It was a typical day at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was seemingly at multiple places at once whether that would be watching the register, putting cupcakes on display, or talking to guests. Applejack and Rarity were sitting at a table enjoying a midday snack and chatting about the accomplishments of their sisters. Pumpkin Cake was wiping down tables and picking up stray bits of trash from the floor grumbling about the messes that come from bakeries. Pound Cake was assumably in his room upstairs likely doing things he wished kept secret. The Cake couple themselves were in the backroom in deep discussion. Carrot Top was exiting the store with a freshly made birthday cake for her daughter and Starlight Glimmer was waiting patiently for her own take out order to be ready.

Starlight groaned as she watched Pinkie zip between tasks "What's taking so long Pinkie? Normally you have my order ready before I even get a chance to tell you what it is. It is like you have weird psychic abilities about predicting those kinds of things. But today you have me waiting. It's not a big deal but it is unusual for you."

Pinkie who was now behind the register with a cake box balanced on the edge of her mane, a feat that should be physically impossible but no one questioned because that would be trying to set logic to Pinkie Pie, smiled and said "Sorry Starlight! I was really delayed talking with Carrot Top. Her daughter is having a party today and I can't make it! It's like the most horrible thing in the history of horrible things! I had to make sure I went over everything with Carrot like a zillion times to make sure everything goes right because I won't be there." Pinkie seemed extremely distressed about the prospect of not attending a party.

"Were you not invited? I know the Cakes don't need you here all the time. The twins at this point could likely watch the shop alone for an hour or so if it came down to it," Starlight inquired glancing over to Pumpkin who was violently hacking with a spatula at a piece of bubblegum some pony had stuck on tbe bottom of a table.

"That's normally true," Pinkie said as she looked at the entrance forlornly, "but today Mr and Mrs Cake said they needed me to stay at the shop because they had something extra extra important to talk to me about."

"They say what is so important that they needed you to miss a party?" Starlight asked with genuine interest. "We all know how important getting to every big social event is for you. Getting an invitation and not going is hard to concieve you doing."

"I guess I am about to find out what it is like," Pinkie said with her mane loosing a small margin of it's poofiness. "It definitely is not good."

"I am sure the Cakes understand how you feel. It must be pretty important whatever it is they have to talk to you about."

Pinkie suddenly shot over to Starlight and pressed her eyes so close to Starlight's they almost touched. "You don't think they are..........going to fire me.......do you?" She said in an extremely distressed whisper.

Pushing her out of her personal space Starlight gave Pinkie her most reassuring smile. "Pinkie that's ridiculous. Why would they fire you? You do so much around here. Your a great baker. You are great with customers. You are fast....most of the time anyway. And you are practically family."

"But I make mistakes from time to time. And I am always having to go off on friendship missions. And there is that weird purple pie man who wants to steal all my berries!" Pinkie said with eyes all but bulging.

"Purple pie man? What purple pie-"Starlight tried to interject. Until Pinkie shoved a hoove in her muzzle.

"Don't speak about him he might be listening!" Pinkie glanced around the shop rapidly.

Pumpkin sighed and looked up from the heavily damaged but now gum free table. "It's Pinkie Pie do you need to ask these kinds of question" Starlight didn't even pause she just shoved Pinkie's hoove away and grinned back to Pumpkin as she nodded.

From the back came a shout "Pinkie Pie! We are ready to talk. Can you come back here please," came the voice of Mr. Cake.

Pinkie started chewing on her hooves. Starlight patted her on the shoulder reassuring her. "I am sure it is nothing bad Pinkie."

Pinkie started slowly walking to the back speaking in a hushed voice "Yeah, nothing bad, right. They likely just want me to help them make some Cakes."

"Pinkie don't say that you are going to make me get sick!" Pumpkin exclaimed. Starlight rose one brow as she stared at Pumpkin with confusion.

"She has very weird ideas about baking hehe" Pinkie explained sheepishly.

"If you say so m," Starlight said with just as much confusion as before.

"Maybe they just need me to help frost something special," Pinkie again spoke trying to reassure herself.

"PINKIE! Please stop saying that stuff! I won't be able to get the images out of my mind!" Pumpkin exclaimed.

Starlight just deadpanned "Seriously Pumpkin? Seriously?" Pumpkin just smiled sheepishly back to the unicorn.

Pinkie quickly made her way through the door before her courage could break. In the backroom was a single table in the center with five stools around it. Three of the places with stools had a cup of tea placed in front of it. Two of those three spots were occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Cake respectively with the third spot left empty. Pinkie quickly zipped over and took the third spot picked up her tea and downed it all in one quick gulp. Mrs. Cake and Mr. Cake watched this occure and then decided to dismiss it with shakes of the head.

"Pinkie, you took longer than expected to get back here," Mrs. Cake began. "Is everything alright up front?" Her voice was subdued.

"Yep!" Pinkie let out with as if gasping for air. "Everything fine! Nothing wrong at all! Nothing that would lead to any pony getting fired!"

"Okay......." Mrs. Cake said with some confusion replacing the subdued tone. "Well," she began again with a tone that said she was carefully considering her wording,"Pinkie you have lived and worked here for a long time. What has it been? About 20 years?"

"Ninteen years, forty seven days, four hours, thirty two minutes, and four-no five-no six-no seven-no--"Pinkie began rambling.

"Okay Pinkie! It was not a question we really meant to be answered," Mr. Cake said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh," was all Pinkie could manage in reply.

Mrs. Pie continued, "As was saying you have been with us since you were no older than Pound and Pumpkin are now. We basically see you as our own daughter and their big sister."

"Aww thank yo--" Pinkie beamed with tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't interupt please Pinkie," Mrs. Cake said cutting Pinkie Pie off. "This is a hard enough talk for me to do as it is without interuption."

"OH NO! You are firing me!" Pinkie burst out flinging her hooves and knocking over her till then untouched cup of tea sending to the floor where it shattered.

"What?! No! Why would we fire you?" Mrs. Cake said with shock as Mr. Cake just let his jaw drop.

"Well, there was that time I left Gummy in charge of baking and he never got anything done and orders for the day backed up! And the time I let Sweetie Belle help out and she managed to burn all the water! ALL THE WATER! And all the times I have been called away from work by the Cuttie Map. And that time I helped beat up that potential customer---"Pinkie listed off tapping her hooves together as if counting some invisible digits.

"You beat up a potential customer?" Mr.Cake said with disbelief.

"Well, I don't think that bugbear was going to buy anything. But you never know," Pinkie said as the two Cakes facehooved.

"We aren't firing you Pinkie," the two said in unison.

"Oh that's great then," Pinkie suddenly beamed.

"We are signing over the deed of Sugarcube Corner to you," Mrs. Cake said speaking to her teacup. "We are going to be leaving. We have an opportunity to open a restaurant in Canterlot and we are doing it." Mr. Cake put a hoove on his wife's shoulder as she spoke and gave a small smile to the Element of Laughter.

Pinkie froze in her previous position, beaming smile and all. She continued to just sit there. She did not blink and it was questionable about whether she was even breathing. Mrs. Cake waved a hoove in front of the grinning pink pony's eyes and Mr. Cake gave her a few taps.

"Do you think she will hear us if we keep talking?" Mr. Cake inquired to his wife as he continued to tap Pinkie on the side of the head.

Mrs. Cake shrugged. "It's Pinkie so I am pretty sure she will. At least her doing this will make the next part easier to get out if she continues to just sit like that."

Continuing "We have to actually leave today with basically no notice to anyone. Our landlady Plaid Stripes wants us there making first months rent payment today. We also ate openning in just two days there and she has a whole list of suggestions she said she wanted to go over with us. I don't think she was being too serious based on her suggestions she said to us earlier......baked spoons.....but you don't upset the landlady."

"We also thought long and hard about what is best for Pound and Pumpkin with uprooting them and moving them to Canterlot and all and we decided it would be best to take the traditional approach to these kind of things. I am sure you will understand," Mrs. Cake spoke calmly now as Pinkie Pie still had not moved as much as an eyelash.

The Cakes pulled travelling sacks from below the tae and gave Pinkie Pie a final hug before exiting to the main store up front. There they were greeted by the gazes of curious onlookers who had heard some of the earlier exclamations though not the majority of the conversation and were very concerned about the pink party pony's employment. The Cakes appearing with bags packed and no sign of Pinkie caused some whispering among the patrons.

"Pound! Pumpkin! We need you here now!" Mr. Cake called. Pumpkin raced over from the register she was forced to attend in Pinkie's absence and Pound stumbled down the stairs from the second floor actually tripping and missing the last four steps completely before picking himself up and putting himself before his parents.

Mrs. and Mr. Cake hugged both their children and crying said, "You be good for Pinkie Pie she will explain everything." They guiltyfully looked at one another knowing that this was a collassal cop out on their part but they couldn't bare at this moment to explain this to their biological children and time was of the essence. They then made a beeline for the front doir and quickly exited with one final glance at their children.

The customers looked on with shock. All conversation had stopped. A faint breeze that drifted through the partially opened door found a discarded cupcake wrapper that Pumpkin was unable to attend to while watching the register and drug it along the floor making a faint sound that every pony present could hear. Pound and Pumpkin just stared slack jawed at the front door.

The door to the backroom opened drawing the attention of every pony present save the Cake twins who continued to stare at the front door in shock. The sound of the cupcake wrapper was deafening. Pinkie Pie emergered wide eyed and very stiff from the backroom staring straight ahead seeing nothing.

The Cake twins on instinct turned to their new guardian an. Pound Cake asked the question that was on every pony's mind, "Pinkie? What the buck just happened?!" The male twin was in tears.

Pinkie slowly turned her head to the twins and stared for a moment as if not processing the question. Then the pink pony blinked once then twice. "It's traditional....." was all she managed before her face lowered to face her hooves.

"Oh my!" Rarity exclaimed rushing from her seat to go embrace Pinkie. "I don't know what to say darling! Um, welcome to the club?" The last part said with no humor.

"Okay," Starlight said looking very uncomfortable," this is way outside my expertise. I think I will go get Twilight. Any chance I can get my order so I have some cupcakes to calm her with while I do it? He he?" she gave an extremely timid laugh.

Pinkie turned her head to Starlight now and just stared for a moment then suddenly broke down crying. "Pinkie you forgot Starlight's order and kept her waiting way too long I am going to have to fire you!"