The reflection on the water’s surface breaks as your bucket dips into it. Water flows right in, taking no time to fill the bucket. Once it reaches the desired level, you pull it away and place it in the cart alongside the other filled buckets.

“Hey Fluttershy! You ready to go?” you yell from the small pond outside her cottage. She pokes her head out of the front door, a smile fresh on her face.

“Almost, Anon. I’m waiting for Angel to finish getting ready.” You let out a sigh and wipe the sweat from your forehead. The humid air from the summer’s day was perfect for the plants’ growth. Fluttershy exits the house, carrying the small bunny in her hooves. As she approaches you, he jumps out of her grip and onto your shoulder, tapping his foot repeatedly on it. Reaching into your pocket, you pull the small bag of sunflower seeds out and hand him a pinch, which he shoves into his mouth. He gives a satisfied smirk and jumps onto a small, empty spot among the buckets on the cart. Turning to Fluttershy, she gives off a small giggle as you push the cart forward.

“Thanks again for this, Fluttershy,” you say, slowly following the path towards the Everfree Forest. “The fruit should be ripe enough for picking today and you’re the one who knows this part of the forest best.” She blushes at the compliment as you both make your way into the dark forest.

“It’s no problem at all,” she mutters with a soft voice. “I don’t like to venture into the forest alone, but as long as you’re with me, it isn’t so scary.” She gives you a smile warm enough to melt ice. No matter how bad of a mood you’re in, that smile always brought one to your face. You both continue your way throughout the thick brush of the forest, pressing past trees and bushes, eventually leading to the little sanctuary that hid within.

The warm sun pours into this small area, not blocked by a single tree. Like magic, the air in this area was completely different: It was humid and musky all year long. It was almost like being in the eye of a storm, completely calm and broken off from the forest. Small coffee plants cover the land here, lining the small pond they used to drink. The thing about coffee plants, however, is that they need a lot more water than that, so you’ve been tending to their needs for the past couple of months, making sure to water and care for them.

Grabbing a bucket from the cart, you begin to pour the water down onto the soil and plants themselves, making sure not to add too much; you didn’t want to drown them. You carefully tend to all the plants water needs and place the buckets back into the cart. Kneeling down, you inspect the plant’s small, cherry-like fruits.

“These plants are funny,” you mutter to yourself. “They’re definitely coffee plants, but they aren’t anything like Earth’s coffee plants.” Fluttershy cocks her head in confusion, placing her hoof to her chin.

“What makes them so different?” she asks as she hovers over your shoulder. Grabbing one of the cherries from branch, you pluck and place it inside of the empty buckets.

“Back on Earth, these things take years to bare fruit.” You lift the branch carefully, making sure not to damage it in any way. “Yet these took a mere two months to grow from seedlings to full grown plants.” Fluttershy softly lands next to you, making sure not to step on any of the plants.

“Well, the soil in Equestria is magic, so maybe that has something to do with it.”

“Another thing that gets me is this area.” You look around the small clearing, noticing the small details amongst it. “Ever since I arrived here, this place has yet to lose its humidity and warmth, even in the winter.”

Fluttershy looks around the area as if the answer was right in front of her. “Well, the Everfree Forest is... strange to say the least.” She pokes at the ground with her hoof, unsettling the soft soil. “Everything works on its own. The weather, the animals; nothing is normal, which is why ponies tend to stay out of it.”

“Magic is a strange element, isn’t it?” you whisper to yourself, continuing to pick the rest of the cherries. After an hour or so of picking with Fluttershy’s help, you turn back to the cart which contained mounds of small cherries. Angel picks one up with his mouth wide open, ready to consume it.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, buddy,” you insist, pointing at him sternly. “They may look like cherries, but they sure don’t taste like them.” The bunny rolls his eyes and shoves the cherry in his mouth, taking no regard of your warning. The instant he bites down his face changes to that of complete horror. Spitting it out, he begins to wipe his tongue, trying to rid his mouth of the bitter taste. Fluttershy begins to giggle as you dig into your pocket and pull the small bag of seed out. Handing him a pinch, he shoves it into his mouth and calms down. You can’t but help giggle as well. Grabbing the cart’s handle, you make your way back home with Fluttershy and Angel.

As you make your way throughout the forest, the only sounds you can hear are the soft flapping of Fluttershy’s wings and the creaky wheels of the cart. It was a nice calm day, unlike last week when the manticore tried to attack you, only to be scolded by Fluttershy.

As you exit the dark forest, you cover your eyes from the blinding sunlight. The walk is short, but the dark quickly consumes your vision whenever you step into that accursed forest. Pressing forward, you push the cart up the small hill and stop once you reach the cottage’s backyard.

“Are you sure about letting me prepare the coffee here?” you question. “I don’t want to impose on you.”

Fluttershy gives a reassuring nod, patting you on the shoulder. “It’s no problem at all. Besides, you live here. My home is your home.” Giving a small breath of relief, you wrap your arms around her and give her a hug. Fluttershy’s face burns up as you tighten the grip around her torso. As you let go, you head to the shed in the back and begin the preparations.

Taking out the tables, wooden boxes, and cauldron, you begin lining the tables up in the fenced area of the yard, making sure to align the boxes across them. Fluttershy begins unload the buckets of cherries from the carts and place them next to the tables. Taking the cauldron down to the small stream, you fill it up with fresh water. Making sure not to spill it, you carefully carry the heavy canister back to the tables. Fluttershy looks at it curiously, then back to you.

“Anon, what exactly is that for?” Taking one of the buckets of cherries, you dump it into the cauldron and wait.

“The thing about coffee cherries is this...” You point at the cauldron as a few cherries float to the surface. “The floaters, or the ones that aren’t ripe, float right to the top. The ones we need, the drowners, are on the bottom right now.” Using your hand, you scoop out the floaters and place them back into the bucket. “We can actually take the floaters and use them for a couple of things.” You begin to remove the drowners and place them inside a different bucket marked with an “X”. “We can grind them up and use them as a fertilizer or we could plant them and grow more coffee plants.”

Taking the drowners, you place them into a wooden box and lay it down on the table. As you grab the next bucket, Fluttershy looks over at the table and back to you.

“How do you know so much about coffee, Anon?” Looking at your reflection in the water, you think back to your times on Earth.

“I’m what you called an ‘enthusiast’ when it comes to coffee. I love the taste, the aroma; pretty much everything about it. At one point, I ended up flying down to Brazil to see how it was grown.” Fluttershy gives you a confused look as you shake your head. “Brazil was a country on Earth. It’s one of the biggest distributors of coffee.” She nods as you grab another bucket and dump it into the cauldron. “From there on, I learned how to grow, process, and prepare coffee.”

“So what do we do with the cherries?” Removing the floaters, you place them into the bucket before turning your head towards her direction.

“Well, we have to dry out the cherries so that the beans are easier to extract. Most distributors had machines for this process, but I prefer the old fashioned method.” Dipping your hand into the cauldron, you remove the drowners and place them into another cardboard box. “If you let them dry out in the sun, the beans tend to taste a lot better.”

Fluttershy gives you the next bucket which you proceed to dump into the cauldron. “Once that’s done, we take the dried cherries and peel away the fruit to extract the beans.” You continue on with the procedures of preparing and processing the beans, from polishing them to grinding them as you continue dividing the good fruit from the bad fruit. Fluttershy listens attentively, not taking her eyes off you the entire time. Before you know it, all the buckets are empty and the table is cover in boxes of cherries.

“Darn it, I forgot.” You turn to Fluttershy with a sign of frustration in your face. “By any chance, do you have a net? I don’t want any of the animal eating at these and getting sick.”

Fluttershy puts her hoof to her chin and thinks for a second. “I have something even better, actually.” She goes into the shed and returns with a bottle filled with a green paste. “This is some repellent that Zecora made for me. If I put it down, it’ll keep the animals away for a few days.” Before you say anything, something inside you tells you it’s probably a bad idea to ask what it’s made of. She grabs a cloth and dips into the pasty substance, spreading it all around the edges of the table. It has an acidic smell, almost as if it’s bitter. Once applied, you both head back to the house to attend to your daily routine.

With each passing week, you inspect the cherries to check if they are ready or not. They are slowly drying out, looking more and more like raisins. Sure enough, Fluttershy’s repellant worked wonders: Not a single cherry was out of place or touched for that matter. The only time they have been moved was when you had to move them for the rain.

Around the fourth week, you decide to check on them, before heading out to the forest to help Fluttershy with an errand. And sure enough, the cherries are completely dried out. With a raisin in hand, you run to Fluttershy as she sorts through her medical supplies.

“Hey Fluttershy, check it out!” you exclaim, holding out the cherry for her to see. You place it on her hoof as she curiously inspects it. She pokes at it a few times as if she expects something to happen.

“Are they ready?” You give her a nod.

“Yeah, we just have to peel them and they’re good to go!”

“Alright, I’m going to go into town today and ge-”

A hard knock rasps out from the front door interrupts her. You make your way for the door and open it to reveal a very distraught Minuette standing in the doorway.

“Please tell me Fluttershy is home,” she pleads. Taking a quick glance, you notice a basket hovering over the ground by magic. It holds a small ferret who seems to be in dire pain. Moving aside, you allow the unicorn to enter as a confused Fluttershy looks over. Her eyes widen as she takes notice of the small creature and immediately starts to grab medical supplies.

“Anon, I’m sorry, but can you start without me? I need to take care of this.” You give her a nod. She replies with a nod and mouths ‘sorry’. Giving it a shrug as if to say ‘don’t worry about it’, you turn and head back outside. Taking the cauldron from the shed, you head down to the small stream and fill it up, watching the water slowly take its place in the large pot. Carrying the heavy canister up the hill, you place it down next to the table of raisins.

Looking down at your watch, you note the time.

11:24 am.

If you work at a steady rate, this should take only a couple of hours. Grabbing a handful of raisins, you begin ripping the outer layer of skin and remaining pulp from the fruit, revealing two small green beans. Taking the beans, you throw them into the cauldron. The sun slowly goes on about its business as you continue extracting beans from the fruits throughout the day.

As you finish ripping the flesh off the last fruit, Fluttershy enters the backyard, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a hoof. Throwing the final bean into the cauldron, you give her a small smile as you stand up and stretch.

“How’d it go?” you ask her. She lets out a sigh and peers into the cauldron.

“The poor little ferret had a horrible fever. After some medicine and proper care, his temperature went down to a suitable level.” She dips her hoof into the cauldron water and gives it a little stir. “I’m sorry that I took so long and you had to do all the work.”

You kneel down and place your hand on top of her head, giving her a warm smile. “Fluttershy, don’t worry about it. You have your own things to worry about. I can take care of it myself.” Giving her a quick pat, you turn back to the cauldron. “I have to get some firewood to roast these. Do you mind gathering some stones so we can make a place for the fire?” She gives you a quick nod and trots off as you walk towards the edge of the forest. Gathering a few branches and sticks, you compose a pile of wood large enough to build a lasting fire. Bringing back the spoils of your venture, you see Fluttershy already placing the stones down for the fire.

You place the wood down and enter the house, making sure to grab a box of matches, a strainer, a pair of oven mitts, and a skillet. As you approach the fireplace, you notice the wood has already been placed inside, ready to be lit. Using a few matches, you light up the fire and it illuminates the area around you. You hadn’t even noticed that the sun was beginning to go down. Looking at your watch, you check the time again before taking it off.

6:15 pm.

Time really does fly when you don’t pay attention to it. Taking the strainer, you begin scooping out some of the beans and letting the water drain. You take them and place them on the skillet.

“Now we just have to roast them and they’ll be ready to make coffee with.” Placing the skillet over the flame, you return to the cauldron to ready the next batch. “We’re going to make different roasts. Some days have different tastes.” Fluttershy raises an eyebrow at your statement and you chuckle. “It’s a weird expression used by some Brazilian baristas, or coffee members. ‘Gosto do dia’, or ‘tastes of the day’ is a way of saying that different days haves different moods, so you accommodate those days with different roasts.” She gives you a slow nod, but knowing Fluttershy, she still didn’t get it. She just didn’t want to hurt your feelings by going too far into it.

Looking into the skillet, you inspect the beans. They no longer had a green color, and were now a beige-like color. They looked almost like peanuts. “Look at this,” you call out to Fluttershy. “They’ve already hit the drying phase. All the water inside the beans is gone at this point. Now we just wait for them-” The beans begin to give off loud cracking sounds and Fluttershy yelps, hiding behind you. You can’t help but giggle at her expense and she quickly follows after she realizes there is no danger.

She takes a seat next to you, eyes a taken by the fire. “Anon,” she whispers, “you have a great passion. I’m pretty sure if you were a pony, you’d have a coffee bean as your cutie mark.” She begins to chuckle at her own joke and before you know it, you do as well. Checking the beans, you notice their light brown coloring. Pulling the skillet off the fire, you ready take the beans and pour them into a bucket.

“These are called a cinnamon roast. They have a light coloring and have very acidic tones. When it’s brewed, it looks almost like tea. These are good for days when you wake up after a good night’s sleep or as a beverage with a very sweet dessert.” You take the strainer and prepare the next batch of beans. “We’re going to make four more roasts. We should have enough beans in here to make quite a few batches.”

For the rest of the night, you continue roasting the beans, making sure to time them and check their colors accordingly. Fluttershy brings you a plate of veggies and fish for dinner as she takes a seat next to you. Waiting for the last batch, you look down at your watch.

11:18 pm.

It was getting late, but the last batch was almost done.

Small, subtle snores begin to enter your ear as a very tired Fluttershy lays her head against you. Poor thing had a long day, so it was only natural that she’d pass out by now. Finishing the last batch up, you pour the last skillet into the bucket before lifting Fluttershy up and heading inside. You place her in her bed, making sure to tuck her in well before venturing back outside. Taking the remaining water in the cauldron, you pour it onto the fire and clean up your day’s worth of work.

As the early birds begin their chirping, you open your weary eyes to a brand new day. Lifting yourself from the couch, you head into the small kitchen and realize a mistake you made last night. Roughly twenty or so buckets of beans cover the floor and table, leaving very little room to move around. Giving a disgruntled sigh, you begin grabbing the buckets of beans and place them in the shed. As you reach for the last bucket, you stop and look at the counter. Sitting on top of it is a brand new coffee maker, along with some filters, sugar packets, and other coffee essentials. This must have been what Fluttershy went into town for. Shaking your head, you take the last bucket and place it on the counter. Inside was your favorite kind of roast: The City Roast. Boasting a medium-brown color, this roast is good for tasting the varietal character of a bean.

Looking around the cabinets, the only thing you can find to grind the beans is a mortar and pestle. You aren’t exactly keen on such an old way, but beggars can’t be choosers. Taking a handful of beans, you begin crushing them, making sure that it results in a texture similar to sand. The clanging from ceramic stone rings throughout the kitchen as you pulverize the beans into dust.

“Good morning, Anon.” You turn around to see a very sleepy Fluttershy who has taken a seat at the table.

“Morning Fluttershy,” you say in a chipper tone. Taking the grounds, you place them inside one of the coffee filters and ready the machine. The machine does its work, filling the pot with the black liquid. The aroma quickly consumes the room, leaving a sensual, pungent trail. Fluttershy lifts her nose into the air and takes the aroma in with a deep whiff. A look of concern spreads across her face as you pour the coffee into a mug and hand it to her.

“I want you to try it first,” you tell her, pouring another cup for yourself. You weren’t going to drink it until she took her first sip; it was bad luck for the brewster to take the first sip of the harvest. She stares down into the cup before lifting it to her lips with a bit of worry on her face. Her eyes widen as the liquid enters her mouth.

“Goodness...” You lean forward, waiting for her to finish her response. She closes her eyes and takes another whiff before a smile slowly creeps across her face. “This is amazing, Anon!” She takes a long draught from the cup, letting the aftertaste settle in her mouth. Grabbing your cup, you take a sip for yourself.

The taste perks your tongue almost immediately. The usual bitter taste was there, but there was a hint of something else. Though very light, there was a slight taste of...

“Caramel.” You look over at Fluttershy who returns you a look of confusion. “My coffee has a hint of caramel.”

“That’s strange,” she says, looking into the cup. “Mine had a hint of banana in it.” Grabbing the coffee pot, you stare at its contents.

Just what kind of coffee did you find?

Author's Notes:

After twelve hours of Party Boy and many cups of coffee followed, this was the result. I need to get out more.