//------------------------------// // Great, now I lost count... // Story: Pinkie and the Chocolate Factory // by Quill and Brush //------------------------------// Chocolate Factory walked through the large wooden door tail first, Blizzard following shortly behind with Pinkie Pie bouncing along next to her, and Twilight Sparkle hesitantly bringing up the rear. The room that they entered was pitch black, the only light coming from the door they just passed through. Said door slowly drifted shut, the light coming through disappearing. Twilight lit up her horn, forming a ball of light at the tip of her horn and casting a magenta glow on the three ponies standing next to her. She turned to glare at Chocolate. “And why, may I ask, are there no lights in here?” Chocolate smiled through the glare. “Oh, there are lights, they’re just not on.” Twilight snorted, steam puffing out of her nostrils. “That is exactly what I meant!” Chocolate’s smile never wavered. “Well if that’s what you meant, then you should have said ‘why is there no light’. You see-” Twilight was literally steaming. “I know my grammar.” Her voice had been steadily rising throughout this whole ordeal. Chocolate’s smile grew a little. “Well, of course you know your grammar, but is it proper Equuish grammar?” Blizzard audibly facehoofed, causing the two discoursing ponies to look towards her. There was a red circle on her forehead and she was shaking her head from side to side. Pinkie, next to her, was bouncing excitedly. This interruption essentially ended the yelling match, distracting the two unicorns long enough for them to lose track of the conversation. Chocolate’s grin reformed as he turned to look at Twilight. The lavender mare met his grin with a sheepish smile. “So, why are the lights off?” The hatted unicorn’s grin grew. “Ah, but I can’t tell you, now can I?” Twilight grunted. “Apparently not.” Chocolate’s grin took on a mischievous air. “I might tell you why the lights are off if you cut off your light.” Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine.” There was a short hum and the ball of light disappeared, leaving the room shrouded in darkness. For a moment, nopony said anything. Said silence was broken by the magical mare. “Well? Are you going to tell me?” Chocolate’s voice drifted out of the murk. “Waaaiiit fooor it.” The peeved unicorn sighed. “Wait for what?” The same voice drifted to her ears, sounding self confident and vaguely teasing. “You’ll know when it gets here.” Twilight let out another sigh. “Fine. I’ll wait.” Right after these words left her mouth, the lights came up, flooding the room with bright light. The sudden influx of bright light caused the two remaining tourists to be blinded, and the frozen pegasus to start, leaving the proprietor unfazed. Blizzard shook her head, nonplussed. "What the hay was that for, Cocoa?" Chocolate chuckled, his expression showing self-satisfaction. "I just thought I'd get one last flash in before we were finished here. Can't have too many blindings, now can we?" Twilight groaned. "I beg to differ." Pinkie, next to her, rubbed her eyes with a hoof before resuming her exited bouncing. "Were we just waiting for the flash?" Chocolate paused for a moment, bringing a hoof to his chin, before returning it to the floor, a smile on his face. "No, we weren't just waiting for the flash. We were also waiting for this to get set up." A rumble began to emanate from behind the door they had just passed through. Another, quieter rumble could now be heard coming from across the now lit room. Before any if the ponies had time to ponder what could make such a sound, the rumble behind them grew until it became a thunderous roar. Suddenly, a swarm of Minions poured through the door, flooding around the four ponies standing there. A scream sounded out, piercing through the tumultuous stampede. The scream continued on, although it began to fade after a short while. The scream faded back into the white noise, which also began to fade as the amount of Minions storming through decreased. As the last Minion passed the group standing by the door, which began to swing shut, they followed its path across the room with their eyes. The room that they were in was fairly large with an excessively high ceiling. The final Minion passed through a door, large and ornate, at the other end of the room. As the aforementioned door swung shut, the ponies in the other side of the room were relieved of their spellbound state. In short order, Pinkie soon began her energetic hopping next to Blizzard, who glanced over at Chocolate, who was grinning widely. Blizzard, for her part, wasn't showing the fear that she felt as she watched in horrified fascination as Chocolate's facial expression grew from slightly unnerving straight to down right frightening in a matter if seconds, a testament to her will. "Cocoa? Are you alright?" This seemed to break Chocolate out of a trance. "Oh, I am more than alright. It seems that the Minions have made their choice." He turned to face the jumpy pink pony. "You, my dear Pinkie, have been chosen by the Minions. Do you know what that means?" Pinkie gasped. "Ooh, I love guessing games! Does it mean... I taste bad? Does it mean... they need a party?" Another gasp. "Does it mean I won?!?" Chocolate nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! It means you've won!" He clapped his hooves together repeatedly. "Now, do you know what that means?" Pinkie stopped in mid bounce, before dropping to the ground with a few small clops. She brought a forehoof to her chin and sat in silence for a moment. "Does it mean that I get free chocolate?" Chocolate grinned widely. "Not bad, Miss Pie, not bad. Well, I'll have you know that the three of us, along with the Minions, but they hardly count, they don't eat much, are the only ones in the whole of Equestria who have access to such a large supply of chocolate. Except maybe the Princesses, but they don’t really count, now do they?” Chocolate’s expression grew slightly more solemn. “Now, I can’t rightly give you all the free chocolate that I want, but you can use this,” a plastic card slipped out from a pocket in his vest inside his magic, “you can get a free chocolate bar, or anything I sell, from any store that sells my products once per day. That’s one item per day for a year. And then any time you come to the home Factory, I’ll let you into the edible inedibles storehouse and give you free reign. I just ask that you don’t eat everything.” Pinkie nodded vigorously. “And you can’t tell anypony about this, okay? This is our little secret.” Pinkie nodded even more vigorously. Chocolate floated the card in front of Pinkie’s face. “Well then, shall we go see your friends?” Pinkie seized the card in her mouth, muttered an affirmative, and tucked the card into her mane. Chocolate turned around and began marching towards the door that the Minions had flooded through earlier, with Blizzard trotting at his side and Pinkie bouncing along behind them. Pushing the ornate door open with his magic, he led the two through the large doorway into a simple sitting room. The door swung closed behind them, and they took a seat. After sitting for roughly ten minutes, the three ponies glanced up at the sound of another door opening on the other side of the room. Coming through it, led by a single Minion, were the rest of the tourists, those who were eliminated by the Minions.Twilight entered first, looking bewildered. Rainbow Dash followed her, exhausted, followed by a gumdrop-covered Rarity. A similarly attired Spike followed dreamily. A blue pony entered shortly thereafter wearing a familiar Stetson, coaxing a completely brown pegasus through. The five ponies and dragon that entered were led by the Minion to the couches that Chocolate, Blizzard, and Pinkie were lounging on and took seats themselves. Chocolate tipped his hat up, lighting his horn. “Well, this is the end of the tour. Thanks for coming and have a nice day! Remember: Chocolate Factory’s Chocolate Factory satisfies your sweet tooth!” He stood up and, with Blizzard following suit, made his way out the door that the recently reintroduced ponies were just brought through. Seven chocolate bars floated through the door as they exited, one floating in front of each of the tourists. As they obtained the proffered chocolate, the Minion began to walk towards the door, signaling for the guests to follow. The seven tourists followed the Minion, slightly confused, as it led them through the Factory. Presently, they were led through a doorway, which opened up into the foyer behind the secretary's desk. The Minion gestured towards the large exterior doors before turning around and returning through the door, pulling it closed. The seven tourists glanced around at each other in confusion. Twilight broke the silence first. “Well, that was abrupt.” The group then began to recount tales of their exploits throughout the day as they exited the Factory. Meanwhile, Pinkie bounced along behind them, smiling like a madmare. Chocolate turned to Blizzard, who stood next to him in the Factory’s surveillance room. “I think this will make for a great story, don’t you?” Blizzard merely shook her head and exited the room to continue on with running Chocolate Factory’s Chocolate Factory.