Rainbow Factory

Jail Break!

The room tilted as Scootaloo tried to comprehend what she was told. Her mind broke, as she was totally unable to focus on anything. She stumbled slightly, until Orion held open a wing, and she clung to it for stability. Rainbow Dash noticed this, and yelled with more fury. “You can’t have happiness. You ruined me. Now I’ll ruin you. Workers! The brown one, there! Him first!”

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

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

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

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

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

“We find the machine works better if the ribs are broken,” Rainbow Dash explained apathetically, as the chains spun around, in opposite directions, twisting Orion. His screams almost covered the echoing ‘pop’s and shattering noises. One or two jagged bones tore through his side, and his yells faded to a slow, quiet rattle of breath. The chains untwisted and the shackles opened, dropping the shattered pony into the single opening. Scootaloo watched in horror. Her brain, overcome with what was happening, detached from all emotion. She noticed that the top of the machine wasn’t rusty. It was blood. Blood, just like what was being tossed up from the mangled remains of Orion, as the rest of his body was swallowed into the great machine, finishing with one lone hoof directed straight up, and then nothing was left.

As the hoses over the Green and Red vats of Spectrum started spewing their brilliant colors, Scootaloo’s vision started to fade, and the last thing she noticed was Aurora’s concerned, broken voice saying her name as Scootaloo flopped to the side. “Scootaloo. Get up. Get up, now, hurry, Scootaloo. Wake up! Wake up!” Scootaloo shook her head, briefly wondering where she was and what was happening. In a flash, it all came back, and she jumped too her feet. Aurora was shaking her, fright encasing her face. The Suits were starting to approach the two now, tasers and shackles up and ready.

“Scootaloo! They’re coming for us! What do we do?” Scootaloo looked for an opening. All the doors were blocked, except for one. On the scaffolding. The suited ponies were slowly approaching, not rushing in order to prevent the fillies from freaking out. Fear was their tool. Scootaloo spun around, looking for an exit.

There was only one, she realized. “I have a plan.” she whispered to Aurora.

“What’s that?”

“Clear, fly, fall, complete.” Aurora nodded in understanding, her eyes widening. She repeated, louder now, so the other frightened fillies could hear.

“Clear, fly, fall, complete. Got it.”

“One,” Scootaloo started counting.

“Two,” Aurora squeaked, as she backed into Scootaloo. The Suits were mere feet away now.

“THREE!”