//------------------------------// // Prologue - The Situation with the Cakes // Story: Pinkie's Promise // by RCharge //------------------------------// I woke up in the loft above Sugarcube Corner and bounced over to the mirror as I adjusted my mane and tail, not that they ever needed to be adjusted. Today was a big day and I knew it, I had to be extra super-duper-scooper presentable when the Equestrian Better Business Bureau representative came in. I knew that if I messed this up, it would ruin Sugarcube Corner forever. Oh great, why did I have to start thinking about that now? I thought to myself as sweat started to form on my brow. As I wiped it off, I allowed my smile to return to my face. “Don’t get yourself all worked up, Pinkie. You did this before and now you’ll do it again! No biggie!” “But what if you don’t?” my reflection said back to me as I stared into the mirror, “What if you mess this up, like you almost did last time?” it said as it reminded me of the last time the representative visited the Corner. I remember how I slipped on my own two hoofsies, flinging cupcakes everywhere as I tried to catch them. He wasn’t impressed, and the frosting from the cupcake that smeared all over his suit didn’t help matters either. “Is this what you consider good helpers now-a-days, Mrs. Cake?” I said in falsetto as I imitated the representative’s voice, “It’s a wonder this business is still open, let alone as popular as it is! If I had half a mind, I would shut this hoof-in-mouth business down!” I said with a giggle as I recalled how silly he sounded. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake couldn’t take him seriously, and he was vital to their business’ survival! Needless to say, they managed to smooth it over - after they paid a hefty fine of course - and business continued as usual. So, why was it that I still felt guilty about it? “Pinkie! Could you be a dear and bring down more paper towels?” Mrs. Cake called from the landing in an urgent, yet gentle tone. I knew what that meant: he was on his way. “Yupparoonie! How many? One, two, or the entire army?” I asked, which caused a giggle to pass Mrs. Cake’s lips. I loved her laugh, it eased my mind whenever I heard it. Too bad she didn't laugh nearly as much as she used to. “The entire army, Pinkie… and thanks, I needed that, you have no idea,” she said as I grabbed the entire package of paper towels and hopped down the stairs. The day passed by slowly, the customers came and left, and I was bored out of my mind. Just before I declared that the situation needed to be pinkieriffic, like I normally would have, the door opened. In trotted a peach-colored earth pony with his mane in a coif. He also wore a two-piece suit, no doubt something he considered to be appropriate for the situation. “Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Pinkie…” he said as he punctuated my name with a groan. His face curled into a scowl, something that I thought wasn’t possible for the average pony to accomplish. “Let me be perfectly clear. If that precarious pink party pony gets even a drop of frosting on this suit… it’ll be reflected in your property taxes next month! Are we clear Mr. and Mrs. Cake?” “O-oh yes! Crystal, sir!” Mrs. Cake stammered out as she rushed into the kitchen, followed by Mr. Cake as he galloped after his wife. I stood there as I watched the scene unfold and wondered if he really meant what he said. I quickly discovered that it definitely wasn’t a joke. “MY SUIT!” bellowed the representative as I slipped on a wet patch on the floor and splattered a complete tray of cupcakes onto his suit. The Cakes heard the outburst and galloped into the main seating area of the bakery as they noticed that I was next to the representative and that he was covered in frosting and cake crumbs. When I noticed them, their mouths were agape in shock and horror. I probably could’ve guessed why, too. This wasn’t the first time I had ruined this for them and it more than likely wouldn’t be the last either. “You… you… menace! Look at what you did to my suit! I'm going to raise your taxes so high, that you'll have no choice but to default on them!” he said irately as Mrs. Cake quickly trotted over. “N-no, please! This is our livelihood! Don’t do this to us! I-it was an accident… wasn’t it, dear?” she asked and stared at me as if waiting for a response. Luckily, since this seemed to be a common occurrence, I knew how to handle the situation presented to me. “Yes sir… it was all my fault…” As usual… I thought to myself. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” “...Tell you what. You caught me in a charitable mood… I’ll just charge you a hefty fine and be on my way. Sound good?” he asked as the Cakes nodded furiously. He pulled out a paper, wrote down a number on it, and slapped it on the table, “You know the drill, Mrs. Cake. You have a month to pay it or I’m foreclosing this bakery. Got it?” he said as he turned around and trotted out the door, all the while mumbling something about the rising cost of dry cleaning services or something. When Mr. Cake read the fine, his mouth hung open wide, and I noticed the color drain from his face, “S-so many… zeros. How’re we going to pay this in a month?” he asked in a concerned tone of voice as Mrs. Cake saw it and nearly fainted. I trotted over and read the fine as well. “Wait, wait, wait… fifty thousand bits? That’s super-duper uncool! It’s almost like he wants us to default or something!” “W-we can’t run the bakery when we’re slapped with this infraction… and there’s no way we can pay it up-front either…” I knew Mrs. Cake was right, which made me really worried for her. The next big holiday was Heartswarming, and that was quite a ways away. “Okley-dokily!” I said in a determined tone of voice as I stomped a hoof against the floor of the bakery. “Don’t you worry, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! I’ll open my own bakery and make the money that you both need to pay off this debt!” I said as I bounced upstairs to gather my things I required to open the bakery itself as I bounced back down the staircase and headed for the door. “Oh, n-no Pinkie… we wouldn’t dare ask you for help. It’s our problem, and we should ta-” Mr. Cake was interrupted by my hoof as I squashed it against his muzzle. He tried to protest, but he knew it was fruitless and fell silent as I began to speak again. “No. I got you two into this mess. Now, I need to step up to the plate and fix it. I’ll raise you the money, I promise. No... I Pinkie Promise!” I said as I recited, and began to go through the learned motions of the Pinkie Promise. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” I said, which elicited a smile from the Cakes as they bid me well-wishes. After I said goodbye to the cakes, I bounced out of the front door and stopped. “Huh. Now… where’s a pony gotta go to open a business around here?” I asked myself as I stood outside. As I glanced around, I saw a vacant building across the street that was being renovated by worker ponies. After I bounced over and asked one of the nice ponies that worked on the building, I was directed to city hall and made my way over. “I hope the mayor is in right now! I got lots and lots of super-duper-scooper important things to do!” I said as I made my way to town hall to speak with the mayor. I’ve known Mayor Mare for quite some time now. She was the gentle, if not overworked and very stressed, mare that helped us set up Sugarcube Corner back when I agreed to work with the Cakes, and they stated that they would need to expand to accommodate me. She said that if I ever needed anything, I would be able to come and speak with her. Now I figured it was time to take her up on her generous offer that was still open for me. Or at least… that’s what I hoped. If not, I feared that I might have needed to resort to more drastic measures. I hoped that wasn’t the case.