To Each Their Own

After the previous day's turn of events, I found myself wanting to go outside again, if only experience the kindness that would otherwise be unheard of in my world, and the jolly atmosphere that seemed to constantly circulate throughout its atmosphere. At the same time however, I also had reason not to. Now that I had read all the books on basic knowledge I would need while in Equestria, I felt an overwhelming urge to see what the literacy of this world had to offer, perhaps make a habit out of it, much like I had done in my own world.

...Perhaps I could compromise.

After breakfast with Twilight and Spike, I did not hesitate to make my way into the library and look through the immense selection of books it provided. The first book I had started off with was titled "A Tale of Tails." A fictional book about a group of ponies seeking out assistance from an "almighty dragon" in order to prevent an oncoming battle between their homes. About an hour in, it was no question that the book was expertly written. The plot was well built, the characters seemed unique and lively, and the overall planning of the book was downright brilliant. Unfortunately, the book ended as soon as it began. At least, in my perspective. Having a high reading rate was both a blessing and a curse.

I carefully placed the book back where I had found it and travelled through the fictional section of the library, looking for another interesting read. I glanced down the row and saw Spike placing several books into their respective shelves, likely having been asked to do so by Twilight. He noticed me and gave a small wave in my direction before returning to his work. He was efficient, I'd give him that.

Several books afterwards, I glanced towards the watch that Discord had so kindly given me. It was mid-day, meaning that it was time for me to go outside and enjoy myself in the wonder that was Ponyville. "Twilight, I'm heading out!" I called out, feeling it would be rude to leave without giving her reason.

"Oh, ok. How come?" I heard her call back.

"I just want to take a walk. Maybe see what there is to do around Ponyville. Can't spend all my time in one place reading after all." I reply in a slight joking tone.

"Sure you can! I mean, look at Twilight!" Spike chimed in, bringing about a stifled chuckle from me. Twilight didn't respond to this, so much as she just sighed.

"... All right. I'll see you later Richard." We exchanged our farewells between each other and I quickly made my way outside, more than happy to experience more of what this happy-go-lucky village had to offer. To my surprise though, the village seemed much more busy than usual. I checked my watch again. It was still mid-day, no mistake. Perhaps it was a time similar to rush hour back home? Pushing the thought aside, I shrugged my shoulders and made my way through the many paths of Ponyville.

To begin, I headed southwards of the library. Since I had already been to the northern part of Ponyville, I felt a nice change in perspective would be a good idea. Ponies would greet me as I walked by, though not by name. They acted as if they had known me for years even though I had only recently arrived. This world leaves me with more reasons to enjoy it time and time again, this was no exception.

Continuing down the main southern path, several buildings stood apart from the rest. Some of them had a unique flair, while others offered a bemusing atmosphere. No matter where I went though, the same overall mood shifted through the air. The only word that I could use to describe this world was 'bliss'.

"Oh, Richard!" I was brought out of my moment of peace as a familiar mare called out to me. I turned towards her, noticing Mayor Mare run towards me full sprint...gallop? She stopped just moments from me, a trail of dust and dirt popping up behind her as she skidded to a halt.

"Hello Mayor Mare," I greeted,"is something wrong?" She didn't answer back immediately, taking some time to catch her breath from the sudden sprint.

"Yes... Need help... City hall... Rounder quit... Work backing up... Whew, I need... To get out more." She stammered out in between pants.

"Mayor Mare, take a moment to calm your breathing. No offense, but I'm not sure what you're telling me." She nodded in response as she used the next moment or two to recover from her run. As soon as she seemed to reach a normal breathing rate, she straightened herself once more and repeated what she had attempted to tell me before.

"Sorry about that. Like I said, one of the Ponyville rounders quit and work at the office is beginning to get backed up. I was hoping that you could, possibly, help? If you're free that is, you don't need to if-"

"I'm okay with it." I interrupted, crossing my arms as I did so. Mayor Mare seemed surprised, perhaps she hadn't been expecting me to answer so quickly.

"Really? You'll do it? Just like that?" She questioned with a lifting eyebrow. I nodded. I had nothing to do, and I was more than willing to help someone in this world. Um, somepony. Though, there was one issue.

"I'll take the job on one condition." Her ears rose to attention along with the rest of her body, her full focus seeming to go towards me. She had really needed someone to fill this position. "All I want, is that you tell me what exactly a 'rounder' is."

Her jaw dropped as she began stammering in return to my "condition". It was comical, but I restrained myself from making even the slightest of chuckles. After all, I didn't want to seem rude.

"I- You..." She sighed in frustration as she put a hoof to her face. "...a rounder is a pony that helps other ponies in the city. You see, some ponies aren't able to do something on their own, whether its because they aren't sure how to do it or don't have enough time to do it. These ponies send requests to city hall, and these requests are given to one of the city's rounders. The rounders then head over to where they were requested and assist in any way they possibly could. Alongside that, rounders assist in the organization and up-keeping of the towns paperwork, taxes, etc." It sounded similar to volunteer work back in my home. The difference being that it was a profession rather than a good-hearted pastime, and it involved paperwork, which I already had lots of experience in from my old job as a secretary. "So... What do you think?"

I uncrossed my arms and smiled at the mare, already having known my decision before she had asked. "I'd be more than happy to be one of Ponyville's rounders, Mayor Mare." She was ecstatic, to say the least, and seemed ready to jump around at any moment. It was reminiscent of Pinkie Pie whenever she was in a happy mood, which was all the time.

"That's great!" She exclaimed happily. She paused for a moment as she seemed to realize how inappropriately she was acting in her position and quickly straightened herself out, attempting to seem as professional as possible. "Shall we head to city hall then?" I rolled my eyes at her change in attitude, but the smile on my face was enough to tell her I meant no offense.

"I leave for a walk and get offered a job. This place is brilliant! Nothing can seem to go wrong here!" As I thought this, a small part of my mind surged with doubt. Almost as if it were saying "You shouldn't have said that."

It was no surprise that city hall would be the largest building in Ponyville, but the fact that I had so easily missed it still bothered me. As Mayor Mare lead me into the large and official building, I continued to see ponies glance at me from time to time, confusion evident in their faces. There was still no signs of fear or anger though, so I assumed there still wasn't anything I had to worry about.

The moment we entered city hall, I quickly noticed just how bad their situation currently was. Ponies were rushing past one another, floating or holding onto several papers with their respective mouths, magic, or hooves. They all looked horribly stressed and hysterical, as if there was a live explosive in the building that would go off if they didn't finish. Let alone the fact that several papers were riddled across the floors and desks of the room. "Everypony!" Mayor Mare called out, attempting to get their attention. They didn't seem to notice as they continued their hysterical rushing back and forth. "Hello!?!" They still showed no signs of responding through their overly stressed states.

An idea dawned on me at this point. Perhaps it was a cliche idea, but it was an idea nonetheless. I didn't hesitate as I put two fingers into my mouth and let out the loudest whistle I could. All the panicking ponies immediately stopped in their place, seeming to completely forget about what they were supposed to be doing as they put their utmost attention towards me. I took a step back and gestured towards Mayor Mare. "You were saying?" I calmly asked her. She nodded in thanks as she looked towards the now still ponies that shared the room, several others glancing in from the other halls and rooms.

She cleared out her throat before looking back towards the ponies and speaking. "Everypony, this is Richard. He has kindly volunteered to take the position as rounder and I hope that you all treat him respectfully." Everypony glanced towards me before letting out a loud sigh of relief. They all began to head back to what I believed to be their workplaces, only this time, they did it without chaotic disorganization. "There we go. Now, if you'll follow me to your office, we can get you started right away."

The job was easy enough, as it seemed. Take a few papers, date them, organize them into the "in" or "out" boxes, some tax documents, nothing major. It made me curious as to why the last rounder had quit. According to what Mayor Mare had told me, it was due to the stress. Granted, I had more experience with paperwork than the pony, but it didn't seem that bad. Then again, I hadn't really gotten a request for assistance as of yet, so I didn't really know about the full stress that the job caused.

"Richard?" One of the office ponies called out. She and several of the others had gotten used to me fairly quickly once I had arrived. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I had taken the place of rounder, that or it was because of the kind disposition of most of the ponies in this world. Whatever the reason, I wasn't going to complain about it anytime soon.

"Yes?" I answered back, momentarily putting the paperwork down on my slightly undersized desk. Honestly, it felt as though the desk was crushing my lap.

"We have a request from a Ms. 'Fluttershy'." This immediately caught my interest as I heard one of the first ponies I had met's name be called out. "Says that she needs someone to watch over her animals while she goes to get feed. Are you accepting the request, or passing it?" As it turned out, rounders were allowed to choose wether to do their volunteer work or not. Sometimes it was because the pony in position wasn't able to help, didn't have time, or simply didn't want to try. I, however, doubt that I'd ever turn one down.

"Sure, I'll go. Do you know where she is?" I replied as I made my way out of the bear trap I had as a desk. The office pony handed me the request letter, a map and directions written on the back. I was surprised to see that she lived so far outside of Ponyville, yet at the same time, it made sense considering her shy nature. "I'll head out right away. Be back soon." I told the office pony as I made my way out the door and into Ponyville.

The walk was simple enough. Follow the dirt road north, make a right by the library, head straight into the outskirts of Ponyville, over the small bridge, and follow along the edge of the Everfree forest to the right. Simple. I was careful among the last part of my trek though, knowing fully well that the Everfree forest was not a place I would want to go through.

Sure enough, I soon spotted a lone cottage with several animals skittering around it. Fluttershy was likely indoors, tending to whatever creatures she could. I quickened my pace ever so slightly, not wanting to keep her waiting. After all, if she needed to get more food for the animals, I would think that she would be rather pressed for time.

As I closed in on the door, I soon fell over as an odd ball of brown fluff rolled in front of my feet. I managed to stop my fall with my hands and keep myself from dirtying my clothes again, especially since I had just gotten them, but I still hit the ground rather roughly against my knees and palms.

I stood myself up as I dusted off my knees and hands, glancing towards the brown furred creature that tripped me. To my surprise, it was a bear cub. It was holding onto its rear paw with its two front ones, licking and nibbling on it in childlike curiosity. Any annoyance I had towards it was quickly swept away as I watched the adorable sight. I leaned down and pet the cub on the head slightly before making to turn around. "Thats just adorable. I wonder where its mom is th-"

Perhaps I shouldn't have thought that, as I immediately turned and was met with the brown fur of a large animals belly. I gulped dryly as I looked upwards and met the gaze of what I assumed to be the mother bear that I had thought of. It let out a short snort through it nose, fogging up my glasses as it did so. Slightly trembling, I carefully removed my glasses/sunglasses and began to clear the fog with the shirt, still keeping my gaze on the bear. "Um, hello?" I said meekly, barely audible above my beating heart. The bear's eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly, and it put both of it large arms outwards, moving to bring them together upon me. I shut my eyes and awaited what would likely to be a painful experience... Only to feel two large furry arms begin to crush me against the bear.

I opened my eyes and quickly took notice that, rather than being mauled or crushed to death, I was in a literal bear hug. I looked downwards and noticed that the cub was hugging onto my leg just as well. "...heh. Some things never change I guess." The odd moment of silence that followed as the two continued to hold me was broken as I heard the cottage doors squeak open, followed by a soft gasp. I looked towards the door, seeing Fluttershy standing there with a surprised look on her face. "Hi Fluttershy."

"Oh dear! Richard, are you okay? They aren't hurting you are they?" Fluttershy exclaimed in her usual quiet form as she floated over to the two bears and I. She had a clear view of the two bears holding onto me at this point, and seemed to melt at the sight. "Awwww, Miss Brownie and Milkshake like you." She observed. I smiled in return as the two began to slowly release me.

"Yeah. They're like two big teddy bears really." As the two released me, I put on my glasses once again, watching in silence as the mother picked up her cub by the scruff of his neck and carried him off. For a second, I thought I saw the cub wave goodbye to me.

"Miss Brownie doesn't tend to like many ponies too often, and Milkshake is usually too shy. You must be really good with animals." She told me as she watched the two go on their way. "So what brings you here, I mean, not that I mind."

I chuckled as she slightly returned to her shy ways. It was odd really. From what Twilight had told me, Fluttershy was usually very shy with people, sometimes even her friends. Yet, both times that I had met her now, she never showed any great signs of this. "I'm here to watch over the animals for you." I told her with a smile. She seemed perplexed by this.

"But... I didn't ask you to..." She trailed off as she took a glance at me once more before gasping once again. "You're... You're Ponyville's rounder?" I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes I am. I got the job earlier today. Mayor Mare needed some help and I volunteered." Fluttershy smiled once again as she turned and lead me towards her home.

"That was very kind of you. Oh, and thank you for coming when you could. I'm beginning to run out of animal feed and I don't want any of the animals to go hungry. The poor things."

"It's no problem Fluttershy." I reassured her. "I'm more than happy to help. You go ahead and get the feed from the market, I'll watch over your animals while you're gone." Fluttershy floated over to me and gave me a quick yet gentle hug before opening the door for me to enter.

"Thank you. I'll be back soon, and I promise that once I get back we can have some tea and talk before you head back to work." I turned towards her and nodded.

"That would be nice, Fluttershy."

An hour after Fluttershy had left, I was in the living room of the house, watching as birds, squirrels, beavers, and other animals of all sorts passed by me on the couch. Some were playing with each other, others were resting in silence, and some were even, and I kid you not, conversing with each other. "Animals in this world seem to think differently than those in mine. Nonetheless, I still love them." At times, a random creature, be it bird, mammal, amphibian, or reptile, would look towards me as I sat on the couch and take a place near me.

At this point, I had two snakes, one venomous and one a constrictor, to my right, coiled up by my lap, a squirrel sitting on my left shoulder and patiently awaiting Fluttershy's return, a hummingbird constantly flying by my head from flower to flower, though I didn't mind, a frog staring blankly ahead next to my left leg, occasionally croaking or catching a nearby fly as a meal, and curiously enough, a small white rabbit standing on my head, impatiently tapping its foot with its arms crossed, which, once again, didn't bother me.

I was currently indulging myself by petting a small red panda that sat on my lap, its two arms out limply in front of it as I gently scratched its belly. My eyes were closed as I enjoyed this moment of bliss, interrupted solely by the occasional squeak and skitter of another animal. Within another few minutes of waiting, the sound of the door opening caught my attention, causing me to turn my head, carefully so as not to disturb the other creatures near/on me. Sure enough, Fluttershy soon made her way inside, holding two large bags of feed to her sides while also attempting to drag inside an even larger bag with her mouth. Seeing her struggling, I carefully picked up and placed away the animals that were resting on me, aside from the white rabbit who gently pushed away my hands every time I moved to grab him, and made my way towards her.

"Need some help Fluttershy?" I asked her with a smile as I grabbed hold of the large bag. She released it from her jaws and smiled in return as I picked the bag up off the floor. It was heavy, much heavier than I thought it would be, but I grinned and bared it. "Times like this I wash I was more athletic." Fluttershy gestured towards another room before floating off with the bags of feed in hand, I mean hoof. I followed, carefully putting the bag of feed in a large cabinet with the bags that she had placed before closing it, releasing a sigh as I finished.

"Oh, thank you. That last bag was really big and heavy, and I wasn't sure if I could manage to bring it here. Sorry for the extra work." I waved her off with a grin.

"It's no problem Fluttershy, after all, I volunteered."

"Oh, but still... How about I get you that tea I promised? We can talk a bit before you head back to City Hall, that is, if you don't mind." I nodded in response, feeling a light thump on my head as I did so. "Oops, I had completely forgotten about him." I raised my arms above my head and made to grab the rabbit. He didn't resist this time as I carefully placed both of my hands below him, allowing him to stand in my hands, and lowered him to my chest level.

"By the way Fluttershy, this rabbit was waiting for you for quite a bit after you left." Fluttershy looked at the rabbit in my hand and softly grinned.

"Hi Angel," she said softly, "Mamas back, so you don't have to wait any longer." The rabbit let out an odd, almost inaudible series of squeaks in return, followed by the tamping of his foot. He was quickly taken into a hug from Fluttershy, a face of adoration on her. "Aw, you're such a good little bunny." By far, this was the cutest thing that I had seen since I had arrived in Equestria.

Fluttershy had kept to her promise, and there we sat in her living room, enjoying the calm, cool taste of the tea. We would make conversation from time to time, but most of it was short lived as we preferred the peaceful respite of silence over talk. That is, until she asked me a rather interesting question.

"So, I was just wondering, if you don't mind me asking of course, I mean..." She took a moment or so to collect herself before starting once again. "When did you get so good with animals?"

I chuckled at this. She seemed so nervous over such a simple question, but I wouldn't judge her for it. It's who she was. "To be perfectly honest Fluttershy, I'm not sure how I got so good with animals. You see, the first time I ever really interacted with an animal was when I was eight." I took a sip of my tea once again as I attempted to remember the rest of the tale. "I was at the zoo at the time. My parents had thought it was a good way of cheering me up about... Some things. Nonetheless, it definitely helped me. There were all kinds of animals there. Lions, hippos, parrots, you name it." I reminisced happily as I found myself returning to the very day it had all occurred. "Though, it was among one of the exhibits that I had first found out about how animals interact with me. I was looking over the crocodile exhibit then. It was one of those containment areas that was raised above the water, a guard railing keeping people from falling in. At least, it was supposed to. I fell in, and I nearly drowned right then and there before I managed to make my way above the water." Fluttershy gasped, a look of concern on her face.

"Oh my! How'd you fall?" I shrugged.

"I just...Fell. I guess that I was leaning in too close and lost my balance." Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at this, but motioned for me to continue. "Right. Anyways, I had a bit of trouble staying afloat in the water, since it was made to be so murky and deep for the crocodiles. The problem was, I couldn't really head to land either at this point, since some of the crocodiles were sunbathing on the shore. One of them must have spotted me though, since it moved into the water and started to swim at me, full speed. I could hear my parents above me, crying out for someone to help as other people just stood and watched in their shock. I couldn't stay in the water, but I couldn't head to land. I was stuck, and I thought for sure that I was doomed." I looked upwards, remembering the sadness and despair that I felt at the time.

"The crocodile dove under the water, out of my sight. I looked around for it, but I just couldn't see it. I could basically feel myself lifting off to heaven as I left my dead body, even if nothing had happened yet." I chuckled, much to Fluttershy's surprise, as I looked to her with a smile. "It took me a few seconds to realize that I was actually being lifted up. Not by a person who had managed to grab me, but by the very crocodile that had disappeared beliw the water. It had gotten below me and lifted me so that I was sitting on top of it, before swimming me to shore. As for the crocodiles that were sunbathing, they didn't bother me whatsoever. I stayed there for about twelve minutes, a couple of crocodiles laying next to me as I waited for someone to come pick me up." Fluttershy put on a smile herself at this point, at last seeing the happiness that came from the tale. "Ever since then, I've noticed that animals of all kinds, deadly or otherwise, seem to react kindly with me, always caring for me as if I were their child or friend. Like family."

Fluttershy seemed to be close to tears at this point, but she continued to smile nonetheless. "...Wow."

"Bye Fluttershy, enjoy the rest of your afternoon. Oh, and thanks for the tea." I waved goodbye as I made my to the original path I had taken to Fluttershy's home, having decided it was about time for me to head back to City Hall. Fluttershy waved in return, a smile of satisfaction on her face as she then went inside and closed the door behind her. I took a few more steps, making sure I was out of earshot, before I let out a sigh of relief. "I really don't like lying to people... But perhaps its best that she didn't know that someone from school had pushed me off."

As I filled out the last of the papers, I let out a sigh, my hand slightly throbbing from writing so much, so fast. I had barely managed to finish the work I had left over after heading to Fluttershy's house, let alone the last second tax billers. I was starting to see where the previous Ponyville rounder had gotten their stress.

"Richard, you can go no-" Mayor Mare paused. She looked over my desk with an odd expression before looking towards me. "Did... Did you finish the work?" I warily nodded in confirmation. "Those were all the taxes of the season! You would normally have a month to fill those out!" My jaw dropped. I had just done a month worth of work in one day without even knowing it.

"Wha- how? Just how?"

I walked up to the front door of the library with a shuffle, letting out a yawn as I did so. I reached for the door, desperatly hoping to get some rest for the night. Suddenly, the door flung open in my direction, knocking me to the ground with a resounding thud.

"Richard!?" I looked towards the door, groaning in pain as I saw twilight standing there with a look of surprise on her face. Unfortunately, that quickly shifted to a glare of annoyance as I felt a warm sensation surround me, lifting me up into the air and carrying me into the the library. I was unceremoniously dropped onto the couch as Twilight continued to glare at me and began to lecture. "Where WERE you! You said you'd be going out for a walk, but you were gone for hours!"

"Oh. Oh! I am so sorry Twilight, I had completely lost track of time. See, I was caught up in work, I spent an hour or two helping Fluttershy, then I had to-"

"Woah, woah, whoah, wait! Did you say work?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow as she did so.

"Well... Yes. I'm the new Ponyville rounder." A moment of silence came. Neither of us said anything nor moved until finally, Twilight broke the silence.

"What!?! You went out for a walk and came back with a job!?!" I could tell that this was going to be a long night.