//------------------------------// // Epilogue - Tying up the loose ends // Story: Pinkie's Promise // by RCharge //------------------------------// Morning came just like it always did. This morning wasn’t like any of the other mornings. I was still in bed as I looked over at the clock on my nightstand and read the time: seven-thirty am. Usually I would be out of bed by now and going about routine. This morning however, I didn’t feel like doing any of that. I reclined on my back in bed as I went over a plan I formulated in secret for who knows how long. “Okay, so I need to move some room in the front… readjust the seating area… make the kitchen bigger…” “Pinkie dear! Are you up?” Mrs. Cake’s voice filtered in from downstairs and gave me pause as I looked over to my bedroom door to the loft. “My husband and I have come to a decision… and we figured that you should be there to hear it. It was your idea in the first place, after all.” “Okie dokie! I’ll be right the~re!” I replied in sing song as I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After a quick freshening up I bounced down the stairs and into the seating area of the Corner. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were seated at the same table that they were last night. Upon closer inspection it looked like they never left that table since last night if the bags under their eyes were any indication. “Are you two okay? It looks like neither of you slept a wink last night!” “No, Pinkie… me and honeybuns decided to power through it last night,” Mr. Cake said as he tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, “We were talking and… well, I have to admit that we’re a little skeptical about this abrupt change.” “We knew the Corner as… well… the Corner for as long as we’ve owned it. A shared living space with a business below it. It never bothered us before and we always seemed to make ends meet…,” Mrs. Cake began unable to meet my eyes no matter how hard I tried. Before she could continue, Mr. Cake started speaking. “... however, now we’re being forced between a rock and a hard place,” he said as he wrung his hooves together nervously, “I never thought we’d be coerced into changing the corner… but things change and… well, we’re just afraid it won’t be for the better, Pinkie. We know how much this means to you... bu-,”Mr. Cake stopped speaking when I pressed my hoof to his mouth yet his face clearly conveyed worry and self-doubt. Not if I had a say in it… which I usually did. “You worry too much, Mr Cake! You saw my business, right?” I asked as he simply nodded his head. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mrs. Cake do the same, “So… what do you have to worry about? I bet that once they hear that the Corner is reopening the crowd will only increase!” That seemed to lighten the mood a bit as Mrs. Cake finally looked up at me with a hopeful expression, “Besides! You said it yourself Mr. Cake! That crowd is just about the same as the one we were dealing with on a normal basis! I never changed the recipes… merely the location…,” I said the last part in an exaggeratedly conspiratorial whisper with side-hoof included which got a brief smile from both of them, “So, what do you say?” The Cakes both glanced at each other. A slight nod that was nearly imperceptible to any eyes other than Pinkie’s was exchanged as Mr. Cake looked over at me, “Alright Pinkie… we’re on board.” That was all the reassurance I needed, “Okie dokie loki! You open my patisserie. I’ll go and handle the paperwork!” Before they could argue I was already out the door and headed to see Mayor Mare. As we parted ways I wasted no time in arriving at Town Hall. I didn’t even stop to do my normal conversing with my regulars. I was on a mission and time was of the essence! The secretary must’ve known I was coming for she was already informing Mayor Mare that I arrived. I thought she just secretly wanted to be rid of me but before I could question it I was called in to Mayor Mare’s office. Everytime I go in it never seems like her pile of paperwork gets any smaller. “Ah, greetings Pinkie… good to see you again. How can I help you?” She asked as I bounced over to a chair and hopped onto it. “I assume this is about the Corner, yes?” “Yep yep! I came here on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Cake to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy,” I began. Before Mayor Mare could respond I quickly added on, “However! I am also here to refile the deed for the Corner for residential instead of retail… think you could lend me a helping hoof, Mayor?” I asked as Mayor Mare raised an eyebrow at that yet the sound of a drawer opening could be heard. A few moments later she procured a bankruptcy form and a title change form for me to sign. After I filled out the forms and slid them back, Mayor Mare inspected them and deemed them to be satisfactory. After she procured a residency deed for me she picked up the phone and called the Equestrian Better Business Bureau to relay the information. After a heated discussion she hangs up the phone. “Good news Pinkie. The Bureau accepted your request for the chapter 11. However, they said that you would need to repay the debts before you could convert the property,” she began and held up a hoof when I went to interject, “The good news however is that you will have at least four months to pay them off as per the rules and regulations…,” I released a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding, “... and they will be willing to extend if necessary.” Relief washed over me like a wave. I happily signed and notarized the residency deed, paid the legal fees, and left Mayor Mare’s office to return to my patisserie. When I arrived the line was out the door and down the sidewalk already which meant I had to push my way inside. “Excuse me, pardon me… whoops, didn’t mean to do that…,” A cry of indignation could be heard as I brushed past somepony, “... well, I did say excuse me…!” Eventually I reappeared behind the counter as my head peeked over it, “Psst… Mr. Cake! I have something important to tell you in the kitchen. Your wife is already waiting for you… come on!” I said in a hoarse whisper as I dragged Mr. Cake into the kitchen. “Alright Pinkie… what is it that you have to tell us.” Mr. Cake asked as I told them about what happened at Mayor Mare’s office from the filing to the title change and what happened after. Relief washed over their faces and I could immediately recognize the mood change in the room, “That’s the best thing we heard since this entire debacle began Pinkie. Thank you so much for helping us…,” he said as he turned to head back to the counter, “Gotta get back to work,  customers won’t help themselves you know!” “And we should get back to baking, Pinkie dear. It’ll be just like old times won’t it?” Mrs. Cake asked as flour started being kicked up from her kneading of a lump of dough on the counter. “Yuparooni! Just like old times…” I said as I helped Mrs. Cake with the dough. From that point on I knew things were going to turn out just right.  In-between the crowded moments I helped the Cakes move over everything from the bottom floor of the old Sugarcube Corner. What remained of the tables and chairs the decorations and even what appliances in the kitchen that I could move. The rest of it was handled by worker ponies employed by a renovation company. With the difficult part behind them now it returned to business as usual. Mrs. Cake took the orders, I made the orders, and Mr. Cake handled the finances.  At closing time me and the Cakes cleaned up and went across the street to the old Sugarcube Corner to start all over again tomorrow like nothing had even happened, the worst of it over but not forgotten.