//------------------------------// // The Great Search // Story: The Struggles of Running a Book Store // by arcanica_scripta //------------------------------// “Not good, not good, NOT GOOD!” panicked Page. “I can’t believe I let that notebook out of my sight yesterday!” She still couldn’t believe it. Of all the ways she could have accidentally revealed her identity to the masses, leaving her equivalent of a rough draft lying around for anypony to find was the last thing she ever thought she would do. “Ok, deep breaths…” she took a deep breath inwards before slowly exhaling to vent her terror and the stress it was causing. “Alright, I’ll just close up for the day, head over to Sugar Cube Corner, and see if Pinkie Pie still has the book and hasn’t left it lying around.” Her mind made up, she descended from her dining room and into the store proper. Quickly locking up the door and putting the “CLOSED” sign in the window, she set off at a brisk trot to the bakery where Pinkie threw most of her parties. It’s okay, nopony knows about it… or do they? How many ponies know who I am? What if somepony found it and connected it with me? What are they going to do knowing it’s me?! Spurred on by these thoughts, her trot quickly escalated into an all-out gallop. Soon enough, she arrived at the bakery and was relieved to see it was currently a slow point for business. YES! Running through the doors, she allowed herself to stop running when Mrs. Cake let out a frightened shriek. “Oh, it’s just you, Page Turner. What can I do for you?” she asked in a very friendly manner. Does she know? “Hi, Mrs. Cake. I was wondering if you or Pinkie Pie found a notebook in the corner after that party yesterday,” she explained. “Green, hard bound, relatively new looking?” “Hmm… I don’t believe so.” She put a hoof to her chin as she thought on it, looking to the ceiling as she did. The action itself frayed on Page’s already strained nerves as she resisted the urge to snap at the older mare. “Oh, but I think Carrot might know! He was more focused on cleaning out here while I cleaned up the kitchen. Let me go get him!” She turned and casually walked into the kitchen, leaving the Unicorn to panic. Come on, hurry up! She started fidgeting in place. Every second I spend waiting here is a second I’m not out there looking for my book! The Earth Pony mare walked back in humming gently to herself. “Sorry, Page Turner. But Carrot hasn’t seen it either. I guess somepony else must have picked it up. If you want, I can try finding Pinkie Pie and see if she knows where it-” “Don’t worry, it’s fine!” she almost yelled back, her fear setting back in. “I can find it myself thanks for trying!” she called as she charges out the door once more, leaving the baker more confused than anything. To be completely honest, when she found this notebook at Pinkie Pie’s party yesterday, she wanted to immediately bring it to everypony’s attention and try locating its owner. When she noticed the title on it and saw the writing inside, she knew all-too-well who the author had to be and how big this book was. A. T. Hoofcraft herself wrote this journal! It was a once in a life-time find, not to mention this was clearly a draft for her next book! What’s more, this meant that A. T. Hoofcraft was in Ponyville as late as yesterday at Pinkie Pie’s party. How exciting was that?! To say Twilight was excited as she sat in her room reading it was an understatement of a lifetime. Sure, Hoofcraft was a new fascination of hers, but it didn’t change the fact that she was hooked. Of course, she may have fibbed to Page Turner when she said she had just started the second book. She had actually been almost done with it when her personally studies pulled her away from the immersive world of the Eldritch horrors that lie in wait beyond the mortal world. “Hmm… the city of Yak’Shek sounds mystifying,” she muttered as she read the notes on the left page. The way it was set up was so that the right side was actual story while the left was the author’s annotations and notes. “Completely ruled by an upper echelon of clerics to the Eldritch being they worshipped. The God…” she narrowed her eyes and tried to make out the God’s name in Hoofcraft’s quick writing, “Ydrex’Ktala… I swear, where does she come up with these names?” On one hoof, it was incredibly charming how much work went into the names of these Gods and the cities that Hoofcraft built to worship them within her narrative, but at the same time it was annoying trying to work out the phonetics of what looked like gibberish. “Twilight, you up there?” called Spike from downstairs. “It’s time for breakfast!” “Coming, Spike!” Placing a bookmark in it, she carried the book downstairs with her so she could keep reading from the story part of the draft while she was eating. “Sorry, I’m just so immersed in this book. I can barely put it down!” The baby dragon chuckled at her eagerness as she sat down and began eating her oatmeal while reading from the book. “Isn’t that what you say with every book you get?” He took a look at the cover of the book she was reading, noticing that unlike the others, this one was personally written on. “Condemnation of the Lost City? While I’m assuming that one’s probably another of those weird Hoofcraft books you’ve been reading, why does that one look so different from the other ones?” “It looks different because it’s the rough draft,” she offhandedly replied as she took a bite of oatmeal. “So the Yak’Sheki were at odds with followers of Desta’Rakt? I thought those two Gods were at ease with each other…” she muttered. “It’s what?!” he yelled, snapping her out of her focus. “Twilight, how in Equestria did you get a professional author’s rough draft?!” She closed the notebook and set it down on the table in front of her. “Well, I stayed behind to help Pinkie Pie clean up after that party she threw yesterday, but while we doing so, I found this book just lying around on a table in the back corner.” She started smiling as she affectionately placed a hoof on it. “I was going to give it to Pinkie Pie and the Cakes so they could wait for the owner to come grab it, but when I took a look and realized it’s a personal journal of the actual A. T. Hoofcraft, I just had to read through it! Who knows, maybe I can give her pointers when I return it to her!” “Twilight, I’m disappointed in you.” He folded his arms across his chest as he gave her a look. “Not only does that book not belong to you, but you can’t just read somepony’s unfinished work like that! Even if it’s for a book that’s going to be published, it’s not for just anypony to read. You have to bring it back.” “Come on, Spike! I will return it, I just have to see what her writing process is like!” She brought the notebook closer to her. “Nopony knows anything about her, so not only is reading this a valuable insight into her personality, but it’s not like I even know what she looks like, so I can’t just go up to her and return it.” She tried giving her assistant a reassuring smile. “If she’s looking around for it, she’ll probably come looking for it, and when she does, I’ll be sure to hand it over. I promise.” “Well… if you say so…” he replied hesitantly. To show her faith at his uncertainness, she placed the book down on the table and made no move to keep reading it. Not that she didn’t want to keep reading the draft, but she knew Spike wouldn’t approve. She would definitely try getting the other girls to help her. Who knows? Maybe together they could figure out who A. T. Hoofcraft really is. “Okay, thanks anyways.” With a sigh, Page Turner left Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. She had been searching all over Ponyville and so far it seemed nopony had seen hide nor hair of her book. It was starting to feel pointless. Alright, next stop is Carousel Boutique and then get myself some lunch. “Okay little ones, right this way,” came a gentle voice from up ahead of the brooding author. She looked up and saw Fluttershy leading a small family of squirrels to a tree in the nearby park. Wait a minute! Fluttershy was with me yesterday before I left that table. Maybe she knows where it went! Her mind made up, she ran over to the quiet Pegasus as she finished leading her squirrels. “Hey, Fluttershy!” She let out a quick “eep” before looking to see who was yelling to her. “Oh, hello Page Turner. How are you today?” She was smiling softly, making Page suspicious that she knew her secret. “Well, I’m hoping you can help me with something,” she replied as she caught her breath. Maybe running around all day wasn’t such a good idea. Taking a deep inhale, she gave Fluttershy a concerned but not frantic look. “Yesterday at Pinkie Pie’s party, I had a green hardbound book with me. I’m afraid I misplaced it since I didn’t bring it home last night.” “Oh my, that’s just terrible!” gasped the yellow mare. She put a hoof to her chin in concern and gave Page a worried look. “My feelings exactly,” she replied, starting to feel Fluttershy didn’t know her secret. “I’ve been going all around to the ponies I saw at the party last night, but so far nopony has found it. You wouldn’t happen to have found a book like that, would you?” She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t see it since you and I left that corner and I joined in on the party games.” She gave an apologetic smile to the Unicorn. “If you want, I can ask anypony I see if they found it. Would that be helpful?” Page let out a heavy sigh. “No, it’s fine. I’ll ask everypony on my own. If you do that we might just wind up asking the same group of ponies. Thanks anyways, Fluttershy.” With that, she took off yet again, this time resuming her trip to Carousel Boutique. My trek through the streets went on even longer, my wings bound behind me to prevent my escape. Surrounding me with their staves and each holding a chain to my collar, the four arch-clerics of Yak’Shek towered well above me. My pleas, which had long since run my throat ragged, could no longer come to my defense as they led me through the twisted streets. Their headdresses, adorned with long swooping wings and the geometrically abhorrent symbol of their wretched God, shone in the ethereal twilit sun. Long shadows crossed our path as the buildings, as warped and twisted as the cultists who constructed them, towered and spiraled above the winding streets. In the short time I was trapped within this city, I had concluded they detested straight edges within their architecture and art. In a way, I suppose it was fitting, given the very nature of the abhorrent Being they called their God. Not a single sound escaped my jailers, save the sound of their hooves, if they even were that, upon the cobbled streets. Their long cloaks, woven in an impossibly dark blue with swirling waves of silver that were genuinely dancing along the hems, obscured their bodies from my view. Given the gaunt nature of their muzzles and the impossible slimness and height of their forms, I could only assume they looked nothing like what I would find in regular Equestria. Although, I believe this hell could no longer even be called Equestria. Nopony of reason would allow such a place to continue to exist in this world. As the buildings grew taller and more elaborate, I began to see other citizens of Yak’Shek. Their bodies were withered, as though they had never eaten a single morsel in their time worshipping the Outer Being they called Ydrex’Ktala. They were trudging the outer edges of the streets, giving the clerics plenty of room to continue unimpeded. The few who I saw look upon me stared in silence at my appearance. I suppose it’s to be expected. The citizens I saw were all regular ponies of the earth while the few clerics who interrogated me had been Unicorns. For there to be a Pegasus, let alone one who had an actual Cutie Mark rather than the symbol of their God, must have been quite a novel sight. I sincerely hoped such was the case, as I could not make out any emotion within those expressionless black orbs darker than pitch. The procession led me to the edge of the city, and their site of worship. A large altar towered above the gathering masses, with the silhouette of the High Priest standing in the light of the lowering sun. “Children of the Great Lord!” he yelled out in the harsh tongue of their faith. “We gather in the name of our Master to pass Their holy judgement upon this interloper. This… agent of the false Lord known as Desta’Rakt!” There were mutters in the still gathering crowd before the High Priest raised his foreleg. I stared transfixed as his robe parted, revealing a scaly appendage, far too slender to possess any muscle and adorned with fins. “This interloper, who entered this hallowed City through means granted by his wretched Master, has questioned our faith and spoken ill of the Great Lord!” “Hail to the Master, who granted our life from the sea,” chanted the crowd in a single monotonous voice. “Bring them forth!” he demanded slamming his hoof to the ground. The clerics ahead of me pulled harshly upon my chains as those behind me jabbed at my flanks with their staves. No cries escaped me as I stumbled towards the altar and the stairs before it. All around me, the citizens were closing their black eyes and joining in a haunting song of Prayer in a tongue that no creature in Equestria should have been able to utter. “Please…” I whispered before the fear set in. “Please! I’m not an enemy! I’m not meant to be here! Please, you need to believe me!” I tried to fight against my jailers and free my wings, but I felt a sickly aura ensnare my body and begin moving my legs against my will- “TWILIGHT!” yelled Spike, startling the mare from her reading with a shriek. “Spike! What was that for?” she asked in mild annoyance. She was enraptured by what she assumed would be a later part of the final novel. From the way it was written out of order, Twilight figured Hoofcraft was using the book to map out entire scenes as she came up with them, only to rearrange the sections and fill in the gaps later. “I was reading.” “I know you were,” he replied with his arms folded. “But not only were you reading Hoofcraft’s journal again, but I’ve been trying to get your attention for five minutes now. It’s lunch time, and you need to take a break.” He looked at her with a flat stare. “Without that book.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Fine,” she acquiesced. Leaving the book on her table, she followed Spike to the kitchen. As she sat down and dug into the daisy and cheese sandwich Spike had prepared for her, she turned to her #1 Assistant. “Hey Spike, after lunch, can you get the girls together over here? I want to ask them to help me find the book’s owner.” Page turner sighed as she sat at her table outside the local café. She lost count by this point, but she knew that after all the ponies she had spoken to over the course of the day, not a single one had her book. Rarity had been a bust and seemed about to throw a fit when she heard how “unfashionable” the notebook sounded, and not even Pinkie Pie (who she ran into at one point during her search) had a clue where her book was. She “supposedly had potentially maybe saw a book that looked like it” but since she was currently stuffing her face with cake, she wasn’t sure. Rainbow Dash is out since she doesn’t like books, she thought to herself as she dejectedly sipped her tea. Applejack would have returned it right away, and I’m starting to run out of ponies I know who went to that party yesterday. She took a bite out of one of the muffins she ordered and thought on what to do next. I suppose I could just start over, but if I do, whoever found that book will not only have the rough draft of my next book but will know that A. T. Hoofcraft lives in Ponyville. And if that gets out to the press… She shuddered at the thought of the press finding out she lived in Ponyville. While Ponyville wasn’t as interesting as some other places she had lived, it was by far the one she’s stayed in the longest. Ponies here could get suspicious but didn’t pry into your personal business as much as the ponies she had to deal with in Manehatten or Fillydelphia. But if the press, and in the process her fans, figured out where she was living, she would have to move all over again. The last thing she wanted was for a repeat of when ponies figured out where she lived in Manehatten. Page still shuddered when she remembered the fan that tried mailing herself to her apartment because she thought Hoofcraft was a stallion. Maybe I should just cut my losses and move before anypony puts two and two together? “Slow down, Spike. There’s no need to run, Sugar Cube.” Page looked up and saw Twilight’s dragon Spike leading Applejack somewhere. “I know, but Twilight said she wanted everypony there to help her figure something out.” Page’s eyes went wide when she heard that. It can’t be… “Well no point in rushing if it ain’t an emergency.” The apple farmer continued her leisurely pace behind the baby dragon with Page now having a sinking feeling about why Twilight was gathering her friends. “Waiter check please!” she called as she tried getting the attention of her server. She needed to find out if this was what she thought it was. “So Twilight, what exactly is so important that you needed all of us here together?” asked Rarity as she sipped at the tea Twilight had set out. The mentioned Unicorn sat across from her, with Fluttershy then Rainbow Dash to her left and Pinkie then Applejack to her right. “Not that I don’t appreciate us all getting together, but I have to wonder what was so big that you had Spike go out and gather all of us.” “Yeah, I could be practicing all sorts of tricks right now!” complained Rainbow. She was getting restless, especially since she was the first one to arrive out of all of them. “Alright, well I’ll try to explain this as best I can.” Twilight emptied her tea cup before setting it down and looking over her friends. “So, as you all remember, we all helped Pinkie Pie clean up from that party she threw for Gilda yesterday.” “Oh my gosh, that party was soooooo fun! Remember when Rainbow Dash started pulling all those pranks and mmmhmm…” The pink pony’s rambling was muffled when Applejack shoved her hoof in her mouth to keep Pinkie Pie from derailing the conversation. Giving the librarian a nod, she kept her hoof in place so the story could continue. “Well as we were cleaning, I found a book lying around. At first I thought it was just some random novel, but then I realized it wasn’t just a book.” She placed the book on the table from its place next to her on the ground. “This… is the rough draft of A. T. Hoofcraft’s newest book.” “A. T. Hoofcraft was at Pinkie Pie’s party yesterday?!” gasped Rarity as she stared in shock at the book. “Umm… Twilight?” “I’m sorry, but who the heck is this A. T. Hoofcraft and why is it such a big deal if they went to Pinkie’s party?” demanded Rainbow Dash. “Twilight.” Rarity gasped at the cyan Pegasus’ response. “Who is A. T. Hoofcraft?! Why, she’s only one of the biggest names in literature! Personally, I’m not a fan of her work, but the legacy she’s accumulated since she’s started publishing is incredible!” Rarity swooned to the side as she posed rather dramatically. “Not only is she one of the Manehatten Times’ top authors! But the most fantastical thing about her is the lengths she goes to by concealing her identity.” “Wait, you mean to tell me nopony knows who this Hoofcraft is and yet she’s that popular?” The orange mare raised an eyebrow. “Sorry ta say this Rarity, but I find that pretty suspicious.” “Girls…” Pinkie Pie spit Applejack’s hoof out of her mouth. “Yeah! I mean, think about it! If nopony knows who she is, who throws her parties and will be her friend?” “Girls.” “That brings me to why I called you all here,” Twilight said as she regained control of the conversation. “Since I found this book of hers, I’m hoping you can help me figure out who she is so I can return it to her.” “Girls!” The five fillies jumped in shock at Fluttershy raising her voice at them. Now that they were all looking at her, she quickly shied away and hid behind her hair. “I’m sorry for raising my voice, but I wanted to tell you that I know who that book belongs to.” “You do?!” asked all five in varying degrees of shock. She flinched at the volume of the yells and tried hiding behind her hair even more. “Yeah… I was sitting with the mare who owns it. She didn’t say her name was Hoofcraft though,” she explained. “She introduced herself as Page Turner. I’ve seen her around town for a while n-” “Wait, this is Page’s notebook?!” Twilight yelled as she slammed her hoofs down on the table surface. “She can’t be Hoofcraft!” “Well why can’t she?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Don’t some ponies use fake names when they write?” “While it’s not out of the question for a pony to use a pen name to keep their privacy, I’m afraid it’s simply not possible,” replied Rarity. “After all, according to rumors, Hoofcraft is from Seaward Shoals. Page told me so much about Manehatten that she has to be from there.” “Well that’s gotta be a lie,” replied Applejack. “She was telling me one time about all the time she spent out it Fillydelphia. Even if she moves, that’s too often for somepony who ain’t got nothin’ to hide.” “Well that’s extra weird!” chimed in Pinkie Pie. The other five looked at her, expecting her to continue with the statement she made. After some prompting from Twilight, Pinkie realized what they were waiting for. “Oh well, she told me when she moved here that she was moving from Canterlot. Said something about wanting a change of pace.” “So what you’re saying is, we have one pony who has said she’s from three different cities, and the only thing connecting her to Hoofcraft is this book.” Twilight was thinking out loud, as she tried seeing some connection between them. “To be fair, I never said I was actually from any of those cities.” The six mares let out yelps of fright before looking to the open door. Standing there was Page Turner herself, her mane looking slightly worse for wear and a slight air of exhaustion around her. Inviting herself in, she closed the door and walked over to the table the six of them were sitting around. When she stopped behind Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the two quickly got the message and scooted over to let her sit down between them. Once she sat down, she quickly used her magic to grab the book that started all of this and put it in front of her. There was a long period of silence as the six friends looked at her, nopony was really sure how to start the conversation. “So…” Twilight began, deciding to cut to the chase, “how much of that did you hear?” Page poured herself a cup of tea and took a long sip from it. “I opened the door as you debated where I came from. And as I said, I never exactly said I was from any of those cities, just that I had lived there at some point.” She stared into her cup, waiting for some manner of interjection. Receiving none, she decided to continue. “I suppose to start with, I should just answer the big question from all of you. Yes, I am in fact, A. T. Hoofcraft.