The Struggles of Running a Book Store

by arcanica_scripta

Looking for Help

“Alright, one more check.” Arcanica sorted through a stack of pages that were irregularly clumped together. As she did so, she looked over a clipboard to make sure the pages were all in order based on the ponies they belonged to. Today was a very important for her, and it was important to make the effort to not screw up. Especially since she had never hired somepony to work under her rather than finding an associate like her editor and publicist.

The last couple weeks had bred mayhem for her shop as a result of all the strange things that had followed Twilight to Ponyville. Between balancing her store with her writing career, studying the black book, and spending time with her friends, she was starting to run herself ragged. It didn’t help that Fluttershy had accidentally started a Parasprite infestation that decimated the town, and that Filthy Rich had gone all out to make everypony go to his daughter’s Cuteceñera.

Ok so maybe that last one wasn’t that bad, but she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that something was going to happen out of it. Well, besides closing her store for the duration of the party. Even going to unwind with Rarity and Fluttershy at the spa had taken a chunk of time out of running the store. Sure, she didn’t exactly need to run a book shop, but it helped supplement her income when she wasn’t publishing new books and gave her something to do.

So, after the last couple weeks and spreading herself thin, she decided to finally hire some extra help for her store. After all, if she was going to join in on “Friendship Adventures” as Pinkie Pie put it, there was no reason for her to miss out on sales with her store. It had taken a couple days after putting out an ad in the local paper, but she had a day of interviews ahead of her to weed through all the potential applicants and find just the right pony for the job.

Content that the papers were in order, she used her magic to open the door from her place behind the counter. A mint green unicorn with a lyre for a Cutie Mark entered with a bright smile, closing the door behind her. “Hello, Miss Hoofcraft.”

“Hello…” she re-read the application form, “Lyra.” She gestured to a seat she had placed on the other side of the counter. “Please, have a seat.” The other unicorn sat down on her haunches, placing her hind legs over the edge of the chair and sitting in a strange upright slouch. And I already have a bad feeling about this one. She cleared her throat. “So, Miss Heartstrings, tell me a little about yourself.”

The unicorn smiled before explaining that she was a musician and that she would get the occasional gig in Canterlot and other cities. Despite her sitting habit, everything about her seemed reasonably normal. Lived in Ponyville for years, roommates with a candy maker named Bon-Bon, well educated. “And what exactly makes you want this job, besides getting a paycheck?”

Her smile dropped, and she looked back and forth as though somepony was listening. “Can you keep a secret?” She leaned in close with a grin. “I’m hoping that by working here, I can find some proof of a theory of mine.”

Arcanica’s gut was telling her that she would regret asking, but she felt strangely compelled to ask. “And that theory is?”

She smiled eagerly as she sat upright again. “I’m certain that we ponies aren’t truly the ones responsible for Equestria. I’ve been finding evidence over the years that it was all the result of another race of creatures.” She leaned in close once more. “They’re called ‘humans’ and I’m positive they once existed in Equestria, and might even still exist somewhere!” And there’s the craziness.

When the mare’s smile didn’t fade to laughter over pulling a joke, Arcanica nervously chuckled. “Well, Lyra, this was certainly interesting. I’ll let you know once I finish going through the rest of these applications.”

“No problem!” She leaned forward in her chair, landing on all four hooves. “I understand needing to go through all the paperwork. It’s only natural to not want anybody to feel cheated by not getting an interview.” Anybody? She cheerfully trotted to the door. “Have a nice day!”

Once she was gone, Arcanica quickly grabbed her quill and put a slash through Lyra’s name. No way was she going to hire somepony crazy if she could avoid it. As another pony walked in, this one a stallion covered in jelly, she just knew she was going to have a long day today.

---

“So, tell me about yourself,” she told the mare in front of her. She was a dark pink unicorn with a sea-green mane styled similarly to Fluttershy’s. Her smile was unnaturally wide, and her heterochomic eyes unnerved Arcanica in a way that she couldn’t quite place.

She was silent and just sat there unmoving for a while before finally answering. “I have amazing psychic powers and can open portals between all of the dimensions to talk to my mom.”

“Ooooookay then…” She quickly wrote ‘crazy’ next to the pony’s name.

She stayed there unmoving, even after Arcanica made motions for her to either continue or leave. “You want to meet an electric hedgehog?”

“Next.”

---

She read over the application in front of her. There were numerous jobs all over it, some of which were either at the same time or followed each other within a couple of days. “So you’re looking for a part time job to help supplement your income?”

“YEAH!” screamed Bulk Biceps.

“And… what makes you think you are qualified for this?” she hesitantly asked, the ringing in her ears not fading yet.

“I HAVE TONS OF JOB TRAINING!”

“I see…”

---

The red author sighed as she massaged her temple with her hoof. “Twilight, don’t you already run a library?” As she said this, she gave an unamused look at the smiling mare.

The purple unicorn chuckled. “Well yeah, but I felt that this was part of being a good friend to help you out!”

She gave her a flat look. “You do realize I’m hiring somepony so I can hang out with you girls, right?”

---

“And you say you have extensive knowledge on literature and all manner of books?” So far, this one seemed the most promising… not that that was saying much.

“Oh, absolutely,” replied the stallion. “I know all the classics, both academic and literary! Haycartes, Chestnut Dickens, Skyward Blitz…”

“I’m sorry, who? There’s no writer with a name like that in ‘the classics’ that I know of.”

He gave her a knowing smile. “Not yet, there isn’t.”

“Next.”

---

“So yeah, man, that’s why I think I should like, totally get this job.” The tan stallion in front of her did little to inspire confidence for her. Sure he was reasonably well-groomed, but the fact that he showed up in an old bathrobe and what she hoped were old pajamas ruined his image.

“Yes, well, that’s rather…” she struggled to think of an appropriate word for the strange biography he gave her. “Interesting, Mr. Letrotski.”

“Nah man, just call me Dude,” he said while casually waving a hoof to try and assure her.

“Right…”

---

The pink unicorn was breathing heavily as she smiled at Arcanica. The author’s eye was twitching in irritation. “You ever wonder about how Electric Hedgehogs breed?”

“Go. Home.”

---

The unicorn groaned as she slumped over the countertop. She went through every application in her stack, and not one pony was even close to being an acceptable assistant. Lyra and “Doctor” were pretty promising, but the fact that both were delusional in some way made her hesitant. Everypony else, though…

The door opened, probably a customer since she didn’t have any more applications. She sat up and looked at her guest; a white pegasus with a pink and green mane. “Hello, welcome to Untold Tales. Need help finding anything?”

“Oh, um…” She fidgeted nervously before reaching into the saddlebags. “My name’s Blossomforth. I was wondering if, you know…” She pulled out an application with a nervous smile. “You were still accepting applications for that position?”

Arcanica sighed before sitting herself down and grabbing the application with her horn. “Please, have a seat,” she said absentmindedly while skimming over the few pages the mare brought. “So, Blossomforth. Tell me about yourself. What do you do, what are your interests, stuff like that.”

She took a few deep breaths before beginning. “Well, I’m a volunteer member of the local weather team whenever they’re short on hooves. I do enjoy gardening, but my talent refers to making things ‘bloom’ by putting in some effort to make them look right. Then my friend Thunderlane and I are part of a bowling team here in Ponyville that gets together on weekends.”

Arcanica nodded as she took this in. Now that she looked closer at the pegasus’ application, she had experience selling merchandise to ponies. “It says here you worked for flower shops here in Ponyville and in Cloudsdale. Did something happen at both of them to make you leave?”

“Well Cloudsdale was where I grew up,” she explained. “My mom let me work at her flower shop until I was ready to move out, and I was working at the one here with the flower sisters. As for that one well…” She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “There’s only so much of their fainting a pony can handle.”

The unicorn chuckled at that before continuing with her questions. “So now, why books? After all, I’m sure there are plenty of places that could use somepony whose talent is prettying the place up.” She leaned back, watching as the white pegasus got nervous all of a sudden.

“Well, to be completely honest, Miss Hoofcraft, I’m… I’moneofyourbiggestfans!” she rushed out the end of the statement with a blush on her face and her eyes screwed shut.

Arcanica was stunned at the admission, before chuckling. “I’m flattered, Blossomforth, I truly am. But, that’s not it, is it?”

She stared at the unicorn in amazement of how well she had been taking it before remembering she was waiting for a response. “Oh! Well, I enjoy reading and love literature. Honestly, there’s nothing like a good book to help you relax after a long day.” She blinked when she realized she was rambling. “To be completely honest with you, Miss Hoofcraft, I would love to work here. Not just because you’re one of my favorite authors, but because there’s something about working with books that makes it more worthwhile than flowers. When you sell somepony a flower arrangement, it’ll last for a week or two, maybe three if you know what you’re doing. But if you sell them a book, that book will last them a long time.”

“So it’s about selling something that will leave a lasting impression?” clarified the unicorn. Getting a nod, she placed a hoof to her chin. “I’ll admit, that’s a much better reason compared to some of the one’s I’ve gotten today. A rose may capture the eye easier than the words of a page, but the page will remain eternal as the rose withers away.”

“Exactly!” She had a wide smile and her wings flared in excitement. “That’s exactly it!” She noticed the unicorn’s smirk before sheepishly folding her wings with an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” she said with a reassuring wave of the hoof. “Everypony gets excited when they find out somepony gets how they think.” She took in the pegasus’ body language as she thought over the current situation. She seemed mostly relaxed, a little tense but that made sense she was in a job interview and in front of one of her favorite authors. As she scanned the application once more and thought back on all the ponies she went through today, she smiled. “Well, Blossomforth, any questions for me?”

She seemed a little surprised at the sudden question directed her way but quickly shook it off. “Um… I suppose if I get the job what my duties would be and what my hours would be like, but that’s assuming I get the job.” A nervous chuckle escaped Blossomforth as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Well that can wait until tomorrow morning,” Arcanica said offhandedly as she tucked the application under the counter and stood up.

“Wait, tomorrow?”

The red unicorn smirked at the white pegasus. “Well, mid-morning, since we open at ten.”

As she thought about what the author was saying, Blossomforth’s face lit up with understanding. “Wait, you mean…”

She nodded. “That’s right. You’re hired.”

Her face lit up as her wings flared once more. “Oh my gosh!” She flew into an extremely eager hug that made Arcanica laugh a bit. “Thank you so much, Miss Hoofcraft!” When she realized what she was doing, she quickly detached herself from the unicorn author. “I mean, thank you for the opportunity, ma’am.” She ran to the door eagerly before looking back. “You won’t regret this!”

Once she took off out the door, and started loudly cheering as she flew, Arcanica shook her head. “Something tells me I won’t.”

The following day, Arcanica was amazed that Blossomforth showed up before opening in case she needed to help set anything up. After the usual morning set-up was done, she was quick to start explaining how Blossomforth’s job worked and how running the store worked. She was surprised at how quickly the pegasus took to the job and handled the customers that came in during the morning.

Although, she could have done without Pinkie Pie deciding to throw a party in her store to celebrate Blossomforth getting the job. At the end of the day though, she felt quite proud of her decision to hire the pegasus. Once she was positive Blossomforth could handle the store without her help, she just knew she’d have plenty of time to get more work done on her book.

---

“So that’s what that spell really does… And those fools deliberately cast it.”

The red unicorn was standing in that twilit city once more. The dream was a common occurrence to her, so she no longer panicked when she found herself in it like she did before. The shadows were now more common, but for once, none were present.

Currently, she was standing atop the altar she had written about in her story about Yak’Shek. She had to admit, the view was truly amazing. The orange sky and the darkened ocean underneath created a startling contrast for the horizon. It would have been a wonderful sight to behold, if she were alone.

There, on the edge of the altar staring over the sea, was a pegasus stallion. He had a forest green coat, with his dark brown mane and tail cut in choppy layers. His cutie mark showed a cloud being split in half by a lightning bolt. What concerned her was the fact that his eyes were red with a black miasma flowing from them.

Arcanica walked up to him, taking note of a familiar black book lying open in front of him. “What spell?” she asked, unable to keep herself from talking to the unusual stallion. “What happened here?”

He chuckled before looking at her. “The ponies here, the worshippers of Ydrex’Ktala, they tried summoning one of Them. They assumed I was here to bring another of Them upon this damnable city, but in the end, I was the one their Lord spared.”

“You mean they’re…”

He smiled. “In a way, I suppose. Ydrex’Ktala rewards those who show faith, but didn’t want to be rid of somepony who can hear Their calls.” He looked back towards the horizon, his eyes losing the black mist but retaining a black sclera. “Somepony who can tell the tales of their existence and remember why mortals shouldn’t attempt to meddle in Their affairs.”

“Who… who are you?” She tried stepping back from the stallion only for chains to wrap around her hooves; the same chains she had learned to use from the book.

He turned to completely face her, his eyes once more radiating with that nightmarish black miasma. “You should know that, Arcanica. You did tell all of Equestria my story.” As he walked closer to her, a loud wailing noise filled the air. It was like a high-pitched call that echoed through the empty city. “Although, you never told anypony what happened after Ydrex’Ktala visited his followers, did you?”

“Y- you can’t be real!” she snapped as she struggled against the chains that were slowly tightening as they crept up her legs. How can I
feel these?! This is a dream! “It’s not-”

“Not real?” He laughed, though it was nothing more than a hollow imitation of a genuine laugh. “I assure you, I’m very real. Or rather, I was. Now I’m a memory, one that you bear for all of Equestria to remember!” The strange cry went up in pitch as he trotted closer, his wings flaring behind him. “You know my name, Arcanica. Even if it is never spoken at length, you know who I am. You know what I saw, what I witnessed, what I DID!”

Desperate to escape, she lit up her horn and to try blasting the chains away from her but found her magic unwilling to cooperate with her. “You’re not real!” she shouted. “You can’t be. They can’t be!”

The ground shook as the wailing got louder. “Oh but They are, and you can’t escape that.” His wings began losing their feathers, revealing a pair of dragonic wings beneath. “They chose you to know what nopony else could comprehend, just as I was chosen, and all those besides us.” Several locks of his mane began to weave themselves together before slowly shifting to resemble tentacles. “You can deny it all you want, but at the end of the day, you will continue to read your Book of Knowledge, you will continue to chronicle the tales of all those who came before you, and They will allow you to know all of the secrets that lie in the world beyond Equestria.”

With a mighty shaking, the wailing reached its crescendo as a great… something began to rise from beneath the ledge. Its blubbery skin was a sickly shade of green with long, frilled spines adorning its head like some manner of disgusting crown. Two beady chunks of obsidian hung over a twisted muzzle that looked as though it were from a wolf only filled with uneven and warped teeth. As the horrible monstrosity raised its head over the two ponies, she knew full well what, no, who this thing was.

“Ydrex’Ktala…” she muttered fearfully. “This… this isn’t real… YOU’RE NOT REAL!”

sILenCe… came a warped whisper that shook the buildings around them. You kNoW… yOu sEE… YoU hEaR… yOU… REMEMBER! The behemoth screamed its roar, causing the city and the cliff it was on to tremble. The ground cracked beneath Arcanica’s hooves, as the transformed pegasus took to the air.

“Remember, Arcanica! Accept the truth and know the truth of this world!” he cried as the ground finally gave out. The chains never let go of her and instead kept her shackled to the chunks of stone that plummeted towards the sea. She closed her eyes as she fell, waiting for the impact to come to her.

---

WHAM! Arcanica’s eyes shot open as she slammed into something hard and… wooden? Hastily getting her forelegs under herself, she let out a shuddering breath of relief to see she had fallen out of bed. “At least that dream is over.” She took notice of how dark it was and used a quick spell to light the candle by her bedside so she could see the clock on her wall. She sighed when she saw it was only 3 o’clock in the morning, but was relieved that she didn’t feel tired despite how early it was.

“I don’t think I can go back to sleep after… that…” Her personal dialogue trailed off as she noticed something glinting from the small desk she kept in the corner of her bedroom. Cautiously walking over, she saw it was just her ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, though she was certain she had left it in her bedside cabinet last time she had looked at it. Picking it up, she noticed something much more troubling than a misplaced Gala ticket.

There on the table, open to a section much further than where she was in it, was the damn book that seemed to be the focus of her problems of late. She wanted to slam it shut until she noticed something unusual: the writing on the pages in front of her was in actual black ink, as opposed to what resembled blood, and in a drastically different hoofwriting than where she was in it. More importantly, this section was written in a dialect of Equestrian that probably hadn’t been used in centuries. The writing that covered the page on the left was rough, and looked as though it were hastily written onto the page with no regard for appearance. Pulling the book closer and setting her ticket aside, she found herself drawn to the words somepony had to have written in on their own.

As I pen these pages within this tome, I shudder in awe and fear of the Hell I have witnessed upon this day of their Majesties. The terrors within that city were of such a manner that I doubt anything Lulu would see in the nightmares of even the darkest beings of Tartarus would come close to that city.

I had heard whispers of ponies who worshipped strange creatures not of this world, yet never in my thoughts had I presumed those creatures of being truly eldritch and unearthly in their nature and form. One can only tremble to ponder whether any other such beings resemble that appallingly green monster.

I intend to make haste upon my return to Canterlot to seek an audience with his Majesty King Solaris to regale the events in Yak’Shek. It matters not whether they refused to be part of Equestria, if something like that fiend now roams Equestria, then he needs to know. I pray this tome’s presence will provide enough evidence to sway his Majesty to believe me. I doubt having even the benefit of Tia and Lulu’s favor will be enough even for this.

Arcanica blinked as she finished the page. “King Solaris?” She put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I feel like I should know who that is. And who the hay are ‘Tia’ and ‘Lulu’ if they were supposed to help this pony get an audience with a King?

Deciding to look into it in the morning, she looked at the right page, taking note of the much more even and measured writing that covered it.

Regretfully, my hopes were for naught. Upon my return from my travels, I was able to gain an audience with his Majesty. I prefer not to come to assumptions in regards to the thoughts of his Majesty, but I cannot shake the feeling from my mind that he assumed I was bringing wondrous tales of the world outside his kingdom.

As I had anticipated, Tia and Lulu were able to help me see him as soon as possible, but he had no room for my stories. Even when I presented this volume to him and told him of the horrors I had witnessed outside of Equestria’s borders at the hooves of the cultists of Yak’Shek, he dismissed it as nothing but a foal’s tale. He claims that since I had begun to chronicle within its pages as though it were a simple journal that this tome couldn’t possibly be as powerful or dangerous as I claimed it to be.

Fortunately, neither I nor my tales are truly without ear. My dearest friends, Tia and Lulu, continue to believe me, though the degrees of each leaves much to be desired. Tia, though wise and knowing I would never lie to her, said that I probably wasn’t sure of everything I had seen since she still remembers the dreams I once had of beings beyond the reasoning of anypony who places a great value upon their sanity.

Conversely, Lulu believes me entirely, though I believe that is largely due to her fondness of visiting me in my dreams. If she has done so, then she knows all too well of the horrors that lie in wait beyond this mortal plane we call our home. She has expressed willingness to join me in reading through the pages of this eldritch tome. Although, I cannot shake the feeling that she only wishes to explore this tome of forbidden knowledge out of her future title as Princess of the Night. Only time will tell, however.

“Wait, Princess of the Night? But that’s…” Her eyes widened as she realized the significance of the names on the pages. “Tia and Lulu were princesses… did… did he know the Princesses? But that would mean…” This book is old enough to have been around when the Princesses were fillies.

A few weeks ago, she would have simply chalked it up to an elaborate prank. But now? After how real that dream of hers was and the actual effectiveness of the few spells she had tried from the book thus far, she couldn’t help but accept that there was certainly more to the book than she wanted to admit.

---

A dark blue alicorn gasped in shock as she was forced from the dream she had been observing, if it could even be called that. That stallion in her dream… How could that unicorn know about HIM? Turning about, she left her chambers and quickly made her way to where her sister’s quarters were. That had been the first thing she memorized about this new castle upon her return as Celestia’s presence had been an integral component of her recovery.

Arriving at the doors to her chambers and nodding to her sister’s guards, she rapped her hoof against the door. “Sister, are thou awake? We have great need of an audience with thee.” The guards’ expressions quickly went to terror as they made to stop her from waking the elder alicorn, but the doors opening stopped them.

“Luna? What’s the matter?” The white Alicorn was rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stood in the door way, her royal ornamentation absent. “You haven’t woken me up like this since we were foals.”

“Sister, We have news that we felt thou must know of as swiftly as possible.” She gestured to the two unicorn guards. “News that we feel must not be spoken of before the guards and instead within the isolated privacy of thine chambers.”

The elder sister sighed. “And I suppose this can’t wait until morning?” Receiving a shake of the head, she moved to the side. “Very well, come inside Luna.” The younger sister quickly entered her sleeping quarters and began pacing. Celestia yawned into her fetlock as she watched her younger sister. “Tell me, Luna, what’s troubling you?”

The Night Princess took a moment to ponder what she had to tell her sister, trying to decide how best to tell Celestia what she had learned. “Dearest sister, we have found somepony who remembers details of the past we had presumed lost to the history of Equestria and her annals.”

“What do you mean, Luna?” Her exhaustion forgotten, she placed a hoof on her sister’s back. “What did you see?”

“Celestia, somepony remembers Stormbreaker and the horrors he was forced to bear witness to.”

Author's Note:

Sweet Celestia, that was a long chapter. It was going to be longer, but I had to cut out a number of gags during the interviews since it got a little too repetitive. Also yes, I included one of the worst/strangest OCs to have graced the fandom in recent years because the character on a whole astounds me and the friends I've described her to.

As for the ones who appeared from the actual show, Lyra appeared because it's Lyra, Bulk Biceps is practically the Larry Needlemire of Ponyville, the Doctor needs something to do, the Dude probably doesn't have a job, and you just know Twilight would apply for a job at a book store. But as for Blossomforth? She's one of my favorite background ponies and yet she's overlooked after getting named.

Also, overall plot really getting into gear. There's a lot of stuff coming up for our unwilling protagonist. The next chapter is going to take a little bit since it's going back to the show's episodes, but I have a pretty good "road map" for the events coming up.

If you're enjoying the story, feel free to follow or drop a comment. Until next time!

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why not rewrite the first two chapters?

[arcanica_scripta]

9401981
That's.... actually a good idea. I forget that some sites make it easy to do something like that.