There's a saying that goes "it is always darkest before the dawn." From a poetic and philosophical standpoint, it was a wonderful saying that made quite a bit of sense. When life was at its darkest, its scariest, and when hope was at its lowest, the faintest light, the slightest chance of a change for the better, can seem like a beacon and set of a series of events leading to a brand new day.

As a poet (and hero, although she did not really think of herself as such), Pinkamena Diane Pie was rather fond of the statement. After all, she had seen herself how valuable hope could be and how one pony (or six) could make a difference. Conversely, having been up before dawn -- both from staying up all night and from getting up incredibly early -- Pinkamena knew for a fact that it was a complete and total lie. From her experience, it was always darkest whenever the accursed alarm clock woke her up. Although in this case, that did happen to be before dawn.

With a groan, Pinkamena turned off her alarm clock and began her morning routine: contemplate if the world would end if she went back to sleep (possible, but not very likely); contemplate if her job would end if she went back to sleep (also possible, and far more likely); contemplate if it would be worth getting fired to sleep in a little longer (no, she liked her job and her boss); finally accept the inevitable truth of the matter and get up, even if the blankets were still warm and inviting; take a quick, cold shower to help wake her up; brush teeth; brush mane; fiddle with that one really weird lock that always seemed to want to be curly despite the rest of her mane being perfectly straight: get dressed; feed Gummy (she still could not find anypony who could explain why the pet store even stocked canned alligator food to begin with); take the long way for work -- which was out the back, around the block and in through the front instead of simply using the indoor staircase that let her directly into the coffee shop.

Walking through town to work during the pre-dawn hours was always a fascinating for the somber pink earth pony. It was always so cool, calm, and quiet. Moments where everything seemed calm and safe always felt so fleeting. At least recently. Granted, new threats did not seem to emerge everyday to threaten to destroy the town... or the world... or all of time and space... or at least perform massive property damage... maybe cause an inter-kingdom incident...

Anyway, that was all the more reason to enjoy moments like now, where everything seemed safe, sound, calm and quiet. More so since it would soon be disturbed by other ponies getting ready for their day.

Returning to Bean There, Done That, Pinkamena pushed the door open, listening to the sound of the bell as she entered. Her boss was already behind the counter, working to get the baked goods ready for the first customers.

"Joe," she said, getting a grunt in response. Mugga Joe never really seemed to be very talkative first thing in the morning. It had never actually been discussed, but Pinkamena got the impression that Joe was not really what would be considered a morning pony. Perhaps that was why he had decided to open a coffee shop: needing such to help himself get started in the morning, Joe understood the desire for something to help wake up and get moving in the mornings. Coffee seemed like a better idea than a griffon attack or rampaging ursa. It also seemed safer to property and cheaper.

Stepping behind the counter, Pinkamena got to work on the morning set-up with practiced ease: grind the beans; place grinds in filter; place filter in machine; turn on water; turn on machine; move to the next; repeat as necessary. It was so routine, she barely even have to think about it. Before she had even finished going through them all, the first machine had already finished and was ready for the customers to begin.

Well, almost.

Pinkamena grabbed two mugs and filled them from the first machine. One cup was passed to her boss, who took a sip, held it in his mouth a moment, then gave a nod and gulped down the rest of it less than a second. Having it meet Joe's satisfaction, Pinkamena took a drink of her own cup.

It was interesting to her how Joe was able to drink fresh hot coffee so quickly without any signs of discomfort. Several of the other employees asked him about it when they first saw him do it. So far, explanations have included: using a cooling spell on his mouth and throat so it would not scald him (which would make sense, except his horn is not glowing with magic); being part dragon, and thus immune to the heat of coffee (less possible, and not very probable, but Pinkamena could not rule it out entirely. Plus, it would have to be extremely far back in his ancestry since -- before Spike was born -- no dragon had been seen in Equestria in Celestia knows how long, literally); and -- what seemed to be his favorite -- taking a magical fireballs directly to the open mouth when he was a soldier, making it so he could no longer feel heat in his mouth or throat (which was the most entertaining story, but the least likely since there would also be burn marks and a loss of the ability to taste). Pinkamena had listened to the stories, and made notes about each of them, but never openly contradicted him.

"Time to open for the day," Joe announced as he walked to the machine and refill his cup (this one he would drink at a much slower pace between orders). His horn glowed with magic as he took a hold of the sign, turning it around to open.

Almost as soon as the sign was turned around, the bell rang, announcing the arrival of their first customer. Had Pinkamena been smiling, it would have vanished at the sight of the arrival.

He was by no means the worst customer, but he was still one of the more unpleasant ones. Never actually rude, but sometimes it seemed like just barely. Never seemed to tip, even though he could well afford it. He did always pay his tab on time, but he always seemed to make it some sort of grand magnanimous gesture for which they should be grateful.

Were she a more malicious or vindictive pony, Pinkamena would be more overtly antagonistic toward him. Nothing extensive or obviously cruel: simply pretend to forget his name or that she had no idea who he was. No one else would really think much of it, but he was such as he enjoyed the power and authority that came with having his name known and how prominent he was in Ponyville. The simple act of not acknowledging such would infuriate him, but also leave him incapable of overt retaliation. Or she could simply call him by his first name. Not only was he not entirely fond of it, but the associated concept of equality would likely ire him as well.

Alas, such was not the way of Pinkamena Diane Pie. Taking her position at the counter, she waited for him to approach.

"Welcome to Bean There, Done That," she said in her most professional tone. "What can I get for you?"