The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

Epilogue, Part 2 of 8

The silence of night was interrupted by the deep inhalation of the sole occupant of the domicile. The mare stretched and let out a moan as she became fully awake. Her alarm hadn’t yet sounded, but she prepared herself to silence it.

Like a springing trap, Java Chip reached out and disabled her alarm clock the moment it cried out. She grinned to herself and climbed out of bed. After brushing her teeth and making herself presentable, she looked to the mirror to cast a final approving glance at her light brown curly mane.

She walked down the stairs and into her coffee shop, turning on the lights and the machines before unlocking the front door. She pulled a clean apron from the shelf and donned it. Her equipment hadn’t even come to heat before the doorbell rang, signaling that somepony had entered.

“Good morning, and welcome to Java’s!” she called out with professional cheer.

“Good morning miss Java Chip!” an overly-eager colt greeted her.

She traded a peppermint and a bit for the newspaper he offered. The unicorn colt immediately unwrapped the candy and feasted on its sweetness.

“Thanks!” he called back as he exited the coffee house.

“See you in the morning!” she called back.

She couldn’t help but wonder whether he waited outside for her to open, or if it was happy chance that he usually arrived just after she unbolted the door.

She unrolled and set the newspaper down on the counter, taking a moment to scan the headlines. The front page had large block letters across the entire top.

‘3 Year Anniversary of Peace Accords’

Beneath the headline was a photo of the event which the article commemorated. The subjects were none other than Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis signing the armistice, with the other princesses and changeling nobility flanking them on either side.

A mention of anything related to the war always made her remember. Java Chip turned to the wall behind the bar where she had hung many framed photos of her travels. She suffered from an incurable case of wanderlust, but was happy to have made Ponyville her home. It was near enough plenty of places to explore that it made for a great base.

The picture for which she looked was near the center. Two smiling faces had been captured, her own as well as her friend, Swiftlight. It was the day they had climbed to the summit of the highest peak on the Unicorn Range. It was the last climb they had made together before she’d moved away.

She smiled wistfully at the photo, remembering her friend. In spite of his brash nature, there was a certain admirable nobility to him. Swiftlight hadn’t deserved to die the way he had, just disappearing without a trace. It ruined any chance he had for monuments or glory at his passing. The mare’s ears folded back and her eyes grew misty at the memories.

Recovering from her musing, she returned to her preparations. A bit of steam began seeping from a joint on the espresso machine, signaling to Java Chip that it was ready for use. She thought to herself that she would have to get the worn fitting replaced soon.

She walked briskly over to the door with asmile on her face. It wasn’t just the anniversary of the end of the war. There would be a special gathering in her own shop in just a few short hours. The mare put out the sign that would signal to all that the coffee house was open.

Returning to her place behind the counter, Java Chip began preparing a single pot of coffee. Within moments of the machine coming to life, pouring hot water through the grounds, the door opened, and some of her regular customers began arriving.

The rich aroma of the bold brew filled the morning. Java loved the scent. At six o’clock sharp, the door opened once more, and the mare everypony expected entered. The barista nodded.

“Good morning, Mayor.”

“Java,” Diamond Tiara replied simply.

“Raspberry scone and coffee with cream and sugar?”

The mayor gave a fatigued smile, “What would I do without you?”

The regular customers flocked around the new arrival as she sat at the bar for a cup of coffee. They began bombarding her with questions and advice on what needed to be done around town. Java Chip had little love for Diamond Tiara, but her previous loss to Applejack seemed to have been a good experience for the re-elected mayor.

Java Chip smirked to herself as she remembered the campaign. It had taken some doing to get all of the signatures needed for the off-season election, but it had been well worth the effort. Since then, things in Ponyville’s local politics had remained on a much more even keel. Certainly Java Chip and Diamond Tiara had not crossed paths outside the realm of amicability.

The barista was well aware that the daily visits had begun out of a need for damage control to the wealthy snob’s image, but she certainly couldn’t complain about having gained several regular customers since Diamond Tiara’s return to power. Applejack had not run for a second term, though the talk in town was that she could have held the seat. She seemed as relieved to be out of the mayor’s office as was Diamond Tiara to be back in.

Java Chip busied herself keeping everything running smoothly and preparing for more customers to arrive as the morning wore on. As the hands on the clock approached seven, she was just beginning to wonder when her part-time assistant would arrive.

Author's Note:

Surprise! New characters!

Well, not new.... I'm sure y'all vaguely remember Miss Java Chip from way back in the middle of the story... you know around chapters 12-22 or so.

So, I had a crazy idea to reintroduce some of these to paint a picture of what the post-war situation is like... rather than just making a boring paragraph listing how things had changed... you know, like was my original instinct... like I did in my first draft...

I thought this would be much more fun. As a result, we ended up with a much longer Epilogue than I had originally intended.

Comments

[Sir Budginton]

Hey man, long epilogues are good epilogues (if they’re well written, obviously) and who knows, could even scrape by that 500k mark. That is certainly one hell of an achievement.

[Jatheus]

8866624
Hah! I hadn't thought of that. I'm sure I could write a few extras just to hit it... but... as it currently stands, we're going to be somewhere around 485k words all said and done. Close enough?

Also, thank you for your support!