“Dad,” Bruiser called from behind me. I turned around from the shelf of cookbooks I’d been examining. This second-hoof store definitely had some good finds, especially given it’s tucked away spot in Appleloosa. By the binding on the book Bru clutched to his chest, I could see he’d found a diamond of his own.
“What’d you find?” I asked.
Bru leaned back on his haunches to gesture with his free hoof. “Please don’t make a big deal about it, I know it’s kinda dumb, but my old dam used to read stories to me and I was just thinking you might like to…” He waved his free hoof around in frustration, his words suddenly failing him.
Recognizing the expression, I piped up. “May I see the book?” I asked with a smile.
Biting his lower lip, he looked away as he turned it around to display the front cover. It was hardbound, wrapped in black velvet with silver embossed designs and patterns around the edge. The title looked like mother of pearl inlay and it spelled out ‘Starprancers’ across the middle. I reached out to examine it closer, but Bru held tight to it. “Bru, I asked…”
“You can see it. With your eyes.” I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“Very well. How much is it?” Bru turned it around and held it up so I could examine the tag. The price was steep, especially as it was used. Then again, given the clearly hoof-made design and exceptional quality, I could understand the cost. “I don’t know. That’s fairly expensive and you did just get a whole lot of gifts from a lot of ponies.”
“Not like this.” He was right, but the tone rankled me.
I’d have to tell him no eventually, I just wasn’t used to it yet. “Bruiser, that didn’t sound very nice.”
His eyes widened. “I-I didn’t mean… It just came out wrong, sir.” His gaze hit the floor and I felt like a complete heel. I took a deep breath; Bru wasn’t doing this on purpose. It would be a horrible cycle if I reacted badly every time he called me ‘sir.’
“Please don’t call me sir, Bruiser. I’m not mad; I’m not judging you. Every now and then even a good parent with a good foal needs to say no. I love you, Bruiser, but I’m not about to spoil you.” I held out my hoof for a hug, but Bruiser turned away.
“I’ll just go put this ba—ack!” I’m not entirely sure how he managed it, but Bru tripped over his own hooves. The book went up and Bruiser knocked into a bookshelf, sending it into a perilous teeter. Quickly, I reached out with my magic, grabbing the book and steadying the shelf.
“Are you okay?” I asked as Bru got to his hooves shakily. Curious, I drew the Starprancer book towards me to examine it. Bru looked around, then spotted the book in my magical glow as I opened it to the title page.
“No!” He cried out, before getting a hold of himself and realizing it was too late. I’d seen it. Small wonder he’d been keen on getting this book. Written on the Belonging To line was a name. "I'm sorry, please! I'm sorry!"
"Bru, get ahold of yourself!" I hissed quietly. This whole episode was starting to get incredibly embarrassing. I hoped that other ponies would see I wasn't hurting or yelling at him.
“’Tannin.’ This book belonged to your old family?” Face red with shame, he nodded. Breathe, Ly, I reminded myself, talk to him. "I don't understand. Why do you want a book your old family owned?"
Silent tears started down his cheeks. I moved to wipe at them, but he backed away instinctively, flinching into a smaller stance. I put my hoof back down and looked around. This couldn't look good. Luckily, nopony was around. "Bru, I'm not going to hurt you. Calm down, love."
He drew his hat down to cover his face. "Y-you're mad at me."
I wasn't, although I was irritated at being told how I was feeling. No, that wouldn't do. Breathe and speak calmly. "Bru, I just want to understand. I promise I'm not mad at you. If you could tell me why--"
"Why I'd want something to remind me of my family? It's the only good thing anypony did for me for years! A-and now it's here! They got rid of it just like they got rid of me. At least this book still has their name; I don't have anything of them. I came from them; if they were good even a little then I have some good in me." The speech was raw and emotional. I'd never guessed that Bru internalized this whole situation to such a degree.
"So you want a reminder that they weren't all bad? Because then you'll know that you're not all bad?" My heart sank as he nodded. I stepped closer to him again, only to have him bump back into the bookshelf. I caught a falling statuette in my magic and placed it back on the shelf without looking at it.
"I don't think you need a book for that; I know you're better than them, in spite of everything they did to you. You are a good colt, Bruiser. I didn't know how much this book would mean to you. If it will make you feel better, then, this once, I'll make an exception. Here." I levitated the book over to him.
We paid for our books. I tried hard not to cringe at the total. Open said I made a lot of money on the tour, but I'd never discussed it and living in Canterlot could be very expensive. Div's commission likely wasn't large given his rank, but with the both of us, maybe it wouldn't be as hard as when we lived alone. I had to get used to thinking of our lives as something we shared completely. If I didn't do it now when things were going well, how would I handle it if something went wrong.
Bru interrupted my thoughts. "Dad, back there in the store, you kept a shelf from falling over and caught a book at the same time. And you caught that little statue and put it back without looking at it."
I nodded. "I was more concerned with you, but yeah. I did."
"How?" He asked.
The gears in my head stopped working. What did he mean, how? How would I even explain magic to him? Would he grasp the concepts or would it take some coaching? "I'm a unicorn, Div, I just--"
"I've known a few unicorns. None of them could do that all at once." He said.
I sighed. I hated telling ponies this, but it would come up eventually. "I went to the School for Gifted Unicorns. My specialties include several writing spells, as well as levitation and tethering.”
“Levitation and what?” He asked, confused.
“Tethering." I repeated. "It's like using a magical rope. I can tie myself to nearly anything and I can tie nearly anything to something else. It takes a lot of concentration, but I'm a pro at that.”
Bruiser looked excited. “How much can you lift? Have you ever tied yourself to a roof and jumped off? Would tickling break your concentration? Does it hurt you if a magic rope breaks? Have you ever run out of Magic? Why does your horn glow with that color when you do a spell? What does casting a spell feel like? How—“
I'd long been buried under the onslaught of queries. This was going to be a long day. At least we had a train ride home tonight. I picked up my pace, if I hurried maybe I could pawn Bru off on Div and get some quiet for a bit.