Rescheduling

"Oh, Ivory will be so happy." This was the only thought to go through Cherilee's mind as she made her way down one of the many paths of Ponyville, a more recently met and introduced spectacle of unique proportions following behind her; a human. More specifically, the same human that Mayor Mare had been awaiting.

At least, this was what she had inferred. After all, it was not often that any sort of human came to Ponyville, and it was rather close to the day that a human was supposed to officially begin work under Mayor Mare.

Altogether, William, as the human had told her his name was, seemed to fit into this theory perfectly. Alongside that, the many clear documents he held under his arm, some hidden within manila folder while others remained in place through the use of paper clips and the like, earned him a more business oriented tone...

Yes, she was almost certain that this was that same human.

At the same time though, there was a small amount of unsureness. Humans, though they were uncommon around Ponyville and other 'rural' areas, did pass by every now and then; some came for simple tourism or vacations, wanting a momentary 'change in scenery', while others came by for more business oriented reasons.

Glancing back to him, noting his overall appearance, she could easily lean him towards the latter of the two reasons; what with his neatly combed light and black hair, his cleanly accentuated facial features, and the overall form in which he held himself, everything simply screamed of professionalism.

She could easily have been overthinking the situation, as she knew well and good that she had the tendency to do, but at the same time, her reasoning could very well have been spot on, as it were.

Nonetheless, there was no real method behind her madness if... well, she didn't display any sort of method whatsoever.

She had to say something. The question was, however, how to do so without coming off as rude. She couldn't just directly ask if this was Ivory's--or rather, Mayor Mare's new assistant.

No, instead, she decided to give more... generalized questions. After all, she couldn't be blamed for being curious, could she?

Her mind made up, Cherilee gave herself a short and confident mental nod, before then turning her head to face the human behind her as she walked. William seemed to notice this, returning the look with one of attentiveness.

"So, Will," Cherilee asked, "how come you decided to visit our humble little home?" She made sure to sound as innocent as possible as she asked this question; though, admittedly, she may have ended up overselling it.

'Our humble little home?' She mentally questioned herself over, barely withholding her urge to suddenly slam her hoof into her face.

Either way, be it by luck or some other force in Equestria, William did not seem to take notice of this overly acted question--or at least, he chose not to point it out--instead offering a gentle smile to the school teacher.

"Oh, I suppose you could say I'm here on the basis of business, in a regard." He responded, before then adjusting the papers held underneath his arm.

An ear of Cherilee's twitched ever so slightly as she concluded, with a mental sigh, that this had just been a human passing by, as she had accounted as a possibility.

"Yet, you could also say I'm here out of pure casual intention."

And like that, this conclusion was essentially thrown out the window, leaving a momentarily confused Cherilee.

The expression she held showed this, easily earning a chuckle from the human.

"I'm here for a job." He clarified with a fluent wave of his hand.

"I KNEW IT! YES!" Jumping slightly at her abrupt mental outburst, having not really expected it herself, Cherilee pretended to clear her throat so as to take a short moment before responding.

"Oh, really?" She asked in a calm and controlled manner, as opposed to her mentally cheering psyche. William nodded.

"Mm-hm. A rather nice position, from what I've seen. And certainly a pleasant change from my previous job." The small smile on his face held at the thought of pleasantries and placidity he'd find here; being able to actually hear himself think for once being among that list, ironically enough.

"Well, that's good to know. And besides, I can't say it isn't a pleasant change for you to be here either."

"Oh?"

"We don't exactly have very many human visitors here in Ponyville. In fact, I think you're the first one to come here this year." William glanced around him at these words, noting that Cherilee was, in fact, correct; from what he saw, there wasn't a single human as far as the eye could see. Curiously enough, this only furthered his sense of contentment.

After his several years in politics, after all, he had grown to prefer the company of ponies over humans. Granted, he still had very many human friends and associates, but he simply believed that ponies, in comparison, held a greater overall disposition. That and, in politics, it was more commonly ponies he was able to trust than humans.

"... So I see."

"Yes, it's very- Oh, there's the post office, just up ahead!" Quickly shifting his focus as he heard this, Will had little to no issue finding the building Cherilee had been referring to.

He took a short moment so as to note it's features, including the homely architecture, and the wooden sign that hung above the door, a painted on picture of what seemed to be a letter indicating the purpose of the building.

A stout nod escaped him as he spotted this, both he and Cherilee making their way as far as the front door to the building before halting.

Cherilee, finally being able to do so now that they had arrived, turned herself to completely face Will, taking a brief moment to adjust her saddlebags once more.

She had nearly forgotten she even was still wearing them, oddly enough.

"Well, here we are. Now, just head inside and look for somepony named Stamp Feather. He'll help you send those papers faster than anypony else here probably can." William nodded once more as Cherilee gave him this last set of instruction, smiling a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Cherilee, I appreciate the help." The cerise mare waved off the thanks with a smile of her own, alongside a short laugh.

"Oh, it was nothing, really. Like I said, a good deed draws another good deed."

"I suppose so." A chuckle escaping the man at the mare's repetition, he made his way over to the door to the post office, opening it and entering with ease--save for the fact that he had to duck ever so slightly at the relatively low door frame.

Just as the door closed behind him, Cherilee could barely catch sight of him giving her a friendly wave goodbye, which she quickly returned.

"Bye, Will! I'll see you around!" She added, before, with a lighthearted grin, she began to turn herself around to head back home. After all, she still had groceries to put away, and she had confirmed her suspicions as she had wanted.

"Hm, well he certainly seems quite pleasan- Gah!" Both Cherilee's mental and physical reactions seemed almost in sync as she found herself nearly falling backwards in surprise; who wouldn't, after all, when rather than facing whatever it is you were expecting to face, you were instead given a sight filled with a pink-furred, hyperactive, and widely smiling Pinkie Pie.

Then again, Cherilee thought to herself as she took a moment to catch her breath, Pinkie already has a Surprise Scare Saturday planned once a year... As to when it was, nopony knew.

Supposedly, 'that was part of the surprise'.

"Goodness... Uh, hello, Pinkie. Is there something I can help you with?" Rather than answer, Pinkie simply pointed towards post office door, a slight bounce noticeable to how she stood as she did so.

"Oh, um, you're on your way to mail something?" Pinkie shook her head.

"You left an emergency cake in there?" Pinkie gave another shake of her head, still continuing to hold her smile strong nonetheless. Cherilee was, in all honesty, unsure as to what it was Pinkie wanted.

"You're... Looking for somepony?" This time, she nodded, and Cherilee was quickly able to understand what was going on.

"You're asking about the human, aren't you?" Before Cherilee could even manage to follow up her question with any sort of answer, Pinkie Pie suddenly took in a big breath, leading Cherilee to brace herself.

"I didn't known a human was moving in! Did you know? I didn't! I was just walking by when I saw somepony walking with a human and I thought, 'hey Pinkie, who's that?' So I said to myself, 'gee, I don't know!' And I know everypony here in Ponyville so I went to see, and I saw you were talking to a human instead of a pony, and I heard he was here for a job and-"

Her voice sounding more like a jumbled scrabble of syllables and vowels, she suddenly stopped as she took in a loud gasp, before then speeding off, leaving nothing but a small poof of dust and confetti in her wake.

Cherilee, in the meanwhile, stood there stupefied, attempting to analyze... whatever it was that had just occurred.

Save for the faint smell of sugary treats left over from the quickly fading cloud left behind by Pinkie Pie, and a sudden headache of illogical proportions, there was really no proof left over to even hint that Pinkie had even been there... Well, all that and something more.

Wafting the dust away after eventually recovering from her paralyzingly confusion, Cherilee rose a brow as she saw what seemed to be a small pink slip of folded paper on the floor where the hyperactive mate had just been; the words 'To Cherilee' were clearly written in a glittery and fluid fashion upon the paper, only earning even more of Cherilee's curiosity.

Glancing around her, so as to make sure that she wouldn't end up being surprised by the pink mare once again--though a part of her knew that was in vain--she cautiously picked up the paper, unfolding it with ease.

The first thing to greet her eyes was a large series of text saying 'you're invited!' in all capital letters, followed shortly after by a much smaller, though clearly legible subtext claiming what exactly she had been invited to.

... A welcoming party...

Cherilee couldn't help but to smile, glancing back to the post office behind her before, with a chuckle, moving the invitation into her saddlebags with her groceries.

"Well, I hope Will doesn't mind having all the extra company tonight... And that he doesn't question how Pinkie got his address in the first place."

She knew from experience that some questions are better left unanswered, lest one wish for a migraine that would likely never go away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mayor Mare, somepony is here to see you." This was what awoke the political pony from her unintentional nap, her head shooting up from the desk with a jolt, as she quickly finished a breath she had been taking in.

"Huh?" She cluelessly exclaimed, looking around her in an attempt to regain her bearings on the situation; not that there was truly much ground for her to cover, in that regard. She was still in her office, she still had a pile of paperwork stacked before her--though it had thankfully been halved in the time she was working so far--and she was still-

"Mayor Mare?"

-being called upon.

Giving out a mental sigh, she adjusted both her cravat and reading glasses, which had been moved out of their usual positions due to her nap, and cleared her throat as she addressed her secretary pony.

"Yes, yes, um, go ahead and let them in." She called back, unconsciously wiping off her desk from any possible debris or particles of filth that truthfully weren't there; an old habit of hers.

From beyond her office doors, she could hear her secretary converse with her apparent visitor.

"Alright, Miss Pinkie Pie, right this way."

And just like that, she quickly regretted not asking who it was before letting them in.

It wasn't that she disliked the pink party mare of Ponyville--far from it, in fact--but often times, she proved herself to be very significant... Distraction. Mayor Mare could easily guess she was already well behind her work schedule as a result of the 'break' she had taken, and with Pinkie Pie likely coming by to either, A, start up a completely random long winded conversation conversation with her, or, B, invite her to some sort of festivity, she would be even more behind without a doubt.

Nonetheless, there was nothing more she could do, for before she could even get another word out, Pinkie Pie was already bouncing her way into the room, her usual signature smile sitting proudly on her face.

"Hiya, Mayor Mare!" She greeted, soon making her place immediately in front of Mayor Mare's desk, though continuing to spring up and down nonetheless.

"Hello, Pinkie Pie." Mayor Mare kindly returned, though with an undertone of exhaustion. "How can I help you?"

The pink mare giggled at this, stopping her bouncing and shaking her head.

"Oh silly, I came to help you! Not the other way around!" Mayor Mare could already guess where this was going, watching in silence as Pinkie Pie turned and craned her head so as to reach into her large and poofy mane. Surely enough, she pulled out a slip of pink paper, before quickly placing it on Mayor Mare's desk.

"See? A party always helps, no matter what the problem!" Mayor Mare gave a small smile to Pinkie Pie, chuckling softly.

"Well, as much as I can't argue with you in that regard, I'm completely swamped with paperwork right now. As you can see." She told Pinkie, gesturing to the pile of papers on the desk.

"Awww, but it's a super duper duper important party!"

If Mayor Mare had a bit for every time Pinkie had told her this, she wouldn't need to be doing so much paperwork in the first place.

"I'm sure it is Pinkie Pie, but I just can't-"

"I mean, I can't throw two 'Welcome To Ponyville' parties for the same person!" Mayor Mare's ears twitched at Pinkie's words, her eyes momentarily widening as she mentally repeated what she had just said.

"W-wait... A 'Welcome to Ponyville' party...? And... you just called whoever you're throwing the party for a 'person', right?"

"Yup, like I would call any human! Buuuuut, if you're really that busy, then I can always just-" The party mare wasn't even able to finish her sentence, a sudden gust of wind interrupting her as it passed by her side, followed by the sound of a door quickly opening, and the faint voice of Mayor Mare saying to 'reschedule her appointments for today'--likely aimed to her secretary.

Before she knew it, Pinkie was alone in the room, nothing indicating Mayor Mare's previous being there save for a spinning, though slowing, revolving chair, and a missing party invitation from Mayor Mare's desk.

"... Wow! Dash has got to hear about this! I didn't even know Mayor Mare could run that fast!"