As the Pines family entered the next car, the first thing they noticed was the overwhelming scent of sugar filling the air. The second thing they noticed was how the entire landscape seemed to be made of candy. There were chocolate trees with peppermint leaves, lollipop flowers, and cotton candy bushes.

"OHMTGOSH! OHMYGOSH!" Mabel squealed in delight, picking the closest flower and taking a big bite of it. "This is just like that one scene from Charlotte and the Candy Making Building!"

"Yeah, it is! This is so cool!" Dipper couldn't help but agree with equal enthusiasm, going over and plucking a few strands of grass. "I've always wondered what candy grass was like… (chew)… bubblegum… now I know…"

"I might not have been around children in a while," Ford began in concern, watching the younger twins run around trying all the different sugary sweets they could reach. "But I think I remember too much sugar being bad for them."

"Unfortunately Sixer's right about this, we don't want you two eating yourselves sick on candy," Stan said sternly, getting disappointed looks from the kids. Before they could grumble too much though, a large smirk grew on Stan's face as he added, "But you can still bring as much as you can carry."

The twins cheered and quickly filled their bags and pockets with as much candy as they could, so much so they tended to lose some every time they moved. They leisurely followed the path, Dipper Mabel having to try a bite every time they came across something new. Eventually, they came to a three-way split in the path, each one disappearing farther within the candied forest though the rightmost path had a building not too far along it.

"Which way should we go?" Mabel wondered, looking down each path.

"As we don't know where the door is located, I suggest we gather some intel from the locals," Ford suggested.

"In other words let's ask the people at the house," Stan clarified. Ford rolled his eyes and the group made their way to the building.

As they got closer they realized that the house was made of gingerbread, which did make them a little wary as they entered inside. The main floor of the house was a wide-open area with several tables and chairs placed around the room, giving the whole place look like an in from some fantasy tv show. Behind a bar counter, a gingerbread man was cleaning a glass.

"Excuse me," Ford said, walking up to the bar. "Do you know which path leads to the door?"

"I sure do," the gingerbread man replied, pulling out a map and laying across the counter. "You'll need to take this middle path here, it'll lead right up to the top of candy mountain where the door is. But to open it though, you'll need to place offerings on top of the ice cream alter. What you need is some fresh chocolate from the hot fudge springs (pointing to the end of the left path) and sprinkles mined from the rock candy crystal caverns (pointing to the end of the right path). It's a long journey and I'm happy to offer you rooms here if you need it."

"We'll keep that in mind," Ford said studying the map. "If we split up, we should be able to get both ingredients to the top of the mountain without too much trouble."

"Dipper and I can go get the chocolate!" Stan volunteered immediately, surprising the others. Before anyone could protest the choice, Stan grabbed Dipper's hand and dragged him out of the inn.

"Wait! Grunkle Stan! Stop!" Dipper cried, struggling to get out of Stan's grip. "I really don't think it's a good idea to leave Mabel and Grunkle Ford alone together. She's still pretty mad at him…"

"And that's why we need to do this Dipper…" Stan sighed, making Dipper stop struggling as he looked at Stan curiously. "You know as well as I do that these numbers aren't going to go down without solving (shudder) emotional issues… that doesn't just mean telling each other how much we love each other. Your sister was really hurt by what Ford did and I'm pretty sure her number won't get down until she deals with that."

"That makes sense," Dipper frowned in concern, glancing back in the direction of the inn though they had walked far enough that they couldn't see it through the trees anymore. "It's just bound to get pretty bad."

"Yeah… no one can hurt you quite like family," Stan agreed, subconsciously rubbing his branded shoulder as he thought back on that horrible night. "But deep wounds need to be cleaned out before they get healed, otherwise the problem will only get worse."

"I guess…" Dipper replied, still worried for them.

"Come on," Stan encouraged, picking up the pace a little. "Let's get the chocolate and see if we can beat them up the mountain."

"Okay," Dipper nodded, a smile growing on his face. He trusted his family and just had to believe they make it through this latest challenge like they have all the others.


Mabel and Ford stood frozen for a moment, shocked by Stan and Dipper's abrupt departure. Ford snapped himself out of it first, focusing on the task at hand.

"I guess we should get started on our own task," Ford suggested, attempting to smile encouragingly at Mabel. Mabel refused to look him in the eye but still gave him a nod to show she agreed.

They made their way down their path, Ford attempting to start a casual conversation with Mabel by mentioning things he observed as they talk or awkwardly asking for Mabel's opinions on random topics. Mabel never responded beyond a shake of her head or a shrug of her shoulders, so Ford eventually abandoned the attempt and they just walked in silence.

It was a relief for both Ford and Mabel when they arrived at the caves, picking up some pickaxes that had been left by the entrance. The caves were breathtaking, with large crystallized sugar of all colors sticking out from the walls. Both of them couldn't help comment on how beautiful it was before focusing on their task. They swung at the crystals, gathering the small shards that broke off.

As they worked, Ford did his best to prepare himself for the serious conversation he needed to have with Mabel. He knew he hadn't treated her well, but he was an adult and he could take responsibility for his own actions. Taking a deep breath, Ford began, "Mabel… It has come to-"

"Do you hate me?" Mabel cut in abruptly, derailing Ford's train of thought.

"What?" Ford asked in surprise, turning to look at Mabel."

"Do you hate me?" Mabel asked again, determinedly keeping her eyes on the crystal in front of her as her grip tightened on her pickaxe.

"Of course not!" Ford immediately denied it. "You're my niece, of course, I don't-"

"Then why were you trying to take Dipper away!" Mabel yelled, whirling around so Ford could see the tears in her eyes. "He's my twin and my best friend and you wanted to tear us apart! I know we'll go our separate ways eventually, but we're supposed to have a few more years before that happens! I'm not ready to go off on my own yet! Did you even care about my feelings when you offered Dipper an apprenticeship?"

"I didn't thi-" think about you at all, Ford cut himself off from saying, the truth of that statement horrifying him. Even when Dipper brought up his concerns about Mabel, Ford had brushed them aside with meaningless assurances, saying what he had to convince Dipper to stay with him.

"That's even worse!" Mabel sobbed, sensing the unspoken words. "We're family! We're supposed to care about each other, even when we don't always get things right, but you don't! I don't know why I'm surprised! You're still made at Grunkle Stan even though he tried so hard to make up for his mistakes! You don't love him why should I have expected you to love me!"

The words cut deep into Ford as Mabel just dissolved into silent tears, pulling her sweater over her head and sinking onto the floor. There was so much that Mabel said that struck far truer than Ford was ready to admit, so he forced his whirling thoughts aside to focus on his crying niece.

"Mabel… I'm sorry," Ford said softly, kneeling in front of her. "You're right, I haven't treated you fairly at all and haven't thought about how my actions have hurt you. I've been selfish and unknowingly cruel and it's taken being trapped on a magical train for me to see that."

Mabel slowly pulled her sweater down enough so she could look at Ford. Ford gave her a sad smile and placed his hands gently on her trembling shoulders.

"I want to be better Mabel," Ford said sincerely. "I want to make it up to you, but I know that's going to take time. I'm not asking you to forgive me, I know I haven't earned that yet, but I do ask that you give me the chance to prove I'm trying to change. It's not going to be easy, but I want to be a better Great Uncle to you and Dipper. Will you give a foolish old man a second chance."

Mabel nodded and leaned forward for a hug, relaxing as Ford's strong arms wrapped around her.

"I can't forgive you… not yet…" Mabel said into his chest. "But I'm willing to try. I just want us to be a family."

"Me too Mabel," Ford agreed. The two sat there for a while until the tears were dry. With a sigh, the two got up and gathered their things.

"I'm still hurt by what you did," Mabel said honestly, looking up at Ford. "But I'm not going to let my feelings get in the way of what's best for our family, especially for Dipper. Come on, let's get back to the others, I needed to tell Dipper something important."

Ford nodded, not sure what decision Mabel seemed to have come to but trusting her to make her own choices. Together they gathered up all the sprinkles they had mined and headed up the mountain.

Ford - 1439

Mabel - 91