Chapter 12
Moving everything was a simple affair that involved pulling the wagon to a new location—in this instance, Lemon Hearts’ back garden, which had a gate just wide enough to fit the wagon through. The fence was tall, made of greying wood, and covered in ivy. The back garden had a tree in one corner, herbs were planted around the cool shade of the tree, there was a patch of mint, and an ideal place to park the wagon beneath the overhang of the roof, which covered most of the wagon from the rain and the sun.
One could go from the back door to the wagon without getting too wet if it was raining.
Upstairs, the room took some getting used to. For Sumac, he could only describe it as being triangle shaped. With the angle of the roof forming the walls, the room was tall in the middle and short on both sides. One would have to be careful getting out of bed, lest one bonk their head. There were no beds however; their only beds were fold down shelves in the wagon with a thin, insulated mattress to help fight the cold. There was one tiny bathroom which Sumac understood was going to be a future battlefield. He would not go quietly.
He had already seen the kitchen and the living room, back when Lemon Hearts had taken him home to clean him up and make him feel better. The house was cosy and Sumac thought it was ideal. It was absolutely huge when compared to the wagon.
When Lemon Hearts and Trixie both settled upon a battered sofa to take a break and giggle with one another, Sumac Apple found his way down the stairs and into the dark, spooky cellar.
With the light on, the cellar wasn’t very spooky. It was a little cobwebby, which might be the reason why Boomer was suddenly awake, alert, and aware. The little hatchlings bright yellow eyes darted around the cellar looking for her most hated foe, spiders. Sumac found it quite amusing.
He eyed the furnace, which needed fixing. What Lemon Hearts didn’t know was, he and Trixie were tinkerers, fixers of things both magical and mundane. Sumac had grown up fixing all kinds of things and he had learned a great deal from Trixie. Sumac could fix everything from clocks to arcanotech zuchinni slicers.
The furnace was old and ran on gas. Gritting his teeth, he ignited his horn and heard Boomer let out a honk. She didn’t seem bothered by his magic, only startled sometimes. After looking around, Sumac located the gas line and with a great deal of effort, he turned the gas off for his own safety. He had actually helped Trixie fix a furnace almost like this one quite some time ago.
Using his telekinesis, he undid the screws which held the access plate in place. He pulled off the metal plate, set it down, and shone his horn into the access cubby. As he suspected, it was filthy, filled with cobwebs and dust bunnies. Sumac had learned from his last encounter with a furnace like this one how finicky the ignition switch was. He turned the breaker off, killing all power to the furnace, and then began cleaning out the ignition system, which was caked with dust, dirt, filth, old spiderwebs, and dessicated mouse remains that the spiders had eaten. Sumac shivered at the thought of having one’s insides slurped out.
He picked, poked, and prodded, trying to clean out the ignition, knowing what had happened. No doubt, Lemon Hearts had tried to turn on the furnace to see if it would work, the ignition system had kicked on, the accumulated filth had made it short out, and now the fuse was blown. Sumac was certain that if he cleaned everything up, replaced the fuse, and gave it a try, the furnace would work.
Cleaning it out though was the real problem. The spiders had made a real mess. Boomer let out an annoyed honk as Sumac tried to deal with the mess of webbing. Without warning, Boomer breathed out a gout of flame, a tiny well controlled burst, which burned away most of the debris in the access cubby. Boomer breathed again, and then again, little poofs of fire that burned away the webbing, dust, and dirt.
“Thank you, Boomer,” Sumac said in a low voice as he continued working, his face now blackened with soot and ash.
He could see the ignition coil. It was a little electric spike that protruded over a pilot light. The spike was caked with enough dirt to grow potatoes. Any electrical arc produced would just be shorted out by everything. Sumac went to work cleaning it and as he did so, Boomer went scurrying off of his horn and down to the floor, hunting her hated prey.
When the spike was cleaned, Sumac opened up another access panel, this one behind a hinged door. Inside, there were three fuses, big clunky things made of copper and glass. The first fuse was black and melted. Sumac spotted the problem right away and knew why the furnace was no longer working. He pulled the fuse out and then began looking around for a fresh fuse, hoping that there were a few still stored away down here.
He spotted a cabinet beneath a sink and went over to investigate. There were a few drawers, the cabinet, and an open storage cubby filled with a few tools, including a screwdriver that would have fit the screws on the access panel he had pulled off.
Boomer let out a tiny, but fierce roar as she pounced upon a spider the size of a cherry tomato. Sumac, who had turned to look, watched in horror as Boomer clawed the spider a few times, scorched it with fire, and then began ripping the spider’s legs off. Then, after trumpeting with triumph, Boomer began gobbling down her eight legged meal one hairy leg at a time.
“Ew…” Sumac shook his head and stuck out his tongue in disgust when Boomer popped the spider’s big hairy abdomen like a grape and then began nipping off bite sized pieces.
He looked in the cabinet under the sink and found cleaning supplies. He let out a huff of disappointment and began looking in the drawers as Boomer continued to enjoy her meal. The top drawer had rags and old towels. The second drawer held more tools. The third drawer held a box of fuses, which was just what Sumac needed.
After pulling it out of the box, he held it up over his head in triumph, then giggled as he realised that both he and Boomer had been victorious. He shoved in the fresh fuse, kicked in tight with his hoof, flipped the switch for the electrical system, turned on the gas, and then, when everything was done, he banged the ignition switch and hoped that he would not blow himself up.
As he watched, the electric spike arced and ignited the gas. A blue flame sprang to life, raced along the gas runner, and then with a shudder, the furnace sprang to life with a whoosh. It was a little noisy, lots of little pieces were no doubt loose, but it worked. The inside filled with a rosy glow and already warmth was creeping out of the old, battered contraption.
It was warm enough and the furnace really wasn’t needed, so he hit the kill switch. The furnace died with a shudder and a metallic groan. Satisfied, Sumac did a little more cleaning in the access cubby, using his telekinesis to knock out any remaining bits of debris. As he cleaned, he heard hooves on the stairs.
“Sumac? Sumac, is everything okay?”
Lemon Hearts’ voice sounded worried.
“Sumac, did you fix this by yourself?”
Trixie’s voice held an unmistakable amount of pride and Sumac beamed.
“You fixed the furnace?” Lemon Hearts stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking confused. “The repair pony said it would cost hundreds of bits to get this thing fixed!”
Lemon Hearts sounded a little angry and Sumac blinked as he realised that he and Trixie hadn’t been charging nearly enough. He let out a startled giggle as Boomer climbed up his leg, up his side, scurried up his neck, and perched upon his horn once more.
“What was wrong?” Trixie asked.
“The ignition system was gunky and it blew a fuse. I cleaned everything and put a new fuse in and now it works just fine. It was full of webs, dust, and mouse bones.” Sumac sat down upon the floor and grinned at the two mares. “It was an easy fix. Lemon Hearts, if you would like, I could show you how to fix it yourself if it happens again. You probably blew the fuse when you tried to turn it on to see if it worked.”
Lemon Hearts gave Trixie a sidelong glance which lingered for several long seconds, and then returned her gaze to Sumac. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the colt and something that was almost a smile spread over her muzzle.
“Such a clever little colt,” she said in a low voice. “Trixie, did you teach him how to do this?”
Nodding, Trixie replied, “That’s how we made our living. As tinkers. He has some natural talent when it comes to machinery. He just knows how stuff works. You should watch him sometime, he’s amazing when he works.”
“Flim and Flam both were natural mechanists. They built all kinds of automated machinery and steam powered contraptions. It’s a shame they didn’t stick with their mechanical talents.” Lemon Hearts shook her head. “But little Sumac here… Sumac, if you’ve inherited your father’s natural mechanical aptitude, you are going to have a bright future.”
“Really?” Sumac’s head tilted off to one side.
Lemon Hearts nodded. “Yeah… yeah you will.”
“Trixie predicts your future will involve a bath and a thorough scrubbing… you are covered in grime and soot… yucko—”
“NOOOOO!”
It just wasn’t fair… Sumac had just fixed the furnace and this was the thanks that he got? There was nowhere to run, both mares blocked the stairs, and there was nothing he could do. The little colt slumped in defeat and let out a forlorn sigh of submission.
Why did bad things happen to good ponies? Sumac really wanted to know.
The bath wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, but Sumac would never admit it. Being in a hot bath was a whole lot nicer than being in a cold bath, bathing in the river and getting a bucket of cold river water dumped over one’s head to be rinsed off. Of course, Sumac now smelled like a field of wildflowers and he wasn’t too pleased about that.
At least this time, no soap had ended up in his eyes, and that was great.
Boomer, who was perched on the back of a chair, gave Trixie wounded looks of betrayal. She too, had been scrubbed in the tub. She had been covered in little bristly hairs, bits of gorey spider remains, and was also a bit sooty. Poor Boomer had been dunked, just like Sumac had been dunked, and both of them had been miserable together.
Boomer was clearly a gentle creature, which left Sumac curious. She had claws, she had sharp teeth, she could breathe fire, but she had done nothing to hurt anypony or fight back when she was getting bathed, even though she could have. She could have nipped or even scorched Trixie, but had not. Was Boomer just naturally gentle? Docile? Was she just well mannered? How did she know how to behave? Clearly, Boomer was smart. She wasn’t a dumb lizard, she was a thinking, feeling creature that had an emerging personality.
Being a thinking, feeling creature, Sumac understood that he had to be mindful of her needs. The comb being run through his mane hit a tangle and Sumac’s whole body tensed as he winced in pain. He felt Trixie pause for a moment and then he heard her say, “Sorry.”
Sumac wondered if Trixie had come to the same conclusion when he was still a tiny foal. Had she come to understand that he too, was a thinking, feeling creature? He knew that she had gone through some adjustment when she had first become his caretaker. Sumac wondered if he thought about Trixie’s feelings and needs enough, or if he was a bad colt and didn’t think about them as often as he should.
“Lemon Hearts wants to go out and have a nice lunch with us. It’s going to be wonderful having lunch with such a handsome, clean little colt,” Trixie said in a voice that did not do enough to contain her teasing tone. “I think you’ll need a mane trim soon, but not today.”
Sumac, who was rather enjoying being brushed and combed, but would never admit it, squirmed in his chair to offer token resistance. Boomer still looked wounded and stared at Trixie with wide, almost unblinking eyes. Sumac wondered if Boomer resented smelling like flowers.
“I’m so very proud of you. You did good, kiddo. You and I are having a pretty good day, aren’t we? This is nice. Sometimes, a pony just needs a good day to happen. It’s easy to get worn down and feel down in the dumps.” Trixie dropped her head and kissed Sumac on the ear. She felt him shiver from her touch and it made her giggle just a bit.
Sumac, unable to help himself, overcome with warm, fuzzy feelings, smiled.
Nooooooo! 
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Edit:
breathe
Edit edit:
Sounds like Sumac just needs unscented soap. Or apple-scented.
pore pore spider.
7101310 Look at my comment the previous chapter.
Sometimes I wonder if all that "Bath Nightmares" Sumac have are something related to the writer.
Just wondering...
I protest this clear prejudice against our arachnid brethren.
Seems like she came out more or less capable of caring for herself. It's been what... a few months at most?
I wonder what exactly that means for the way that that specific kind of dragon's family operates.
Also I am totally disappointed that I missed the "Sumac is Flim (or was it Flam)'s son, and thus his talents might be a chip off the ol' block." angle until it was explicitly stated.
Yes, Sumac good ponies always have bad things happen to them cause baths are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO terrible.
7101367 Why do I get the feeling his father will show up one day with a broken machine along with his mother and shit will hit the fan? Also what's the story behind Lemon and Trixie? Or did I just miss it?
7101362
A few months? No. A few days.
7101405
First chapter of the story.
7101405
You mean his parents who are in prison for the rest of their days?
7101431 Sorry it's just what they did doesn't seem like something life in prison should be a suitable punishment. At least not to me anyways. Just thinking out loud. Although a jail break now and then can make things interesting, so I never throw out the possibility.
7101340 If you have arachnid bretheren, then I can definitely cross ONE person off the list of 'potential visitors anywhere I am' :D
7101453
Come on. How can you stay mad at this face.
c1.staticflickr.com/9/8148/6989418824_576e2c601e_b.jpg
7101474 Easily. And with a flamethrower.
7101436 7101431
I'm somewhat interested in this too.
In the forgive-happy world of Equestria, exactly how bad does a crime need to be for them to be completely unforgivable?
Or is it a case of "I don't think they are going to repent for their actions, not honestly, so they are not going to be forgiven even if their crimes are not as bad as others"?
7101508 I guess it could be worse, cause I feel Trixie was worse off and Starlight was pushing the boundaries of morality. But if they could be forgiven why not them? Although... well, perhaps I'm reading into this too much. After all it is in the realm of canon for ponies to react in extremes or not at all. Like in slice of life.
"Friendship problem or a monster attack." It was so meta but so true that Ponyville has become accustom to some monster coming into town every week or so. But I will admit when a pony does wrong it is usually handled with extreme prejudice.
As someone who is terrified of and hates spiders I approve of Boomer's actions.
7101525
7101508
Reading through the Weed and through these other stories, one can see that both Flim and Flam were unrepentant criminals. They had no intention of reforming. In this story, we find out a little bit more about what Flam has done after selling his brother out. They were given a chance to reform and they abused it.
Trixie and Starlight both didn't waste their one chance to make things right.
Do not go silently onto thy good night! Fight!
...
And he goes quietly.
7101586
http://www.fimfiction.net/group/210355/weed-world
This will help.
There are previous stories that lay the groundwork to this one.
7101574 Oh that's right this story follows that one! I keep forgetting! Now i must add it to my files.
7101574
Oh yeah. That's right.
I guess I didn't spend enough time connecting the dots.
7101684
For both Trixie and Starlight, at least in this story, their fall into darkness made them better ponies. Their redemption is what makes them exceptional individuals. They've gained knowledge and wisdom from their stumble and have found their way back into grace. They are valuable members of society... doubly so because they've been on the other side of society, the bad side. You will notice that Twilight has snatched them up to be her advisors and there is a reason... as ponies who have gone bad, they understand why ponies go bad. Twilight, as an effective ruler, can spot the early warning signs and deal with troublesome individuals before they become a problem. (Like Olive.)
7101340
#spiderlivesmatter
7101824
Dammit, now I have to start a tumblr.
"...There was one tiny bathroom which Sumac understood was going to be a future battlefield. He would not go quietly...."
Speaking as a male in a house which once had three females, you're doomed, Sumac. At least you can run outside and water a bush in an emergency.
7102164
What are you nattering on about?
I just got to the end of this chapter and went to click the next button and there isn't one! Noooooooo!
7101962
The funniest thing is that my uncles, when they come home to visit mom (aka my grandma), are the ones to occupy one of the two toilets (only one is a full bath) in the house for obscenely long times. And if there are two of them in the house? I have to knock and remind them of the limited number of toilets. XD
7101431 I'm with the Prison break group--Flim (or was it Flam?) would try to escape (probably invent something to do just that).
Plus, while defrauding dozens of ponies out of their money is really, really bad--it doesn't justify a life-time jail sentence.
I'd imagine a decade or two at the most (maybe time off for good behavior). You could always have them on parole in Ponyville...and Trixie having to protect her adoptive son from bloodrealtions...
7102634
The Wardens will know if they even think of escaping and deal with them appropriately. Nopony ever thinks about it for very long. The Wardens want to help you get better and correct your thinking.
Plus, you can't run from them.
7103594
Well, of course. They're also best modeled as uniform spheres.
7102184 a reference ta a very gross grimdark fic in which Cheerilee starts "gardening" her pupils ta dispose of the "weeds"basically typical grimdark for the sake of Grimdark ickiness.
7103628
Currently mages are using them as representations to see how higher dimensional planes affect those in power diemensions. Results are promising.
Ooo, the furnace repair. Neat.
Poor spiders. They just want to clean up the world's bugs and other small pests, and this one here just gets BBQed and eaten for its trouble.
Nice job, Sumac. Sounds like it could still use a little more maintenance given the mention of how loud it is and the likelihood of loose pieces, but this is clearly a huge improvement over the former nonfunctionality.
7120310 no. He is an apple.
dessicated mice remains
This should be mouse. The remains is plural -- or, rather, indicates a non-quantified group of stuff, like "hair" so it doesn't matter whether or not multiple mice are involved. Remains is the noun, Mouse is the type of remains that are present.
Or, for another example, dog shit. Even if a bunch of dogs shit in a pile, you don't call it a pile of "dogs shit." It's still just dog shit.
7101574
Re-reading this, and I feel it's important to note that the recent episode, Viva Las Pegasus bears out Flim and Flam's unrepentant criminal nature.
7264857 Actually, He's right if there are multiple mice in that pile of remains.
7101474
Exactly! It's adorable!
Just look at those big eyes!
And those cute eyelashes!
Beard needs a bit of trimming though.
8201244
Not to mention a hot dancer !
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d_yYC5r8xMI&t=21
(Not Spiderman)