The Beginning

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Many ponies in Equestria love the sweet taste of a piece of candy. The luscious flavor and the feeling of it overwhelms the mouth. Now Princess Luna may want ponies to start eating healthier, but it won’t stop ponies from enjoying their favorite sweets. Some ponies have even got their cutie marks because of them.

But there has to be ponies in Equestria to make all this candy. Some of the most popular brands are the Hoofies Chocolate Factory on Hoofies Ave in Manehattan, or the Lunar Incorporated Factory in Canterlot.

However, every candy company falls below the lines of one particular company. For you see the most popular Candy Factory in Equestria, situated just outside of Ponyville, it the Pinkie Pie Chocolate Factory.

Now this wasn’t an ordinary Chocolate Factory. No…for you see this factory was the largest in the World. It was a good fifty times as big as any other. Built by the strongest of ponies, on the flattest land in the area, the factory was built to be dazzling.

It was thanks to this factory that Ponyville had grown as much as it had over the years. More and more ponies came to live in town as to be closer to the factory. They were all thrilled to be working in such an interesting place.

…But that was some time ago.

Now I do believe we should meet the pony who will lead us on our wonderful journey.

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“And with that, Princess Luna was banished to the moon. There she stayed for one thousand years before…”

The school bell range, cutting off the purple/pink pony at the front of the room. Freezing, she looked up at the clock.

“Oh my, it seems I’ve been talking for too long. Now remember to have chapter 18 read by Monday class” she said as the students began to pack up their supplies.

Soon all the students had scurried out of the room…all expect for one. At the back of the room, at the far right, sat a small earth pony. She had a bright red mane, which was tied with a bow, and a yellow pelt.

The foal was still packing her things into her saddlebags. But unlike all the other foals, she was taking her time. All her pencils and paper were carefully put in their proper place.

The pink pony at the front, who was now sitting at her desk, looked over at the foal.

“Apple Bloom, aren’t you going to head home. Not that I wouldn’t mind if you’re staying. It does get lonely sifting through papers alone all evening” she said.
“Don’t worry Miss Cheerilee; I’m heading out. I just wanted to make sure everything was in the right spot” said Apple Bloom. She tossed her saddlebags onto her back, and headed for the door.

“Do be careful walking home, the snow will make things slick” said Cheerilee.

“I will. See you Monday Miss Cheerilee” said Apple Bloom. And with a swift motion, she was out the door.

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Apple Bloom walked through the crowded hallway on her way to the front doors. Many foals were either walking to different locations in the school, or getting things out of their locker. Thankfully Apple Bloom had all of her stuff with her, so all she needed to get from her locker was her scarf.

Reaching her locker, located just around the corner from the front door, Apple Bloom began to swirl the dial to the right numbers.

“10…10…10” said Apple Bloom. She kept thanking herself that she got the easiest combination in the school.

Pulling the locker open, she pulled her scarf down from the hook, and flung it around her neck.

“Hey Apple Bloom” said a voice.

Turning around, Apple Bloom saw a foal with a curly red mane, an off white pelt, and two candy canes in the shape of a heart as a cutie mark.

“Oh, hey Twist. What’s going on” asked Apple Bloom, giving her locker a buck shut as she did so.

“I was about to head home, and was wondering if you’d like to come with. Your house is a little further along, so you wouldn’t have to walk that much farther” said Twist.

Apple Bloom’s face became questionable. “Would we go down Hoof Street or Buck Ave” she asked.

“Hoof Street, it’s the fastest” said Twist with a big smile.

Apple Bloom rubbed the side of her leg. “Oh, well you see Twist…I have to go down Buck Ave. Applejack wants me to pick up some stuff for the farm” she said.

Twist showed a face of disappointment. Looking down at the floor, she gently moved her hoof in circle. “Oh, okay then. Maybe some other time” she said.

“Right, some other time” said Apple Bloom. As she began walking towards the corner, she looked back at Twist. “See you around Twist. I promise we’ll walk home together some day” she said.

“Yeah, okay” said Twist, and then she walked down the hallway.
Apple Bloom turned the corner and headed for the door. “Sorry Twist, but I just really wanted to go by it” she said to herself. Reaching the door, she swung it open and walked outside.

*************************

The strong just of cold wind blew on Apple Bloom’s face. Snow picked up off the ground and swirled around her. Not even her scarf could keep her as warm as she wanted.

“Sweet Celestia, why is it we have school on days like this” she asked as she walked down the steps of the school.

Once at the bottom, she turned to the left and started walking down the sidewalk. Every once in a while a stallion pulling a cart would pass by on the street, spaying snow everywhere at the same time.

Ponies wearing winter halts and scarfs would also pass by; carrying packages and parcels. No doubt these would be gifts for Hearth's Warming Eve in a month’s time.

But as Apple Bloom walked along the sidewalk, her mind was only on one thing.

Once she reached the intersection of Hoof Ave and Buck Road, she walked across the street and took Buck.

Nothing seemed particularly special about Buck Ave: The houses were normal, the shops were normal, and the ponies were normal. But one thing made it very special.
For halfway down the street, in full view of Ponyville, was Pinkie Pie’s Chocolate Factory; the Largest Chocolate Factory in HISTORY!!!!

The many chimneys that protruded from the rooftops puffed out smoked that swirled through the air. And the sweet smell of fresh chocolate could be smelled for miles.

But the whole factory had dull grey color to it. Not that it detracted from the splendor of the factory. Even the wall around it, with the large iron gates at the front, looked amazing.

And as Apple Bloom walked beside the front wall, she looked up at the chimneys, taking in the smell of chocolate as she did so.

But before she knew it, she was standing right in front of the main gates. Turning to the right, she looked through them towards the three large front doors.

“Why is it that I never see anypony going in or out” she asked herself.

However Apple Bloom couldn’t look long, because now she had passed the gate and had to turn left; this was the right way home.

Walking across the street, she headed down the sidewalk that would take her out of town.

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Once Apple Bloom had left Ponyville, she walked down a small dirt road. The snow was covering most of it, but it wasn’t deep enough that she was having a hard time getting through.

And soon a large, red, snow covered barn came into view.

“Thank Celestia, it seems to get longer and longer every time I walk down here” she said as she walked through the front gates.

Besides a few odd buckets and racks, the yard was completely empty. The trees were so barren that you could see for miles behind them.

Reaching the door, Apple Bloom gave it three hard knocks.

“Coming, Coming” said a voice on the other side.

Suddenly the door flew open, basking light over Apple Bloom and the surrounding area.

And in the doorway stood an orange earth pony with a blond mane, a cowboy hat, and three apples as a cutie mark.

“Apple Bloom, good to see you made it home. What took you so long” asked the mare as Apple Bloom walked past her.

Rubbing her hooves together, Apple Bloom threw her saddle bags into a nearby chair. “Sorry Applejack. I went a different way this time” she said.

“Well I’d suggest going the faster route next time. We don’t want ya being out there in this kind a weather” said Applejack.

“Yeah, I know. But right now all I want is to get warm. Is there a fire going” asked Apple Bloom as she hanged her scarf on a hook.

“Yep. Granny should be sitting by there to, but I think she’s taking her nap” said Applejack.

But Apple Bloom wasn’t listening. She was already out of the kitchen and in the living room. Almost immediately warmth came around her.

The fireplace sat on the wall to her right. Pictures of a baby Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom could be seen. A few others of Hearths Warming Eve days and birthdays were also hanging around the room.

In front of the fire place was a rocking chair, which currently held an female earth pony. She was a sour apple green, with a grey mane, and an apple pie as a cutie mark.

Her head was slopped down, and she was snoring loudly. Not even the sound of Apple Bloom walking beside her could wake her up.

“Same old Granny; taking a nap during the day” said Apple Bloom. But right now she was more focused on getting warm. She happily rubbed her hooves together in front of the fire. The heat coming off it made her hooves feel good.
“Apple Bloom, can you go get some apples from the cellar. I need some for dinner tonight” called Applejack from the kitchen.

“Can do” Apple Bloom called back. Then she picked herself up and walked off to the cellar.

When she came back, with a bucket of apples on her back, she found something surprising. Granny Smith was awake and staring happily at the fire.

“Nice to see you’re up Granny” said Apple Bloom as she approached the fire.

Granny turned and looked at the young foal. “Why hello there dearie. What are you doing with all those apples” she asked.

“Applejack asked me to get them. She says she needs them for tonight’s dinner” said Apple Bloom with a smile.

“Well I hope she doesn’t use too much. We don’t want to go through all our apples too fast” said Granny, sounding like she was annoyed and concerned.

“I’ll be sure to tell her that” said Apple Bloom, and she turned away from Granny and walked towards the kitchen door.

*************************
“Thanks for bring the apples” said Applejack after putting the bucket of apples on the counter.

“No problem sis. But can I go back to the fire now, I’m still a little cold” said Apple Bloom. She was beginning to feel cool in her hooves again, and wanted to warm up more.

“Go ahead. In fact I might join you; takes a little while for the stove to heat up” said Applejack.

“Alright” said Apple Bloom with a smile.

But before the two could even turn towards the living room, the back door burst open. Gust of cold wind blew in, throwing lose snow all over the place. Then a big earth pony walked in, before shutting the door behind him.

The pony was a dark red color, with a blond mane, an apple cut in half as a cutie mark, and was wearing a large brown collar and green scarf.

“Nice to see you made it home without turning into a popsicle Big Mac” said Applejack.

“Eeyup” said Big Mac as he put his scarf on a nearby chair.

“Well since you just got out of the cold, you should come and join us bro. We’re going to warm up by the fire” said Apple Bloom.

Big Mac nodded, and the three of them walked into the fire lit room.

Granny heard them come in, and looked around as they neared the fire. “Aw, so you’re all coming to spend some time with your granny” she said as they sat down in front of the fire. Big Mac threw a few more logs on to keep it hot.

“Just until the stoves warmed up Granny. Then I have to get back to making dinner” said Applejack.

“That’s fine. So, what yall want ta talk about” said Granny.

“I’ve got something to ask actually” said Applejack, then she looked at Apple Bloom. “Care to explain why you were so late today”?

Apple Bloom looked at the fire, keeping her gaze away from her sister. She had this sense were she could tell if someone was lying or not, so there was no reason not to tell the truth.

“I was late getting home because…because I…went down Buck Ave” said Apple Bloom.

Applejack smiled smugly “Aw, so you went by the factory hu” she said.

“Yeah. I just really like the taste of Chocolate, and it smells like chocolate every time I walk pas there. So I took a detour so I could get a whiff” said Apple Bloom.

Applejack chuckled “I can’t blame you. When I first had some of Pinkie’s Chocolate, I felt like I was in heaven. Every time I could I would by one of her chocolate bars. Of course…that was before that happened” she said, her voice suddenly turning sad.

Apple Bloom looked confused “What do ya mean? What happened” she asked.

The faces of Granny, Applejack, and Big Mac scrunched up; as if they wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to.

“Go on and tell her, but start from the beginning” said Granny. She to sounded sad and serious.

Applejack took in a deep breath, and then let it out. “Alright. This is what happened”.

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“About twenty years ago, a small shop opened up here in Ponyville. Now this wasn’t strange at all, since lots of people decide to set up shop here. But this wasn’t no ordinary shop.

It was a sweet shop, going by the name of “Pinkie’s Sweets”. And as its named suggested, it was run by a mare named Pinkie Pie. She was young for a candy maker, but that didn’t stop her.

At first the shop had some competition from other sweet shops, but soon ponies were lining the side of the street to get inside. Every time I went there after school, I’d be standing on the sidewalk for half an hour before I got it.

The shop sold all kinds of candy. Chocolate bars, chocolate ice cream, lollipops, nerds, taffy, rock candy, and much more. We even had a small contract with Pinkie to provide apples for her Candy Apples.

Soon ponies from all over Equestria were asking for Pinkie to send them her candy. And that’s when Pinkie got an idea.

Five years after opening her shop, Pinkie announced she was going to build a factory to mass produce her confections. Now all of Equestria could taste her sweet treats.

Hundreds of earth ponies, unicorns, and Pegasus moved to Ponyville to help with the building of the factory. An area was cleared away outside of town, and four years later the factory was done. But it wasn’t just any ordinary factory; it was the largest chocolate factory in the world. A good fifty times as big as any other.

And for the next few years, life was pretty sweet. More ponies were hired to work in the factory, drawing more business to Ponyville. Builds were popping up left and right, more than doubling the size of the town.

But nothing good last forever. Pinkie wasn’t the only candy maker in Equestria, but she was the best. This caused the other candy makers to get jealous. They needed to find a way to compete with her…and their answer wasn’t good.

They decided they needed to get their hands on her recipes so they could either keep up with her, or drag her down. They sent ponies to work in the factory and get her trust. Then they’d sneak the recipes out and give them to the other companies.

Soon Hoofies started making an Ice Cream that would never melt. Lunar Incorporated made a gum that never lost its flavor. Then a company called Slugworth’s began making candy balloons that would could blow up to incredible sizes.

The thievery was getting worse and worse. At this rate, Pinkie wouldn’t have anything left.

Then one day without warning, Pinkie did something strange. She told every single one of her workers to go home. Once they were out she closed the gates, and then announced that she was closing her Chocolate Factory… forever.

And after that, Pinkie’s shop in town was closed. Letters to the factory demanding it be reopened were piling up in the post office. People sometimes would just stand in front of the factory, looking at the chimneys. But no smoke rose out of them.”

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“But it didn’t close forever. It’s open right now” said Apple Bloom.

“Well that was a surprise for all of us. The factory was closed for three years. Ponies that had moved here to work at the factory stayed around; hoping that Pinkie would reopen the factory. Then one day, some ponies saw smoke rising from the chimneys; the Factory was open again” said Applejack.

“Did everypony get their job back” asked Apple Bloom.

“Nnope, no one did” said Big Mac.

The family sat in silence for a moment. The only sound that could be heard was the crackle of the fire.

“But there must be ponies working there” said Apple Bloom.

“Think about it sis; have you ever seen a single pony going into that factory, or coming out of it” asked Applejack.

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin, thinking. “No, the gates are always closed.”

“Exactly” said Big Mac.

“But then, who’s running the machines” asked Apple Bloom.

“Nopony knows. It’s one of the biggest mysteries surrounding that factory” said Applejack.

“Hasn’t somepony asked Pinkie Pie” asked Apple Bloom.

The room was silent again, but not for long.

“Nopony sees her anymore; she never comes out. The only thing that comes out of that place is the candy; already packed and addressed” said Granny, who had remained quiet while the others spoke.

“Eeyup” said Big Mac.

Applejack rose up from the floor. “We I’d better see if the stoves heated up yet. I’ll call when dinners ready” she said. And turning swiftly, she walked out of the room.

“And I have to get some more firewood” said Big Mac, spotting the small amount of logs by the fire. Then he too got up and left the room.

Apple Bloom and Granny were left alone.

“And to think; I was hoping to one day go inside that factory. Now, I guess I won’t be able to” said Apple Bloom, lowering her head to the floor.

Granny looked down at her, with a warm smile on her face. “Nothing’s impossible dearie. You may just get your chance one day”.

“Yeah…maybe” said Apple Bloom.

And until Applejack called them for dinner, the two sat it silence, looking at the fire.

The Hunt Is On

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Chapter 2

The early morning sun sneaked its way through the curtains in Apple Blooms room. Soon it found its mark: Apple Bloom’s face. The young filly, who had been sleeping soundly, cringed as the bright light shown across her.

She turned over, blocking the sun’s rays with her back. But now she was awake, and after trying to fall back into a deep slumber for two minutes, decided it was time to get up.

Walking to the nearby dresser, she grabbed the hook in her mouth and pulled it open. Inside, neatly arranged in rows, were lots of pink bows. Picking one out at random, she quickly tied it around her hair.

“Looking good girl” said Apple Bloom as she looked into a nearby mirror.

After making her bed and picking up a few odd things here and there, she left her bedroom and headed down the stairs.

When she reached the bottom, she found Big Mac putting logs into the now empty fireplace.

“Morning Big Mac” she said.

Big Mac looked over at her and smiled “Morning” he said. Then he went back to the fire.

Apple Bloom walked to the nearby door and into the kitchen. Applejack was standing by the stove, stirring something that smelled really good.

“Morning Applejack” said Apple Bloom, not seeing her mouth being to water because of the good smell.

Applejack stopped stirring and looked over at her. “Good morning Apple Bloom. Sleep well” she asked.

“Yeah, it was great. I’m full of energy and ready for the day” said Apple Bloom happily.

“Well that’s great, because I have a job for ya” said Applejack. She pulled a list from off the counter and set it in front of Apple Bloom. “I need ya to run into town. We’re running low on a few vegies and I need ya to go get some more” she said.

Apple Bloom’s face fell “But I haven’t even gotten breakfast yet” she complained.

“Well the faster ya get home, the sooner ya get breakfast” said Applejack.

Apple Bloom groaned, but she put on her scarf, grabbed the list, and headed out the door.

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Apple Bloom trudged through the fresh morning snow. It was much harder than it had been the day before. Now she had to work even harder to make it through. Sometimes the snow reached up to the top of her legs, and she had to hop to get farther.

Thankfully she reached the town edge, where the snow was much more walkable thanks to the ponies whose job it was to clear snow.

But Apple Bloom noticed something strange when she walked onto the sidewalk. A group of ponies were gathered around a nearby street lamp. Some in the back were jumping so they could see whatever they were looking at.

“Maybe a colt got his tongue stuck to it” she thought. But she decided to get a straight answer. So she walked over the group, and started pushing her way towards the front.

But when she reached the front, she didn’t find a colt stuck to the pole. Instead, she saw a poster hanging from it instead. Even thought it was up high, Apple Bloom was still able to read it.

DEAR PONIES OF THE WORLD

I, PINKIE PIE, HAVE DECIDED TO ALLOW FIVE FOALS TO VISTIT MY FACTORY THIS YEAR. THESE LUCKY FIVE WILL BE SHOW AROUND PERSONALLY BY ME. AND WILL LEARN ALL THE SECRETS AND MAGIC OF MY FACTORY.

FIVE GOLDEN TICKETS HAVE BEEN HIDDEN UNDERNEATH THE ORDINARY WRAPPING PAPER OF FIVE ORDINARY PINKIE BARS. THESE FIVE CANDY BARS MAY BE ANYWHERE: IN ANY SHOP, IN ANY STREET, IN ANY TOWN, ON ANY LANDMASS IN THE WORLD.

IN ADDITION, ONE OF THESE FOALS SHALL RECEIVE A SPECIAL PRIZE BEYOUND ANYTHING YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE. GOOD LUCK TO ALL. AND HAPPY HUNTING!

PINKIE PIE

Apple Bloom stood there with her mouth hanging open for a few minutes. While all around her, ponies were talking.

“I can’t believe it; she’s actually going to let ponies in!”

“Where do you think the Golden Tickets are?”

“Wherever they are, I’m going to find one!”

“We’ll see about that, I’ll find one before anyone else can!”

“GAME ON!”

Soon the ponies of the group began to go back to what they were doing before. But Apple Bloom continued to stare at the poster for a few more minutes.

“I could…win a trip to the Factory” she said silently. She leaned over and looked at the factory in the distance.

“Alright, better hurry home and tell the others” said Apple Bloom. So she ran down the street towards the shops.
After buying all the veg. on the list, Apple Bloom ran down the street back to the Apple Farm.

But everywhere she looked, it was chaos. All the sweet shops were overloaded with ponies. They crowded around the inside and outside, screaming and trying to push their way in. A few foals sneaked out from under the adults, with Pinkie Bars overflowing their saddlebags.

“They’ll all be sold dry by noon” said Apple Bloom.

Then as she passed the pole with the poster, she reached up, yanked it down, and shoved it in her saddlebag. “Better than telling em” she said. And then she bolted down the sidewalk.

When she finally reached the barn, she kicked open the door and ran inside. Applejack was pouring whatever she had been cooking into bowls. She looked over when Apple Bloom ran in.

“Hey sis, you sure got home quick. Ready for some delicious breakfast” she asked.

“Yeah, but not now. You have to see this” said Apple Bloom. She pulled out the poster and set it on the table. “EVERYPONY, COME CHECK THIS OUT” she screamed.

Big Mac and Granny walked in a moment later.

“What is it dearie” asked Granny.

“Come look at his poster; it was hanging from a bunch to street lamps out in town” said Apple Bloom.

The family gathered around and looked at the paper. But with each line they read, their eyes grew bigger and bigger. And when they finished, they too were silent for a moment.

“I can’t believe my eyes; Pinkie is going to let ponies into her factory” said Applejack, still in awe about what she had read.

“Eeyup” said Big Mac happily.

“Don’t get your hopes up you two. She says foals are allowed to visit, and there are only five golden tickets. If anyone has a chance in this family, its little pintsized here” said Granny, rubbing Apple Bloom’s mane.

“Really, you think I have a chance” said Apple Bloom hopefully.

“You have as much chance as anypony does” said Granny.

“So can I go start loading up on Pinkie Bars” asked Apple Bloom.

Applejack’s face fell. “Can’t say sis. Remember we have limited money during the winter. Until we can see what it’ll cost to keep us going until spring, we’ll have to hold up on buying chocolate” she said sadly.

Apple Bloom’s face fell as well. “Alright, I understand. But you should have seen the mob of people outside all the sweet shops. They were fit to burst, and I bet every one of them wanted to buy Pinkie Bars” she said.

“Eeyup, this is going to be a crazy contest” said Big Mac.

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And Crazy wasn’t even close to what this contest was doing.

All over the world, stores carrying Pinkie Bars were being overrun with ponies. All of them were waving a bag of bits and demanding ten or twenty bars at a time. Some just threw their bags on the counter, grabbed some bars, and ran out the door.

Cities like Manehattan and Las Pegasus had to call in the police to keep the crowds under control. And small towns all over Equestria were offering Pinkie Bars to those who helped keep the crowds under control.

And when a store ran out of bars, some ponies camped outside so they could get in first when the new shipment arrived.

Filly Delphia was even reporting that some ponies had tried to sneak into the warehouses and steal the incoming Pinkie Bars.

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At the Apple Farm, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were sitting in the living room. Granny was in her favorite rocking chair, and Apple Bloom was sitting on some cushions. A radio was placed above the fireplace; with the volume turned up to they could hear. A report on the Golden Ticket search was being sent through.

“Already we have reports coming in that the response to the contest is phenomenal. Pinkie Bars are beginning to disappear from sweet shop shelves at a rate to boggle the mind. Truly it is incredible the way that Pinkiemania has descended upon the globe. While the world searches, we watch and wait, wondering where the pursuit will lead and how long the spirit of pony will hold up under the strain.”

“They’ll tear towns apart looking for those tickets” said Granny.

“All the shops in town are already sold out. And ponies are spending every cent they can spare on Pinkie Bars” said Apple Bloom.

“Wasting so much money on chocolate, it’s just not right. Buy a candy bar if you have some spare money, but don’t spend it all on forty bars” said Granny.

Just then Applejack walked down the stairs. When she saw Apple Bloom and Granny listening to the radio, she walked over to them.

“What are you two listening to” she asked.

“Latest update on the contest. They’ve already sold out all the shops in Ponyville, and ponies are demanding they get their next shipments in” said Apple Bloom.

“Geez, ponies sure are gathering up lots of Chocolate. Must hurt when they spend all that money and don’t get a Golden Ticket. But I do suppose they can eat all that chocolate to make them feel better” said Applejack.

“Well I can tell you one thing; the pony that finds the first ticket will be fat, Fat, FAT” said Granny.

Ticket #1

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Chapter 3

There are many magical places in Equestria, both literately and figuratively. There’s the rainbow falls, Neighagra Falls, Cloudsdale, and much more. Each one of them fills the viewer with awe and calmness.

But they all fall when it comes to the Crystal Empire.

As the name suggests, the whole empire is made of crystal. From the shops to the homes, and even the streets. Not only that, but the ponies there shine like a fresh crystal to.

And sitting in the middle of the empire is a glorious crystal castle. In it lives the Prince and Princess. They watch over and protect the empire, making sure no evil harms the ponies.

This was one place ponies from all over Equestria come to see.

But now, most ponies weren’t paying attention to the buildings and the castle. Instead, most ponies were gathered on a single street. They crowed around a small shop halfway down, with conversations going on all over the place.

“It’s really in there?”

“Can’t believe ones been found already!”

“Think we could get in and see it?”

And inside the shop, things were just as crazy.

Ponies with cameras and notepads were shouting things out so fast it was hard to comprehend.

“Truffle, over here please!”

“Smile for the camera, it loves ya!”

“Mind answering a few questions?”

“Let’s see that gold!”

The ponies were all shouting at a small foal that was standing up near the shop register.

The foal’s coat was gray, with a dark brown mane and tale. His cutie mark was a knife and a fork. And…he looked a little chubby.

Next to him stood an older mare, most likely his mom. She had a light grey coat, a short cut black mane, and a spoon as a cutie mark. Like her son, she looked chubby.

But the foal was also holding something in his hoof. Laid out where everyone could see it was a rectangular sheet of golden paper. But, inscribed on the front were the words: GOLDEN TICKET.

“Truffle Shuffle, would you mind telling us how you found the first Golden Ticket” asked a pony, using magic to write things down on a notepad.

The foal, Truffle Shuffle, smiled. “Of course I will. So I was eating my eight Pinkie Bar of the day as usual. Normally I eat it, and an hour later I get a new bar. But this time, something was off. I tasted something that wasn’t chocolate. Or coconut . . . or walnut, or peanut butter . . . or nougat. Or butter brittle, or caramel, or sprinkles. I spit out what I tasted, and it looked like gold. So I looked down at the bar, and found the Golden Ticket right there.”

“Amazing story Truffle. So how are you celebrating this marvelous achievement” asked another reporter, this one with a camera?

“That’s easy; I eat more candy” said Truffle. Then, from out of nowhere, he pulled out a Pinkie Bar. Ripping off the paper, he took a big chunk out of it and began to chow down.

“Any comments on your son’s achievement Mrs. Shuffle” asked a pony in the back.

“Well I just knew that Truffle would find the Golden Ticket. He eats so many Pinkie Bars a day that it was not possible for him not to find one” said Mrs. Shuffle.

“Are you excited to be going to the factory Truffle” asked a reporter in the front.

Truffle finished the Pinkie Bar he had been eating. “Of course I am. I love Pinkie Bars, and now I get to go to the factory. This would have to be the best moment of my life. And I have to give Pinkie credit for this contest. She’s going to be earning a lot of money thanks to all those ponies buying bars” he said.

“Come on Truffle, show off that ticket more” screamed another pony with a camera.

So Truffle held the ticket up high, and all ponies with cameras started taking pictures.

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Meanwhile, back at the Apple Farm, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were listening to the broadcast live on the radio.

“The first Golden Ticket has been claimed, and there are now only four more left” said the announcer.

“What did I tell you? I knew he would be a porker” said Granny.

“Come on Granny, don’t say things like that” said Apple Bloom.

Applejack walked in from the other room and over to the two.

“Any big news” she asked sitting down.

“They found the first Golden Ticket up in the Crystal Empire” said Apple Bloom.

Applejack snorted “As if that place didn’t need any more publicity” she said.

“And things have just gone up in excitement around her folks. For you see Princess Cadence has just arrived. I’m not kidding, she’s actually here. We’re be right back to see if we can get a comment” said the announcer.

The Apples were surprised by this recent news.

“The Princess is there to” asked Apple Bloom.

“Makes sense if you think about it. This is a big thing for the empire, so the Princess most likely wants to see it” said Applejack.

“Alright ponies, it’s actually happening. We’re about to get a word from the Princess on all of this” said the announcer.

The Apples listened, leaning forward so they could hear better.

“Hello Princess, thank for so much for giving us a moment of your time” said the reporter.

“It’s no trouble at all, I don’t mind answering a few questions” said Cadence.

“Now Princess, what is your word on the finding of the first Golden Ticket by Truffle Shuffle” asked the reporter.

“I think I speak for everypony here when I say who happy I am that the first Golden Ticket was found here in the Crystal Empire. I am also very proud of Truffle Shuffle for his achievement. It is always a pleasure to see a young filly or colt accomplish something great” said Cadence.

“That’s a beautiful thing to say Princess. Now may I ask a different question? Are YOU hunting for a Golden Ticket as well” asked the reporter.

The princess chuckled “No, I’m afraid I’m not. And if I had been, I would have stopped after today. I wouldn’t want to take the spotlight away from Truffle. I want him to remain the Golden Ticket finder of the Crystal Empire” she said.

“Once again, that is beautiful Princess” said the reporter.

“Thank you. Now I hate to cut this short, but I’d like to go in and congratulate Truffle” said Cadence.

“Of course Princess. Thank you for your time” said the reporter.

Applejack got up and turned the radio off.

“Well one’s been found. Now the question is who’ll find the others” she said. Then she turned around and walked back towards the kitchen.

“Whoever it is, they’re going to have to speed up their search to find them before everypony else does” said Apple Bloom.

“Yep. Now that they found one, things will really get crazy” said Granny.

Ticket #2

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Chapter 4

There are many grand and high class places in Equestria. Places where the rich and the fancy spend their time with others like them.

And in Equestria, that place would have to be Canterlot.

Situated on the side of a mountain, it is the hub of fancy and high class ponies, who mostly spend their time shopping or trying to get ponies to invest in their company.

It is also where Princess Celestia rules over Equestria. Her castle is in full view of the city, and from the mountain she can see over all of her subjects. It is also where she raises the sun in the morning and lowers it at night.

But she is joined also by her sister Princess Luna. As princess of the night, she guards Equestria while the ponies sleep through the darkness.

It almost seemed like nothing could overshadow all of this.

But something could, and something did.

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There is a place in Canterlot called the “Upper Sector”. This was where everypony that was rich and powerful stayed. The houses that lined the street were large and elegant. Each had a large iron gate at the front, and spectacular gardens leading up to the front steps.

It was on one of these streets that a large crowd had gathered. They stood in front of the largest house in the sector. It had large iron gates wrapping around the grounds, with bushes planted on the outside. The front yard was clean and had a walkway up to the large wooden doors. Columns where placed around the house, giving it even more splendor.

The crowd was stuck behind the iron gates, but there was commotion coming from inside.

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Inside the house, another crowd of ponies were standing in the entrance hall. It had large white walls with pictures of beautiful mares and handsome stallions. A large staircase stood at the end, which lead two ways to the rooms upstairs. A few plants stood in areas around the room.

The ponies in the crowd had cameras, notepads and pens, as well as microphones. They were all facing towards the stairs, where a stallion, a mare, and a young filly stood in front of the stairs.

The stallion was a light brown earth pony with a black mane which was styled back. He wore a white collar and a red tie with a dollar symbol on it. Three bags of money were his cutie mark.

The mare was a light blue earth pony with a purple mane with a white streak running through it. She wore a purple jacket, and had an engagement ring in a box as her cutie mark.

The filly was a light pink earth pony with a dark purple mane with a white streak running through it. A tiara sat on her head, and it was also her cutie mark. But the filly was also holding something in her hoof. A golden piece of paper that read: GOLDEN TICKET.

“Diamond Tiara, that’s a wonderful name. But could you spell that for us please” shouted a reporter with a notepad in his hoof.

“Why of course. D-I-A-M-O-N-D T-I-A-R-A, Diamond Tiara” said the filly.

The pony quickly wrote that down, that others did the same.

“Diamond Tiara, would you mind telling us how you found the Golden Ticket” asked a unicorn.

But before Diamond Tiara could say anything, the stallion next to her interrupted. “I’d actually be very glad to answer that particular question for you” he said with a smile.

“But wouldn’t Diamond Tiara know about getting the ticket Filthy” said the unicorn.

The stallion cleared his throat “Mr. Rich will do just fine. And this isn’t the case, right sweet heart” he said, looking at Diamond.
Diamond looked uneasy for a second, but then flashed a smile. “Of course daddy” she said.

Mr. Rich turned back to the crowd. “You see as soon as my precious Diamond told me she had to have one of these Golden Tickets, I started buying up all the Pinkie Bars I could lay my hoofs on. Thousands of them, actually hundreds of thousands. But it was going to be difficult for Diamond to get through all those bars. So I simply did what any high business pony would do at this stage: use what you have available.”

“And that’s exactly what I did. I own three businesses’ here in Canterlot, and one specializes in manufacturing goods for the common pony. The workforce that builds each machine are all unicorns, which was perfect for my needs.”

One Week Ago

Mr. Rich walked along the gantry walkways above a large factory floor. The room was large enough to hold a size fifteen air ship, and conveyors spanned the distance. Along the sides of the conveyors where tables where pairs of three unicorns were sitting.

Mr. Rich walked up to a large podium on the walkway, and then the mic was turned on.

Mr. Rich cleared his throat “Morning fillies and gentlecolts, I have some urgent news to give you. Until further notice you will no longer be building the normal machines that you make every day. Instead you shall be pealing the wrappers off these Pinkie Bars as they come down the conveyor. You are to search for one of Pinkie’s Golden Tickets. If the bar you open does not contain one, put is back on the conveyor and move on to the next one. The pony that finds the Golden Ticket will get a one hundred bonus in their pay. Good luck, and let the conveyors roll” he said.

Suddenly the conveyors sprang into life, and soon piles and piles of Pinkie Bars were coming along with them. And it wasn’t long before the unicorns were using their magic to tear open the bars.

“Three days went by and we had no luck, it was terrible. My little Diamond got more and more upset each day” said Mr. Rich.

“Where’s My Golden Ticket, I Want My Golden Ticket” asked Diamond, stomping her hoof on the ground.

“We’re searching as fast as we can right now dear. We’ll get it to you as soon as possible” said Mr. Rich.

“BUT I WANT IT NOW!” screamed Diamond Tiara.

Present Day

“And as you can tell I just hated to see my little girl feeling unhappy like that. I vowed I would keep up the search until I could give her what she wanted. And just a few days later, one of my unicorns found a Golden Ticket. My little girl was so happy to have one, you should have seen the look on her face” said Mr. Rich.

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, but continued to smile for the camera.

That was the story that her dad had told her they were going to tell. He didn’t want his whole search for the ticket to look like a waste of time, so they made up a new one. Diamond still remembered how she really found the ticket.

Two Days Ago

Diamond Tiara was walking back and forth across her room. It was large enough to hold a good fifty ponies and still have enough leg room. The walls were all painted pink, and the bed was so large you could hold a fancy dinner on it.

Diamond had a glare on her face, and moved from looking at her bedroom door to the large window, then back again.

“Why hasn’t daddy found my Golden Ticket yet? He has a whole factory floor of ponies looking for it, and five days later they still haven’t found it. And somepony else has already found the first ticket. I WANTED IT TO BE ME” she said, screaming the last part.

“Well, what do you think” she asked, turning to a pony who was sitting on a cushion near the middle of the room. The pony was a dark gray mare with a light gray mane, which was tied in a brad at the end. She had a silver spoon as a cutie mark, and wore a set of blue glasses and a fine pearl necklace.

Next to the pony was a pile of opened Pinkie Bars, and six non-open ones sat on the other side. She continued to open them, and didn’t look up.

“I think you should be happy your dad’s doing this for you. You could be like me and have to do it all by yourself. My family bought the bars, but then said I had to open them myself. You have an army of unicorns looking for yours; count yourself lucky” said the pony, still not looking up as she opened two more bars (both with no ticket) then tossed them in the pile.

“I know Silver Spoon, but I want my ticket now! I’m just so angry and sad” said Diamond as she continued to walk back and forth.

“Why not do something to make you feel better, that’s what I usually do when I get angry” said Silver Spoon as she opened another empty bar. Now there was only one left.

“Your right, I could always do what most mares do when they get upset” said Diamond.

Then just as Silver Spoon was reaching for the last bar, Diamond walked past and swiped it up, not even looking down as she walked toward the door.

“Drown my sorrows in Chocolate” she said.

Silver Spoon looked sadly at her. “But that one was…oh never mind. I can just get my dad to but more” she said.

“Good, because I need this” said Diamond, ripping off one end as she did so. But before she took a bite, something flashed across her face.

Diamond looked down, and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

Sitting above the chocolate was a gold piece of paper. And on the front read “GOLDEN TICEKT”.

Diamond was speechless for a minute, but then she pulled out the ticket and jumped as high as she could. “I FOUND IT! I FOUND THE GOLDEN TICKET” she screamed.

Silver Spoon turned to her, mouth hanging open like it was broken. “You found the Golden Ticket, in the bar that I was about to open” she said.

“BUT YOU DIDN’T OPEN IT, I DID! AND NOW I GET TO GO TO THE FACTORY! WAIT UNTIL EVERONE HEARS ABOUT THIS” she screamed. And with one last jump into the air, she ran to the door, flung it open, and raced out.

*************************
Present Day

Back at the Apple Farm, Apple Bloom was sitting next to the radio with Granny Smith.

“And that’s how she found the Golden Ticket. Now that’s all we have from our sources right now, but don’t you worry we’ll be back just as soon as we can. Until then we’re going to kick things over to our mane mare Vinyl Scratch for your music. Take it away Vinyl” said the reporter.

“Hey everypone, this is D.J. Pon-3 bringing you the latest music that’s hot and tripping. Here’s the latest from Sapphire Shores’ newest album…” said Vinyl.

“That girls even worse than the fat one. The foal with the ticket, not the music one” said Granny, making sure Apple Bloom understood.

Apple Bloom huffed “Well I don’t think that’s very fair. She didn’t find the ticket herself. She resorted to others to find it” she said.

“Don’t worry kido, she’s spoiled. And nothing good comes from being a spoiled foal. Although I do believe she deserves a good kick in the flanks” said Granny.

Apple Bloom chuckled, and Granny Smith did the same.

They were laughing so hard they didn’t notice Applejack and Big Mac walk in. Both were wearing saddlebags that were stuffed full of items.

“What are you two laughing about” asked Applejack.

Apple Bloom and Granny looked over at the two.

“Oh, it’s nothing. We were just talking about stuff” said Apple Bloom, still letting a few giggles escape her.

“By the way, were have you two been. You didn’t tell us you were leaving” said Granny.

“We had to go out and get some supplies, that’s all Granny” said Applejack.

“We seem to be going to the stores a lot these days” said Apple Bloom.

“Blame the writer” said Big Mac.

“What was that” asked Granny.

“Nothing” said Big Mac.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Anyway, there is something we wanted to say to you Apple Bloom” she said.

Apple Bloom looked nervous. “Whatever it was I didn’t do it” she said.

“No, it’s nothing bad. You see when we were out, we talked about how you haven’t been able to search for a Golden Ticket like everyone else. And we thought you should at least have one shot to find it before we can decide on anything” said Applejack, and she reached back into her saddlebag. “So in exchange for reducing our amount of cabbage, we bought you this.”

Apple Bloom watched as Applejack took something from the saddlebag and placed in front of the foal. It was a chocolate bar, but not just any chocolate bar. With its party background wrapper and curly letters, there was only one thing it could be: A Pinkie Bar.

“Well, what are ya waiting for, Open It” said Applejack.

Apple Bloom rubbed her hoof. “I…I don’t know. Maybe I should wait until tomorrow” she said nervously.

“Girl for the past two weeks you’ve been saying that the moment you get a Pinkie Bar you’re going to rip it open. Now one’s right in front of you and you don’t even want to touch it? You won’t know you’re a winner until you open it, so go ahead and do it” said Granny.

Apple Bloom looked at the three family members, then down at the bar. Slowly, she reached out and pulled it towards her. She took a deep breath, then began to peal the paper away from the right end, doing the same to the left. Now all that was left was to rip the paper off.

“Now Apple Bloom, you mustn’t be disappointed if you don’t, you know, get the ticket” said Applejack.

“And remember, whatever happens you’ll still have the chocolate” said Big Mac.

Apple Bloom took a deep breath, and then pulled at the wrapper with all of her might. The wrapper flew off and landed on the floor next to her.

After staying quiet for a second, she looked down at the bar.

Nothing. Nothing but chocolate.

The family stood in silence for a moment, with nopony saying a word.

“Well, that’s that. Nothing more we can do about it” said Granny, looking sadly at the plain bar.

“Sorry Apple Bloom, but look on the bright side. You still got the chocolate, like Big Mac said” commented Applejack, with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Yeah” said Apple Bloom sadly.

“Well we gotta go put some stuff away. You enjoy yourself” said Applejack. Then she and Big Mac walked out of the room.

Apple Bloom took the bar and gave it a good look over.

“Well, not much to do now. Over the lips, between the gums, look out stomach, her she comes” said Apple Bloom. And then she took a large bite out of the bar.

She began to feel better.

Word From The Wise

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Chapter 5

Apple Bloom ripped the paper of the Pinkie Bar in her hoof. As soon as it was cleared away she saw the glorious Golden Ticket lying on the dull chocolate.

Apple Bloom took the ticket in her hoof and threw the chocolate away.

“I FOUND A GOLDEN TICKET, IT’S ALL MINE” she screamed, jumping up and down as she did so.

“MINE, ALL MINE, MINE…”

*************************

“Apple Bloom…Apple Bloom…APPLE BLOOM!”

Apple Bloom’s neck went straight as she heard the voice calling out to her. Turning her head away from the window, she saw Ms. Cheerilee and the rest of the class looking at her. Only the students had amused faces, while Ms. Cheerilee had on her “You Got Busted” face.

“Apple Bloom, I don’t appreciate ponies’ day dreaming in my class. Now start paying attention or I’ll be sending you down to Principle Faust’s office” said Cheerilee sternly.

A few of the students started to whisper and snicker at what was happening. Only one or two looked sorry for Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom shook her head and sighed. “Sorry Ms. Cheerilee, I’ll start paying attention” she said, pulling her notebook closer together.

“Good, now where was I? Oh that’s right, the defeat of Lord Tirek” said Cheerilee, turning back to the board.

*************************

An hour passed by with Apple Bloom and the rest of the foals trying to stay awake through Cheerilee’s presentation about some evil dude who wanted to rule Equestria.

But while some of the foals simply paid attention and others fell asleep, Apple Bloom went back to looking out the window (But in a more forward way so she didn’t look like she was daydreaming).

“That dream was great, albeit a little too eccentric. I want that Golden Ticket more than anyone, but I’ve only opened one bar. At this rate they’ll all be gone” she thought to herself.

But she was soon shaken from her thoughts as the school bell rang. Foals who were close to or had fallen asleep quickly packed their things and ran out the door. And as usual, Apple Bloom was the last one.

But as she approached the door, she was stopped.

“Hold on a minute Apple Bloom, I want a quick word with you” said Cheerilee.

Apple Bloom mentally kicked herself in the head. Whenever anypony was held back after class, it usually meant trouble. Last time Feather Flight was held back and apparently was given a long, loud lecture about poking mares in the flanks to impress his friends.

But Apple Bloom didn’t recall doing anything that bad, not in the last few weeks anyway. So what could Cheerilee want to talk to her about?

Apple Bloom walked over to Cheerilee’s desk, where she looked down at her. But her face didn’t look like how Apple Bloom had expected. Instead of it looking annoyed or angry, it looked normal and kind.

“Apple Bloom, I think its quiet obvious why I held you back, wouldn’t you say” asked Cheerilee.

“Uh…wasn’t it because I was daydreaming in class” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well that’s part of the reason. The other reason is because you seem to be less…happy. A few weeks ago you were smiling and taking your life in strides. Now you just seem more depressed. As a teacher it’s my responsibility to talk to you if you are depressed and help you in any way I can” said Cheerilee, in a proud voice.

Apple Bloom gave a small smile. “Thanks Ms. Cheerilee, but I’m fine. I’ve just had a lot on my mind right now. I’ll try and be happier” she said.

“Well, if you’re sure about that, then I’ll let you handle it. But remember to come to me if you have anything you need to talk about” said Cheerilee.

“Will do Ms. Cheerilee, see you Tomorrow” said Apple Bloom, and she walked out the classroom door.

*************************

Apple Bloom walked down the cold sidewalk with her scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. The snow wasn’t deep enough that it was hard to walk, but it did mean she had to walk slower.

She continued to walk down the sidewalk until she came to a stop. She had stopped in front of a large oak tree. But this tree had a door at the front, windows, and a balcony at the top. A few snow covered paths ran from the front door to as far as they could go until they reached the buildings next to the tree. A large sign that sat at the front read: “Golden Oak Library”.

Apple Bloom walked the small path up to the front door. A nice hoof mate had been placed in front of the door that read “Reading is Magic”. A sign on the door gave the hours of the library, and a message saying that all theft will be reported to the local authorities.

Apple Bloom gave the door a push and watched it swing open. A small bell rang above the doorframe. Not a second later a warm breeze blew all over Apple Bloom, warming her up.

She walked into the main lobby and closed the door behind her. Rows of books stacked on shelves built into the wood circled the small area. A few tables with comfy pillows to sit on were also stationed around the room. Only one other pony was in the room, a grey earth pony who was reading at one of the tables.

“Welcome to the Golden Oak Library, were knowledge is power and books are magic. I’ll be with you shortly” called a voice from one of the other rooms.

Apple Bloom walked over to one of the tables and sat down on what looked like the comfiest pillow. She pulled a book out from her saddlebag and began to read. It was a fiction book about a pony who finds himself in a maze with no memory and has to find a way out with a bunch of other ponies. Apple Bloom found this book very interesting.

Her eyes were glued to the book for a good ten minutes before another pony walked into the room. She looked up from the book and at the pony that had walked in.

The mare was a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with dark pink streaks running through it. Her cutie-mark was a dark pink six point star with five miniature white ones around it.

When the mare spotted Apple Bloom, she smiled and walked over to the table.

“Hello Apple Bloom, nice to see you again. You haven’t come by in a while. I haven’t been able to check your homework” she said.

“Hello Twilight. And sorry about that, I’ve just been more…occupied with other things. But I’m here now, I just don’t have any homework for you to check” said Apple Bloom as she put her book away.

Twilight smiled “Then how about we talk over a cup of tea. I have the kettle on upstairs”.

“Oh, well okay. A warm cup of tea sounds nice” said Apple Bloom.

“Great, follow me” said Twilight, and she walked towards a staircase placed away from the main lobby.

Apple Bloom picked up her saddle bag and fallowed Twilight up the stairs.

*************************

When Apple Bloom and Twilight reached the top of the stairs, they found themselves in a large kitchen area. A large fridge and stove sat in the corner and a counter with a sink and other appliances ran along the wall. A round table with chairs and a fancy looking center decoration was close by. Another staircase was next to the fridge. That probably led to the bedrooms above.

“Make yourself at home, I’ll get the tea ready” said Twilight, walking towards the stove.

“Thanks” said Apple Bloom, and she headed over towards the table.

“So how’s the family doing? Last time I spoke to Applejack it was during cider selling season. You guys sure were getting a lot of money from that. But that just proves it’s hard to own a farm during the winter” said Twilight.

“Yeah, we have to spend our money wisely. We can’t grow anything until Spring, so we only eat and buy what’s necessary” said Apple Bloom.

“That’s a smart thing to do. If you keep doing that you’ll get through this winter with items to spare” said Twilight. She was walking over to the table with a tray of tea and biscuits levitating next to her. She placed the tray down on the table and floated a cup in front of Apple Bloom. “Cream or sugar” she asked.

“Creams fine” said Apple Bloom. Twilight levitated the cream mug and tipped it over the cup.

“So, changing topics, how have you been handling the Pinkie Contest” asked Twilight, who then took a sip from her cup.

Apple Bloom took a sip from her cup as well. “Oh, well me and Granny have been following it pretty closely, yet I’ve only opened one bar. I really want to win, but how can I if I can’t open ten bars an hour. Others can, so they’re going to be the ones to find them.”

Twilight smiled. “Don’t count yourself out so soon. You have as much a chance as anybody does. It all comes down to luck, not how many you buy. Although, the amount you buy does help your luck.”

“That part about me having a chance is exactly what Granny said to me” said Apple Bloom, who then took a large bite out of a biscuit.

“Then that just proves your Granny speaks wise words. But you are right; ponies who can afford to buy bars every day are really determined to find those tickets. It’s almost unhealthy” said Twilight with a disapproving look.

Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow “You sound as if you know somepony who is like this”.

Twilight pinched in-between her eyes. “I know two, and both are determined to find that ticket more than anything.”

“Mind telling me who they are, if you don’t mind” said Apple Bloom.

Twilight let out a large breath. “I’ll tell you the first, and then show you the second. You said you’ve been fallowing the contest closely right?”

“Yeah” said Apple Bloom, a little questionably.

“Do you remember what Princess Cadance said about the contest” asked Twilight.

“Yeah, she said that she wasn’t taking part in the contest and even if she was, she would stop because she doesn’t want to take the spotlight away from Truffle” said Apple Bloom.

“You see that’s how all princesses in Equestria should be like. However, one of them isn’t like that” said Twilight, looking down at her half empty cup.

“Don’t tell me it’s Princess Luna” said Apple Bloom “She’s the one who’s trying to get ponies to eat healthier.”

Twilight sighed “No, it’s not her…it’s her sister”.

Apple Bloom’s mouth fell wide open. “Princess Celestia is trying to win this contest” she asked.

“Yes she is, and it’s almost like an obsession” said Twilight.

“But why does she want to win so badly, she’s the Princess after all” said Apple Bloom.

“Well this happened just five years after Pinkie closed her factory. Princess Celestia called Pinkie Pie to Canterlot for a personal meeting with her. Naturally Pinkie accepted, and she met with the Princess a few days later. She was shown the entire castle and grounds, and they say Pinkie was so inspired she said she was going to make a new kind of candy because of it. Then Princess Celestia took Pinkie into the throne room. Besides a one or two guards, there was no one else in the room. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, and told Pinkie she had something to ask her” said Twilight.

“Well what was it” asked Apple Bloom, eager to find out.

“She asked Pinkie if she could have a personal tour of her factory. She explained that she had always been a fan of Pinkie’s chocolate, and she wanted to see what the factory was like. Now if you were in Pinkie’s situation, what would you say” asked Twilight.

“I would say yes. It’d be an honor to have the Princess visit your factory” said Apple Bloom.

Twilight leaned in closer to Apple Bloom. “Well get this. Pinkie, as if she was answering what her favorite color was, said NO!”

Apple Bloom almost fell of her chair in surprise. When she regained her balance, she looked over at Twilight. “How could someone say no to the Princess” she asked.

“I don’t know, but Celestia wasn’t going to give up so easily. When Pinkie said no, Celestia wanted to know why. Pinkie said she was protective of her privacy, and that included her factory. Celestia told Pinkie she wouldn’t tell a soul anything about the factory, but she wouldn’t go for it. That’s when things got tense. Celestia said that she would use her powers to force Pinkie to let her in. But the high council said that Pinkie had rights as well, and therefore Celestia couldn’t force herself into the factory. After that Pinkie left Canterlot, saying she would never visit again and that she was canceling the candy idea she was thinking of” said Twilight.

“Wow, Pinkie must have nerves of steel to stick up to the Princess like that” said Apple Bloom.

“Yep, and ever since that day Celestia has been trying to find a way she can see the factory. When the contest was announced, she ordered for boxes of Pinkie Bars to be shipped directly to the Castle. Now she has guards looking through the bars trying to find a ticket” said Twilight.

“She almost like that Diamond Tiara” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, only a lot less mean and greedy. She’s still the heartwarming Princess everyone knows, but she gets serious when it comes to Pinkie’s Chocolate” said Twilight, who took another sip of her tea.

“By the way, didn’t you’d say you were going to show me something” asked Apple Bloom.

Twilight set her empty tea cup down on the table. “Oh yeah, I did. Well come on then, I’ll show you” she said. She hopped down from her chair and walked towards the upward staircase. Apple Bloom jumped off her chair and fallowed her.

*************************

Twilight lead Apple Bloom up the winding stairs. Soon they came to two blue doors: One on the left, and one on the right. Twilight turned to the one on the left and knocked three times.

“Not now Twilight, I’m busy” called a voice from behind the door.

“I’ve got another box for you” said Twilight. Apple Bloom was confused by this because Twilight had no box with her.

“Oh, alright then. Come on in” said the voice.

Twilight turned the handle and pushed the door open. She walked into the room and Apple Bloom fallowed her.

The room was a fairly normal sized bedroom. A large bed with purple and green bedspreads sat in a corner next to a large window. Bookcases with Comic Books and Manga lined the walls, except for two places where a small desk and closet sat. Posters with superheroes on them were pinned to the ceiling.

But when Apple Bloom walked into the room, she felt something on her hoofs. Looking down, she saw tore up Pinkie Bar wrappers lying on the floor. And when she looked up, she noticed something on the bed.

It was a dragon. A small baby dragon with purple and green scales. It was sitting on the bed with a box next to him. When the two walked in, he looked at Twilight.

“Hey, where’s the box Twilight? You said you had one for me” said the Dragon as he opened another Pinkie Bar.

“Sorry Spike, I just told you that. I wanted to show Apple Bloom how obsessed you’ve got in finding a Golden Ticket” said Twilight with a disapproving face.

Spike huffed and threw the torn wrapper on the ground. “It’s not an obsession, it’s just a hunt. There are tons of ponies out there doing the same thing as me, some are even more extreme.”

“And they’re just as crazy as you are” said Twilight. Then she turned to the foal behind her. “Come on Apple Bloom, I think Spike would prefer if we left him alone”.

“Oh yeah, sorry you had to see my room this messy Apple Bloom” said Spike. He reached inside the box and began rummaging around. He pulled something out of it. “Here, catch” he said, and tossed the item towards her.

Apple Bloom caught it and looked down: It was a Pinkie Bar.

“Wow, uh, thanks Spike” said Apple Bloom.

But then Twilight picked Apple Bloom up in her magic and carried her over to the door. “We’re leaving” she said. And as soon as they passed through the door, she dropped Apple Bloom and shut the door behind her.

*************************

“Sorry you had to see that. I can’t stand Spike when he’s doing something stupid. Not to mention he’s using library funds to buy all those Pinkie Bars” said Twilight as she and Apple Bloom walked back down to the Lobby.

“It’s alright; I didn’t find it that weird. At least he’s got a goal he’s shooting for” said Apple Bloom.

“He should have a goal that’s more productive. Like reading a book in a week or making something that’ll help other ponies. Opening candy bars to win a contest doesn’t help anyone but himself” said Twilight.

The two reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the now empty lobby.

“Well thanks for the tea Twilight, but I better get going. Applejack doesn’t want me outside too late. Not after what happened last time” said Apple Bloom.

“What happened last time” asked Twilight.

“Let’s just say you can do a lot with a chicken and four bags of jelly” said Apple Bloom.

“What can…you know what, never mind. Anyway thanks for stopping by Apple Bloom. It’s always nice to see you” said Twilight.

“Same here Twilight. Well I’ll see you later” said Apple Bloom. She walked over to the door and pushed it open.

“Bye Apple Bloom” said Twilight as Apple Bloom walked out the door.

Ticket #3

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Chapter 6: Ticket #3

But the moment Apple Bloom walked out the door; something smashed into her face, and covered it.

“Hey, what’s going on” she asked as she pulled at the thing that had blown onto her. But with a good huff, she managed to pull it off. Looking down, she saw that it was a newspaper.

“And when are you from?” she asked. She turned to the front page (ignoring the front story) and looked at the date. “Oh, it’s todays. Well let’s see what’s…GOLLY” she screamed, seeing the title on the front page.

*************************

Back at the Apple Farm, the Apples were sitting around the fireplace. A stack of cards sat in the middle of their circle, and each was looking at the others with great care.

“So Big Mac…got any fives?” asked Applejack.

“Nnnope…Go Fish” said Big Mac.

Applejack groaned as she picked up another card.

“Alright Applejack, do you have any…”

Big Mac couldn’t even finish his sentence before the front door burst open. Apple Bloom came running in with a newspaper in her saddle bag.

“Everypony, I got news. They found another one” said Apple Bloom as she took the newspaper out of her bag and placed it over the deck of cards.

“What in hogs name are you talking about sis” asked Applejack.

“Just read the page, you’ll see” said Apple Bloom.

So the three Apples looked down at the front page.

It was mostly filled with a large image of a young filly. Her smile spread across her entire face, and she was holding something in her right hoove. And at the top, the headline read: “Third Golden Ticket Found!”

“Well I’ll be a hog tied buffalo. I can’t believe they found the next ticket so fast” said Applejack.

“I don’t count anything against fillies and foals nowadays. So who’s the lucky filly” asked Granny Smith.

Applejack read the paragraph beneath the photo. “The third ticket was found by a filly called…Scootaloo.”

*************************

Of all the cities in Equestria, there is one that is so much different from the rest. Not only is it occupied by just Pegasus, but it’s the only one that can travel around the country.

And the name of this great city is called Cloudsdale.

This city is, not surprisingly, made entirely of clouds. All the buildings, streets, machines, and pretty much everything else is made of clouds. Because of this, the only Pegasus can live there as they are the only ones who can walk/touch clouds.

But Cloudsdale also serves a very important role in the life of Equestria. Whenever a town starts winter, Cloudsdale comes and delivers fresh snow clouds for the Pegasus’ to move into place. And the Rainbow Factory is where all rainbows in Equestria come from.

But today, ponies in Cloudsdale weren’t worrying about any of that. Instead, all the Pegasus reporters from across the land were converging on a house in the middle of the city. Non reporters lined the streets, while those who either got there first or were very important were inside.

A few unicorn reporters were there to, since they knew a spell allowing them to walk on clouds. And one determined earth pony had tied balloons to his middle section to allow himself to get a good story.

And the story they were trying to get was from a small Pegasus filly standing in the middle of a large trophy room. Shelves upon shelves of trophies lined the walls along with blue ribbons and pictures. Each one showed a blue Pegasus winning competitions.

The filly that was in the middle of it was a Pegasus mare with a dark purple mane and an orange pelt. And held in her hoof was a rectangular piece of gold paper with the words “GOLDEN TICKET” writing in large black letters.

Next to the filly was a much older Pegasus mare. She had a mane that was all the colors of the rainbow and a light blue pelt. Her cutie mark was a thunder cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it. But the lightning bolt was also all the colors of the rainbow.

And both were grinning for the flood of photographers that were in the room with the reporters.

“Scootaloo, are ALL the trophies in this room YOURS” asked a reporter.

The filly smiled “No, these trophies all belong to Rainbow Dash. She’s the one who competes in and WINS all the competitions.”

The blue Pegasus rubbed Scootaloo’s head. “Hey, I didn’t find a Golden Ticket? That’s all on you Scoots, and I know you’ll blow all the other ponies out of the water.”

“So Rainbow Dash, what exactly are you to Scootaloo? Mother, Sister, Cousin, I don’t think we have a clear idea” asked the Earth Pony reporter.

Rainbow Dash let out a small laugh. “No, I’m not any of those things. I’m her friend/sister figure. We’re not related, but I fill the role of sister in her life. And, not to brag, but I’m her personal coach as well.”

The reporters quickly wrote down the touching/inspiring information.

“How did you achieve this goal Scootaloo” asked another reporter.

“Well when I heard about the competition, I started buying up all the Pinkie Bars I could get. Course when I heard that two other ponies had already found tickets, I got a little nervous. But I kept looking, and eventually I found one,” said Scootaloo.

“Ever persistent, just like I taught her” said Rainbow Dash.

“So Scootaloo, how happy are you to be going to see Pinkie’s Chocolate Factory?”

“I’m really excited. The poster said that one of the visitors will win a really special prize. Personally I don’t care who those other four are. The foal that’s going to get that prize, and be better than all the rest, is going to be me” said Scootaloo confidently.

“Tell them why Scoots” said Rainbow Dash with a smile.

*************************

“Because I’m going to be a winner, Just Like Rainbow Dash!”

The Apple Family was gathered around the radio by the fireplace listening to the report on the third Golden Ticket find. The news stations had been talking all about it since the story first broke out.

“That filly doesn’t sound right in the head to me. And I don’t mean she’s crazy or mentally challenged. I mean she’s too hung up on winning and nothing else” said Applejack.

“Eeyupe” said Big Mac.

“Sounds pretty despicable to me” said Granny Smith.

“But she still got one. And now there are only two Golden Tickets left” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, makes you wonder when they’re going to pop up” said Applejack.

“And we once again give our congratulations to…hold on, we’re getting some breaking news from our outside sources.”

The Apple Family listened closely.

“What’s going on now?” asked Apple Bloom.

“…SWEET CELESTIA FOLKS, We have some fantastic news to share. It seems the FOURTH Golden Ticket has been found!”

The whole Apple Family gasped.

“And the name of the lucky foal…is…Button Mash!”

Ticket #4

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Chapter 7: Ticket #4

On the west coast of Equestria sat a very large city. It wasn’t bigger than Canterlot or Manehattan, but it still made its claim as the third largest city in the nation. The name of the great city was Fillydelphia.

The city was home to many museums that told about the history of Equestria. Ponies came from all over the land to see the artifacts and take pictures. In fact, the city had almost as many visitors as Canterlot and Manehattan.

But today, focus wasn’t on the museums or history.

Instead, all news outlets and reporters had converged on a small home in the neighborhoods outside the main city. News vans filled all unoccupied spaces along the street, while a crowd of ponies had gathered around the small house.

Reporters were squeezed into the house’s living room, which only half of them occupied. The rest of the space was taken up by a large television and couch. The reporters were busy taking photographs and staring at the three ponies that occupied the other side of the room.

An adult mare with a tan pelt, light brown mane, and a heart with a baby bottle cutie mark stood to the side of the couch. She smiled nervously at the reporters, occasionally giving the ponies on the couch a quick look.

The pony on the far end held a guitar in his hoof, using his other hoof to adjust the strings. He had a dark brown pelt, a brown mane with a few red streaks in it, and a guitar cutie mark. He gave a reporters a quick disinterred look, then went back to adjusting his instrument.

The final pony on the couch was a little colt. He had a brown coat, two-tone orange mane and tail, a game console cutie mark, and a colorful beanie sitting on his head. A game controler was held in his hooves, and he was completely focused on the game he was currently playing.

One of the reporters cleared his throat. “So Button Mash, how does it feel to be the fourth golden ticket finder?” he asked, holding his microphone out.

Button was still focused on his game, and not really paying attention to the ponies around him. “Uh, yeah….sure.”

The reporter looked at the others, questionably. The older mare’s smile grew more nervous as she looked over at the colt. “Button, these ponies have come all this way to interview you. Don’t you think it would be polite to answer some of their questions?” she asked.

But Button was still so focused on the game that he didn’t give her a response. The colt at the other end of the couch looked up at the mare. “You want me to take care of this mom?”

The mare rubbed her leg nervously, keeping her eyes away from the reporters. “If you could Gibson, that would be great.”

Gibson nodded, then put up his guitar and walked over to the game console by the tv. He grabbed the outlet cord and gave it a good yank. The cord flew out of the socket, and the TV screen went blank.

Button’s eyes grew wide, almost as if they’d just realized there was a real world around them. “HEY! I was playing that!”

Gibson threw the cord onto the ground. “And now you’re not. So why don’t you start answering some questions?” he said before sitting back down on the couch and grabbing his guitar.

Button huffed angrily and turned towards the group of reporters, who were now all smiling at him. “So, what do you want to know?”

One of the reporters stepped forward. “So Button, as asked before, how does it feel to have found the fourth golden ticket?”

Button shrugged “I don’t know; okay I guess. Nothing’s really changed from before I got it. Except maybe a few interruptions to my games.” He gave his brother a stern look, but Gibson wasn’t paying attention to him.

“Button, how did you come about finding the ticket,” asked another reporter.

“Oh, well a bunch of my friends were buying them, and they kept saying that I should buy one to. So I went to the store, bought one bar, and I found the ticket,” said Button, though his tone suggested that he really didn’t care.

One of the reporters squeezed to the front, clutching a notepad with his magic. He turned to look at the mare. “So Ms. Love Tap, how do you feel about your son’s amazing accomplishment?”

Tap smiled sweetly at the reporter, which caused a few more cameras to go off. “I still can’t believe that my little Button found something that ponies have been searching weeks for. I used to enjoy Pinkie’s candy when I was young, and now my son gets to go tour her factory. How happier could a mom be?”

“So Button,” said another reporter “the next question the whole world wants to know is; how did that ticket winning chocolate bar taste?”

Once again, Button shrugged his shoulders.

***

“I don’t know, okay I guess. I really don’t care for chocolate.”

The four Apple Family members sat around the small radio that stood above their fireplace. Ever since the announcement of the fourth ticket had been found, they had been doing nothing but listen to the news reports.

Granny Smith huffed at Button’s comment. “Well it’s a good thing you’re going to a chocolate factory. You ungrateful little….”

Applejack quickly rushed over and put her hooves over Apple Bloom’s ears. The young filly watched as Granny kept shouting words she wasn’t able to hear. But suddenly, Applejack started wincing, and then Big Mac came over and put his hooves over her ears! “That Bad?” she thought to herself.

When Granny finally stopped shouting, the three dislodged themselves from each other just as the news reporter finished the story.

“Now all of Equestria can only ask one question. And that question is; who will be the winner of the last Golden Ticket?”

Applejack walked up to the radio and turned it off. Sighing sadly, she looked back at her family. “Well I guess this means this thing is almost over. Hopefully life’ll be back to normal soon.”

Apple Bloom looked sadly at the floor. “Yeah….almost over.”

She hadn’t expected to be able to find a Golden Ticket, or even be part of the competition. She’d only opened one bar, and unlike Button Mash, she hadn’t found anything. But the thought that, after all this time there was only one shot left….it ate her up inside.

Applejack walked over and gently rubbed her sister’s mane. “Hey, perk up their sugarcube. I’m sure this whole ticket thing is way more over exaggerated than it should be. Maybe it’s just a normal factory on the inside, and the ponies that go in will just end up bored.”

“Uh huh,” said Apple Bloom, still sounding upset. Big Mac came over and motioned for Applejack to follow him. So the two ponies walked towards the kitchen, leaving Apple Bloom and Granny alone.

Granny walked over to Apple Bloom, trying her best to smile. “So, why the long face all of a sudden dearie? It’s not because of my vocabulary is it?”

Apple Bloom sighed. “No, it’s not that. It’s just, well, everypony else has been able to open so many bars trying to find a ticket. They all had a better shot at getting it than I ever did. Now, it just bums me out that I still don’t have a chance of winning.”

Granny Smith looked at the sad face her Granddaughter was wearing. She never liked it when she wore it, and now was no exception. So, Granny put a hoot into her mane and began to ruffle around it. Apple Bloom looked up at her questionably, but was surprised when Granny pulled out a shiny golden bit.

“Here dearie,” said Granny as she gave Apple Bloom the bit. “You’re going to have one more fling at finding that last ticket. Run into town and buy the first Pinkie Bar you see. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that the eyes have it.”

Apple Bloom looked down at the bit, then back up at Granny. “Are you sure Granny?”

“Course I’m sure,” said the old mare, smiling as though the best joke ever had been told. “Now go on and find that ticket!”

Apple Bloom nodded, changing her face to a determined stare. She ran to the door, grabbed her scarf, and ran off into the snowy lane beyond.

Granny sat back on her chair smiling at the sight of the filly. “Such a good dear,” she said, starting to close her eyes “such a good dear.” And soon, Granny’s eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

***

“GRANNY!”

Granny Smith’s eyes flew open at the sound of her name being shouted. She looked towards the ground and saw Apple Bloom looking up at her from her spot on the floor. A normal looking Pinkie Bar sat in the space in between them.

“Oh, you got it. But why didn’t you open it?” she asked the filly.

Apple Bloom smiled sweetly. “I wanted us to open it together. After all, you were the one who gave me the money to buy it.”

Granny smiled back at the filly. She had been right; Apple Bloom was a good filly. Thinking of others, and wanting to share her feelings with others.

Apple Bloom picked up one end of the bar in her hoof, while Granny grabbed onto the other end. “On the count of three,” she said.

“One….Two….Three!”

The two mares pulled hard, causing the wrapping paper to be pulled apart. They watched at the chocolate bar inside fell to the ground and shattered. The two looked over the remains, but didn’t yield any gold. They examined the wrapper, but that didn’t have anything in it either.

Apple Bloom looked up at Granny Smith, her expression unreadable. “Do you ever think that, even with their great taste, the Golden Tickets make the chocolate taste terrible?”

The two mares sat their staring at the shattered bar and themselves for a long time.

Ticket #5

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Chapter 8: Ticket #5

The days passed by without any word of the last ticket. Bars were being bought up in larger amounts as ponies tried desperately to find the last ticket. Shops sold out in record time, with a few even choosing to remain closed until the contest was over.

Apple Bloom tried to keep positive through the whole thing, but the sight of so many bars being opened sometimes really got to her. Even with the knowledge that the last ticket was up for grabs, she knew that her family just couldn’t afford to buy any more bars.

She didn’t think the sadness could get any worse….until it did.

***

The school bell had just rung and all the foals were eagerly running to their lockers so they could head home. Apple Bloom moved a little slower, deciding that it was better to take her time than to rush anything.

She went to her locker and gathered up all she’d need for the weekend before heading towards the front door. But before she could make it, she heard shouting behind her.

“APPLE BLOOM, WAIT UP!”

Apple Bloom turned around and saw Twist running up to her. She had a newspaper clutched in her mouth, and she looked as excited as a foal would be on their birthday.

“Woah Twist, where’s the fire,” she asked as the curly haired mare stop right in front of her. She didn’t even look exhausted.

She spat the paper onto the floor. “Did you hear about this? I got the paper from Cheerilee. Read the front headline,” she said eagerly.

Curious as to why her friend was so excited about this, Apple Bloom looked down at the paper. The front was filled by the image of a small Griffin who had a piece of reflective paper clutched in his talons. Apple Bloom looked at the headline, which read “LAST GOLDEN TICKET FOUND IN GRIFFINSTONE!”

“They found the last Golden Ticket this morning. Isn’t that awesome?” asked Twist happily.

Apple Bloom felt as if a dead weight had dropped into her stomach. Just reading the headline made her head buzz, and the deep sense of sorrow only grew as she read it again. “It’s over,” she thought to herself “there’s no more Golden Tickets.”

Twist looked at her friend questionably. “Uh, are you feeling alright Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom gave her head a shake, trying to get rid of the feels that were causing her so much pain. “Uh yeah….I’m fine. But I, uh, have to head home. Lot of chores to do,” she said before turning towards the door.

“Okay then, see you Monday” Twist called after her.

Apple Bloom didn’t reply as she headed out the door.

***

Apple Bloom stared silently up at the tall chimneys that rose above Pinkie’s Chocolate Factory. The sweet smell of chocolate drifted through the air, and she inhaled every bit of it she could. It was so potent that you could practically taste it.

“It’s over. No more tickets, no more Chocolate crazes, no more anything,” she said to herself. The image of the newspaper still stuck in her head, reminding her more and more of the thing she most wanted, but never had the chance of getting.

She was so deep in thought, she didn’t notice when a pony covered in a winter cloak step next to her until she spoke. “Smells good, doesn’t it?”

Apple Bloom jumped at the sound and looked over at the cloaked pony. Her hooves and muzzle were the only parts of her that could be seen. They were a deep grey color, and her voice sounded as unenthusiastic as possible.

The mare spoke again. “You’re upset aren’t you?”

Apple Bloom looked back up at the factory, thinking. She didn’t know if she should be talking to a strange pony….but anyone to take to right now would be great.

“Yes.”

“Why,” asked the mare.

“Because,” said Apple Bloom “all the Golden Tickets have been found. I really wanted to find one so I could go and see Pinkie’s factory. Now I won’t be able to….ever.”

The mare remained quiet for a moment, thinking or just staring at her she couldn’t tell. But then she reached into her cloak and pulled out a shiny bit, which he presented to Apple Bloom.

“Here,” she said.

Apple Bloom looked at the bit questionably. “What are you giving me this for?”

Apple Bloom couldn’t tell, but she had the strangest feeling the mare was smiling. “Given the fact that you wanted to go inside the factory, it most likely means you love Pinkie’s chocolate. So why don’t you buy a Pinkie Bar to cheer you up?”

The mare dumped the bit into Apple Bloom’s hooves, and she looked it over carefully. “Oh, well thanks mam. But, I really couldn’t….”

Apple Bloom turned to give the bit back, but was surprised to find the cloaked mare nowhere in sight. She had just up and vanished! “Where in Equestria did she go?”

Not seeing the mare anywhere, Apple Bloom looked down at the bit again. “Well I guess, if I can’t give it back, I’d might as well use it.”

So Apple Bloom tucked the bit into her saddle bag and headed off down the street.

***

Sweetart lane was so named because of the countless sweet shops the lined either side. There were shops that sold marshmallows, candy sticks, caramel drops, and many more. Each one was liked and enjoyed by all of Ponyville.

But for Apple Bloom, there was one shop that stood above the others.

At the corner of one of the many intersections stood a rather large shop. It had the appearance of the Gingerbread House, with candy supports and frosted windows, and a large cupcake with three candles on the top. A sign stood above the door that read the name of the shop: Sugarcube Corner.

Apple Bloom walked up the steps and pushed the door open, bringing with it a small ring of a bell. The inside was filled with tables and chairs, and the walls were lined with pictures and displays of numerous sweets. A few ponies were mingling around a table in the far corner, which meant they pretty much wanted privacy.

Apple Bloom walked towards the large counter that sat on the opposite side of the stoor. An older mare with a light blue pelt, a pink frosting colored mane, and three cupcakes as her cutie mark sat behind it. She was putting a cake into the display area when she saw Apple Bloom through the glass. She raised her head above the counter and smiled at the filly.

“Why hello there Apple Bloom. I haven’t seen you since we got our last shipment of apples,” she said happily. “And if I may add, they were as good as you promised.”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Thanks Mrs. Cake; it’s always good to know that somepony is enjoying our apples. Especially if you make them into Candy Apples.”

“So, what can I do for you today?” asked Mrs. Cake.

Apple Bloom took out the bit from her saddle bag and flung it onto the counter. “Could I have one Pinkie Bar please?”

“Why of course you can. The only reason you couldn’t is if we were sold out, and we’re never sold out of Pinkie Bars,” said Mrs. Cake as she turned to the shelf behind her to grab a bar.

Apple Bloom looked up at her questionably. “How is it that you never run out? Surely that happened during the contest right?”

Mrs. Cake took a Pinkie Bar from the shelf and then handed it down to Apple Bloom. “You’d think so, but us Cakes have a strong connection to Pinkie. When she first arrived in Ponyville all those years ago, she rented the room right above our shop. And she even worked in the kitchens to help bake the treats.”

“Wow,” said Apple Bloom; amazed by the information.

“We never did have a stronger sales record. And she was always so cheery and willing to make anypony feel good. We were really sad to see her leave to open her own shop. She’d really become like family to us,” said Mrs. Cake sadly as she looked up at the ceiling; up towards the now empty room above the shop.

But she shook her head slightly and looked happily back down at Apple Bloom. “But enough with my rambling. You go ahead and enjoy your chocolate.”

Apple Bloom smiled at the older mare. “Okay Mrs. Cake,” she said before heading to a nearby table and plopping down on a chair. She was about to open her bar when the front door opened and Mr. Cake walked in.

Mr. Cake had an yellow pelt, and orange mane, wore a bowtie, and had three slices of carrot cake as his cutie mark. He wasn’t looking too happy, and had a newspaper clutched in his mouth. “Maybe he found out about the last ticket,” thought Apple Bloom. She decided to instead focus on her chocolate, so she grabbed the end and tore off the wrapper across the top.

Mr. Cake spat the newspaper on the counter and looked over at his wife. “The nerve of those Griffins. Thinking they can do something like that and get away with it.”

“What do you mean dearie,” asked Mrs. Cake questionably.

“Look at the front headlines,” said Mr. Cake, pointing a hoof at the paper.

Mrs. Cake looked over the story. The picture on the front was of a torn up Golden Ticket, and the headline read “GRIFFIN TICKET A FAKE!”

Mrs. Cake huffed at the sight of the text. “I can’t believe they’d think of doing something like that. Making a mockery of Pinkie’s contest!”

Mr. Cake snorted. “I know. Forging a ticket? How can anypony be so….”

But the conversation was being tuned out by Apple Bloom. All her senses had gone to her eyes, which were growing bigger and bigger to see the sight in front of her. Because sitting beneath the wrapper, at the very top of the bar, was a glimmer of gold.

With the greatest care anyone had ever seen, Apple Bloom peeled the wrapper farther down until it reached the bottom. She grabbed the end of the object and pulled it out of the bar, holding it gently in her hooves. It was rectangular piece of golden paper, and the inscription on the front read GOLDEN TICKET.

Mrs. Cake, who had been talking with Mr. Cake for the last few minutes, took a quick look at Apple Bloom. She raised an eyebrow at the frozen state the filly looked like she was in. So the older mare began walking over to her.

“Apple Bloom, are you alright? You look as frozen as a….” Mrs. Cake stopped mid sentence when she beheld the ticket lying in Apple Bloom’s hooves. Her mouth dropped down, and her eyes grew as big as dinner plates.

Mr. Cake walked over to the two mares, looking very confused. “What’s gotten into you two? You look like you’ve seen….seen….seen….” But the stallion, like the other two, stopped dead when he caught sight of the Golden Ticket.

The three ponies simply sat frozen for a few seconds, just looking at and admiring the sight in the fillies’ hooves. But soon, Mr. Cake broke the silence. “....It’s a Golden Ticket,” he said.

The ponies on the other side of the room heard the comment, and soon all were looking over at the three ponies.

Mrs. Cake, getting out of her shock, smiled her biggest smile and looked at Apple Bloom. “You’ve Found Pinkie’s Last Golden Ticket!”

But then, her and Mr. Cake gasped. They turned to each other, grabbed their hooves, and began hopping in place. “IN OUR SHOP TOO!” they screamed.

Apple Bloom was still having a hard time processing what was happening. Just an hour ago she’d learned that the last ticket had been found. But now, she was holding the last ticket in her hooves! And it was hers!

But then, Apple Bloom felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw a pony from the table smiling sweetly at her. “Hey there Apple Bloom. I’ve just been thinking; why don’t I take that stupid ticket off your hooves for you. In exchange for…. oh I don’t know….100 bits?”

Before Apple Bloom could even think of a response, another hoof grabbed her other shoulder. “Are you crazy? I’d give her 500 bits for that ticket. That sounds like a better deal doesn’t it hon?”

Soon the whole table was surrounded by ponies. Each was shouting offers of bits for her ticket. She suddenly felt like she was trapped in a large, pony like trap. Sweat started to pour down her forehead, and it became harder to breath.

But then, somepony grabbed onto her and pulled her away from the swarm of ponies.

She landed on the ground with Mrs. Cake’s hooves wrapped protectively around her and Mr. Cake standing in front of them. Both were giving the ponies a snarling glare.

“That’s enough; you leave that filly alone,” said Mr. Cake sternly.

The group looked a little concerned by the stallion, which was probably a good idea. Mr. Cake looked like he was ready to break some noses, and maybe a few bones, to keep these ponies at bay.

Mrs. Cake smiled sweetly down at Apple Bloom. “Now you listen to me Apple Bloom. You found that ticket, which means it’s yours! Don’t let anypony have it; take it straight home and don’t stop until you get there!”

Apple Bloom looked down at her ticket, then at the group, before looking at the cakes. “They’re right,” she thought “this is MY ticket. And nopony is going to take it away from me!”

“Thank You,” said Apple Bloom.

She clamped her teeth down on the ticket, and with wonderbolt like speed, ran around the group of ponies, out the door, and down the sidewalk.

***

Apple Bloom bared down the path to the farm as fast as her legs could take her. She barely felt the pounding in her heart or the aching in her legs. All she cared about was getting her ticket back home.

As she approached the farm, she saw Big Mac outside the barn. He was carrying a load of tools and was heading back towards the door.

“BIG MAC!” screamed Apple Bloom.

The stallion looked over towards the voice, and was surprised to see Apple Bloom running towards him with tremendous speed. “Woah, where’s the fire sis?” he asked.

“I FOUND IT!” screamed Apple Bloom as she ran past Big Mac and through the open door of the house. She barreled through the kitchen and into the living room. Granny and Applejack were sitting by the fire talking, but both looked over at the filly as she screeched to a stop in front of them.

“Woah there dearie, what’s the rush?” asked Granny.

“THE LAST GOLDEN TICKET, IT’S MINE!” she yelled, holding up the ticket just as Big Mac came rushing in.

Applejack and Granny looked closely at the ticket, but soon their eyes grew bigger when they saw what it was. “Sweet Celestia….it’s a Golden Ticket!” said Applejack.

“How on earth did you find that?” asked Granny, who was still staring at the ticket.

“Some mare gave me a bit to buy a Pinkie Bar. So I went to Sugarcube Corner and bought a bar. And when I opened it, I found this inside of it.”

The three Apples looked just as shocked at the story as Apple Bloom felt telling it.

“May I,” asked Applejack, holding out a hoof. Apple Bloom placed the ticket down gently, and the mare began to look over the ticket. But when she turned it over, she looked fairly surprised. “Hey, there’s some writing on the back of here.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow questionably. “Really? What does it say?”

Applejack looked over the message before reading it out.

Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket from Pinkie Pie. I shake you warmly by the hoof but for now I do invite you to come to my factory and be my guest for one whole day. I, Pinkie Pie, will conduct you around the factory myself; showing you everything there is to see. And afterwards, when it is time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large wagons. Each one will be filled with all the chocolate you could ever eat. And remember, one of you lucky five foals will receive an extra prize beyond your wildest imaginations. Now, here are your instructions; on the first day of the second month of the year you must come to the factory gates at 10 AM sharp. You’re allowed to bring one member of your family to look after you. Until then;

PINKIE PIE

The four Apples were silent for a few moments, thinking about what the message had told them. But soon enough, Applejack looked up at the family.

“The first day of the second month of the year….that’s tomorrow!” she said.

Apple Bloom jumped off the floor in surprise. “TOMORROW!? oh no,” she said, pacing back and forth “how should I do my hair? Should I use a new bow? How clean are my teeth!”

Granny walked over to Apple Bloom and laid a hoof on her head. “Calm down there dearie. You look absolutely fine, and we have more important things to figure out right now.”

“She’s right,” said Applejack “the first thing we have to decide is this; who’s going with Apple Bloom to the factory?”

The four of them all looked at each other, each with a confused look. Applejack cleared her throat. “Well, as a responsible and close big sister, I’d be okay with going to the factory with her.”

But then Big Mac stepped closer, looking cross. “That’s a big factory with a lot of machinery. It could be pretty dangerous in there; she’ll need her strong and protective older brother to be with her.”

The two soon began to argue, each saying that they were better suited to take Apple Bloom to the factory. But as the filly listened and watched their arguing, she began to think. While those two had been somewhat comforting during this whole contest, it had been Granny who’d been supportive.

Every time a ticket had been found, Granny had told Apple Bloom that things would only get better. She had comforted her the most every time the winners were announced. And, she was so confident in Apple Bloom that she’d given her a bit to try and find the last ticket.

And now Applejack and Big Mac were arguing about taking her to the factory, without even asking for her opinion.

So, the filly put on her angry face and shouted “ENOUGH!”

The two ponies stopped arguing and looked over at Apple Bloom. “I found the ticket, so I’ll be deciding who goes with me to the factory.”

Applejack and Big Mac smiled at the filly, thinking she would end the argument. “Alright then sis, who do you want to go with you?”

Apple Bloom smiled, before turning to look at the old mare next to her. “Granny, I want you to take me to the factory.”

Applejack and Big Mac looked shocked at the filly’s answer, almost as much as Granny did. But soon the older mare smiled sweetly. “Why I’d be honored to take you dearie.”

“But Apple Bloom, don’t you think Granny’s a little too….old….to take you,” asked Applejack.

Granny glared at her granddaughter, who looked down at the ground sadly. “I may be old, but I still got a spring in my hips. I can take care of Apple Bloom just as well as you two could.”

The two ponies looked at each other questionably. “What do you think Big Mac?”

Big Mac looked over Granny carefully before looking back at his sister. “I say if Granny thinks she can take care of Apple Bloom, then we should let her.”

Apple Bloom and Granny’s faces lit up with joy. “Well it looks live we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow dearie,” said Granny.

Apple Bloom looked up at her, still not believe the thought she was thinking.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to go inside Pinkie Pie’s Chocolate Factory!”

Welcome To The Factory

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Chapter 9: Welcome to the Factory

One word was able to describe the ponies of Ponyville the following morning: ecstatic.

Ponies from all over town had gathered outside the large iron gates to the factory. Reporters and radio broadcasters filled in where they could, trying to get a spot where they could spot the action.

But the event wasn’t just being attended by the residents. For a little distance away from the gates stood group of Canterlot guards encircling a large carriage. A large white pony with both wings and a horn, a magnificent mane, and a sun cutie mark sat patiently down on it.

Beside her sat another pony with both wings and a horn. She was as black as the night, with a mane that looked like the night sky. A moon was her cutie mark, and her demeanor seemed much more joyful than the one next to her.

A half circle of Canterlot guards also stood around the gates; keeping out anypony who wasn’t a ticket owner. Inside the circle, in a nice row, stood the five Golden Ticket winners.

Diamond Tiara stood at the far right end with her father Mr. Rich. She was angrily tapping her hoof, and giving her father a stern look. “Dad, I want to go in!”

Mr. Rich took out his pocket watch and checked the time. “It’s nine fifty nine honey. Just one more minute.”

“Make time go faster!” said Diamond Tiara angrily before turning to stare at the gates.

Next to the pair stood Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. The filly had a new bright red bow tied in her mane, and looked as clean as a freshly made bar of soap. Her legs were beginning to shake slight, which was noticed by Granny.

“Feeling a little nervous dearie?” she asked.

Apple Bloom swallowed, and took a moment to respond. “Yeah. I mean, I can’t believe I’m actually going to go inside Pinkie’s Chocolate Factory. This really is a dream come true.”

“Well sometimes dreams are only as real as you make them. And for all it’s worth, you sure did dream hard.” said Granny.

The two smiled at each other, before looking back towards the crowd. Applejack and Big Mac stood as close to the two as possible, only being held back by the guards. The two waved at them, and they promptly did the same.

In the middle of the line stood Truffle Shuffle and his mother. Truffle had a Pinkie Bar clutched in his hooves and was chowing it down as to enjoy all the flavor.

His mom looked down at him and gave him a warming smile. “Careful sweetheart. You’ll want to save some room for later.”

Next in line beside them were Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. The filly was fluttering her wings eagerly, ready to go inside and win the grand prize promised to one of the winners. Rainbow Dash could tell she was excited, and was ready to encourage.

“Eyes on the prize Scoots, eyes on the prize,” she said determinedly. Scootaloo nodded her head in agreement.

Finally, at the other end of the line stood Button Mash and his mother Love Tap. Button was preoccupied playing a video game on one of his mobile systems. His mother looked rather nervous and embarrassed.

“Button, shouldn’t you put that game up now?” she asked.

Button nodded his head “yeah….in a minute.” His mother just sighed.

But her time for feeling embarrassed was soon over, as the time soon reached 10 AM. The large clock in the town’s center rang ten times, which caused everypony to look towards the gates eagerly.

But nopony could be seen coming out of one of the three doors. Apple Bloom looked up a Granny. “Think she’s running late to her own event?”

Granny shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe she’s just finishing….”

The mare was interrupted by the gasps and shouts from the crowd behind them. The two look towards the factory, and saw that the middle door had fully opened. “Oh, here she comes!” said Apple Bloom eagerly.

But instead of a mare walking out of the door, a large red carpet was rolled out. It rolled in a perfectly straight line until it finally came to a stop in front of the gates.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!”

The group of winners jumped at the sound of somepony shouting. Apple Bloom looked around, but couldn’t find anypony. But when she looked up towards the walls that surrounded the factory, she spotted sets of speakers lining it.

“You’ve waited a very long time for the mare herself to appear. Well fear no longer, because your wait is about to end.”

Soon the air was filled with the sound of dramatic drum music.

“It’s time to welcome the one, the only, the mare with the flare….PINKIE PIE!”

Just as the voice finished speaking, something exploded out of the doorway and rolled along the red carpet towards the gates. But just as it was about to hit them, it sprang up into the air, twirled, and landed on the group with the grace of a ballet dancer.

The thing in question was a very pink earth pony. She had a dark pink mane, a light pink pelt, and had a cutie mark that consisted of three party balloons. She wore a dark purple overcoat, and had a brownish orange top hat placed on her head.

The mare reached into her mane and pulled out a microphone. “That must be handy,” thought Apple Bloom. But she watched as the mare turned on the microphone and turned to the crowd beyond the gates.

“HHHEEELLLOOO PONYVILLE!” she screamed happily.

The crowd behind the winners exploded with cheers and whistles from ponies large and small. Some tried to push past the guards, but they were able to hold them back with magic.

The mare put the microphone back into her mane, and then as if she was weightless, leapt up into the air and somersaulted over the large gate. Ponies gasped in shock as she landed behind the winners and ran up to the crowd.

“Pipsqueak! Looking good for a pony your size,” she said to a small colt near the guards. The colt smiled and eagerly shaked the mares hoof.

Then she leapt over to where Applejack and Big Mac were standing. And when she saw them, her smile grew even bigger. “Applejack, Big Mac? It’s been so long, it’s good to see you two!” she said as she gave the two a big hug.

Applejack and Big Mac looked as shock as the rest of the ponies around them. “It’s, uh, good to see you too Pinkie. I see you haven’t been ordering your cider anymore. Gone cold?” asked Applejack.

“Oh no, I get someone else to get it for me.” said Pinkie.

Applejack looked confused, but before she could respond, Pinkie had jumped over the guards (as well as the crowd) and landed inside the Princess’ carriage circle.

The guards jumped in surprise and turned to face Pinkie, but were surprised to see her shaking hoofs with Princess Luna. “Luna, always good to see you. Your nights are a joy to behold,” said Pinkie.

Princess Luna smiled warmly. “And your dreams are always an….Adventure….Pinkie. I never know what I’m walking into.”

Pinkie smiled, but that smile soon faded when she turned to Celestia. The two stared at each other with the look of resentment so powerful, even those in Griffionstone could have sensed it.

“Celestia,” said Pinkie bitterly.

“Pinkie,” retorted Celestia.

The two remained staring at each other for another few seconds, but soon Pinkie flipped out of the circle towards a spot near the front of the crowd. She landed right in front of the two Cakes, giving them the biggest smile yet.

“MR. CAKE, MRS. CAKE! It’s SO good to see you,” said Pinkie, embracing the two in a big hug. The Cakes smiled and happily hugged her back.

“Oh, we’ve missed you so much Pinkie!” said Mrs. Cake, who had a few tears forming in her eyes.

“Hard to believe it’s been almost seven years since you stopped visiting,” said Mr. Cake.

Pinkie pulled back from the hug and gave them a half smile, half frown. “I know, but things have been really busy for me. And I’d love to talk to you all about it, but I have some guest to talk to.”

So with one final hug, Pinkie hopped over the crowd and guards before landing right in front of the factory gates. “And how could I forget the lucky ponies who won my Golden Tickets!”

The group of ponies looked at each other warley. In the five minutes Pinkie had been outside, she had managed to cause all of them to be lost for words.

Pinkie cleared her throat, making sure she had everponies’ attention. “Well let me be the first to say welcome; welcome to my chocolate factory. I’m so excited, this is going to such an amazing day. I hope you enjoy yourselves….but I’m pretty sure you will.”

Apple Bloom heard the click of a lock turning, and then watched as Pinkie put her back leg against the gate and gave it a slight push. The gate swung open enough for a pony to walk through.

“Now would you all come forward and present to me your Golden Tickets,” said Pinkie.

Diamond Tiara rushed forward with her Dad quickly following behind her. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash ran after them, with Button Mash and Love Tap following behind them. Truffle Shuffle and his mother waddled as fast as they could to the group. And finally, with the help of worn joints, Apple Bloom and Granny brought up the rear.

“I’m Diamond Tiara,” said the filly as she showed Pinkie her ticket.

“Oh, that’s such a pretty name. Like the name of a princess,” said Pinkie with a smile. “And this must be Mr. Rich.”

Mr. Rich smiled and gently shook the mare’s hooves. “Pleasure to meet you Miss Pie. It’s always great to meet another pony of business.”

“I can say the exact same. Now would you and your filly kindly step inside the gate for now?”

The stallion nodded and ushered his daughter through the gates.

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash rushed up after them, keeping their determined faces on. “My name’s Scootaloo. You can call me Scoots if you want; everypony does.”

Pinkie smiled down at the filly. “Well Scoots, welcome to Pinkie’s. I’m sure you’re going to have a great time.”

“And, I’m going to be the one to win that prize at the end!”

“Well you do seem confident, and confidence is key.” Pinkie looked at the blue pegasus behind her. “And this must be Rainbow Dash. A pleasure to meet you.”

Rainbow Dash reached over and shook the mare’s hooves. “Glad to meet you Pinkie. I remember eating your chocolate when I was little. Still tastes good today.”

Pinkie smiled warmly. “Well that’s good to hear. Now would you two please step inside.”

The two pegasus walked through the gate, and Button Mash walked up. He quickly saved his game and tucked it under his beanie. “My name’s Button Mash,” he said while holding up his ticket.

“Wonderful to meet you Button Mash. Got an interest in video games?” asked Pinkie.

Button smiled. “You bet, they’re the best thing that ponies have ever made. I couldn’t see my life without them.”

Pinkie giggled slightly before turning her attention to Love Tap. “And Miss Tap how do you do? You have quite the charming little stallion.”

Love Tap smiled nervously. “Thank you Miss Pie.”

The two walked through the gate, with Truffle Shuffle and his mom walking forward. “Truffle Shuffle,” said the little colt.

Pinkie smiled and gave the colt’s hoof a big shake. “Truffle Shuffle, so good to finally meet you. And you’re in such fine shape to.”

Pinkie turned to mare mare behind him. “And Mrs. Shuffle, so nice to meet you. Will you two please step right over there?”

The two walked through the gates, while the last two ponies walked up to mare.

Pinkie smiled at the sight of the old earth pony. “Granny Smith! I can’t believe you’re visiting my factory. Did you win my Golden Ticket?”

Granny smiled. “It’s good to see you too Pinkie. And no, I didn’t win the ticket. It was my Grandaughter Apple Bloom that won it.”

Pinkie looked down at the filly, who smiled warmly up at her. “It’s an honor to meet you Miss Pie,” said Apple Bloom.

“Oh, a new Apple! It’s a pleasure to meet you Apple Bloom. I hope you enjoy your visit,” said Pinkie. “Now would you two please step inside.”

The Apples walked through the gate, and Pinkie followed behind them. And with a kick of her leg, the gate swung closed once again. Pinkie hopped over to where the winners had gathered.

“Everypony set? Yes, good, off we go!”

Pinkie began hopping towards the open door to the factory. The winners followed closely behind her, with the crowd cheering behind them. When the group reached the door, Pinkie stopped hoping and waved them through.

Once they had all passed through, Pinkie turned to the crowd. “Thank you all for coming! You were all great!” she screamed. And with a wave of her hat, she walked through the door and out of sight.

The Chocolate Room

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Chapter 10: The Chocolate Room

The group found themselves engulfed in darkness as soon as the door closed. It didn’t scare them, but it left them confused as to what to do.

There was a clapping sound, and suddenly lights blazed on from above. The group held up their legs to cover their eyes, until they were able to bring them down again.

“Sorry about that,” said Pinkie. “I usually don’t have these lights on”.

Apple Bloom opened her eyes and looked around. They were standing in a large room; around the size of their barn. The doors sat behind them, and a curtain covered the wall on the left. To the right hung a few pegs that looked like pony hooves.

“Okay ponies, if you have any coats or scarves, hang them over there. We have so much time and so little to see,” said Pinkie. She paused a moment before saying “wait a minute, strike that, reverse it”.

Pinkie hopped over to the curtain, while everypony else went over to the hooks. Button got his scarf off first and threw it up at the hook.

“Weird looking coat hangers,” he said. But then, as his scarf landed on the hook, it curled up and grabbed it.

“AAAHHH,” a few ponies screamed.

“Little surprises around every corner BUT nothing dangerous,” said Pinkie. “Don’t be alarmed. As soon as the boring stuff is done with, we’ll begin”.

The group looked at each other with uncertain faces. So far, this was turning out to be a strange tour. They turned away from the hooks and walked over to where Pinkie was standing.

“Okay everypony, I need all the ticket holders to step forward,” said Pinkie. The five foals walked forward as Pinkie pulled a cord next to the curtain. I rose up, revealing a large piece of paper behind it.

Apple Bloom looked over the words written on the paper. “By signing this contract, the Pinkie Corp. will not be held responsible for any and all damages/injuries that might be sustained on the tour….etc,”.

“What’s this all about Pinkie?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Just a standard form of contract,” said Pinkie with a wave of her hoof. “Basically means my company won’t be held responsible if something were to happen on this tour”.

Mr. Rich snorted. “Sorry Pinkie, but me and Diamond Tiara don’t sign anything without our lawyers being present”.

“Then she doesn’t get to go in,” said Pinkie nonchalantly. “Those are the rules”.

Diamond Tiara scowled and turned to her dad. “I want to go in! And you are not ruining this for me daddy!”

“I’ll sign it,” said Button. He ran up, grabbed a quill, and began writing his name. “I did something like this in an RPG once. Had my wife sign some insurance forms, then I killed her”.

“Not bad,” said Pinkie as Button stepped back into the group.

“Me next,” said Diamond Tiara. She took the quill from Button and began writing her name. “My dad’s always making things difficult”.

When she finished, Scootaloo ran up to sign next. “I’m not afraid of a contract. If I was, I wouldn’t have been able to go to flight school!”

Rainbow Dash leaned over toward Granny Smith. “She still hasn’t; wings haven’t grown enough to attend. All she’s done is sign the papers”.

When Scootaloo finished, Truffle Shuffle walked up and signed his name. Pinkie smiled before turning to Apple Bloom.

“You’re next Apple Bloom. Though this is your last chance to turn back”.

Apple Bloom smiled. “Not a chance. I’ve waited my whole life to come here, and I ain’t turning back now”.

She ran up to the contract, grabbed the quill, and quickly wrote down her name.

“Alright, everypony has signed? Yes, good, off we go!”

Pinkie hopped over the group and began skipping over to the large doors they’d entered from. The group followed with some confusion, because soon Pinkie stopped right in front of them.

“Okay everypony, time to head further inside”.

“What are you talking about Miss Pie,” said Mr. Rich. “These are the exact same doors we came in. We go through them we’ll end up back outside!”

Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin, as if she was thinking hard. “Really, that doesn’t seem right. Let me check”.

Pinkie gave the door in the middle a swift kick, and it flew open. The group all gasped in amazement: behind the door was a long hallway!

Apple Bloom walked forward and looked closer at space beyond the door. “It’s real,” she said, taking a step through the doorway.

“Of course it’s real,” said Pinkie. She skipped through the door and turned to the others. “Didn’t I say there was?”

A few ponies were looking just as confused as before. Rainbow Dash, however, frowned in annoyance.

“Alright Pinkie, what gives? Is this some kind of fun house?”

Pinkie smiled and tilted her head to the side. “Why, having fun?”

“Not really,” said Love Tap. “So far, all we’ve seen is you pulling strangeness out of every corner of this room”.

Pinkie laughed slightly, before bouncing forward along the hallway. “Well if you want the tour to start, you have to follow me”.

Apple Bloom was a little confused herself; so far Pinkie did seem to be playing with their minds. Everything seemed like something out of a book….even Pinkie herself was another kind of weird.

But that didn’t matter to her; she came here for a tour of the factory. And if this was how Pinkie made all her creations amazing, then she’d have to go with it.

“Come on Granny, I’m not missing out on anything,” said Apple Bloom. She began walking after Pinkie with a look of confidence. Granny looked at the others, shrugged, and began to follow the two ponies.

The group stayed still for a moment, but soon they began to follow the crazy pink mare.

As they walked down the hall, Apple Bloom began to notice something. The more they walked, the more the ceiling and walls seemed to close in on them. In fact, soon Pinkie was reduced to walking because the ceiling was touching her hat (which she soon had to remove too).

“Hey, the hallway’s getting smaller,” she said.

“No it’s not,” said Love Tap, “Pinkies’ getting bigger”.

But she wasn’t; it was definitely the hallway. And soon, they reached the end of it. Now, Pinkie was crouching down in front of a small door. It was about the height of a small apple, and not even as wide.

“An important room this,” said Pinkie. “After all, it is a chocolate factory”.

Diamond Tiara huffed. “Then why is the door so small?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “It’s to keep all the chocolate flavor inside, du!”

She reached into her mane and pulled out a small key. She placed it into the lock and turned it until hearing a click. When she put the key back, she turned to the group.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, I present to you,” she placed a hoof on the wall and pushed, “The Chocolate Room”.

***

When the door opened, every pony in the group gasped.

On the other side of the door was what looked like a beautiful meadow plucked from the outside. Grass covered the entire area, and weird looking plants sprouted up all around.

Running through the middle of the room was a river. But instead of clear water, what was flowing through it was thick and brown. At the end of it sat a large waterfall, where the brown liquid poured down by the gallon!

Pinkie placed her hat back on her head and skipped onto the large meadow. The others followed, still in awe about what they were looking at.

“It….it….looks so beautiful,” said Apple Bloom, who looked close to tears.

“Oh yeah,” said Pinkie. “It’s very beautiful”.

After another moment of gazing, Pinkie began walking towards the river. The group quickly followed her.

As they made their way along the river, Pinkie looked down at it. “Every drop of the river is hot melted chocolate of the finest quality”.

Apple Bloom gasped before looking down at the river. “This is all CHOCOLATE!?” It took every ounce of willpower for Apple Bloom to not jump right into the river and have the time of her life!

When she looked forward though, she found that Truffle had a similar expression on his face. “Looks like I’m not the only one”.

The group made their way towards the waterfall, before which stood a bridge to the other side. Pinkie lead the others over it before stopping.

“The waterfall is most important; it mixes the chocolate. Helps to make it light and frothy,” she said with a smile. “By the way; no other factory in the world mixes it chocolate by waterfall. And you can take that to the bank!”

Pinkie turned around and lead the group farther along the path. But not long after everypony had cleared the bridge, they all heard a wiring sound.

“Oh, it’s nearly time! Look everypony,” said Pinkie, point to something behind them.

The group looked back, and saw something moving near the ceiling. It looked like a large glass tank, which was attached to something on the ceiling. Below it was a disk like machine, which had a large glass pipe attached to it.

“That is one of the pipes that suck up the chocolate from the river,” said Pinkie. “And carry it away all over the factory. Thousands of gallons an hour.”

“But why isn’t it in the river all the time,” asked Scootaloo.

“If you have any questions regarding the use of our machines, please direct them to the complaint hotline,” said Pinkie.

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked at each other strangely.

“But now I must know; who wants to try a blade of my grass? Isn’t it so delectable and darn good looking?”

“I’ll try,” said Truffle. He stuck his face down, chomped a large amount of grass, and gulped it down. But when it passed his throat, he opened his eyes wide.

“It….it….IT TASTES LIKE CANDY!”

The others in the group looked at the colt with shock.

“Of course it is; everything in this room is made of candy. Therefore, everything in this room is eatable, even I’m eatable,” said Pinkie. “But that is called cannibalism, my little ponies, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies”.

Pinkie waved her hoof around the room. “Go, and enjoy!”

The ponies in the group looked at one another for a moment. But soon, they all ran off to try the different kinds of candy that were planted around the room.

***

Apple Bloom and Granny Smith stuck with each other as they walked through the room. They gazed at the many different candies to try, as well as the way they were shaped to look like plants.

“Golly, what should we try first granny?”

Granny Smith narrowed her eyes as she looked over the different selections. But soon, her eye landed on a tree near the river. It looked like an apple tree; just like the ones they had at the farm.

“Well, why not start with that apple tree over there?”

“What,” said Apple Bloom, looking over at the tree. “But Pinkie said that everything in this room was candy.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Granny. “Let’s try it before asking questions”.

The two mares walked over to the tree, which Granny Smith quickly plucked two apples from. Apple Bloom took one and looked it over, seeing the shiny glazed outside reflect light off itself.

Slowly, the filly bit down on the apple and swallowed. Instantly, her mouth hung open as the sweet sugary taste overwhelmed her mouth.

“Wow! It tastes like an apple pie!”

Granny took a bite of her apple, and soon she was smiling wider than she’d ever smilled before. “Hot diggety, this is the best apple I’ve ever tasted!”

The two continued to chomp down their candy apple, right down to the core. Apple Bloom threw hers away and began to reach for another one. But before her hoof could touch it, something big jumped in front.

Apple Bloom jerked back in surprise as the object grabbed the apple and fell to the ground. “Mine” it screamed.

Apple Bloom looked again, and saw that Truffle Shuffle was the object. He took the apple, put the whole thing in his mouth, and swallowed it whole!

“MORE” he screamed, and jumped up before running to another nearby candy plant. He tore off a large chunk before swallowing it whole too.

“What in tarnation is wrong with that colt,” asked Granny?

“I’m not sure,” replied Apple Bloom. “But remember, he said on the radio that he likes to eat a lot of candy. This must be a dream come true for him”.

The two watched as Truffle kept running to different plants, taking large bites, and moving on to another.

“Maybe we should try another area,” said Apple Bloom.

“Hm, maybe you’re right dearie,” said Granny. The two turned around and began heading back to where they’d left the group.

But they hadn’t gone very far before something else flew past them.

Apple Bloom looked, and saw the Love Tap was running towards a large cluster of red pumpkins. Everything looked normal….until Apple Bloom saw a pair of brown legs poking out the top of one.

Love Tap ran over to them, grabbed on, and pulled. Soon, a body followed, along with a head and orange mane. Every part of the body was covered in a gloopy red/while paste, and the mane looked more ruffled than a tree after a tornado.

“Button,” said Love Tap worriedly. “What in Equestria were you doing?”

Button, who’s mouth looked full, swallowed before addressing his mother. “What? She said enjoy!”

The two Apples looked at the other, before quickly walking away.

***

Across the room, Diamond Tiara and Mr. Rich were walking along the chocolate river. The young filly was licking a swirling lollipop, and Mr. Rich was tasting a piece of chocolate shaped like a flower.

“Remember dear, she said enjoy. So that means you can eat as much as you want,” said Mr. Rich.

“I’m not going to have much,” said Diamond Tiara. “I want to be in shape when summer comes around. As Mrs. Manie Pony always says: A bulge is not what you want, less you look like a….”

“OKAY,” interrupted her father. “Just keep it inside your head”.

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes; her dad never liked anything she had to say. She took another lick of her lollipop and looked up at the chocolate waterfall. The streams of chocolate that flew from the top looked so enticing you just wanted to stand under it and let it cover you from top to bottom.

But as Diamond Tiara looked away from the waterfall and towards the opposite bank, she saw something that made her eyes widen in surprise.

“DADDY, LOOK OVER THERE!”

Mr. Rich looked across the river, and saw something on the other bank. It looked like a small pony; one that was even smaller than his little filly.

It looked like a stallion, with a black mane and red pelt. He was carrying a small jackhammer on his back, and was walking to a small area near the waterfall. When he stopped, he took the jackhammer and began to use it to dig into the ground.

“What is that thing,” asked Mr. Rich.

As the two watched the small pony work, the rest of the group soon came rushing over. They all looked at the small pony with the look of astonishment.

“....Hey, there’s two of them,” said Rainbow Dash.

“There’s more than two,” said Love Tap.

Indeed, a few more of the small ponies were appearing all over the opposite bank. Some were carrying gardening tools, while others were pulling carts filled with the candy vegetables from around the room. And strangely, they all looked the same: earth pony stallions with a black mane and red pelt.

But what was really strange was that they had no cutie-mark!

“Are they even real ponies,” asked Button Mash.

“Of course they’re real ponies,” said Pinkie, who popped out of nowhere into the middle of the group. Everypony jumped in surprise; yet the mare didn’t seem to notice it. “They’re Oompa Loompas”.

Mr. Rich looked at the pink mare with confusion. “What, Oompa Loompas?”

“Of course,” said Pinkie. “They’re imported direct from Loompa Land”.

“There’s no such place,” said Love Tap.

Pinkie turned to the mare, looking very annoyed/confused. “Uh, what do you mean?”

Love Tap smiled smugly. “Well, I did happen to major in Geography during my time in college Miss Pie. And I can tell you…”

“That you know all about it and know what a terrible island it is,” interrupted Pinkie. “Nothing but desolate wastes and fierce beasts. And the poor little Oompa Loompas were so small and helpless, they would get gobbled up right and left. A Wangdoodle would eat ten of them for breakfast and think nothing of it. I went to Loompa Land looking for exotic new flavors for candy. But instead, I found the Oompa Loompas. And when I saw what was happening to them, I knew and I had to do something. And so, I said, ‘Come and live with me in peace and safety in my factory; away from all the Wangdoodles and Hornswogglers and Snozzwangers and rotten Vermicious Knids.’"

Mr. Rich snorted. “Snozzwangers? Vermicious Knids? What kind of rubbish is that?”

“I'm sorry, but all questions must be submitted in writing,” said Pinkie. “And so, in the greatest of secrecy I transported the entire population of Oompa Loompas to my factory.”

“That’s amazing!” said Diamond Tiara. “Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa! I want an Oompa Loompa right away!”

Mr. Rich sadly smiled. “Okay dear, we’ll get you an Oompa Loompa such as soon as I can”.

“But I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!” screamed the filly.

Scootaloo’s face became scrunched in anger, and she pushed it right in front of Diamond’s. “Can it you brat!”

The two fillies soon found themselves in a tense staring contest. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and turned her head; she didn’t want to see two fillies getting in needless arguments.

But as she looked along the chocolate river, she noticed something. Truffle Shuffle as down at the river bank, putting his hooves in the chocolate river. Then he put them in his mouth and cleaned them in seconds.

“Hey granny, look at Tuffle,” she said.

Granny and the rest of the group looked over at the chubby stallion. Everyone didn’t seem to bothered by it….except for Pinkie. She gasped loudly and her mouth literally dropped to the ground.

“TRUFFLE” she screamed. “STOP! MY CHOCOLATE MUST NOT BE TOUCHED BY PONY HOOVES!”

But the stallion didn’t stop; he only continued to dunk his hooves in the chocolate river. “Oh, this stuff is terrific!”

“I’M SERIOUS TRUFFLE! YOU’RE CONTAMINATING MY ENTIRE RIVER!”

Truffle didn’t respond; he only continued eating the liquid chocolate. He reached down and was ready to pull them out….but then it happened. He leaned over too far, and his weight pulled him over the bank.

Truffle was only able to let out a small scream before he plunged into the chocolate river. The group on the other side all gasped in surprise….except Pinkie; she just sighed sadly.

A second later, Truffle broke the surface. He was covered in chocolate and gasping for air. He flared his hooves in an attempt to swim, but it only just kept him above the surface.

“He can’t swim,” said Mrs. Truffle. “Somepony help him, he’ll drown!”

But while everypony was looking at the frailing colt, Pinkie’s mind was elsewhere. She looked up at the ceiling, and saw the pipe from before moving towards the area near where Truffle had fallen. But instead of saying anything, Pinkie simply stayed quiet and watched the struggling colt.

The pipe moved over Truffle before stopping a few feet away. Slowly, the pipe slid down and into the river. It sank a few feet before stopping….and soon chocolate began to fly upwards towards the large tank above.

A small whirlpool began to form around the pipe, causing more suction in the river. Truffle, who was still sprawling nearby, began to drift towards the whirlpool. “HELP!” he screamed.

“I’ve got him,” said Rainbow Dash. She spread her wings and dashed over towards Truffle. “Grab my hooves!” she screamed.

Truffle Shuffle reached out towards the mare, ready to grab on. But just as Dash reached the colt, he was swept up in the whirlpool and thrown around.

“Woah,” said Dash. “He’s moving too fast for me to zero in on him”.

“It’s too late now,” called Pinkie. “The suctions got him”.

Rainbow Dash watched the struggling colt, and with a sigh, flew back towards the group. And just as she landed, Truffle let out a small cry before he once again was sucked under the surface.

A second later, something shot into the pipe before stopping a few feet in. All the chocolate above it continued to rise, but the rest was stuck under the object, creating a blockage.

After some of the chocolate moved away, everypony saw that the object was Truffle! He looked around quickly; not knowing what was going on. But he didn’t have time to get a good look. A second later, he started shooting up at the pipe at a quick pace.

“There he goes,” said Scootaloo.

“Wow,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s a wonder how that pipe is big enough”.

“....Wait look, it isn’t big enough. He’s slowing down!” said Apple Bloom.

Sure enough, Truffle was moving slower and slower inside the pipe. Then, when he was two thirds of the way up, he stopped altogether.

“He’s stuck,” said Button.

“Indeed; he’s blocked the whole pipe,” said Mr. Rich.

Mrs. Shuffle looked helplessly at her son, before turning to Pinkie with a look of confusion. “Well, aren’t you going to do something Miss Pie?”

Pinkie looked back at the mare with a blank expression. Then, she put a piece of chocolate in her mouth and said “uh….help….police….murder” as nonchalantly as she could.

Apple Bloom gasped in shock. She thought Pinkie would be more worried that a….‘small’ colt had gotten sucked into one of her machines. Instead, she acted like she didn’t even care; not even a little bit.

“Hey, look, the Oompa Loompas!”

Apple Bloom and the rest of the group looked over at the opposite bank. Indeed, the Oompa Loompas were acting differently. They were all humming, and moving in rhythm with the tune.

“What are they doing,” asked Diamond Tiara.

Pinkie looked over at them and smiled. “I think they’re going to treat us to a little song. It is quite a special occasion after all; they haven’t had a fresh audience in many moons”.

The Oompa Loompas put down their tools and began running towards the pipe and group. They circled around them, forming three straight lines. The humming soon stopped, and they began to sing:

Truffle Shuffle! Truffle Shuffle!
Big and round, just like a bubble!

Truffle Shuffle!
So big and vile
So greedy, foul, and infantile

'Come on!' we cried, 'The time is right,
To send him shooting up the pipe!

But don't, you ponies, be alarmed;
Truffle Shuffle will not be harmed,

Truffle Shuffle will not be harmed

Although, of course, we must admit
He will be altered quite a bit.
Slowly, wheels go round and round,
The cogs begin to grind and pound;
Let boil for a minute more,
Until we're absolutely sure
Then out he comes! And now! By grace!
A miracle has taken place!
A miracle has taken place!

This greedy brute, this louse's ear,
Is loved by ponies everywhere!
For who could hate or bear a grudge
Against a luscious bit of fudge?

As the Oompa Loompas sang the last verse, the group heard a deep groaning noise. They all looked over at the pipe, which was beginning to shake. Chocolate began to burst out of a few leaks, meaning it was close to critical buildup.

But then, after one final shake, Truffle Shuffle went flying! He shot up the pipe with such speed that he almost left the chocolate in his wake. He shot through the disk panel and into the large tank above. He only had a second to react before the chocolate began to rise and bring the colt along with it.

The group watched as the tank filled to the top before the pipe shut off. It rose out of the river, and soon began to move away from the group.

Speaking of which; everypony in the group was left in complete shock as to what had just happened.

That is except for Pinkie; who was clapping and smiling like the whole thing was just a big show.

“Bravo! Well done,” she screamed happily. “Wasn’t that the best music you’ve ever heard! My Oompa Loompas sure do know how to sing!”

“Yes,” said Mr. Rich. “But they did seem rather rehearsed”.

“Yeah, like they knew what was going to happen,” said Button.

Pinkie waved her hoof and blew a raspberry. “Oh please; nopony can predict the future. And trust me, I’ve tried”.

“Forget about that,” said Mrs. Shuffle. “Where is my son! Where does that pipe go to?!?!”

Pinkie looked up at the pipe, then back at Mrs. Shuffle. “Oh, yeah. You see, that pipe just happens to go to the fudge room; more specifically the one where I make my famous Strawberry Flavored Chocolate Coated Fudge". She paused for a moment, giving an uncomfortable look. "And that's not the worst part. When it arrives at the room, it gets poured directly into our main boiler before processing”.

“YOU’RE GOING TO BOIL MY SON!”

“No, of course not,” said Pinkie. “I would never allow it; the taste would be terrible! Could you imagine Truffle Flavored Chocolate Coated Gloop? Ewh, nopony would buy it!”

Mrs. Shuffle looked like she was ready to punch the candy maker in the face. But Pinkie must have sensed this, because she quickly pulled a whistle from her mane. She gave it a quick blow, sending out a sound that could be heard from across the room. She put the whistle back in her mane, then turned towards the waterfall.

A second later, an Oompa Loompa showed up and gave a small salute. Pinkie gave one back before leaning down closer to it.

“I need you to take Mrs. Shuffle down to the Fudge Room so she can find her son. He may get poured into the boiler, so take a strand of fencing and attach it to the outlet tube. Something should catch onto it eventually. Got it?”

The Oompa Loompa nodded, then motioned for Mrs. Shuffle to follow him. She gave the group one last look before following the small pony towards the passage to the fudge room.

Pinkie sighed before turning back to the rest of the group. “Alright everypony, let’s get moving. We still have so much to see, and we mustn’t get behind schedule”.

She turned on her hooves and began bouncing towards a lower bank farther down the river. Everypony in the room remained still for a second. But soon, they all started to follow the crazy mare.

Down The Chocolate River

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CHAPTER 11: DOWN THE CHOCOLATE RIVER

Pinkie lead the group of ponies down towards the Chocolate River.

Apple Bloom watched the mare bounce along with a large smile plastered on her face. She didn’t seem to mind in the slightest that Truffle could possibly be boiled in chocolate.

“Granny, do you think Truffle will be alright?”

Granny Smith looked down at the young filly, giving her the best ‘uncertain’ smile she could muster.

“Why sure he will. I’m sure Pinkie is just covering up her worry so we don’t feel so bad”.

Apple Bloom hopped that was true; because everything she’d seen was telling her otherwise. Pinkie had acted with caution only when Truffle was drinking from the river. But the moment he fell in, she didn’t seem to care at all. It’s like she knew that would happen (even though there was no way she could).

Apple Bloom continued to think about this until Pinkie came to a stop at a small bank near the waterfall. The group gathered around her; waiting to see what was next.

But as they waited, a sound began to reach their ears. Slowly, a drum beat began to fill the room; growing louder and louder each second. Along with that, the river began to ripple and wave; as if something was moving through it.

“Ah, right on time,” said Pinkie happily.

Apple Bloom looked over at Pinkie, who was staring intently at the waterfall. Suddenly, a large globe of shimmering light began to pass through it. The group gasped in surprise; mainly due to what was underneath it.

Beneath the glowing shield was a large pink boat!

It had a figurehead shaped like a beautiful mare, which curved into the rest of the boat like it was her body. The end of the ship was shaped like a sea-pony’s tail, and large oars stuck out from both sides. As the boat moved closer, Apple Bloom saw that more Oompa Loompas were seated inside it; at least 33 in total. But these Oompa Loompas had blue coats instead of red ones like the others she’d seen.

32 of them were divided into two columns; with which a group of four were stationed at each oar. One Oompa Loompa stood at the front, beating a drum in tune to the rowing.

The Oompa Loompas maneuvered the boat alongside the bank, positioning the oars so they wouldn’t collide with it. Once it was at a full stop, the Oompa Loompas looked at the group and bowed slightly.

Pinkie turned around and gave the group a smile. “Well everypony, this is our mode of transport for the day”.

“It’s beautiful,” said Scootaloo.

“Reminds me of the Viking Ships in Viking Attack 4,” said Button.

“It certainly is fancy,” said Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie grinned. “Only the best for my lucky guests. Now All Aboard; we don’t want to fall behind schedule!”

The group quickly filled into the boat, taking seats that were available near the back. Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich took the one closest to the middle. Button Mash, Love Tap, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash took the seats behind them. This left Pinkie, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith to take up the back seat.

Pinkie looked over the boat, making sure everything was ready. Though she had to stop for a moment when she caught Button licking the boat.

“I ask all my visitors to not lick the boat; it both weakens it and makes it sticky”.

Button quickly sat up straight, licking a small piece of boat off his lower lip. Pinkie took a seat next to Apple Bloom before waving a hoof at the lead Oompa Loompa.

“Off we go,” she said cheerily.

The Oompa Loompa began banging on the drum again, which signaled the others to start rowing. The boat jerked slightly as they moved away from the bank and along the river. The group looked out at the Chocolate Room with wonder. Standing on it was one thing, but looking at it through a boat ride was even better.

“This is great daddy,” said Diamond Tiara. “I want a boat just like this; a beautiful viking boat”.

Granny Smith snorted and rolled her eyes. She leaned over so that only Apple Bloom and Pinkie could hear what she was saying.

“If you ask me, that filly has her wants and what she deserves mixed up. She wants a big fancy boat, but she deserves a good hard kick in the flank”.

Apple Bloom and Pinkie giggled, and Granny soon joined them. The others were too distracted by the scenery to notice.

“Ugh,” said Love Tap. She was swaying slightly, and was making a strange face. “I think I’m going to be sea sick”.

“How is that possible,” asked Button. “We’re not even on the ocean”.

Love Tap looked like she was about to respond. But instead she just held her stomach and groaned.

“OOOHHH,” said Pinkie with a grin. She pulled off her hat and began digging around inside of it. After a few seconds she pulled out a small, round, rainbow colored piece of candy.

“Here,” she said handing it to Love Tap, “try one of these”.

Love Tap looked at the object curiously. “What is it?”

“Rainbow Drops,” said Pinkie. “They help with most motion sicknesses. Plus it gives you the added bonus of being able to spit in seven different colors”.

“COOL,” said Button, eyeing the candy like it was a miracle from Celestia.

A few members of the group began to laugh; including Pinkie and Granny Smith. Apple Bloom wanted to join in….but then she noticed something. The long fields of candy plants were being replaced by dark granite-like walls of chocolate.

The light began to fade as the boat began to move towards a large, dark opening. Apple Bloom, partially in fear, gave Pinkie a few prods.

“Miss Pinkie, Miss Pinkie, we’re heading for a tunnel!”

Pinkie and the others stopped laughing and looked ahead. The candy maker nodded slightly.

“Oh right,” she said nonchalantly. Then she called out, “FULL SPEED AHEAD!”

“Hold on Pinkie,” called Rainbow Dash. “It’s pitch black in there. How can they see where they’re going?”

Pinkie stared straight ahead.

“They can’t,” she said silently.

“There’s no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going...there’s no knowing where we’re rowing….”

Apple Bloom looked at the mare cautiously. “Uh, what are you talking about Miss Pinkie?”

Pinkie turned to the filly and smiled. “Nothing, the writer and me were just trying to get the reader’s hopes up”.

Apple Bloom and Granny looked at each other in confusion.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Pinkie called out, “SWITCH ON THE LIGHTS!”

In an flash, lights turned on above them. Apple Bloom looked ahead, and saw a long tunnel stretching before them. It looked calm, peaceful, and had nothing dangerous about it at all.

….Too bad that wasn’t the case.

A few seconds later, the boat took a major dip downward. Ponies in the group started to scream; thinking the boat was sinking into the river. But it only lasted a minute before they noticed the boat wasn’t sinking.

Instead, the boat was flying down the chocolate river at breakneck speed. The incline they were on carried the chocolate down fast, turning it into rapids. The boat zipped around a corner, and shot over a hunch; splashing chocolate everywhere.

“PINKIE,” called Rainbow Dash, “WHAT’S GOING ON!?”

“Nothing,” Pinkie called back. “This is just how I get my chocolate to other parts of the factory faster. I can’t always rely on the pipes!”

Apple Bloom, who was holding onto the seat for dear life, smiled. “It’s just like a rollercoaster!”

“Yeah,” said Granny. She looked half scared and half thrilled. “But I think I’m a little too old for this ride!”

The boat zoomed around another bend, and went over more hunches that launched it into the air for a few seconds.

“Oh,” said Love Tap. She was holding a hoof over her mouth, and her cheeks were turning a light shade of green. “Now I am going to be sick!”

“Complimentary barf bag,” said Pinkie, holding a small brown bag out to the sick mare.

Love Tap grabbed it, buried her face into it, and let loose. Apple Bloom and the others looked away, disgusted.

The boat continued on it’s downward spiral until it reached a large opening. The boat leveled out, and the group (baring those who were barfing) looked around the area. It was a large, circular room. Lights hidden behind the walls gave the whole thing a glowing, dark look to it.

“Everyone,” called Pinkie, “keep an eye out as we’re going down the river. We’re going to be passing some very important rooms along the way”.

Apple Bloom looked around the room again, and notice three large doors to the right. Each one had a small dock and staircase attached to them. Glowing letters near the top told what rooms they were.

The three doors (according to the signs) held Whipped Cream, Coffee Cream….and MANE CREAM!

“Uh, Miss Pinkie, what do you use mane cream for,” asked Scootaloo.

Pinkie smiled and fluffed her mane. “Do you think I get this look naturally?”

The others didn’t seem to get the humor, so they decided not to push it any further. But before they could go back to looking around the room, the boat floated into another opening. Soon, the boat was sucked into more chocolate rapids.

The tunnel they were in now was much large, but it had support columns poking out in different places. The ponies gasped and jumped as the boat came close to hitting a few of them.

Apple Bloom kept scanning the walls, looking for more rooms. She caught a few that read Jelly Beans, Lickable Wallpaper, Nevermelt Icecream, and much more.

The boat turned down another smaller tunnel, sending them deeper below ground. After a few more twists and turns, the boat glided into the largest chamber yet. It was dome shaped, with a large light pouring from the top. A few more rooms were placed around the outside, while other tunnels branched off from different openings.

Pinkie looked around the room, stopping when she caught sight of one of the doors. “Oh, stop the boat. We’ve reached our destination!”

The Oompa Loompas maneuvered the boat over to the door Pinkie was pointing at. Apple Bloom watched as the door got closer, and soon she was able to read the wording above it.

INVENTING ROOM.

The Inventing Room

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CHAPTER 12: THE INVENTING ROOM

After the Oompa Loompas had parked the boat next to the dock, Pinkie and the others filed out. Love Tap had stopped puking, but still looked a little green. Button had to keep straightening her so she didn’t fall over.

“Okay everypony, this way,” said Pinkie.

She turned and headed up the small stairway. The group followed closely behind her. When they reached the top, Pinkie hopped over to a small stand near the doorway, which had a large button on the top. Pinkie gave it a hard slap, which caused the door to hiss and slowly open.

Pinkie and the others passed through the door and a small tunnel. When they emerged on the other side, the whole group gasped.

The room they were standing in was massive; at least twice the size of the chocolate room. Large pieces of machinery were scattered around the room, leaving spaces in-between to walk through.

In other places were what looked like large chemistry stations; with bubbling beakers and steaming viles. Some of the machines had similar tubes attached to them, while others had sparking rods of magic.

Apple Bloom looked above them to see how high the machines went. But she was surprised to see small walkways interlocking above them. There weren’t any railings, but the walkway seemed big enough that you didn’t really have to worry about falling off.

As she took her eyes off the ceiling, Apple Bloom noticed a few Oompa Loompas walking around the room. But like the ones on the boat, they were different from the ones in the chocolate room. They each had a very dark blue coat, a lighter blue mane, and were all unicorns!

Pinkie turned to look at her guests.

“Now this is the most important room in the entire factory,” she said happily. “All major innovations in candy are made right here on a weekly basis. After that, they’re sent to their own room for further development”.

“But what’s with the unicorns? I thought Oompa Loompas were earth ponies,” asked Diamond Tiara.

Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. “Oompa Loompas have similar genetics to ponies. So of course there’s more than just earth ponies”.

“But how come there are only earth ponies in the chocolate room and unicorns here,” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Simple,” said Pinkie, “each race works where their skill are best utilized. Earth ponies are perfect for harvesting the candy plants in the chocolate room. And unicorns, with expertise in magic and science, are perfect for working in a place like this”.

Apple Bloom nodded; that seemed to make sense to her. Her family was made up of earth ponies, and they’d been farmers for generations. So if some ponies worked best in certain places compared to others, why not have them work there all the time.

“Now, everypony can go and look at anything in the room. However, I ask that you please don’t touch anything. We don’t want any of our new experiments being ruined”.

Pinkie waved her hoof around the room. The group dispersed; each going off to look at something different.

Scootaloo and Button ran towards a large tank, which had another machine hovering above it. It had large pipes sticking out the bottom, and they would occasionally shoot something down into the tank.

The two foals ran up to a large glass window on the side of the tank. On the other side, there were lots of little, colorful balls sitting at the bottom. An Oompa Loompa, wearing a breathing mask, was swimming around inside. He would occasionally grab one of the balls, examine it, and either teleport it away or set it back down at the bottom.

Scootaloo turned around. “Hey Miss Pinkie,” she called, “what’s this?”

Pinkie turned around and hopped over to the tank. “Oh, let me show you”.

Pinkie hopped high enough to reach the top of the tank. As she did, an Oompa Loompa emerged from the water and floated one of the balls to her.

“Thank You,” she said as she descended.

Once she was on the ground, she turned to the others and held the item up.

“These are Everlasting Gobstoppers; they’re for foals that have very little money to spend. You can suck on it all year, and it’ll never get any smaller. Never ever….at least I don’t think they do,” she said with a slight frown, “still needs a few more tests”.

Pinkie tossed the gobstopper up and over the tank, after which it floated back to the bottom. This quipped the interest of Apple Bloom.

“Miss Pinkie,” she asked, “why are the gobstoppers in that tank?”

“Oh, because they’re not done yet,” replied Pinkie. “When a Gobstopper is shot into the tank, the inside is still in a semi liquid state. The cold waters helps to chill the inside until it’s hard”.

The group murmured to themselves, then walked off to explore more of the inventing room. Pinkie made her way to a table filled with bottles of strange liquid. She grabbed a few and began pouring small amounts into a small cup.

Rainbow Dash, Filthy Rich, and Love Tap watched as she worked.

“Shouldn’t you be wearing rubber gloves when handling strange liquids Miss Pinkie,” asked Mr. Rich.

“I agree; you’ll have the health inspector all over this place,” replied Love Tap.

Pinkie snickered and began stirring the different liquids together. “Invention my little ponies is is ninety-three percent perspiration, six percent electricity, four percent evaporation, and two percent butterscotch ripple”.

“That’s one hundred and five percent,” said Love Tap.

Pinkie finished stirring the liquid and gave it a taste.

“Any good,” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Hm….yes,” she said with an uncertain face.

She placed the cup down and bounced over to a boiling pot near another machine. Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom, and Button were standing next to it. A table sat close by, containing an assortment of different objects. Pinkie grabbed a small clock from the table and walked over to the pot.

“Time is a precious thing, never waste it,” she said to the three foals. She then dumped the clock into the vat and bounced off.

Diamond Tiara looked at the filly and colt beside her. “She’s absolutely bonkers”.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “And how is that a bad thing?”

Diamond Tiara huffed and walked after the candy maker. Apple Bloom turned to Button, only to find him swiping a candy from a nearby container.

“Uh, Button, I thought Pinkie said not to touch anything”.

“What,” he said with a shrug before popping the candy in his mouth. “I’m just trying some candy. It’s actually not that bad”.

Apple Bloom just rolled her eyes and headed off to find the others. Button followed close behind, still chewing on the candy.

They found the others gathered around another large tank. This one was more sunk into the ground, and was filled with a white creamy substance. But what was surprising was what was going on at the top.

The largest whisk Apple Bloom had ever seen was sunk into the cream. At the top was what looked like a series of pedals that turned the whisk, which was moving around the tank. And the pony peddling those pedals was Pinkie. She had a big smile on her face and was singing a small song.

“IN SPRINGTIME, THE ONLY PRETTY RING TIME BIRDS SING, HEY DING. A-DING, A-DING SWEET LOVERS LOVE THE SPRING….”

Pinkie’s song was interrupted by a small explosion. The group looked over and saw Button fly across the room and smash into a stack of pots and pans. Love Tap screamed in worry and ran over to her son. He was lying in the heap looking dazed and confused, with white smoke rising from his mouth and nose.

Pinkie sighed and shook her head. “I thought I told you not to touch anything”.

Love Tap picked up her son and looked him over. “Button, what happened? Are you hurt? Tell me if you need medical attention!”

Button let out a deep breath, blowing smoke over his mother’s face. When he was done, he was smiling like someone who was high on something.

“Wow, that stuff sure packs a punch,” he said happily.

Pinkie hopped off the whisk and onto the floor. “That’s exploding candy for your enemies. Great idea isn’t it? Still too weak though, needs more gelignite”.

Apple Bloom suddenly had the faces of a lot of ponies she didn’t like popping into her head. She wondered if maybe candy like that would be out before she went on to High School.

“Okay everypony, now I want to show you something really special,” said Pinkie.

The group turned and followed Pinkie to a large machine. It had large tubes of different colored liquids attached to the top. Pipes and gauges were all over it, and pumps were near the bottom. Overall, it looked both like a complicated machine and a huge mess.

“Now watch this,” said Pinkie. She hopped over to a small panel, which had a large red button on it. She pressed it, and everypony watched as the machine roared to life.

The liquids flowed into it, and the pumps began….well….pumping. The gauges spiked in places, and the pipes groaned loudly. After a few seconds, a long rectangular bar slid out of the machine. It stopped right in front of Scootaloo, and with a hiss opened up.

The group looked inside, only to find a single strip of gum lying in the bar. Scootaloo reached in and pulled it out, looking at it curiously.

“You mean that’s it,” asked Button Mash.

Pinkie looked like somepony had just cursed at her.

“That’s it? Do you even know what ‘it’ is?”

“It’s gum,” said Scootaloo matter-of-factly.

“Wrong,” said Pinkie, shoving her head very close to the young filly. “It’s a stick of the most fabulous, sensational gum in the whole universe!”

“What’s so fabulous about it,” asked Button.

Pinkie pulled her head back and grinned widely. “This piece of gum is a full three course dinner!”

Filthy Rich rolled his eyes. “I doubt I could feel full and satisfied with just a piece of gum”.

“But that’s where the magic happens,” said Pinkie. “We’ve condensed the essences of three dishes into a strip of chewing gum. Just think; this’ll be the end of all kitchens and all cooking. Instead you can just go to the store, buy a pack of gum, and feed your family for a week!”

“And put resturants and grocery stores out of business,” said Love Tap.

Pinkie shrugged. “Hey, business is business”.

Scootaloo eyed the gum, then looked up at Pinkie.

“So Miss Pinkie, how many ponies have tried this gum?”

“Oh, just a few Oompa Loompas”.

Scootaloo smiled. “So no pony has ever tried this stick of gum?”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Uh….no”.

“Great,” said Scootaloo happily. “Then I’m going to be the first pony to have a chewing gum meal!”

Scootaloo raised the gum up towards her mouth.

“WAIT!”

The mare stopped, and the group looked at Pinkie. Her expression was a mix of worry and not-caring.

“I wouldn’t do that, I REALLY wouldn’t,” she said nervously. “I haven’t quite got it right yet”.

Scootaloo scoffed. “Please, I’m sure it’s fine”.

She turned and grinned at Rainbow Dash.

“Besides, if I’m going to be a winner like Rainbow Dash, I can’t be afraid of anything!”

And with that, Scootaloo popped the gum into her mouth and started chewing.

“How is it Scoots,” asked Rainbow?

Scootaloo didn’t say anything immediately; she just stood there chewing. But soon, her eyes grew wide and a large grin appeared on her face.

“IT’S AMAZING,” she said cheerfully. “Tomato Soup: I can feel it running down my throat!”

“Yeah,” said Pinkie. Her mixed face was gone, and she now looked the same as she did when Truffle had fallen in the river. Her expression was disappointed, with maybe a hint of not-caring. “Spit it out”.

Apple Bloom turned to Granny Smith.

“Granny, why doesn’t she listen to Miss Pinkie?”

“Because, dearie, she’s a nitwit,” replied Granny sternly.

“Hey, it’s changing,” said Scootaloo. “Its….Daffodil Sandwich, with hay fries. Freshly picked and crispy!”

“Yeah,” said Rainbow, raising a hoof in the air. “Keep going Scoots; you’re going to be the first pony in the world to have a gum meal!”

“True,” said Pinkie. “I’m just a little concerned about the….”

“BLUEBERRY PIE AND ICE CREAM,” screamed Scootaloo.

“That Part,” finished Pinkie.

Apple Bloom was getting more and more annoyed at Scootaloo’s unwillingness to listen to Pinkie. This was the mare that made everything around them. If she wanted Scootaloo to stop, then it would be in the filly’s best interest to stop.

“...Hey, what’s happening to her muzzle?”

Apple Bloom shook off her thoughts and looked back at the chewing filly. She looked okay….except that a dark shade of blue was moving over her face like a disease.

Rainbow Dash gawked at the filly. “Your whole muzzle has gone blue!”

“What,” asked Scootaloo. She moved a hoof over her muzzle, but it didn’t do anything.

“What’s happening to her,” asked Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie let out a sigh.

“I told you I hadn’t quite got it right yet,” she said sadly. “It always goes a little funny when it gets to the deserts. It’s the blueberry pie that does it”.

“Well how do we stop it,” asked Scootaloo worriedly.

Pinkie shook her head. “We can’t, once it starts there’s nothing that can be done. And because of that, you all might want to step a few feet away from her”.

The others didn’t need telling twice. They all took large steps back from the filly, who was now almost completely blue. Even her mane had turned a darker shade. Rainbow Dash was closer than the others, but still at a small distance.

Scootaloo just stood there, watching the others with a look of fear and worry. Apple Bloom would have felt the same if she was in her situation. But that didn’t mean she would trade places with the small pegasus.

Once the blue had reached the tip of her tail, something strange happened. Scootaloo began to swell up; like she was magically gaining pounds by the second. Her body continued to grow until it became circular in shape. And the more she grew, the more her legs sank into her body.

The group watched in shocked wonder as the filly grew and grew until she was almost a complete circle. Her height was easily twice that of a normal pony, and she swiveled back and forth, waving her stump legs to try and gain balance.

Pinkie walked forward, placing a gentle hoof on the enlarged filly.

“You know, I’ve tried it on twenty Oompa Loompas and each one ended up as a blueberry. For a while I thought it was something to do with the fact they were unicorns. Guess I was wrong”.

“Nevermind that,” scolded Rainbow, landing near the pink pony. “Scootaloo can’t stay a blueberry. How is she supposed to WIN?”

“You could put her in a county fair,” commented Granny. “She’d take the blue ribbon no problem”.

Pinkie and the rest of the group giggled, except for Rainbow Dash. She snorted, then flew up until she was eye level with Scootaloo.

“Don’t worry Scoots. We’ll find a way to fix this, don’t worry about a….”

Rainbow Dash stopped mid-sentence and lifted an ear. Apple Bloom, noticing this, did the same. She could hear the sound of humming beginning to rise around them. Soon, it turned into a large hum, and it was coming from above and around them.

The group looked around, and saw Oompa Loompas encircling the bloated filly. Once they were fully enclosed, the Oompa Loompas began to sign:

“Listen close, all of you,
To the tale of Scootaloo!
The gentle mare she sees no wrong
In running, jumping, kicking, flying,
And now chewing, all day long

Running, Jumping, is that wrong?
Kicking, Flying, not too long!
And now chewing, all day long
Yeah

She goes competing till at last
She’s almost just like Rainbow Dash!
But does she know that’s kinda lame,
Because those two are not the same!

Running, Jumping, is that wrong?
Kicking, Flying, not too long!
And now chewing, all day long

For years and years she trains away
Her body get stronger every day
Then by chewing that piece of gum,
Her hard work is all but gone!
And that is why we’re telling you,
The Tragic Tale of Scootaloo!

Running, Jumping, is that wrong?
Kicking, Flying, not too long!
Running, Jumping, Kicking, Flying,
AND NOW CHEWING, ALL DAY LONG!

As the Oompa Loompas finished the song, three of them behind Scootaloo ignited their horns. The large filly was engulfed in magic, and soon she started rolling towards the door to the chocolate river. The Oompa Loompas followed behind her, keeping their magic focused.

While everypony else watched the filly get rolled away, Pinkie turned to one of the Oompa Loompas.

“I want you to roll Scootaloo into the boat and take her to the Juicing Room at once”.

The Oompa Loompa nodded, just as Rainbow Dash flew over to Pinkie.

“The Juicing Room? What are they going to do to her there?”

“There going to squeeze her,” said Pinkie, “like a little grape. We need to squeeze all the juice out of her before she explodes”.

“EXPLODES,” screamed Rainbow.

“Yes, but don’t worry,” said Pinkie calmly. “It’s a very simple operation”.

Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to punch the mare in the face. But she was stopped when something poked her leg. She looked down and saw the Oompa Loompa Pinkie was talking to staring at her.

He bowed and waved his hoof, indicating that the mare should follow him. Rainbow looked back at the others, then turned and followed the Oompa Loompa over to the door, which the others were trying to push Scootaloo through.

The group watched as the two ponies left the group, leaving only six left. After a few minutes, Pinkie turned to the others.

“I know that you all must be worried, but I assure you that Scootaloo will be back to normal shortly. So, I suggest we return to the tour. There’s still so much left to see!”

Pinkie turned and trotted off towards another section of the inventing room.

The group, while hesitant at first, soon followed behind her.

Rocks, Candy, and Family

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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.

The Carrot Room

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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.

The Great Glass Elevator

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CHAPTER 15: THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR

Pinkie lead the group away from the Carrot Room and down the hallway. Eventually they turned down another hallway, leaving the many doors behind. The one they were walking down now was mostly bland.

But halfway down, Pinkie stopped. Apple Bloom looked around, and saw that Pinkie had stopped by a window. At least….it looked like a window. One with a large noticeable line down the middle.

So it was quite a surprise when Pinkie pressed a button next to it and the “window” slid open. On the other side was what looked like a glass box, with hundreds of glass buttons covering three of the walls.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier,” said Pinkie. “The Elevator’s by far the most efficient way to get around the factory”.

She walked through the doorway and motioned for the others to follow. After a few strange looks, they all filled in. Thankfully there was just enough room for the five of them to move around.

“There can’t be this many floors…..can there?” asked Button.

“There can,” replied Pinkie. “For you see this isn’t an ordinary up and down elevator: this elevator can go sideways, longways, slantways, and any other ways you can think off”.

Apple Bloom marveled at the many different buttons that surrounded her. Taking a closer look, she saw rooms like Spewed Dumplings, Whizzdoodles, Chocolate Lip Rookies, and even a few she’s already been to like Inventing Roomand Chocolate Room.

“So how exactly does it work,” asked Love Tap.

“Simple,” said Pinkie. “You just press any button,” Pinkie pressed a random button next to her, “and WHOOSH, you’re off!”

Everypony was thrown to the side as the Elevator zoomed down a passage to the right. When it exited, Apple Bloom say that they were in a HUGE space. Large rooms and walkways were suspended high above a dark casim. Many different areas sat beneath them, and railings criss-crossed from them.

The elevator came to a sudden stop, only for it to shoot forward towards a large circular room. Icicles hung from the bottom, and a strange mist hung around the place.

The elevator moved through a small opening, and when it got to the other side, the outside turned white. Snow was falling and blowing all around them: like the weather outside.

But when Apple Bloom looked down, she gasped in shock. And when the others turned to see what she saw, they gasped as well. Because sitting below them was a large brown mountain. Its peak almost reached the elevator, giving just enough room to pass over.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, Welcome to Fudge Mountain. We store all of our fudge in this cold environment until it is needed,” said Pinkie. “When we do, it’s chiseled away and sent for packing”.

Apple Bloom scanned the mountain, and saw a lot of Oompa Loompas hooked to climbing ropes. Most were unicorns, and they were using chisels and hammers to break pieces of fudge from the mountain. Some looked up and waved as they passed by. Apple Bloom even saw one dressed in lederhosen and yodeling into a large horn.

“Wow, they really have everything,” she said to herself.

The Elevator passed by a platform that had a stairway leading to the bottom before exiting the room through another opening. Once it was back out in the large void, it turned a corner and headed towards another room.

The elevator passed through a neon-lit entrance, and the group looked around the room. It was fairly small compared to the mountain room. Large tubes filled with what looked like cotton-candy flowed through the room.

But what caught Apple Bloom’s attention (along with the others) was a platform in the center. Two Oompa Loompas stood on either side, with something else in the middle. However something was off.

The two Oompa Loompas had an orange pelt, green manes, white eyebrows, and wore brown shirts with white overalls. The thing in between them looked like a very fluffy pony. It was bright pink, and given the muzzle must have been a mare. It bounced in place as one of the Oompa Loompas took a razor and shaved off all of it’s fluff.

But just as he finished, the fluff grew back in the span of a millisecond. The other Oompa Loompa took a pick fork and began tossing the fluff into a machine. The pink pony looked over at the group, smiled, and waved.

Everypony turned and looked at Pinkie, all with confused looks on their faces. Pinkie looked at the scene and then back at the group, giving an embarrassed smile.

“Uh, I’d rather not talk about this room”.

Thankfully for Pinkie the Elevator passed through an opening and out the room. But instead of the void, they found themselves in another room.

The room was large, and the elevator was moving right along the top. Below it sat a lot of beds, some occupied some not. Oompa Loompas in lab-coats and nursing outfits moved about the room.

“This is our main medical facility: equipped with trained doctors and medical assistants to treat any injuries affecting them”.

“How’d they get their medical degrees,” asked Love Tap.

“Sorry that information is classified,” said Pinkie.

Apple Bloom raised a questionable eyebrow, fairly certain she was happy not to have sustained an injury so far.

The Elevator left the medical center, once more entering the large void. It stopped a few feet out before taking a sudden drop. The tracks spiraled downward, spinning the elevator as it descended.

Apple Bloom looked down and saw they were about to enter another room. The elevator passed through a hole in the roof, and once they were in they looked around. The circular room had many different floors. Each had a few desks, occupied by Oompa Loompas typing away on typewriters.

“Ah the Administration Offices,” said Pinkie. “They do most of the business part of the company: buying ingredients, promoting new products, stopping lawsuits, that sort of thing”.

The elevator stopped on the bottom floor, right in front of a desk larger than the others. A single female Oompa Loompa typed away, not seeming to notice the group.

“Hello Inkwell,” said Pinkie with a smile.

The Oompa Loompa looked up, waved, then went back to typing.

Pinkie continued to wave even as the elevator continued downward and out of the room. Once it was in the void again, it stopped and shot to the right. Apple Bloom looked and saw they were heading for another room. But the outside was covered with burn marks and signs reading “Danger” or “Explosives”.

“Uh, Miss Pinkie,” said Apple Bloom nervously. “Why are those signs there?”

Pinkie turned and looked at the room they were approaching. “Oh yeah….you might want to cover your ears before we pass through”.

The four ponies looked at each other nervously, but did as Pinkie asked. They watched in anticipation as the elevator passed through the opening and into the room. It was fairly long, with large glass tanks lined up on either side.

Apple Bloom didn’t know why they needed to cover their ears for this. She was just about to bring her hooves down when….

BOOM!

Large explosions occurred on either side of the room. Lights flashed around them, and shockwaves reverberated throughout the room. The group cowered in fright, plugging their ears as best they could.

This continued until the elevator passed through the opening on the other side. The group took their hooves away from their ears and looked up at Pinkie. She was smiling down at them, a pair of earmuffs hanging around her neck.

“Sure was exciting wasn’t it”.

“Exciting,” said Granny Smith with a huff, “I almost had a heart attack!”

“Yeah Pinkie, what kind of room was that,” asked Love Tap.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Testing room for our chocolate covered cherry bombs. Great way to get revenge on your ex if he/she dumps you”.

“Sounds dangerous,” said Apple Bloom.

“That’s why it’s in the testing phase, du”.

“Well I think I need something to calm me down after that,” said Button. “So can I pick a room Miss Pinkie. Can I, Can I!?”

Pinkie thought for a moment. “Well….alright. Go ahead and pick the next room”.

Button scanned the buttons surrounding him, looking for the one he wanted. Soon, the smiled and jumped up to press one near the top. The elevator stopped for a moment, then went down another path to the left.

Apple Bloom looked up to see what room Button had picked. From below, she could just barely make out the words glowing next to the button:

GAMING ROOM.

The Gaming Room

View Online

CHAPTER 16: THE GAMING ROOM

The Elevator rounded a bend and approached a large room. It slid into a small alcove, engulfing the group in darkness.

“Hey, who turned off the lights,” said Pinkie with a chuckle.

“Uh Miss Pie, should this been happening,” asked Apple Bloom.

She had a feeling it wasn’t. But given how the rest of the tour had gone, this could very well be normal.

The door slid open, shining a bright light over the group. They quickly covered their eyes, until their vision had adjusted.

Apple Bloom lowered her hoof and looked out the door. The room on the other side was painted completely white, even the machines. A large platform sat in the center, with a large cyclindrical machine sitting above it. A control center sat behind the machine, with more Oompa Loompas working away.

“Okay everypony, follow me,” said Pinkie.

She trotted into the room, with the group following behind her. Apple Bloom saw Oompa Loompas look at the group before returning to work. Like the Inventing Room, these Oompa Loompas were unicorns. They all had white coats and black manes. They were also wearing large goggles with black lenses.

As the group walked towards the center of the room, an Oompa Loompa came walking up to them. A tray of goggles floated behind him, which he quickly held out to them.

“Okay everypony, I’m going to need you to put on a pair of goggles,” said Pinkie, putting on a pair herself. “The work done here could burn your eyeballs to a crisp, and we don’t want that to happen do we?”

Apple Bloom took a pair of goggles and put them on. Taking a look around, she say that everything looked the same as before. Even though the glass was black, Apple Bloom couldn’t see a tint overlay that usually came with things like sunglasses.

Once the others had put on their goggles, Pinkie addressed them.

“Okay everypony, follow me and try not to touch anything”.

Pinkie bounced down a walkway around the machine. The others quickly followed behind her.

“Miss Pinkie,” said Button, “what is this room used for”?

“This is the testing room,” replied Pinkie, “for my very latest and greatest invention”.

“And what’s that”?

Pinkie turned to the group and grinned...which looked even creepier thanks to the goggles.

“Videogame Candy”!

Apple Bloom didn’t understand what she was talking about. Was she talking about videogames that could be eaten? Or maybe videogames that came with candy?

Pinkie continued bouncing along as she explained.

“You see one day a thought came to me. If videogames can store the code for thousands of different food items, duplicate them for different playthroughs, and reasemble them when needed, why couldn’t I do the same thing with candy? Why can’t I put a real piece of candy into a videogame so that gamers could really reap their rewards?”

Apple Bloom and the others were dumbfounded. How was it possible to put a piece of candy into a videogame. And even then, how were you supposed to get to it?

“It seems impossible,” said Love Tap.

“It is impossible,” replied Button. “I don’t think you understand the science behind games Miss Pinkie”.

“That so,” said Pinkie.

She didn’t seem to care; even her face had a smug look to it. Button continued on as they reached the control console.

“First, there’s a clear difference between confectionary and programing. Matter and Pixels are not the same thing. Also, the amount of energy you’d need to convert matter into energy would be equal to almost 500 megaspells”.

Pinkie smilled at the young colt.

“Well you seem to know your science,” she said. “So I guess I’ll have to show you how it works. BRING IN THE CHOCOLATE!”

A door opened up across the room. The group watched as four Oompa Loompas walked in, carrying with them a Pinkie Bar the size of a large stallion.

“It’s huge,” said Granny Smith.

“Of course,” replied Pinkie. “Game food isn’t to scale of real food, so we have to make it big to make it normal size during the process”.

The Oompa Loompas placed the bar on the platform. One of them nodded to the ones in the control center, who then nodded to Pinkie.

“Okay, let’s shrink,” said Pinkie.

She pressed a large button on the console. The platform the bar was on slowly began to rise. A glass cylinder slid down from the top, completely encasing the bar. A loud hum began to permiate the room.

“Let’s get CYBERED!” screamed Pinkie.

A flash of light covered the inside of the cylinder. The group watched in amazement as the light died down, revealing a now empty cylinder.

“It’s gone,” said Apple Bloom.

Pinkie grinned. “Told you so”.

“But where is it now,” asked Love Tap.

“It’s being converted to code, which will be sent to the video game in the form of an update”.

Pinkie pointed to the other side of the room. Apple Bloom and the others looked. They saw something they hadn’t when they first walked in. A large television was set up in the corner, with an Oompa Loompa sitting on a bean-bag chair. He held a game controller in his hooves, and was deeply focused on the video game he was playing.

“Come along everypony,” said Pinkie.

The mare trotted towards the TV, with the others following close behind. As they approached, Apple Bloom saw that the Oompa Loompa was playing Fallout: Equestria - New Pegasus. He didn’t even take his eyes off the screen as they gathered around him.

“Best of the series,” said Button. “Take my advice though: don’t play Fallout: Equestria - Online”.

Pinkie leaned in closer to the gamer. “Excuse me, could you go to the Candy Factory near Stable 3?”

Nodding, the Oompa Loompa fast traveled to the location. Once inside, Pinkie relayed more instructions.

“Find a candy bar if you please”.

“Second floor, next to the CEO’s desk,” said Button.

Apple Bloom was impressed: Button had a real knack for video games. Must have been the reason his cutie-mark was a game controller.

The Oompa Loompa found the container and looted the chocolate bar. He selected it in his inventory, bringing the bar into a selection menu.

Pinkie tapped Button’s leg. “Take it,” she said gleefully.

“How,” asked Button, “It’s just a formation of code”.

Pinke rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to Apple Bloom.

“Alright then, you take it. Just reach out and grab it”.

Apple Bloom wasn’t sure about this. She looked at the others, who had a similar mixture of scepticism on their faces. For a second, the young filly thought about agreeing with Button.

But at the same time, she thought about everything she’d seen today. A room full of candy plants. A piece of gum that turned you into a blueberry. And an army of bunnies that could tell if you were good or bad. All seemed imposible, yet Pinkie had made them a reality.

So, Apple Bloom walked towards the screen. Slowly, she reached her hoof forward, inching closer to the glass.

But once she reached it, her hoof didn’t stop. Instead, it passed through the glass like it wasn’t even there. Everyone gasped in surprise, especially Button. Apple Bloom continued reaching forward. Eventually, she came to the bar itself.

To her surprise, she could actually feel it against her hoof. She grabbed it, and slowly pulled it back towards the screen. Soon it passed through, leaving an empty screen where it once was.

“Sweet Celestia,” said Granny.

“She...she just grabbed a bar from a video game,” said Button, completely in shock.

Apple Bloom stared at the bar, then at everyone else. But while the others were in shock, Pinkie had the biggest grin on her face.

“Go ahead and taste it,” she said happily. “It’s still the same bar, it’s just gotten smaller on it’s journey”.

Apple Bloom grabbed the bar at the top, quickly ripping the wrapper off. Below it was clean, glistening chocolate. Apple Bloom took a small bite, savoring the flavor.

“Your right, it is delicious,” she said happily.

“Incredible,” said Granny.

Pinkie grinned. “Now just imagine this: you’re sitting at home playing video games. You’ve been playing for six hours and are hungry, but don’t want to stop to get a snack. With the Pinkie Transport System, you can simply reach out a get a snack whenever you want”.

Love Tap spoke up. “Miss Pinkie, is chocolate the only thing that you can send?”

“What do you mean,” asked Pinkie.

“Like, could you send something like Breakfast Cereal or Honey-Pops?”

“Honey-Pops? Ugh, you know that stuffs just frozen honey on a stick right?”

“But could you send them to Video Games if you wanted to,” asked Apple Bloom.

“Sure I could. Nothing my machine couldn’t handle”.

Button steped forward. “What about ponies?”

The whole group turned their heads towards Button. Apple Bloom saw that he didn’t look surprised anymore. Instead...he was starting to look like the others did before they broke the rules. The filly started to get nervous.

Pinkie giggled. “Why would I want to send a pony, they can’t be eaten?”

Button snorted. “Don’t you see what you’ve invented? It’s a dual teleporter/matter digitalization machine. You could send people and objects across the world in no time flat! Or send ponies into the digital world! And all you want to do it use it to give ponies a snack!?”

“Button, calm down,” said Love Tap. “As a gamer I though you’d love this idea. And besides, I think Miss Pinkie knows what she’s talking about”.

Button stomped his hoof. “No she doesn’t, she doesn’t have a clue as to this thing’s potential. She’s acting like an IDIOT!”

The group gasped...expect for Pinkie. She looked at Button the same way she’d looked at the others. Uncaring, disappointed...and perhaps a little annoyed.

Button turned towards the machine. “But I won’t”.

The young colt charged towards the machine. Oompa Loompas dodged out of the way as he ran up the ramp to the controls. The group watched in shock.

“Button,” said Pinkie, “I wouldn’t do what you’re about to do”.

Button ignored Pinkie as he reached the control board. He pressed the large red button as he jumped over it. He soared through the air and landed on the platform.

The machine sprang to life, raising the platform upward. The glass came downs, enclosing Button inside. He waved at the group, smiling all the while.

“Time To DIGIFY!” he screamed.

A flash of light englufed the machine. When it died down, Button was nowhere to be seen.

“BUTTON,” screamed Love Tap.

“He’s gone,” said Granny.

“Quick, to the Television,” said Pinkie.

The group ran over to the television. Apple Bloom say how worried Love Tap looked. Even Granny was looking uncertain, and Apple Bloom wasn’t far off. But Pinkie looked...curious. Like she wanted to see how this would play out.

“How are we going to find Button in this game,” asked Love Tap.

“I have an idea,” said Pinkie.

She turned back towards the Oompa Loompa in the chair.

“Look at the recent updates. It should tell us where he is”.

The Oompa Loompa paused the game, switching over the Notifications. He scrolled to the top, finding the newest one.

“Okay, it says he’s at Goodsprings General Store. Head there fast,” said Pinkie.

The Oompa Loompa resumed the game and fast traveled to the store. The group scanned the area, looking for Button. Eventually, the door to the store opened and Button stepped out. He looked around, observing his new surroundings.

“There he is,” said Granny.

“Oh thank Luna,” said Pinkie, “he’s completely unharmed”.

Love Tap glared at Pinkie. “You call that unharmed”?!

Button turned towards the screen, finally seeing the group before him. He smiled and waved.

“Hey everypony, check it out. I’m the first pony in the world to be transported into a video game,” he said happily.

Apple Bloom could see how something like this could be cool. Getting to experience Minecraft and Super Pony Sisters at this level is something that people would kill to have. But this wasn’t mean for pony use, so there was probably a lot of drawback to it.

But as Apple Bloom thought about this, a noise met her ears. She looked around and saw that the Oompa Loompas were begining to encircle them. They slowly hummed a beat, which soon drew the attention of the others.

The most important thing
That we've ever learned
The most important thing we've learned
As far as foals are concerned
Is never, never let them play
On a Gaming Set
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all
(Ah, ah) Never, never let them
(Ah, ah) Never, never let them
(Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)

Never, never let them
Never, never let them

It rots the senses in the head
It keeps imagination dead
It clogs and clutters up the mind
It makes a foal so dull and blind
(So dull, so dull)
He can no longer understand
A fairy tale, a fairyland
(A fairyland, a fairyland)
His brain becomes as soft as cheese
His thinking powers rust and freeze
Barely think and Barely SEE!

Regarding little Button Mash,
We very much regret that we
(Regret that we)
Shall simply have to wait and see
(Wait and see, wait and see,
Wait and see, wait and see,
Wait and see)
We very much regret that we
Shall simply have to wait and see
If we can get him back to size
But if we can't...
It serves him right!

The Oompa Loompas finished their song, giving the group a final bow before returning to work. Pinkie clapped in appreciation, smiling the whole time.

Love Tap snorted. “Okay, this has gone on long enough”.

The mare reached into the TV and grabbed Button. The young colt struggled as Love Tap pulled him through the screen, holding him before her.

Love Tap turned to Pinkie. “How do we fix him?”

Pinkie tapped her chin, thinking deeply. After a few seconds, she smilled.

“I know, let’s put him in the Taffy Puller!”

“TAFFY PULLER!”

“Of course,” said Pinkie. “Small foals are particularly stretchy. All we have to do it put him in the machine and stretch him back to his proper height”.

“Can’t you just put me back in the other way,” asked Button, having to yell to be heard.

“There is no other way,” said Pinkie. “You can’t send an update back to the manufacterer. Believe me, I’ve tried”.

Button huffed and started stomping around his mother’s hoof. Love Tap looked at her son worringly, as did the rest of the group.

An Oompa Loompa walked up to the group, saluting Pinkie as he passed. He motioned for Love Tap to follow her. The mare looked at Pinkie with concern.

“Don’t worry,” said Pinkie, “everything will be fine. You’re in good hooves”.

The Oompa Loompa turned and walked towards another doorway on the opposite end of the room. Love Tap gave the group one final glance before following along. They watched as they walked through the doorway and out of sight.

Pinkie sighed. She turned to the Oompa Loompa playing the game. “Go ahead and save, that’s enough for today”.

The Oompa Loompa nodded before finishing up the level he was on. Pinkie turned to the other Oompa Loompas in the room.

“That’s it for today,” she called, “go ahead and shut down. Either head to your quarters or go help in another room. You just can’t stay here”.

The Oompa Loompas went to work shutting everything down. The lights in the room began to fade, and all the machines made a “power down” noise. As they worked, Pinkie turned to the remaining members of the group.

“We’ll, let’s keep moving. No point in standing here all day”.

She turned and started bouncing towards the elevator. Apple Bloom and Granny Smith looked at each other. Both were once more feeling unsure about everything.

A group of ten ponies had now been reduced to only two. Each one put into horrible situations before being carried off to who knows where. And Miss Pinkie never looked concered about what happened to them. She looked disapointed, but that was it. Did she not care about her guests...or was it some way of coping?

Still, Apple Bloom wasn’t about to let that get in her way. There was still so much of the factory left to see. She wouldn’t be back every again, so she wanted to see everything. And if that meant following a pony like Pinkie, so be it.

With a nod to Granny Smith, Apple Bloom walked after Pinkie. Granny paused for a moment before walking after the two.

Up and Out

View Online

CHAPTER 17: UP AND OUT

Pinkie lead the two remaining group memebers back to the elevator. She continued to bounce and hum to herself as they went. The two mares following her didn’t seem as happy as she did. But given what had happened to the rest of the group, that wasn’t very surprising.

When they reached the elevator, Pinkie turned to the two mares.

“There’s still so much left to see,” she said as she removed her goggles. “Now, how many foals are left”?

Apple Bloom and Granny Smith looked at each other. The two slowly removed their goggles, smiling at the chocolatier.

“Miss Pie, Apple Bloom is the only one left,” said Granny.

Pinkie’s eyes and mouth widened. She turned to the smiling filly. Her face became more serious as she lowered herself to her level. Apple Bloom almost instinctively backe away, but stood firm instead.

“Do you know what this means,” asked Pinkie.

Apple Bloom didn’t know what to say. She stayed silent, but continued to look Pinkie in the eyes.

“It means….YOU’VE WON!”

The confectioner quickly grabed Apple Bloom’s hoof and gave it a big shake. The filly’s whole body shaked along with it. It was almost hard to see the smiling face Pinkie was now wearing.

“I have to say congradulations Apple Bloom. I always had a feeling you would be the one to win. And now you have, so I know that I was right. This has to be one of the greatest days that ever…”

“Uh Miss Pinkie,” said Granny, “I hate to interupt, but I think Apple Bloom is getting dizzy”.

Pinkie stopped shaking the filly’s hand. Apple Bloom wobbled for a few seconds, trying to get her balance. Her eyes spun slightly in their sockets, but soon returned to normal.

“Sorry about that,” said Pinkie. “I’m just happy that Apple Bloom was able to stay until the end. If there was anypony I wanted to win, it was her”.

“But what did I win,” asked Apple Bloom.

Pinkie smiled. “All in good time Apple Bloom. For now, there’s much for us to do. So let’s get moving”.

Pinkie turned, opened the elevator door, and walked inside. The two mares followed along behind her, depositing their goggles in a nearby container.

Once they were all inside, Pinke turned to the back wall of the elevator. She pressed a button directly in the center, which soon glowed white. Apple Bloom looked up and was able to read the words UP AND OUT next to the button.

“Up and Out? What kind of room is that,” she asked.

“Oh it’s not a room,” replied Pinkie. “Also, you might want to hold on”.

Apple Bloom wasn’t able to process this before the elevator shot away from the Gaming Room. It sped between rooms before coming to a stop in the middle of an intersection. The two mares looked around, but there wasn’t a room in sight.

Just as the mares were about to ask Pinkie what was wrong, the elevator shot upward. Apple Bloom looked up and saw that they were racing through a large cylindrical structure made of bricks.

“Oh my goodness,” said Pinkie. “We need to go much faster or we’ll just never break through”.

“Break through what,” asked Apple Bloom.

Pinkie smilled at the two mares. “I’ve been longing to press that button for years”. She looked towards the ceiling. “Well here we go: UP AND OUT”!

Granny Smith gasped. “Do you mean…”

“Yeah, I do,” replied Pinkie.

“But it’s made of GLASS,” said Granny. She wrapped her arms protectively around Apple Bloom. “It’ll shatter into a million pieces, we’ll be sliced like apples”!

“Maybe,” said Pinkie happily.

The elevator sped faster and faster towards the exit. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom held each other tightly, eyes closed as they grew closer. Pinkie kept looking up, smiling.

Finally, the elevator reached the exit. It crashed through the grate, leaving the factory behind.

***

Apple Bloom opened an eye. She found that the elevator was still intact, and they weren’t sliced like apples. All around them was white, though she could also hear the sound of wind.

She looked over at Pinkie, who was now smiling even more than before. The mare looked down at Apple Bloom.

“Wow, that was fun,” she said.

Granny opened her eyes and looked around. She let go of Apple Bloom, and the two stood up. The elevator still shook as if it was moving, but there was only white around them.

Suddenly the white disappeared and was replaced by a dark blue sky. Sunlight filled the elevator, illuminating the white clouds below it. The three mares stared in awe at the sight before them. The cloud covered everything for miles, leaving only the sky and sun visable.

“So this is Up and Out,” said Apple Bloom.

“Sure is pretty,” said Granny.

“Sure is,” said Pinkie, “I’ve always wanted to press that button”.

The mares continued to watch the clouds as the elevator rose into the sky. But soon, the elevator began to slow down. The clouds slowly stopped moving away. Soon, they came to a stop.

“Darn,” said Pinkie, “momentum ran out”.

“What does that mean,” asked Apple Bloom.

Pinkie didn’t have to answer. At that time the elevator began falling back down. The mares were lifted off the floor and stuck to the ceiling. Apple Bloom tried moving her hoof. But as the speed increased, she found it more difficult to move anything.

The elevator shot through the clouds, exiting into the grey world below. They were falling towards the factory, just past the chimney they’d shout out from.

“We’re gonna die,” screamed Granny!

“Not today,” said Pinkie.

With much effort, Pinkie was able to move her leg off the ceiling. She reached down and pressed a button near the top of the back wall.

The arms attached to the top of the elevator shot outward. The ends turned down, quickly turning into jets. The elevator slowly slowed down, coming to a stop just above the roof of the factory.

The three mares fell from the ceiling. Apple Bloom and Pinkie landed on their hooves, but Granny landed on her flank. She groaned as the other two breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was close,” said Pinkie. “Never did this before, so I’m glad everything worked”.

“Might want to work on the landing,” said Granny grumpily.

“We managed to land on our hooves,” said Apple Bloom. “You should try it”.

Granny gave Apple Bloom a “don’t sas me” look as she stood up. Pinkie took this moment to press another button on the wall. The elevator flew back up towards the sky. Soon, it rose above the chimneys.

“Now that we’re out,” said Pinkie, “let’s have a look at Ponyville from the sky”.

The elevator moved towards the factory entrance. They passed small chimneys and towers before reaching the front. The large crowd had dispearsed since that morning, and everypony was going around as usual. They didn’t seem to notice the large glass elevator flying above them.

Apple Bloom and Granny watched in awe as they flew over the town. Everything seemed so much small from this height. It was also a great way to see just how big the town was. Apple Bloom saw her school, the sweet shops, and even the library.

“If only they could see me now,” she thought.

Pinkie walked forward. “It’s been a while since I’ve been outside the factory grounds, so I don’t know the town too well. Where is Sweet Apple Acres located?”

Granny pointed forward. “Right outside of town. Just follow the road”.

With a nod, Pinkie pressed another button. The elevator’s jets shot them forward, towards the outside of town.

***

Applejack and Big Mac sat in front of the fireplace. A large, warm fire burned inside, casting bright light over the room. The two held small cups of coco in their hooves, sipping them silently.

“Sure been quiety today,” said Applejack.

“Eyup,” replied Big Mac.

“Hope Apple Bloom and Granny are having a good time”. She looked up at the clock. “I wonder when they’ll be back”.

Big Mac shrugged. Applejack sighed before taking a sip of coco. She wasn’t sure how much time would be needed to tour a factory of that size. It might even be an overnight thing, even if that wasn’t specified in the ticket.

But as she went to take another sip, something caught her ear. A humming noise was coming from somewhere. By now Big Mac had heard it too. The two of them looked around for the source of the noise.

“LOOK OUT BELOW!”

Applejack and Big Mac didn’t have time to register the voice before they heard a large crashing sound. The house shook, raining dust onto the floor. Applejack and Big Mac were on their hooves when the Glass Elevator crashed through the roof of the room. They jumped back as the elevator came to a stop on the floor, dust and debris piling around it.

“What the hay is going on,” yelled Applejack.

The two ponies walked to the front of the elevator, ready to break some bones. But when they did, they found Apple Bloom, Granny, and Pinkie looking back at them.

“Hey sis, hey bro,” said Apple Bloom, with a wave and a smile.

The doors opened, and the two Apples and Pinkie walked out. Apple Bloom ran up to her siblings, giving them a hug.

“Applejack, Big Mac, you wouldn’t believe what kind of day we’ve had”.

“I...I can see that,” said Applejack, clearly shaken. “But, uh, why is there a glass elavator in our house?”

“Sorry about that,” said Pinkie, “I didn’t think it was wise to park out in the snow”.

Big Mac looked up at the hole. “That was my room”.

“Oh, sorry,” said Pinkie. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for any damages”.

“Okay,” said Applejack, “but if I might ask, what are you doing here Miss Pinkie”?

“That’s just it,” said Granny, “she says that Apple Bloom’s won something”.

The Apples looked at Pinkie, who gave a smile in return.

“Not just something: it’s the most important super special awesome something that anypony’s ever been give. I’m giving Apple Bloom my entire factory”.

There was silence in the room. All the Apples had their mouths open in shock. Apple Bloom’s eyes were as big as dinner plates. Pinkie just continued to smile.

Eventually, Granny spoke up.

“You...You must be joking”.

Pinkie giggled. “All the time, but not right now. I mean what I said: Apple Bloom will be given my entire factory”.

“But...why? Why would you just give up your factory,” asked Applejack.

Pinkie’s joyful smile suddenly turned into a more “sad” smile. She reached into her mane and pulled out a small bottle filled with a purple liquid. She uncorked the top before pouring the liquid on her head.

The Apples watched as the liquid flowed down Pinkie’s mane. Apple Bloom was surprised to see that the color was starting to come along with it. Soon all the liquid had drained onto the floor, along with pools of pink coloring.

Pinkie now stood before the Apple Family with grey streaks in her mane. The pink that was still present was much lighter than what it was before. Not only that, but there were now small bags under Pinkie’s eyes.

She wasn’t looking young anymore.

“This is why,” said Pinkie. “I’m getting old. For the longest time I wasn’t concerned about the future, only focusing on the present. But as the years went by, I grew older. Soon I started looking like I do now, and I got a slap in the face. I suddenly saw my life’s work flash before my eyes. My factory, the Oompa Loompas: who would look after them when I was gone? It was at that moment that I realized that I needed to find an heir. A foal with the talent needed to continue my work”.

“So that’s why you sent out the Golden Tickets,” said Apple Bloom.

“That’s right,” said Pinkie, smiling once again. “I invited five foals to the factory and the one that was the least rotten would be the winner”.

“And that’s Apple Bloom,” asked Big Mac.

“Eyup,” said Pinkie.

She reached into her mane again, pulling out a small pink ball. Tossing it into the air, it hit her in the head and covered her in a pink cloud. When it cleared, Pinkie was looking like she was before.

“So Apple Bloom, are you ready to begin a life as a chocolatier?”

Apple Bloom didn’t know what to say at this point. A few minutes ago she was just a normal pony, and now she was the heir to the Pinkie Chocolate Company. It was a lot to take in, and was really a lot of preasure for a foal.

At the same time, this was what she’d always dreamed of. Working for Pinkie had always been something she’d wanted to do. Never did she think that she would suddenly be shot to the top. Could she even run a factory?

But then a thought occured to her: she was going to help run the farm one day. If she could run a farm, running a factory shouldn’t be too much of a leap. And if Pinkie was there (at least for a while) it shouldn’t be too bad.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity...and she wasn’t going to let it slide.

“Yes Miss Pinkie, I am”.

“YEA,” screamed Pinkie. “This is great!”

She turned towards the elevator. “Say goodbye to your family forever and we can get going”.

“Okay I...wait, forever,” said Apple Bloom.

“Of course,” said Pinkie, turning to the family. “You can’t run a chocolate factory with a family bogging you down. A chocolatier has to be free, without the bagage that comes with a family”.

The entire Apple Family stood in silence. Apple Bloom’s mind a wirlwind of thoughts. Pinkie was saying that she could never see her family again. The very ponies that brought her up and cared for her. The ones that encouraged her to be whatever she wanted to, and were always there when she needed them.

Apple Bloom thought back to everything her family had done for her. Applejack and the way she’d always looked out for her, and kept her on the right path. The way Big Mac showed her how to work the farm, even though everypony thought she was too young. Not to mention the elderly wisdom given by Granny Smith (even if it wasn’t always clear).

To suddenly turn her back on them forever….that was something she couldn’t accept.

“No,” said Apple Bloom.

Pinkie stopped bouncing. She turned back towards the family, looking confused.

“What”?

“I said no Miss Pinkie,” replied Apple Bloom. “I’m not going to leave my family”.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Even for the biggest chocolate factory in the world”?

Apple Bloom shook her head. “My family is more important than anything, and I could never leave them forever. Don’t get me wrong, I love your chocolate. But I would give up candy all together if it meant staying with them”.

She took a step backward. “And that’s my final say”.

Everypony stood in silence. Pinkie looked at the Apples, a mix of confusion and uncertainty on her face. Applejack and Big Mac narrowed their eyes at Pinkie; daring her to make a move. Granny was the only one with a smile on her face, and it was directed right at Apple Bloom.

Pinkie sighed. “Well Apple Bloom, what else can I say”?

Apple Bloom nodded.

“Except that….YOU PASSED!”

Pinkie started bouncing in place. Confetti shot out of her hat, covering the Apples. The whole family stood in shock and confusion at Pinkie, their mouths agape.

“Uh...what,” said Applejack.

“She passed,” said Pinkie excitedly.

“Passed what,” asked Granny.

“The Test”.

“What test,” asked Big Mac.

“The test I gave to all the ticket winners. I needed to see if they would give into temptation, and Apple Bloom is the only one who passed”.

“Wait,” said Apple Bloom, “are you saying I don’t have to leave my family”?

“Of course not,” said Pinkie. “Candy is used to make/mend friendships, make ponies happy, and bring families together. A candy maker can’t leave that behind. Even I keep in touch with my family when I can”.

“Like Maud,” asked Granny.

“Exactly”. Pinkie turned to Apple Bloom. “So the offer still stands, the factory can still be yours”.

“Could I still stay with my family until I’m old enough to move out,” asked Apple Bloom.

“Of course,” replied Pinkie.

She turned and hoped towards the elevaotr. “I have a few things I need to take care of. I’ll be back tomorrow to discuss this further”.

She hopped into the elevator and pressed a button. As the door closed, the smiled at the family.

“I see a bright future for you Apple Bloom”.

The jets turned on, lifting the elevator back out of the room. The Apples watched as it flew higher in the air and out of sight. They stood in silence for a moment.

“She certainly a hoof-ful,” said Applejack.

“Don’t worry, you won’t get used to it,” said Granny with a smile.

Apple Bloom did the same, staring at where the elevator had disappeared from sight.

“I think Pinkie was right, the future is looking brighter”.

Happily Ever After

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CHAPTER 18: Happily Ever After

A clock slowly ticked away on the classroom wall, though hard to see thanks to the sunlight. Students sat at their desk, trying to keep their attention on the lesson. Some kept their heads up with their hooves, while others were already face down.

Miss Cheriliee was too focused on writing on the chalkboard to notice. But even if she did, she would have been happy to know that one foal was paying attention.

Apple Bloom sat straight at her desk, paying attention to everything that Cheriliee said. Her hooves worked to write everything that would be needed for a possible test. But even as she did, she would make quick glances at the clock. As it got closer to 3PM, the bigger her smile got.

“Four...Three...Two...One,” whispered Apple Bloom.

The bell next to the clock rang. Student’s heads quickly shot off their desk. They blinked their eyes as they tried to become more awake. Miss Cheriliee looked at the clock, placing the chalk down on the black board.

“Okay everypony, that’s it for today. Be sure to review your notes, they’ll be a quiz on Monday”.

Most of the students groaned, while those that hadn’t taken notes were close to tears. Cheriliee sat down at her desk while the students started packing up.

Apple Bloom had already started packing her bag. Once everything was loaded, she left her desk and headed for the door. Cheriliee spoted the young filly rushing past the desk.

“No running in the halls Apple Bloom,” she called out.

“Will do Miss Cheriliee. See you next week,” replied Apple Bloom as she ran out the door.

Miss Cheriliee smiled. “I don’t know why, but Apple Bloom’s been a lot more energetic since she went to Pinkie’s factory”.

***

Apple Bloom rushed out the front door of the school. The Sun shined down on the town, slowly melting the fallen snow. Ponies continued to walk along the sidwalk and street, going about their lives. The filly ran down the stairs before rushing down the sidewalk.

“Can’t be late, can’t be late,” thought Apple Bloom.

As she weived her way past other ponies, Apple Bloom thought back to everything that had happened in the last week.

After dropping her and Granny off at home, Pinkie had left to take care of some other business. And once she did, Applejack and Big Mac were instantly asking questions about what had happened. So her and Granny spent a good two hours talking about everything that had happened. To say the two were confused and shocked was an understatement. She could still see Applejack’s face as she rambled on about all the dangers the two had been in.

“What if you had fallen in the river? Were you even thinking when you went into that Rock Candy room? If I’d been there, you wouldn’t have been allowed past the first room!”

Eventually the lecture stopped and Apple Bloom was able to head to her room. It was here that she had spent at least a few hours thinking about what had happened to her. How she’d gone from a simple far pony to the heir to the greatest chocolate company in the world. Not to mention that this was all happening when she was still a foal in school!

But the next day, Pinkie returned to the farm. Along with a group of Oompa Loompas dressed in construction outfits. And within an hour, the damage done by the Glass Elevator had been fixed.

While the Oompa Loompas worked, Pinkie talked with Apple Bloom. She basically told Apple Bloom that, for now, she would slowly teach her about the art of candy making. Of course Applejack asked that she be taught on weekends so that she could still focus on school. Beacause of this, Pinkie agreeded to keep Apple Bloom’s new position as heir a secret until she graduated.

Since that day, Apple Bloom has been counting the days until her first lesson with Pinkie. And now the weekend had arrived, and she was heading to the place Pinkie had told her to go: Sweetart Lane.

Apple Bloom ran past the many shops the lined the street, eventually sliding to a stop in front of Sugarcube Corner. Sweet scents of candy and pastries drifted in the air, but only Apple Bloom was around to sniff them. She could hear voices inside the store, but there was nopony outside.

“I wonder when Miss Pinkie will get here,” said Apple Bloom. “That is if she hasn’t fogotten about the lesson”.

“Trust me, Pinkie never forgets”.

Apple Bloom instantly recognized that voice. She turned around fast, coming face to face with a grey earth pony hidden underneath a dark winter coat.

“It’s you,” said Apple Bloom, “the pony that gave me the bit to buy a Pinkie Bar”.

The mare smiled. “Good to see you haven’t fogotten me”.

“Of course I’d never forget you,” said Apple Bloom. “It was thanks to you that I found the last ticket. There’s no way I can make it up to you”.

“Oh but you can,” said the mare with a smile. “Just be a good heir for Pinkie”.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Wait, how are earth do you know about that”?

The mare pulled her hood back, revealing her face. Apple Bloom gasped.

“MAUD”!

“That’s right,” she replied. “I figured you’d recognize me in the factory. But I guess that hood really makes me unrecognizable”.

“But….but….how….why….” said Apple Bloom, trying to find her words.

“You’re wondering why I was outside the factory that day, and why I gave you money to buy a bar”?

“Well, yeah,” said Apple Bloom. “Wait….did you somehow know what was going to happen”?

Maud chuckled. “No, I’m not in tune with the future like my sister. However, I did have a feeling that there was something special about you. And….well….I knew that the other winners wouldn’t match up to Pinkie’s standards”.

“But there was no guarantee that I would buy the bar with the ticket in it,” said Apple Bloom. “What if I had purchased by bar somewhere else, or what if Mrs. Cake had picked out a different one”?

“Then that would have been it,” replied Maud. “It was really a gamble. But hey, sometimes luck hits you and the jackpot’s yours. Looks like you were the jackpot”.

Apple Bloom was having a hard time seeing the logic in what Maud was saying. But even then, she really didn’t mind. Because Maud was right; she did end up winning. So why bother focusing on what could have happened. The imporant thing was focusing on the now.

It was the kind of thing that Twilight would probably had said to her.

Apple Bloom didn’t have a chance to think anymore as the door to Sugarcube Corner burst open. The two mares turned towards the shop just as a mare in a hooded cloak stepped out.

She turned her head around and shouted “great seeing you both again! I’ll come around again soon!”

Apple Bloom smirked: that voice could only be one mare.

Giving the door a swift closing kick, Pinkie bounced down the stairway. She stopped before the two mares.

“Good to see you again Apple Bloom,” she said to the filly.

“Same her,” she replied.

Pinkie turned towards Maud. “Hey sis, heading home early today”?

“Yeah,” replied Maud. “I have to get the place in shape before Limestone and Marble get here. You know what happened last time they visited”.

Pinkie shivered. “Ugh, don’t remind me”.

Maud turned away from the two, giving her sister a slight smile. “I know it’s her first lesson, but try and be as fast as possible. I want both of us at the station when they arrive”.

Pinkie waved a hoof. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there”.

Nodding, Maud headed towards home. Pinkie watched her leave, then turned her attention to Apple Bloom.

“So Apple Bloom, ready for your first lesson”?

“Are you kidding? I was ready the moment you said I won the factory”!

“Well then, lets get going,” said Pinkie. She bounced towards the street corner. “Thankfully, we have the most effective mode of….”

SMACK!

Pinkie suddenly stopped bouncing, and was now stationary in the air. Her face was scrunched up; she looked to be in a fair amount of pain. Slowly, she slid back towards the ground, lying there for a few seconds.

Apple Bloom looked closer and saw that Pinkie had smacked right into the Great Glass Elevator. It was almost invisible in the daylight and snow, only being recognizable by it’s jets.

Pinkie slowly rose back onto her hooves. She gave hear head a good shake.

“Always forget where I park this thing,” she said grumpily.

She pressed a button and stepped into the elevator. Apple Bloom followed her lead. Once she was on, Pinkie pressed another button. The elevator’s jets sprang to life and lifted the elevator up towards the clouds.

“To The Factory,” said Pinkie in a dramatic voice.

***

“Five tablespoons of sugar added to six pounds of coco-beans….”

Apple Bloom racked her mind as she tried to remember the rest of the recepie. She’d read the paper over and over again to cram it into her brain. But the more she crammed, the more seemed to be lost.

“And let simmer for one hour,” finished Pinkie.

“Agh, I knew that! Why is it so hard to remember”!

“Don’t worry, it’ll get better with time”.

Apple Bloom sighed. “I hope so”.

The two mares were once again flying in the Great Glass Elevator. The sun was now setting over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the town. The clouds, with the sun’s help, created shapes and images across the sky.

“You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it Apple Bloom,” said Pinkie. “You did really well for your first lesson”.

“Thanks,” said Apple Bloom.

Pinkie looked out at the town below them, still filled with ponies finishing their daily activities. Then she looked up at the sunset, and the many shapes the clouds made with it. She smiled.

“You know, ponies like us were never meant to see sights like this. We don’t have wings like Pegasus’, or floating magic like Unicorns”.

Apple Bloom looked at the view before her. It had been breathtaking the first time, but now it was completely different. The colors all had a warm glow to them, like being in a giant oven. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before.

“It’s almost like something out of your imagination,” she said happily.

Pinkie smiled. “Yeah….it is”.

The two stood in silence for a moment. But slowly, Pinkie began humming to herself. Soon, that humming became something more.

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look
And you'll see
Into your imagination

(Pinkie presses a button. The elevator begins to swirl, showing off the entire town.)

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we'll see
Will defy
Explanation

(Pinkie waves her hoof before the town.)

If you want to view Paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world
There’s nothing to it

(Pinkie smiles at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom smiles back. Nodding, she takes over.)

If you want to see magic lands
Close your eyes and you will see one
Want to be a dreamer, be one
Anytime you please and please save me one

(Apple Bloom scoots closer to Pinkie.)

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look
And you'll see
Into your imagination

(The sunset glows brighter. Pinkie smiles at Apple Bloom. She joins back in.)

There is no
Place to go
To compare with your imagination
So go there
To be free
If you truly wish to be

Living there
You'll be free
If you truly wish to be

Apple Bloom saw that they were approaching the Apple Farm. She didn’t want to see it, she didn’t want to leave. Everything else was so ordinary….but it was still her home. And she still had another family to visit from time to time.

So for now, she enjoyed the moment.

A perfect, perfect moment.

***

THE END

Author's Notes:

5 Years.

After five long years, I've finally finished this story. It's brings me both joy and sadness. Yes, I've finally finished a story. But at the same time, I finished a story. That's it, boom, no more writing about Chocolate Factories and Golden Tickets. It's been part of my life for so long....I wonder what it'll be like without it.

Still, I'm so glad this story became a success. When I started writing the first chapter, I was doing it for fun. I didn't think people would actually LIKE this story, let along ask when the next chapter was coming out. But hey, it's a surprise I greatly welcome.

To everyone who stuck by this story all these years, I want to thank you. This would never have happened without your support. Your feedback and suggestions really helped to make this story what it was. If I could put all your names on the "Author" bar, I would.

Now, I must move onto my next indevor. Maybe I'll finally finish "A Robot's Lament"....that is if people actually want more chapters.

And hey, maybe I'll do another MLP themed story in the future. If I did, which of the following would you like to see:

STAR WARS -> Equestria Wars
Marvel Cinematic Universe -. Power Pony Cinematic Universe
Back to the Future -> ZAP BACK!

Until next time.

SYNTH4

Pure Imagination

by SYNTH4

The Beginning

The Hunt Is On

Ticket #1

Ticket #2

Word From The Wise

Ticket #3

Ticket #4

Ticket #5

Welcome To The Factory

The Chocolate Room

Down The Chocolate River

The Inventing Room

Rocks, Candy, and Family

The Carrot Room

The Great Glass Elevator

The Gaming Room

Up and Out

Happily Ever After