"Miss Dash, she's awake."

A pair of light blue hooves made their way into my faded vision.

"Get up, you worthless mule."

I let out a groan of pain and tried to lift myself off the floor, then collapsed again just as quickly.

"I said, get up."

As I drifted out of unconsciousness, my strength returned to me, and I was able to get into a sitting position.

My first thought was to look around for Amber. Is she still alive?! I breathed a sigh of relief as my eyes fell on the filly, who was sitting a few feet from me. Glaze was in between us, lying on the floor and looking really bored. Everything's good... For now.

There was a click from the doors as a key was slid through the lock, and a panting Dr. Atmosphere slipped through.

"Sorry Dash, I got caught up in the east wing, a pipe of liquid thunder got blocked , and I had to fix it quickly before it exploded, or the entire factory would be a goner."

Dash sighed. "Alright, well, if that's all cleared up, then I'd like get this over with."

Dr. Atmosphere rolled his eyes. "What, no thank you for saving the factory from certain destruction?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes back at him. "Thank you for saving the factory from certain destruction. God Hide, things like this always happen, do I have to thank you every time?"

"Any time could be the last. Now, let's get to the matter at hoof, shall I start up the Pegasus Device?"

Dash nodded, and Atmosphere stepped up to the platform and switched on the power. The rumble of machinery filled the air.

Rainbow Dash stepped in front of Glaze, gesturing for him to stand. He obeyed. "Mr. Toaster, I've looked into your employee records, and talked with Dr. Atmosphere... And I'm proud to welcome you back to the team."

Glaze nodded firmly and kept a stern expression on his face, but I could see the relief in his eyes.

"However, we couldn't just let you off the hook that easily. You get to come back on one condition." She smiled. My heart sank.

"You're going to kill your friends."

I banged my head on the ground in frustration. Buck. Buck. Buck. This is NOT part of the plan. We're going to die. We're both going to die.

I saw a look of fear cross through Glaze's face as he stared at Dash.

Dr. Atmosphere stepped off the platform. "It's all yours."

"Go, you idiot." I hissed when he didn't move.

He glanced at me quickly, before nodding determinedly at Dash and walking forwards. "This is a stupid test," he said with a laugh. "They were nothing to me in the first place, this is no different than killing a worthless filly."

Dash grinned. "Then it should be easy, shouldn't it?"

"Of course." He looked down at the control panel of the Pegasus Device, and placed his hoof on the lever.

"I'm pleasantly surprised Toaster, I thought you would've grown attached to these worthless ponies during this little adventure. Seems I was wrong." Dash shot him an evil grin.

"Oh please, all we do is fight. I'll be happy to get rid of them." He turned to us. "So, whose first?"

I slowly stood up, not sure if he was acting or not. If he is... He's a good actor. I can see why Dash is convinced... Or maybe I'm the one who was convinced. Was... Was he ever on our side?

"I'll go first." I sighed, stepping forwards.

Amber shook her head violently and clung to me for dear life. "No! No, you can't go!"

I pushed her off. "Shh." I looked back at her and mouthed "I have a plan."
It wasn't a complete lie. I do have a plan, just not a very good one. It's a last resort, and it probably won't work... But it's worth a shot, and it's our only chance.

Amber reluctantly let me go. One of the guards, who had seen my mouth move stepped forwards to alert Dash, but Dash just looked back and rolled her eyes. "I know what she said, and I'm not worried one bit. Any plan you could possibly have won't work here. We've got you severely outnumbered, and all three of you are bound by chains. There's nothing you can do to escape." She shot me an evil grin.

I shrugged. "I wouldn't even think of it."

Dash motioned to the guards to un-clasp my restraints. The hoof cuffs would prevent me from spreading my hooves wide enough apart to fit in the shackles, and the wing clamps would be in the way of the extraction needle. The second the latter device was off, I debated making a break for it, but I pushed the thought out of my mind. I may survive, but there'd be no hope for the others. There was a time when I wouldn't have cared what happened to them, but something has made me change my mind...

I didn't struggle as I was clasped into the shackles of the Pegasus Device. As the platform became level to the control table, I glanced over at Glaze. His expression didn't show any signs of mercy, but I almost let out a sigh of relief when he flashed me a nervous look. He must be on our side.

I turned my attention back to the ceiling, where the extraction needle was slowly descending. "I have a plan." I whispered.

"And what would that be?" Glaze hissed angrily, trying to make it sound like he was mad at me and eager to do his job.

"Kill me." I said sternly. I saw a startled look pass over his face. "Kill me, it'll gain Dash's trust a little. When the guards go to clasp Amber into the machine, wave them away and offer to do it yourself, then grab her and run for your bucking life."

He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of half-assed plan is that?!"

"It's the only half-assed plan we've got left." I sighed.

"Hurry up, Toaster, we don't have all day for chit-chat." It was then that I realized that the mechanical arm with the extraction needle had came to a stop just inches away from my chest.
Glaze glanced over at Dash, then back at me. "Remember what you said about having something to die for?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I haven't had something like that since my brother died... Now I have two of them. And one isn't going to die in the process of getting the other. You're not the only one who can make up a plan, you know."

He turned to Dash, and looked her in the eye. "You said I couldn't do it, huh? Well guess what... You were right. I quit."

And with that, he jerked up on the lever... And it snapped clean off the machine.

I gasped. Dash gasped. The guards gasped. Amber gasped. Everyone gasped.

Dash turned to him and sighed. "And here I was, thinking you were the smart one."

"You're shitty malfunctioning factory is going to be the end of you, Dash. That lever has been rusting since the day I was employed, and you never even noticed, let alone got somepony to fix it. I don't want my job back. I quit." He repeated, throwing the dismembered lever at Dash. Then he turned, and jammed his hoof down on the emergency stop button, releasing the shackles.

"WHAT?! NO!" Dash hissed and ran for the platform, practically launching herself ontop of me and attempting to lower the needle. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO, YOU BUCKING TRAITOR!"

"Stay alive!" Glaze shouted, his voice getting farther away as he ran down the hallway.

I frantically tried to pull my last hoof free of the one shackle that had gotten stuck, my other front leg trying to keep the crazy Pegasus from putting the needle into my chest. Of all the times this stupid thing had to get stuck, this is the one it chooses?!

She laughed maniacally, her last bit of sanity gone. "My shitty malfunctioning factory will be the end of me!? Ahahahaha, looks like it's going to be the end of you!"

I flailed my back legs, trying to knock her off long enough to pull my hoof free, but she wouldn't budge, and it was obvious who had the advantage here. Dash was on the top, with her full weight bearing down on her weapon, while I was underneath, just barely fending for my life with only one hoof available to do so.

I heard the sound of a communication radio in the background, then Dr. Atmosphere's voice. "He what? Alright, I'll be right there. Dash, you finish up here, Toaster is inside the control room with both doors locked, and none of those stupid guards have the access code!"

"Oh no you don't!" I heard Amber shout, and there was a cry from Dr. Atmosphere, though I'm not sure what happened, as I was too busy concentrating on staying alive.

"Stop resisting, you pitiful excuse for a pony." Dash pushed down harder on the arm, driving it closer to my chest. "You were doomed the second you set foot outside these walls, now accept your fate... Don't make this hard for me..."

I growled and used all my strength to push back. I just need to stall enough time for Glaze to shut off the power, or do whatever the hell he's doing in there. Just. Distract. Dash.

Dash hissed in frustration and put all her weight in. I yelped as the needle grazed my skin, but I managed to push it back before it broke through. I'm not going to be able to keep this up forever.
As Dash's strength kept increasing on the mechanical arm, I instead concentrated on directing the needle over to the right side of my chest. I've heard you can survive with a punctured lung, but not a stab in the heart, and if I'm going to die, I'm going to die for a purpose... That purpose being to distract Dash for as long as I can. She won't go after Glaze if I'm not dead.

Dash noticed my attempts and pushed down even harder, her grin widening as the needle drew ever closer to me.

Despite all putting all of my strength into resisting, I couldn't stop her from hitting her mark. It's impossible to describe the pain I felt at that moment. It was like all of my senses shut down for a brief second. I couldn't see, I couldn't breath.... I couldn't even hear myself screaming. I couldn't feel anything until my senses came back, and by then, I had completely lessened my resistance against Dash.

I saw her eyes gleam, and a malicious grin spread across her face as she started dragging the needle down my chest.

I gathered up my strength and kicked her in the flank, causing her back legs to collapse, but as she fell, she dragged the needle deeper down into my skin.
Dash laughed manically. "Struggle all you want, you'll just make your death more painful. But hey, I'd be okay with that."

I tasted blood at the back of my mouth. This is bad. This is very bad.

Suddenly I heard a low buzzing sound, and Dr. Atmosphere's ear piercing scream followed suit.

My eyes fell on Dash's taser, which was sticking out of her pocket slightly. Amber must have used his weapon against him... Maybe I can do the same.
I clenched my teeth and gathered my strength again, both pushing up on the needle and reaching up with my back hoof for her pocket.

A sickening crack stopped me in my tracks, and I felt a terrible pain in my chest. Dash's grin widened.

Take the pain. Just take the pain for a little longer... Distract Dash. Stop her from going after Glaze. You can do this, Myst. You can do it.

I kicked my hoof at her pocket, sending the taser skittering across the platform, where I used my one free hoof to grab it and jam down the trigger, sending over 5000 volts of electricity through Dash's body.

She froze, paralyzed for a few seconds, then fell sideways off the platform and onto the floor.

I didn't hesitate to push the extraction needle far away from my body and use most of my remaining strength to yank my hoof free of the malfunctioning shackle.

As soon as I rolled myself off the opposite side of the table, I collapsed onto the floor, hot blood running down my chest and pooling on the ground. Buck. Buck. I didn't realize it was this bad. She cut deep.

I desperately clutched at the wound, trying to hold it together and stop the flow of blood. There's no way I'm going to survive...

I lay down on my side, lessening the pain a little, but was forced to sit back up when I started coughing up blood. Great. Just great. That probably means she pierced a lung.

I gathered up my strength and tried to stand. No matter how bad the wound is, I have to go help Glaze and Amber.
I didn't get far, before I was knocked over from the side. Dash grinned and stood over me, planting her legs on either side of my body to prevent escape.

"Going somewhere? That's not a good idea. Look at you, you're half dead already. Do you think they'd want your help? You'd just be a burden to them." She placed a hoof over my chest, surveying the blood that collected on it. "Hmm. I suppose I'll just let you bleed out, it'll be more painful that way." She laughed. "I'd say you've got about an hour left of your life, and you're going to spend it in extreme agony."

I gritted my teeth and kicked at her halfheartedly with my back leg.

She rolled her eyes and laughed maniacally. "You're so useless. This is what you get for trying to defy the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through! It's a pity you thought you could, you were a decent worker."

She gave me a crazed grin and brought her hoof hard across my face, opening another cut on my forehead. I hissed as blood began to pool in my eye.

"It's done, Dash. I may be out of luck, but trust me when I say that Glaze and Amber will shut down this stupid place."

She laughed. "I'd like to see them try. I'm the only pony with the access code to the panel that controls the power. He couldn't shut it off even if he tried. And good luck getting out of the control room now, it's surrounded by guards on either side."

I stared into her eyes, my expression a look of pure hatred. I don't know what to say to that. With her every word, this situation is getting worse and worse. I think we may be in over our heads...

Dash hit me across the face again, and I hurriedly turned my head to the side to cough more blood onto the already red splattered floor. She can't win... She can't win... But the odds aren't in our favour. Maybe she can win...

I closed my eyes and waited for the next blow.... But it never came. A deafening boom rang out in it's place... And then the lights flickered, and shut off.

Emergency alarms began to blare.
Dash froze in her spot, a look of pure horror on her face.

I didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity to punch her in the jaw as hard as I could. She swayed for a second, then fell ontop of me. I growled and pushed her off, rolling to the side and quickly scrambling into a half-sitting position to check her condition.

Unconscious.

I sighed, panting heavily, and collapsed onto my side. I stared at the puddles of red liquid on the ground for a second, then turned my attention back to the ceiling. My job is done. I did it. I distracted Dash, and Glaze was able to shut off the power. Now I can rest. I can finally die knowing that I've done something good for the world.

Suddenly the ventilation grate above me started to shake, and I gasped and attempted to roll to the side, just as it fell. I collapsed onto my side again and curled up into a ball, wiping the blood out of my eye with one hoof.

Glaze landed on all fours on top of the grate, Amber perched on his back. He quickly looked around the room, before spotting me on the floor, along with the unconscious Rainbow Dash.

"Oh my Celestia, Mystery, are you ok?!"

I tried to speak, but instead coughed up more blood onto the floor. "No, you idiot, do I look ok?!" I hissed through gritted teeth. "Get the hell out of here, why the buck did you come back?!"

"To get you, stupid. Goddammit, you're bleeding everywhere! Come on, we've got to hurry, we need to get out of here or this whole place is going to blow up with us in it!" He gestured for Amber to get off his back, which she did, and hurriedly helped me up.

"No, leave me here, Glaze. I'm already dead, save yourself and Amber!" I growled, trying to struggle off his back, but Amber shook her head and held me there as Glaze took off down the hall, the ground under us shaking every few seconds.

"Listen, if you're going to die,you are going to die peacefully in a warm hospital, with good ponies to take care of you, not here in this wretched factory by getting blown to bits!"

Glaze turned a corner sharply, causing my chest to burn with pain. "What did you even do?!" I choked.

"Listened to what Atmosphere said. Blocked up a pipe of liquid thunder on the other end of the factory. Chain reaction of explosions through the pipes, they've probably reached the Pegasus Device room by now. Escaped the control room through the vents, met up with Amber in there. Kinda hard to explain while I'm running for my life, can we go over this later?!"

"I'm going to be dead later, forget it, just shut up and run."

It was then I realized that both of their restraints were gone. A set of keys dangled from Glaze's mouth. Ah. He found them.

When we reached the exit, I clutched my chest and rolled off his back, hitting the floor with a hard thump.

Glaze whipped around in surprise. "Myst, get back on, we don't have much time! Amber, help me get her back on!"

I raised my head and looked out the doorway, smiling slightly at the eruptions of light and fire, feeling the rumble of the explosions shake the ground beneath me. We did it.

I pushed Amber's hooves away. "Leave me. Glaze, Amber needs to ride on your back, she still can't fly. You can't take both of us, and I'm already doomed to die. Go. You have your life ahead of you. Live your dream."

I looked up at him and smiled a genuine smile, one of those things that are extremely rare with me. Not one of those half-hearted smiles that I usually give. Not an evil grin. A real, genuine smile.

His expression softened, and he looked quickly at Amber Strike and sighed. "Amber can fly. I'm not leaving you here."

I could hear the ground-shaking booms getting closer and closer. I shook my head, my smile instantly fading into a deep scowl. "Get the buck out of here, we don't have time to negotiate. I'm staying where I am and you won't convince me otherwise, now escape while you can!"

"You idiot, you'll die!"

"I'm going to die anyways. Come on Glaze, this isn't the time or place to fight, there's lives on the line, and I think those lives are more important than mine alone. You can't change my mind!"

I looked around the area, searching for something sharp. My eyes settled on a shard of glass, from one of the windows that had shattered during the first explosion. I reached over and grabbed the jagged piece, holding to my throat.

"Listen to me, both of you. If you don't get out of here right now, I will kill myself right here in front of you. If you really care what happens to me so much, would you want me to go down this way? Personally, I'd rather be blown to pieces than commit suicide out of my own will!"

Both of their eyes widened in shock.

Glaze paused and stepped forward. "Give me that, we'll leave."

I reluctantly nodded and placed the shard of glass into his hoof, which he through violently into the sky below us.

He sighed and turned to me. "Myst... Before I go... I just want you to know that I don't hate you... Completely. And... I guess I never really did."

I stared at him for a brief second, before nodding my head. "Me too. I only hated you because I thought you hated me... But if you never did, then I guess I didn't either." I smiled a little, before an extremely loud bang shook the entire Factory.

"GO!" I yelled, as loud as I could, even though it sent a violent stab of pain through my chest. "GO! GET OUT!"

A look of fear passed through both their faces for a second, then Glaze knelt down to let Amber climb on. He turned his head back and sighed. "Goodbye Myst. I l-"

"DON'T DRAG THIS OUT JUST GO!" I shouted, cutting him off.

He paused with his mouth open for a second, debating whether to finish what he wanted to say, then shook his head. "Nevermind."

And with that, he took off, and didn't look back.

I lay my head back on the cold metal floor. We did it. We shut down the Rainbow Factory. And no innocent lives were lost in the process. Only mine.

Another massive boom sounded from behind me, and the wall to my right began to collapse, a wave of intense heat scorching my back and blowing me to the side.

And all together, I lost it. I started panicking, hyperventilating, and sobbing uncontrollably. I'm going to die. I'm going to bucking die. I dragged myself to the end of the platform, watching the yellow and orange specs descend towards the ground.

They're out safely. There's nothing to cry about... I tried to tell myself, but it didn't stop the tears running down my face. I'm going to die... Is all I could think.

I sighed, thoughts of all the things that could have happened running through my head. Life would have been fun, wouldn't it. Ah well. Too late now.

The last explosion finally came... And I don't know what came over me.... But I used my last ounces of strength to launch myself out the doorway and into the sky.

And there, I fell. And fell. And fell. My wings hung limply at my sides. I couldn't open them, I didn't have the energy. I just fell, the beautiful orange mass of fire exploding above me.

I closed my eyes, completely ignoring the deadly trail of blood that followed me as I fell. I don't even mind anymore.

And that's how I went down, my last view of the Rainbow Factory no more than a giant ball of flames.

I'm sick of hurting, sick of thinking it's all I do. I break those around me, those spared are very few... But the bright sun is burning, and my sky shines ever blue... Friendships around me, I'm becoming a part of you.

The End