Pound and Pumpkin Save Sugarcube Corner

by Tela

Prologue

There is a certain embarrassment that comes with being woken at an inopportune hour. Pleasant dreams come crashing down into a haze of muddled confusion as the harsh sunlight assaults the eyes, everything’s a bit blurry, and all one can really bring themselves to do is say “Bluh?” To the outside observer? It’s hilarious. To the unwilling participant? It’s humiliating.

“Pound! Pound! Wake up! You gotta wake up!”

To a certain Pound Cake’s chagrin, it’s exactly where he found himself one inconspicuous Wednesday morning.

As he opened his eyes, blearily blinking, he felt two sharp jabs in his side and squeaked softly. Rolling over, he pulled his covers up to his chin and grimaced. “Go ’way, Pumpkin,” he muttered sleepily.

“Pound, Mom and Dad are gone, and there’s a really big problem!”

That got his attention.

Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes. Slowly, his sister, Pumpkin Cake, came into focus. She’d clambered her way onto his bed and was basically standing on his legs. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing was frantic, as if she’d just run a marathon (or, as it would turn out, a single flight of stairs).

Pound blinked again. “Whasshappening?” he stammered, yawning. “Mom ‘n Dad said they were gonna be gone yesterday. They’re goin up to Canterlot for their…” Trailing off, he fumbled with his words for a moment before pouting slightly. “Anni-nursery.”

“I know thaaaaat!” Pumpkin groaned, rolling her eyes and stamping a hoof against the sheets. “It’s something else! And it’s really, really bad!”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes widening.

“It’s- it’s-” Letting out another exasperated groan, Pumpkin broke off and jumped down to the floor. “Just come look! It’s horrible!” And with that, she sprinted out of the room, leaving Pound alone with himself (and, of course, the thumps and bangs of her sprinting down the stairs of Sugarcube Corner once more, though those kinda echoed throughout the entire building).

Pound yawned once more, and for the briefest of moments, glanced back down at his pillow. His still warm, super duper uber comfortable pillow. He entertained the notion of laying back down for a couple seconds. To the sleepy, disoriented young colt, it was quite the tempting proposition.

“POUND!” a faint voice yelled, echoing up from the floor below. “HURRY!”

He winced. That does seem important, though...

A couple seconds later, he found himself sleepily trotting down the stairs his sister had positively flown down just moments before (which was remarkable, considering he was the pegasus of the two). Everything was still a little bit fuzzy, so he had to try his best not to miss any steps and tumble all the way down. It took quite a lot of focus, and by the end, he was feeling a little proud of himself. Grinning, he rounded the corner into the Sugarcube Corner bakery proper…

… and everything was exactly the same as it always was.

The bakery was immaculately clean. Not a chair or table was out of place, not a speck of dust could be seen, and the floor shone like it had just been freshly mopped. Fresh-baked pastries and sugary treats adorned the display case and counter. The place looked like something straight out of a home decor magazine, and try as he might, Pound couldn’t find a single thing out of the ordinary. The only piece of the scene that looked out of the ordinary was his sister, pacing back and forth between the front door.

They locked eyes, and for a moment, all was silent.

“Pumpkin?” Pound asked, tilting his head to the side. “Where’s the problem?”

“Ugh!” Pumpkin ughed, rolling her eyes again. “Are you blind, Pound?” She trotted over to the window just beside the door, and pointed at the sign hanging in the window. “LOOK!” she wailed, like the world itself was ending.

Walking closer, he squinted at the letters. “It says ‘open!’” he remarked astutely. “That’s what it’s s’posed to do, right?”

Pumpkin’s hoof took a sudden liking to her face. “Duh! On the INSIDE, it does, but do you know what it says on the outside?”

“What?”

“CLOSED!” She stomped the ground once more, tears welling up in her eyes. “I went out to check myself! It says ‘closed!’ Mom and Dad SHUT DOWN Sugarcube Corner today!”

Pound blinked a few times, and tilted his head to the other side. “Um… yeah?” he said,c confusion coloring his voice. “They’re… not here. They’re in Canterlot. You can’t serve customers in Ponyville from Canterlot. And Pinkie said she had to do super serious Element stuff today, so she can’t do it…” He stuck his tongue out briefly. “They had to close it!”

“You’re not getting it!” she said, pouting a mighty pout. “Think! What day is today?”

“It’s… um…” he trailed off, scrunching up his face in thought. “It’s Wednesday, right?”

“Pound,” Pumpkin said, her voice growing dark, “Sugarcube Corner doesn’t close on Wednesdays.”

A beat passed. Then another. And then, Pound’s pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks. His mouth fell open, and he fumbled for words for a moment. “Ohmygosh,” he eventually whispered.

“I KNOW, RIGHT?” Pumpkin cried.

“That’s not right!” he exclaimed loudly, jumping into the air and hovering there. “That’s- that’s-”

“The worst possible thing!” they exclaimed together breathlessly.

“There’s gonna be customers who come to get breakfast-” Pumpkin began.

“-and can’t get it!” Pound finished. He was breathing faster now, a spike of adrenaline having set in. “Oh gosh, the regulars!”

“THE REGULARS!” she gasped, falling on her rump. “What are they gonna do? There’s not another bakery in town!”

Pound tilted his head again. “Doesn’t Bon Bon-”

“Bon Bon comes to us for breakfast,” Pumpkin interrupted. “There’s not another good bakery in town.”

“You’re right,” he breathed. “Also, if she hears you say that, she’s gonna get you.”

“She’s not here; plus, it’s true and you know it,” she said dismissively. “Besides, that doesn’t matter! We have a catastrophe on our hooves!” Clambering back to her hooves, she took a deep breath. “We gotta do something! This can’t happen!”

Pound nodded vigorously, touching back down with the ease and grace of a squirrel that’d been eating fermented apples. “What are we gonna do, though?” he asked. “Mom n’ Dad aren’t here, Pinkie’s not gonna be available, and there’s nopony else who can help!”

“We could do it.”

Silence. “What?”

“Pound,” she continued, “we’ve seen Pinkie do it alone. And Mom and Dad are always baking stuff like it’s nopony’s business. I think we can figure it out.” Clapping her hooves together, she grinned. “It’s just a bakery. How hard can it be?”

Pound raised an eyebrow. “That’s a…” Trailing off, his gaze became distant. Slowly, a grin identical to his sister’s took shape. “Really good idea!” Looking around the bakery once more, his smile grew wider. “We can TOTALLY keep this place open for a day! It’ll be a piece of cake!” He giggled. “It’s in our names!”

“You wanna do it?” Pumpkin gasped.

“We gotta do it!” he answered, puffing out his chest. “Sugarcube Corner CAN’T close on a Wednesday! Ponyville depends on it!”

“Then we gotta hurry!” Pumpkin urged, trotting towards the counter. “We usually open at seven, and it’s six thirty already! We need to prepare!”

The pair scampered behind the counter, rummaging through drawers, taking various (completely random) ingredients out of the pantry and fridge, and readying the shop for customers as they saw fit. By the time they were finished, the once flawless space looked decidedly cluttered, but neither of them seemed to care. After all, they were foals on a mission; who could possibly have time for cleanliness with such an important task at hand?

As the minutes ticked by and seven o’clock ticked ever closer, the smiles on their faces never faded. It’s not as if they weren’t taking the preparations seriously; rather, they were thrilled at the prospect of running the store by themselves, and as such, threw themselves wholeheartedly into the task. The smiles were due to something else entirely: sheer, unadulterated confidence.

After all, the plan was simple: keep the bakery open for one whole day.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Author's Note:

It's time for shenanigans.

Comments

[Carnelitite]

this going to be a roll i know it

[Yoshifan30]

Well it looks like this is a pretty interesting situation so it looks like pound and pumpkin cake are going to take over the sugarcube corner and they're still pretty young well let's see how this will work out