Rainbow Factory

"In the Rainbow Factory, where your fears and horrors come true- In the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through..."

- Lyrics of the Rainbow Factory song.

The Rainbow Factory is the central setting of the grim-dark My Little Pony fan-fiction of the same name, which in turn was inspired by an older song by Glaze, AKA WoodenToaster. Said song implied that the Cloudsdale "Rainbow Factory" is much darker than portrayed on the show, but left all details to the listener's imagination. The fanfic has grown to overshadow the song in popularity, so much that certain readers presume the song was inspired by the fanfic, instead of the contrary.

In the fanfic, the Rainbow Factory is envisioned as a Fascist, hidden death-camp. The Cloudsdale society does not tolerate poor fliers, therefore all young pegasi who fail their flight test are allegedly "deported". However, what most of Cloudsdale's citizens don't know is that in reality, they are taken to be turned into Spectra (rainbow fuel) via a torturous machine (the Pegasus Device) which grinds them into dust and drains their colors, which are used to produce this gruesome "rainbow".

The fan-fiction also includes a psychopathic Rainbow Dash as one of the Factory's top executives and the main villain of the story, opposing the escape of a group of young pegasi (including Scootaloo) who wind up in the Factory after failing their flight test.

Due to the extremely dark nature of the fan-fiction, the Rainbow Factory not only never got shut down but Cloudsdale never even got to learn about its existence. Despite the main characters heroic efforts to escape and/or defeat the system, this Factory still exists and continues its genocidal ways.

Rainbow Factory
''Now a rainbow's tale isn't quite as nice As the story we knew of sugar and spice But a rainbow's easy once you get to know it With the help of the magic of a pegasus device''

''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 But with all great things comes a great responsibility That of Cloudsdale's being weather stability How, you ask, are they up to the task To which the answer is in a simple facility''

''In the Rainbow Factory, where your fears and horrors come true In the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through''

Awoken
''What cause have I to feel glad? ''

I've built my life on judgement and causing pain 

I don't know those eyes I see in the bloodstained chrome

Now everything that I've had and everything I've known have been thrown away

And with time, I've come to find this isn't my home

I've stoked the fire, seen more pain than you can know

The tears of the broken have washed away my soul

Pushed by desire To change the way my stream will flow

Now I'm awoken, and I'm taking back control

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

Please break my shackles, I want it to stop

I man these wretched machines, day in, day out, the grinding wears on my brain

Undermining my sanity, making me question my reality

But life is not as it seems, should I take a chance for freedom and throw it all down the drain?

I've been imprisoned, please burn my transgressions away

I've stoked the fire, seen more pain than you can know

The tears of the broken have washed away my soul

Pushed by desire To change the way my stream will flow

Now I've awoken, and I'm taking back control

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

Please, break my shackles, I want it to stop

I've stoked the fire, seen more pain than you can know

The tears of the broken have washed away my soul

Pushed by desire To change the way my stream will flow

Now I've awoken, and I'm taking back control

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 surround me, I'm becoming a part of you

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

Please, break my shackles, I want it to stop

Pegasus Device
Deep in the pages of history

Lies a shadow hiding in a mystery

A late night story buried far away

Until it once again sees the light of day

And when the little colts and fillies turn out all lights

And tell a story of a factory as black as night

The luxury of rainbows comes at a price

Just ignore the screams, and don't think twice

You've proven to yourself and to all of us

That you're not fit to fly like a Pegasus

You don't even deserve those wings you bear

When you stand beside a legend, you don't even compare

All of the failures help to fuel success

In the bloody and visceral weather game of Chess

And just because you've disappointed you'll pay the price

Now accept your fate and die in the Pegasus Device

Phantom screams echo through the ruined facility

A horrible silence builds an eerie tranquility

The souls of many innocent fill the air

And the hope that they all died with scattered here and there

A mighty machine built within the wake

Of a long dead dream, little demon awake

The citizens sleep, never quite knowing when

The device will reawaken, hungry again

You've proven to yourself and to all of us

That you're not fit to fly like a Pegasus

You don't even deserve those wings you bear

When you stand beside a legend, you don't even compare

All of the failures help to fuel success

In the bloody and visceral weather game of Chess

And just because you've disappointed you'll pay the price

Now accept your fate and die in the Pegasus Device

I don't even remember my past

I don't remember who I used to be

I don't even remember my friends of old

I don't remember my destiny

My mane is purple and my coat is orange

What I've become? I have no idea.

I only know one simple thing

The name they gave me: Absentia

You've proven to yourself and to all of us

That you're not fit to fly like a Pegasus

You don't even deserve those little wings you bear

When you stand beside a legend, you don't even compare

All of the failures help to fuel success

In the bloody and visceral weather game of Chess

And just because you've disappointed you'll pay the price

Now accept your fate and die in the Pegasus Device

I don't even recognize your rainbow mane

When you hide it behind that mask of shame

You don't even deserve those wings you bear

You used to be a legend, a righteous mare

All of the failures help to fuel success

In the bloody and visceral weather game of Chess

And then you sit upon your throne and you roll your diamond dice

And you send us all to die in your Pegasus Device

In the Rainbow Factory, where fears and horrors come true

In the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through

In the Rainbow Factory, where failures pay their toll

Now I've awoken, and I'm taking back control

Trivia

 * It is still unknown who created the Rainbow Factory in the first place.