A warm mug of coffee and a sweet, little cupcake!
It was a cold and snowy day in the little town of Ponyville. The wind clashed against the sturdy windows of every home, reminding anyone brave enough who ventured outside to bring with them the thickest cloths they could find. But on a little and beautiful Café, built from the coziest wood and brick, was immune to the cold assault from Granny Winter. It even laughed at it with its petty effort to freeze the source of warm inside.
In front of an artisanal coffeemaker, besides dozens of different bags of beans ready to be poured in it, there was a bright, young lady who worked passionately in her quest to make the best mugs of coffee in the world. Her efforts were somewhat pointless, though.
She happened to be the best in that humble title already.
Her name was Pinkie Pie, and every day she served different kinds of nectars the way her clients desired; brown as a nut, sweet as love or black as night, sweet as sin. It’s been two years since she graduated from college. She was one of the best of her generation. She could work anywhere, be anything, and excel at many things. But there was something she had that the rest lacked. Something that cannot be replaced by the earthly fortunes of meadow and silver this golden earth could offer: A vibrant smile that can melt the coldest heart and a gift of making the best coffee and cupcakes you have ever tasted.
For Pinkie, fortunes from her labor were just a side reward. An excuse, if you will, to keep working at her job. Admiring smiling faces that emerged from happy clients after tasting her craft, watching young and old people coming back to have a seat inside and enjoy tranquility. THAT was - IS Pinkie Pie’s dream. Serve a mug of coffee with sweets to accompany it and meeting new people was her passion. Making a friend for life, her reward.
Being the new owner of the old Cakes’ family business was a fantasy she held dear for so long since her high school days. The Cakes were given the gift of parenthood in her college days, and decided to start a new trend of business in the city for the sake of earning extra income for their children’s future.
It was a success for them, but Pinkie Pie begged – asked them to not close their first local and sell it away. Not having any objection against their former apprentice, they gave her their blessing, and the keys, to have the Café for herself. She still must pay rent for the place, though. But it wasn’t too much problem for her.
It turned out well. Sales for a time were the usual rates as if the Cakes were still running the show. But it was when she started to make her coffee and cupcakes that everything sky-rocketed for the better. Whether it was the vibrant spring, the melting summer, the moody autumn or the unforgiving winter, there were always people coming from everywhere, ready to taste the local delicacies and ending with a pleasant surprise.
No one denied Pinkie Pie’s culinary prowess.
One day, though, a few weeks before Christmas Eve, a mysterious figure appeared in front of Sugarcube Corner. He opened the door with rudeness, making the welcoming bell rang louder than usual. The warm place became colder as his shadow entered the café.
It was a first for her to see such obscure aura on a human being.
He was a mid-sized, old man that had the bitterest face that Pinkie ever saw. He took a seat on the farthest seat of the small coffeehouse and waited to be attended. The puffy haired young woman made haste and was ready to serve with a big smile and an enthusiastic disposition.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! The best Café in this part of the town! My name is Pinkie Pie and I’m here to take your order!”
“Give me the largest cup of black coffee you have.” The man said with a gloomy expression.
“Which variety?”
“The hardest you have. Make sure it’s hot.”
“Robusta black coffee to my new friend. Do you want some cupcakes with it?”
“No.”
“A slice of cake?”
“No.”
“A-“
“Lady, I just want a cup of black coffee!” He rudely interrupted.
“Ok!” Pinkie didn’t mind. “What’s your name? So I can know to who I’m giving to!”
“Is it necessary to do that?” The man asked with annoyance.
“Yes! Your cup will have your name in it and I’ll know that it’s yours!”
The man sighed lazily, thinking that it was stupid to give away his name for something like coffee. However, after being radiated with the warm smile from the young lady, he was left with no choice. “Cranky Doodle.” He finally said.
“You sure seem a little on the wrong side on this day, but don’t worry! My coffee always does the trick to rise saddened people from apathy!”
The Pinkish Owner reached her coffee workstation. She prepared the beans, first by selecting the best one by one and then grinding them to dust. A mortar and pestle that Applejack herself gifted was her treasured tool of choice. Making sure that only a fine powder was left, she poured all of it to a small coffee pot with fervent boiling water. She couldn’t mix this kind of bean with the one that was already served in the coffeemaker.
That would ruin the flavor of the day.
Water was boiling still and the sweet aroma of fresh coffee was slowly spreading with caring touch on her castle. Visitors used to the owner’s experiments came to enjoy every time she did an unfamiliar cup, eventually feeding their curiosity and asking for that particular taste on a later occasion. Once the craft reached the sweet spot, she turned off the gas feeding the fire and served the newly made craft on the largest disposable cup available.
Slowly walking to Cranky, making him taste every single drop as the aroma became stronger, she finally ended his waiting. By unknown reasons, Cranky Doodle took a small sip from it and the reaction was unexpected.
“This taste… it’s…!”
“Yeees!?” Pinkie was waiting for those words she loved to hear.
But it didn’t come to happen. Cranky just stood up, paid for his coffee and leaved the place. It was a first to Pinkie Pie. No one has ever leaved the place without praising her craftsmanship. He gave a tip, giving away that the coffee was good enough for him. Unbeknown to Pinkie Diane Pie, that was a triumph on its own.
Next day, he visited the Café again. His face was the same as before; bitter, old and full of melancholy. Pinkie had what he needed: A cup filled with black, hot coffee.
“Do you wish any cupcake with your coffee?”
“No.”
“Do you have any kind of sickness that won’t let you eat a smally, little cupcake?”
“No. But I don’t want sweets today either.”
“Ok! Laralalala!”
He tasted her coffee once again, rekindling on him an old memory from his distant past. As he saw the attendant serve other clients, he left the payment in the table with a little tip as well.
The cycle repeated every day for three weeks. He took a seat, drank his usual cup of coffee, Pinkie offered a cupcake, making him decline it, and he leaved after paying for the service. On one Sunday, during Christmas Eve, something different happened.
“Miss Pie.” He said with a relaxed tone, no longer a stranger to the attendant’s sweet attitude. “I’ll buy a cupcake this time.”
In a flash, she had in front of him a little cart filled with cupcakes of various colors and forms to choose from. “Do you like sweets? Or perhaps you would prefer a low-fat kind?” She got closer and put her hand besides her mouth. “They are low-sugar as well!” She winked.
“Well… do you have by any chance one made from carrot?”
“A carrot cupcake? It’s been years since I made one of those!”
“Oh… I see.”
“Well, I’ll be back in thirty minutes!” She hummed her way to the kitchen.
“Does that mean -?” His answer for his unfinished question materialized in the Pinkish Owner going straight to the kitchen.
Soon, a sweet aroma of baking bread bathed the smelling senses of her clients. It didn’t take so long to have a freshly made batch of carrot cupcakes. Where did she get those carrots it’s still a mystery. The first cupcake was bestowed to the first asking client. Cranky Doodle took a bite with longing eyes.
His pupils turned shimmering with hope that didn’t match his shabby looks.
“Oh, child… This reminds me of Matilda…” He said sweetly.
“Matilda?” Pinkie asked with curiosity.
“You know… I’m self-aware how ruined and shady I look. But I cannot smile the way I used to.”
“Why? Everyone deserves to smile for a lifetime!”
“Yes. Perhaps. But the only woman that made me happy is long gone from my life. We were supposed to get married once my service in the army was over during my youth. When I searched for her in her home, however, she was long gone. The family apparently moved to another place because of the recession twenty years ago. I have searched for her since then…” The shadow of depression shrouded him once more. “From town to town. From city to city. It seems that fate doesn’t want me to find her! Perhaps, it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Oh! Don’t say that! People tend to blame fate for the things you lose with the pace of time!”
“What do you know about loss, child?” He said with sadness.
“Well, I wasn’t like this. The way I am now. I used to be more outgoing and wild!”
“You mean, like you always do?”
“No, silly Mister!” She laughed graciously. “I mean really wild and random! I was a party planner, you know! All I created for a celebration became one of the funniest and outrageous times on my student days! My friends, my closest ones, always shared with me a wild idea on how to make a party! And one I did! Then another one! And another, and another! My years of studies were the best I ever had! It was an endless session of fun, joy, and emergency reviews before test periods during a sleepover in one of my friends’ house!”
“All pleasant livings have to end one day.” He said wisely.
“Yes.” She complied somewhat saddened. She hadn’t noticed that she had a mug of coffee for herself as well. “But at least they call me once a month since the day school ended for us! I have one friend called Sunset who devised a kind of app that lets you have multiple calls at once!”
“Ah… like Shotmail voice call?”
“Never heard of that before but if it’s similar to Slype, then yes! But the difference is that it is custom made! It doesn’t require an account or such because we six are the only users! It took her a year to program it… something about legal measures and anti-hacking coding.”
“I don’t understand anything of that!”
“Me neither! But it works… when they call…”
“I wish I could have that small luxury… I miss her so much!”
“Tell me about her! About Matilda!”
“Oh… she was the sweetest of all! I met her by chance during my fisherman’s days! I was trying to get a big fish that bite the bait! Then I saw her walking on the shore! As she looked at me, I was left in trance by her beauty… and the fish pulled me up on the water and she laughed. Wildly, I might add!”
“That’s sound like a very good fortune!”
“Yeah, it was! She kindly helped me get up, dried my clothes with a little fire she made with some woods on the shore and we talked. A lot. Eventually we started dating for months, then years… and then…”
“The military service…”
He sighed with tender but sorrowful expression. “Before I joined the army… she made some cupcakes for me. When I ate them before my departure, I promised her to take her hand! In one of my shore leaves, I had already saved enough money for the ring!”
He took out from his pocket a little, nearly colorless box. Traces of pink and gold were the only thing left from a memory that was long gone from his future. When he opened the box, a ring untouched by the ravages of time was shining with shades of moonlight.
“It’s beautiful…”
“Thanks. I was never good at choosing accessories… but when I saw it, I knew this was the one for her!”
“That sounds so cute of you!”
“Really?” The man’s semblance glowed a little.
“Of course! A woman loves those little details from their lovers! And that also applies for friends too! You don’t know how much a tiny detail for someone you have high esteem for could change his day from rain to sunlight!”
“Friends doesn’t last forever, kid. When you come to a certain age, they depart from you. Either physically or... Sometimes it is best to just forget and move on! I should have stopped looking… and find another pleasure in life…”
“Perhaps it doesn’t last forever… be with them, that is. But now, I… It doesn’t mean it is the end of that bond! My friends are living their lives now! When they had the chance on their doorsteps to go away, live their dreams and become what they wished to be, it was the hardest test I ever faced! I wanted them to stay here forever, in Ponyville, where the fields are always green even in the harshest snow. Where the sun rises from the majestic mountains on the horizon and melts away the somber nightmares of the people! Then, one night, after inheriting this café from my mentors, I realized that if I didn’t let them go, they wouldn’t be happy… and one day, I would have regretted the single act of crying and make them stay, denying their dreams come to fruition in the process. You can’t be forever with the people you love. But I learned that it was for the best to let go but never forget!”
“How?” The man said in sorrow. “It is painful sometimes!”
“No matter what, the people who love you WILL always be your friends, mister! Those irreplaceable people will be with you wherever you go, no matter how much the shadow of time and distance try to sever those unbreakable bonds! They will be right here, in the bottom of your heart! My friends and I were the Rainbooms! Singing melodies of Friendship and hope-driving chants, capable of raising the mood and dissipate the blackest night. A silly name, born from a silly time. CHS, college and their magical nature… those were the good years for me. It was hard to accept that it was time to give the step towards the next stage of my destiny. But that is how life works! And I wouldn’t want it another way!”
She finished her coffee, feeling the bitterness of life until the last drop. Then she took one of her carrot cupcakes and split it in two. Sharing her sweetness for life to the old man was a sentiment born from empathy. It wasn’t the same experience, but a sense of true loss could only be understood between those who know loneliness. Biting the cupcake at the same time, the man recovered another part of his lost hope a little.
“The consistency of these cupcakes is nearly identical to the ones Matilda gave me long ago! And the coffee brings me a sense of longing for the dream that is about to die.”
“This recipe was taught to me by a woman who I met long ago! She used to come here every day when the old owners of the place worked here. She found a new job in the city and now she only comes sporadically.”
“Work takes away your time, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. But as long as she is happy… I just wish I could send her a bag of her favorite coffee beans. But I am so busy with business, even with this weather!”
“I’ll go to the city tomorrow and from there… I’ll go back home. Perhaps if the route isn’t far away from mine… I could deliver those beans for you, as thanks for hearing an old man out!”
“Would you do that for me?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“Thank you!”
She prepared the beans and enveloped them in a tight and elegant pack. Giving him the directions of her friend on a little note, a big refill of hot coffee to withstand the cold, and blessing his journey to wherever his path leaded him to, Pinkie Pie and Cranky Doodle said their goodbyes. Months passed, and the unforgiving Granny Winter went back to sleep. The Brimming Spring melted the iced land, and a new year continued to transpire on her lifetime.
One morning, when she was opening her local at the usual hour, the mailman arrived with a little box. It was beautifully packed with stamps from various states of the nation. When she opened the small package, a little but tender grin was drawned on her face. Besides some souvenirs from countless cities, some photos of a couple in several locations across the country were there as well. The old man was beside a nice lady on the pictures. No longer enslaved by the chains of hopelessness, the mister now had a face whose light could put in shame the sun itself.
But there was a single note above the last one. It was the final touch to make Pinkie smile with joy. A black suit was the perfect match for her white dress! The note only said…
‘You knew, didn’t you?’
Matilda was the same woman who taught her the recipe of the carrot cupcakes all those years ago. She never forgets the faces and lessons learned from the people who pass across the road of her life. Was it fate that Pinkie Pie united their love once more? It didn’t matter for her. Their happiness was her blessing.
“Well then! It is time to open now!”
In a town below the mountains, where the fields are always green and the people are kind in full, there is a beautiful Café made of cozy wood and brick. Inside, in front of an artisanal coffeemaker, besides dozens of different bags of beans ready to be poured in the crystal structure, there was a bright, young lady who worked passionately behind the stand.
Her name is Pinkie Pie! With the brightest smile you’ll ever see, she will bring the kind of coffee that you like, with the sweetest cupcake you will ever have!
Author's Note
I felt a little melancholic since my uncle gained his retirement some days ago. Now I will never work with him again. And it brought me memories of the people that are no longer here with me. From old friends since middle school to my elder who are retired now, like my uncle.
Sometimes you can reunite and start over with your special ones, like Doodle and Matilda did as well in the original series. But on other ocassions, you must keep moving!
With a cup of coffee with honey at my side, I wrote this. And even if she isn't my most compatible character with my personality, Pinkie Pie was the only one who could be the star of this one-shot. I tried to write her mature, but still doing what makes Pinkie Pie the element of Laughter. Or in this case, Optimism!
Thanks for reading.