Life is Hardly That Simple

by Aceman67

2 - Empty Spaces

Author's Note:

I had to read a 35 page introductory to the Dewy Decimal System to write this chapter. You guys better appreciate that.

"So, why did you pick LibSci?" Peachy asked laying on her back on her bed in her dorm room, waving her hoof for Louie to pass the joint over, which he levitated over. She loved the tingling feeling his magic gave her while she took a drag from the illicit smoke.

"Same reason you picked Early Foalhood Education," Louie said, levitating the joint back and taking a drag of his own.

"To stick it to Mrs Strict Facts who said that I'd never amount to anything?"

"Ok, maybe not the same reason," Louie responded. "As cliche as it sounds, I guess I was just meant for it, I guess. I mean, I got my mark," Louie explained, referring to the bookshelf emblazoned on his hindquarters while taking another drag. "helping someone find a book in the Canterlot Public Library."

"Hey, puff puff pass, you selfish colt," Peachy said in jest and then got what she wanted. "It just seems like a weird thing to go into. Doesn't seem like fun."

"Why did you pick teaching foals?"

"I loved the feeling I got teaching my sister to read."

"Then you should already understand why I wanted to become a Librarian," Louie responded. "It wasn't my parents or my teacher who really taught me to read, but the Librarian's assistant at the CPL. She saw my mom tell me that Lady and the Amulet was too advanced for me. So when my mom dropped me at the library for story time, the assistant took me aside from the rest of the group and read The Amulet's Alliance to me."

"Explains why you're such a dork."

"But you love that about me," Louie said, rolling off his back so he was right next to Peachy. "As I was saying, having her read that book to me changed my life, and if I can do that for just one foal, then I can retire happy." He explained, then levitated the joint away from her muzzle and snuck a kiss, getting a face full of smoke for his troubles.

He kissed her again, this time for much longer.

When they parted, Peachy smiled, then spoke.

"It's time to wake up."

---

As Loose Leaf woke up, his eyes slowly opened, noticing that his foreleg was draped across the empty space that was the rest of his bed. Letting out a sigh, he forced himself out of bed and lazily walked himself towards the washroom.

After using the toilet and washing in the shower, Louie stood in front of the sink and used his magic to clear the mirror of condensation from the shower and started to brush his teeth. Staring at his reflection as he finished his morning rituals, his attention was drawn to his goatee, or rather three strands of hair just under his bottom lip.

Three white strands of hair in an otherwise brown goatee.

He angrily finished brushing his teeth, then slammed open the bathroom door and immediately hit his fetlock on the lone box in the center of the living area that he hadn't unpacked yet, the one he told Starlight the night before when she was helping him unpack that he'd take care of.

His anger quickly fueled a profanity-laced outburst as he hopped around favouring his hurt leg.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the box with his magic and started walking toward the closet in the bedroom. Right before he made to put it on the shelf, the top of the box opened on its own, with an item, a picture frame, on top catching his eye.

Placing the box on the floor, he took the it in his magic and sat at the edge of the bed and looked at it for a long while.

For how long, he didn't know, but his attention was torn away by a knocking at the front door on the first floor. Putting the it back in the box, closing it, then pushed it against the wall by the closet.

The knocking continued as Louie walked down the stairs. "Yeah, hold on, I'm coming." He yelled out just before getting to the front door. Opening it, he was greeted by a gruff looking Unicorn wearing a blue trimmed high visibility vest levitating a clipboard in front of him.

"Uh... I have a delivery for one... Lose Leave?"

"Loose Leaf." Louie dead-panned.

"Yeah, whatever, sign here please." the delivery pony said passing the clipboard over.

"I'll sign this as soon as I verify that everything is here, thank you," Louie said as he stepped aside as he read the contents of the bill of lading. "You can place the crates in that corner." He said, motioning to where the reading tables would be as soon as that order arrived.

"You heard the pony," The delivery pony said, calling out to the others with him.

As Louie watched them bring in crate after crate, eleven in all, he noticed a unicorn with a purple mane standing outside, looking a little amazed at the number of items being brought in, so he waved at her to come in.

"Hello, can I help you?" He asked.

"Hello, my name is Rarity, the local seamstress, you asked Applejack last night if she knew anypony that could make some curtains for the library, I brought some fabric samples over."

"I'm Loose Leaf, and thank you, but you didn't have to bring samples," Louie responded. "My mother buys all her dresses from your boutique in Canterlot, if my mom likes your designs, I trust your judgement. Something neutral that fits with the decor will do fine."

"Why thank you, that's high praise." Rarity said with a slight blush at the compliment. "Do you want any made for your apartment?"

"Some black curtains will do great," Louie said.

"Black? Wouldn't you want something to liven up the room?"

"No, I like black," Louie explained with a smile as he levitated a pair of reading glasses from behind the central desk to read the small shipping labels on the crates being brought in and closely inspecting the magical seals placed on the crate that had the spell books that would be put in the restricted section, as well as the crate that had old and rare books.

"Alright, I think I have the perfect colour for the library," Rarity said, levitating a blue-gray swatch of fabric over. "And this fabric I'll make your curtains from." She continued, passing a swatch of black cloth.

"Thank you, these will do nicely," Louie said, passing them back. "Thank you, Gentlecolts, everything seems to be in order." He said to the delivery ponies, then gave them a signed copy of the bill of lading.

"Now, I don't envy the task ahead of you Mr Leaf, organizing all those books seems like a monumental feat." Rarity said, looking at the crates in the corner.

"Not as much as you think," Louie said with a smile that only a pony who's been given an opportunity to explain something they're passionate about would have. "Everything in those crates is packed and organized according to the Starswirl Decimal Classification System."

Rarity looked at him like he had grown a third eye.

"Look at the signs on the bookshelves," Louie said, motioning to the bookshelves, one with '000-050', another two rows over with '200-240', and this continued for every bookshelf in the library all the way up to high 900's. "Books are organized by discipline, not subject. Each interval corresponds to a classification." Louie explained, then walked over to the crate that had 100-280 in it, opened the crate and started pulling books out before finding one that Rarity would relate too. "Here we go. 'Psychological Influence of Clothing' by Bespoke Frock, Class 155.95 pertaining to the discipline of Differential & Developmental Psychology. Books about fashion design would be..." Louie continued, thinking for a moment. "746, the discipline of arts, I think. I'd need to look that up to be exact."

"Twilight tried to explain it to me a few years ago, but I actually understood you." Rarity admitted, but her attention was drawn to muffled giggles coming from behind the crates. "Who's there? Come on out, it's not polite to eavesdrop."

"Sorry, sis," Sweetie Belle said in an apologetic tone, but Louie swore he could sense a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"You should be careful around those crates, some of them have anti-" Louie began to say.

"OW!" Scootaloo cried out, then came out from behind the crate, favouring her front right hoof that was lightly blackened.

"Tamper enchantments." Louie finished with a dead-pan tone.

"Now, if you two are here, Apple Bloom couldn't be far behind," Rarity said, craning her neck to look around trying to find the third part of the trio.

"I'm right behind you, Rarity." Apple Bloom said suddenly.

"Oh!" Rarity said, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Don't sneak up on me like that." She ordered, then made a show to clear her throat. "Mr Leaf, this is my little sister, Sweetie Belle, and her friends Scootaloo and Apple Bloom"

"We're the Cutie-Mark Crusaders!" All three said in unison. The Adorableness on display was sweet enough to give a pony diabetes, Louie thought.

"How can I help you ladies, the Library isn't open to the public at the moment," Louie asked, leaning down slightly to get on the Crusader's level.

"We thought we might be able to help with putting the books out!" Sootaloo said, eagerly.

"Yeah, we figured it would be a good learning experience!" Apple Bloom said enthusiastically.

"Exactly, so can we help?" Sweetie Belle asked with a pleading smile that could rot your teeth with how cute it was.

"Girls, as noble as your offer is, I get the feeling that your motives are not... how should I put it... entirely altruistic?" Rarity postulated. "Are you sure it's not some scheme you've cooked up to have fun during your summer break? Like, say... finding a unique spell or potion book that would be age-restricted? Hmmm?"

The three fillies' smiles faltered for a second.

"Gotta go, see ya!" All three said quickly then darted out the door. Rarity face-hoofed and all Louie could do was laugh. Hard.

"I know those girls' antics can be funny at times, but it wasn't that funny."

"Oh, I figured as much, I just haven't had an opportunity to laugh like that in a long while."

"You should have known them before they got their cutie-marks." Rarity said ominously. "Cutie-Mark Disasters would be one way to describe them." She said with a hint of seriousness but just enough mirth to know she was joking. "All that being said, do you need any help?"

"Thank you for asking, but Starlight and The Princess said they would help me out today, and she's the only one I know of in town that knows how to handle old and rare books."

"Old and rare? Do tell."

"Well, I managed to get the Canterlot Archives to part with one book in particular, and it is a special request. It's an illuminated manuscript of 'Predictions and Prophecies' in the original Old Equish, dating back to around fifty years after Princess Luna's banishment." Louie explained.

"Wait, isn't that..."

"The book Twilight used to predict Luna's return?" Louie said with a wink.

"Oh, you've made a friend, for life I think, Mr. Leaf."

"Please, my friends call me Louie."

Comments

[Stonecrop Sedum]

Wait, so he never went to dinner at Applejack's?

[Aceman67]

9219096
Read the next chapter ;)