Creepypasta Stories

Rainbow Factory Part 2

(CONTINUE)
She glanced at Orion. He wasn’t looking at her. She took off, heartbroken. Instinct kicked in as the familiar rush of wind cooled her and blew her thoughts away. She stopped at the right altitude, and then launched again, sensing and seeing every cloud, formulating a game plan. In a matter of a couple dozen seconds, the sky was clear.

She did a quick loop in mid-flight, aiming at the first hoop. With a powerful flash of her wings, she propelled forward through the first ring. And then the second, and the third, expertly turning and drifting. She curved in towards the second last ring, near the bottom of the field. As she descended, she caught sight of Orion and Aurora, almost at the west gate now. Orion turned his head and smiled weakly. Scootaloo’s focus shattered. Orion knew what he did. He cared about her. He’d miss her, and he’d never get to say goodbye.

Scootaloo cranked into the bottom part of the ring, falling backwards several feet and hitting the ground. With a sudden intense flash of fear, she flipped herself onto her feet and began flapping her wings, levitating off the ground. Maybe that didn’t count as a failure, she thought. I can still fly. There was a distraction on the field. She spun around to the judges. Three hooves, pointed down. Scootaloo started crying there, tears welling up and blurring her vision. This wasn’t right. This shouldn’t have happened. None of it. Orion should have passed his test, and cheered her on from the east gate. She shouldn’t have looked at him, she should have focused on flying. But there was no room for excuses.

Defeated, she slowly hovered towards Orion and settled down next to him. She looked at him with her purple eyes. He looked back, offering a smile. “You did a good job.”

Scootaloo dropped her head and sobbed. She then walked around Orion, lifted a wing of her own, and helped Aurora walk to the west gate. Before them stood a long, unlit hall, with only a cheap sign stuck to the wall, notifying ‘Test Failees’ to proceed down the hall. They waited, only briefly, to gather themselves and prepare for where they would be taken, and then all stepped forward together. ---

“Let's delve deeper into rainbow philosophy far beyond that of Cloudsdale's mythology. It's easy to misjudge that floating city, with it's alluring decor and social psychology.”

Against an empty carriage at the end the lonely hall were three imposing ponies, leaning in a disinterested and bored pose. One of them happened to look up as the sorry looking trio stumbled out into the open. They were on the bottom edge of the coliseum, with the vast rolling hills and plains of Equestria visible far below.

“Hey, Boss. We got some ‘dem worthless pegases,” the first one called to an even bigger pony on the other side of the carriage. “I suppose it’s get ‘ta work time is it?”

“Cool it, hot shot. There may be more, too.”

“N-no... I was the l-last student to go,” Scootaloo spoke in sobs. Orion could only hang his head. “It... It’s...” She paused and breathed deeply, determined to remain as strong as she could. “It’s just us three. Aurora’s wings... they’re broken. She needs help.”

“Ain’t dat just a cryin’ shame, it is. What’s it to us? All da better she don’t come flying back to us no more.”

“We may have failed our damned test but that doesn’t mean we’re not worth keeping alive!” Scootaloo shouted in a flash of rage. She was determined to hold on to as much dignity as she could.

“Alright, alright, sheesh. Hey, Patches. Doctor her up before we head out. I don’t want any blood on dem seats, I just washed dat thing. You otha’ two. In the cart.” Orion and Scootaloo hopped into the carriage and got as comfortable as they could on the hard seats, but made sure to leave room for Aurora. As soon as the third of the large ponies finished bandaging her wings, Aurora carefully stepped onto the vehicle, and lay down on the bench at the back. Scootaloo inched closer to her, and leaned down to talk as the door to the carriage slammed shut. The Boss pony was inside the back, standing by the door, watching each of them.

“So,” Scootaloo began quietly, trying not too speak too loud. “You’re Aurora? I’m Scootaloo. I’m sorry we had to meet like this.”

“Any meeting of a friend is a welcome meeting,” Aurora spoke gently, with sincerity in her eyes. “We did our best. That’s all we can say. That’s all any of us can say.

Who’s to say that the city of the deported isn’t a good one, anyways?” The thought struck Scootaloo as she considered it. No one was ever told about where the pegasi were brought. Most ponies considered it to be some odd land, like where the Zebras hailed from. That made Scootaloo realize something even more profound.

“Hey, if where we’re taken is where Zecora’s from, then there’s got to be a way to get back. It’s not as if we’re banned from Equestria. Flutteryshy, an old friend of mine, she’s a Pegasus who lives in Ponyville. She never passed flight school, she never took her test. They’ve never come and taken her away.”

“Exactly,” Aurora agreed with a nod. Orion overheard, and offered his thoughts.

“I think the reason we’re sent far away is because no pony from Cloudsdale ever wants to admit that someone who failed flight school could come from their city. What a fucking horrible place, now that I think of it. I never want to go back.”

“Maybe that’s why no Pegasus ever comes back. They just don’t like Cloudsdale.”

“You goddamn worthless ponies can hardly call yourself ‘Pegasus’,” Boss spoke from the door. He was swaying ever so slightly as the carriage was lifted and moved to an unknown location. “Useless failures is what you are. No pony comes back from exile. Regardless of reason. Can’t even pass your goddamn test, you three make me sick.”

Scootaloo jumped up from her seat, lifted herself into the air with her wings and dove legs first at Boss. “You shut the HELL up about us. You have no right to treat others like this!” Boss raised a hoof and backhanded Scootaloo out of the air, onto the floor.

“I can treat you however I want. You hardly classify as ‘Ponies’ to Cloudsdale, or any of Equestria for that matter. Now sit the fuck down and shut up until you get to your destination.”

“Where are we being taken, anyways? Not like we can tell anyone now, and I’m sure as the deliverers, you guys should know,” Orion cautiously reasoned.

“Hell if I know. We hand this carriage off to ponies in suits, and we get a bagful of coins to keep quiet about the whole thing. It’s how it’s always been, for a thousand years.” The three fillies huddled together again, scared of the unknown. They kept quiet as they waited through the unbearable trip, all lost in their own thoughts. Friends, family, loved ones and pets. All will never see them again, and some would never find out why. An hour passed. And then another. Finally, the uncomfortable quiet was broken by a sudden lurch as the carriage stopped in its flight.

“Ah,” Boss smiled. “There’s my stop. You ponies play nice now. Have fun in wherever the hell you’re sent to.”

The carriage door shuffled open and Boss hopped out with a gust of cold wind. It was dark outside, with hardly any light to see at all. Scootaloo stared outside, and noticed another figure staring in. It was dressed in a black suit, its tail dyed an unnatural black that never occurred in nature. Its face was covered by a dark, loose fitting mask, concealing its mane. All that was visible were rose coloured eyes, staring indifferently at the three ponies inside. They stopped on Scootaloo momentarily, unrecognizing, but she stared back. A second passed. The dark pony slammed the door shut, and the carriage took off once again.


“At least we can talk, now,” Aurora whispered in the dark. But they had nothing to talk about. ---

"But with all great things comes a great responsibility. With Cloudsdale being weather stability"

The three desolate foals blinked their eyes awake, having all resolved to conserve energy for whatever came next. With a loud scraping noise, the doors shook, and then swung wide open. Several more ponies, obscured by masks and suits, were moving around the area. Scootaloo blinked against the light from what she was seeing. They were in a cloud building. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed more details. Several of the blackened ponies were rushing around, some holding clipboards, some carrying briefcases and other important looking items on their backs. The complex was full of machinery and signs. Pipes ran along the ceiling, and a loud ‘whirr’ ran in the background, occasionally joined with other industrial sounds such as crashes and alarms. Scootaloo gasped.


“This place... the architecture... it’s all so familiar... I think we’re in the weather factory!”


Orion frowned. “That can’t be right. We were traveling for way too long. We’ve got to be far away from Equestria now, not to mention the city.”


“Actually, Scootaloo may be right,” Aurora mused. “I noticed... it was maybe the same amount of time from when we left the coliseum to the place the carriage drivers swapped, that it was from the swap place to here. But... I don’t know. I’m confused. Maybe that’s just a coincidence.”


“Welcome, mules,” A large and powerful voice commanded. Several of the suited ponies moved to make way for a deep, dark red pegasus dressed in a white lab coat. “You degenerates are probably wondering where exactly you are. Stupid fillies. You’re in Cloudsdale! The Rainbow Facility, to be correct. Allow me to show you around.”


“What’s going on here? Do you expect to use us as slaves? Because I’d rather be deported, thanks,” Scootaloo yelled. Orion and Aurora got off their seats and stood behind Scootaloo, nodding in agreement.

“Like you failures have a choice. You’ll be here for the rest of your lives! Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners? I am Dr. Atmosphere. My degree isn’t a medical one, I shall reassure you, in case you’re picturing some dreadful surgery going on behind the scenes. Strange how so many worthless pegasi get that idea. No, no, my degree is in engineering. I’m one of the Forecolts in this facility. I’m sure you’ve all had the tour of the lower factory, no?”


The three ponies nodded slowly, unsure of what was going on. “Excellent! Who can tell me where the tour begins?” Orion spoke up first.

“Where the Spectra comes from upstairs and is mixed.”


“Very good. What a pity you’re utterly useless to the Flock, you could have been a smart one.” Dr. Atmosphere smiled sadistically and patted Orion on the head. “But, today, we’re on the upper floor. Please, follow me, and don’t get too far behind, or one of my helpers will be forced to... encourage you.”

With that, he winked at the suited ponies. With nods, three of them at the rear end leaned forward and jabbed each of the pegasi with tasers, shocking them to the ground. Dr. Atmosphere whinnied in laughter as they all yelped and fell, and continued into a soft chuckle as they all stood up again. Scootaloo blinked more tears from her eyes, and shook herself again, trying to lose the tingling in her nerves. She turned and quickly looked at each of the suited ponies, catching each of them in the eye when she could. None of them were the rose-eyed pony from the carriage. Begrudgingly, she started walked behind the red engineer.


“You simply must be careful in this department,” Dr. Atmosphere began in a tone not unlike the many tour guides in the lower floors. “There’s plenty of nooks and crannies and vents and vats one could fall into. One must be careful not hurt themselves. After all, you’re all hopeless as it is, any more so and even we couldn’t use you.”

He glanced behind himself maliciously as the three foals frowned in insult. They were walking down series of halls with vibrating machines and assembly lines lining the way, occasionally ducking under low hanging wires or carefully stepping over steaming pipes. As they walked, though, the building became cooler and cooler. All three were watching, sensing, looking for any way out. They couldn’t see any.

“Now, let me tell you a story. Cloudsdale is where the weather is made. Without us, the rest of Equestria would starve, freeze, drown, and generally be a not-very-happy place. That gives us a special honor, one that can’t be tainted by, er, incompetent foals like you. How could the world look up and trust us if pegasi like you are flying around wearing the Cloudsdale name? No, no, we needed to do something with all of you. And then we got a delicious idea, one day, over a thousand years ago. Those were some smart ponies back then, I’ll say. You don’t find too many of them these days. But I digress, ha ha. Here, now, through these doors, quickly now, before more encouragement is supplied.” Dr. Atmosphere opened a heavy looking door in a cramped corridor, and offered a hoof inside.

Scootaloo stared up at him. He glanced at a suited pony. Scootaloo and the others walked inside, as he laughed again. “Enjoy the rest of your pitiful life.” And with that, he slammed the door closed.

They all turned, and looked at the big room they had been lead too. It was fairly open and empty, almost like an theater room. At one end of the room, there were six square vats, each one nearly full with individual Spectra. Above them was a peculiar looking machine. From a central stack, six hoses broke off and lead above each of the individual vats. At the top of the stack was a single opening, red with rust despite the rest of the machine to be shiny and clean. Even further above that was a fairly complex looking object, with chains and gears hanging off of beams and pipes loosely. Running even higher than the whole machine was a length of scaffolding, with doors on either side leading out of the room. Down on the floor, a small collection of defeated, crying ponies sat, chatting quietly.


“Those suits there, those are from that other flight school across town,” Aurora informed, sounding shocked. “And... those other ponies, sitting over there, see? I remember a trip we went on once with Levitating Acres private school. I remember them from that trip.”

“So... this is where all the failures go? Not deported, but forced to work forever?” Orion sobbed quietly. In exchanging for helping someone, he had doomed himself and his good friend to a life of servitude. Scootaloo reached a reassuring wing over, and lifted his chin. She smiled at him, understanding his depression.

“At least we don’t have to go through it alone,” she cooed softly. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the group of ex-students. One pony from an unidentified school took off, headed towards one of the doors on the scaffolding. Immediately, two suited ponies launched at record speed and both clipped the fly-away with their tasers. The pony spasmed in air, and then dropped like a stone. With an audible crack as he landed, and a violent burst of twitching, all the other ponies walked back, staring horrified at their friend. They watched, hopefully, for a long time. He didn’t move. Some cried softly, most others turned away, too far confused to feel any more emotions.

“I guess that option’s out,” Aurora said to no one in particular.

“But, you can’t fly right now, anyways,” Orion questioned. “That medic guy, Patches or whatever he was called. He popped my wings back into their joints and bandaged up where my skin tore. I won’t be winning any races, but... I can fly again.”

They slowly walked forwards and joined the group of ponies, looking at each other with understanding sorrow.

“Eyes front and center, you inept mules,” one of the suited ponies shouted. After the previous display, no one challenged that order, and stared at the scaffolding, just as one of the doors opened. ---

"How, you ask, are they up to the task? To which the answer is in a simple facility."

A few official looking Pegasi walked in on the scaffolding, and turned to look down on the group with disgust. One of them stood onto a small podium set up in the center, and began speaking loudly and clearly.

“By now, you’ve all clearly determined that you are not going into exile. There is no deportation. 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,” he 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?”

Again, everypony below glared 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 color. Everything is full of Spectra, but you can’t just harvest it. You can never separate color 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; Scootaloo’s knees weakened as it hit her. It was Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo’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, her mentor... her only family, even if not by blood. How... How? How was all she could think.

“It had to be live ponies! Only in ponies, where magic and Spectra ran freely together!” Rainbow Dash threw her head back and laughed maniacally. “Only then could the Spectra be separated! And it was such a beautiful idea, such a wonderfully horrible idea. It worked so well; we could create exponentially more rainbows, of better quality with real Spectra. And it finally gave us a way to prevent Cloudsdale from being tainted by all those horrible pegasus which couldn’t fly! Ahahahah!”

Scootaloo couldn’t take it. While all the other ponies were exclaiming their disgust and fear, running and screaming for where they came in, backing off as suited ponies surrounded them and herded them back into the center of the floor, Scootaloo couldn’t take it any more. “I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!” She wailed, cutting Rainbow Dash’s laughter short.