CHAPTER 14: THE CARROT ROOM
Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Pinkie walked out the door to the Rock Candy Room. The others were standing outside, looking at the three with confusion and some worry.
“Okay everypony,” said Pinkie, “we’re losing time, so let’s move onto the next room”.
Pinkie bounced down the hallway, and the rest of the group followed along behind her. Apple Bloom stood at the back, looking down at the ground with a frown on her face.
“I can’t believe I messed up. Disobeying Pinkie, just like Truffle and Scootaloo. What makes me any better than them?”
Apple Bloom continued these thoughts until Pinkie and the others stopped in front of another door. The wording on the top read CARROT ROOM.
“Carrot Room,” said Mr. Rich questionably. “I thought you made candy here Pinkie”.
“That I do Rich, but there’s a good reason for having carrots in a candy factory. And I shall explain why inside”.
Pinkie grabbed the handle and pulled the door open before bouncing inside. The rest of the group followed behind her, but found that Pinkie had stopped just a few feet into the room. When they gathered around her, they found out why.
Before them sat a massive pit-shaped room. The sides of the pit were made up of ledges, each with a plot of dirt going around it. Carrots, some ready to harvest that some just germinating, were planted in each. Three slides sat equidistant from each other, with a stairway going down from the viewing platform.
Occupying the ledges (besides the carrots) were hundreds of fluffy-white bunnies. Some were sniffing the carrots, others were pulling them out of the ground.
“Bunnies,” said Diamond Tiara cheerfully.
“Yep, bunnies,” said Pinkie. “These bunnies have been specially trained to gather the carrots that grow in this room. Oh, look at that one there!” Pinkie pointed to a bunny on the other side of the room.
The bunny took a sniff of a carrot, then reached into the earth and pulled it out of the ground. Almost immediately after, another carrot began to grow where it once was. The bunny took the harvested carrot and pushed it into a hole behind it. The carrot was sucked inside, and the bunny went back to sniffing the carrots.
“But why use bunnies,” asked Mr. Rich, “why not use Oompa Loompas?”
“Easy,” said Pinkie, “bunnies have a natural instinct that tells them whether a carrot is good or bad just by sniffing it. We’ve taken that instinct, added our own steps, and used it here”.
“But why are you growing carrots in your factory. What use could they have,” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well,” said Pinkie, “we’re actually planning on using them in a new drink: A Carrot-Flavored Soda!”
“Carrot-flavored soda,” said Button, “what made you think of that?”
“Indeed,” said Mr. Rich, “and what would you even call it: Pinkie-Cola?”
Pinkie stopped pulling a soda bottle out of her mane that read Sparkle-Cola, quickly shoving it back and smiling awkwardly.
“Uh, yeah….Pinkie-Cola….that’s what we’ll call it”.
“So how did you train these bunnies,” asked Granny Smith? “My experience with critters tells me they can’t be trained”.
“Oh, we didn’t train them,” said Pinkie. “A pony in town named Fluttershy is really good with animals. We had her come to the factory and train every-single bunny”.
The group “ohed” in amazement. Then Love Tap spoke up.
“But what if a bunny finds a bad carrot?”
“Good question,” said Pinkie. She turned back to the bunnies and looked around. “Oh, look over there!”
The group looked towards where Pinkie was pointing. A bunny was taking a sniff of a carrot, but it moved its head back. It look another sniff, only to reel back and make a “blech” face. It pulled the carrot out of the earth before throwing it onto the slide.
The carrot slid all the way to the bottom, where a large hole sat in the floor. The carrot flew into it and out of sight.
“If a bunny finds a bad carrot, it sends it down the slide to the garbage chute”.
As the group watched the bunny hop back to work, Apple Bloom noticed something. One bunny was hopping from ledge to ledge, sniffing different carrots as it did. Sometimes it would turn to another bunny and wiggle its nose. The bunny would wiggle back, and the first bunny would bounce off.
“Miss Pinkie,” said Apple Bloom, “what’s that bunny?”
Pinkie looked over at the bunny hopping around the room. “Oh, that’s Angel: he’s sort of like the head bunny around here. He makes sure that the other bunnies are working and that only good carrots are sent for processing”.
Diamond Tiara looked over the entire operation with a big smile. She turned to look at her father, still beaming.
“Daddy, I want one of those bunnies. Get me one of those bunnies!”
“But honey,” said Mr. Rich, “you have so many wonderful pets at home”.
Diamond Tiara huffed. “Only three dogs, four cats, two hamsters, a turtle, seven parrots, and even a squirrel. NOW I WANT A BUNNY!”
Mr. Rich grimaced: things wouldn’t be better until he got his daughter what she wanted. So he put on his best business face and turned to Pinkie.
“Alright Miss Pinkie, let’s talk business. How much do you want for one of these bunnies? Name your price and I’ll pay it, heck, I’ll even double it”.
Pinkie giggled. “These bunnies aren’t for sale”.
Diamond Tiara rounded on Pinkie, looking very annoyed. “What?”
Pinkie lowered her head down to be at Tiara’s level, giving her a smile. “They are not for sale. In simpler terms: You Can’t Have One”.
Diamond Tiara growled before turning back to Mr. Rich. “Daddy, get me one of those bunnies NOW!”
Mr. Rich looked up at Pinkie, who simply shrugged, before looking back at his daughter. “I’m sorry honey, but it looks like Miss Pinkie’s made up her mind”.
Diamond Tiara looked like she was ready to burst. Her face was turning red, and she was grinding her teeth. Finally, she slammed her hoof down on the ground.
“Fine! If you won’t get me a bunny, I’ll get one myself!”
The filly spun around, walked towards the small gate, and squeezed through an opening in the railings. The others quickly ran forward and watched as Diamond Tiara moved down the stairway, looking at all the different bunnies.
“Sweetie, get back here this instant. It isn’t safe,” said Mr. Rich, fear echoing through every word.
“I’d listen to him if I were you,” said Pinkie. But much like with Truffle and Scootaloo, she didn’t seem to have a caring tone in her voice.
Tiara ignored them and continued to look around the room. A few of the bunnies stopped working and looked at her. Others were too preoccupied to care.
After a few seconds of looking, Tiara looked towards a bunny below and to the right. She walked down the stairs and stood right next to it. The bunny stopped sniffing and looked up Tiara, who was grinning evilly.
“I’ll have you,” she said as she reached for the bunny.
But before her hoof was even half-way towards it, a large thumping noise spread throughout the room. Tiara and the other bunnies looked towards the source.
Standing a few ledges above Tiara was Angel, who was looking down at the filly with a glare. He tapped his foot against the floor a few more times, and wiggled his nose a little.
Suddenly, all the bunnies stopped working and looked towards Tiara. The filly looked around at all the bunnies looking at her. She slowly moved her arm back, but then it happened.
All the bunnies in the room lept from their stations towards Tiara. Those closest managed to land on her, and soon she was covered with bunnies. She screamed and began to thrash, but the bunnies wouldn’t let go.
“TIARA,” screamed Mr. Rich, desperately pushing against the gate. “Miss Pinkie, do something!”
Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a large keyring, loaded with many different keys.
“Hold tight, this might take a few minutes”.
Pinkie began sorting through the keys, while the others kept watching the scene play out below. There were now so many bunnies on Tiara that she was forced onto the floor. Soon the bunnies had a hold on all of her legs, pinning her to the ground.
“Daddy, get them off me!”
The bunnies moved away from Tiara’s face, leaving it exposed. Tiara looked forward and saw Angel standing before her, still wearing a glaring expression. He approached Tiara, looking at her intently.
He thumped his foot, as if speaking in morse code. The bunnies around him nodded. He nodded back, then leaned forward and took a sniff of Tiara. Angel relled back in disgust, paused, and sniffed again.
The rest of the group was watching the scene with curiosity and concern. Apple Bloom turned towards Pinkie.
“Miss Pinkie, what are they doing to Tiara”?
“Simple,” said Pinkie (who stopped looking for the key), “they’re testing to see whether or not she’s a bad carrot”.
Angel relled his head back once more before stepping away from Tiara. He thumped his foot again, and pointed down at the floor intensely with his paw.
“Oh dear,” said Pinkie, “she is a bad carrot after all”.
The bunnies began shift and wiggle, and soon the whole mass was moving down the stairs. Tiara was still being held tight, and Angel was riding on her back.
“Where are they taking her,” asked Mr. Rich worriedly.
“Where all the other bad carrots go: to the Garbage Chute,” said Pinkie.
“But where does the chute go?”
“Oh, right,” said Pinkie nonchalantly, “the garbage chute does directly to the incinerator”.
The whole group gasped in shock, but Pinkie held a hoof up.
“But don’t worry, we only light it on the first day of each month”.
“Today is the first day of the month,” said Button.
Everyone looked at Pinkie with fearful faces. Pinkie rolled her eyes until they were looking upward. “Well there’s always the chance they forget to light it today”.
The group looked at each other with worry, then back down at Tiara. The bunnies had reached the bottom of the stairs, and were moving across the floor to the garbage chute.
Diamond Tiara struggled as hard as she could, trying to free herself from the bunnies’ grip. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get free.
As the bunnies reached the chute, they moved to the sides while at the same time pushing Tiara forward. Angel jumped off her back just as the filly began to go over the side.
Everyone on the observation deck gasped in shock as Diamond Tiara fell down the garbage chute. Her screams could be heard for a few seconds before they fadded away. The bunnies ran back up the stairs and back to their stations.
Everypony looked up at Pinkie, who was rubbing her chin in thought. When she saw that everypony was looking at her, she looked back questionably.
“What?”
“Miss Pinkie, my daughter was just thrown down a garbage chute,” screamed Mr. Rich, his face red and scrunched in anger. “What are you going to do?!”
“Oh right,” said Pinkie. “Well actually Tiara might not even get to the furnace. Sometimes the garbage gets stuck near the top of the chute. And if that’s the case, all you have to do is reach in and pull her out”.
Pinkie reached into her mane again and pulled out the keyring. She picked a key in no-time flat, stuck it in the gate’s lock, and turned. Pinkie pulled the gate open, waving Mr. Rich forward.
“Go right on ahead”.
Mr. Rich looked at the others with worry. When they didn’t give him any reply, the turned and walked through the gate. Pinkie swung it shut and relocked it.
Mr. Rich slowly walked down the stairway, looking at the bunnies working away around him. Some looked at him as he passed, others kept working.
Just as Mr. Rich was halfway down the stairway, a humming began to reverberate through the room. Everypony looked around, trying to find the source.
Apple Bloom scanned the walls, and saw two small openings appear on either side of the room. Soon 12 Oompa Loompas emerged from the openings. They were yellow with dark pink manes, and each one was both a mare and a pegasus. They circled around the room, and soon they began to sing.
Diamond Tiara, the little brute,
Has just gone down the garbage chute
And She will meet as she descends
A rather different set of friends:
A rather different set of friends!
A rather different set of friends!
Some oil, for example, drained
This morning from a towel stained.
A tomato from some tomato stew,
Some hay that no one else would chew,
And lots of other things as well,
Each with a rather horrid smell!
Horrid smell!
These are Tiara’s new found friends
That she will meet as she descends,
These are Tiara's new found friends!
Mr. Rich walked down the rest of the stairs to the bottom floor. The Oompa Loompas turned towards him, slowly moving their legs as if beckoning him to come closer. Two slowly circled around him.
Who went and spoiled her?
Who indeed?
Who pandered to her every need?
Who turned her into such a brat?
Who are the culprits? Who did that?
Mr. Rich reached the opening to the garbage chute. He peered over the edge, looking down into the dark abyss.
Apple Bloom watched as Mr. Rich looked into the shoot. But then, she saw something surprising. Angel was running down the stairway….strait at Mr. Rich. In an instant, she new what he was planning on doing.
“Mr. Rich look out!”
The guilty ones, now this is sad,
Dear Old Mum and Loving Dad!
Mr. Rich didn’t even get a chance to look around. Angel reached the bottom floor, jumped, and slammed into Mr. Rich. He let out a yelp as he flew forward and into the chute. His screams grew dimmer as he fell further in.
The whole group gasped in shock….except for Pinkie. Instead she was still bobbing her head to the Oompa Loompa song.
One of the Oompa Loompas flew up to Pinkie, whispered something into her ear, and flew off.
“Good news,” said Pinkie, “I’ve just been informed that the incenerator’s broken. So they should have about one month’s worth of rotten garbage to break their fall”.
“Well….that’s good,” said Love Tap.
“Sure is,” said Pinkie. “Well, let's not let this event spoil the rest of the tour. Time for the next stop”.
Pinkie turned and bounced off towards the exit. Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, Button, and Love Tap didn’t immediately follow.
Apple Bloom wasn’t sure how to feel. Over the last few hours she’d seen three foals get sucked up a pipe, inflated like a balloon, and fall down a garbage chute. That would already be bad, but she almost couldn’t believe that Pinkie didn’t care at all.
She didn’t even seem a little concerned. What if those foals get hurt, or even die! It just didn’t make any sense that she wouldn’t at least say that she was worried.
Apple Bloom turned to Granny Smith. “Granny, should we still follow Pinkie. She seems to be brushing off everything that’s been going on”.
“Well deary, I think we should keep following her. Things may seem wrong now, but they can always get better. Plus I don’t feel like going anywhere in this factory without Pinkie, even just going to the exit”.
Well that was good enough for Apple Bloom. She nodded in agreement, and the two followed Pinkie out of the room. A moment later, Button and Love Tap followed behind them.