Sunrise over Ponyville

Tendrils of steam danced up from Turquoise's coffee, dissipating into the early-morning Ponyville sky.  It was a cool summer's morning, and ponies were already leaving their comfortable houses to enjoy the excellent weather. Foals were laughing and chasing each other, with their tired parents carrying picnic baskets behind them. The unicorn smiled to herself, sipping the bitter stimulant. "Rather them than me!" she giggled, watching a particularly lively filly dive into a nearby shrub.

This particular cafe was only a few metres away from Ponyville Plaza's fountain, providing a relaxing ambience to the sleepy chaos unfolding in the street. Behind her, the dutiful barista served the ponies fortunate enough to be enjoying the morning by themselves. Warm blasts of coffee-scented air tickled her mane, providing a nice contrast to the cool morning breeze. "Ah, this is so much better than being on the train..." After all, the journey from Trottingham had been tiring, but after settling in to her new home, the mare was ready to get out and explore the new town! First though, a mug of her favourite blend of coffee and a few moments of quietly watching Ponyvillian life...

Switchblade leaned against the counter, casually talking to the barista while his tea was being prepared, he loved the morning relaxation which he had, where he could leave his shop closed for a few extra hours and socialize, the barista made a witty remark to him and he laughed casually "I completely agree." he said, just then his tea was finished and he paid for it and looked around for a free table. He sighed "Again?" he looked around for the table with the quietest occupant and saw Turquoise, he walked over to her and asked "Excuse me, madam, is this seat free?"

Nikki Hooves skipped down the street, breathing in wafts of everything. Candy, sugar, cupcakes, pancakes, coffee, fried hay, coffee...

Wait.

Coffee??

The heavenly scent wafted into Nikki's nostrils, filling her mind with the promise of hyperactivity and coffee breath to come. With a gasp, the filly rocketed off towards the coffee shop and levitated a few bits out of her saddlebags, dropping it on the counter with an audible 'clink.'

"One large raspberry latte, two extra shots!" she said, already bouncing in anticipation. So much more could be done when hyped up on caffeine, like building a rocket, or riding said rocket, or jumping up and down from the ceiling, or pestering her mom by jumping up and down on her, or-

Nikki hadn't even noticed that the barista had set her coffee on the counter and was patiently waiting for the excited unicorn filly to step aside. Slightly abashed, Nikki gently took her coffee in the glow of her purple aura and sat down under an umbrella. Immediately, she began chugging the beverage, despite the scalding temperature, only stopping to breathe.

Completely enthralled in her own thoughts, the mare took a few moments to reply to Switchblade. "Oh... huh?" A quick glance back into the cafe revealed that a number of ponies had arrived, all searching for somewhere nice to sit and enjoy their drinks. Shrugging to herself, the mare smiled warmly. "Sure! I didn't realise the cafe got so busy, or I'd have gone for a smaller table..."

A few customers had already given her judgemental looks for taking a large, shaded table outside. Facing the fountain and bordered by carefully-tended planters filled with vibrant, blossoming flowers, it was the perfect place to relax and enjoy the morning. In hindsight, maybe a smaller table would've been more appropriate. "I've never had anypony call me madam before, though. You can call me Turquoise if you like!" Frowning to herself for a moment, she quickly pushed a few more chairs out. "... just in case more ponies show up. Looks like everyone's out enjoying the weather!"

Switchblade sat down on a chair and looked at the fountain "It certainly is a beautiful day." he said in agreement "I've already seen a large amount of ponies enjoying it, I guess the weather team must have scheduled rain for sometime this week." Switchblade went to drink his tea then stopped "Where are my manners. The names Switchblade, pleasure to meet you Turquoise." he took a sip of his tea while looking at all the ponies relaxing in the sun, he then looked over at a filly who was downing a still steaming latte "That can't be healthy for the stomach." he said to himself.

Nikki giggled as the liquid settled into her stomach, warming her insides with a pleasant sensation. She downed the last dregs of her beverage before compacting the cup and observing it for a moment. Then she started playing with the cup, bending it this way and that with her magic, until it resembled more a paper flower than a paper cup. Satisfied with her work, she lit the intricate paper art on fire, watching the ashes float away into nothing. A red glint flashed across her icy blue eyes as she destroyed the flower, but disappeared when she realized she was being watched.

With a big, super-caffeine-charged smile on her face, she turned to face the ponies who would surely become her friends, if only for a day. Of course, it was just instinct. A day was certain, though. She was going back to school the next day, and, whoever these ponies were, they would probably forget her the next time she showed up back at home in Ponyville.

"Hiya!" she said, bouncing over and plopping down in the seat across from the mare. "Haven't seen you around, buuuut... I remember you, Switchy! I was in a tree, remember?" She waved. "Welcome to Ponyville, Miss!"

Bubblegum bounced into the cafe humming joyously without noticing the inquisitive stares of the crowd. This place was a hit in ponyville, she was told it brew the most delicious coffee in Equestria, at least that's what her landlord had said, she had practically halted the search for a residence just to get a sip of this so called legendary coffee.

She leaned over to the barista, "One coffee parfait, please!" she called out in a singsong tone.

"What on earth is a coffee parfait? Either you get a coffee or a parfait, we don't sell mix!" the stallion frowned, "and for your information, we don't sell parfaits."

"What about coffee milkshake? Oh please tell me you make that!"

The barista sighed, "aye, that could be made, it's been a while since any pony had ordered that."

"Yay!" Bubblegum sang through her laughter.

Once her milkshake was served she balanced it on her head and skipped to the tables only to find out none were empty, so she simply went over to a partial empty table of a mare, a stallion and a filly, "can i share a table with you guys?"

Turquoise was already talking happily to Switchblade when the new ponies began to arrive. "Pleasure to meet you, too! I didn't realise Ponyville had its own weather team, but I guess that explains the clear skies... do you live here, then?"

Taking another sip from her coffee, the unicorn smiled. Only a few hours in Ponyville, and the residents were already more welcoming than those of the other places she'd visited. Nice weather, temperate forests... The unicorn grinned, momentarily forgetting she had company. This place was great!

"... to Ponyville, miss!" Turquoise jumped, looking around for the chirpy voice's owner.

"O-oh, thanks!" she replied quickly, finally noticing the filly. "You can call me Turquoise if you like, or Turq! Everypony here is really formal, heh..." Blinking sleepily, she tried to turn her head away from the rising sun. The stunning colours of Ponyville's sunrise had already faded away into soft, blue hues above, leaving the scorching sun to rise higher in the sky. "Glad to see somepony's energetic alrea-"

A voice from behind distracted her for a moment. Looking up and spotting Bubblegum, she smiled reassuringly. "Sure! I didn't realise this cafe was so popular..." Soft, blue sparkles surrounded one of the empty chairs, pushing it out invitingly. "Do you know each other?"

Switchblade nodded his head "Ponyville's weather team sure is one of the most efficient I've seen in all my travels, but quite a few of them are volunteers. Quite a few of us take part time jobs to help with the area, take me, for example." he places a black metal cog on the table, it gleams with some kind of magic "One part of my life is as a cogsmith, that's a job that combines arcane enchantment, blacksmithing, and inventing; I use it to create things from amazingly strong metal to complete clockwork structures." he then drew a curved scimitar out of its sheath and lay it on the table "And the other aspect of my life is as a guard, I've been doing this job since I moved here around a year ago."

He stopped talking and looked up at the newcomers, he smiled while flipping his right goggle lens up "Oh sorry, I didn't realise it was you, Nikki, how have you been?" he asked, holding out a hoof to brohoof the filly, he was sure that's what cool ponies did. He turned to the last mare and nodded "Good morning Ma'am."

"Alright, Miss Turq!" Nikki said, grinning. Seeing Switchblade's hoof raised, she examined it for a moment before giving a hearty brohoof. Of course, it was a totally geeky thing to do, and she'd be so embarrassed if anyone from school had caught her doing it to an adult, but school was a full train ride away. Anyways, Nikki never got embarrassed. EMBARRASSMENT IS FOR THE WEAK!!

Nikki caught sight of the scimitar sitting on the table, and she lit up (again).

"Oooh! Sharp things! Look, I have sharp things, too!"

Nikki pulled two katanas from behind her back from seemingly nowhere and plopped them on the table for all to admire. They were from her Nightmare Night ninja costume from a few years back, but they were as real as could be, and as wickedly sharp as possible.

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