Prologue:

I never thought to end up here.
Sometimes I wish it never happened.
Never happened to me,
never happened to Rainbow.
I never was the person for such things.

I was everything in my life. Friendly, funny, generous, honest, faithful, and a lot of people said there was something magical about me. How could it be otherwise? I'm a Brony, a fan of the series "My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic" . I've seen every episode so far and I can even call myself an expert when it comes to the series. And not only that, through the series I discovered many qualities in myself, but this experience has taken them all away.

I had recently completed my training and was looking for a job as a manager with good pay. And I discovered a job that I should never have discovered. The recipient was unknown to me, but I had no alternative. So I overlooked this little detail and sent my application. The next days I received a message. I should go to an unknown station in my area as soon as possible, where a steam locomotive should pick me up. I only wish I had never boarded this train. This train was to take me to my destination. When I got there, I was to discover that there are things behind the rainbow that are better left undiscovered.

You already know the Rainbow Factory. You already know what the ponies must go through there. But you don't know what it's like to work there. You know what it feels like to be the guy pushing the lever; to be responsible for what happens there. I'll tell you what it's like behind the scenes... to the bitter end. This is my story. My story as co-manager of the Rainbow Factory.

Chapter 1 - Job Search

At last! I had completed my training. Now I was ready to work as a manager of a company. It wasn't easy, but I had done it. I couldn't believe it. I could now become the manager of a big company. I would get great responsibility...and a very good salary. This could be the highlight of my career.

Okay, enough dreaming. Of course it would have been great if a company would hire me as their manager. But just where... where would I start my search?I thought about starting my search in the local job portal. It was one of the easiest and fastest ways to get a job.

Unfortunately, the company where I had been working for a long time did not want to pay me any more, because I now had a higher qualification. In the last weeks I tried to find a quick change to another job, but it turned out to be more difficult than I had first thought. Unfortunately the company could no longer feed me, so I soon had my last day of work behind me. That day I was still out on the town in the evening and enjoyed the sunset a bit before I took the train home at the station. Now I really had all the time in the world.

When I got home, I took the advertising out of the mailbox and the daily newspaper. Upstairs in the apartment I put down the paperwork consisting of certificates and references and refreshed myself with cold water. I wasn't sure if I should be happy that I have now successfully completed my further education or if I should be in a bad mood because I was now looking for a new job again. I went back to the front door and searched the pile of paper from my mailbox for important letters, which normally always got lost under all the advertising. Then a loose A4 sheet of paper fell into my hands, which seemed to be machine-generated.

An expanding company is currently looking for a co-manager in production and processing. Psychological resilience and punctuality is expected from you 'situationally'. You will be given great responsibility.

Our employees are still motivated by the mythology of the city where our company is located. This city is in a very beautiful location with seductive decor. The company itself is part of a large Weather Factory. Your job in the department of the factory will be to monitor the weather stability.

Do you think you're up to the task?

Then the answer for you lies in a simple facility.

The salary is above average.

Please send us your application as soon as possible in the enclosed envelope.

Ever since I published my job application, I've received these flyers. But there was something different about this one. Even it was machine-generated, apparently somebody had really made a serious effort to write this job offer. Who was still handing out job flyers today in the time of digitalization? But the job offer was only half right for me, I wanted to become a manager right away. Not a co-manager.

Although, as a manager I had a lot of responsibility. Maybe I should take it slow and become assistant manager. I looked at the big A4 envelope that was still stuck in the newspaper. A big symbol was printed on the back. It showed a cloud from which a lightning bolt shot and above the cloud three big coloured bars could be seen. An address was not recognizable on it.

I didn't know what to wonder about more. About the job offer or about the job description. For me it felt like winning the lottery to find such a handwritten note in my mailbox, even if the job description sounded strange. Especially I had never heard of a 'Weather Factory' before, but this detail interested me even more. Even if I didn't know how the letter would arrive despite the missing address, this was my best chance to find a new job quickly.

It was already late in the evening when I had all documents together. When I looked out of the window it had already become night outside and a strong wind was blowing outside. I wanted the envelope to be delivered first thing the next day, although I still wondered how the post office would find the recipient. But I had no other possibility, so I put something on to go down to the mailbox. When I wanted to go down the stairwell it was pitch black, even though it had windows. But there was no light from the street, because I lived on the upper floor. I turned on the stair light switch ... but it didn't work.

"Not again!" I thought and took out my cell phone to light my way down.

It didn't happen often, but every now and then the stairwell light didn't work. The landlord saw no need to replace the old fuses with new ones as long as the old ones still worked a little. So I always had the mobile phone with me in case I had to light my way.

The apartment building did not have an elevator because it did not have enough floors. Again I realized that there was money saved all around me and I would love to move to another apartment...maybe even a house, that would be my absolute dream. It would be even better if my home was directly at my new workplace, then I could sleep longer and would be home again quickly in the evening. But of course these were just daydreams.

When I left the apartment there was a bang that could be heard through the whole stairwell and made me shiver again and again. The sound came from the steel cellar door at the bottom of the stairwell. Apparently someone of my neighbours was already downstairs to turn the power back on. This was oftenly left to us tenants, as the janitor hardly ever showed up and never left his house in case of such a trifle. Did I already tell you how much I loved living there?

I walked carefully down the stairs and illuminated my way in the dark stairwell. One floor below me I heard the wind howling into the stairwell. The stormy night outside was enough to give me goose bumps. I went down the stairs to see that a window was wide open. Probably someone wanted to air the staircase and forgot to close the window. I closed it again and suddenly noticed how quiet it got in the staircase, it was really scary. I should quickly get the envelope down and then crawl back into my apartment where a nice warm tea would be waiting for me.

After the next stairs I was glad to be downstairs. Next to me the stairs went down to the cellar door and I wondered why my neighbour was taking so long. Maybe he didn't find the correct fuse, that wouldn't surprise me with the huge switchboard. Fortunately it was mostly always the same. I should help him to turn on the power for a moment, then I would throw the envelope into the mailbox.

I went down to the cellar door to open it. Inside the cellar compartment there was no light on either. I pressed the light switch for the cellar, without success. Apparently more fuses had blown. I went on to the room where the switch box was, the dark basement compartments drew eerie shadows into the corridor when I went through with the lamp in my cell phone. Arriving in front of the fuse room I noticed that the door was leaning against the wall. Usually me and my neighbors closed the doors after we finished down here. And since nothing could be heard from the room, there seemed to be nobody inside. Strange, I could have sworn I didn't hear the neighbour leaving the cellar again. He would have met me on the way up. So where had he gone?

I went inside and turned towards the wall with the switchboard. It was also wide open. When I flipped up the plastic disk in front of the fuse I saw the problem. Maybe something had caused a short circuit, but the fuse was still okay. I pushed the black button of the fuse in and the lights in the basement went on again.

"Well, there you go. And we're back in business..." I said to myself and flipped the cover of the fuse back down.

Then I suddenly saw something in the reflection on the plastic disk. A small dark creature stood behind me at the door, but I could only see it blurred. I could not move in panic, even screaming was not an option as I was frozen in fear. I could only see that it had bright pink eyes and its dark suit shimmered in various colours, but much of it was red and I could guess that it was blood. I panicked and jumped to the side, which in retrospect was not such a good idea. I banged my head against a pipe hanging low from the ceiling and my eyes went black.

When I woke up, I was lying on the floor. The light from the basement was still on, as was the lamp from my cell phone, which was lying on the floor next to me. The creature was no longer here. What was that? Did I imagine it? I guess I'd been watching too many horror movies lately. I must have rubbed my head, because the impact on the pipe still hurt. At least the light was on again, so I shouldn't bump into anything else so easily. But now I had to put the envelope in the mailbox. I looked around to see where they might have gone when I fell. But it was no longer there. I remember I held it tightly in my hand and now it was gone.

"Perhaps the creature from earlier had stolen the envelope?" I joked to myself in my imagination.

But I had it with me before that happened, I was sure of it. Or... maybe not? Had I perhaps been so brainless and still had the letter up in the apartment? That was quite possible, after all I was a bit forgetful...especially when it came to important things. I locked the cellar again and went up to my apartment with a headache. And again I noticed that the window on the same floor as before was open. Now it really made me sceptical, because again there was nobody in the stairwell but me. And that someone forgets to close it twice was not very likely. Many of my neighbours were old, but not demented. I looked out of the window and saw that it was still night, so I didn't seem to have been away that long. I thought I would go to bed as soon as possible to check on the envelope tomorrow. Maybe it was still down in the basement, but for now...I didn't want to go down there again.

Very early the ringtone of my mobile phone woke me up from sleep. Either I had slept too long, or the caller had a good reason to call me in the early morning hours. I looked at the mobile phone and saw that it was an unknown number, but there were only two possibilities who would call me at that time: Some call center or the employment agency. I accepted the call and a young female voice addressed me with my name.

"Hello? Who is this?" I asked interested.

"Are you the one who's interested in the co-manager job?"

I was standing in bed when the person said that sentence. I had written some applications so far, but until yesterday I didn't even know that I wanted to become co-manager.

"Yes...yes, that's right. Who am I speaking to?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. Could you start with us right now?"

I found it odd that the caller didn't give her name. Usually that was the first thing discussed on the phone.

"I can do that. Does that mean I got the job?" I asked briskly.

"Maybe. Before that, I only have one question for you... you're human, right?"

This question puzzled me a little, but I answered instinctively, of course.

"Yes, I am human, even as a manager." I joked.

"Perfectly..."

Then she hung up.

What was that? That was the strangest phone call I ever got. I had to smile for a second. Because that voice... that very voice. I knew it from somewhere. It's like I heard it every day without knowing who she was. But how did they know I applied?

So I went back down to the basement. This time everything was peaceful, through the open cellar windows some sunlight came into the cellar and I heard some children playing outside. I looked in the exact place where I had the envelope last. But it was not there anymore. Maybe someone had found the letter and suspected that I had lost it and threw it into the mailbox when they found it in the basement today. That would also explain the phone call, but since when has the post office delivered letters so quickly overnight?

I tried to clear my head and went out into the fresh air. When I arrived back home after a short walk around the block, I noticed something special again. A big envelope was suddenly lying in my mailbox. But I hadn't seen a post bus before and I was only gone for a few minutes. But to be honest, it has happened to me that I missed my deliveries just because I went shopping. I didn't think anything of it and pulled the big letter out of the mailbox.

Again only the logo with the cloud, the three different colored bars and a lightning bolt underneath was visible on the envelope, but I noticed that many well-known companies really often had such pre-printed envelopes nowadays. For many of them an extra address was not necessary anymore. When I arrived at the top of my apartment I opened the letter and took out the contents. Inside were strange looking tickets...but the patterns and decorations on them didn't mean anything to me. Enclosed was an aerial photograph showing an old dispatch center that I knew very well. The old train depot on the dispatch area was framed with a red circle. In addition, a letter was attached to the envelope. On it was a letter with the same logo as on the envelope before. The content of the text would bring me clarification, so I started to skim the cover letter.

Dear applicant,

We would like to get to know you personally. Unfortunately, for operational reasons, our location is not accessible to you by the usual means of transport. You can reach our location by a Transition Railway train, which will pick you up at the designated location as soon as you arrive. Please make sure to carry your tickets with you to signal the conductor where you have to get off. Please understand that we cannot disclose our location for operational reasons.

Again there was no name on the ticket. It seemed a bit rude to me that I only got some text modules like the job flyer. But the company seemed to be interested in me, otherwise they would have cancelled me long ago.

So I packed all my necessary things for the train ride and for the job interview and set off. But before I left, I did one last thing: I picked out my best suit for the interview to make a good impression. The black jacket, a dark blue shirt and my red tie. But if it should get dirty, I packed an orange and white spare tie, just to be sure.

It did not take long and I found myself at the old dispatch center. As I looked around, I noticed the old freight station. But I couldn't see any way to get to the platform as the only access was only possible through the dispatch building. I walked to the other side of the station and only discovered the old freight elevator with its doors wide open. However, it looked as if it had no electricity. I wanted to try it anyway and stood in carefully. The elevator screeched and I carefully went to the control panel. When I pressed the buttons nothing happened. Maybe it was one of those old elevators that wouldn't start until I closed the doors. I tried and the elevator's interior lighting started to glow brightly. A low hum could be heard and I tried to operate the control panel again. Then the elevator started moving and took me up to the platform.

I got out of the elevator, stood at the platform and inspected the surroundings. Since the large dispatch center in my town had closed down, no one had been here for a long time. The station building was old and slightly blackened. Probably there had been a fire inside. Over time, the platform covering crumbled away, leaving large holes in the surface. My view fell on the rails and I was astonished. The rails were rusty, but you could see on the rust-free upper side that trains were still running here. But the track ended here. Which train would still come here today? The employer had mentioned that the train would leave here. But the question was, when? The sound of a whistling steam locomotive quickly answered my question.

I felt queasy because a train came at the exact time I entered the platform. The train came from a siding and entered the station in front of me. When it stopped, all the doors of the train opened, but I noticed that nobody got off. It must be my train, even if it seemed very old. Let's see where the journey would take us. When I grabbed my luggage and had just boarded the train, the doors were already closing behind me as if by magic. It really felt like that. But nowadays I was used to the quiet doors anyway, the old doors had always given me a fright when they slammed. I couldn't go back now, that much was certain, the train was already moving. But there was no loud departure signal, the locomotive literally crept out of the station. Meanwhile I looked for a free seat in the next compartment. The choice was big, because I was all alone in the compartment. I put my luggage on a free seat and looked around in the train until the next compartment. Again nobody was there. I had the feeling that I was the only passenger. The access to the locomotive was blocked. But there had to be someone I could ask where I was going. Through the windows, I could still see the outline of the outskirts of my home town before it disappeared behind the train. I went to the part of the train that was behind my compartment. As I opened the rear carriages, a gentle breeze moved through the corridor. These carriage had to be for luggage, the room was poorly lit and not insulated. Wind and noise penetrated into the empty room and I found it slightly spooky how the chains rattled on the walls, which were apparently meant to secure the suitcases. I could see dark spots on the wooden floor, the wood seemed to be oily and old. I didn't want to ruin my polished shoes with it. I decided to return to my compartment and sit down again, after all I wanted to see where the journey was going, even if I was not allowed to know where my destination was. When I returned to my compartment I noticed that my bag was open and the train tickets were lying perforated outside.

"Strange. The conductor validated it without me being there. But there's nobody around here, or was he in the locomotive with the driver?" I asked myself worriedly.

I checked if everything else was in the bag. Cell phone, wallet, ID. Everything still there. All this secrecy seemed very strange to me, of course, but to get the train ride over quickly, I spent some time playing games on my mobile phone. I'm sure it would all clear up soon once I had the job safe.

It had become evening in the meantime. I didn't know how long the journey was going to last, I didn't have anyone to ask. When I decided to go to sleep, I noticed that the seats were exceptionally comfortable. It must have been a very special train.

"A whole train just to get me to work? They must really care about me," I said proudly about myself as I stared at the ceiling of the train car.

Then I slowly fell asleep until I was suddenly awakened by a jolt on the train. I woke up and looked around. The car lights were on and outside the rain was pelting against the window, night had fallen. For some reason the train had stopped. I couldn't see where the train had stopped, outside I saw nothing but trees. Were we already at our destination or maybe an animal got in front of the train, why it had to make an emergency stop? I tried to stay calm, but then the lights in the waggon suddenly went out.

I panicked. I couldn't see a platform. Did I have another nightmare? As I looked outside through the window, I suddenly saw a bright flash that briefly lit up the entire train and made it shake. Then I noticed in the next moment how the waggon became calmer again. When my eyes got used to the darkness again, I could take another look through the window. Outside in the darkness the trees were now better visible, as the rain had stopped. But they looked different from the ones I had just seen. Maybe it was just an optical illusion, after all I just had half a heart attack. Probably a lightning bolt had struck the wagon and disabled the electronics. Looking through the window, I noticed a figure close to the track that I had initially thought was a small tree. I noticed it staring at me directly through the window. It was not even 5 meters away, and yet I could not see it clearly. The creature wore a black robe, but I could see something: Those bright pink eyes staring at me. It was this obsessive and cold look the creature gave me. I recognized it immediately: It was the creature that had been lurking in my cellar before. But it simply stopped in front of the window and apparently had no intention of entering the train.

I was paralyzed in this moment, it must have been another nightmare. When the creature outside suddenly took off like a bird and disappeared into the starry sky, the light in the train went on and it slowly started moving again. Now I was really worried whether the whole thing was really correct. First the mysterious phone call, then the perforated train tickets and this creature that was constantly chasing me. I wanted to get off the train and go home again, but it seemed as if I was as far away from home as never before. And what if I would meet this creature out in the woods? I only hoped at that point that she was not on the train. That look was by no means friendly. It kept giving me a chill down my spine when I remembered it. I decided to go back to sleep, or at least pretend to, to wake up from this nightmare. And if the creature would come to me in the train and do something to me, at least I would not want to see it. For the first time in my life I felt the fear of death. So I tried to fall asleep very quickly and believed that it was just a nightmare and that I would wake up right away.

I woke up again when the brakes of the waggon were applied again, but this time much more gently. Apparently this had really been just another nightmare. Good, because I was already beginning to doubt my sanity. The train had apparently arrived at its destination. The sun was about to rise and the dawn was shining into the train compartment and illuminating it. Everything seemed somehow...different. The furniture, which suddenly glowed in pastel colors. They no longer cast a shadow or had similar discoloration. As if that wasn't enough, I looked out the window. Outside I found the same spectacle. Everywhere there was this strange colouring, but I could not see it clearly as it was still too dark. At this time I did not yet notice where I knew the surroundings from. But this should show up for me relatively fast.

The train was coming into a railway platform. But there was no station sign, not even a real station. The train doors reopened as I was putting my luggage back together. It was very unlikely that the creature from my dreams would lurk here or follow me all the way here. So I just decided to get off the train. Once outside, I couldn't see much. Then the doors of the train closed again and seemed to drive downhill until I couldn't see it anymore. I decided to follow the path along the tracks. Wherever the train was going, it was probably my destination too. It was still very dark, but the first rays of sunshine made me at least recognize the outline of a path. Something was very strange about this environment. The underground was white and soft, when I examined it more closely. Like walking on cotton candy. Getting lost here was practically impossible, there was only one way. This led me to a very large structure that seemed to be enclosed in this "cotton candy". All around, I did not recognize any other buildings, only this big cloud-like object. But everything seemed somehow artificial. The actually so voluminous clouds in the sky looked like flat surfaces. Without any spatial depth. But I didn't perceive the surroundings that early in the morning, I rather focused on the big object in front of me.

The way led to a big cloud formation, where on the other side of the clouds apparently a thunderstorm was present. Lightning struck from the clouds and it thundered, but there was no rain. I watched this spectacle and walked on in amazement until I slowly came to the end of the path and looked at a large wall of clouds. When I stood in front of it, directly under the huge cloud formation, I was at first perplexed. This cloud wall had the shape of an entrance gate, but there was no bell and no door handle. So I banged my fist four times strongly against the wall, which made quite a noise despite the cloud cover. Apparently there was a massive steel gate right behind the cloud cover. But at first there was no reaction. When I wanted to try it again, it suddenly hissed behind the gate. I flinched for a moment, because until now I was surrounded by an unnatural silence and this gate made a noise you could still hear for a long time. The hissing became louder and steam came through under the gate. When the gate opened slightly I saw where the steam came from. The gate was pulled open by large steam-driven pistons.

This construction impressed me. Apparently this building was also very well secured against unauthorized access. Maybe there were secrets in this Weather Factory that should not be easily disclosed to the public. Maybe it was also a secret weather research laboratory working under quarantine? Hard to imagine what substances must be stored in there, that it had to be sealed off so well. I liked this kind of security and at that moment it gave me the feeling of being something special.

Not many people have been able to see the interior of this facility. Since the nightmare on the train ride I found more anticipation and pleasure at this place.

When I entered the lobby, it was quite empty. Only the large windows illuminated the room with sunlight. There was only a table, two chairs and a massive wooden door that seemed to be locked when I pressed the door handle. On the bare stone wall above the table there was only one decoration hanging, which was slightly scorched. The writing was not legible for me, but I noticed that the whole text was handwritten. Someone had apparently put a lot of effort into it, sad that it is now in such a bad condition. At this moment I had no other choice than to sit down on one of the chairs and wait. When I just took a look at my mobile phone, I noticed that I had no network. I tried to find out where I was with the map program. But I also had no GPS signal. Probably this was because of the strong concrete walls. I was about to go out to get a signal, when I noticed one of the wooden doors opening.

Nobody came out. I wanted to close the door because I thought it might have opened accidentally. But I was also curious what was behind the door, there was nothing to see inside. When I took a look inside, the ceiling lights came on. They lit up a corridor that ran parallel to me. As I entered the corridor, I was presented with another picture of the interior. Inside, the corridor consisted almost entirely of iron and pipes. The ceiling lamps shone in a weak light, but it was still enough to see something in the distance. There was a figure approaching from the darkness. I tried to keep my composure, because if this really was part of my work, I would probably embarrass myself in front of my future employer. To be honest, I've never been to a factory. However, I always wanted to visit such a factory because I just found it interesting. There is something secret and mystical about not knowing what goes on in the big industrial halls. Probably this is just normal here and I just overreacted because of the nightmares I had in the last days.

So I tried to stay calm. But I always flinched when I heard the footsteps on the cold floor grid. The footsteps sounded like...hooves. A horse? There was actually a horse coming towards me. But its head was lowered and it went very slowly. As it approached, I recognised the creature more clearly. From its appearance it looked like...a pony from the series "My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic". I couldn't believe it and had to look closer to understand it. There was actually a pony from my favourite series running towards me.

But there was something different about this pony, I didn't know it either. He stared at me with his green eyes, fixed me on his long way to me. When he walked under the ceiling lights, I recognized his colors: he had a two-colored mane. Yellow and green. The fur had a beige tone. The pony wore a reddish dirty vest. It looked as if the vest was soaked with old oil, similar to the stains in the luggage car in the train. As it came closer, I noticed a rather unpleasant smell. The pony had probably just come from a garbage plant, it smelled like rotten stuff. When he stood directly in front of me, he looked at me for a moment. Then his eyes wandered away and the pony turned around in front of me. Something told me that I should follow him. At first I didn't say a word out of astonishment, but when I joined him on his way, he suddenly started talking to me.

"So, you're the new co-manager here?" The pony looked at me sceptically.

I was a little surprised that it could speak. I knew that the characters from the series "My Little Pony" could, but we were here in reality. How could it even exist here? On second thought, it also explained the strange appearance of the environment. Was I in Equestria? My assumption seemed correct. I was in the world of "My Little Pony". I pinched my arm briefly to check if I was still dreaming. But I was wide awake and there was a talking pony running beside me. I tried hard to stay cool.

"Yes...um. Can you tell me what's going on? What is this place? How can you talk?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I don't even know what you are, but from your reaction I have the feeling you know where you are. Then you must know who we are."

"Yes, I have such an idea where I am but I can't believe it. You look like ponies. But how can that be?"

"You may believe it or not, but you are here in Equestria. And we really are ponies. This may all seem like a dream to you now, but believe me... nothing is further from the truth." said the pony.

The pony seemed to be less happy about it than I was, but I could hardly believe my luck. I had heard some stories that many Bronies could imagine living in Equestria, but of course it could not exist. But this pony was not a disguised person who wanted to tease me somehow. It was a real cartoon pony, which was just walking next to me. I just decided to play along, because if this should really be a dream in the end, it is welcome to go even longer. So I let myself in on a conversation until I knew what was going on.

"Nice to meet you. What's your name?" I asked interested.

"My call sign here is WoodenToaster, but just call me Glaze. I'm the production manageress here. You know... doing the dirty work." said it to me with a grin.

"I'm sorry, you said production manageress? You look like a mare, but... no offense... you sound like a stallion," I said cautiously.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." she laughed, "Sorry, as a production manageress you have to get loud from time to time. I think I've ruined my voice a little bit on the dirty work."

"Dirty work?"

The pony looked at me with an embarrassed look, apparently he did not want to talk about it.

"All the work you don't have to do."

That's all I wanted to know about her work. The way she smelled, I could already guess that she either worked for the waste disposal or was a machine operator there.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized for my curiosity.

Probably her job wasn't easy at all. She seemed upset and had deep tear sacs. She probably worked long hours overtime. There were scars and scratches on her body, probably she worked really hard here. She saw my concern about her physical condition in my eyes and winked at me.

"Well, don't worry. This is not about me, this is about you. I think you're exactly the person we need. We need someone who thinks differently than everypony else."

"If you say so, I'll do my best...even if I'm not a pony," I said to her confidently.

I didn't know what Glaze was talking about, of course. Just the thought of me talking to a pony confused me too much.

"I'm sure you can do it." she said and nudged me gently with her hoof.

For the rest of the way, there was not a word to say. I didn't want to overwhelm Glaze with all my questions either. Although I would have been quite interested to know how I got here. I only met her a few minutes ago. It was nice of her to give me a gentle introduction, so I could process everything a bit better.

We walked further down the corridor of the building. It led into a larger hall, but with as little decoration as the reception hall, in the job description I had somehow imagined it differently. The factory looked a bit run-down and everything else was kept quite bare and sterile. Glaze noticed that I felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't be surprised. When this factory was built a long time ago, everything was more "alive" here. But the manager had decided at the moment of laying the foundation stone to move the other departments of the building to the upper floors later. Today everything is still quite hectic and full. Nopony have come down here since the opening, unless they work here now, as you will hopefully soon. But I think that's good. We prefer to be alone. Besides, the complex isn't finished yet. There's a lot of things that still need to be done."

I liked the fact that Glaze mentioned that she was into team players. I could imagine that if this is not just a dream, we could become really good friends. What could be better at this moment than to be friends with a being that actually only existed in fantasy and on TV?

Through the windows of the hall I was able to catch a few glimpses of the back of the building. I saw again some of those flat clouds and rainbow falls that apparently ran down the side of the building as art decoration. Probably the rainbow waterfall was just colored water to get an artistic effect, since this was a Weather Factory. Where should liquid rainbows come from? At the next wing of the building I saw a complex that looked like a factory: It looked functional, but probably not designed for comfort. I've always had a weakness for such facilities.

"Oh, yes. How was your trip?" asked Glaze, to break the silence.

I tried not to bring up the nightly incident in the forest for now. After all, I didn't want to seem paranoid right away.

"Oh yes, Glaze. Thanks for asking. The train ride was a little long and tiring, but I arrived safely."

"I'm glad. I'm sorry if it seemed a little dirty, we actually only use the train to transport certain things."

I did not want to appear too curious, so I refrained from asking about the goods. I probably wouldn't have found out about it now anyway.

"What do you actually do in your spare time?" she asked me.

"Well, when I'm not looking for the next job, I spend a lot of time with my family."

Then Glaze stopped briefly and looked down at the ground.

"Family... yeah, that's nice..." she said slowly to herself.

"What about your family?" I asked interested.

Then she looked at me with her green eyes, which looked slightly worried.

"I think I have been working here too long for that. I can hardly remember my parents except my father...I often dreamed about him. But lately I don't sleep so well either." she said and went on walking.

Glaze's condition worried me a bit, she looked really quite battered. Apparently she suffered from a severe burnout, but her position apparently didn't allow her to stay away from work. That really sounded like dirty work. I hoped that this would change in the near future and maybe I could act as co-manager to make sure that she could see her family again. That is, IF I got this job...

We walked along the corridors, it seemed like a big labyrinth of pipes and steel. Then we came to a large staircase.

"These stairs lead to the executive floor. From here we go directly to the office of Dr. Hide Atmosphere."

Glaze realized that the name didn't mean anything to me.

"Oh, did he use his writing pads again without putting his name underneath? That's just like him..." joked Glaze.

"He is the current co-manager here. He doesn't usually move out of his office, and he comes down here even less often. That's why I picked you up. He may sound like a couch-potato to you now, but if anything goes wrong at the factory, he's there. He's one of the ponies that started this factory... and... he's pretty outspoken. Lucky for you, he's the one who decides if you get the job." she said sarcastically.

"Interesting, Glaze. I will try to make a good impression," I said that confidently.

She switched to a more serious face.

"II give you a hint. Keep a low profile and don't ask too many questions. He's probably a little...displeased. Especially since it's our boss who hired you and not him."

"But if you already have a co-manager, why does your boss need me?"

"I don't know, but our boss will have its reasons. But you should concentrate on your interview right now." Glaze replied to me.

Then I stayed calm for a while, probably I had already asked enough questions. We went up the stairs and followed the big corridor on the left. Again the corridor led into a hall that got narrower towards the end. The sun shone brightly through the windows and threw the light stripes into the hall. I noticed that there were many doors here. I wanted to have a look behind the doors, but I did not want to appear curious. The walls seemed to be really bare here, so apparently there was some construction work to be done. Then we passed a big door. In front of this door were several paintings that had not been hung up yet, at least I could tell by the shape. They were all covered with a white tarp, probably to protect them from dust.

As we walked past it, Glaze noticed my curious look and pulled me slightly with her hoof.

"Come now, Dr. Atmosphere doesn't like to be kept waiting. You'll see soon enough when all this is finished." she promised me.

We arrived at the end of the corridor at another big door. It was slightly ajar and you could look inside a little. On one side of the room were high bookshelves. But there were not many books in them yet. The rest was on the floor and also covered with a white tarp.

"Well, this is where the tour ends," said Glaze before she became more serious again, "I'm not allowed to come in, the Doctor wants to talk to you personally."

I felt queasy. "Do you think I can do this?"

She nudged me briefly with her hoof. "It all depends on you. But I think you can handle it. You make a very good impression. It'll be fine." She winked at me.

"Thanks for your help, Glaze."

"My pleasure..." she said and headed back to the countless corridors.

So I entered Dr. Atmosphere's office and immediately felt the oppressive environment. In itself, the room was huge. There were meter-high bookshelves on the walls. But that was exactly what frightened me, I felt tiny. Nevertheless I walked upright towards the large desk. The chair was turned away from me towards the large windows through which the sunrays shone from outside. When I almost stood at the desk, the figure on the chair turned around and looked me in the eyes.

"So, you're the creature for the assistant manager position?"

One thing was immediately clear to me: this was not the person I was talking to on the phone. So I held off asking that question until I met the person. But Glaze was right, first I had to have an interview with this Dr. Atmosphere before I could meet the boss.

"Yes. I am." I replied confidently, "How can I be of service?"

"Now wait a minute, you haven't got the job yet. First you have to prove yourself."

This was just routine for me. New bosses always want you to hold your own.

"Do you know anything about mechanical engineering?" the pony asked me.

"I... well, my father is an electrician. I think this could be useful," I said shyly.

"Well, at least something. But in your position, that's not so important."

I slowly started sweating. That went well. I was so nervous that I would say something that might cost me my job.

"And since we're having trouble finding new personnel anyway, we're..." the pony sighed slightly, "...glad for all support we can get."

I noticed how the pony tried hard to stay friendly. Something was strange about him. Had he learned that sentence by heart? And why was this job supposedly so unpopular? But I really wanted that job, so I simply did not ask.

"Let's get to the point. You are hired by us to manage a small production facility that is entrusted with a project. But first you have to organize it, and I really don't care how."

Thanks to my further training, I would have no problems with setting up a company for the project.

"Wow, my own company? I don't even know how I..."

The pony interrupted my euphoria immediately.

"Hey, not so fast. Your company is run by us, understand? You will do nothing until I give you permission. Remember, even as an executive, you remain a tiny little cog. You work for the manager... and you work me. You are lucky that we have any use for beings like you at all." the pony silenced me.

Now I knew where my place was. Glaze had not exaggerated when she called him 'displeased'.

"I understand. What should I do first?" I said sheepishly.

"Why do you ask me that? You'll think of something. Oh yes, I probably have to mention that this company is not to be opened "here", of course, so that your incompetence won't immediately be noticed and disrupt the workflow. But since we don't want to overstrain you right away, we have already found a place for the company. Here is the address..."

The pony handed me a piece of paper, in which apparently something was wrapped.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you where this address is, but like I said: I don't care. The manager said you will understand. So get out of here." Atmosphere said and turned away from me again.

"He is done." Atmosphere said, waving his hoof.

Suddenly, I noticed something sharp poking into my neck from behind. Then I got dizzy and slowly sank to the ground. I suddenly saw a rainbow of bright colors before my eyes slowly turned black. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a blue pony with a yellow mane, holding some kind of instrument in its hoof.

When I woke up, I was no longer at the factory. It was cold and dark. I looked around. As my eyes slowly got used to the darkness, I noticed how I lay on rails. In front of me, I noticed the taillights of a train moving away from me. My first thought was that I was being kidnapped. But I was not tied up. I was just lying on the ground. As I pulled myself together, I noticed the surroundings. I was back at the freight station where I had boarded the train before. I was startled when I heard a noise behind me. Behind me I heard the sound of passing cars driving by on the main road next to the abandoned depot. The street lamps were shining brightly. I kept looking around and noticed that I was almost alone. According to my watch it was very early in the morning. Of course there were no people on the street. But what the hell had just happened?

I had to collect myself first. Was it all just a crazy dream? Did I slip on the platform and fall into the track bed? But if it was all a dream, how did I get here? I was totally confused. I noticed that I still had my suit on, which had become dirty from falling into the track bed. Fortunately I still had my luggage with me.

"Oh, great, the cleaning will cost a bunch of money. So, big empty railyway station... check. a street over there...check. I'm freezing to death... check."

I tried to scrape the most important facts together, but I felt the cold immediately. I had to get home as soon as possible, but first I had to know how I would get home from here. It was almost winter and the days were getting shorter. When I tried to put my hands in my pockets because of the cold, I noticed that there was a note in there. I took it out and unfolded it. It made me as uncomfortable as the cold night, because it was the note I got from the pony in my dream. Without thinking how the note had ended up in my pocket, I unfolded it. A key fell into my hand, which looked normal at first sight. I held it in one hand and read the address on the note.

This was not a location in Equestria, but an address from here, in my hometown. I knew where the street was, I always rode it by bicycle when I was on the way to my old job. It was one of the longest main roads in my town, which led from a suburb to the city centre. Opposite my old place of work there was the large abandoned headquarter building of the old dispatch company, but its business had gone bankrupt some time ago. I just did not know at that time that the note would lead me to this very building.