Creepypasta Origins

Rainbow Factory

"Oh, yeah, sure. That reassures me. That's actually just as, if not even more reassuring, than the psychopathic hate everypony here seems to love to spread."

"Quit panicking, scaredy-wings," Scootaloo replied. "The only one here I think even might fail is that yellow pony with the dark green mane. She's the one who was out sick for that month, you know."

"Oh, yeah," Orion remembered as he craned his head in the other pony's direction. "The one who had that bad case of hoof and wing. She looks pretty confident though."

"I suppose we'll see," Scootaloo trailed, turning to look at The Factory herself. It gave her chills, not of fear, but pride. "I hope I get some cool active weather job. Can you imagine? Everyone in Ponyville or Fillydelphia staring up at me, going 'There goes Scootaloo! Such an amazing flier! And from Cloudsdale, there can be no doubt!'"

She smiled in excitement, forgetting her tension for the moment.

"That would be something, I'll admit. Mind you, just coming from Cloudsdale... who wouldn't be in awe?"

"Exactly. Praise the Flock."

"Praise the Flock."

"Places, places, every pony." A massive, buff Pegasus walked towards the entrance to the coliseum. "We're going to do this by name. Your adjudicators are on the east side of the field. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, fly too far west. If they lose sight of you for any reason, you'll be failed. Immediately. Take deep breaths. Stretch your wings one last time. The test will consist of three sections. Weather clearing, Agility, and finally Recovery. Clear the clouds, fly through the hoops, and then fly to the marked elevation. Close your wings for at least three seconds. Any less and you'll fail, but keep in mind there's no 'extra points' for extra seconds. Finally, recover before you hit the cloud floor. Understood? Any questions?" The instructor paused, and carefully glanced at every single pony in the room.

Everyone's eyes were completely focused on him, and none were creased with confusion.

"Alright. Aurora Dawn. You're up first. Clear, Fly, Fall, Complete." The yellow pony nodded and walked quickly up to the starting ramp with purpose. She stared at the watching judges, waited for a nod from all three, and then took off with powerful force. The ramp bounced slightly from the force of the take-off. Every pony watched as Aurora quickly reached the starting altitude, and then began a direct and purposeful attack on the positioned clouds. With expert timing and intelligent angles, the sky was soon empty of any moisture.

Scootaloo and Orion watched with open mouths as they watched the first testee pull fast and tight turns, expertly shooting dead center through each and every hoop. Finally, Aurora pulled herself up to the proper altitude, hovered, and closed her wings. The group of students gasped as she started plummeting, down towards the clouds, and counted breathlessly. One... Two... Three. They sighed as they watched her wings open in the correct amount of time, collectively holding that relief. Suddenly, Aurora's wings whipped upwards, and the group of students flinched in horror as they all heard the loud, hollow SNAP, only to be suddenly replaced by an unending, piercing scream.

Many, like Orion, shielded their eyes with their wings, as others like Scootaloo could only watch, terrified, as the blur of yellow, green, and red plummeted into a cloud with a dull 'thump'. Wasting no time, the instructor walked forwards again as the three judges simply pointed down and started shuffling papers around. Speaking loudly, as if nothing had happened, he called out again. "Daisy Fields. Clear, fly, fall, complete."

Scootaloo and Orion stared slack-jawed, as another pony gulped, then walked forwards onto the path and took off. They turned back to the tuft on the cloud where Aurora landed and stared. As the wind blew the fragments that were thrown up from the collision away, they saw the shivering yellow body attempt to move, only to collapse with a cry.