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1* AdaptationDisplacement:
2** A surprisingly large number of people knew about this fic through the [[WebVideo/MyLittlePonyTheMentallyAdvancedSeries Rainbow Dash Presents]] parody, to the point of thinking Aurora Dawn was ripping off [[FanNickname "Captain Hook the Biker Gorilla"]]. The creators of the latter attempted to rectify this by crediting Aurora Dawn every time his characters were used in other videos and linking to the original fic on his blog.
3** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PjIhs72l0A BronyDanceParty]] FilkSong has over 9 million views, making it more viewed than the original fic. It's especially this amongst younger fans who used Youtube but didn't read fanfics.
4* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
5** Glaze's original song this fanfic is based on, and most of its remixes.
6** Its sequel song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytKvgLuy7ng Awoken]], a collaboration with H8 Seed, is no slouch either.
7** [=SlyphStorm=] has written a magnificent tribute to Rainbow Factory, based on the fanfic and it's sequel and referencing the original song. Appropriately enough it is called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzb76EFqZkg Pegasus Device]].
8%%* CanonDefilement: What ''Cupcakes'' does to Pinkie Pie, 'Rainbow Factory'' does to Rainbow Dash.
9* CreatorsPet: The sequel, ''Pegasus Device'', gives us Gentle Butterwing, a female worker with a slight competence in engineering who is chosen by [[TheDragon Dr. Atmosphere]] to [[NotWhatISignedUpFor work within the factory itself]]. Her ProtagonistJourneyToVillain is almost instantaneous, forming [[OddFriendship close friendships]] with all of the workers. She becomes an InstantExpert at how to use the machinery of the old factory, with no prior training whatsoever. Out of all the other members of her QuirkyMinibossSquad, she's the only one to receive a flashback. [[spoiler: She goes LaughingMad towards the end of the fanfic and attacks our two protagonists in the Hurricane Room. She winds up falling off of the catwalk, plummeting towards the [[DeadlyRotaryFan giant propellers]] below. Just before she receives a KarmicDeath, [[AssPull she flaps open her wings, flies back up on the wind]], and makes a DeadlyLunge towards our heroes. [[KarmaHoudini She's one of the few villains to make it out alive.]]]]
10* EvenBetterSequel: While not as well known as ''Rainbow Factory'', ''Pegasus Device'' has been praised by readers for going into the past of the factory and giving more motivation for the villains.
11* FridgeHorror:
12** [[spoiler: The only reason Fluttershy was alive to become the Element of Kindness was because a worker voluntarily sacrificed himself to become Spectra in her place. Imagine if he hadn't.]]
13** Even that spoiler gave some info about the exam: [[spoiler: The flashback stories of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]] happened two days after Fluttershy's flight exam. ''That young.'']]
14** Which means [[spoiler: ponies that don't have cutie marks could have failed the flight exam. Imagine knowing you're about to die without finding your special talent...or worse, realizing that your special talent ''is'' becoming Spectra. (Though, what WOULD that cutie mark look like?)]]
15* HilariousInHindsight: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaEQow-M8Pc G3 Rainbow Dash]] is, shall we say, ''uncomfortable'' telling the other ponies where rainbows come from...
16-->'''Minty''': Wow, you know so much about rainbows!
17-->'''Rainbow Dash''': Of course I do, darlings! If I don't know all about rainbows, who would?
18-->'''Pinkie Pie''': Do you know how they're made?
19-->'''Rainbow Dash''': ''(uneasy)'' Ah, well, darlings... there are some things we're not ''supposed'' to know!
20** It's made all the more comical given that it's [[Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles Pinkie Pie]] asking Dash that.
21** And it's HilariousInHindsight in another way too. In-show the ancient pegasi are compared to the Classical Greeks, especially the Spartans, who were quite proud of their laws [[OffingTheOffspring mandating the destruction of]] [[TheSocialDarwinist 'unfit' children]]. Think about that and read the story again.
22** The song, by virtue of not elaborating on the exact nature of for-mentioned 'fears and horrors', is quite compatible with the 2013 horror movie ThePurge. To an extent, the fic is comparable for the shared plot-devices that the main targets of the murders are the less desirable parts of the respective societies (the poor in ThePurge, the weak in RF) and that it has at least been suggested that they harvest the bodies from ThePurge for power or some such thing.
23** Many businesses in real life use Rainbow Factory as their name, most notably, a sandal store in San Clemente, California. Have the song and fanfic boosted its popularity?
24* MisaimedFandom: Some readers of the fics agree with the villains or believe they are in some way justified.
25* {{Narm}}:
26** Considering that the basic premise is essentially "Film/SoylentGreen ''[[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace is PONIES!]]''", it's liable to cause a few snorts if you refuse to take it seriously. And that's not even mentioning the fact that the CWC takes ''making rainbows'' as such SeriousBusiness that they're willing to implement Nazi-esque policies that target ''literal children''.
27** [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash's bouts of severely OutOfCharacter behavior, such as cocking her head back and bellowing out an EvilLaugh.]]
28* NarmCharm: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scVg-NLDOBA This reading by The Lost Narrator]] plays the story dead straight. The combination of the fanart and the excellent voice acting makes it genuinely dramatic.
29%%* NightmareFuel:
30* NightmareRetardant:
31** Coming from the actual show itself, no less. Scootaloo's flying problems are finally made canon in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E5FlightToTheFinish Flight to the Finish]], but instead of looking down on her for it, Rainbow Dash explicitly says that even though Scootaloo might never be able to fly [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments it doesn't matter because she's got her own talents that make her special and she shouldn't let what she can't do hold her back]]. It pretty much destroys the idea that Dash would ever be cruel to Scootaloo because she can't fly, rendering a main plot point of this story completely moot.
32** [=LinesPrower=]'s ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/11166/What-Rainbows-Are-Made-Of What Rainbows Are Made Of]]'' seems to have been written for this reason; it reveals that the events of the fic were simply a nightmare brought on by Scootaloo's anxiety over her test and fear of failure.
33** This goes triple for ''[[WebVideo/MyLittlePonyTheMentallyAdvancedSeries Rainbow Dash Presents]]'' "[[ItMakesSenseInContext Captain Hook the Biker Gorilla]]''. [[spoiler:Rainbow is still appointed supervisor, but [[TruerToTheText is much more in line with her canon self]], [[AdaptationalHeroism being horrified by the titular machine and going out of her way to sabotage it on a few occasions]]. Even [[CanonForeigner Surprise]], who more or less adopts the BigBad position from Rainbow Dash, [[AffablyEvil is equally sincere and horrified by the machine]] and is only NecessarilyEvil for the good of Ponykind rather than going full psychopath. The ending revealing that [[AllForNothing they didn't really need to sacrifice anyone]] and that the Rainbow Factory will still work with just a box of crayons and a family portrait really lays the retardant on thick and leads into a SurprisinglyHappyEnding]].
34* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The song upon which the fanfic is based, specifically the piano riff, is remarkably similar to the main theme to [[Film/{{Halloween 1978}} Halloween]].
35* TearJerker:
36** Among other things, [[spoiler:Orion's]] death.
37** ''Every single adult pony they meet'' being EXTREMELY cruel to our three heroes.
38* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The animation of both [=PMVs=] is extremely impressive, particularly the "Cloudsdale Weather Corp" screen at the beginning of the "Awoken" PMV and the [[spoiler:slow-motion shot where H8_Seed bucks Brony Dance Party off the ledge]].
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