Clockwork’s eyes shot open, his body coated with sweat and his breathing ragged. He did not wrench himself from where he currently lay, as that behavior had been quite literally beaten out of his system during Basic Training. Instead, he focused on slowing his racing heart and determining where he currently was. The roof looked familiar and, after one last deep breath, the pegasus sat upright. He was both confused and relieved by what he saw.

He was in his undamaged bed, in his undamaged room, in his undamaged house. There were no signs of battle, no blood-red sunlight. No screams of the dying.

Clockwork sighed. He stretched his limbs and wings. It had all been a nightmare. Clockwork hadn’t killed anyone, the griffons weren’t at war with Equestria, and Moppet was still-

YOW!

Clockwork fell out of his bed when he felt a searing pain rocket through his only wing. After picking himself up, Clockwork froze up as he looked over his shoulder to find the appendage wrapped heavily in bandages.

No, there must’ve just been something wrong with the pancakes he ate earlier! He fell over and hurt his wing, his parents patched it up, and had brought him upstairs to his bed to rest! Yeah! The sun wasn’t too much lower in the sky then it had originally been! He had just had a bad fall!

Clockwork brought a forehoof to his head in relief, but felt pain engulf his skull at the touch. After the pain subsided, Clockwork rubbed the back of his head and found it heavily bandaged as well. The pegasus laughed nervously. He had just had a really bad fall.

Clockwork looked over the rest of his body, his back legs were bandaged, as well as his chest. The stallion began to sweat again. A really really bad fall.

He hastily opened his closet and got dressed. Yeah, his vest was clean, so was his bandanna! His goggles and fire ruby necklace were sitting side by side in mint condition! Everything was perfectly fine!

Still, Clockwork had to be sure.

The pegasus threw open the door and rushed downstairs. His parents were in the kitchen making what seemed to be an early dinner. Even better! They were perfectly safe!

Clockwork burst out laughing, but was quickly silenced when he noticed that neither his parents were smiling. “Mom? Dad? Guys, I’m okay!”

The pegasus didn’t wait for his parents’ response as he rushed outside. The city was as busy as ever. Nothing had happened! Oh, he had to tell Moppet this ridiculous story!

And so the stallion trotted through the streets of Ponyville, bobbing and weaving through the heavier than normal traffic. Clockwork hummed some indescribable toon, desperately trying to stave off the memories of the dream until later. He was so busy that he didn’t notice his legs take him in the almost direct opposite of where he wanted to until he had already arrived.

This was the exact spot where. . . yes, he was sure of it. But, how could he have known the way if it was a dream? Surely it was by random chance? Surely this was just. . .

Clockwork fell to his knees, disregarding the pain that he experienced by doing so. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes as his mouth hung open. All at once, the signals of recent experiences came rushing back. Several of the larger skyscrapers had large pieces ripped from them like an immense creature had bitten them. Most of the citizens were hauling away rubble or dangerous debris in large wheelbarrows. Ponies were still asking about their loved ones' whereabouts. The earth directly in front of Clockwork was still stained a dark reddish-brown. The dirt and almost empty street a little off to the side was still cracked by the weight of a fallen enemy.

Clockwork looked to the sky as his tears fell anew. He screamed.

The pegasus never did determine when he stopped screaming for his friend to return to him, or when he collapsed in the slightly moist dirt, or when his parents finally found him.

“Where is he?!” Clockwork sobbed through gritted teeth. “Where. Is. HE?!”

“Come along, son. There’s a few ponies that you need to see,” Gearbox replied, his voice as grim as it was yesterday. Clockwork did not object as his parents helped him to his hooves. He silently limped alongside them for some time, not stopping until they reached an unfamiliar building. The pegasus looked over the black metal gate, his heart skipped a beat when he read the thin wiry letters welded to the top.

Ponyville Orphanage. A home for those without.

Clockwork did not voice his confusion as his parents helped him to limp inside and sit down. The stallion looked up to watch as his father spoke to the receptionist who had bandages of her own wrapped around her head. He couldn’t hear what either of them were saying, but he got up when his father gestured for him.

“Upstairs, room twenty eight,” Gearbox told his offspring. With a small nod, the pegasus trotted up the wooden stairs to the second floor. After some walking, he found room twenty at the end of the hallway. The doors were doubled, but he only knocked on one of them.

“Hello? I was told to go to this room,” Clockwork spoke bluntly, his mind too frayed to form more complex sentences. “I’m coming in now.”

Again, the pegasus did not expect what he saw as the old door creaked open.

Thirty-two young foals, all clean and unharmed, stared at Clockwork with wide, surprised eyes. Clockwork made his way a little farther inside. “Where’s Moppet?” he asked, the faintest glimmer of hope still present in his heart. Said glimmer finally died out as he watched the Lost Foals’ answer.

In perfect unison, thirty of the foals lined up in two parallel lines of fifteen. Somnolent stood at the end of the line, and alongside him stood Gavroche, something clutched in one hoof. With a deliberate slowness, the two young colts walked down the makeshift hallway, stopping every few seconds to allow each Lost Foal to touch the item. After a minute or so, the two young ponies stood at Clockwork’s hooves. The pegasus sat down and took the item from a now sobbing Gavroche. After removing the cloth in which the item was wrapped, the world seemed to grind to a halt.

It was Moppet’s hat, perfectly intact. There were no signs of wear or tear, not even the tiniest speck of blood tarnished its surface. “Did you clean this?”

Gavroche was too overcome with sorrow to answer. Somnolent looked towards the hat, then to Clockwork. “We asked the pony who gave it to us the same question. He said that he found it that way. I could tell he wasn’t lying. They have that little glimmer in their eye when they do, you know?”

“Yeah.” Clockwork looked over the item once more. He gently placed it on the hardwood floor and pulled Gavroche close, letting the foal cry on him for what must’ve been hours. Clockwork shed a few tears of his own. “I know.”

The pegasus gave a hug to every filly and colt the needed one, which meant all of them. After the pegasus made sure that nopony was crying any longer, he picked up Moppet’s hat and sat down on one of the room’s many bunks. He looked over the item in his hooves, smiled, and looked up at the small crowd of equally small ponies. “I guess you all expect me to give you some sort of riveting speech?”

The Foals nodded as one.

Clockwork chuckled under his breath. Even after all the hell they’d experienced, these children were faring better than a colt trained by the military. “I’m sorry to say that, while I do have a few words, they aren’t that impressive.”

After witnessing the pleading looks from the young ponies, Clockwork relented and spoke. “All I can really say is this. Moppet was the most wonderful mule that I’ve ever met and ever will meet. He was both pure and admirable, and I’ll cherish every moment I ever spent with him. He will be more than missed, he’ll be a legend.” the stallion held out Moppet’s hat to the Lost Foals as its previous owner would’ve done. “Can I trust you to carry on his legend with me?”

The crowd nodded, and for the faintest moment, Clockwork thought he saw Moppet at the back of the crowd, flashing his ever-familiar grin.

The pegasus rose from the bed and made his way to the door. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Lost Foals as a whole for the last time. In that moment, his smile was devoid of sorrow. Clockwork left the room, and shortly thereafter, the orphanage.

The pegasus gave a long sigh as he recognized the next destination on his and his family’s walk through the city. Before long, they stood in front of the already opened gates to Ponyville Cemetery. Clockwork gulped, he had accepted his friend’s death, but the tombstone he practically gravitated towards seemed almost unreal.

The pegasus reached the marker and knelt before it, his eyes barely focusing on anything else. The headstone was almost featureless, really. It was no taller than three feet, no wider than two. Whatever rock the thing was made of was both monotone gray and smooth. Along its top half was a single name, followed by a date Clockwork recognized as yesterday.

“Hey, Moptop,” Clockwork called his late friend by an old nickname.

Ello, Clocky.

Clockwork laughed under his breath as he heard the mule’s voice echo in his head. The two had been friends for so long that Clockwork practically knew what he was going to say! Even his accent was still there. “Sorry about, uh. . .”

My death? Missin’ my funeral?

The pegasus nodded, his smile fading for a moment as he looked away to wipe the moisture from his eyes. “Yeah.”

I don’t mind that ye missed my burial. In fact, I’m glad ye did. I wasn’t impressed, next to nopony came anyway. As for my death, stop worryin’ about it! It didn’t 'urt much, I ‘ad no regrets when I left this world, and I saved yer life! Ye even killed that ugly 'eap of feathers afterwards! Ain’t that worth bein' 'appy about?

“Kinda. I still killed someone. Even if it was in self defense.”

Ye practically saved the city!

Clockwork smiled. “You still look to the positive, even in death.” the stallion noticed something out of the corner of his eye and looked towards it. Not too far off was a member of the Equestrian military, pretty high ranking by the looks of it. The pegasus considered running over to him, saluting, and explaining his late friend’s situation. He would describe how the mule’s selfless actions and bravery in the face of certain death should be commended. He would ask that Moppet be recommended for a posthumous Medal of some kind, maybe even the Military Medal for Valorous Action. Clockwork sighed, for Moppet would never get the recognition he truly deserved. Moppet was never a fully registered citizen of the Federation, hay, he probably didn’t even have an official birth certificate!

“It was great talking to ya. Maybe we can do it again sometime?” when Clockwork didn’t hear an answer in his head, he stood to leave. It was then that he heard his friend once more.

Sounds like a plan to me. I just gotta ask ye two thin’s before ye leave.

Clockwork sat back down. “Go ahead.”

One, could I please ‘ave my ‘at back?

Clockwork would’ve laughed had it not been for the sobs choking his voice. He gently placed the faded brown flat cap on the top of the tombstone, turning it ever so slightly to the right. “You look as good as always. How the hay did you keep this thing from getting dirty?”

Luck, probably. Second question, I tripped before I could get inside yer place. How many of the Lost Foals survived?

Clockwork finally let his tears fall in full, a smile on his face the whole time. “All of them. Gavroche, Somnolent, Chanter, every single one. They’ve all agreed to carry on your legend.”

Excellent job, laddy. See ye around?

“Yeah. See ya around.” Clockwork turned and left the graveyard. However, he turned around just before he passed the gate. The sun was setting, making it difficult to see, but Clockwork thought he could see the faintest outline of a pony by Moppet’s grave. It was waving the late mule’s hat over its head, and the pegasus couldn’t help but feel that it was smiling. As if by reflex, he waved back.

Clockwork groaned as he continued to twist and turn in his bed. According to his parents, he had only been unconscious for less than a day since the raid. As a result of such little rest, he should’ve been tired beyond explanation and passed out before his head hit the pillow. Gah! So why in the name of Luna’s royal flank wasn’t he out like a rock?!

Clockwork found a slightly comfier spot on his mattress and ceased next to all motion, letting his breathing and heartbeat slow to a steady rhythm. The worst thing he could do was injure himself further on top of his already harsh injuries. When asked about how much he had endured, the pegasus was only given a list by his mother, left for him to read. It contained a surprisingly short but impressive list of injuries and the appropriate treatment. The only treatment for all of them was several painkillers and a week’s worth of rest. The pegasus had yet to feel anything aside from bothersome aching in his joints.

Groaning, the pegasus rose from his bed and walked to the radio on his desk. Maybe some music would help. He flicked the switch to on, twiddled with the dual knobs to remove any major static, and froze when he heard the silken voice of the alicorn of the sun.

“Citizens of Equestria, this is Princess Celestia speaking.

The now hostile nations of the Griffon Empire and Diamond Dog Consortium have attempted to cripple our beloved kingdom. Less than twenty-four hours ago, a simultaneous assault took place on the cities of Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Several hours before these invasions began, Ambassador Bellum of the Griffon Empire, now known as Warfather, and High Chairman Greystone of the Diamond Dog Consortium, sent for supposed peace talks. During yesterday’s meeting, they attempted to bring an untimely end to the lives of myself, my sister, Chief Thunderhooves of the Bison Clans and Patriarch Mfalme of the United Zebra Tribes.

Sadly, they almost succeeded. Patriarch Mfalme of the Zebra Clans was killed by a changeling queen disguised as the Eternal High Queen of Prance. My head scribe for fifteen years, Printed Word, was killed as well.

However, I must stress that the Empire and Consortium almost succeeded. The invasion of Ponyville was crushed a few hours after it had begun, nearly all of the leaders of the Alliance are still alive, and current military forces are putting up heavy resistance in Cloudsdale.

It is a dark day for all the allied lands, but we shall not falter. As I speak, the rest of the leaders are preparing their forces for complete and total counterattack on all fronts.

Ponies of Equestria, we are now at war with the Griffons, Diamond Dogs, and quite possibly an entire Changeling Hive. It is now known that these three nations are unified under the name of 'The Supremacy.' Their only common goal appears to be the extermination of both the Federation and its allies. While the situation seems grim, the Alliance will not fail.

Thank you for listening, and my deepest condolences to anypony who has been affected by recent events.”

The radio cut to static, followed shortly thereafter by some tune Clockwork cared not to remember. He was too focused on getting dressed. He didn’t know for what, but he felt like it was the right thing to do. As he was making sure that his necklace was secure and all major bandages had been covered, he heard muffled yelling from downstairs. The pegasus waited for a moment to hear if the noise would fade, but it was quickly drowned out by the sounds of hurried hoofsteps and exasperated shouting. Clockwork readied himself for a fight and reached for the doorknob, only for the door to open from the other side.

“Sir.” Clockwork stood at attention, saluting with some difficulty given his bandages. Before him was somepony military, a captain of the Navy judging by the four stripes and single star on each sleeve. Behind him was Quick Fix, a look of fury plastered on her muzzle.

“I’m not letting you take him back after he’s barely had a day’s rest!” the unicorn mare screamed. “Not to mention that you practically barged in here, flashed those stripes of yours, and ran upstairs! How do I know you’re even a real naval officer?!”

The Captain retrieved a set of documents from within his jacket and gave them to the angry mother. While she was busy looking over the parchment, the officer turned back to the scientist in front of him. “At ease, erm. . .”

Clockwork relaxed, wincing as he set his hoof back on the ground. “It’s alright, sir. We don’t really have ranks in Research and Development anyway.”

“Alright. Care to come downstairs and sit? There’s some information you need to know and I think it’s best that the whole family hears it.”

With only a few curt nods, the stallions and mare made their way downstairs and over to the living area. Gearbox was already sitting in his chair, a look of equal parts confusion and anger on his muzzle. His gaze softened when he noticed his son. The ponies all sat down, Clockwork trying his best to sit up straight. After some assurance from the Captain, Clockwork relaxed. “So what’s this all about?”

The Captain removed his hat, exposing his horn and closely shaved mane. He sighed. “No doubt you’ve all heard by now that we’re at war with the griffons and diamond dogs; maybe even the changelings.”

The family nodded.

“We need everypony that can possibly help to do just that, help. None of you may like it, but you’ve all been assigned to places where your experience will be most beneficial.” the unicorn removed three scrolls from within his jacket and levitated each to its intended recipient. All three were sealed with the personal night blue stamp of Princess Luna herself. “Mr. Box and Mrs. Fix, you are both hereby ordered, under personal request from the princess of the night herself, to pack your things and be ready to leave for Stalliongrad in three day’s time.”

“What?!” husband and wife looked up from their scrolls and asked in unison.

The captain nodded, his green eyes falling to the floor for a moment as he let out a deep sigh. “It’s all lawful, and your home shall remain in your possession. Stalliongrad’s machinery hubs need the best civilian engineers available. That’s you two. Don’t pretend you aren’t, either, Gearbox, I’ve read your work; and Mrs. Fix, you taught more than half of the ponies you've assigned to oversee.”

“What about our son?” Gearbox asked, his voice baritone.

“Clockwork is hereby reported to return to Research and Development Headquarters in Canterlot effective immediately. The city’s been cleared of any and all possible threats and security’s been increased tenfold. He’ll be safe.”

Quick Fix began to tear up. “So soon after all the trauma he’s had to suffer through?”

The officer looked towards the heavily bandaged pegasus, still reading over his scroll. Something in his eyes didn’t seem like it belonged there for a pony of his age. “Clockwork is one of best minds we’ve had in decades. His mind is still intact, and that’s all we need.”

“You’re heartless.” Quick Fix spat.

“I’m a member of the Navy, Mrs. Fix, and a Trottinghamite. That means I only have a heart for three things: my hounds, my ship, and the Federation,” the stallion replied.

“I’m a member of the Research and Development Branch of the Federation military.” Clockwork finally looked up from the scroll. “I’ll go, but can I at least eat a late meal with my parents first?”

The officer nodded, stood, and made his way over to the door. “I’ll be outside. There’s a transport leaving for the city in an hour or so. I’ll take you there. Sound good?”

Clockwork shakily got to his hooves, finally beginning to feel pain seep into the ends of his limbs. He tried to salute, but felt a jolt of pain run up his shoulder. “Sounds good, sir.”

With that, the light blue unicorn left the abode. Shortly thereafter, the mother, father, and son were sitting at their dinner table once again. Three plates of ambrosia salad sat before them; only Clockwork ate.

“I can’t believe this!” Quick Fix stabbed at her salad. “You’ve been back home for less than two days, gone through Tartarus and back, and now the military just wants to whisk you away to back underground?! This can’t be legal!”

“At least he’ll be safe there, honey.” Gearbox tried to reassure his wife, keyword "tried."

“Canterlot was nearly destroyed by a so called civilian ship yesterday! They’re going to put my son underneath it? Is anypony sure Stalliongrad won’t be next?”

“Mom.”

“Who says we have to go anyway? I’m not too sure that signature was even real ink!”

“Mom.”

“Oh, it’s going to be so cold. They might as well bury us alive and save the Supremacy the trouble!”

“Mom!” Clockwork slammed his forehooves into the table and stood up. It took a lot of effort to keep his grimace to a minimum. “I don’t like it either, but we’ve gotta do what we can to help out! Who knows? I might have a breakthrough up in R&D that could shorten this war from twenty years to two! You and Dad are great mechanics, you’ll both be able to increase the efficiency of those old factories by a factor of two hundred in a month!”

Quick Fix paused at her sons outburst and finally took a bite of her salad. “You over exaggerate our capabilities, honey.”

Clockwork sighed. “Dinner was as good as ever. I’ll go get my things and head out.”

Without another word, Clockwork rushed upstairs, opened his still-packed duffel bag, and tossed an entire bottle of painkillers inside. The Clockwork tied his bag shut, made his way back downstairs, and hurried over to the redwood entrance to his home. Before he could completely open the door though, he felt something pull on jacket. He turned around to find his father with tears in his eyes. “Just be careful, son. Don’t do anything too dangerous out there, okay?”

Clockwork wasted no time in wrapping his forelegs around his father and pulling him close. “Okay.” after giving his mother a hug as well, the pegasus left his home and entered the nighttime city. He continued to look over his shoulder to see his parents standing in the doorway until he could no longer distinguish his house from the rest of the city.

It took Clockwork some time to realize that he was still in Ponyville as he trotted down the street alongside the officer that had come to collect him. The night sky was cloudless, causing it to glow a dark blackish blue. The city itself was surprisingly dark, colored a mixture of faint amber and yellow. There wasn’t as much activity as Clockwork had seen earlier in the day, was there a curfew now or something?

“Here we are.”

Clockwork’s attention was brought back to the current situation, and was half-surprised to find himself standing at the edge of the train station. Out in the distance, lights were setting down and taking off. A faint but powerful roar reached the pegasus’ ears moments later and didn’t leave. Clockwork almost had to shout as they drew closer. “Those don’t look like any trains I’ve ever seen,” the pegasus joked.

“Ponyville Station’s courtyard has been converted into a military transport landing and takeoff zone.” the officer gave Clockwork a small ticket, the destination listed as Canterlot. “Just head to the gate, give this to the guy at the front, and when he lets you through, head to transport 305. Got it?”

Clockwork tilted his head to one side. “You’re not coming with, sir?”

The Captain nodded, adjusting his hat ever so slightly. “No, I’m not. I’ve still got a few more ponies to find and reassign. May Celestia smile upon your future endeavors.”

Without another word, the unicorn spun on his hind legs and trotted back into the night. Clockwork stood there for a moment and watched him go, but hurried to the entrance to the courtyard when he heard a far off engine begin to roar to life. The pegasus got his ticket punched, entered the courtyard, and made his way to Military Transport 305.

The dropship didn’t seem that much different from all the others Clockwork had seen. It looked like a rectangle that sloped gently downwards, two large wings in the front and two smaller ones in the back. All four overhead wings had propellers inside of them to provide lift in addition to the steam vents along the bottom of the vehicle. Like all Federation military dropships, the hull was painted a dark bronze color with golden highlights. From this distance, the only thing that seemed different about the thing was the large 305 stenciled in chipping white paint on both sides of its hull.

As Clockwork drew closer to the vehicle, the pegasus realized that it didn’t seem like a standard transport. It was much wider around the middle, and all four wings were larger than a normal trooper carrier's. As Clockwork moved to enter the ship, he came to a realization. Judging by the larger than normal amount of dropship passengers, this was a converted cargo ship. Things must've been worse than he originally believed.

“Name?”

Clockwork stopped just short of the ramp. He turned to look at the soldier guarding the entrance to the transport. “Clockwork. No official rank, Research and Development branch.”

After a few turned pages and the occasional mumble, the soldier snapped the small list closed and looked up. “You’ve been reassigned.”

“Reassigned, sir?”

“That’s right. Originally, you were to return to Canterlot to continue your work ASAP, but somepony put in a transfer request for you to stay on the ship while it continues onto its current final destination.”

Clockwork’s eyebrow raised a bit. “Where would that be?”

“Cloudsdale. The recommendation says that, should 305 experience any major damage during the conflict, your mechanical expertise would be of great use in repairing her. This is just a recommendation, so you can either accept or disregard it.”

“If I may ask, Sergeant, who put in the recommendation?”

The older stallion shrugged. “There’s no name, only the rank of Lieutenant.”

Clockwork took a moment to consider his options. On one hoof, he could head back to the safe, dark, crowded caves underneath Canterlot. Away from nearly all of society and unaware of the world above, working on projects that may never bear fruit. On the other, he could head back into the fray, risking injury and possible death to do what he did best: fixing things.

“I’ll go with the recommendation.”

“Then get inside and strap in. I hear there’s a major thunderstorm going on over Cloudsdale. I’d tell you to be ready for turbulence, but with you being a pegasus and all. . .” the Sergeant only shrugged.

Clockwork nodded and made his way inside. As he sat down near the front of the aircraft, only a few seats from the cockpit, it dawned on him that he was probably one of the only ponies in here that wasn’t wearing battle fatigues. After taking a few painkillers, he looked to his right and found a workhorse gazing solemnly at the dropship’s slowly closing ramp. “No turning back now.”

Clockwork nodded, made sure his luggage was secure underneath his seat, and laid as far back in his semi-padded chair as he could. He might finally be able to catch a few hours on the ride to one of the last populated cloud cities in the Federation.

Just as the pegasus felt like he was genuinely beginning to nod off, he heard somepony shout for everypony to wake up, stand up, and listen to them. The pegasus sat upright, eyes open and concentrated on the dark coated, light cyan maned pegasus in the center of the bay. After everypony had risen and taken a firm hold of their individual hoof-rails, the Sergeant Major spoke again.

“Alright everypony, this is it! The first real battle Equestria’s had to fight in over a thousand years! You ready?”

There was an enthusiastic “Haru!” from the ensemble of soldiers. Clockwork remained silent; how could anypony respond positively to war and all it entailed? Was he the only pony here who had killed before?

“A large portion of the city is still under enemy control, and so far we’ve only gotten reports of griffon opposition. None of them bugs to deal with. Keep your guard up, though! The largest area of griffon resistance is none other than the only place we can’t shoot. Specifically, the Rainbow Factory.”

After a tense murmuring from the crowd, the pegasus continued. “I know, I know. How the hay did the griffons get a hold of the Rainbow Factory? One, we don’t know. Two, we aren’t getting paid to find out. Rather, we’re getting paid to take it back! This dropship will set down at the Cloudosseum. From there, you’ll meet in the center encampment, get further details, and be assigned to your respective jobs from there. Sound good?!”

“Yes sir, Thunderlane sir!”

Clockwork almost choked on his own saliva. Thunderlane? That Thunderlane?!

Before Clockwork could react, there was a massive boom and the world suddenly fell silent. A gaping hole appeared in the side of the dropship, violently removing ponies from the dropship and replacing them with rain, flashes of lightning, and furious winds. Clockwork ditched the fabric hoof-rail and lunged for and barely managed to grab onto one of the steel beams welding the chairs to the floor.

Clockwork did not hear the pilots scream into their mics that they had been hit by an anti-aircraft cannon. He didn’t hear as soldiers he had never met before scream for help before being sucked out of the falling transport. He did not hear himself scream, nor his heartbeat quicken, and he never heard the dropship crash.

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