Unpredictable (Balloons)

The Princess explained the situation to Spike, who seemed somewhat jealous, but quickly got over it (perhaps remembering the last incident), and was very appreciative of the incoming unpaid help. Twilight felt like cleaning up in anticipation of their newest perhaps-common guest, but then realized how stupid that was and quickly stomped away the notion.

He returned as swiftly as he exited, with a large saddlebag filled way to the brim with various... everythings. She couldn't make out any of it, for the stallion was simply too quick and skilled. He was obviously used to carrying heavy loads, perhaps of books or writing utensils, Twilight wondered. He stopped right in front of the princess, bowed low (with skill), and asked, willing and prepared for anything;

“What do you need first from me, Miss?” She was startled, she never had a “servant” per se, especially not one that was so respectful, so chivalrous and glad to help out.

“Well, uhm...the things I need to do are... first of all, I want every single book on princesses and the history of Equestria pulled out of the books, with every other book organized perfectly in alphabetical order, all on the shelves. Then I need schedules for every week for the next month, including every single thing I must do every single day. This includes; meals, meetings, appearances, events, free time, study time, sleep time, preparation time, and of course, time to write schedules for the next month. These will need to be incredibly editable and fluctuatable, as my job as princess is never very predictable. I would also like to know your schedule, in case you do have some things you must do. I will not allow you to work on a day you do not have to. Next, I need every loose paper in the library to be neatly organized, alphabetized, in simple categories of your choosing. This can be done with your supplies or with things within the library. That is all for now.”

She took many deep breaths in between her sentences. She assumed that the pony was listening, and looked up to see two exact copies of what she had just said organized into a to-do list, one given to Twilight, and one kept with Swiftpen. He then quickly rushed to work, completing his tasks with surprising ease. The whole chore session took him around 4 hours, given the sheer amount of books and loose leaves strewn about the library- but it was definitely a lot shorter than the time it would've taken Twilight. He had somehow also written easily editable and simple, yet incredible informative, schedules for the next 2 months, having one schedule for each week. The library was completely clean.

During the impressive escapade, Twilight, Spike, and Owlowiscious, had all gone out for some relaxation and, gladly, timely meals. They returned around 6:00 pm from a group dinner at a nice restaurant, to find that the place was incredibly orderly and incredibly presentable. Twilight almost didn't want to disturb the glorious beauty of the place. Swiftpen was sitting at a desk writing intently with his brown-aura magic.

“Oh, welcome back Ms. Twilight. How do you like your library? You may take a look in the other rooms, if you please.” She did, awestruck. Everything was perfectly neat. The papers were arranged, alphabetically, (she checked) into simple cabinets and drawers each with their own category. Even the rest of the library was neat and clean, almost as if the assistant got bored and decided to clean up. She returned to the ground floor.

“It’s... wonderful! Thank you, Swiftpen!” He grinned and blushed with conflicting emotion.

“I... erm.. can assure you that this isn't even my finest work! I can do better for you, Ms. Twilight! All you need to do is ask. Now, I believe my work is done for the day. May I leave, milady?” She didn't really care if he could do better. This was fine, in her mind.

“Why yes, yes you can. Please, arrive here tomorrow around noon. Without all the tools, preferably.” He looked confused, but quickly regained his giddy grin.

“Of course, Ms. Twilight! Good night.” He spoke with enthusiasm, and then packed up swiftly, and trotted out. They were both pleased with the fact that they could rest easy tonight.

Swiftpen awoke and looked at his watch. It was 7:00 am, his usual awakening time. He had 5 hours until his... whatever it was with the Princess, and had absolutely nothing to do until then. He simply could not focus on writing in the morning, and organization was unnecessary. His house was beautiful chaos. He decided to take a quick stroll through the Everfree, and perhaps meet up with Zecora for some morning tea, as he had done many times before.

Zecora was one of the few who knew his secret, though he had no idea if the zebra believed him or not. Knowing her calm and friendly nature, she probably did. He was saddened to find that she was absent from her hut, and started to walk towards Ponyville. Perhaps, for once, he would go into the town and purchase some coffee. Or even still some tea, as he was quite accustomed to the leafy taste of natural tea, though he had never tried any at Ponyville yet. In fact, he had almost never been inside Ponyville at all, despite trips during his “younger” years.

All the better, he supposed. Paradoxes are rough to avoid. Anyway, he finally set his sights on a small little café near the edge of town. It seemed very clean and calm, some of the only patrons being the early risers and early workers, the latter being very groggy and attempting to wake up through some espresso. He ordered a small glass of tea, that, coffee, and water being the only beverages the place sold. The worker seemed slightly surprised, being as the pony had not been in town often before, but did not hesitate in fetching a glass of boiling water and a teabag for the customer. He was even more surprised at the brown magical aura he saw after being paid and thanked by the mysterious stallion, who was also apparently a unicorn pony. He sat and enjoyed the tea for an hour or so, then slowly rose and left the nice café.

He mentally promised to go back once in awhile, it was a quality establishment by his standards. He checked the time and found it to be around 9:00 am, longer than he expected to stay at the building. He had no qualms, though, as he still had 3 hours to kill. He decided to take a walk throughout the small town. He wanted to relax, but he was always quite terrible at that, being a nervous and twitchy unicorn pony despite his hardy yet bookish look.

The city was quite beautiful, much nicer than his hometown of Canterlot. He enjoyed simplicity, and Ponyville gave him that and so much more. There was a market, scattered stores and stands, and a surprising amount of bustle. Ponies were everywhere. Selling, buying, simply mingling and conversing. Everyone knew everyone. It was nice, and peaceful. Swiftpen was never approached or talked to, besides various greetings from various ponies. Everyone was obviously friendly, but also slightly nonchalant towards new visitors. Swiftpen felt regret for not being very outgoing throughout his life. He never really made many friends, and made quite a few enemies. Arguments were common in conversations between him and any other pony, which was a main factor in his seclusion in the Everfree.

Finally, after much “relaxing”, it was 11:30 p.m. on a beautiful sunny Saturday. Swiftpen couldn't help but feel excited towards his first day at his “job”. It was a field he was excellent in, as he tried to show the Princess just yesterday. He hoped that she had lots of work for him, as he had been inactive for too long and needed to stretch his mind a bit. He knocked on the door of the Golden Oak Library, which was flung open by a hyper pink pony that seemed ready to explode.

“Oh! Hey! Look! He’s here! You’re early! Come in!” He was quickly dragged in by the excitable mare, only to be greeted by Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of her main circle of friends. A sporty rainbow-maned blue pony, a glamorous purple-maned white pony, a fit but somewhat dirty yellow-maned orange pony donning a cowpony hat, the hyper pink curly-maned pony, a shy-looking pink-maned yellow pony (with various animals with her), and finally Twilight herself. She looked very pleased with herself, especially when she saw Swiftpen’s amazed face.

“Welcome back, Swiftpen! These are my friends. We’re all going on a picnic today.” Swiftpen was ultimately bewildered and shocked.

“But.. what... what about work?!”

“Oh, don’t be silly. After that amazing job yesterday you left me and yourself nothing to do for the next week! I figured all of my friends could meet you and we could relax. They sure would be glad to meet one of their favorite authors in person!” She was right, they all seemed quite excited. Swiftpen had met fans before, but having fans that were the Princess’ close friends was just... amazing, on such a different level. He started smiling like an idiot.

“Let’s go!” Twilight exclaimed.