***Day 5, Tuesday, morning***
*beep beep beep beep beep beep*
*click*
Well, there’s my signal that things are gaining a semblance of normalcy. Why did I even set that thing anyway? It’s my first day on the job but I could have slept in later if it was just that…it was something yellow…Fluttershy? A nice thought, but not the correct one at this time… it was more of a golden yellow…hmm…Oh I remember! This morning, I’m making waffles!
I make my way out of my bed and narrowly avoid running head first into the bookshelf where Specter is sleeping, due to the fact that not exactly stable on my hooves in the first few minutes I’m awake. I make my way down the stairs and dig around for the waffle mix. It's just the usual add water kind, but they're better than frozen at least. I break out the waffle iron and soon the smell of the golden delicacy wakes up the other two occupants of the house. A short time later finds Hydro and I sitting at the table with our waffles with Specter sitting on top of the table next to me.
Hydro looks up from his waffle for a moment, “You know you’re spoiling him right?” He nods in Specter’s direction.
I look over at Specter and his pecan mini waffle I made for him, “I know.”
Hydro rolls his eyes. “So how did you know Blueberry was my favorite waffle?”
I shrug, “Just a guess.”
“Good to see our weird mental link coming in handy.”
“Limited and spontaneous usage but it has never been a bad thing.”
He nods, “True that.”
Not much else of note happens at the house this morning, finish eating, clean dishes, clean self, grab stuff, and go to the clinic. It’s when I get to the clinic that things get interesting.
I walk through the front door and see Manila putting some files away while grabbing a few more. I clear my throat to get her attention.
Her ears stand up at the noise as she looks up sharply, but soon grows a smile on her face, “Oh good morning Doctor!”
I raise an eyebrow at her while maintaining a friendly smile, “Ms. Manila I thought we discussed this? As long as there are no patients around I prefer to keep it casual.”
She giggles, “Oh alright, well then, I ask that you do the same for me then.”
I nod, “Fair enough, now then, is the paperwork in order?”
She pats the stack of papers on the welcome desk, “Yes, I’ll call Dr. Goodall and we can all sit down and discuss the final details of you working here.”
“Excellent.”
Dr. Goodall arrives from the back in short order and she and I exchange greetings while Manila grabs a schedule and clipboard. However, something stops us before we can get down to business.
Dr. Goodall glances toward my bag and freezes for a moment, “Hey, why is your bag moving?”
“Hmm?” I look at my bag and something does indeed seem to be moving inside of it.
I bet I know who that is.
I open my bag and, low and behold, Specter is in there looking up at me. He climbs out and up my foreleg to his spot on my head. Once he gets comfortable I look back at Dr. Goodall and Manila who were just sitting there looking at Specs.
Well, nothing I can do about it now, might as well play it off as casual and hope for the best.
I gesture to the squirrel, “Dr. Goodall, Manila, I’d like you to meet Specter, my pet flying squirrel.”
They simply stare for what seems like ages until Manila makes the first move.
And by first move I mean she exploded. “OH MY GOSH HE’S SO CUTE! Can I hold him please?”
I recoil from her outburst but nod affirmatively, “Alright Manila but be careful.”
Specter looks down at me and he and I have an unspoken discussion about that decision.
‘Do I have to?’
‘You did sneak to work with me, besides she’s nice it won’t be bad.’
Specter climbs down and he and Manila play around a bit while Dr. Goodall and I watch.
I scratch the back of my head with a hoof as I remark to the other doctor, “Sorry about this Dr. Goodall, I didn’t think he’d try to come to work with me, though in hind sight he is very attached to me so I probably should have.”
She simply smiles while watching the two play, “Oh, don’t worry about it, my sister has always loved playing with animals.”
I look at her quizzically, “Manila’s your sister?”
She raises an eyebrow at me, “Didn’t you notice the similarities?”
“I probably would have eventually.” Unless I’m looking for it normally it tends to take me a while to recognize these things.
We watch for about five more minutes until we remember what we were doing before Specter was introduced. We then call Manila back over and Specter perches himself back on my head to watch. We talk at length about hours and eventually decide that since there were two of us now we could afford to work shorter shifts with me working the morning shift until a little after noon, Dr. Goodall coming in around noon and staying for the evening shift, and Manila arriving at around midmorning and staying till about midevening. Apparently this was better for everypony as we could work shorter shifts while actually extending business hours and having two doctors during the noon overlap when most patients tended to come in. It’s true Dr. Goodall and I would have to run the place ourselves in the early morning or late evening respectively, but Manila said ponies rarely come in then anyway. Then comes a last bit of surprise business from Dr. Goodall.
She looks at me seriously, “Now Rhino, about Specter…”
Uh oh.
“I would like it if you would bring him to work with you.”
What?
My eyes widen in surprise, “Really?”
She smiles at my expression, “Don’t look so surprised, he's quite the well behaved one and the clinic could always use a mascot for our image. That, and he seems like the type of critter that would find ways to tag along with you to work whether he has permission or not.”
All incredibly valid points… that and I’m the kind of pony who probably wouldn’t even get mad at him for tagging along since I’ve already got a soft spot for him… Wow, I’m a bit of a pushover about some things aren’t I? At least I stand my ground for the serious stuff.
I look up at Specter who seems to be paying more attention since he heard his name. “Well Specter what do you think? Want to keep me company here at work?”
In response he simply jumped from my head to Dr. Goodall’s to Manila’s and back to mine.
I continue looking at him with a straight face, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
We spend a few more minutes finalizing the details before Dr. Goodall heads home until she needs to come back in later in the day. Manila proceeds to give me a tour, Specter running up and down my back the whole time. Once that’s done I put on the classic white coat and settle in for my shift while Specter heads up front with Manila to fulfill his new duties as mascot.
That’s what they want me to think anyway, I know those two just want to play.
The shift goes by fairly fast, a few flea medicine refills, and the classic stomach upset by sugar. Some ponies just forget sometimes that pets can’t stand as many sweets as we can. Dr. Goodall comes back at noon, I get a chuckle out of her by calling her ma’am, followed by a short little speech from her explaining how no pony is technically the boss here so calling her ma’am only makes her feel old. A short time and two daisy-and-tomato sandwiches for lunch later and my first day on the job is a success.
As I walk out the door with Specter in his usual spot I see two familiar unicorns headed my way, Rarity and Voltage Surge to be exact, though Volt seems to just be tagging along while Rarity has that “mare on a mission” look.
The white mare hails me as soon as she spots me, “Rhino, there you are darling!”
I tilt my head slightly in greeting, “Hello Rarity, were you coming the clinic?”
“In a manner of speaking, I heard from Mr. Surge that you worked here and I came to ask if you and he could retrieve Hydro from the dam and then if you could all come meet me at Carousel Boutique.” She points to an elegant building at the end of the street.
I nod, “Certainly Rarity, but might I ask why the sudden invitation?”
She gives a ladylike giggle, “Why that would ruin the surprise! Suffice to say I had a fabulous idea and it requires all of you to be present.”
I accept that answer, “Very well, I look forward to seeing what you have in store.”
“Ta-taa for now then.” She trots back towards the boutique.
Volt and I simply look at each other, shrug, then head out towards the dam with me leading the way as Volt has not been there yet. I decide to break the silence as we trot.
“So, any thoughts as to why she’s so excited?”
Volt answers with a casual air, “I have no idea, she caught me as I was coming back from the mayor’s office after discussing Ponyville’s electrical system. She pretty much rushed me then asked if I knew where you worked. You can guess the rest.”
I suppose I never specifically told Rarity where I work, still she seemed to manage alright.
Volt and I make our way to the dam just chatting while I’m fairly certain Specter fell asleep on my head. I slowly get more comfortable with Volt, he seems like a nice guy and fairly laid back, though he is a bit talkative when he gets on a topic he knows a lot about. We arrive at the entrance to the dam and Volt proceeds to knock, wait 2 seconds, then kick open the door, startling Hydro who was working on something, causing a bolt to ping off and fly towards us. Volt ducks, and I catch it with my magic which he could have probably done too if he had thought of it.
Wish I would have known he was going to try that, I would have warned him against it seeing as kicking down the door to somepony’s work is generally considered rude and, in this case with all the machinery around, stupid and dangerous.
Some irritated words by Hydro, followed by some apologetic ones from Volt, and we were able to explain why we were there. Well, I explained while Volt was observing the aspects of the dam and Hydro was watching him mumbling forebodingly. Hydro finishes up a few essentials and all of us set off.
A brisk walk later finds us all arriving at the apparently famous Carousel Boutique.
Certainly lives up to its namesake I suppose.
We walk in to see Rarity sipping tea while reading a fashion magazine, waiting for us I would guess. She looks up as she hears the door and her eyes light up as we come in and take a look around.
She smiles at the sight of us, “Wonderful! You’re all here.”
Curious, I decide to ask the question on our minds, “So what’s this about Rarity?”
She sets her magazine down as she walks over to us, “Well, seeing as you three gentlecolts are new in town, I thought I’d give each of you a gift of your choice to be custom made by me, no charge.”
Generous.
She continues, “Seeing as you are from out of town though, if anypony from Ponyville or otherwise asks you where you received your new ensembles, be sure to point them my direction alright darlings?”
Generous but business savvy, I’m okay with this.
“Sounds like a win for everypony.” I respond.
“I’ve got nothing against free.” Hydro seems to like it as well.
“Awesome.” Volt agrees too.
Rarity levitates a pair of red glasses onto her face as well as bringing over a few large sheets of planning paper, “Glad to see all of you so agreeable, now the question is, what does each of you want?”
Well, I did say I was going to come here for this anyway…
I pose a question, “Do you do hats Rarity?”
She nods, “I certainly do.”
“Well then, I would like a fedora if that’s alright.”
Hydro thinks for a moment, “I’d like a Stetson like Applejack’s except black.”
Volt looks at us, “So we’re going hats then? Ok, I want a fez!”
…Really?
Rarity looks at Volt with a skeptical face, “A…fez? Are you sure?”
He nods his head eagerly, “Of course! Fezzes are cool.”
Her hesitation is only momentary as she begins to sketch something on her sheets, “Very well, let me get a quick head measurement for each of you and they shall be done momentarily.”
She measures Volt and Hydro, though when she gets to me she receives a bit of a scare when her tape measure wakes up Specter, whom she hasn’t met yet.
“Oh my apologies Rarity, this is Specter,” I said, gesturing at the squirrel in question.
She looks at him a little worriedly, “Oh… umm… well I certainly did not expect something like him to be in your mane. I just hope he and Opal get along.”
“Opal?”
She explains, “Opalessence, my cat. She mostly keeps to herself but she can be a bit… mean spirited to some… and tends to come in right as I’m finishing one of my projects but ignores me afterwards.”
Sounds like your typical full-of-themselves cat. I suppose the whole feline and rodent thing may cause problems but I’ll make sure it won’t go too bad.
She holds up a hoof, “For example let me put the last few feathers on this headdress here.”
She was starting work on what I would assume to be our hats in the time we were talking so that fact that she simply picks up another project to finish simultaneously says wonders about her multitasking skills. Sure enough though, as soon as she starts working on one of those huge feathery hats some mares seem so fond of, a white Persian cat walks in and starts pawing at Rarity for attention.
I lean down toward it, “I take it you’re Opalessence then?”
The cat gives me a flat stare, “Meow”
I continue speaking to it, “Well now Opal, why don’t you come over here with us so Rarity can finish her little project?”
Opal gave me a look that clearly said ‘Because I don’t want to.’
“Now, now Opal this isn’t about you, this is about Rarity’s giant hat.”
Another look, ‘This better be worth my time’
Rarity looks over at us while Opal is walking our way, “Thank you darling, the hats should be finished in a moment now.”
“Take your time.” I reply as Opal winds her way around mine and Hydro’s legs. She hisses and takes a few swipes in Volts direction, so I guess he doesn’t make the cut.
Things get tense for a moment when Specter climbs down to my back to see what this new furry thing around my legs was. Opal just glares at him for a moment before slowly showing her teeth.
Okay I’m stopping this before it goes any further.
I turn to Opal and give her one of my serious glares, essentially saying ‘You will do nothing to harm him, or else.’ I figure she might put up a little resistance but she backs off and simply looks away from Specs.
I guess she’s not too used to ponies actually bothering to look her in the eye and tell her what’s what with no room for interpretation.
We sit around a few more minutes, Opal mostly hanging around Hydro but coming over to me a few times as well. The few times Volt tries to play with Opal almost earn him a nose to match his ear. Finally we hear Rarity call us over to see the finished work.
All of us love them.
Volt puts on his fez, a traditional red one with golden tassel, and goes to the mirror.
Still wondering about his taste in headwear but to each his own, maybe it’s an acquired taste.
Hydro flips on the black Stetson and loves it.
It really does seem to suit him, though the mental image of him working in that still brings a chuckle.
Finally I don my new black fedora with red ribbon just above the brim.
Wow, I look good, this will probably match my suit at home too now that I think about it.
I turn to Specter, “What do you think buddy?”
Specter gives me a thumbs up. Though I notice Rarity looking at him in the corner of my eye.
She speaks slowly, as if she is doing some serious thinking, “Rhino, might I have that hat back a moment?”
“Uh, sure Rarity,” I levitate it over to her while goes back to her work area.
Huh, wonder what that was about.
I look back at the other two who are still looking in the mirrors, Opal had wandered off. After about 30 seconds Rarity comes back in with a smile on her face.
“Here you are darling,” She levitates the fedora onto my head, “And here’s a little something for you Specter,” she levitates a mini version of my fedora onto Specter. “There, you all look marvelous!”
I straighten my hat with my magic, “Thank you Rarity, you do amazing work you know that?”
“Oh you,” She waves a hoof.
I look back at Specter in his new hat, he seems to like it a lot, he holds his head higher and everything.
Fedoras, now approved by squirrels.
I tip my hat to the unicorn mare, “Alright Rarity I guess we’ll be going then, it was very nice talking to you and thanks for the gifts!”
We all head out the door and start walking away from the boutique wearing our new duds.
Hmm… I have an idea. Time for one of my rare spur of the moment things.
I remark to the others, “Hey guys I have an idea…”
Hydro gets a quip in, “Thanks for letting us know, now mind telling us what it is?”
I roll my eyes at him, “How about you two head back to the house, I’ll go grab some things, and tonight I treat you to my famous lasagna?”
Volt looks at Hydro, “Is it really that good?”
Hydro gives him a flat stare, “If it was a dessert you would give up pie for life to eat it.”
“Woah.”
Aww shucks, thanks Hydro.
I split off from the two and start up Res, with a little extra on the inside of my hat to keep it from blowing off. I head into town and pick up a few extra tomatoes, some noodles, and some spices I had neglected to get the other day because I was worried more about quick meals than cooking.
I arrive home and find Hydro and Volt discussing possible ways to improve the town’s hydroelectric system with each of them contributing their own expertise, meaning Hydro talks about ways to produce the energy and Volt talks about how to apply it. Specter headed up to bed. About two hours later sees us all eating my lasagna, and loving every second of it. Volt actually acknowledges that if it were a dessert the lasagna would be damn close to making him give up pie, but not quite. We talk a bit afterwards, Hydro somehow recruiting Volt into grilling me about Fluttershy leading to a red face on my part and falling off chairs laughing on theirs. Later, Volt heads back to his apartment and I settle down in bed to read a little before sleep while Hydro goes to fiddle with some machinery on his workbench.
And all is right with the world. Then Specter farts himself awake and totally breaks the mood.