//------------------------------// // Rocks, Candy, and Family // Story: Pure Imagination // by SYNTH4 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 13: ROCKS, CANDY, AND FAMILY Pinkie lead her guests through the Inventing Room, weaving in between different machines and chemistry stations. They all remained silent, still thinking about what had happened to both Truffle and Scootaloo. As they were walking, Apple Bloom turned to Granny Smith. “Granny, aren’t you concerned about Scootaloo and Truffle?” “Of course dearie,” replied Granny. “But you must remember that those two didn’t listen to Pinkie: even when she told them to their face not to. Sometimes, ponies get what’s coming to them. It’s called karma”. “I know, but they're just foals like me. Shouldn’t they just, maybe, get a few hours of time-out or something?” “Dearie, you’re too kind for your own good. But those ponies are getting their punishment right now. And when they leave this factory, they’ll be different because of it”. Apple Bloom didn’t know whether to be happy about this statement or concerned. Would they be different in a good way? Or would they be different in a bad way? She didn’t have much time to think about this, as the group had come to a stop. Pinkie and taken them to a large set of doors: all metal and engraved with images of beakers and candy. Pinkie turned to the group behind her. “Alright everypony, listen closely. Since we don’t have the boat, we’re going to have to walk from here on out”. “Can’t we take a break Miss Pie,” said Love Tap, taking a seat on the floor. “My hooves are killing me”. “Sorry, but there’s no time for rest,” said Pinkie. “We still have so much left to see, so let’s get a move on”. She kicked the metal doors behind her, which opened up into a large hallway. It stretched on for some time before turning to the right and disappearing. Large circular doors (like the ones along the river) were placed along the walls. “Come along everypony”. Pinkie turned around and bounced down the hallway. The group followed closely behind her. Apple Bloom looked around at the different doors that stood beside them. Like the ones along the river, these had different names etched into the door. A few of the ones Apple Bloom read were Fizzy Lifting Drinks, Chocolate Covered Cherry Bombs, Gummy Drop Pops, and Singable Candy Lips. “Take notice of the doors everypony,” said Pinkie. She stopped bouncing and waved a hoof around her. “Earlier I said that when an item from the Inventing Room has passed Phase 1, they’re sent to their own rooms for further testing. Here, you can see just that”. “But what about that,” said Diamond Tiara. She was pointing to a door that had a sign that read Lollipops. “Oh that,” said Pinkie. “Well not all the rooms are used for new candies. Some are used to experiment on existing candies: to see how we can make them better. And others are simply used to make the candy we sell”. She waved her hoof around the area again. “If you wish to know more, go ahead and look around. Each door has a window that allows you to see inside”. The group slowly moved around the hallway, looking through the windows into the rooms beyond. Pinkie rummaged through her mane before pulling out a clipboard. She began to check off boxes on a long list. But while everypony else was looking at the doors where they’d stopped, Apple Bloom had gone further. She was still in sight of everypony, but had walked further down the hallway. A few of the doors here read Daffodil Dots or Carrot Soda. But these didn’t really interest Apple Bloom. Instead, she found herself standing in front of a door that was labeled Rock Candy. Apple Bloom had never had rock candy before, or even knew how it was made. It was always an item she glossed over in the shops: mainly due to Twist telling her it wasn’t that good. Strangely, Apple Bloom had never seen Rock Candy that was made by Pinkie. Not a single store had “Pinkie Pie Rock Candy”, so why did she have a room for it. It wasn’t like Rock Candy was a Pinkie original. She walked up to the window and peered inside. However, she couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black, but there was definitely work going on. Light shown through the cracks around the door, and the sound of machinery working could be heard. “The window must be blacked out,” said Apple Bloom. “But why?” Apple Bloom turned  and looked down the hallway towards the group, then to the large metal handle that sat midway on the doors left side. She could easily open the door, sneak inside, have a quick look around, and get out before anypony knew she was gone. “It’s not like Pinkie asked us not to go into any of the rooms,” she thought. “And I wouldn’t touch anything, I would just look around. Truffle and Scootaloo touched things, and that’s why they got in trouble. And….” “HEY LOOK, THESE CUBES HAVE FACES ON THEM!” Apple Bloom turned back to the group. Everypony (Pinkie included) had gathered around one of the doors. In a second, Apple Bloom knew that this was her chance. Quickly, she grabbed the door handle and pulled. The moved open without a sound, and Apple Bloom quickly darted inside. *** The room on the other end was lot larger than Apple Bloom had anticipated. Large machines sat below a large vat directly in front of her. To the sides were other machines, which were humming and shaking as they worked. “Wow,” said Apple Bloom, “it sure is big. But where’s the candy, and all the Oompa Loompas?” There wasn’t a single little pony walking around, even though Pinkie said they were the ones who ran the factory. Apple Bloom headed towards the large vat, which was connected with many different machines. They all had gauges and temperature monitors on them, yet nopony to look them over. The filly walked around the side of the vat, and found something surprising on the other side. A large tube ran from the vat into another machine. The machine had a large opening at the other end, where a conveyor belt ran from. On the conveyor belt were tons of pieces of Rock Candy. They shined in the light, and made a nice clicking sound as they moves across the belt. Apple Bloom walked up to the belt in awe, looking at the many pieces that zoomed past her.  The belt disappeared into a hole in the wall, likely leading to another room. “It sure does look good,” said Apple Bloom. “I wonder what it tastes like?” Suddenly, a thought popped into Apple Bloom’s head. She looked around the room: nopony in sight. Which meant that, if she wanted, she could take a piece of candy without anypony knowing. She wouldn’t get in trouble like Truffle and Scootaloo did. And this wasn’t a deep chocolate river or an experimental piece of gum: it was just some rock candy. “Nopony will know,” she said to herself. Slowly, she raised her hoof up to the conveyor belt. It felt like she was moving it through a tub of molasses: moving as slowly as possible. But eventually, she was just inches away from swiping a piece. But then….BAM….something quickly grabbed onto her leg. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you”. Apple Bloom’s mind didn’t know what to do: it was all so sudden. So she did the one thing that her instincts knew how to do….scream. “AAAAAAHHHHHH”. The filly’s screams echoed around the room, getting louder and louder as they moved through the machines. Apple Bloom desperately tugged against the grip of whatever was holding onto her. “Let me go, please, I don’t want to die!” “Who said anything about dying?” Apple Bloom stopped struggling: that voice seemed familiar somehow. She couldn’t remember where she’d heard it, but it at least made her stop. She turned and looked at the leg wrapped around her own. It was a dark grey color. Apple Bloom looked to her left, and saw the rest of the pony standing next to her. Wait….a PONY!? It was a dark grey earth pony mare with purple hair. A few white streaks ran through it, and a small bag hung under each of her eyes: clearly showing her age. She wore a lightish blue flock, over which was a large brown apron. A set of goggles sat atop her head, and each hoof (except the one wrapped around Apple Bloom) had a rubber glove over it. “You’re….you’re not an Oompa Loompa”. “No,” said the mare: she had the most monotone voice possible. “And neither are you. What are you doing in here?” The mare let go of Apple Bloom’s leg. The filly slowly rubbed the spot, feeling very uncomfortable. “I, I just wanted to see what was behind the door. I didn’t know anything about rock candy so I….” Apple Bloom was cut off by the sound of the large door opening. The two mares turned and saw the whole group walk in: all looking worried/confused. Granny Smith and Pinkie lead them: Granny looking terrified and Pinkie looking very confused. When Granny saw Apple Bloom, she rushed over and pulled the filly into a strong hug. “Oh thank Celestia you’re alright. I was so worried when I heard you scream!” She pulled back, now looking at the filly with a death glare that could make a dragon tremble. “Now what in tarnation where you doing in here?” “Who cares about that,” said Diamond Tiara, “who’s that?” The whole group was looking at the dark-grey mare with wonder. Granny, just now noticing her, sent her glare toward her. “Are you the one who made my grandaughter scream?!” The mare bowed slightly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle her. I just wanted to make sure she didn’t get hurt”. Granny snorted before turning to Pinkie, who had remained silent since they’d walked in the room. “Miss Pie, do you know this mare?” Pinkie turned to the group and gave an awkward smile. “Eh, I wasn’t planning on taking us this route. But I suppose I have no choice now”. Pinkie bounced over to the mare and place a leg around her. “Everypony, I’d like you to meet my older sister Maud Pie”. The whole group gasped, especially Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. Pinkie Pie’s SISTER, as in her FAMILY! This wasn’t something anypony had expected to see on the tour. Maud raised her hoof and waved it slowly. “Hello”. Apple Bloom, slowly getting over the shock, turned to Pinkie. “Uh, Miss Pie”. The two mares turned to Apple Bloom, who mentally slapped herself: they were both Pies. “Miss Pinkie,” she corrected, “why is your sister working here? I thought you only used Oompa Loompas. You know, to make sure your secrets are safe”. Pinkie waved a hoof and blew a raspberry. “Do you really think my sister would sell my secrets to others for her own personal gain”. The mare suddenly raised both eyebrows, and gave a small glance to Maud. The silent mare raised her own eyebrow, as if to say “really”? “Anyway,” said Pinkie quickly, “Maud is just the pony I needed. When I decided to start making rock candy, I knew I needed an expert on rocks. And since Maud has a degree in Rockology, I knew she would be the perfect person to work on our formula”. “But aren’t rocks and candy rocks completely different,” asked Love Tap. “Mostly,” said Maud, “but the composition of perfect rock candy is only 15.4454% less hard than a real rock. So with a little work, rock candy can be made durable enough to not break during transport, but still soft enough to be consumed by most ponies”. “She sure knows her stuff,” said Pinkie with a smile. “Now everypony, I need to talk with my sister and the Apples for a moment. Please proceed back out to the hallway and we will begin our tour again shortly”. The group turned and made their way back to the hallway. This left Pinkie, Maud, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith alone in the room. Pinkie looked over at Maud, now having a neutral expression on her face. “Now Maud, what exactly happened that caused Apple Bloom to scream?” “Yes, I’d like to know that too,” said Granny Smith: sounding angry once again. “Apple Bloom was reaching out to grab one of the candies on the belt. I didn’t want her to get hurt so I grabbed her hoof to stop her. But I guess she didn’t hear me coming, so I accidentally scared her”. Pinkie nodded in understanding, then turned to Apple Bloom. “And what were you doing in here Apple Bloom. You shouldn’t have gone in here without supervision or my permission first”. Apple Bloom looked down, feeling very disheartened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think this would happen. I just wanted to look inside and see what it was like. And since the window was blackened out, I knew the only way to see was to go inside”. “That’s still no excuse young filly,” said Granny scornfully. “When we get home, you’re in big trouble!” “Oh great,” thought Apple Bloom, “as if things couldn’t get any worse”. Pinkie cleared her throat. “Well, since a proper punishment will be administered later, I see no reason the two of you can’t continue with the tour. And because of that, I suggest we head out: the others will be waiting”. The pink mare put on another smile and bounced towards the door. Granny slowly began following behind her, still with a grumpy expression on her face. Apple Bloom stood silent, feeling both guilty and shameful at the same time. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked up to see Maud looking down at her. She still had a neutral expression, but her eyes were full of understanding. They sparkled with sympathy. “Don’t worry, I’m sure things will work out for you. Just be more careful where you walk from now on”. She gave the filly a slight push towards the door. “Now go on; you don’t want to be left behind”. Apple Bloom looked at the mare intently: she knew she’d heard that voice somewhere before. But she couldn’t put her hoof on it no matter how hard she tried. Maud turned and began looking over the gauges and valves around the large tank. Taking this as a sign to leave, Apple Bloom turned and headed for the exit. As she did, Maud turned towards her….and formed a small smile.