Consequences
Chapter 3
Applebloom happily trotted along the muddy roads with a bright smile on her little face. The rain had let up completely by this point, though the dark clouds were still hovering over the town like a fluffy grey blanket. She looked around as she walked. Ponies who’d been staying inside began to come out of their homes, mostly to inspect the large ditch that stretched through Town Square and to help fill it up. Applebloom snickered to herself. Even though she was still a little mad with Applejack she couldn’t help but also feel a little bit sorry for her too, as this had certainly not been her big sister’s best day. And yet, that was what made her snicker, the fact that Applejack had had a bad day. She couldn’t put her hoof on why that was so funny, but for some reason she wanted to see if there was more that she could add to it. As she kept walking, somewhere deep inside her little filly mind, a plan began to form. Applejack sure had been acting strange back there, going crazy over just a couple of words. This made the filly wonder just what kind of power those words truly held for her sister, and why she was so keen on keeping Applebloom in the dark.
As she kept wondering about it Applebloom left the marketplace and trotted off towards the residential area where most ponies lived, and soon enough Caramel’s house came into view. However, before she could reach it, a familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts. As she looked behind her she was met by the sight of the town schoolteacher, Cheerilee, walking towards her with a bright smile on her face, dragging a small cart behind her. Applebloom slowed down a bit to allow her teacher to catch up with her.
“Hello Applebloom,” Cheerilee said happily “Out enjoying the nice weather?” she added with a slight chuckle. Applebloom laughed a little too.
“Yeah, me an’ Applejack had ta get a load of apples delivered to th’ Cakes” Applebloom said.
“Oh, I thought Big Mac usually handled that with Applejack.” Cheerileee said in a neutral tone.
“Yeah, sis said he’s a bit under the weather or sumthin’,” The filly responded as they both walked down the street. Cheerliee’s expression suddenly got a little worried, despite the fact that she and Big Mac had been more or less forced together by the Cutie Mark Crusaders a few months earlier she still had a soft spot for the big red stallion.
“Oh my, it’s nothing bad I hope?” she said, trying not to let Applebloom in on her worries.
“Nah, he’s probably just fakin’ it ta get out of having to haul apples,” Applebloom said, “he hates rain ya see, sumthin’ about it messin’ with his mane.”
Cheerilee just looked at the yellow filly with doubt in her eye. It wasn’t like her to talk about her siblings like that, the Apples were a tight knit bunch, and it seemed unlikely that Applebloom would accuse Big Mac like that. She decided not to dwell on it as they approached her house. Being the well-mannered filly that she was, Applebloom held the door open for her teacher. Cheerliee just smiled and gave Applebloom a slight nod as sign of approval.
“Well, it was nice chattin’ with ya miss Cheerilee, but I really gotta get goin. Gonna go ask Caramel for a hammer an’ some nails ta fix Applejack’s broken ass,” the yellow filly said as she happily trotted away. Cheerilee, on the other hand, just looked like somepony had just exposed themselves in front of her, her face frozen in utter shock, jaw hanging.
“My goodness what are they doing to that poor girl on that farm?” she said to herself, watching Applebloom happily trot away.
Applebloom didn’t have to walk for long before she stood in front of Caramel’s house. It was a rather modest two-story building, just big enough for two ponies. The garden was rather well kept, with a few flower patches and a trimmed lawn, and all of it was surrounded by a white picket fence. It looked very cozy, like something out of a magazine, which Applebloom guessed was the idea. She trotted up to the door and knocked a few times, and soon the door opened revealing a turquoise pegasus mare with a vanilla colored mane. She gave Applebloom a slightly confused look and tilted her head a little.
“Yes?” she said in a neutral voice.
“Oh, hiya Sassaflash” Applebloom chirped happily, “Is Caramel home?”
Sassaflash raised an eyebrow before finally recognizing the yellow filly standing at her doorstep. “Oh, Applebloom, I didn’t recognize you there. My gosh you’ve grown up fast. Oh, and yeah, he’s downstairs, I’ll call him right up,” the mare said and cleared her throat a bit. “Caramel! Get up here right now, your cousin is here!” she shouted with a powerful voice, making Applebloom jump a little.
After a short moment the basement door opened and Caramel stepped out wearing a pink apron. Upon seeing this, Sassaflash turned to Applebloom with a bright smile and leaned down, “Sorry sweetie, Caramel will be with you in just a moment, I just need a moment alone with him first,” She said in the sweetest possible voice before closing the door on Applebloom. The filly however had gotten intrigued, and against better judgment pressed her ear against the door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing dressed up like that!? Did you go through my wardrobe again!?”
“I was just doing the laundry…”
“In a pink apron!? For Celestia’s sake Caramel we’ve been over this! The psychiatrist clearly stated that if we’re gonna get anywhere with you you’re gonna have to quit the cooking and cleaning, start taking an interest in mechanics, have regular intercourse with me every night, and not wear a fucking pink apron while doing the damn laundry!”
Applebloom pulled herself away from the door and pretended to take an interest in a flower patch before Sassaflash opened the door again, wearing the most forced smile Applebloom had ever seen in her life. Behind her stood Caramel, who looked like he was on the verge of crying, also forcing on a smile.
“I’ll just leave the two of you alone then” the mare said as she walked into the house, past Caramel. “Smile for the filly Caramel, or else!” The last part came more like an angry whisper, and Applebloom could’ve sworn that for a second Sassaflash sounded like a demon straight out of Tartarus. She didn’t dwell on it though as Caramel finally stood in front of her, not wearing the apron anymore.
“Hiya cuz’, how’s it going” the filly asked cheerfully, looking up at the brown stallion.
“H-hi Applebloom, everything’s just fine. So what brings you around?” he said, trying to hold back the mental breakdown from the psychic trauma that was his marefriend.
“Well, AJ ‘n ah were headin’ back home from makin’ a delivery ta Sugarcube Corner when th’ cart broke down, so she asked me ta come an’ ask ya if ya wouldn’t mind helping her out,” Applebloom said happily before putting on her best begging-face, “please?”
Caramel just snickered at his little cousin’s performance. He knew she mostly did it to amuse him.
“Sure thing, Applebloom, anything for ol’ AJ. Just let me get some stuff out of the basement and I’ll be right there” Caramel said, instantly feeling a little bit happier. Getting out of the house was always nice, and right now he needed it more than anything in the world. Heck, maybe he could catch a glance of some of the hard working stallions around town while he was at it, have something nice to think about when the obligatory marefriend-pleasing came around later that evening. With this on his mind Caramel trotted down into the basement to grab his toolbox, and after blowing away the dust and taking care of the cobwebs he ascended the stairs with the box in his mouth and a tool belt around his body.
“Honey, I’m going out for a while, AJ’s cart has broken down and she needs help fixing it!” he shouted into the kitchen.
“Okay honey, just be back before supper, or else!” came the ever so pleasant voice of Sassaflash. Caramel shivered a bit and stepped out into the yard where Applebloom was waiting anxiously. He closed the door behind him and went over to her.
“Ready to go AB?”
“Sure, ya got everythin’ ya need?”
“Right here” Caramel said and patted the toolbox, “got everything we need to fix that old cart.”
“Great, ya got a cock and some big ol’ nails in there? Applejack specifically asked for cock an’ nails,” Applebloom asked in childish obliviousness. Caramel was speechless and didn’t know what to say. Had he heard that right? Had his underage cousin just asked him if he had a dick and some nails with him to fix a broken cart?
“W-well, I have a…cock, but I don’t see how that’s going to-“
“Perfect, then we’ll just have ta head over to Dr. Whooves’s place as well an’ ask him ta bring his cock an’ nails ‘s well, come on let’s go!” Applebloom exclaimed and started trotting happily.
Caramel just stood there for a while completely dumbstruck, but decided in the end that he didn’t want to know any details of whatever was going on. Besides, his thoughts were currently fixated on the name Applebloom had mentioned, Dr. Whooves, or as he was more commonly known around Ponyville, Time Turner. The thought of being close to a stallion made Caramel all jumpy, making him forget all about Applebloom’s words. His thoughts started to wander as he pictured the brown stallion standing before him, with his slick brown coat, frazzled mane, and those beautiful ice blue eyes.
Caramel imagined walking up to Time Turner on top of a grassy hill, during a beautiful orange sunset. They’d meet on top, look into each other’s eyes, before jumping each other, enveloping in loving embrace as they tumbled down the hill, rose petals scattering in the wind, and butterflies taking of. And then they’d be laying on top of each other right there in the grass, and as the sun set behind them they’d whisper words into each other’s ears, before meeting in the most beautiful, most perfect of-
“Watch out cus’, there’s a pothole there,”
Caramel was snapped out of his daydream as he suddenly fell headfirst onto the ground, one of his front legs stuck in a hole in the road. He groaned a bit and spat out a mouthful of dirt, the wonderful images in his brain gone, replaced by a blurred vision of Applebloom looking down at him with her big eyes. He swore under his breath, cursing the town and its ill-kept roads. He’d always thought it was only a matter of time before some poor pony got hurt by this neglect, he’d just never imagined it would be him. Slowly but surely he got up, his leg still aching a bit, but nothing seemed to be stretched or broken at least. He shook the mud out of his fur and sucked his tongue before spitting out the remaining traces of dirt in his mouth.
“Are ya okay, cus’?” Applebloom asked.
Caramel just shook his head slightly, some more dirt falling out of his mane. “Yes yes, I’m fine, just surprised me, is all. Man, I swear, one of these days somepony’s gonna get killed. These roads are downright dangerous.”
Applebloom just looked at him with a slightly confused look on her face. “Well then, why in the world did ya’ll walk around looking like ya were dreamin’ if ya think the roads are so bad? Wouldn’t it be better ta just look where yer goin’ instead of driftin’ off like that?” she asked. Caramel mentally facehoofed, knowing full well that Applebloom was right. He forced on a smile and swallowed his pride.
“Y-yeah, I guess that was kinda stupid of me. I’ll make sure to look after myself better from here on.” he said with a weak smile. Applebloom just shrugged a bit.
“Well come on then,” she said, “we still hafta go get Dr. Whooves before sis starts wonderin’ where we’re at.” Applebloom said as she started trotting a bit faster. Caramel didn’t say anything and joined up, and soon they were approaching their destination. For about five minutes neither one said anything. Applebloom was busy admiring the scenery and Caramel was just walking with his eyes on the ground, avoiding stepping into any more holes. Finally they both saw Time Turner’s house of in the distance and picked up their pace.
Unlike the other houses in Ponyville, which all shared similar designs and colors, Time Turner’s place was different. It was a two story building like most of the other houses, but unlike them it was painted a dark blue and was made entirely out of some kind of metal. The large windows watching out over the street had drapes with muffin motifs on them, giving the place a sort of homey yet alienating feel, like there were two complete opposites living in it.
On the lawn in front of the house stood a small structure that looked almost like a telephone booth, it too painted the same colors as the house. The yard itself was rather well kept, with a cut lawn and a flower patch in a ring of stones. Around the side of the house one could spot a small herbal garden and a few bushes, all of it protected by what seemed to be electrified barbed wire. A sign stood next to the small garden that said “Ingredients, no touching!” in bald letters. Yes, the place was quite strange indeed.
Applebloom and Caramel stepped into the yard and walked up to the door. The yellow filly knocked on the door, but no one came. She knocked again, harder this time, but still no answer. While his cousin kept knocking the door, Caramel was building up his courage in case it would be Time Turner opening the door. The last thing he wanted was to make a bad impression on the handsome stallion. After Applebloom knocked on the door a third time they both started getting a little anxious.
“Maybe they aren’t home.” Caramel said in an ever so slight downbeat tone.
“On a Saturday?” Applebloom just raised an eyebrow at Caramel. “Nah, they probably just don’t hear us. I’m gonna keep trying,” she said and knocked again, and this time something happened. The door still didn’t open, but sounds could be heard from inside the house; The sound of wood breaking, something tumbling down a set of stairs, and a muffled electronic voice shouting profanities every now and again. They both exchanged confused looks with each other and slowly started backing away from the door when the handle finally clicked and the door opened, revealing a small purple unicorn filly with a blond mane.
“Yes?” asked Dinky, a little confused. She looked at Caramel and Applebloom standing in the middle of the yard with confused looks on their faces. “Can I help you with anything?” she asked innocently.
Applebloom was the one to break the silence. “Uh, hi Dinky. We were just wonderin’ if Mr. Whooves is home an’ if we could see him.”
“Oh, well, okay, I’ll check. Dad! Applebloom and that brown stallion from down the street want to see you!” There was a moment of silence, but soon a voice could be heard from upstairs.
“Soon honey! Just gotta take care of a few things- NO! Get back in the attic dammit!”
There were some more rumbling sounds, and something that sounded like a laser beam being fired, followed by the faint smell of burnt hair.
“Okay that does it! You’re going to the time-out zone mister! Now get back up there and eat your muffins! No I don’t care that you don’t like them! Because it makes my wife happy! Oh, just shut up!” There was a sound of a door slamming shut, followed by the sounds of chains rattling and locks clicking. While all of this was going on, Dinky just stood in the door looking at Applebloom and Caramel as if nothing was happening.
“Well, um, he might be a while. You wanna come in and wait? Mom is in the kitchen, she’d be happy for some company.” Dinky said and opened the door wider, gesturing for her guests to come inside. Applebloom and Caramel exchanged one final look before approaching the door, letting themselves in.
The inside of the house seemed a lot bigger than the outside as Applebloom and Caramel stepped into a fairly large hall that led into the other rooms in the house. They both wiped their hooves before Applebloom removed her raincoat and hung it up. She looked around the hall in wonder, the place was certainly well-kept, with every bit of wall covered with pictures taken at different locations, most of them showing the three family members in front of some monument. Applebloom pondered this, for a family who seemingly lived on the income of a single mailmare (she didn’t know what Time Turner worked with) they sure seemed to be able to travel a lot. She kept looking at the pictures, Caramel on the other hand was mostly freaked out by what was behind the pictures, namely the wallpapers. They had an almost sickening cream color and were dotted with muffins of different sizes. In fact, while Applebloom was mostly interested in the pictures, Caramel could only notice all the muffins in the room. There were muffin shaped jars on almost every drawer, and a mirror on the wall which had its frame shaped like a muffin. As he looked around he spotted a fruit basket filled with more muffins, with a small sign in front that said “Visitors take one”. He wouldn’t touch them with a fifty foot pole. Not only did they look stale, but it just wasn’t normal. Nothing about Time Turner’s house was normal, and Caramel couldn’t wait to get out of there.
“So, you guys wanna come in? Like I said, mom’s in the kitchen, come on, I’ll show you,” Dinky said and walked into the next room with Applebloom and Caramel in tow, with the latter keeping his head down like he was afraid something might jump him. They made their way through a very cozy living room, though the wallpaper still made Caramel a bit sick. It was a very large room with a big fireplace in the corner, surrounded by three equally large armchairs and a rug. The rest of the room was surprisingly empty, with only a small table next to the window, a large bookshelf and some muffin shaped flowerpots in the windows.
“Nice place ya’ll got here,” Applebloom said. Dinky just blushed a bit.
“Thanks. I know it might seem a little odd, what with all the muffins and stuff, but mom likes it,” The unicorn filly said, looking around the room.
“What about yer dad?”
“Oh, he doesn’t mind. He keeps most of his stuff upstairs in his study,” Dinky quickly added. “So, if I may ask, why do you guys wanna see dad?”
“Oh, well, ya see, mah sister an’ Ah were in town when the cart broke, an’ Ah was thinkin’ that maybe yer dad could come an’ help us out a bit.” Applebloom said happily. Dinky just looked at her with slight confusion.
“Why would you think dad knows anything about fixing a broken cart?
“Ah...ah don’t really know, ta be honest. Ah just figured what with him havin’ this house an’ all he’d be good at fixin’ up stuff. Ah guess,” Applebloom said, blushing. Truth be told, she didn’t know exactly why Applejack had suggested Time Turner to help out, Applebloom figured her sister thought he just fit the profile of a stallion who knew how to get things done.
“Well, dad is pretty good at fixing stuff, dunno if he’ll be able to fix your cart though. Well, never mind, come on, let’s go see mom,” Dinky said flatly as the three of them exited the living room and headed for the kitchen. As they entered they were met with a slightly bizarre sight, though for Dinky it was common. The kitchen seemed pretty normal, with a table in the middle of it big enough for maybe four or five ponies, a set of chairs and a flowerpot on the table. The rest of the kitchen was almost like any other; some pantries, a fridge, the usual stuff. What caught Applebloom’s eye the most though was a large metal contraption at the other end of the room. It was about as high as the fridge, with a large funnel at the top, several dials and meters blinking and going off on the front, and several large pipes and hoses connected to the lower part where a conveyor belt came out of it, leading to a tray. It looked like a smaller version of some kind of device Scootaloo swore she’d seen during a trip to the weather factory in Cloudsdale, at least Applebloom imagined it did.
“Uh, Dinky, ah don’t mean to pry, but what’s-“
“Mom’s muffin maker,” Dinky said quickly, “Don’t worry, everyone asks about it. Dad made it for her based on blueprints he got during our last trip to Las Pegasus,” she added and stepped further into the kitchen. “Make yourselves at home, I’ll go see if Mom is in her garden,” Dinky said, and stepped out through a small door. Applebloom and Caramel sat down at the table and waited. After a few minutes Dinky came back inside, followed closely by her mother, Derpy, whom was carrying a small basket in her mouth, filled with different types of berries and fruits. She put the basket next to the muffin maker and turned to her guests with a bright smile on her face.
“Hello guys, nice of you to drop by,” she said happily, “What brings you around?”
Dinky just sighed a little. “I told you mom, they’re here to see dad,” she said and rolled her eyes. She loved her mom with every fiber in her little body, but sometimes even she got a little tired of the grey mare’s short term memory and crazy antics.
“Oh, right, sorry. Sometimes I lose myself. Well, Turner will be right with us, while you wait though, would you like a muffin? I was just about to make a batch,” Derpy asked, still smiling brightly. Applebloom and Caramel just looked at each other for a while before they noticed Dinky behind her mother making gestures, encouraging them to accept her mother’s offer. They both nodded.
“Great, I’ll get right on it then!” Derpy exclaimed happily and spun around. She pushed a button on the muffin maker and the whole thing started rumbling, the dials moving and the lights blinking like crazy. Derpy then grabbed the basket with ingredients and ascended a stepladder next to the machine. Once she’d reached the top she pulled a hanging chain, and several long pipes descended from the ceiling, each one pumping a set amount of sugar, flour, butter and milk into the funnel on top of the muffin maker. Once it was done, Derpy dropped the contents of her basket into the large funnel as well and stepped down. She then put on a pair of welding goggles and called out.
“Ready, Dinky?!”
“Ready, mom,” came Dinky’s voice from her spot next to a breaker switch on the wall.
“Then let’s make some muffins,” Derpy said and manically rubbed her hooves together, a devilish grin spread across her lips. Dinky just rolled her eyes and smiled at Applebloom and Caramel whom were just sitting with their mouths agape. “Throw the switch honey!” Derpy shouted. Dinky did as she was told and pressed down the switch. The machine started roaring and sputtering, vibrating like mad, and all the dials were going completely insane. The sound of cake mix pumping through the pipes and fruit being crunched echoed through the kitchen, and the lights started flickering as all the electricity in the house was being redirected into the machine. Applebloom and Caramel quickly ducked under the table and held each other close, their panicked shrieks drowning in the sound of the muffin maker, which was starting to fume now as well, with thick smoke bellowing out of the funnel, and the conveyor belt started rolling. Deep inside the bottom part of the machine a red light could be seen, and soon several small black silhouettes appeared inside the blazing inferno, being rolled out of the machine like troopers marching out of some hellish portal.
“I think that’s enough! Turn it off, sweetheart!” Derpy shouted, and Dinky quickly pushed the switch again. The rumbling stopped, and the only thing that could be heard was a weak buzzing as the machine shut down. Dinky pressed a button on the wall, activating a pair of large fans that sucked out all the smoke, leaving just a faint smell of burning lingering in the air. Slowly the lights flickered back on and Derpy removed her goggles. She looked at the tray in front of the conveyor belt and smiled. Before her was a batch of fresh, steaming, strawberry and blueberry muffins. She grabbed the tray with her teeth and went over to the table where Applebloom and Caramel were still hiding. Derpy leaned down with a smile.
“Muffins, anyone?”