//------------------------------// // -7- Job Endeavour // Story: Welcome To Equestria! // by BluPony //------------------------------// Welcome to Equestria! The First Arc... ~~~~Chapter 7~~~~ ~~~~Run of the Mill~~~~ So... Chapter 7. This is going to be fun. Mostly. If we make sure everything goes well. But of course, things don’t go our way most of the time. Ah well, more fun for you guys that had to go through that sad chapter. You read it, right? No? Well go read it! Then come read this one. Seriously guys, stallion up. For those that did read it though, enjoy. ~Blu and Hotshot ~~~~Viewpoint: Hotshot~~~~ “Well that was a pleasant..... WHAT THE!” I heard Blu shout as he woke up. “What is it?” I asked as I looked over to Blu and right there was a pink pony standing over Blu staring at him. “Good morning, sleepyhead!” Pinkie exclaimed with a smile. “Ready for a fun-filled day? I know I am!” She then hopped over to my bed. “You better be ready too! There’s a lot of stuff we need to do today and you’ll need to see what you can do best!” The party pony then hopped down to the ground. “Can’t live in the inn forever!” And before we could say ‘What just happened?’, she was gone. “Well, that was unexpected, even for Pinkie Pie.” Blu commented as he shook his head. “No, that seemed exactly like something she’d do.” I countered with a laugh. “I guess, but that was still surprising.” Blu responded. “However, she was right. We can’t live in the inn forever.” “Well then, it’s time to earn some bits and get some type of living arrangement!” I exclaimed. “Alright, just give me five more minutes.” He said as he put his head back down on his pillow. “No, NOW! Get off your lazy flank and lets get going!” “I said. “Fine...” he mumbled with a grunt. “Just think, the sooner we get a house, the sooner you can sleep for as long as you want!” I said. “Really?” he asked knowing the answer. “No!” I answered with a chuckle. “Remember, Celestia said when we get here it won’t be all fun and games.” “Ugh.” He simply responded, but managed to get up. “At least I don’t have to put on any clothes.” “Yeah, let’s not rival among that fact for too long. Meet you downstairs.” I said as I sped down, leaving my lazy friend in the dust. It took awhile but my friend finally came down the stairs . “‘You took that extra five minutes didn’t you?” I asked. He simply gave a sheepish smile. “Maybe.” “Well next time, I’ll get Pinkie Pie to release the party cannon right into your ear!” I threatened with a smirk. “Those who run fast shall stumble.” The stallion at the counter commented wisely. He had a light brown coat of fur and a dirty blonde mane. Kinda looked like one you’d find in Appaloosa, now that I think of it. “Who might you be?” Blu asked with a curious look on his face. “Me? I’m just a lone stallion that operates the breakfast club at the inn. Some call me the wise bartender. You ponies however, can call me Slender Skim.” Slender Skim introduced. “Nice to meet you, Slender Skim.” I said as we took seats at the bar. “My name’s Hotshot, and this is Blu.” “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now what do you fellows want. Our special today is pancakes.” He suggested with a smile. “Sounds great. How much is it for two plates?” My blue unicorn friend asked. “Well, usually, the special is eight bits per plate, but since I hear you two are new in town, I can lower the price to five bits just this once.” Skim offered. “How does that sound?” “That doesn’t sound too bad.“ I considered as I turned to Blu. “What do you think?” Blu was about to speak but his stomach spoke for him. We both gave a chuckle. “I believe my stomach is trying to say ‘Take the deal!’” “It’s settled then. Ringer up, my friend!” I told the bartender. The light brown pony smiled. “Alright then. Let me notify the cook. You don’t mind paying up-front, do you?” “Not at all.” I replied. I went to get my bit bag, but it turned out I left it upstairs. “Blu, do you have your bits on you? I left mine upstairs.” “Bits? Oh shoot, same here.” He responded. “I’ll go and get em.” The blue unicorn then tried teleporting out of his seat to the stairs, but ended up going a foot above the floor and stumbled. “Dang it.” He mumbled, but got back up and started heading up. I laughed briefly and turned back to the counter, finding Skim to have disappeared to the kitchen. “Hmm.” I mused. Another pony came down the stairs. Along with it however, came flapping wings... and a crash? With a turn, I looked to see who it was. “You just don’t know what went wrong, right Derpy?” The purple pegasus beside her joked with a laugh. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t fly indoors too much I guess.” The grey mare responded with an embarrassed smile. She then looked my way. “You must be one of the new ponies in Ponyville?” “I guess word gets around.” I said. “It’s only on everything in Ponyville.” The purple pony said casually. “What?!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, you two are everywhere thanks to Pinkie.” Derpy simply answered as Blu snuck past them. “You hear that, Blu? We’re famous.” I said. “Probably not that big of a deal, bro. Ponyville’s a small place, and the fact that you’re an Alicorn will just be different for them for a while.” He explained, but as he took a seat down beside me once again with the two bit bags in his magical grasp, he dropped them onto the table as he saw a glance at Derpy. “Oh my gosh, it’s Derpy Hooves.” “She’s not that clumsy!” Her friend defended, but then smiled sheepishly. “Okay, maybe a noticeable amount, but you don’t have to point it out.” “No, no, not at all. She just has amazing eyes which I find quite interesting.” Blu said, but had his fair share of red added into his face. “You find my eyes... Interesting?” The grey pegasus puzzled. “I think he’s simply trying to say he likes your eyes.” I speculated., but was given a soft kidney punch for my efforts. “Yes, the eyes are nice. Not trying to hit on you or anything.” He said, hopefully not digging himself deeper into the awkward situation he got himself into. “Well, thank you I guess.” Derpy Hooves answered. “I mean, usually, people just find my eyes weird, apart from my friend Muffin Drop here.” She gestured to her purple pegasus friend. “Well, I find them nice. They probably alter your vision quite a bit though.” I commented. Just then, Muffin Drop’s stomach rumbled. “Yeah, it does. enough chit-chat though. I’m so hungry I could eat a manticore!” She said with a laugh. Blu and I exchanged small smiles considering the event in Everfree. “Well, come take a seat with us and I’ll buy you ponies some, blueberry muffins?” Blu offered. “Sure! That would be good.” Derpy answered. “Hey Skim! How much are 2 muffins?” I yelled. “8 bits!” He responded from the kitchen. “We’ll take four muffins then!” Blu said with the same amount of volume. “Alright then, give me a minute!” He responded again. ~~A few minutes later...~~ “That will be 26 bits.” Skim said. “Thanks!” I said as I handed him the 25 bits I had and Blu handed him one bit. We walked along outside after breakfast with was now only 24 bits in our possession. “Well, that wasn’t too bad. We have 24 bits left to spend before we earn some more.” Blu said with a sigh. “Now what?” “Only 24 bits?” Muffin Drop said in a bit of surprise. “You guys are pretty poor. Even I earn more bits.” “Well, we just came to Ponyville two days ago and haven’t decided where to work yet.” I stated plainly. “I don’t suppose you mares know where anyone is hiring, do you?” “Actually, we were just about to head to work right now.” Derpy said. “Maybe you can convince our supervisors to let you help for the day.” “That’s not a bad idea.” My blue friend commented. “So whereabouts do you two work?” I asked curiously, hoping for somewhere in Ponyville and not in Cloudsdale. “We have two locations, actually.” The purple pegasus started. “One is for ground deliveries, the other is up in Cloudsdale.” ‘Damn...’ I thought. “Okay then, I guess we’ll have to talk with your supervisor.” “Actually, we can probably help you out with that.” Derpy said with a smile. “Hotshot, since you can fly, you go up with Muffin and help out there, and I’ll take Blu over to where we need to go.” “Yeah, we do kinda owe you a bit for the muffins.” Muffin said sheepishly. “Mmmmm, those were good muffins.” “Alright then, it’s settled then.” Blu said, then turned to me, offering a hoof. “See you later bro.” “Later, Blu.” I smiled as I gladly gave him a brohoof. So now, Muffin and I are flying to Cloudsdale. Most of the trip was silent until Muffin decided to break the ice. “So... What brought you to Ponyville?” She asked. “And what's with the amulets that you and Blu have?” “Well, we were sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia.” I answered. “As for the amulets, they are magical reserves, when we were born we had a small amount of magic. They were given to us by the Princess. However, I think mine might have been made by Princess Luna.” “You two related to the Princess’?” She asked curiously. “Nope, no royal blood here.” I joked. “Then how are you an...? Actually, nevermind.” She stopped. “I’m guessing ponies have told you about the question.” I guessed “Yeah! Only not to ask it.” She laughed. “Ha, it’s nothing personal, so don’t worry about it.” I assured. “Okay, well, we’re almost there.” She stated. “Okay, is the job difficult at all?” I asked. “Not really, I’m pretty sure you can handle it just fine.” The purple pegasus answered. “Cloudsdale isn’t too bad” “Cloudsdale? I’ve barely got Ponyville covered.” I said with a worried voice. “Trust me. It’s not as big as it looks.” She continued. “Besides, if you want the job, you should start memorizing.” I let out a sigh. ‘Well, at least I have some experience with the junk mail I had to deliver back in the human world.’ I thought to myself. “Well, we’re here.” She said as we landed on the clouds which were quite soft. “Nothing like feeling the soft clouds on your hooves after being on the hard ground all day.” She said with a smile. “You said it.” I said as we entered the building- -which was complete chaos! Ink flying everywhere, paper getting hung around like streamers, and ponies arguing and screaming. “Woah, what happened!? A shortage of muffins!?” I joked, but got a disapproving look from Muffin Drop. “Ha, ha, very funny.” She said sarcastically as she flew to an office with the name “Yellow Pack” on the front. “What’s going on out there boss?” She said to a yellow pegasus with a brown mustache. “A shortage of muffins! What do you think?” He said even more sarcastically than Muffin Drop as I let out a chuckle. “The machines are failing, AGAIN!” He exclaimed. “Do something!” “Hand me a wrench.” Muffin Drop said as The yellow pegasus looked over to me. “And you are?” The yellow pegasus asked me while handing over Muffin’s required wrench. “Hotshot, I’m looking for a little extra work.” I answered. “You’re the new Alicorn from Ponyville, aren’t you?” He asked curiously. “That would be me, sir.” I smiled. “Okay then, once Muffin here fixes the machines I’ll give you your first assignment.” He stated. “Great!” I said as I left the office with Muffin. “So, how are you going to fix these fine machines?” “Like this!” *WHACK!* She hit the machine with the wrench and it was working fine again. “How the buck did you do that?” I asked bewildered. “Okay, observe.” *WHACK!* She said as she hit another machine. “Now you have a turn. Hit it as hard as you can.” She continued as she handed me the wrench. “Alright then.” *WHACK!* I hit the machine as hard as I could and I ended up making the machine worse “Buck!” “Okay, let me take care of the rest.” She said as she took the wrench from me and continued smacking the machines until they were all fixed. “Guess you need a mare’s touch.” She joked. “Haha, yeah, I guess.” I chuckled as we flew back to Yellow’s office. “All the machines are fixed?” He asked curiously. “Indeed.” I answered for my purple pegasus friend. “Okay, for your first assignment there are two special deliveries which means screw them up and no pay! Or job for that matter! One delivery of assorted letters to the ground district post office, the other is a special giant order of quills and ink to the Ponyville library!” He asked. “Oh, and if you complete those in good time, you have five deliveries up here in Cloudsdale once you’re done with the special deliveries. Can you do that?” “Yes sir!” I saluted, leaving the room with Muffin. “Quite convenient, I got orders both to Ponyville.” “Yeah, lucky you, you get to carry two giant boxes to Ponyville.” Muffin laughed. “Shoot! Oh well, what do I have magic for.” I joked with a laugh. “Just don’t drop anything. The last time that happened a pony got crushed by a piano!” She said worriedly. “What! Really!?” I laughed some more. “That’s quite funny.” I almost fell over laughing while Muffin Drop gave me a stare that could easily rival Fluttershy’s. “Sorry.” “The mare who dropped it was Derpy!” She exclaimed. “Again, sorry.” I apologized. “Well, we better get going. This stuff isn't going to deliver itself.” She reminded as we started leaving the building when a thought crossed my mine. “But don’t you have a delivery of your own?” I asked curiously, “My boss wants me to keep a close eye on you, so you get the deliveries right and on time.” The purple pegasus explained. “OK, this will be fun.” I said in a brighter mood than before. “Off we go then.” I continued as we started flying back to Ponyville. “So, where is the Ponyville Post exactly?” I asked while scanning the small town for what I could see. “Over there actually. Hey! I see Blu and Derpy leaving!” She said pointing in their general direction. “Oh, so it is. Well let’s hurry then.” I said as I sped toward the post office. “Ah shoot! We just missed them, haha.” Muffin pointed out. “Oh well, I guess I have to make these deliveries then” I said casually. “So now I need to find a Ms.Crate.” “Ms. Crate? That’s Derpy’s boss!” she exclaimed. “Really now?” I asked. “Yeah, and there she is!” As she pointed to a dark green unicorn with an orange crate as a cutie mark. “Hi, you must be Ms. Crate. Nice to meet you.” I said holding out a hoof. “Why, it’s nice to meet you too. You must be Hotshot, correct?” She asked. “Umm, yeah. I’m guessing Blu told you about me?” I asked back. “Yep, not to mention there is a bunch of buzz around town thanks to Pinkie Pie.” The dark green mare replied. ‘Damn it, Pinkie!’ I thought. “Umm, okay. Well, I have a delivery from Cloudsdale here for you.” I said handing it to her with my magic as her magic engulfed it and took it out of my magical grip. “Why do they get ponies from Cloudsdale to deliver to the ground district?” “Well, you see, it's a priority delivery and since there isn't much staff on the job, you have to deliver it.” She explained. “OK, well, it was nice meeting you, but it looks like you got another delivery to do.” She reminded, putting the delivery on the ground beside her. “Indeed I do.” I responded. “Thanks for the information. Now I have to head to the library with a bunch of quills and ink.” I said, gesturing to the giant box at my side. “What! Who needs such a big order!?” She asked with a confused look. “I got a good idea of who.” I said. “Well, I better get this done. The sooner I get there, the sooner I get some more bits!” “Okay, well hurry up then, Hotshot. And see you soon, Muffin!” She said waving a hoof as we headed to the library. “Well, that was interesting.” Muffin commented. “Yeah, she barely noticed you.” I joked. “Only because you were there.” She laughed. “Gee, thanks.” I said sarcastically. “Okay, so now i have to give these quills and paper to Twilight.” ‘Another interesting encounter...’ I thought to myself. “Do you know where it is?” Muffin Drop asked curiously. “I believe I do!” I answered with enthusiasm. “If I could find a good path to it, that is.” “Umm, wings?” Muffin said with an arched eyebrow. “Ah, right.” I said sheepishly. “Let’s go then.” The purple pegasus smirked with humor and took to the skies. I readied myself, leaping up to follow her. We landed in front of the library. I knocked on the door to hear scrambling of Twilight trying to get to the door and it flew open with her magic. “Oh, hello again.” The purple mare smiled. “How are you?” “I’m good. I have a delivery for you.... That's quite a large order of ink and quills.” I responded. “Yeah, I know. I have quite a few letters to send.” She excused, quietly adding... “and I like to also keep up stock, if you know what I mean.” “Oh, okay. Well, I got to go back to Cloudsdale to get the regular deliveries.” I responded with a sigh. “Alright; come back with Blu when you are done with your deliveries.” She requested with a small smile. “I will.” I assured. “Bye for now.” And with that, I took a leap to the air and took off. “Well you seem to know a lot of ponies for just arriving to Ponyville when you've only been here a little while.” Muffin giggled. “Small town.” I responded with my tongue sticking out quickly. “True, but impressive nonetheless.” She complemented. And with that, the rest of the flight was generally silent, save for the rush of wind through our wings. We entered the Cloudsdale packaging building one again and headed to the office of Yellow Pack to confirm the deliveries were sent. “The packages were delivered, Mr. Pack.” I said as we entered the office. “Well done! I really didn't think you could handle it, would you like to earn 10 more bits?” He offered. Muffin and I exchanged a look. “Sure, I would be happy to. What would you like me to do?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “Go around Cloudsdale and deliver to these 10 houses.” The hard-hatted pony said with a nod as he handed me a list.I looked at the list and read off the names in my head. ‘Cloud Chaser, Lightning Dust, Raindrops, Rainbow Dash, Bluebell, Cloud Kicker, Crescent Moon, Deep Blue, Dizzy Twister, and Flitter..’ “You can do this, can’t you?” The yellow supervisor asked. “Yes sir!” I said giving a salute with my wing. “Will I be joining him boss?” Muffin asked in curiosity. “Might as well, it is his first day.” Mr. Pack allowed with a sigh, but whispered something about my abilities to my presumed partner which I didn't manage to catch. “Sure thing, boss!” She said with a smile as we left the building. “Why so eager to get out of work?” I asked “Are you kidding! Watching you is a job in itself!” She joked “Uh-huh, now what's the actual reason?” I said seriously. “It’s nice to get out of the office” She said. “I see..” I responded. “The first house looks like Cloud Chaser.” “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” She exclaimed. “But there is no address.” I said as she took the list from me “Grr, that idiot! He gave you an advanced list.” She said in rising frustration. “Advanced list?” I asked. “An advanced list is a list given to ponies that have worked for a while and memorized each house.” She explained with a sigh. “Obviously, I don’t think you’d have enough experience around here to take that on. No offence of course.” “Trust me. I can take the truth.” I assured. “Hold that thought while I go get a proper map for us.” She said as she went into the building. I let out a sigh and started to drift in my thoughts. ’Well, with all this flying and trotting around I've been doing, it’s almost like I was always a pony. It feels so surreal that I’m here on my own with this mare that seems so nice. It just feels undeserving that Blu and I were the ones that are able to experience all of this...’ ’Why us? Out of all the bronies in the world, why were we the lucky ones? Why was it us to find a way to communicate through different dimensions? This is every bronies dream! We have the chance to switch between two different dimensions. Yet we can’t tell anyone? This could revolutionize science and history as we know it. What happens if the Mane six find out we are not from this world? What if-’ “Hotshot?” A perplexed Muffin Drop asked, looking at me weirdly. “Wha-?” I started to ask, before realizing I had started pacing and working myself up. “Are you alright? Something on your mind?” She questioned. With another sigh, I stopped pacing. “I’m alright, don’t worry about me. Do you have that map?” “Yeah, but we can wait for a little if something’s troubling you.” She offered. “I’m fine.” I said, giving my head a small shake, “besides, those deliveries aren't going to deliver themselves.” “Well if there is something you want to talk about just ask.” She said with eyes full of concern. I nodded solemnly, and with that comment we left. When we left we headed to the first name on the list which was Cloud Chaser. *knock knock knock-knock-knock* A few seconds and the door was answered by a small filly. “Hello?” The filly asked cutely and emitted a small gasp. “Is that letter for me?” “Would your name be Cloud Chaser by any chance?” I asked back, albeit with a bit of sarcasm, but this was not picked up. “Mmmm, no. My name is Mist Chaser, though my mum’s name is Cloud Chaser. Do you want me to go get her?” “No need, just make sure she gets the letter, okay?” I told the filly, which nodded excitedly as she took the letter with a wing. With a wave, she trotted away, leaving the door wide open. Thankfully, the mail recipient herself was in view, mouthing a ‘Thank you’. With a small nod, I closed the door. Another hour or so, and we were done. Not too bad of a day. Amazingly enough, no one asked about being an Alicorn, which was good. "Well, how do you think we did?" I asked curiously. "I dunno. You tell me, then I'll tell you." Muffin Drop said with a wink. With a chuckle, I thought for a little. "Hmm, well, no one bugged me about the Alicorn thing. Didn't take too long to do. As long as I get a bit more efficient with flying and delivering, I might get as fast as Rainbow Dash!” “As fast as RD? You wish!” The purple pegasus laughed. “But I agree, a few more days on the job, and you’ll be a pro in no time.” With that, we headed back to the Cloudsdale Delivery District, got our day’s pay, and I headed to Sugarcube Corner. Muffin stayed to talk to her boss for a while longer, but told me to go meet the others at the usual where her and Derpy usually ended on a successful day of work. Directional skills, don’t fail me now. ~~~~Viewpoint: Blu~~~~ Rewinding back to start of the work day, I walked along with Derpy.. “Well then...” I said, trying to pick up a conversation with the cross-eyed mare. “What? Oh, sorry.” Derpy said as she broke out of her flying daze. “Not used to conversations too much. Did you want to talk about something while we head over?” “I don’t know, really. I’m not used to conversations either.” I replied. “I hope deliveries aren't too hard for me though.” “Deliveries usually aren’t that bad.” She said with a smile. “My eyes do make it a bit troublesome at times, that’s why I was moved to the ground division. Other than that, I think you’ll do fine.” “Alright. You probably know your way around Ponyville though, don’t you?” I asked her. “Mostly, I guess. But I think there’s a map if you need one.” The grey mare said. “Are you good at memorizing maps?” “Honestly, not really.” I responded with a laugh. “It’s fine though. I’ll probably memorize Ponyville in a week if they decide to hire me. “Well, they do kinda need another worker around here. I don’t remember if it was for the Cloudsdale division or the ground division, but they do need one somewhere.” She responded. “I think Hotshot’s had experience with delivering before.” I thought out loud. “If there’s a position open where he’s at, I’m sure he’ll get it.” “Most likely. Let’s just hope he’s reliable enough.” Derpy commented. “Yeah, we've been friends for a long time. I’m sure he’s reliable.” I responded. “Again though, only time will tell.” Derpy gave a nod and I let the conversation drift into silence once again for the rest of the way to the building. The surroundings changed from the varied housed to large pine trees. I saw a large building in the distance. It had a topside loading dock and a lower loading dock. I assumed the topside dock was for shipments from Cloudsdale or other cloud-based cities and the lower one was for shipments from the various ground cities like Manehattan, Canterlot, and Appleoosa. “Alright, this is the place.” Derpy pointed out. “Whoa, this is pretty nice actually.” I commented with awe. As we went inside, there was many things to see. Envelope stations, boxing stations, and a large section stored a variety of boxes and crates. Over at a cement post, there stood a mare who I presumed to be Derpy's boss. “Hmm, only five minutes late this time. That’s a new record! Well done, Derpy. We’ll have you on time in no time.” “Is that sarcasm I sense?” I commented with an arched eyebrow. “A little, but really, it is an improvement from the usual lateness.” Derpy's boss said honestly. “So, what brings you here? I assume you didn't come with Derpy for nothing, did you?” “Actually, Derpy mentioned I could earn a few bits here, if you need a little extra help around this place.” I told the in-charge mare in front of me. “It does look a bit stocked.” “Sure! A bit of help would be wonderful around here.” She said cheerfully. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Crate Boss, but since we’re going to be working on a professional level, you may call me Ms. Crate.” “Ah, professionalism, I like it.” I said with a smile. “I’m Blu. Pretty simple name but I like it. A pleasure to meet you Ms. Crate.” In a moment of pausing, I took a second look at ‘Ms. Crate’. She was a unicorn, had a dark green coat, a light rose color for her mane and tail, and wore a light brown delivery uniform that covered her cutie mark so I couldn't see it. She was also the first pony I saw that wore regular glasses that were oval-shaped. “My, aren't you a gentlecolt.” Ms. Crate said with a small giggle, but caught herself and cleared her throat. “Oh, yes, right. We have a schedule to keep. Derpy? Are you still hanging around?” “Hmm? Oh! I’m sorry Ms. Crate! I’ll get to work right away!” She exclaimed. The grey pegasus started flapping her wings but was suddenly caught in a magical grip. “Not so fast, ya filly.” The dark green mare instructed. “I’ll need you to help Blu around the building. He’ll also help you deliver some things with the cart. Remember to include today’s sorting in your tour as well.” “Yes, ma’am!” Derpy said with a bit of a blush, most likely from being caught in her bosses magic. Or maybe from it being a first time to show someone around the post office. Either way, I tried not to giggle. “Alright.” Ms. Crate turned back to me. “As you now know, Derpy will show you around a little and then she’ll test your skills and how well you do in this type of job. You’ll still be paid 40 bits for the work you put into it, but your skill will really see if you have what it takes to be a delivery pony. Understand?” “Yes, Ms. Crate. I’ll try my best.” I responded with a good enthusiasm level. Or at least, that’s what I hoped. “Great! Off to work with the two of you now, before we get even further behind schedule.” She said as shooed us away. With a nod, we both headed further into the building. The back room wasn't too bad. A bit dim, but everything was still pretty visible. Derpy trotted over to the clipboard that had the orders, supplies, and pretty much anything you might have as a list in a delivery business. “Alright, let’s see here.” The grey mare started. “What did you want to cover first?” “Hmm, I dunno. Let me take a look.” I said as I trotted to her side to take a look at the clipboard. ‘Letter sorting, package weighing, stamping...’ I thought to myself as I looked down the list. “How about a simple inventory check?” I suggested. “We can try that, yeah.” Derpy said with a smile. “Since we’re already here, it’ll be a perfect place to start. All you have to do is take the clipboard and flip to today’s date, then identify each box to make sure everything’s in order.” “That doesn't sound too bad. How long does it usually take you to check everything?” I asked curiously. “Usually about 10-15 minutes, depending on how many things you need to cover.” She replied while flipping to today’s inventory list. I grabbed the clipboard with my magic. “Sounds easy enough, you don’t happen to have a stopwatch, do you?” “There’s one on that desk, I’ll time you.” Derpy said with a smile. With a nod, I floated the stopwatch to her and with a grab of her hoof, she got ready. As did I, getting a pencil off the same desk. “Alright, here we go.” The grey mare started. “One, two, Three!” The stopwatch clicked and I began looking at each box closely, checking them off one by one. “Done!” I exclaimed with a proud smile as I heard a wing slap the button on the stopwatch. “Wow! That was quite fast for a new pony!” The derpy-eyed mare said with enthusiasm. “Oh? What was my time?” I asked with a cocked eyebrow. “6 Minutes and 23 seconds!” She yelled brightly. I slightly grimaced my ears from the volume, but smiled anyway. “That doesn't sound too bad.” I guessed. “There’s probably ponies better than me who could count faster than that, but I’d say I’m happy with that.” “Yeah, there’s a few on the force that are speed demons in counting, but you should be proud in your speed, given that was a ton of packages you had to take inventory of.” Derpy admitted. “Okay... So what now?” I asked a little awkwardly. The grey pegasus was oblivious to the brief awkward moment sparked by my slowness in speech. That was also why it was brief. “There’s still plenty that needs to be done, Blu.” She said with a small giggle. “If you help me out in doing some letter sorting, we can go outside and deliver some, while Celestia's sun is still high. Does that sound good to you?” “Yeah, let's go with that then.” I responded with a small nod and a smile. Well, manipulating the letters with my magic as Derpy told me where each letter went didn't go too bad. It hurt my head a little, but nothing a bit of walking time couldn't fix. As we walked to the first house, which happen to be Fluttershy's, Derpy swore she saw Hotshot in the corner of her eye, but I kinda doubted that and assumed she was seeing things. Besides that, I was going to deliver a letter to Fluttershy! Needless to say, my mind was occupied to notice Hotshot and Muffin Drop in the distance. They never caught up, so I remained looking to the letter. ‘Who the heck is Flightless? He some distance cousin of Fluttershy that no one’s heard about? He a random character that got named in a future episode? Nah, I shouldn't worry about it too much. Not like every single pony get’s named in the series. Wonder if Muffin Drop ever got spotted as well? Unless she’s an OC, but I’m already taking things too-’ “Blu? How long have you been looking at that letter now?” The grey mail deliverer asked, thankfully derailing my train of thought. “You know you shouldn't be snooping in other ponies’ mail, right?” “Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just got distracted by the senders name.” I excused and placed the letter back in the bag. “Alright, well it’s not too far now. Fluttershy's one of the farthest houses from Ponyville, besides Sweet Apple Acres of course. Have you met Fluttershy yet?” I thought of the party for a moment, along with the moments after the party. “Kinda. You were at the party though too, so that’s most of what I saw of her as well.” “Ah, right.” The cross-eyed mare said, remembering the events of last night. “Didn't you guys meet with her and the other Elements of Harmony after though?” You must have talked with her a bit then too.” “Umm, kinda, but I’d rather keep that private for now if that’s alright.” I told her with my expression dropping slightly. Good idea not to mess up the story too much, in case I mix something up. “Huh? Well alright then, don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to. Besides that, we’re here.” She pointed out a few feet before the door. I quieted a little bit and approached the door. Lightening the mood a little, I came up with a little rhythm on the spot. *Tap-tap-tap tap tap tap, tap* A small voice came inside, which I could barely pick up with my hearing. “O-oh my? Angel, could you see who that is? I’m not expecting anyone today, but I’d like to know who it is.” Another chatter came from inside, followed by Fluttershy once again, “Yes, yes, I know there’s never anyone bad in Ponyville at this time of year, but I still don’t feel very comfort-” More chattering interrupted her. “Yes, I know that too, but-” By this time, I figured something that might bring her out, either that or just allow us to slip the letter under the door. “Gee, Derpy.” I started louder than average. “Maybe no one is home. Should we put this letter under the door or wait a little while more?” By the time I started saying while, the door opened up to reveal Fluttershy, a bit excited, but that was a good sign. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I was a little worried who it was so I didn't answer right away. I heard somepony say letter though, so I wanted to make sure I was here to get it.” With a smile, I gladly handed over the letter with my magic. “There ya go. Fluttershy, right?” “Eep! Oh, um, yes. You must be Blu from last night. Why are you on the mail delivery service?” She asked shyly, but thankfully kept most of her volume. “Yeah, that’d be me. I met Derpy and one of her friends this morning and bought them muffins with Hotshot. He’s currently looking at the delivery job as well as me, so we were offered ‘shots’ at the jobs Derpy and her friend worked at.” I explained and added, “Hotshot’s fine by the way, so you don’t have to worry about him.” “Oh, that’s good. Thanks for finding them a chance at work, Derpy.” The shy pegasus thanked, earning a slightly confused, but bright smile from her. Angel poked the yellow leg of his owner, reminding Fluttershy of something. “Oh, I’m sorry again, I must be keeping you two from work. If you and Hotshot need some additional work, you can come and help tomorrow with the Crusaders. I’m not that good with keeping filly’s entertained.” “I’m sure it won’t be a problem to help out, sure. I’ll tell Hotshot later.” I assured. “See you later then?” Fluttershy slightly blushed, but nodded. With a quick farewell, she closed the door and we were off once again to deliver mail. A variety of letters and doors later, and we finished up delivering all the letters from the bag. “Alright Blu, how do you feel?” “What exactly do you mean?” I asked the confusing grey mare. “I mean, how do you feel about everything? The job, the letters, Flutter-” She started, but stopped abruptly. Ignoring the last part-word, I pieced together some thoughts. “Well, honestly, I can tell I’m a bit slow, so if I go with this job I’ll have to walk 20% faster. Aside from that, the letters weren't too hard to work with.” “Okay then, we should head back to HQ to try your hand at some packages.” Derpy smiled. Groaning a little, but not too loudly, I nodded my head. This was going to be a bit harder for me since my previous body was pretty weak, making my current body slightly weaker. I had already experienced that back in the Everfree. With a nod of Derpy’s head, we set off on the quickest route back, I hoped. “Well then, seems like you two make a nice team.” said Ms. Crate as she looked over us. “You wanted some packages to deliver, correct?” We both nodded. Checking the list to her right, the dark-green mare smiled. “Hmm, seems it’s your lucky day. There’s four barrels of cider ready to be delivered out to Sweet Apple Acres. The wagon is out the back and waiting for you.” ‘Wagon full of cider? Great, now not only do I have to lug around heavy stuff, but if Rainbow smells this, I’ll have to fight her off as well.’ I thought with a sigh. “Alright then, I’ll give it my best.” “Good!” Ms. Crate exclaimed. “Packages are the most important items we deliver here, so hopefully you’ll be good at it.” Neither pony commented on my expression of angst lazily waiting for it all to be over so I could go back to bed. Hooking up didn't seem so bad at first, but dang those things are heavy! Thankfully I still had the letter-delivering saddle on so it didn't really caff at my fur. The metal didn't seem too rusted either. Either way, it was still freaking heavy so I figured out a bit of magic to lighten the harness. Air magic, thank you. “Come on! It can’t be that hard to pull!” Derpy encouraged. “Yeah, sure. It’s just lugging a heavy cider-filled wagon across Ponyville. That’s nothing compared to lugging anvils to odd places.” I said, voice filled to the brim with sarcasm. “That was one time! How do you even-” the grey mare started, sighing with shame. “Nevermind, I’m sorry. I guess I’m getting a little carried away with my sarcasm.” I joked. “I’ll tone it down for you. But seriously, this thing takes endurance to lug around even with the light spell I used.” “Yeah, I kinda see what you mean. I’d help you out, but the wagon is only able to hook up to one pony at a time.” I nodded. “Don’t worry about it. If it gets a bit too much for me, I’ll rest.” With another nod from Derpy, we kept going, the wall-eyed mare keeping an eye on the barrels as best she could. After a while, sweat came down my forehead. Derpy swished down to give me a little cool breeze. Smiling and giving a nod, I figured we were about another ten minutes from the Acres if I picking up the pace, so that’s what I did. Bad idea. Five minutes was all it took to make me slow my pace to a stop and drop to the ground. “Well look who we have here.” A brash female voice said a few feet away from me. “Seems you've scooted to a stop.” From my side, I saw Derpy glaring at who could only be Rainbow Dash. Mustering up some energy, I gave a weak comeback. “I don’t see you... *pant* carrying four barrels... *pant* of cider.” “Cider? No wonder you’re so exhausted! You haven’t drank any yet!” The rainbow-maned pegasus exclaimed with a smirk. “These are going to Applejack’s, Rainbow. Blu’s helping me deliver things today to see if he qualifies for the job.” Derpy explained with a bit of agitation, then softening her voice. “Could you help us out for a second?” Rainbow sighed, but put on a warm smile. “Yeah, I can help you out. Promise I can have a bit of cider though?” “Maybe,” I added in. “But we don’t know the exact story behind this delivery so we’ll have to ask Applejack when we get there.” Rainbow nodded and turned to Derpy, nodding once again. In time, they pulled me back to my hooves. “Okay, on three, we start pushing the wagon and you run your flank off!” The speedy mare ordered. ‘This probably isn't the best idea... “Oh crap!!!” The wagon started moving at high speeds as the countdown reached three. Thanks to another quick lightener spell, I was able to keep the pace relatively well, but this quite pushed me to my limits. “Woohoo!” cried Rainbow Dash from behind the wagon. Flying definitely had it’s advantages, which I sadly did not have. I don’t mind though, since it gives me more time to work on magic. Though if I ever wanted to be a pegasus, it’d be now. “Isn't this a little unsafe for the cider?!” warned Derpy over the sound of the wind. “Who cares! We’ll be at the farm in no time, so there’s no chance for something to go wrong!” countered Rainbow. You know what this means, don’t you? “My eyes doesn't seem to be doing well at high speeds guys!” shouted the grey pegasus. “I don’t think I can keep this up for much longer without-” *THUMP*