I've tried my best to block out the screams, but they're haunting me in my dreams...

I woke up with a start. Phew, just another nightmare... Nothing to worry about...

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beside me, my alarm clock flashed 7:00 pm. Time for work...

I yawned and stretched my wings. We're getting the new shipment today... Great. This is one of the two weeks every month when I actually have to work at the Pegasus Device. The flights schools only have their exams twice a month, and the rest of the time, we do other, much less painful work around the factory.

I quickly ran a brush through my messy purple mane and grabbed my labcoat off the hook. I slipped it on and hurried out the door.

As I walked through the hallway, I passed the other worker who works the day shift. WoodenToaster, I think his name is. I haven't talked to him in a long time. The last time we said anything other than "hi", was about 4 years ago, when he first trained me to use the Pegasus Device. Weird to think we've worked together for 4 years, and never see eachother except for in between shifts.

In fact, I never actually see any of my coworkers. The only ponies I see frequently are Rainbow Dash, the manager, and Dr. Atmosphere, the...well, I don't really know what he is.

I finally reached the main room. The gigantic Pegasus Device sat at the front of the room, taking up the majority of the space. I positioned myself in the line of workers in the center of the room.

At the start of every shift, Dash explains to us exactly what our job will be for the day. Mine, on days like this, is always the same. Man the Pegasus Device.

Don't get me wrong, I used to love my job, but lately it just hasn't been the same. Somehow I've started feeling bad for the poor flight school failures. I was one once. Or at least was going to be one...

Thank Celestia for the Rainbow Factory. I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for them. Dash gave me a chance. She was the only one who did.

"Alright everypony, we have a long week ahead of us," started Dash. "Yesterday was exam day, and we all know what that means! There will be plenty more failures to dispose of. We can't have anyone slacking off today, if I see any nonsense, it's the Pegasus Device for you."

I've never been scared of Dash and her threats. She will put workers who don't work through the Pegasus Device, I'll give you that. Shes done it many times before. But I know that she can't afford to do the same for me. I'm one of the only 2 ponies here that know how to operate the PD, and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find new staff for that job. Back when I first applied, poor Toaster had had to work for 5 days strait because there was nopony to take the night shift. And plus, I'm one of her most trusted workers. She'd never kill me.

Dash spoke back up. "If you know what you're doing, get to your positions. If you don't have a job, come to me, and I'll give you one. Now GET TO WORK!"

I sighed and scaled the steps to the control platform. Infront if me was that dreaded lever. The lever that every time I pull, an innocent life is lost.

I looked over to Dash, who was speaking to Dr. Atmosphere. The red pony ran off, probably to retrieve the failures from the loading platform outside and pay the ponies who drive the carts to keep a secret.

These poor ponies are treated like cargo, I thought. They're just supplies being brought into the factory to be made into something new. Rainbows to be exact. Thats not how ponies should be treated. Even ones that can't fly.

I sighed and sat down, waiting for the new shipments to come in so we could just get this over with. I'll probably be working at the PD for 3 or 4 nights now, just until all of the failures are taken care of. Between me and Toaster, it should go fairly fast.

Then, thank Celestia, we get about two weeks off before the next exam day. Some nice, relaxing time, before we have to go back to killing. Not that we won't still be busy all the time, the factory is a very busy place, where nopony is standing around for long. It's just that in those two weeks, we get time off of the dirty work.

I watched as the front doors swung open, and Dr. Atmosphere marched in with about 10-15 ponies. Wow, this is probably one of the biggest shipments we've ever gotten from one school. Usually there's only 4-6 failures, as most pass their exams. What happened this term?

The dark red pony stopped at the door. "Looks like a long week ahead of us," he yelled up at me.

I nodded, expressionlessly. In the Rainbow Factory, We were trained to show no emotion. Displays of grief, fear, sympathy, or any weakness whatsoever was forbidden. Never smile, never cry. Never show emotion. That was the rule.

I had always been good at it. While other, past workers had cowered when Dash yelled at them. I just stare at her. I don't know how I manage it. It's a good talent to have though, especial with how much sympathy I've been feeling for the failures lately.

The doors shut as Dr. Atmosphere went to retrieve the next shipment. He was right. This was going to be a very long week. Especially for doing a job that you don't want to do anymore.

I glanced back over at Rainbow Dash, where she finished assigning jobs and had disappeared off the platform. Probably to change into her black jumpsuit and go out to help Dr. Atmosphere with the failures.

A few seconds later, the doors opened again, bringing in 4 ponies from another flight school. There's only three or four flight schools in Cloudsdale, so lets hope we're almost done. I'm already starting to get overwhelmed by the stream of failures flowing through those doors. There's already way more than usual, and this is only from two of the schools. Soon we're going to have to bring in more guards...

The third school only had two failures, thank god. This room is getting crowded enough. I waited patiently on the platform for the last shipment to arrive.

Finally the doors swung open and in walked 5 more fillies. Good, that's the last of them. Rainbow Dash, who sure enough was with the group, trotted up onto the stage at the front of the room.

"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?" Dash grinned ecstatically, taking in all the disgusted looks from every foal on the floor below her.

"I thought so. 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 blue filly spoke up in protest. "How do you even et away with this?! It's horrible!"

"I think you'll find it's more than that." I rolled my eyes. It always went exactly like this. Same boring speech, some stupid failure asked how we get away with it, then another boring speech from Dash.

"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 then 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. 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."

When the ponies on the floor all gave her questioning looks, she grinned and tore off her mask.

Several fillies and colts gasped. I just rolled my eyes and waited for it to be over.

"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!"

I mouthed the last few words as Dash said them. They were always the same. Preventing Cloudsdale from being tainted, blah blah, horrible Pegasi, blah blah, evil laugh.

Suddenly the door swung open again. I turned curiously. It was quite rare for someone to interrupt, other than when the workers changed shifts.

Dr. Atmosphere entered the room with another filly. She was a light amber colour with a striking neon pink mane cut short. She had a bright yellow streak at the very front of her mane, and a strange lightning bolt marking on her left front leg. When she turned, I saw that both of her wings were bandaged up. Why is she here? Is she another failure?

"We got another one," called Dr. Atmosphere, confirming my thoughts.

"Another one?" Dash gave him a questioning look.

"From that elite private school across town. We rarely get shipments from there, as none of them ever fail."

Dash nodded. "Oh yes, umm.... What's the name I'm looking for... Oh, it doesn't matter. Just get on with it. That one there, her first."

She gestured to the blue filly that had spoken up earlier. Of course. I know the drill. That one unluckily pony that speaks up is always first.

The guards clasped her into the shackles without much trouble. She seemed to accept her fate, not struggling like alot of other failures would. A few tears fell from her eyes.

I tried my best to ignore her tears. They were always what made me hestitate on pulling the lever. Carefully, I directed the knife over the poor pony's chest. She let out a little yelp as my hoof hovered over the lever.

Just do it. I thought. Get it over with. I pulled it. The knife plunged into her chest. She screamed.

I did my best to keep my expressionless face. You'll be doing this for the rest of the week, if not more, with this number of failures.

Now time to finish the job. The worst part is over. I retracted the knife and brought the extraction needle into the same place, then brought it down to start extracting the spectra.

I watched as the red liquid was sucked out of her body, the her bright colours fading as she lost blood. It was pumped into a machine that then pumped rainbow colours out into the 7 separate tubes.

Once all of the spectra was drained, I pressed the release button and the mare was dropped onto the conveyor belt. I turned away from the rest of the fillies and winced as the bang of the crusher echoed across the room.

The crowd gathered below the PD started muttering nervously.

"Silence!" Ordered Dash. "Who's next? Any volunteers?"

A brown colt raised his hoof. "Just get it over with please..." He sadly walked up to the platform, and the guards clamped him in. I didn't hesitate with this one, I figured it would be better to end his life as quickly and painlessly as the PD would allow.

Dash nodded approvingly. She looked back down at the crowd. "Next."

When nopony volunteered Dash sighed. "Alright. Lets go with the "elite" failure!" She pointed to the back of the room, where the little amber Pegasus was sitting.

She let out a yelp. "No! Please!"

"You're lucky Mystery, it's not every day that you get to kill an "elite private school" flier." She laughed maniacally.

"No! Please! There's been a mistake! I can fly! Really!" She burst into tears as she was pulled towards the Pegasus Device. "Please! I was just too full of myself! I'll do better! I promise! I just wasn't given a chance!"

I stared at her. This situation seemed so familiar. A pony who wasn't given a chance...

She struggled ferociously as the guards clamped her into the shackles. "I'll do anything! I just need a second chance! I'll pass! Please..."

I sighed and directed the knife over her chest. Dash is watching. I HAVE to kill her. My hoof hovered over the lever once again.

"Just give me a chance..."

She stared at me with pleading eyes. She wasn't given a chance... Just like I wasn't given a chance...

"Get on with it!" Yelled Dash.

I lay my hoof on the lever. I have to pull it. Just get it over with.

"What's taking so long?! Just pull the stupid lever!"

I gulped. Dash was right. Just pull it. I lowered knife a bit. Pull the lever.

"Please..." She closed her eyes.

I looked down at my hoof.

"Kill her!" Dash cried.

I decided what I had to do. I took a deep breath... And jammed my hoof down on the big red button labeled "Emergency Stop."