“I said, I’d like to buy all your beans.” You scratch your forehead, trying to process this. The words were understandable, but you’re having a hard time comprehending them.

“Why?” you suddenly blurt out. Filthy Rich lets out a sigh and shrugs.

“Ponies like your product. It makes money. If I sell it, I make money as well. It’s that simple.” Fluttershy throws you a concerned look, making you feel even more uncomfortable.

“Excuse us for a moment,” you tell him, turning around and crouching down to Fluttershy’s level. You bring your head close to enough to her that you can feel her hot breath brush against your cheek. She has a look on her face that screams uncertainty.

“Who is this guy?” you whisper to her, checking over your shoulder to make sure he wasn’t eavesdropping. “No one comes up to a stand that just opened and asks to buy all of their product!” Fluttershy looks out the corner of her eyes, double checking that he wasn’t listening.

“He’s Filthy Rich. He owns a chain store called Barnyard Bargains that sells things for ridiculously cheap.” Her gaze doesn’t break from yours as a bigger frown creeps onto her face. “Why he would suddenly want your beans, I have no idea.” You look down at the ground and put yourself deep in thought.

Maybe you’re overthinking this. He’s an entrepreneur, just like you, looking to make money off of a product. If you’re lucky, you could strike it big with this guy and work with coffee for a living.

“I say we take a chance,” you mutter. Fluttershy’s eyes widen as she places a hoof on your shoulder.

“Anon, if you’re certain about this, I’ll follow you every step of the way, but please be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” You give her a smile and place your hand on her head, tousling her hair a bit. She gives you a small smirk and lets out a sigh as you both turn back to Filthy Rich who is still standing at the counter patiently. He grins as you make eye contact with him again.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to discuss a few things with you before agreeing to such an offer,” you bluntly say. He gives a slight nod, not breaking eye contact with you.

“By all means. I wouldn’t expect you to jump into this blindly.” Grabbing a bag of beans, you place it on the table.

“These beans can’t be mass produced. The procedure to growing and processing them takes time and care.” He furrows his brow and looks into the bag of beans.

“Aren’t they just coffee beans? It shouldn’t be hard to grow them in mass quantities.” You shake your head and lower your voice down to a whisper.

“These beans are special. They taste differently to everyone. Whereas I taste a hint of caramel, Fluttershy here tastes banana.” Fluttershy meekly nods upon being mentioned. Taking a deep breath, you continue. “As for the growth, they don’t seem to grow outside of a specific spot in the Everfree Forest.” You remember taking the beans and planting them outside Fluttershy’s house with no success. “The processing is also done by hand, so mass producing these beans is out of the question.”

Filthy puts a hoof to his chin and ponders for a moment. He closes his eyes for a moment and hums as his daughter rolls her eyes at his little thinking process. After a few seconds, he opens his eyes and smiles.

“How about a café? I’ll set you up with a store here in Ponyville for you and all you have to do is make coffee for anypony who walks into the shop. The only conditions I have for it are that the store will be under my name and I get fifty percent of the profits after you pay off the store. You can do whatever you want with it; you run the show.” You almost jump up in glee. If there was anything you wanted more, it was your own cafe. Back on Earth, you never had the money to start your own shop, so there was no way you could pass up this opportunity.

“What about staff and equipment?” you ask, trying to hide the excitement in your voice.

“It’ll all be taken care of. All you need to do is keep the place running.” Peeking out of the corner of your eye, you look over at Fluttershy. She shrugs and nods.

“Alright, I guess that’ll work then. I assume you’ll get all the paperwork for this ready?”

“Of course. I’ll have my boys write something up real quick and you can look it over when you get the chance. Once you sign it, give it in and I’ll take care of it from there.” He slaps five bits down on the table and grabs the bag of beans. “And thank you for the beans.”

As he walks away, you pull off a little victory dance. Fluttershy can’t help but giggle as you bounce up and down, waving your arms around. You pick her up and dance with her, only to have her giggles turn into hysterical laughter. After a little while, you stop and try to catch your breath. Fluttershy still has a case of the chuckles as you pant like a dog.

“I... can’t... wait...” you breathe. Fluttershy finally breaks off from her fit and clears her throat.

“Neither can I. I’m so happy for you, Anon. How about we celebrate?” Finally catching your breath, you nod in agreement.

“I don’t see why not. I’ll clean up the stand and meet you back at the cottage.” Fluttershy makes her way to Sugarcube Corner as you begin packing everything up and placing it in the cart. Grabbing the two handles, you start your venture back home. The sun was beginning to set, leaving a nice, warm glow across the landscape.

As you enter the small property, the animals come to greet you with their usual chitter and chatter. Making your way into the backyard, you unpack all the goods into the shed and head inside the small cottage.

“Maybe I should try it...” you mutter to yourself. Entering the kitchen, you fill a kettle with water and place it on the stove.

“It’s the end of the day. Knowing Fluttershy, she went and bought a cake, so a French roast would be ideal.” You dig into the cabinet and grab a small bag containing almost blackened beans and pour them into the pestel. The clanging of the mortar against the ceramic bowl echoes throughout the empty kitchen as you crush the beans into a fine powder. Behind you, you hear the front door shut. Fluttershy walks inside, carrying a package in her mouth. She places it on the table as you pour the grounds into a filter.

“I got your favorite cake to celebrate: Chocolate and caramel with peanuts.” Your mouth begins to water. That cake tasted just like a Snickers bar, but it melted in your mouth. Fluttershy takes a seat down at the table and begins humming. Removing the kettle from stove, you set it down on the counter on top of a coaster and grab two mugs. Fluttershy pokes her head around curiously as you place the filter filled with grounds into a funnel over the cup.

“What are you doing, Anon?”

“I’m making coffee, but in a different way. It’s called hand dripped coffee.” Pouring the water from the kettle into the filter, the hot water begins to develop a light foam on top of the grounds. “This is how people used to make coffee before they had coffee machines on Earth. If done correctly, it’ll taste a lot better.” The water begins to build up in certain spots, leaving little pools of water. “It’s important to spread only enough water to barely cover the top.” You stop pouring and watch as the water slowly drains into the mug.

“I never knew there was more than one way of making coffee,” Fluttershy says.

“There’s actually many ways, but it depends on what type of coffee you use and such. Espresso, French Press, Cold Brew; there’s more ways than I can count on my fingers.” Fluttershy’s eyes widen as this new tidbit of information hits her.

“You really do love coffee, don’t you, Anon?” Removing the funnel, you dump the filter and grounds into the garbage and place the two cups on the table along with some dessert plates.

“In a way, yes. But, don’t think it can take your place in my heart,” you reply, booping her on the nose with your finger. Her cheeks turn a bright red as she turns her head to hide her embarrassment. You can’t help but chuckle at her expense. Opening the box, you take out the cake, resisting the urge to dig your face into it. As you place it down on the table, Fluttershy sticks a single candle on top of it. You give her a confused look as she giggles.

“I can’t believe you forgot,” she laughs. “Today is also the anniversary when we first met, remember?” Looking over at the calendar on the wall, you check the date.

“Wow, you’re right. It’s been a whole year since I showed up here.” Thinking back to that day brings many memories.

You had been working the coffee fields non-stop in Brazil, making sure to make waterways for the plants. A heavy storm was going to run by, so you didn’t want them to drown. No one had told you how fast the weather developed in the area, so before you knew it the rain came pouring down. You can only remember brief moments after that: Running, lightning, then blacking out. When you awoke, the little yellow pegasus pony that sat before you was right in your face, trying to wake you.

“I have to admit, it was kind of scary finding you in the Everfree Forest. I didn’t know what you were!” You laugh because it was the same way for you. When you woke up after the storm, Fluttershy was the only thing you saw in front of your face. It wasn’t until that day you knew what your scream sounded like and to be quite frank, you weren’t proud of having a girly scream. Fluttershy had just helped one of her animal friends back into the forest after being treated for a week when she stumbled upon you and that ‘sanctuary’. It took a couple of weeks getting used to the fact that you were in a world of talking, multicolored equines.

“Well, if it wasn’t for you, I would been killed in that forest. I kind of owe you a lot, especially since you’ve given me a place to live and have taken care of me all this time.” Fluttershy shakes her head, a wide smile forming on her face.

“It’s not like you’re freeloading here. You pull your weight and you’re great company, Anon.” She pushes a matchbook towards you with her hoof. “Now, enough about that. Let’s have some cake!” You smile as you light the candle and make a wish.

“I wish...” You stop for a moment and eye Fluttershy. She cocks her head like a confused dog and stares back. A smile creeps onto your face as you look back at the candle. “I wish for nothing but happiness between me and Fluttershy.”

Blowing out the candle, you watch as the smoke slowly rises and disappears into the air. Fluttershy takes the cake knife and begins cutting a piece for you, placing it on the plate. Grabbing a fork, you wait for her to cut her piece. Just as you’re about to dig in, Fluttershy mutters something. You look up to see her face is completely red, her eyes avoiding any means of contact with yours.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?” She takes a deep breath and puts on a face of determination.

“I have something important to tell you,” she says sternly. You place your fork down on the table and lock eyes with her. She gulps as her hooves shake frantically. “For a long time, I’ve had this feeling in my stomach everytime I’m with you. Whenever I hear your voice, whenever I see you, even at the mention of your name, I always get nervous. I’ve alway felt different around you since the day we met.” You stand up from the table and walk up to her. Leaning over, you wrap your arms around her and embrace her in a hug. She lets out an eep, not expecting this at all.

“I know where you’re going with this Fluttershy. I’m not blind, deaf, or dumb. You kinda make it obvious.” You catch the scent of lilacs in her hair, completely washing your nose. “This isn’t something you should rush into, Fluttershy. Let’s take it nice and slow. For the most part, I do have the same feelings for you.” Leaning your head back, you look into her eyes. They slowly begin to fill with tears as a small smile takes her lips.

“Anon, I...” She begins leaning forward, lips puckered and eyes closed. You find yourself doing the same, inching close to her face, feeling her hot breath press against chin.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

You both open your eyes at look over at the door. Releasing your grip, you check to see who it is.

“Ah, so you are here!” exclaims Filthy Rich. “I’ve been looking all around for you. I had forgotten to ask where you live, but thankfully your friend Rarity was so kind as to tell me!” He pulls out a piece of paper from inside his coat and gives it to you. “Here’s the contract. You can look it over and give it to me when you’re ready. After that I’ll start the necessary preparations and get your store on the map.”

He takes his leave as you look at the paper and close the door. Fluttershy enters the living room and hovers over you to peek at the paper.

“Is that the contract?” she asks.

“It would seem so. Eh, let’s worry about it tomorrow. For now, we have some delicious cake to eat!”

Author's Notes:

I ran out of coffee. :[