open! It’ll be fun.”
One-face nodded, “Well.. maybe not fun but you need to do it.”
Shade looked at the knife again and nodded, picking it up. He turned around and saw his two friends were gone and all that was left were two crows sitting on his windowsill. He walked down the hall of his house, feeling like this was the longest walk in his entire life. He looked at the pictures of his dad who had died of cancer years earlier. He looked at the picture of his mom, sister, and himself. He took the picture down and stabbed the knife threw it, and tossed the picture aside.
His mom was humming to herself while making their family dinner in the kitchen. She heard the glass breaking and turned around, walking up to the arch. “Shade? Did you-” She started as she saw him with the knife in his mouth. “Shade! Put that down this instant! You’re going to hurt-”
“I am done taking orders from you bitch,” He growled, looking up at her.
“Excuse me son? Say that again, I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“I thought so, now you-”
Before She could say anything else, Shade started to walk forward at her, clenching his teeth around the knife, and showing no mercy in his eyes.
“S-Shade... stop right now! You’re grounded mister!” His mom yelled as she backed into the kitchen.
Shade shook his head, “My friends told me right. I know I must kill you you ungrateful bitch.”
His mom looked at him wide eyed and shook her head, “No! You can’t! And what friends?! All you do is talk to birds!”
He backed her up to a corner and looked into her eyes, growling, “You must die.” He head butted her, knocking her to the ground. As she rolled over in pain, Shade had the perfect angle to cut his mom’s neck open. He took it, cutting her clean as blood spurted onto his face. He closed his eyes as it did, stepping back and shaking a little, wiping some of it from his eyes. The knife had fallen beside him and his face had turned from black to crimson in a few seconds.
“Hey mom? Are you-” Shade’s sister started as she walked into the room. “Oh no... is mom alright Shade?”
Shade looked back and picked the knife up, walking towards her, “And you. You never liked me and only used me to get what you wanted.”
His sister looked at his face and her mom’s body, put two and two together and looked at him scared. “S-Shade... You didn’t... You COULDN’T!”
“I did,” He said coldly. He kept walking toward his sister.
She started to cry and back up, “P-please don’t kill me!”
“Too late.”
He ran at her and jabbed the knife into her eye, then pulled it out and stabbed her in the center of her forehead. Her body fell to the floor with a thump.
Shade panted and looked at the bodies, then reality started to catch up with him. “Oh shit... Oh shit... No... What did I just do?!”
Shade looked around and out the window as he saw his “Friends.” His vision blurred as they turned into birds. His mom was right. He was just talking to birds.
Shade fell to the floor and held his head in his hooves, “No no no no no no! I couldn’t have!” He started to shout, “Why the fuck did I do this?!”
He looked up and saw the door opening, seeing his neighbors walk in and stare at him.
-Present time-
“Hey Shade? Ya ok?” Hex asked, shaking Shade a little.
Shade shook his head and looked at Hex, nodding. “Y-yeah... I’m fine.”
“Saw that day again? Its ok, its in the past now,” Hex tried to comfort him.
Shade shook his head and laid down, looking up at him, then away at the door behind them. “Your past always haunts you, no-matter if it was good or bad... It follows you, stays in your memories, and keeps you from acting the same ever again.”
Hex sighed and nodded, not wanting to argue with him. “Look, I think we’re almost here... You still thinking this place is bad?
Shade looked up at Hex, and uttered quietly, “There is no good place in this world.”
Killing one another for a job
Shade and Hex looked at the doors as they started to open, wincing as light came through them and blinded them for a moment. They looked at the opening and saw not doctors in white lab coats, but black Pegasi. They had covered their heads with full face hoods and had yellow goggles on, and spoke in a monotone voice.
“Get out,” One of them ordered.
They complied and walked out, looking around them to find out where they were. From their perspective, they were in a loading dock, filled with carts that had Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies being unloaded out. Some of the ponies that were being pulled out were talking to themselves, spouting random lines and seem to be quite insane. Others stayed quiet but looked like they had done a lot in their life.
Hex looked at the Pegasi in front of them, “Where the hell are we?!”
One of the guards that was on patrol looked over and walked up to them, “You’re in the Storm Factory. Where the storms of Equestria are made.”
Shade listened to his voice carefully and looked up at him, “Wait... Repeat that again. Where are we?”
“You are in the Storm Factory,” the pegasi repeated.
“You sound... Familiar,” Shade said, looking at the Pegasi. “Who are you?”
The pegasi pulled his goggles down and lifted his hood off, revealing his face. Shade backed up and stared at his old friend: Shadow Heart. His face was completely blank as he stared at Shade. This stare almost made him puke, but Shade held his lunch down.
“What are we doing here Shadow?!” Shade yelled at him, extending his wings.
Shadow turned around and looked up at a window behind him. A black figure looked down at them, as he nodded.
Shadow turned around and stared at Shade, gaining some emotion in his voice, “You’re here because your insanity is concentrated enough for us to use for the Storms that reside over Equestria.”
“What?! What do you mean by that?!” Shade demanded, stomping his hooves.
“You’re here to die. Or come close to it. You see,” Shadow stopped and turned around and looked at the window as the figure nodded again, then turned back to Shade. “We are the ones that generate the storms that the pegasi, like Rainbow Dash, use over Equestria. Now, like the Rainbow Factory using failed pegasi, we use the ones that are insane.”
“And why am I here? I saw someone who passed a test that would classify him as insane or cured. Why wasn’t I cured?” Shade demanded.
Hex nodded, “Yeah, why the hell were we sent here, but not him?”
Shadow sat down and looked at them, “You see; again like the Rainbow Factory, we use failures. The ones that have been classified as ‘insane but curable,’ have six months to try and cure themselves of their insanity, or most of it. The one that passed was able to save himself, you on the other hand have not.”
Shade growled at Shadow.
“So you were sent here. To die. And I know I visited you every day but... You failed. Sorry.”
“Sorry? SORRY?! I failed at test that would determine if I live or die and all you say to me is sorry?! You helped me! Why are you going to kill me?!” Shade yelled at Shadow.
Shadow shook his head and put his mask and goggles on, and took back his monotone voice, “I’m sorry Shade, I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do for you now though. Now lets move.”
A pegasi walked up behind Shadow and tapped his shoulder.
He turned around and looked at him, “Yes Sky?”
The pegasi told Shadow that the only free Pens were passed the EDR. He turned and looked at Hex and Shade. “Looks like Sky Blaze has told me that we have only one pen left for you two, and its passed the EDR.”
Hex perked his ears up, “EDR? What’s the EDR?”
Sky walked away as Shadow explained, “The EDR is where we drain the emotions of all the pony’s we have. Now lets move.”
Two pegasi jabbed Shade and Hex to move. As they walked through the cold factory, they saw tubes that ran everywhere, filled with a black and yellow liquid. Shadow explained that that was the emotions of the insane, which gives the storm clouds their dark look and the lightning bolts the yellow color. As the liquid flowed through the tubes, they reached a vat where it was refined and turned into clouds and lightning bolts. As the process happened, the loud grinding of gears filled the factory, but were quickly dulled as they went through a door.
They looked at two huge doors at led to the EDR. They heard the screams of pain from the ones that were being drained of their emotions. The two cringed as they heard the sounds. This was enough for Shade to stop and throw up. After he stopped, they were led to a small chamber and were pushed in.
“We’ll be back in a while to extract your emotions,” Shadow said.
Shade watched as his ex-friend’s face disappeared behind the door. Shade laid down and looked up at Hex, “What are we going to do?”
Hex shrugged and looked at Shade, “We have time to make a small plan... lets try to make one.”
Shade nodded, and started thinking of a way to get out of this hell factory.
The Storm Factory, where each soul loses its emotions.
Shade and Hex finished their planning to escape the factory, and talked it over. “Alright. As soon we are able to, we kick any guards around us and make a run for it to the nearest exit,” Shade checked with Hex.
“Yes. May not be the greatest plan in the world but... Its what we have to use now,” Hex said, looking at the door.
A few moments passed as the door opened, and two factory guards stood in the doorway. One of them said coldly, “Come now. Its your time to die.”
Shade and Hex complied with the order and started to walk out. Their front hooves were cuffed before they were taken to the EDR. As they neared the door to the room, Shade and Hex looked at each other and nodded at each other. As they entered, Shade puked again as he heard the screams of the ones being drained of their emotions. Shade looked up as he saw Shadow pull a body from a chair and lay it on a pile of bodies, then looked at them.
“Well, look like its time for you to be drained of your emotions,” Shadow said.
“I have one question, what do you do with the bodies after you kill them?” Shade asked, trying to buy his time.
“We send them to the Rainbow Factory to be turned into rainbows. Now, get over here,” Shadow demanded.
Shade walked up to him and looked at him as Shadow uncuffed him. Shade closed his eye as a tear rolled down his cheek, “I’m sorry.” Shade turned around and kicked Shadow before he was able to grab him. Shade picked up the key and knocked the guards around Hex away and unlocked his cuffs and looked at the door.
“Lets get the fuck out of here Shade!” Hex shouted as he started to run towards the door. Shade kept close behind him as they ran, getting through the door and headed toward the docking area.
Shadow got up and spit some blood out of his mouth and growled, looking up at the window as the figure nodded and moved out of sight. Shadow yelled in anger, “Everyone that is able to help, come with me! We need to capture the two trying to escape!”
Shade felt his heart pounding in his chest, feeling like it would blow within himself. Shade looked behind him for a second and seeing Shadow and at least ten guards following him. Shade turned his head around as Hex smashed open the door leading to the docking area. Shade and Hex looked around for an exit.
“Over there!” Shade shouted, pointing to a door that had the words Emergency Exit on it. They started to run towards it as an Aliacorn landed in front of it, grunting at them. He looked at Hex and Shade and growled at them.
“Good thing you got here in time Maxis,” Shadow said, walking up behind them.
Shade turned around and growled, but Hex put his hoof in front of him. “Shade, even if I were to make it out, you know I was going to die soon anyway. Let me distract them and you get out of here.”
“Hex no... We’re both getting out of here! We have to!” Shade looked up at him.
Hex shook his head, “There is no way we are both getting out of here, and besides; you’re still young. You have your entire life ahead of you. Me? I’m going to die anyway in a few months at best. You know my disease, and there is no option of arguing right now. Go, I’ll hold them off.”
Shade looked down and nodded, tearing as he turned around and got ready to run for it. Hex stared at Shadow and growled as he ran towards him. Shade watched for a second as he started to ran for the door. Maxis blocked the door from him, but Shade kept running, not breaking his momentum until he reached Maxis. Maxis’s horn glowed as some items in the room flew towards Shade. Shade jumped up on the objects as they flew near him and jumped over Maxis and slammed into the door, running out and hovering over the fields at least 1200 feet below him.
Shadow ran out and started flying as Maxis caught his wings and shook his head. “Shadow, leave him. He is classified as ‘insane,’ no-one will believe his story.”
Shade huffed and flew away, crying to himself, “I’m sorry Hex... I’ll make sure your death won’t be in vain.”
Hex put up a fight, but it was nothing with the over twenty guards who captured him. Shadow stood over him with a band in his mouth, staring lifelessly at Hex.
“At least Shade made it out alive,” Hex said as his final words before the band was put onto his head and was knocked out.
Shadow watched as they left and walked over to the door, looked outside as Maxis walked up to him. “I’m going to find that little bastard myself. And when I do I’m going to snap his little neck.”
Maxis nodded as he walked away. Shadow took a breath and put his hood back on, then went back to his work.
Shade make it a good three miles away from the factory as he looked back, nothing but a speck of a black cloud he could see. Shade landed on a cloud and looked down, feeling his tears run down his cheek and onto the cloud, “I’m sorry Hex.”
At this time, Rainbow Dash was flying home from the Rainbow Factory when she saw Shade. She flew up to him and landed by him, looking at him. “What’s wrong kid?”
Shade looked up at Rainbow Dash and looked away, “I wasn’t able to save my friend from the Storm Factory...”
She stayed quiet as he said that, and asked him a simple question, “You want a job kid?”