First Day
The sound of an alarm clock was my wake up call as opposed to the soft voice of Fluttershy I had slowly grown accustomed to. I reached for the alarm only to accidentally push it off the night stand, its persistent beeping even after being dropped slowly irritating me.
"Why in Equestria did I set you so early?" I groaned as half of my body hung off the bed while the other half remained covered.
"Oh yeah the job thingy...I should get on that." I said with a yawn.
I was thankful Twilight had the forethought to put a bed in the house. I was grateful to even have a place to stay to begin with. While I enjoyed Fluttershy's company I had never wanted the arrangement we had to be long term.
I ordinarily didn't sleep in any clothing, this morning I regretted such habits once I emerged from the covers. While I was at Fluttershy's I had made an exception and must not have noticed how the temperature was dropping since it always seemed a bit warm in her cottage.
While humans would consider this the normal seasonal change in temperature it was the weather team at work. Animals had to hibernate and there were several other factors that were involved with the gradual drop. It was a sure and steady decline unlike Earth's fickle patterns that would probably drive most weather workers insane.
Once I was dressed and as ready as I could possibly be I looked outside a window to see the moon still out while the stars were starting to fade one by one which I found fascinating. It had to be Luna's doing in preparation for her sister to raise the sun and was interesting to observe until I remembered I had set my alarm early for a reason and left for the post office.
No lights were on from the other houses which made me wonder what exactly, if anything these ponies did. I had expected them to be up around five but apparently that wasn't the case.
As I walked to the post office it dawned on me why I hadn't seen anypony else. There wasn't any traffic in Ponyville, maybe even the entirety of Equestria. It made sense in my world to wake up at ungodly hours to beat rush hour traffic but here such things didn't exist and I mentally kicked myself for not realizing that.
Despite my time spent in this world I was still trying to associate it to Earth. For instance the forecast came in the paper and was one hundred percent accurate thanks to the pegasi. While some might find this a bit boring, I was actually looking forward to a guaranteed white Christmas, or in this case Hearth's Warming Eve if the two could be considered similar.
I noticed the moon finally start to descend from the sky and I was reminded of the time mechanics in some of the Zelda games I played as a kid. I counted myself lucky to have the streets to myself for the moment to watch Luna in action.
As I reached the busier parts of town I noticed a few lights on. It made me feel a bit better about waking up so early. Though traffic might not be an issue here it seemed even ponies had early schedules.
The post office's lights were already on which prompted me to approach the front door and give it a tug to no avail. I found this rather odd since most post offices in my world left their doors unlocked so that people could still get to their boxes.
I walked around back and saw another door which I took the time to knock on this time. The door opened to reveal a grey earth pony who looked up at me with a smile. He had on a small vest with the same postal symbol I had seen on Ditzy Doo's hat and mail bag.
"Yo." he said nonchalantly.
"Sup?" I replied.
"You're that Daniel thingy Crafty Crate was talking about, come in, name's Timber by the way." the earth pony said as I was granted access into the building.
"You already know mine, so I guess we'll skip straight to me asking where everypony else is at?" I asked looking around the building.
"Eh Strong Deck is in the back, Crafty Crate's finishing a cup of coffee." Timber replied as I followed him.
The post office had been much more active when I had been here the first time. Granted it had been during the day when I arrived the first time.
"So what do you do here?" I asked.
"Processing mostly, it's a steady job so I'm not going to complain." Timber replied.
We both turned to the sound of a door opening. Crafty Crate had emerged from his office with a tired expression on his face. He had asked me to be here early while he appeared to have just woken up.
“Well you’re here on time, that’s a start I guess.” the forestallion said looking lazily at the clock.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked as Crafty Crate took another drink from his cup.
“You’ll be with Timber this morning…train should be here in about an hour or so.” Crafty Crate replied.
I had to restrain myself from asking if that was all. It was still pretty early and I didn’t want to push the morning rage button all bosses seemed to have. I was probably doing good to get what information I had gotten out of him given his current posture and expression.
“Yes sir.” I said as he left us to presumably get more caffeine.
“He’s not much of a morning pony so don’t let it get to you.” Timber said motioning for me to follow him.
A cart with a multitude of packages was being brought outside by a taller than average tan earth pony. The pony seemed unfazed by the multitude of items that were in the cart. I could only make assumptions on its weight but there were enough items that it required rope to secure all of them and they weren’t all small boxes either.
“Who’s this?” the earth pony asked looking up at me.
“The new hire. Daniel this is Strong Deck, the handy stallion around here he can fix just about anything.” Timber said.
“You’re a tall bastard huh?” Strong Deck asked.
“I look exactly how I was intended to.” I replied with a shrug making the earth pony laugh.
“This stallion’s okay, come on we’ve got a train to meet.” Strong Deck said as we walked through the still abandoned streets.
As the sun started to rise the occasional pony could be seen leaving their house presumably heading to whatever occupation they held. I waved to Miss Cheerilee who waved back which boosted my confidence a little.
A cold breeze washed across me and I stalled for a split second before mentally forcing myself to continue walking. I shivered not only from the cold temperature, but from that same alien feeling. There had to be a way to stop this from happening,
I was off to a great start this morning…damn you Discord. While I’m thinking about it, I don’t have a jacket of any kind I probably need to talk to Rarity. I thought to myself.
“You okay?” Timber asked.
“Yeah I’m fine.” I replied.
“Okay didn’t know if you went deaf on us.” Timber said.
“I didn’t know you asked a question, I kind of drifted off to my own little world there for a bit.” I admitted.
“Eh no big deal; I was just curious what made you want to work here?” the grey earth pony asked.
“It was Applejack’s idea. I still have a lot to learn about your culture, even if a piece of paper says otherwise.” I said trying to be humble about my recent success. In all honesty though, the others deserved just as much credit if not more for helping me through the test.
“So how do you know Applejack so well?” Strong Deck asked.
“She found me, I owe her and her friends a lot actually.” I replied.
“Oh, that’s cool I guess.” Strong Deck replied sounding a bit disappointed with my answer for some reason.
When we reached the train station I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a train so that we could get started. As much as I hated it, we would have to play the waiting game. I felt like I hadn’t done anything yet and it bugged me a little inside.
My first day back into society, the productive side of it anyways, and I hadn’t done a single thing except show up. I leaned against the side of the station as my disappointment with the current situation built. I may not be the adventurous type, but I’m a firm believer in staying active and that an idle mind and body will start to rot.
An hour passed before the train’s whistle finally sounded in the distance. I was anxious to see what the train looked like up close instead of from a book’s picture. Since I was taller than most doors I was curious how I would measure up to a train and if it would be possible to fit in one.
I was pleasantly surprised at the device’s size when it finally arrived at the station. The doors didn’t seem too small, but as I had expected were still shorter than me. The way the train was designed it looked as if its parts had been made out of candy; a ginger bread train was the best way to describe it.
“You stallions and uh…thingy, here for the shipment?” asked an elderly unicorn.
I rolled my eyes, the “thingy” comments weren’t so much hurtful as they were annoying. I was a species, the only one of my kind in this world, but a species none the less.
“You ask us that every time it’s your shift you know that?” Strong Deck asked.
“I’ll leave you to your work then.” the older unicorn replied ignoring Strong Deck’s question.
Okay time to show these ponies what you’re made of. I thought to myself.
The doors to the shipping car of the train opened to reveal packages that were about as big as the pegasus that hired me. While some of the packages were a little heavy it wasn't too difficult a task, in fact this was easier than working with Applejack which made me a little disappointed.
"You've got that face again." Timber said, looking up at me.
"Sorry, I was just expecting something more fulfilling." I said grabbing two more packages.
"Well if it means anything you're making things a lot quicker." Timber said shouldering off his box onto a cart.
"I guess. Where I'm from though I had a pretty important job so it's kind of a positional adjustment as well." I said as I grabbed the last box.
"Crafty will probably be keeping you, I don't think we've ever finished this early before." said Strong Deck.
"A unicorn or two could probably put me to shame levitating some of this stuff." I said as the items in the cart were secured.
"Unicorns are better at sorting mail, wouldn't want to sully their magic with hard labor." Strong Deck said as he started to pull the cart away from the station while Timber and I followed.
"Their magic is kind of cool though." I said recalling what Harmony had shown me with hers.
"I'm just saying they aren't going to volunteer is all. They're not the strongest lot." Strong Deck said with a snort.
That made a bit more sense. From what I had seen earth ponies were much stronger than the other two races. Harmony had said she had developed her magic to work like sonar which probably took a lot of time and patience. Something that complex probably took a lot of knowledge too.
"So what do we do after this?" I asked changing the subject.
"Since you're being brought on part time I can't really say. Usually Strong Deck and I help with processing which is probably what Crafty Crate will have you do." Timber replied.
We had brought more packages to the station than we had received which made returning the cart easier. I had been dreading what the return trip would be like but as it turned out the streets were only just starting to show signs of life. How late did some of these ponies sleep?
---
"You bozos know that you're supposed to drop off all the outgoing items right?" Crafty Crate asked as we entered the post office.
"We did sir; hope your processing team's ready." Timber said as the forestallion approached the cart.
His expression made it difficult for me to fight back a grin. I didn't want to come off as smug but it was hard not to be when I doubted the pegasus had much faith in me to begin with. When he looked over at me I simply raised my eyebrows twice in quick succession.
"Not bad, since you're here I guess you wouldn't mind helping the others would you?" Crafty Crate asked rhetorically.
Whenever your boss, no matter what species they happen to be, ask you to do something it always seems to be in a tone that doesn't really give you the option of declining. You can decline, but you risk losing your job in doing so which made me wonder why bosses bother asking in the first place?
I shrugged and followed the two earth ponies into a larger room. This didn't seem much more complex from what I had originally been assigned. I guess Crafty Crate intended to see what all I was capable of.
I was stunned to see what appeared to be some sort of scanner which made me scratch my head a bit. Ever since I had arrived I had some difficulty determining how advanced in terms of science these ponies actually are. At times it seemed as if they were caught between the industrial revolution and modern times if I were to compare our two worlds side by side.
"What?" asked a unicorn as I stared at the device.
"I wish you guys would make up your minds." I replied.
"Oookay." said the unicorn that was levitating the scanner over to a box.
Scanning boxes and packages was a bit mundane. The only thing that kept it interesting was the occasional question I would get asked. I was already starting to consider Timber and Strong Deck friends since their personalities were so laid back.
The two earth ponies had attended the welcome party Pinkie Pie had thrown for me. Not all of Ponyville had shown up however, there were still a few ponies that hadn't given into the hype of trusting I wasn't a villain. I didn't really care anymore though since a majority of the town seemed to be at peace with me.
As boring as I may have found the job to be and though it was part time a job is still a job. Even if Fluttershy would never admit it I'm sure she was glad to have her couch back and my back was grateful for the bed I had now.
"Not too shabby." Crafty Crate said sneaking in to check on me.
"Thanks." I said refraining from telling him that helping Applejack had been more interesting and challenging, physically anyways.
"I think we're going to keep you in processing for a while. I might move you eventually but I don't think you're ready for a route yet." the fore stallion said.
"I'm not sure how good I'd be on a route anyways. I don't really know my way around Ponyville just yet." I said.
"You see that mare over there? If she can do it I know you can." Crafty Crate said pointing a hoof at Ditzy Doo.
I hadn't seen her since the incident with Discord which brought out mixed emotions. She had been nice to me when I was a pegasus, but I hadn't seen her at the party which made me wonder what she thought about me as a human.
"Was she bad at it or something?" I asked.
"Nothing like that, just a bit accident prone. She didn't have a good feel of Ponyville either but she's one of my hardest workers now." Crafty Crate replied proudly.
I honestly didn't want a carrier route, not yet anyways. I couldn't get behind the idea of carrying a mail bag around that would probably look more like a purse since it was made to fit a pony.
Crafty Crate eventually left me for the comfort of his office, if a work office could be considered comfortable. Mine had been and I enjoyed being able to close everyone out around me from time to time so I could think better and without distractions.
I looked back over at Ditzy Doo and decided to throw caution to the wind. She would have to meet the real Daniel eventually, or as far as she was concerned the real "Comet Guard" and I didn't want to be friends because of a spell.
"Hey Ditzy." I said having closed the distance between us much sooner than I had anticipated.
"Oh hey there...Daniel right?" Ditzy Doo asked.
"Yep, just thought I would say hi." I replied.
"You've said more than "hi" though." Ditzy said with a giggle.
"Yeah I guess I have huh? I wanted to introduce myself is a better way of phrasing it." I said admiring her wit though I wasn't quite sure if it was intentional or not.
"Well you already know my name though sometimes ponies call me-" Ditzy Doo started to say.
"Derpy." I finished.
"Yeah, but how did you know that?" Ditzy asked a stunned look on her face.
"A friend told me a bit about you actually, he said you were a pretty cool pony." I replied.
"Really? Is it somepony I know?" Ditzy Doo asked smiling.
"Comet Guard said you might remember him, though he had to leave for a trip." I said.
"Oh I remember him, he's the pegasus with the weird cutie mark. I forgot to ask him what it meant. I bet there's an interesting story behind it judging from the looks of it." Ditzy Doo said.
Oh it's an interesting story alright. I thought to myself.
Ditzy Doo looked up at the clock as it alerted all of the staff of the time “Time for me to get going, ponies need their mail delivered!” she said giving a small salute before leaving with a bag of letters.
As she turned around her tail knocked a jar full of pens off a counter which I managed to catch in time before the entire thing spilt its contents onto the floor. Four pens slid out which was enough noise to make the mare turn around and blush at her small blunder.
“My bad...good save though.” Ditzy said before turning around more cautiously this time.
I grinned as I picked up the pens and set the jar back on the counter. I was surprised how my first day had been pretty smooth so far. Normally first days on the job were by nature the days to screw up and ask questions.
---
Lunch had finally rolled around and I wasted little time in making my way to the market to get some basic needs. I also needed to see Rarity about a solution to my “problem”. The bits Applejack had given me for helping her with the ins and outs on her farm were finally going to come in handy.
Food for the fridge which again left me a bit confused, but I brushed it off. Other odds that I deemed necessary were the last things on the list before I rushed home to drop my purchases off. I briefly considered using some sort of organization system but the clock on the wall made me reconsider this course of action for a better one.
“No shits given, everything in the fridge.” I said to myself shoving all of the items in as quickly as I could, food and all. .
I quickly walked out the door and headed to Rarity’s. I had some time to burn and wasn’t at risk of being late but I didn’t want to take any chances. I considered waiting until after work but taking care of this sooner was better than later.
As I pushed open the door the familiar bell hanging above the door frame alerted the white unicorn of my presence. She was already down stairs and looked surprised to see me.
“Daniel? I thought you would be at work.” Rarity said.
“Lunch break, back on Earth I would always try to take care of errands and stuff during them.” I said.
“I see, well in that case what brings you here?” Rarity asked.
“It’s getting colder now, and I just don’t have a coat of fur like you guys do. Would it be possible to make a jacket of some kind?” I asked.
While I truly needed a jacket and it was getting colder there was another reason for my request. I had a theory that wearing one would put an end to my little “episodes” as well as keep me nice as warm.
“Yes I can see where that might be a problem. A jacket should be simple enough, any particular color?” Rarity asked.
“Blue I guess.” I replied.
“Here I thought you had a challenge for me, oh well I already have your measurements…unless your kind never stop growing.” Rarity said.
“Last time I checked I wrapped up that horrifying experience a few years ago.” I replied making the white unicorn giggle a bit before I left for work again.
---
Strong Deck and Timber were already waiting on me when I returned. The cart had been brought out again which led me to believe there was another shipment that came in later in the day.
“You stop to see your marefriend or something?” Strong Deck asked teasingly.
Though he meant nothing by it that was a sensitive topic that I really didn’t want to address since I assumed marefriend was the equivalent to girlfriend. I came close to snapping off at Strong Deck but held myself together and managed to shrug the question off.
“I’m not late if that’s what you’re driving at, besides I don’t have a marefriend.” I replied.
“Just messing around with you.” Strong Deck said as we left for the station once again.
“You never did say what you did before you came here.” Timber said.
“I was an analyst; I kept things in my world up to date and worked with others on projects, kind of boring.” I said.
“Sounds like it.” Timber said.
“Well you asked. I’m just a regular guy where I’m from, maybe someday it won’t be much different here.” I said.
“Don’t count on that happening. You’re an oddity here, don’t take this the wrong way but ponies will always either welcome you or be afraid of you. Just like how Celestia has been around for a thousand years or something and she’s still treated like a goddess.” Strong Deck chimed in.
“Which are you?” I asked.
“You’re not scary.” Strong Deck said confidently.
While Strong Deck raised a good point about the opinions of other ponies I failed to see the connection between me and Celestia. The mare could control the sun at will. On that thought, did the two sisters actually control the sun and moon respectively or did they control this world’s orbit?
It was a question I would have to save for later as we reached the station. I felt as if I had barely broken a sweat today.
“So is this all there is to this job?” I asked.
“Yes and no, it picks up in a few months.” Timber said.
I didn’t respond as I waited for the train to come to a halt. There were passengers this time, some of which took the time to stare at me. The schedule had said Canterlot which meant these ponies hadn’t seen me yet.
“At least they aren’t screaming.” I said.
“Told you.” Strong Deck said.
I rolled my eyes and started to lift up a surprisingly heavy box. I had to put a bit more effort into lifting it but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed I had drawn an audience as I worked.
Two little colts stared up at me wide eyed. I continued to focus on the task at hand until I noticed a third had joined their group. I did my best to dismiss it as nothing more than childhood fascination with the unknown.
“Is that really heavy?” one of them finally asked.
“Some of them are sort of heavy, they’re not so bad though.” I replied grabbing another box.
“My dad says you’re an alien.” the smallest of the group said.
“I guess I am.” I said.
Timber and Strong Deck snickered at me. I didn’t mind questions, in fact if it helped put a pony’s mind at ease about what I am I was more than happy to answer them. What bugged me was answering them while I was trying to do something.
I looked at one of the boxes and saw Fillydelphia on the label. Seeing it reminded me of the two VIP passes I had and made me ponder just how popular the singer was, I had promised to go and I was a man of my word. I had been given two though, meaning I could bring somepony else with me.
“Hey kind of a random question, but have you guys ever heard of Harmony Chorus before?” I asked.
“Yeah you haven’t?” a colt asked in return.
“I have, just didn’t know how popular she was.” I replied.
The answer put my mind at ease, at least whoever I asked wouldn’t be in the dark who I was talking about. Now all I had to do was just figure out who to ask and I would be all set.
“Are you and the crate going to get a room or are you going to finish up?” Strong Deck asked.
“I don’t think there’s a thing in this world that could handle this.” I said grabbing the last item off the train.
“Rainbow Dash can.” Timber said.
“Apparently that joke flew straight over your head.” I said before we started the return trip the post office.
---
I unlocked the door to my oddity of a home, it wasn’t until I closed the door behind me that I realized the only one of my friend’s I’d seen all day had been Rarity and that had been business related. Now that I had finished what Twilight had been determined to help me through was I just going to become another face again?
I walked over to the fridge as I dwelt on these thoughts and began to sort the items I had brought home. The upcoming concert pushed its way into my mind again and I wrinkled my face as I thought about who to take, and if they would even go.
I owed Fluttershy for all she’d done, but a loud setting didn’t seem like the kind of thing the timid pegasus would go for. She was scared of her own shadow and hoof steps some times. Who knows though, maybe just asking would mean the world to her.
I finished my business with what I had brought home and decided to make a simple dinner, but one I had tons of practice with when I was younger. Before I worked for the state I had worked at a pizza restaurant. I learned most of what I knew on the job which freed up time to study other things.
It was a pretty decent job, the occasional dough fights and odd toppings were some of the things I enjoyed about it. I pulled out what I needed to make a simple cheese pizza, it would be weird without my favorite topping, pepperoni, but I’d live.
As I worked I thought about the others who might say yes to a little trip to Fillydelphia. Rainbow Dash came to mind though I didn’t know what her taste in music was. She would fangirl all over the place when it came to Daring Do or the Wonder Bolts and if the passes had been related to those two subjects in any way shape or form she’d be the first and only one I’d consider.
Applejack didn’t seem like the right pony, she would probably get bored or lose interest. Although if it was the right kind of music, I would assume country if that was a genre here, then she might go for it. I was making a lot of assumptions though with the earth pony.
Rarity was another option; she seemed like the type to enjoy music…classical anyways. I was selling the trip a bit short, it wasn’t like the concert was the only thing to do. The schedule I had now was pretty flexible which would give whoever I asked enough time to do other things. Rarity seemed like the traveling type unless I was an absolutely horrible judge of character.
Pinkie Pie could be fun to take along; the randomness that often came as a result of her presence was enough to brighten even the crappiest of days. The big question was if I could keep up with her and not the other way around.
Twilight was probably too busy to hang out and go to something like this. She had important matters to attend to after all. I did owe her though, probably more than I was even aware of. Asking would probably mean a lot and if she could go then awesome if not no big deal.
“Maybe somepony completely different? It’s not like I have to do everything with them all the time.” I said removing the pizza from the oven.
There was still time before coming to a final decision, even if none of my friends wanted to go I had made a promise and I would have a good time freaking the inhabitants out. To the few in Ponyville that were still a bit turned off by my presence I had been tempted to make a game out of their reactions.
Taking a bite of the pizza I was satisfied that I hadn’t lost my touch when it came to cooking. I was by no means a professional but I knew enough to survive on my own. I decided to call it an early night, I didn’t really have any reason to go back out and I just wanted some time to myself for a bit.
---
Celestia looked at the guest list and sighed. While she didn’t hate the griffons they were still a nation founded upon war. Their latest victory over the Satyr was unsettling, but it was a conflict that the bipedal creatures had started and paid for dearly.
The declaration of war instead of a peaceful end to the conflict had burdened the two kingdoms with a great deal of distrust. While magic could easily keep a griffon at bay, there was only so much one could do against their swarm tactics. It was horrible to think such things, but it was the reality of the situation.
For the sake of her people she would avoid unnecessary conflict at all cost which made the task of being a good host to yearly peace parties much more difficult. Being the carnivores of the party it made things a bit awkward between the other guest that were herbivores such as herself.
Last time things had almost ended in disaster and Celestia didn’t want to tempt fate again. There had to be something she could do to make things smoother. Shining Armor helped when it came to military discussions but even that got old after a while, she needed something new.
An idea suddenly came to Celestia as she dwelt on the topic. Perhaps she was over thinking things and the solution had been in front of her the entire time. The princess saw no harm in her plan which was a plus for all parties involved and decided to proceed.
A scroll and bottle of ink levitated over to the bed where she rested. A pen dipped itself in the ink bottle before scribbling on the paper.
Dearest Twilight
I have a favor to ask of you…
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Awesome! I can't wait for the next one!
She'll make daniel go on the night he is supposed to be at that concert.
Surely Celestia isn't THAT much of a troll.
You spelled 'genre' wrong.
I’m guessing Christmas rush.
Heheh. A good boss would find that amusing.
That usually means that the screw ups will happen later. Yeah, I'm pessimistic like that.