//------------------------------// // Job at the Library // Story: A Tale of Equestrian Proportions // by DitzyDerpy1992 //------------------------------// I woke in the morning with sun beaming through my window. I stretched and sat up and opened the curtains. It was still early and I knew Robbie wouldn’t be up so I ran myself a bath while thinking about my plans for the day. I levitated my toothbrush to my mouth and admired my wild morning mane in the mirror. After rinsing my toothbrush I sank into the warm water of the bath. It relaxed me as my muscles felt tense and sore from all of the walking the day before. I sighed and wondered what Robbie’s plans for the day were. He had mentioned something about getting a job so he would probably be out doing that most of the day which meant I had a day to myself. I also needed to find work so I might as well do the same as Robbie and just ask around all day. Maybe Rarity needed some help at Carousel Boutique? Or even better maybe I could work with Twilight over at the Library. I would have to see though. Jobs were rather scarce in this part of Equestria. Pulling myself from the bathtub I pulled the plug and brushed my mane. Turning off the light on the way out, I made my way down to the kitchen. Robbie was still asleep by the looks of things. I opened a cupboard and looked at all the sugar filled treats that we had bought yesterday. The amount of sugar would make me feel sick at this time in the morning so I opened the fridge and chose to have a couple of carrots and an apple. I always enjoyed Sweet Apple Acres apples, they were always so juicy and full of flavour. Clearing up after myself I spotted the paper over on the sofa and decided to give the job section a little look over. “There really isn’t much is there?” I said to myself while browsing the small amount of ads placed. But I couldn’t get my hopes down too much. It was a weekly paper after all so maybe some new jobs had come up and the ad hadn’t been printed yet. I folded the paper and put it on the kitchen table. Still no sign of Robbie, maybe he had got an early start to find a job? Interrupting the thought was a clear knock on the front door. I turned the key and opened the door to see the cheery grey Pegasus that Robbie loved so much standing in front of me. “I brought you a letter!” Said Ditzy happily handing over a large, white envelope addressed to me. “Thanks Ditzy” I smiled at her and took the envelope from her. I had had a couple of previous interactions with Ditzy but none that really lasted that long. “So did your friend arrive yet? I remember you saying he would be arriving within a week last time I saw you” She asked him fastening the muffin shaped clasp on her mail bag then turning to look at me. “Oh yeah!” I had forgotten that I mentioned that to her “He’s here right now although I think he’s still in bed. Kind of early for him to get up after such a long journey you know.” “Ah yeah I get like that after making long distance deliveries, well I’ll see you later Matt, I have a lot of letters that need delivered!” She cheerily said as she turned to make her way down the front path. “See you soon Ditzy! You should come by soon to meet Robbie he’s looking to make some new friends here.” I knew Robbie would love to meet Ditzy and that it would probably make his day or in fact, maybe make his year! “Sure I’ll drop by again sometime. Bye Matt!” She spread her wings and a little less that gracefully took to the air to continue her day. I closed the door and made my way to the sofa to see who would be writing me. It was only the lease contract for renting the cottage so I carefully signed it and put it somewhere for Robbie to add his signature to later. There was a loud thud from upstairs that let me know that Robbie had finally woken up and had probably forgotten about being a pony. A few moments later he emerged from upstairs with his mane a mess and looking rather groggy. “Forget you were a Pegasus now?” I asked him as he walked over to where I was sitting. “Yep, tried to stand on 2 legs and fell face first onto the floor” He replied rubbing the side of his face. He trotted through to the kitchen and I heard him rummaging for some breakfast and before long he had returned with a blueberry muffin and an apple. “You need to sign this contract for the lease of the house. Just a basic contract but the house is in both our names so we both need to sign it” He looked up from his muffin with crumbs all over his muzzle and took the contract and signalled for the quill and ink with a mouthful of muffin. He swallowed the mouthful and began to sign the contract in a horrible scrawl with his mouth. “Guess I need to practice my writing a little bit” he sighed looking at his horrible signature. “What’s your plans for today anyway Matt? I’m going job hunting and will probably try to learn to fly a little bit.” Taking another bite of his muffin he browsed the job section of the paper again sighing slightly at what little jobs there were. “I was planning on doing the same, except not learning how to fly.” I replied jokingly as he gave me a look as if to say “Well duh.” “Well I’m going to speak to Big Mac about this helper they need at Sweet Apple Acres. You seen anything that takes your fancy?” He began to tuck into his apple and looked over at me. “Nothing in the paper but I’m going to just ask around and see if anyone knows of anything and I’d better get started soon its nearly 10 O’clock” I said standing up and heading to the front door. “See you later man!” Robbie called from the kitchen with a mouthful of apple. “Good luck at Sweet Apple Acres!” I called back as I closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath of the fresh air. It seemed so much cleaner and crisper than anything back on earth. Trotting to the front gate I turned and headed towards the centre of town. I passed many ponies going around their business and greeted a few that I had seen before as I walked towards the Library. This was the first time I had ever met Twilight and I have to say I was nervous. I opened the door and entered. It was eerily quiet and there was no sign of Twilight or Spike. “Hello? Is anypony there?” I called out hoping she was about. “One moment please!” I heard from the other room followed by some loud bangs and thumps. A moment later I saw the purple unicorn step out through the doorway levitating several books above her head. “Oh! Hello there! Sorry I was busy finding books for somepony. Can I help you with something?” Twilight asked me politely. She had a slight smile on her face as she placed the books down on the centre table in the room. “Yes actually I was wondering if you needed an assistant around the library, I love reading and I could organize the books very well” I replied walking over to the central table. Twilight had stacked the books neatly in a stack and was magically tying some string around them to hold them together. “I could use a little help but it would only be for a few days a week to give Spike a few days off… Oh I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Twilight Sparkle” she held out a hoof towards me and I shook it. “I’m Matt and I just moved into town and was looking for work so I thought I would try here” I smiled at her and she wandered over to a shelf and started to compile another small collection of books which she stacked neatly on the table. “Oh I thought I hadn’t seen your face before. Do you stay nearby or are you across the other side of town?” She turned to face him and sat down on a nearby cushion. “I’m quite near, only a 15 minute walk away or so.” I took a seat near Twilight and we spent a long while discussing the organization methods and what my job would entail. I have never seen anypony be so organised. The books had to be arranged first by category, then sub-category and finally alphabetically. It was difficult to get the hang of but I’m sure that once I had it mastered I would be fine. Twilight even gave me a trial run with a couple of customers. Carrot Top visited to see if Twilight had any books on how to make her carrots bigger and juicier and I was allowed to help her find what she was looking for. I have to say I think I did a rather good job of it as well. In between bits of training we talked about the cottage that Robbie and I rented, Twilight knew the street as it was on the way to Fluttershy’s cottage. Twilight was even kind enough to make me lunch when the time came. It was a hearty lunch of apple pie and some form of salad which was delicious. After a few hours of learning the system and getting everything in order it was time for the library to close. We sorted out all the returned books and I swept up the floor then said my goodbyes and thank you to Twilight. “Can you come back in tomorrow to help out? Spike hasn’t had a day off in quite a while” I was asked before I left and I said that I would and would be there bright and early. Then I set off towards home as the sun began to set. The walk home was uneventful and I wondered if Robbie had had any luck at Sweet Apple Acres. I’m sure I would hear all about it when I got home but right now I felt like taking a walk through the park, which wasn’t a long detour home but it would occupy a little more time. Plus I enjoyed walks in the park and the night time here was so beautiful. As I made my way through the wrought metal gates into the park it was getting slightly late and parents and foals were leaving to go home and the only people left were older ponies enjoying the warm evening in the company of friends. Some ate picnics and some were just playing and having fun. It was such a peaceful place amongst all the trees and flowers. The air was almost fragrant with the smell of flowers. It was refreshing and I enjoyed the feeling of the soft grass under my hooves. I decided to have a lie down on the grass and enjoy the evening a little more. I watched the sun set over the mountains which was a sight to behold no matter how many times you had seen it, such vibrant reds and oranges, with not a single cloud in the sky. The grass was soft beneath me and I saw a few ponies that I knew walking past but none stopped to chat. They were probably on their way home to get a good night’s rest. I figured it was probably time to do the same as the sun had now set and Robbie would probably be wondering where I was. The rest of the walk barely took any time at all. Seemed like it took only a few minutes but I knew it had been longer as it was night time as I got home. Stepping through the door I was greeted with the smell of cooking apples and other assorted vegetables and fruits. I walked through to the kitchen and Robbie was cooking a meal that looked fit for Celestia herself. “That smells amazing!” I said as I walked over to the wood burning stove to admire what he was cooking. A pot full of vegetables in a tomato sauce with herbs blended in was a treat to the nostrils and would most likely be a treat to the taste buds as well. “I managed to find a stall owned by an Italian sounding pony at the market today that was selling pasta so I bought some with the money I earned at Sweet Apple Acres today.” Robbie said obviously proud of what he had managed to prepare with a lack of hands. “But Big Mac said all though I was a hard worker I probably wasn’t cut out for working on the orchards but he did put me in contact with a regular customer who owns a local Radio Station and I went and asked in there and they were looking for someone to help out in the studio with certain programmes!” “Wow been a busy day for you then.” I said taking a seat at the table as Robbie served up the pasta. He placed the bowl down in front of me and we both tucked in to a very filling meal. It tasted as amazing as it smelled. Onions, peppers, carrot and many more vegetables made my mouth water as I was eating it. And it seemed like he had prepared dessert as well. He fried up some fresh apple fritters with berries and orange zest through it and boy were they delicious! I would have asked for seconds had I not been so full. Robbie quickly cleared up all the plates and had them washed in a brief period of time after we had finished and we settled down in the living room for the night. Robbie had also bought us some cider and we spent the night having a few drinks and discussing our day. I told him all about my day at the library with Twilight, how I was expected to organise things and what my main job would be in general. Robbie told me how after he had gotten the trial for the next day at the radio station, he had gone to a wide open space to practice flying. He had managed to fly a few feet and he felt more confident that soon he would be able to fly with ease. After a short while we both decided to go to bed as we both had a long day tomorrow. I said goodnight as Robbie stayed downstairs to finish his cider and I climbed up the staircase and practically leapt into my bed. The warmth of my covers and the softness of the mattress engulfed me and soon I found myself drifting off to sleep.