"It's a lot to take in," I say.

She nodded, "Would you like me to step out for you to think about it?"

I smiled, "Yes, that would be great."

Mayor Mare leaves her desk and closes the door behind her, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I sighed, "What to choose." My mind thought back to Tempest's apology and that formed a smile on my face. I put the papers down, got up to my feet and stretched. Then I walked back to the door and opened it to see Mayor Mare sitting against the wall next to the door frame.

"Did you make a decision?" She asked.

I shook my head, "I recently earned the Royal status of Duke so I get a monthly stipend. I won't be unemployed that is if my friend is true to her word."

The mare looked up at me and nodded, "I understand Emerson, however, if anything happens that Odd Job Hunter position is always open to anyone, including you." She pointed across the hall to which a billboard was set up with a whole lot of papers. "If you're bored one day you can come here and look at the opportunities."

I nod, "Thank you, Mayor Mare, I'll keep that in mind."

She smiled, "You're welcome Emerson, now I have to return to my paperwork and writing a letter to Petunia." Mayor Mare looked at me, "I was wondering, is Twilight working on the paperwork for her Library? I'm hoping she is."

"Spike reminded her and she's working on it now," I informed her.

Mayor Mare nodded, "Well, at least she's working on it, that busy mare." She turned to her office, "Have a nice day Emerson." I nodded as she closed the door closed behind her.

I made my way down the hall to the lobby area. I was thinking about how I would speak to Tempest about my favor or what she could do to help me earn a job. I made it to the billboard that had the odd jobs on it and was about to read some, just to get some curiosity out of the way. I hear the front door open, I turned to see Spike was there with a familiar alabaster Unicorn with an indigo mane and azure eyes. When I saw them, they came up to me.

"So, did you finally choose a job you wanted?" Spike asked.

"Is that what he was here for?" The Unicorn wondered.

I nodded, "Yes, and I don't mean to be rude, but I don't remember your name since we met."

She giggled into her hoof, "Oh my, so kind. My name is Rarity, it's good to meet you properly Mr. Emerson."

I waved my hand, "Just Emerson, Rarity or Miss Rarity?"

We both chuckled as Spike rolled his eyes, "No, no darling, just Rarity. I must say you're doing quite well since we first met you."

Scratching the back of my head, I sheepishly smiled, "Yep... Though, let's not repeat it."

"What? You scream-" Spike's mouth was covered by Rarity's hoof.

"We shall not speak of it again." Rarity said as Spike shuts up his comment.

When Rarity moved her hoof away, Spike spoke again, "Did you choose your job or what?"

"I didn't because I feel like Tempest should help me out," I said.

"Oh?" Rarity tilted her head, "Why's that?"

"Well, Tempest still thinks it's her fault that the Storm King gained so much power that it caused Emerson to come here. Now he forgave her and they agreed that she would owe him a favor." Spike explained.

I nodded as well as Rarity, "Oh! That's understandable, but what job can she give you exactly?"

"Yeah, no offense, but I can't see you as being a Royal Guard for Twilight," Spike said with a small smile.

I waved my hand, "None taken, I don't see myself being Twilight's Guard, to be honest. I'll think of something."

"I'm sure you'll do." Rarity said as she looks at my body or... clothing? "May I ask who made you that attire?"

I shrugged in my light blue t-shirt and dark blue jean shorts, "My mother bought me them, I mix and match shirts with jeans or short jeans."

"They are quite... Different, however, it's your style. Again, I must recommend you to go against the color wheel. Red would be a nice colored shirt to clash with the dark blue jeans." Rarity informed me.

I rubbed my chin, "Hmmm, thanks for the info Rarity, I'll keep that in mind tomorrow."

The white mare smiled, "If you would excuse me, I need to head back to the boutique and finish some more commissions."

"Of course Rarity, thanks for coming by," Spike said.

She rubbed her hoof on Spike's head, "It's not a problem Spikey Wikey."

I hold in my chuckle and it was replaced with a smile, "I guess I'll see you around Rarity."

Rarity nodded, "Of course Emerson, but don't be a stranger darling." She said as she walked off.

I looked to Spike and see that he was looking at Rarity while having the lovestruck look on his face. I waved my hand in his vision and that snapped him out of it.

"Want to head back to the castle?" I asked.

He looked at me, "Yep sure thing."

Spike and I walked down into town and he decided to take a different route around town. We walked through the marketplace and a lot of Ponies and species were conversing with one another. One Pony was selling pears to a Fishman, a Cat selling fish to a Pegasus, a Unicorn selling Jewelry to a Griffon and Hippogriff, so on and so forth. It was just filled with life and it felt like a farmers market when I was back at home. This had me smiling as we went through.

After that fine little detour, which I thanked Spike for, we finally got to the castle where all of my belongings sat in the hall. I saw Starlight, with her back turned, was looking at some of the boxes with curiosity as I walked right behind her.

"You can have a look if you help me," I say as she yelps and jumps in surprise.

"Don't scare me like that!" Starlight yells as she fixed her mane from the jump.

Spike snickered, "You shouldn't have been snooping around towards the front door."

The mare smiled with a blush, "Right, so..."

I crossed my arms, "Yep, help me move my stuff into a room and you can be snoopy as you like, I got nothing to hide."

Starlight nodded, "Sure thing!"

With her magic, Starlight began to lift all the boxes that were in the hall area and carried them. She followed me towards the guest room and I picked the one that was empty looking. I made sure that this was unoccupied and Spike gave me a thumbs up. I nodded to Starlight and she set the boxes against the wall. The room itself was made out of crystal, like the rest of the castle, with a desk, a dresser, full bathroom, a nice circular rug and a king size bed to boot.

While I finished looking at the room, I began to unpack the essentials. A change of clothing, soap, shampoo, and I head to the bathroom and took a shower by myself. It felt really nice to feel clean again; when I got dressed and head back to my room, Spike was looking at some figurines while Starlight was looking at some electronics.

"Enjoy your shower?" Spike asked as he placed the figurine back into the box.

I sighed in satisfaction, "Yep, I sure did, so Starlight," She put down my monitor with her magic and turned to face me, "Where is Tempest's room?"

"Just two doors down the hall on the right. I believe she's done with her shift for the time being." Starlight informed me.

I nodded as I placed my dirty clothing on the dresser and I headed out, "Make sure you don't break anything. I still need to find a house that's nearby."

"Sure thing!" Spike and Starlight said in unison.

Smiling, I walked down the hallway and found Tempest's room with her name on the door. I knocked on the door and there was shuffling inside.

"Tempest?" I asked as I waited.

There were more shuffling and some sparks inside, "May I come in?" I asked, thinking that it might not be the right question to ask.

Again there was some silence, "Yes." It was the only response that let me open the door unconsciously. When I opened the door, I looked around her room, it was similar to mine, but they were rearranged. It was decorated with some memorabilia on her dresser and a set of black armor on her wall. While that was amazing to look in awe, the show stealer was Tempest. She was laying on the bed with a type of rob covering her body. I could see that she was fresh out of the bathroom and that she was looking through a book with her hooves.

Seeing Tempest like this was very suggestive to which I blushed lightly, "Good afternoon Tempest."

She looked up as she turned the page with her hoof and points to the chair at the desk, "Same to you Emerson, have a seat, I'm just finishing this page."

After I took a seat, I waited for Tempest to finish or stop reading, she dog-eared the page and closed it. "So, how did the trip to Town Hall go?" She wondered.

"It went fine, but there were jobs that I wasn't interested in. Although the Odd Job Hunter, while still available anytime, it really didn't interest me. I was hoping to use my favor today and see if you can help me find a job in the castle." I informed her.

Tempest hummed when she pushed her book to the edge of her bed, "While Twilight is busy with her paperwork, I suppose I could help you find one that you'll like. However, we need to know where you stand." She shifted her body to face me and the way she was laying reminded me of erotic magazines I used to look and read at the store. This made me pull the collar of my shirt as I felt my cheeks heat up. 'Why is Tempest seem so... so... Sexy and mature?' I thought as I shifted my legs to get comfortable.

"So a few questions then?" I asked trying to suppress my awkward boner.

Tempest nodded, "You seem a little tense, is everything alright?" The robe on her flank shifted up, revealing a little bit of her cutie mark.

'It's definitely the robe hiding her body!' I shouted internally as I shook my head, "N-no, I recently had a hot shower and I'm just cooling off." I awkwardly chuckled as I scratched the back of my head.

Tempest seemed to be unfazed or doesn't know what she's doing as her tail swished to her side, lifting the robe up a little bit more. It really wasn't helping whatsoever on my end. "Alright, well, the first question would be if you'll be interested in being in the guard with me?"

The image of my body in a purple like armor, patrolling the castle and following Tempest's or Twilight's orders. I mentally shook my head and gave Tempest a small smile, "While being a guard is enticing, I think I'll be passing on that. I don't know Twilight on a personal level-"

"Nor did I when I was working with the Storm King, but go on," Tempest commented looking a bit annoyed.

"-and in my world, the stigma of 'go to the military and it will benefit you' being pressured on you when you're in school made me not to join any branches. I hope you understand." I explained.

She closed her eyes, "Very well. Since Twilight is working on her paperwork, I think there is one job that you could do."

I nodded as she shifted her body again, "W-What would that be?" I asked.

"Since Twilight is a Princess of Friendship and the library is going to be a public one, it will need a Librarian. Twilight would pay you for your work and you'll have days off where Spike will take over. I'm sure Twilight will repeat herself when she speaks to you about it." Tempest gave me a small smile as she wiggled her way out of her robe and casually went to her purple armor.

I didn't even react or move my head when Tempest came out of her robe. She body was fine, there are no scars, except the one on her eye. It was the only fact that her fur and mane was still damp from the shower. Tempest was about to put on her armor that was on her armor stand, but she turned, flashing her cutie mark which was some firework like mark and seemed annoyed, "Could you turn around for a bit while I get my armor on?"

That snapped me out of my daze, why was I acting this way? Tempest, while she is a pony, is a new friend and maybe this is the way she acts with new friends? It was the only logical explanation I can think of when I got up.

"Sure thing," I say as I grabbed the seat and turned myself around to face the wall. I hear the sounds of heavy armor being moved and shifted around. There was a grunt of irritation and then a sigh, "Emerson," I turned to see Tempest is right behind me, "Could you strap the armor to my barrel? Twilight or Starlight help me with this usually." She was looking at me as if I was going to anything bad to her. I nodded as she showed her belly and I tightened up the straps accordingly. Tempest sighs as she stoically looks at me, thinking of something.

"Something on your mind?" I asked.

"I..." She was silent for a moment, "I find males annoying. Don't get me wrong, I've only become friends with you for a little bit, but being with an annoying hedgehog named Grubber and the silly Storm King all of my life, I don't know what to make of them. When you came in and saw me in my robe, you had the same face as Grubber or any Storm guard had on their face." Tempest looked at me, "When I was in my robe, did that make you feel awkward? Please be honest, I need to know."

That answered my explanation that I had in my head and I nodded lightly, "It was weird, to say the least. I thought you were like this with Twilight or Starlight when they're with you."

"On occasions, yes, but when I was with my troops, I didn't have the luxury of having a robe. Just walking around naked, trying to get to my armor mind you, full of Storm creatures eyeing me up, even Grubber had a peek when he walked in on me accidentally..... It was painstakingly annoying." She explained with a pained expression then back to a small smile, "So forgive me if I judged you for being annoying and made you uncomfortable for doing so."

I nodded, "It's no problem Tempest, I understand where you're coming from. Hopefully, Twilight or Starlight can help you change your views of males in the future."

"Yes, that is certainly a possibility." Tempest cleared her throat as she went to put her helmet on and went to the door, "Anyway, let's head to the Library and we'll see what Twilight will say about you being our Librarian."

"Sure," I say as I got out of the chair and followed her out the door.

We walked through the castle with Tempest at the front and we eventually made it to the Library where we encounter a sleeping Twilight. I look at Tempest who had a small smile on her face as I walked around her and shook Twilight's shoulder.

"Twilight, wake up," I said.

"I don't want to go, Shining..." Twilight mumbled as I chuckled.

I shook her barrel a little bit, "Twilight, I have some books from my world."

Twilight's head shot up with her eye's wide open, "Books from another world?!" She shouts.

Tempest snickered a little as I joined her, "Yep, I do, the movers dropped off my boxes."

"Oh? That's wonderful, what did you want to speak to me about?" Twilight asked.

"I owe Emerson a favor and I would like to repay him. He would like to be the Librarian since you'll be busy with being a Princess." Tempest inform the purple Alicorn.

She was silent when Tempest told her that, but immediately responded, "Well, Emerson, you have to answer two questions before I let you have the position."

I nodded, "Alright."

"What do you know about books Emerson?" She asks.

I rubbed my chin with my hand as I thought for a while, "A book, in particular, is a collection of information that can be shared around the world. Whether they are fictitious or full of hard facts, they provide everyone details of what's been recorded."

Twilight nodded, "Alright and the last question, while you're working in this Library, what can you do to improve it?"

That was a simple answer to a simple question when I saw the towering wall of books with a single ladder to the right side, "We would have more shelves and introduce a system from my world called the Dewey Decimal Classification. All the books you have on this wall is unorganized," This made Twilight flinch a little bit, "however, with this system anyone can be able to find the books they want by just looking for a number and how many copies we have. Also opening the doors to the public would be ideal."

This made Twilight sit down while her tail swished back and forth as she thought about what I just said. Tempest took a seat right next to the door, keeping guard as stood there in front of Twilight.

"Emerson, if you implement this Dewey System into this Library, I'll let you have this job." Twilight informed.

I pumped my fist in the air, "Alright! When do I start?"

She looked at her paperwork, "Well, all of this work should be finished tomorrow, however, when the city council is finished with processing that my castle is eligible to be a public Library, you can start as the official Librarian."

I nodded, "That's reasonable, it gives me enough time to find a house."

Twilight pouted, "You don't like my castle?" Her eyes seemed to sparkle when she suddenly got cuter.

"Gah..." I grunt as I couldn't resist the cuteness.

The purple mare started to giggle, "Sorry Emerson, Pinkie wanted me to practice my 'cute face' as it were and I'll say that it's working."

"I thought I was going to make you cry, please don't do that again," I say as I hear Tempest and Twilight giggle.

"Sure thing, but I might use it to convince you for something." She smirked as a paper from the top shelf was levitated to my hands, and she continued, "I found a house that can be bought, but it's a little bit too big for yourself to be in."

I scanned the paper and the details of the house were pretty simple. Three bedrooms, one in a half bath, a spacious kitchen and living area, a basement, and a decent size backyard. I hummed as I realized the problem, "It would be pretty lonely to live on my own with a big house, and there aren't any single room homes for sale?"

"I'm pretty sure Emerson, this ad has been around Ponyville for a while now and no one can afford it. I know you can, but you have to get some roommates. However, you need to know how many you can handle and what rules you'll have to implement for your household." Twilight informed me.

I thought about it for a bit then shrugged, "It should make things interesting, plus everyone can chip in to pay for other monthly fee's."

The purple alicorn smiled, "Since you have three rooms, you have the option of having two, three, or four roommates."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why four?" I asked.

Tempest spoke up, "Well, you do have a basement, and there are some couples out there who are looking to lodge with someone. So, you could have a max of five roommates."

I grabbed a seat and sat with the paper close to my face, "Well, having two roommates wouldn't make me lonely, anything above three to four would be very interesting, to say the least." I look up at the ceiling of the castle as I let my thoughts wander.

Author's Note

Here's another voting session! I thought about what direction the story should go and I saw Viper Pit's comment. That got me thinking and I had the Grinch's smirk for quite a while, just needed to implement that into the mix. Also, the sex tag was added because of cute sexy Tempest.

The votes are in! It looks like Emerson will have two roommates inside of his house. Now I'm going to do this in a blog post. Two roommates won with 6 votes, three roommates with 4 votes and four+ roommates had three. Once again the next chapter is going into planning and writing process.

Happy voting~