It was a bit odd that the mayor seemed eager to get his help with something and voicing his worry garnered a response that didn't set him at ease.

"I can't get anypony to agree to help with it. Everypony's comfortable with their current jobs, so while there are delays because of this, it really hasn't warranted much thought. Well, until recently. The Weather Factory is trying to charge us for weather we never received, so that brings up a few questions and makes this a bit more important."

Opening a door down the hall and flicking on a light, the mayor stepped into what looked like an abandoned office. Papers were scattered about while the dusty desk held several large stacks of forms. Recon winced as he stepped on something under the layer of paper, a muffled crunch followed by a bloom of ink under his hoof.

"We haven't had a pony running this office since our old weather-manager quit. Something about it being the right time or something like that. There have been a few Pegasi who I've hired as temporary workers but they always seem to leave the place in worse condition."

Turning to him, the mayor gave him a tired stare.

"If you can fix this up, the job is yours. I'm tired of not having a pony I can get reports from about weather activity stationed here in the town hall. I have to call the captain of the weather team for that at the moment and she's more likely to be napping than actually finishing her reports."

Recon's understanding of the situation as he looked about the room only increased his worry about the job. It was a dump. A light was flickering, likely from age as much as anything else. There was a smell, the scent of something long-forgotten under the layers of forms and reports that likely was not fit to see the light of day ever again. But it was better than unemployment at the moment.

"Do you have a maximum time you keep reports for or do you want me to save all that I can and organize by year?"

The earth pony giggled, clopping her forehooves together.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear you ask that. You have experience with this?"

"Bit of time in manehatten with a weather bureau," he answered distractedly while lifting a few papers in an oddly shaped pile. He gagged, dropping them back on top of the Hayburger bag as a fresh wave of death escaped from underneath the pile.

The mayor coughed as well, moving towards the window and opening it wide.

"Excellent. Most excellent. If you can start today, speak to Che-"

The mare stopped, seemingly taking note of the travel-bags on the stallions back for the first time.

"Oh dear, you literally walked into town today didn't you? Come along."

"Cherry, do you still have that list of rentals available in town?" The toffee mare asked her secretary.

"I put it in the records room, though I know a few of the locations by heart. Somepony looking? Usually they ask me, not go straight to you."

"This gentlestallion has agreed to help clean up the weather office," Mayor mare explained, a frown crossing her muzzle.

"Dear me, I've all but hired you and never bothered to ask your name, I'm terribly sorry."

"Recon, and its fine. I can understand why you'd be excited to get that mess cleared. That was..." he trailed off meaningfully, his body shuddering at the memory of the bag of spoiled food.

The secretary giggled, putting a hoof to her mouth.

"Yes, it was pretty bad. I tried to do it over the holidays but only managed to clean up a little bit. There were bags of food all over the place from the last Pegasus who worked there. It was becoming a health hazard."

"He found one you missed," the silver-maned mare said with a chuckle. "I have the window open now, but make a note to close it before you leave. We don't need ponies wandering in to the office when we're out for the night. Oh, since you'll be working with us, I suppose introductions should be completed. This is Secret Cherry, you'll see her anytime you need to make an order for supplies or find you need something repaired. I'm the mayor of this small town, so most just call me Mayor Mare."

"But your name is.." recon trailed off meaningfully, "I mean, unless you prefer that name."

"Her name is Sealed Scroll, Scroll for short!" Cherry offered, earning a glare from the older mare.

Recon smiled at the friendly banter. Whatever became of his employment here it would be a lot nicer than his last job.

"Since you've filed away that list even after I told you to keep it close, why don't you show him the choices?"

"Wha- but, but it's almost time to leave!"

"Your right, it is about dinner time! You know Roadhouse's deal, Cherry. It would be an excellent opportunity to take advantage of that."

"Deal?" Recon asked, curious.

Cherry sighed.

"Roadhouse offers newcomers to town, those who are actually going to be staying a while, a free meal. The pony who directs them to his diner gets a free shake. There are better diners, but The Pasture is a nice enough place for casual dining."

"Take the keys with you as well. Cherry should have a good idea of the rent for the homes and apartments. We'll talk about making everything official later though."

Stopping as she was turning to leave, Scroll turned back to them with a smile.

"Tell you what, Cherry. I'll close down the office tonight. It's almost dinner time anyway, so you get Mr Recon settled in and I'll see you tomorrow."

Recon stifled a laugh, feeling the Mayor Scroll's bubbling happiness at the situation as well as Cherry's irritation. Waiting until the older earth pony was out of earshot, he turned to Secret with a grin.

"She dump people on you often or is she just mad at you today?"

"She's just getting me back for dropping her real name. It causes her some embarrassment, though I never figured out why," Cherry said.

Recon nodded, watching patiently as his assigned guide prepared to leave for the day. The mare stopped just shy of dropping a clipboard into a drawer, grabbing a pencil and looking to him.

"Anyt'ing you gonna need temerra'?" she asked through the pencil.

"Bags obviously. Even if I don't get them sorted right away it will let me walk through the room without stepping on something important or, more likely, something sharp. I'd ask for some Fabreeze but I think I'm going to have to settle for potpourri. Some extra binders, folders, pencils and paper obviously, but I bet you ladies have a supply of that stuff. Maybe a dragonfire spell-gem to make sure the room is clean?" the stallion listed off easily.

"'E do, eh'll have the bags ready fer you, though 'm not shertain how Shcroll will fe'l about havin' repor's trown into bags," Cherry said, jotting down the list before giggling. "Eh don' know if even 'ragonfire would clean dat room."

"The alternative is them sitting on the floor," he countered. "Old saying I heard in my travels, you don't eat an elephant in one bite. This gives me a way to separate the work into sections. If you try to do something like this all at once it can easily overwhelm you."

The mare shrugged, acknowledging his point.

"Shuppose bags 're be'er than deh floor."

Waiting a moment for him to continue, she put the pencil away and tore off the list, leaving it on her desk with a note for the Mayor. Cherry finished her preparations before moving towards the door, motioning for the stallion to follow her.

"If she's going to leave me as your tour guide I may as well get this done. The more pegasus friendly apartments are this way."

The apartments weren't that big, but Recon managed to find one that suited his needs. To Cherry's surprise, he picked a ground-floor apartment. It was the best combination of cheap and nice, but the mare had apparently expected him to choose a residency with a bit more elevation.

"Spent most of my life on the ground, Cherry. It's where I'm most comfortable," he said as they walked to The Pasture. Cherry'd given him a map as well as the introduced him to the landlady, a kind old mare who was more interested in telling him about her grandfoals than getting him the key to his apartment. The changeling managed to survive the encounter intact though, his contributions to the conversation actually garnering him a bit of happiness and a few jokes about being a wonderful future husband.

Cherry shook her head in disbelief.

"Oldest of six, with only two parents? I mean, I've heard some flocks can get pretty large, but that's...one mare having all those foals..."

"Yea, couldn't keep mom and dad away from each other," Recon said with a laugh.

"Well then I'm sure you'll fit in," she added with a smirk. "Family is important in most of Equestria, but especially in small towns like this."

"So what about you?" Recon asked. "Any family to speak of? Move out looking for your fortune?"

"Nothing so inspiring. Grew up in Manehatten, family still lives there. I think mom and Dad wanted me to end up working for one of the big companies in town, but with my name and talent...I got tired of the teasing and left. Never imagined I'd be a secretary for a little town like Ponyville, much less that I'd be happy with the position but life likes to surprise us. I write to my parents, but we haven't actually met for a while. City ponies to the core, can't slow down or the rest of the city will leave you behind."

"Some people thrive on the energy of big cities, but I prefer a rural town. Ponyville's a bit on the small side for me but I like it better so far than the cities. Two Song was more fun though."

"Those ponies are always dealing with Diamond Dogs, I don't see how that's more fun," Cherry said with an eye-roll.

"I made a killing out there with some of my failed potions, actually. I ended up leaving the recipe with some friends, but I made something that smelled like moldy grass. The thing is, there was another part to the scent ponies couldn't pick up, one that made those dogs tear up the moment they got close. Ponies were starting to carry vials of it around with them. They'd break them the moment a Dog would break the surface near them. Last I heard from my old boss, a few of the Dogs had figured out nose plugs, but the majority of them are pretty dim."

"You're an alchemist? Hold that thought."

Opening the door to The Pasture, Cherry led him to an empty table and took a seat. Taking her own menu, she pointed out a few suggestions once he'd grabbed a menu of his own.

"The carrot soup is actually pretty good here, they steam the carrots before-hoof so they practically melt in your mouth. The broccoli casserole is pretty tasty, though I preffer the tomato sandwhiches. It's not enough to really affect a pony, but they'll add a little salt to it if you like."

Recon nodded, noticing a small section at the end of the menu. Seeing where his attention was, Cherry shook her head.

"Yes they sell fish, no you won't get it for free. It's a premium thing."

"Understandable, I'm just surprised to see it. Guess Ponyville does have something over Two Song. I'll go with the TLD. As for your question, yea. I started dabbling out of curiosity and found I had fun with it. I'll never pass the state alchemy exam but I can whip up a minor burn ointment or something to ease a rash."

"I'll have to introduce you to Redheart then. If your good enough they may be willing to pay for some of the simpler things like the burn ointment. It gets expensive, ordering it from Canterlot. Not to mention it goes bad pretty fast."

"That, my dear Cherry, is due to them using Evermelt in the cream. It boosts how powerful the cream is, but it also cuts the shelf-life of the cream by more than half."

Before the mare could ask anything more, a large earth pony thundered up to the table.

"Secret Cherry, how are ya doin'? What brings you down to my humble diner?"

"Hello Roadhouse. This is Recon, he just arrived in town today. Scroll just hired him to take over as weather manager."

The stallion looked to he changeling for a moment before walking off. Before Recon could ask what was going on, he returned with a mug of amber liquid.

"Some salted Sweet Apple cider. Not as good as the Apple family's personal stuff, but made with their apples. Kid, if you're taking on that mess, I want to send you off to your doom properly prepared."

Recon exploded with laughter, settling a hoof over his muzzle and wiping away a fake tear.

"You've no idea how much this means to me. I'll remember this, Roadhouse. For the rest of my short life."

"No problem, kid. Your sacrifice will be remembered," the stallion said solemnly before he too began to laugh. "Seriously though, if you succeed, Scroll will blacklist your name as a train passenger at the station. You'll never get out of here."

"Already been dodging the town for a while," Recon responded with a shrug of his wings. "You see how well that ended. I'm just hoping things start turning around for me. My luck's been real bad lately."

"We make our own luck. Now what can I call in for you two today? Special's a Hay-chilada platter, somethin' new the cook's tryin' out. I can personally attest to it bein' a great tastin' dish."

Sitting there in the diner surrounded by ponies enjoying each other's company, Recon basked in the energy. After all, he was there for dinner, he may as well eat. Next Chapter: The Monster that is Paperwork Estimated time remaining: 41 Minutes