Birthday Bios: Madame Bookshelf · 4:42pm Jan 31st, 2016
Confession Time: Lonely old ladies make me sad. Like, really sad. I once had to watch a movie about a lonely old lady waiting for the mail in one of my high school classes, and I ended up bawling for the next two periods.
So, yeah, be careful with your little old ladies.
Mahogany Bookshelf was born to a pair of humble carpenters living in a little town just a few miles away from Manehattan. Being the middle child and only unicorn of three fillies, she was the quiet one in between her take-charge older sister Maple Doorway and her rambunctious younger sister Cherrywood. While Maple was often working to better the community and Cherry was going around flirting with colts, Mahogany was more content to be in the corner with a good book. When her parents encouraged her to get out more, she decided to work at the library and tell stories to little foals. She was a very late bloomer in gaining her cutie mark, being a teenager when she discovered her talent of spreading the joys of reading, learning, and telling stories.
She later on moved to Manehattan to work at the library there, meeting all colors of ponies that came in. One such pony was a stallion named Page Turner, who was preparing to inherit his family's old bookstore several blocks away. Sparks flew instantly between the two, and after quite a few nights out and multiple days of reading together, they wed.
They named their son Paperback, and he was as cheerful as all get-go. The little family enjoyed spending time together, and running the little bookstore that made sure to feel like a second home to many stressed-out folks. They even liked to provide hot meals for some of the homeless ponies that came by. Paperback played with the foals that came in to listen to his mother tell stories, and the family made many friends in their business.
Then, tragedy struck when they were on a simple ferry ride. Paperback had leaned too far on the railing, while Page Turner tried to catch him, resulting in both falling out of the boat and hit by the hull. Shaken by her husband and son's deaths, Mahogany shut herself away and the bookstore closed for a time as she grieved.
She soon resumed business, taking up much energy in helping newcomers around, trying to support old friends, and reading to youngsters. That last one especially took up a lot of energy, as she had to hold back tears when seeing her own son in the eyes of the foals. She watched those foals grow up, her heart aching that she'd never see Paperback do the same.
The days passed by slowly, but the years were soon quick, and she found herself getting older. Knowing that she couldn't run the bookstore by herself anymore, she decided it was about time to hire ponies--preferably ones that could watch the store when she passed on.
She soon hired a teenage pegasus that had been visiting ever since she was a small filly, having listened to Mahongany (then being called "Madame" Bookshelf) read stories to her and her peers. The pegasus, Summer Wind, was happy to take the job, and quickly made the bookstore her second home. Switching between the duties of stocking the shelves, running the register, and scaring off scumbags that tried to vandalize the place, Summer was undoubtedly versatile. Mahogany was proud, and considered her the granddaughter she couldn't have.
It was about a year before a second pony was hired--a colt named Tomato Sandwich. Unlike the cheerful and friendly Summer, Tomato was grouchy and kept to himself. Even so, Mahogany noticed that he didn't really want to go home, clearly feeling more at home in the bookstore. Though when asked about it (usually by Summer), he was prickly and told them to mind their own business. But over the weeks, he was warming up to the two ladies, having broken his mask once when Summer exposed his love for dogs, and he had muttered to Mahogany at one point, "You remind me of my Grandma."
However, a big bookstore chain soon opened its doors down the street, and ponies flocked to that store. Even worse, the city had demanded that all businesses in the city must raise their wages, which Mahogany couldn't do. The two teenagers tried their best to bring more ponies to their little bookstore, and Tomato tried to come up with ways for Mahogany to cut corners, but ultimately their efforts were in vain. The little bookstore closed for good, and the three ponies had lost their home.
Mahogany got sick soon after, and accepted death with grace. If anything, she was excited to see her husband and son again. Her extended family, consisting of her sisters, their husbands, children, and grandchildren all set up her funeral, and invited her two former employees and a few last faithful patrons of the store.
Summer moved away after the funeral, and Tomato was back to his same old dreary life.
I'm right there with you, Sketch. Sad old people hit me right in the heart, and Madame Bookshelf's biography definitely struck home.
Not all lives are mostly happy, and even the happiest end in death. To me the loss of my wife to an untimely death would be the worst catastrophe I can imagine; worse in some ways even than my own death, since dead I would not be suffering the pain of separation.
I will say that Bookshelf was fortunate in that she knew great love for her husband and son in her life, and was able to continue loving her remaining family and friends, and hence enjoy her life after her loss. This was, of course, not an accident -- she was obviously a very good and loving Pony.
It's a good thing to have some tragedy in one's fictional worlds, even if they are mostly comedic. Tragedy and comedy play off one another and create a more real world -- a world which is all comedy is a Sugar Bowl, which may lead to readers concluding that it Tastes Like Diabetes; while one which is all tragedy is a Crapsack World and frequently leads to Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy. I think you strike a good balance.