The Voices (In My Head Again)

With all the silliness of the book on pillow conflict resolved and neatly put away Sketch gets to making the candy for Jon like he meant to last chapter. He spends the next two hours making the candy sampling one out of every hundred to make sure the quality is good. Afterward, he begins bagging the candy in one pound bags for Jon and put the bags into a large sack to deliver, he picks up the bag and heads out for the cafe. As he walks through town he isn’t getting as many ponies’ attention now that he has been in town for a couple days, he is still getting the weird look every now and again, but for the most part, he’s a daily case.

He arrives at the shop and notices a decent sized line for the coffee and candy he makes. He gets a few waves and ‘hey how are ya’s’ as he is a regular at the coffee shop for the past couple days so he is slowly integrating into this town’s general population.

“Hey, Jon, got your daily supply of candy!” He shouts from outside the cafe as he can’t get in due to the line.”This batch turned out really good today.”

“Well just stand out there with em and I’ll teleport them inside.”

“Really?” Sketch asks.

“No, now get in here, we ran out of yesterday’s batch thirty minutes ago.”

“Okay, here you go Jon.”

“Thanks, your candy has brought in a lot of business, here, take this week’s pay,” Jon says as he hands Sketch a bag of two hundred and seventy-five bits. You earned it.”

“Thanks, see ya tomorrow, I’ll go pick up the chocolate now.” Sketch announces as he leaves the shop only to hear the cash register ding in response and Jon makes another sale.

With that job done for the day he looks at his phone and sees that it is only eleven thirty-seven.

“I guess it is time to go house shopping.” He says to himself as he heads back to the castle to ask Twilight about the housing situation for him.

“Sketch!” Twilight shouts as he enters the castle’s table room, you know the one.

“Hey Twilight, I enjoyed our war earlier.”

“I did too surprisingly enough, what are you doing back here so early?”

“I dropped off the candy and was wonder how the housing market is around here.”

“Well you can get one for around six hundred bits a month, but for someone your size you would be paying seven hundred.”

“Crap looks like I need another job.”

“I would say so.”

“Any ideas?”

“Well you could always work at the library, but it really doesn’t need a librarian because it is so small, hmm, well are you strong?”

“I like to think I am, I can bench one hundred and forty pounds, one hundred and the forty-five pound bar.”

“Yeah, there goes apple bucking then.”

“What’s that, it sounds gross, is it gross?”

“No, you basically kick trees and knock the apples loose and then collect them in buckets.”

“Couldn’t I just, y’know, pick them?”

“Too slow.”

“Um. I was good in shop class with minor welding and metal working.”

“Oh, that doesn’t require you to be strong, just good with your hoo- I mean hands.”

“Can we stop insulting me already? I’m not built like you ponies to do heavy lifting.”

“Yeah you’re even weaker than pegasi, and their bones are hollow so they weigh less and can fly easier.”

“Like pigeons?”

“Kind of? I-I guess, but that’s not the point, the point is we need you to get the job at the local smithy.”

“Fine.” And so they make their way out of the castle and into town to see if the local blacksmith needs a helping hoo-hand, I meant hand, come on, it may be six a.m. after an all nighter but you gotta get this right, get into it! Oh and while the writer had a little moment of lack of sleep induced brain fart they arrive at the smithy.

“Anyone home?”

“Yeah, what do you want, I’m busy.” A stallion answers from deep within the forge.

“Well, I was looking for a job, Twilight here told me you needed someone to help you out around here?”

“I did” Twilight confirms.

“Well she isn’t wrong but what are you exactly?”

“I’m Sketch and I’m a human from Earth.”

“Who names a place Earth? Don’t you know that is another meaning for dirt?”

“I know I have pointed it out but no one seems to get how stupid it is.”

“Yeah, well what do you know about forging weapons and armor?”

“Nothing.”

“Can you carry heavy equipment and deliver goods?”

“Yes, but nothing over two hundred pounds and I know a little bit of welding from my friend Jayme, he went to school for it.”

“Well that will count for nothing here, you have to earn the right to work with me and your first job is delivering this pile of equipment to the guard’s outpost, now.”

“Okay, where is that?”

“Hurry up and deliver it.” The Unicorn blacksmith orders as he works the forge.

“I’ll show you where it is.” Twilight offers a helping hoof.

“Okay, thanks, Twi.”

“I said hurry up maggot!” The unicorn orders.

“Yes, sir!” Sketch says as he takes the cart full of spears, swords, and armor to the guard’s post.

“Let’s hurry,” Twilight suggests as they take the cart out of the smithery as fast as they can.

“So while we deliver this what’s the guy’s name and what’s his story?”

“Well his name is Steel Pride and he is the oldest and most successful blacksmith in town.”

“Cool, why is he such an ass?”

“Sketch! Language mister.”

“Sorry…”

Twilight clears her throat, “Anyways, he lives alone on the outskirts of the town, about a twenty-minute walk from Fluttershy’s cottage, and a widower, his wife passed on a few years before I got here.”

“Awww, now I wanna be his friend.”

“You can be, just be patient and work hard, he respects a working stallion, uh, I mean, man, right?” Sketch nods.” Okay, the terminology for your race is taking some getting used to.”

“So is saying everypony instead of everyone. Also, can I point out something I am amazed by?”

“Sure.”

“What are the chances that I would end up in a magical world full of talking magical ponies that speak and write in my language yet be nowhere near my home, where the language originates that we developed from a dead language thousands of years ago.”

“That is bizarre now that you mention it, the chances of this happening are infitssimaly small now that I think about it.”

“I know, right?”

“Yeah, oh wait I forgot, I was supposed to experim- I mean study your physiology, after you’re done working.”

“You were going to say experiment on me weren’t you…”

“No, I wasn’t” Twilight denies.

“Sure you weren’t, and how are your notes going?Am I evil enough for you?”

“Quite the contrary, you seem to fit in well with pony society, you are a law abiding citizen and you are going out of your way to help others. A prime example of that would be you working for Jon at the cafe, you doubled his business in a single day and made a deal with the Cakes for chocolate deliveries to make the candy for him. More than anything I am just impressed how you are handling the situation. And I haven’t forgotten about you wanting to go home, but why the time limit? Celestia told me about it but she won’t tell me why not even Luna will spill the beans.”

“That’s for us and for you to not know, privacy and all. But I need to get home in less that fifty-four days from now.”

“Could you please tell me? As a friend?”

“Nope.”

“Alright…We’re here!”

“Oh, looky there, we are,” Sketch says as he knocks on the door to the small post.

“Yes, sir?” The generic guard asks as he opens the door, not surprised by Sketch at all, must’ve seen him around town earlier followed by Twilight.

“I’m here with your new equipment.”

“Ah, very good.” The guard looks over the equipment and finds the bill stuck to one of the spears, he walks back into the post and comes back with a small pouch full of bits.”There you go, the payment for the order is there, thank you for the delivery, fare well.”

“No problem.” Sketch replies as he and the guard nod at each other and then the guard goes back to work as Sketch and Twilight leave to head back to Steel Pride.

“That was fast.” Steel pride says as he appears right behind them in the middle of town square.”Where’s the money?” Sketch offers the unicorn the pouch full of coins, he opens the small bag and begins counting.”All one thousand and three hundred and thirty-seven bits, good, you didn’t take any for yourself.”

“Of course not, I’m no thief.”

“Yeah, I watched him.” Twilight states.

“Even if the princess of friendship vouches for ya I’m still skeptical hiring you, but if you really want to work for me you must do anything and everything I ask of you without question, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good, you start at six a.m. tomorrow.”

“Guess that means I’m making the candy at night.”

“Candy?”

“I also work for Mocha Jon, I make candy in the morning and drop it off for him before the morning rush.”

“Do that on your own time, you work for me now.” Stell Pride says matter of factly.

“Okay.”

And so Sketch now has a second job working for Steel Pride, how will he fare with the stubborn old smithy? Will he burn himself countless times doing the simplest of tasks, most likely, will he get enough money for a place of his own, probably. To find out the rest you must read on! End of the day fifty-three left.