A Twin Canterlots anthology—first in the Lectern’s Books series
It’s good to find new hang-outs and not see the same old places constantly. Sci-Twi suggests Lectern’s New and Used Books—a pretty nice place with a pretty nice owner. It even has a front room and a back patio set up to hang out in.
Interior plans and pictorial views of the store and its lot are available.
Set during the summer vacation between the girls’ junior and senior years at CHS—latter half of season five.
Reviewed 16 July 2017 by Singularity Dream.
Featured on TCC56’s Recommendsday.
Chapters (8)
Wow. This story was so freaking charming and relaxing.
I couldn't really find anything wrong with this fic. Well done.
How'd you come up with Lectern's name? If this offends you in any way, please tell me. I'll try not to do it again.
7655834 I wanted a name related to books, but wasn’t direct or obvious. “Lectern” was a natural, but it wasn’t enough by itself. His full name is explained in a related post on my blog.
Relaxing, delicate worldbuilding. Nicely done!
7668991 Thanks very much! World-building is one of my biggest passions, truth to tell.
I wonder why Sunset was so adamant that the book be gotten rid of? Yes it was odd but she should have found a better way to deal with it, possibly.
7671516 I’ve added a bit more dialog to underline that Sunset and Twilight quite naturally are disturbed by the idea of a book, apparently from nowhere, containing fan fiction that shouldn’t exist—about them and their friends, to boot, or at least their pony counterparts.
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Yea that would be a bit creepy. I would have still read it to see what these crazy authors came up with.
7671646 I’m not so sure. It would be rather like reading the diary of someone who’s stalking the reader. I don’t find it at all hard to imagine being too creeped out to deal with it, especially given some of the conversations I’ve had with female friends and acquaintances on similar subjects.
Anyway, this was intended to be humorous in a mildly Twilight Zone-ish way, nothing more.
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Understandable.. Im also having this issue, but maybe that can be contrinbuted to me skimming it very fast, since Im very curious about the twist in this one! Continue on!!
If you get rid of something, it will find a way to haunt you.
The book must be destroyed.
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I don’t plan to follow up on it; these are one-shots, and I don’t want to put too much emphasis on what really was a whimsical minor idea.
That doesn’t preclude someone else following up on it, though. . . .
I can't wait to see more!
I wonder how long she has been standing there?
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Good question.
Whoa, thats a lot of worldbuilding materials to take in, and they are all very good ones.. I really wonder what Sunny Flare had got to say about the whole pony thingies.
Also author, I think a splendid fic like this could really, Really use a cover. Nothing too fancy, just some library screenshot from the show, and I think it can help you a long way to catch the interest of readers. Better if you can snatch some girls in frony of it. I really wish more people can read this series
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In a perfect world I’d post an image of the group walking up the sidewalk in front of the store, but I’ve no budget for a commission. I might cobble up something in Illustrator and Photoshop, though—perhaps the sign itself—when I have the time.
...how long has she been standing there?
Whoa, nice to see Sunny being so sincere. I still thinks, with her being ablank state, everybody can chip in into her personaltiy, and everytime I read a Sunny Flare character, it was intresting to see another different one. You did a nice job here, not a very grand worldbuilding, but a more intimate and needed personal stories.
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This one was tough to write, not just because Sunny is such a tabula rasa, but because of the emotional intensity. Conveying it with adequate impact, but without going over the top, was something of a tightrope walk. It also took me a while to figure out a good hook to start off Sunny’s outpouring of remorse.
Moreover, since most of these vignettes are a bit stream-of-consciousness thanks to their conversational nature, it can be a challenge to keep the discussion on course, yet hit all the points I want to make—and do so in the characters’ voices, to boot! Fortunately, I can count on Pinkie to provide a way to pivot the conversation abruptly in any direction I want.
Cool!
Excellent Chapter bud, loved the newspaper scene. Haven't really seen newspapers used to this degree on fics before. Well done.
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I’m an old fogey who grew up with newspapers as a daily fact of life, so they very much remain a part of my mental landscape. On the other hand, I’d bet most folks here on Fimfiction, and possibly on fan-fiction sites generally, belong to the Internet generation and may not even think of—or about—newspapers very much.
Also, I’m a professional graphic designer and production artist specializing in print documents, and I have a tremendous interest in history, especially military history and the history of print.
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I'm a Military History buff myself. What's your favorite era to study?
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I don’t really have a favorite, truth to tell; I’m fascinated by history generally and enjoy learning about any period.
I'm getting a strong 'Never-Ending Story' vibe here! Who put the book there? Destiny; she also wanted the girls to find it too!
I've always thought that Twilight would probably be immensely flattered but embarrassed in equal sorts by the amount of fanservice art there is out there about Midnight Sparkle!
Fluttershy strikes me as the sort of person who would consider Good Housekeeping to be the pinnacle of the lifestyle journalist's art.
Purely FWIW, recently I've got the impression that written Equish is close to English but uses a pseudo-Roman alphabet with some letters mirrored (which may represent different sounds like long 'E' and the like). So, I'd imagine reading an Equestrian newspaper or magazine would also require a primer in the written language.
That was interesting.
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I’m glad you found it intriguing!
But rummaging through random piles of books is half the fun of a good used book store!
Man I still remember my favorite book store back in my home town. A haphazard labyrinth of dimly lit wooden shelves, battered but sturdy. A nonsensical floor design from their expanding into the building a bit at a time over decades. The aging hippie of an owner planted permanently by the door, chatting with regulars. Remembering that smell of paper and wood and must still brings a smile to my face. There're many used book stores near where I live now, but none compare to my first.
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I confess my sympathies lie with Sunset. I don’t enjoy random-walk browsing; I prefer to zero in immediately on authors, publishers, and titles. Stacks in disarray prevent that, which makes me notably cranky. On the other hand, I’m not quite at Twilight’s level of compulsion to set things right.
Oddly for someone who’s loved books and reading as I have, I never have formed strong attachments to any bookstores, though I do have fond if hazy memories of a comic shop. In childhood, my family moved around too much. As a young and middle-aged adult, a combination of poverty and lack of access precluded it. More recently I’ve read less and bought e-books instead of paperbacks.
All that said, I did construct Lectern’s to be just the sort of idiosyncratic, lovable local bookstore people visit, and recall, fondly for many years. It may not resemble exactly the store you describe so glowingly, but I did want to evoke exactly that sort of response in the reader.
I disagree with the decision to pitch it. With it in the trash, anyone can pick it up. Makes more sense to lock it away somewhere, just in case.
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Most modern street-furniture trash receptacles, such as the model used in the city where I live, are designed specifically to make just that sort of rummaging difficult if not impossible, even when partially full. Once the book disappears down into the dark, sheltered interior, it’s effectively invisible and nearly unreachable. When a city crew pulls the bag from the container, the book almost certainly would be buried somewhere in the middle. I’d assumed that sort of design is familiar and widespread, but I’ve added a sentence explicitly spelling this out.
Um.... I'm pretty sure that I've read this chapter before, so of the following ones that were here before seem be missing, too.
How come?
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In the process of carrying out the modification I inadvertently deleted an installment I hadn’t meant to, and had to restore it.
8480204 Okay, thanks, Dave. I'll pop over there and check it out.
And ouch.
Does Cookie Pusher have colleagues named Pin Stripe and Striped Pants?
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Foreign Nationals of Unusual Importance contains a partial answer to your question.
I can't help but think I read this before was this just recently edited and reposted?
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In the process of splitting off the ”Fall Semester” set from this ”Summer Break” set, I inadvertently deleted an installment I hadn’t meant to, and had to restore it.
The only place that I've seen Mane and Tail Shampoo is, not surprisingly, a local pharmacy chain. Seeing that, however, made me wonder just how much Sunset's gone native...and how homesick she really is.
The things you find in old bookstores, including freinds and visitors. Next things that happen now will be encapsulated in a seperate book of stories?
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That’s right—I’m continuing the series in a new set titled Lectern’s New and Used Books: Fall Semester.
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I imagine Mane ’n’ Tail probably is available in a lot of supermarkets and drugstores these days, though I haven’t gone looking for it. Maybe I should.
I strongly suspect from Sunset’s behavior since at least Friendship Games she’s pretty set on staying, despite any lingering homesickness and irritation over not being treated as an adult. I proceeded on that basis in Foreign Nationals of Unusual Interest, in any case, assuming she’s fallen in love with her adopted city as well as the world and friends it represents.
Darn it, only now do I realize that I completely failed to mention that bottle of Mane 'n' Tail in my last card blog. Should've read this earlier, and not just becaise of that.
Also, I knew about tooth powder, but not bar shampoo. Quite interesting.
In any case, good way to close out the summer. I always like seeing people from one world in the other, and Starlight's reactions here were great all around.
Neat! It's one of those things that makes sense that it'd happen, but I'd never considered. Kinda like those zombie apocalypse contingency plans.
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Or if not Fluttershy, then at least her mom.