A Star Pony Tale

by BlondeSky

Sorting

Chapter 19

Sorting

After Astro had put her things in her room she followed Sail down the left hallway and almost to the back one. She turned just before it into one of the openings leading into the center rooms. Inside a large assortment of filing cabinets were arranged in several rows. A large box made of blue crystalline Astral Stone stood in one corner. Multiple star ponies walked through the rows and would grab a paper from one of the cabinets before then trotting off into the room behind them. "This room, and the two in front of it are the sorting rooms." Sail explained, "This room is made for holding files as you had probably figured out. The two behind it are where we all have our working stations. We divide the wishes up amongst the workers of our division based on who we think has the right personality or abilities. It's important to try and get to know the ponies in your division. But of course sorters in the same division can work together, and we normally do. It's hardly exciting, but I thought that you might find it interesting. This would be different from what you're used to however as this isn't just factual information it's slightly more complicated than that."

She led Astro into the room immediately behind it where several desks were arranged and the different ponies in them were conversing and passing around papers. Every now and again when it looked like a decision was reached the paper was put in an envelope and a name was written on it. Some of the ponies waved to Sail as she walked in and she would nod respectfully in return. Some of them shot questioning glances at Astro and she lowered her head in embarrassment. "Do not worry. They are simply confused since they have never seen you before. Like I said, it is important that sorters get to know all the ponies here so a new face is very important." Sail promised noticing her discomfort.

"Okay." she replied still feeling nervous.

"Come, the station for our sector is in the furthermost room." she finished leading her through that room and into the one directly behind it.

That room was fairly similar to the one in front of it in terms of set up. It had the same arrangement of desks and the ponies were going about their business in a similar way. They were talking to each other as they passed around papers and trying to decide who would be the best fit for whatever task. Then, just as the others, when a decision was reached the paper was put in an envelope which was then labeled with said pony's name. The two's reception however was very different. As opposed to a few waves of acknowledgement from the previous group there were several calls of greeting and multiple ponies walked up to say hello. Also, while in the other room she had received confused looks there she was given smiles and waves from the crowd. As ponies walked up to greet Sail they greeted her as well. "Oh! You must the little filly that Sail's been telling us about!" one of them cried upon seeing her as they ruffled her mane. Several more followed with a similar statement and she pulled back slightly as she was feeling rather overwhelmed. Sail noticed and put a protective hoof in front of her that she gladly took shelter behind.

"She is still adjusting to this environment. Could you all please give her a moment?" she requested politely.

"Oh of course." a pony muttered.

"Yeah, c'mon guys. Let's give her some space." another chimed in.

"Thank you." Sail replied with a respectful nod. Some offered positive smiles before returning to their work. They were trying to be nonchalant, but many continued to shoot glances her way. Sail turned to her as well offering her a small nuzzle of reassurance. "I'm sorry about that. They were very eager to meet you when I told them about you. I promise you that they were just excited, that is all. They are all very kind ponies that I'm sure you'd love to meet. Now that the initial enthusiasm is passed I'm sure the atmosphere will be much calmer." she promised as she pulled her hoof away from the filly's front. Astro nodded even if she was still slightly nervous.

Sail walked forward to an empty desk where she took a seat in the chair behind it. Astro remained standing next to her as there was not a second chair for her to sit in. Sail didn't miss a beat before calling, "Could I get another chair over here?" Rather swiftly one of her comrades grabbed a seat for the filly to use and brought it over.

"Thank you ma'am." she said gratefully to the unicorn mare who had brought it over.

"Course dear." she replied with a grin and Astro offered one in return before taking her seat.

"So what happens now?" she asked turning to face Sail.

"Hm?" she replied looking up from the paper on her desk. "Well now I just look through my papers that I have here and then join the circle. We've almost always done this as a collaborative effort. It is never unwise to look at multiple points of view. It also much more enjoyable when we talk as we work."

"And you're all doing the same thing?" she questioned curious.

"Yes, while we all have different wishes given to us it helps to pick the best runner when we work together. It helps very much in the department of quality if not in speed." she explained. Astro nodded in understanding before Sail continued. "I must get to work now which means that I will be conversing with my comrades and they will be excited to speak to you. Don't be intimidated by their enthusiasm, because enthusiasm is all that it is." she promised with an encouraging smile and a soft nuzzle.

With that Sail turned to the stack of papers in front of her and quickly read through its contents. "I mean no offense to you Astro, but I don't believe you will be able to help me in this at this point. My job is to match the personality and skills of a pony to the task to be completed. You have yet to meet essentially everypony aside from me so you wouldn't have the ability to assist me yet. Of course as the time passes and you have started to meet the ponies here I am sure you would be a great help. Today though you are simply here to observe the work. You may leave whenever you wish. I will not keep you here longer than you wish to stay. I will however send you off to sleep once the hours grow late and you need to rest." she finished turning her gaze to the filly in search of a nod of affirmation. She quickly received it from her. After that no more exchange of conversation was had between them.

Sail went to work with the rest of her colleagues and, just as she was told, Astro observed it all in a dutiful silence. Just as all of the others they passed papers around discussing possible ponies who could perform the task. It was interesting for her however to watch Sail as she worked with the others as she had never seen her in such a situation before. It didn't cast any new light on her however as she was just as she normally was. Her presence was not overbearing and she only periodically entered the discussion to politely lay out her opinion on one's suggestion or offer her own proposal. She was very reserved about it as she only offered up her voice if it was clear that she felt a real need to. For the most part she just watched the conversation happen. When asked questions she would simply offer up quick to the point answers that were kept as short as possible. She was more of a spectator than an avid participator. Still, it was obvious if you watched her that she was hearing and analyzing everpony's various statements.

In the end the filly found herself performing a similar ritual as she watched all of the participants' dialogue and silently filed away their different tendencies in her mind. She experienced a silent shock as she realized what she was doing. It hadn't even been a conscious effort, but she had been sorting the ponies in the circle the same way that they were doing for the ponies of their division. Practice makes perfect right, she reasoned with herself as she resumed her task. It was an interesting experience for her as Sail had promised. While it was not dissimilar to what she had done previously the information that she was sorting was quite different. She very much enjoyed listening to them work through the numerous requests.

As she continued to observe she found it quite clear that each and every pony in the room was very familiar with their work. They all were quick to suggest several different candidates and shoot some down by listing different factors of said pony's personality or offering up a quirk of theirs that might cause an issue. She felt as though she was getting to know the entire division right there without having ever even seen any of them. In her own opinion she would be more than ready to join the discussions after having just listened to a good number. It took little effort for her to remember the words said and she was certain that she could draw the information forth if need be. It wasn't too long before she started to mentally think up her own ideas as possibilities were discussed. She was still aware of course that there was still a great deal of information that she wasn't privy to, but that didn't stop her enjoyment at silently offering a mental suggestion.

It hadn't been nearly long enough before she saw Sail glance at a clock on the wall and then turn to her clearly intent on sending her off to bed. She moved to stand, but Astro waved her off and turned to leave. The rest of the ponies were too engaged in their conversation to notice the two ponies' silent exchange. Sail raised an eyebrow in question at her intent on going off to bed on her own. She just smiled largely in an attempt to reassure her that she was fine to get there by herself and get to sleep. She had no intention to pull Sail away from her work or make her departure a scene. Sail just pulled her in for a moment and offered a slight kiss on the forehead. Astro then waved and trotted off to her room. A proud smile decorated her face as she found her way there all on her own and tucked herself into bed waiting to tackle the next day of school and enjoy another session of sorting afterwards.