Placing the large sack of beans down on the floor, you look around the building once more. Filthy Rich has really outdone himself with place. The floor is covered in a nice ceramic tile, the walls are a beautiful cherry oak, and the mahogany and granite counter was a perfect combo to the entire place. Along with the dim lighting, it brings a nice atmosphere to the café.

It’s been a long five months, what with all the permits and building Filthy needed to get this shop up and running. In the time it took, you ended up harvesting more beans than ever before. You still remember venturing out there a few months ago like it was yesterday...

“Ready to go?” you ask the yellow pegasus. She nods, a look of determination on her face. Grabbing the handles of the cart, you enter the dark forest, bracing yourself for anything that it might contain. The trip is the same as always: Head in straight and turn left when you get to the tree with the notch that looks like a bunny rabbit, eventually leading to the small clearing. As you approach the plants, you park the cart and grab a bucket of water, ready to give them their daily drink. Something catches your eyes immediately: the cherries were back, fully ripe and ready for picking.

“This is strange,” you mutter. Fluttershy turns to the plant and inspects it, wondering what you’re talking about. “Usually a coffee plant can take anywhere from three weeks to nine months to regrow their cherries. It’s only been a day since we picked them!”

Grabbing a cherry from the branch, you squeeze it until it pops out the beans within. Sure enough, they slip out with ease and are the correct shade of green, meaning they’re ripe and ready to be processed. This is truly mind boggling; how were they fully grown and ripe in only a day’s time?

“Anon, with the way these grow, you can never run out of coffee!” Fluttershy exclaims. This is true. If they grow like this, there’s little chance you could run out of beans.

“I guess you’re right,” you say, pouring the water onto small bush. Fluttershy begins to pick them as well, placing them in one of the many buckets you emptied when watering them. It’s a good idea to grab some of them now; it would make less work when you came back later to grab the rest. Placing the buckets into the cart, you stack them and begin your trip home. The wheel cranks slowly as you drag the cart through the dark forest, following Fluttershy’s lead. The same thought keeps processing in your head.

‘Maybe it’s best to listen to Rarity’and sell these.’

“Slacking off, huh?” asks a voice behind you. Wiping the sweat off your brow, you turn around and look down to find Filthy Rich staring up at you with a devilish grin. “I’m just messing with you!” He gives you a playful kick in the leg with his hoof before taking a seat at one of the small table stationed throughout the store. He pulls out a notebook from his jacket pocket and places it down on the table.

“Tomorrow’s the big day,” you remind him, taking a seat across from him. “I must admit, I’m kind of nervous.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, son!” he says, waving his hoof in the air, trying his best to calm you down. He pushes forward the small notepad and leans over the table. “I have everything here to help you out. This checklist should assist you and keep everything running smoothly. It based off of my own list that I use when I run Barnyard Bargains.” Looking over the notes, it seems like basic stuff you knew already know: Check on the customers, make sure the employees are doing their jobs, keep count of supplies; the things a manager is supposed to do.

“Do you have a pencil?” you ask, putting your hand out. He furrows his brow, but responds with a nod before reaching into his pocket. He gives you the writing utensil and and watches as you scribble at the pad.

“Adding something?” he questions, peering at the notepad suspiciously.

“I’m adding the things that need to be done besides the usual tasks, like clearing out coffee pots every half hour or so.” He leans back in his chair with an impressed expression across his face.

“See, right there! You shouldn’t have a problem with managing this place,” he boasts, smacking his hoof against the table. He watches as the other ponies begin pouring in, carrying large sacks of beans. “Just how much did you grow in the few months that I had this place being built?” Looking up from the paper, you put the pencil to your chin and think.

“Let’s see... Twenty times four... Half a kilo is about a pound... I’d say roughly over a little four hundred pounds worth of beans.” Filthy’s eyes widen to the size of saucers.

“You grew that much in a few months? That’s some serious dedication!” You look over the notes one last time and make sure you haven’t missed anything.

“Yeah, I’ve wanted my own café since I was young, but that’s beside the point. Let’s get back to business.” Filthy nods in agreement. “What are the plans for tomorrow’s opening?”

“Well, I’ll we’ll be doing a red tape cutting for the grand opening with Mayor Mare and Hoity Toity as special guests, so just be here at nine in the morning. What are the hours you were planning again?”

“Six in the morning to nine at night.” Filthy cocks an eyebrow, eyeing you in a stern manner.

“Why such a long work day?” he questions, not taking his eyes off you.

“Most ponies will be getting up in the morning. They’ll be tired so what will they need to wake them up? Coffee. Lunch time will roll around and ponies will be going to our neighbor, Sugarcube Corner. After something sweet, what’s a good way way to balance it? A bitter cup of coffee. Dinner comes along. What’s good with dessert? Coffee. And what about ponies who need to stay up late with overnight work or studying? What will they need? Coffee.” You lean back in your chair, a confident smile across your face. “Face it, coffee is a full time job.”

“Dang. Well, I’ll be.” A slick grin creeps onto Filthy’s face as he chuckles. He follows your example and leans back as well, shaking his head. “You’ve had this game of chess planned out right from the get-go, huh? You truly know your stuff, Anon.”

“I’ve worked as a barista before. You learn and notice things if you stick around long enough,” you modestly say with a shrug. Pocketing the notepad, you stand up and extend your hand out to Filthy for a shake. He returns the motion and nods before taking his leave. As you step outside, a cool autumn breeze brushes against your cheek. Winter is just around the corner, meaning cold and snow would be following it.

“It might be best to get hot chocola—” Something taps at the back of your leg, breaking your concentration. You turn around to see one of the employees that was helping carry the beans to the store. He’s a young stallion and has a cutie mark of three coffee beans going into a cup with a cinnamon colored mane.

“Sorry to bother you, boss, but all the beans have been loaded in the storage room.” You nod, acknowledging his statement.

“Good job. You guys can head home now. It’s starting to get late anyway.” He looks at you with a hesitant stare, almost as if something or someone was holding him back. “What’s the matter?” The stallion scratches at his leg with his hoof nervously, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“I’m a little nervous, is all. I’ve been learning all about being a barista while in Canterlot, but I’ve never actually done it out in the field.” You chuckle as he looks up at you with an innocent stare. Kneeling down, you place a hand on his shoulder and grin.

“Listen, I used to work as a barista as well. There’s nothing to worry about, trust me. Working as a barista is much like brewing a cup of coffee. It’s all about preparation and presentation. Make a good cup of coffee and don’t be afraid to show it off.” He puts on a slight grin and nods.

“Thanks boss.” You ruffle his mane and stand back up as he head off towards the town. Taking one last look at the store, you read the name under your breath.

“Cool Beans. It has a nice ring to it.”

Making your way down the road, you head back home to the small cottage. The animals run to you, excited to see you after not being home all day. You kneel down and pet the critters, most fighting with one another to get your attention.

“Anon, is that you?” Fluttershy asks, her voice coming from the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’m finished for the day,” you groan, making your way into the room. A familiar smell consumes your nostrils, making yours stomach growl like a vicious beast. Fluttershy turns around from washing dishes, sporting a her cute apron with a heart. On the table lays your dinner, but it isn’t the usual salad or vegetable meal: It was meat. Bacon to be specific. Your mouth begins to water from looking at it. It’s been so long since you’ve had any meat. You look at Fluttershy, who stares at you idly.

“Is that what I think it is?” you question, pointing at the plate. She shakes her head, smirking a bit.

“It’s actually a magically enhanced veggie that looks, smells, and tastes like bacon. I thought you deserved a special meal since tomorrow is a special day,” she says, grinning from ear to ear. Grabbing one of the strips of ‘bacon’, you bite into it. Dear God, it was like sex in your mouth!

“This is something you feed the animals with, isn’t it?” you joke. Fluttershy’s face turns red as you bite into another strip. It doesn’t really matter to you: if it tastes like bacon, it’s bacon in your book. She takes a seat next to you and eats the small salad she has prepared for herself. Leaning over, you give her peck on the cheek. She blushes as a smile creeps onto her face before going back to her meal.

“So, what did you do today?” you ask. Fluttershy looks up from her bowl and swallows the bits of lettuce and hay from her salad.

“Well, I helped a tortoise get back to his home. He got lost somehow trying to find food and ended up here. Then I went to Twilight’s place for cake. She wanted me to give you a note.” She steps down from her seat and grabs a letter from the counter. Opening it up, you skim over the letter. Basically, it says how Twilight has discovered that the soil in that clearing had a different soil mixed with it. It was nothing like Equestrian soil and was possibly from a different world, causing the plants to react differently. You rub your forehead and think. Could it be possible that Terran soil crossed along with you when you ended up on this world?

“I’ll have to talk with Twilight about this myself. Let her know that I’ll talk to her on my next day off about it the next time you see her.” Fluttershy nods and lets out a quiet yawn.

“I’ll let her know tomorrow. What time is the opening tomorrow.”

“Nine in the morning.”

“I think we should get to bed then.” Standing up from your chair, you grab your plate and place it in the sink.

“Yeah, you’re right.” You bend down and grab her by the chin, pressing your lips against hers. Her eyes widen at first, completely taken by surprise, but quickly calms down once she realizes what’s going on. She lets out a small gasp as you remove your lips and smiles.

“Goodnight,” you mutter, making your way to the living room.

Fluttershy responds with a tiny squeak as you leave the room. Angel lies on the couch and peeks as you enter the room. He springs up and moves aside as you lay down, but quickly jumps onto your lap to curl up and resume his sleep. Fluttershy shuts the lights off before heading heading upstairs, murmuring a subtle, “Goodnight.”

An hour or so goes by with no success. You just can’t fall asleep, no matter how hard you try. Being this nervous was not helping you whatsoever. Angel already jumped down from your lap, rather annoyed with your constant tossing and turning. Sitting up, you look out the window at the calm, moonlit sky. Maybe a walk would calm you down.

Grabbing your hoodie, you walk outside and lay down on the grass by the stream. The trickling water was very calming as you look up to the sky, staring at all the stars. Looking up at the stars always made you feel better. You didn’t know why; it just did. The sound of a light clipclopping breaks the silence, making you look around in wonder. Fluttershy lies down on the grass next to you, a look of concern on her face.

“Can’t sleep either?” You nod.

“Yeah. Just nervous is all.” She shivers and moves closer to you. “You cold?”

“Just a little.” Sitting up you remove your sweater and put it around her. “That’s not fair to you, Anon! You should have the sweater!” You grab her and lay her head on your chest, slowly stroking her mane.

“There, we’ll keep each other warm.” She rubs her head against your chest until she finds a comfortable spot and nods off. Looking down at her once more, you feel your eyelids grow heavy. You manage to whisper one last statement before nodding off.

“I may be nervous, but as long as I have you around, I feel like I can take on the world.”

Author's Notes:

I ran out of coffee and Jack. T_T