Chapters Out of a house, Out of a job, Out of my mind
Ok, so getting a job can't be too hard, can it? So Cloud made a list of jobs that he could take. 1: Animal care with Fluttershy 2: Working on Apple Acres 3: Dessert making at the Cakes shop 4: Construction 5: Library work 6: Clothing design at Rarity's boutique.
The first job on the list is to go and work with the animals at Fluttershy's cottage. Cloud walked up to the cottage and knocked on the door. as he waited for a response, he looked at all the animals around. and noticed a couple small cute ones like bunnies and squirrels. He also noticed that there were large and dangerous looking animals too, like bears and hawks. Did Fluttershy really have to deal with those animals? He would soon find out. Finally Fluttershy reached the door.
"Oh, hello Cloud! What would you like?" Asked Fluttershy.
"Hi! I was wondering if you needed any help around here. I'm looking for a job." Said Cloud.
"Sure, animal care is a wondrous thing! You'll be great it." Said Fluttershy "First, we'll check out some of the animals". Fluttershy took Cloud to see some of the animals. First, they looked at a little rabbit. It didn't seem to like Cloud. One look at Cloud and it ran back in to it's den. They tried again with a squirrel, and it didn't take kindly to Cloud either. Then Fluttershy took cloud inside to a little cage covered up with a white sheet.
"This is my little experiment. Don't tell Twilight about it, ok?" Said Fluttershy, lifting up the sheet. Inside was a small little bug looking creature Cloud new to be a parasprite.
"I've been trying to find a way to make them have a normal eating habit. It's so adorable isn't it?" Asked Fluttershy.
"It is. I hope this one will like me more than the others." Said Cloud. Fluttershy opened the cage and the little critter flew out. She placed an apple in front of it, and proceeded to eat it normally. It then looked at Cloud and flew at him. At first, Cloud jumped back, but it turned out that the little critter actually liked him! It snuggled up next to him and made a little purring sound.
"Well, look at that! It likes you!" Said Fluttershy, surprised.
"Awesome! Does it have a name?" Asked Cloud.
"Not yet, would you like to name him?" Asked Fluttershy.
"Sure!" Said Cloud. He looked at the the parasprite for a moment. He saw that it was an electric yellow, with blue eyes.
"I'm thinking Zap." Said Cloud. The parasprite seemed to like the name, then flew in to Cloud's pocket for a nap.
"Wonderful! I knew you would get the hang of it!" Said Fluttershy.
"Yeah, but i'm still no good with any of the other creatures." Said Cloud.
"Don't you worry Cloud, you'll get it soon. Let's try some larger, less timid animals." Said Fluttershy. Gulp. Larger animals? If the smaller creatures ran away, what would the larger ones do? Fluttershy dragged Cloud over to a hawk, perched regally on a low hanging branch. Nervously, Cloud approached the bird.
"Go on, extend your hoof. It wont bite!" Called Fluttershy.
"Um, Fluttershy... I'm starting to have second thoughts about this." Said Cloud.
"You have nothing to be worried about! Just extend your hoof."
"O-Ok then." Said Cloud, extending his hoof towards the hawk. Because Cloud extended his hoof so quickly, the hawk saw this gesture as an attack. It flew in to the air, and then flew straight at Cloud! Cloud attempted to dodge the hawk, but couldn't get out of the way in time. The hawk's claw struck Cloud in the face.
"Ah!" Yelled Cloud "My Face!". The hawk turned around, and prepared for another strike. It dived at Cloud, but Fluttershy jumped in front of it.
"Stop! He is our friend! Called Fluttershy "Don't attack him any longer!" The hawk stopped and looked at Her for a moment, then turned and flew off
"Oh my, are you ok?" Asked Fluttershy.
"Yeah, I'm good. This gash wont be going away for quite a while though." Said Cloud.
"I'm starting to get the feeling that animals aren't your specialty." Said Fluttershy, grinning.
"I'm getting that feeling too. I feel it in my face mostly." Said Cloud. They both laughed and said farewell. Cloud asked if he could keep Zap, and Fluttershy agreed. Cloud wasn't going to be seen doing any animal work. Oh well, on to the next job.
Out of a house, Out of a job, Out of my mind
Ok, so animal care didn't go quite well. It had been one day since he worked at Fluttershy's , and sadly he got nothing out of the experience. Except Zap. He did get his little parasprite freind, who he had trouble keeping away from Twilight. Zap either sat perched upon Cloud's back, or snug in his pocket. Anyway, he had another job tryout to go to. Apple Acres was the Apple Family's apple farm. He knew he was good at physical things, so this job should be a breeze.
As Cloud arrived at Apple Acres, he was greeted with Applebloom and Granny Smith.
"Hey there Cloud! How are ya doing?" Chirped Applebloom.
"I'm doing great! How about you?" Asked Cloud.
"Good! So, what are y'all doing here? Asked Applebloom.
"Oh, I'm looking for a job! I was wondering if you needed any help around here." Said Cloud.
"Oh, sure! We here at Apple Acres could always use a helping hand. I'll get you hooked up for a little trial." Said Granny Smith.
"Great, thanks!" Said Cloud. Granny and Applebloom led Cloud to the barn, and hooked a cart up to him. Then, they showed Cloud how to buck trees. Well, they tried to anyway.
"Alright, Cloud, let's get to taking down these apples!" Said Granny.
"Alright, I'll just levitate them down using my magic and..." Said Cloud, but before he could finish he was interrupted by Granny Smith.
"NO!!! Apple Acres is a no-magic workplace." Stated Granny, firmly.
"Oh... ok. So if not by magic, how?" Asked Cloud.
"By bucking!" Shouted Applebloom.
"Bucking?" Asked Cloud.
"Yeah, it's easy!" Said Applebloom. She then proceeded to show Cloud the proper bucking technique. When Cloud tried, not a single apple fell. He tried again and again, but with no success. From all the work that he had done, he was getting tired. Yet, Applebloom wasn't tired, and she did more work than him.
"Man, how do you guys do it? Asked Cloud, panting.
"We work a lot! I guess you're just outta shape." Said Applebloom.
"Applebloom! That was inappropriate!" Scolded Granny.
"Sorry Cloud, I didn't mean it." Apologized Applebloom.
"It's ok!" Said Cloud. Zap, still in Cloud's pocket, started to wake up from his long nap. He poked his head out and looked around. Applebloom looked at the creature and recognized the creature as the one capable of destroying the entire farm. Naturally, she screamed aloud. Cloud and Granny attempted to calm her down, until Granny saw Zap. She was shocked for a second, and then she tried to swat at it. Cloud was confused as to what Granny was doing. Zap flew about, avoiding Granny's swings. Zap then flew towards the barn, trying to get away from Granny. Cloud saw Zap and understood what was going on. He chased after Zap, leaving Granny to comfort Applebloom. He ran in to the barn and saw Zap up on a perch. He jumped at him, but Zap dodged him. Cloud crashed into the wall before aiming his next shot at Zap. He dived again, only to be met by a wall.
"Get over here Zap!" Yelled Cloud. Zap stuck his tongue out at Cloud. With a big leap of glory, Cloud caught Zap. He held the parasprite down until he calmed down.
"Don't you ever do that again! Try it again and there will be punishment." Said Cloud, with a grim tone in his voice. Granny came up to Cloud.
"How about you go and take... that with you." Said Granny. Cloud disappointedly got up and walked off. He angrily looked at Zap, who got the message and flew back into Cloud's pocket. Cloud then slouched back to Twilight's house to rest for the night. Yet another job scratched off the list. Oh well.
Out of a house, Out of a job, Out of my mind
Man, you'd think that after you saved all of Equestria you'd get covered in riches. A nice big house and gold to last you a life time! Every thing would perfect and you could retire in luxury. There is only one slight problem, you don't. At all. Apparently here in Equestria, the world is constantly saved by ponies, and is constantly in need of saving. That means that saving the world is a casual thing. A casual thing that pays nothing. To Clouds dismay, he forgot that since he wasn't rewarded for saving the world, he had to make a life for himself. The first thing to do is to get a house to stay in, then a job.
"Alright, let's do this." Said Cloud. He was out looking for a place to make himself a house. He couldn't buy a house yet, due to his lack of money. That meant that he had to build a house until he gained enough money to buy one.
"So where do y'all think your house is gonna go?" Asked Applejack. She was going to be Clouds building helper, along with some other members of her family.
"Not quite sure yet." Said Cloud "But I'd like it to be separated from the other houses".
"There's a meadow near Fluttershy's house, if you'd like." Offered Applejack. They walked down to Fluttershy's cottage to check out the meadow. When Cloud saw it, he new it was perfect. It had a wide open space, and it was near his friends house!
"This'll do great!" Said Cloud. "We'll build here".
"Well alrighty! So, how will payment work?" Said Applejack.
"As of now I'm kind of out of a job. I'll hopefully be able to pay you by the end of this week."
"Alright sugar cube, pleasure doin business with you!"
Now for the fun part. Getting a job. Cloud had no previous experiences working as anything but a palace guard. Unfortunately, Cloud wasn't going to be doing that for a while. So, Cloud set off to Ponyville to find himself a new career!
