The Bookshop

It was morning and the dull ringing of my alarm clock resonated throughout my room. Then, the clock resumed its cheerful ticking as I sat up and pressed the alarm clock button. I slid off my bed and went into the bathroom just across the hall. I looked at the mirror above my sink and saw a brown earth stallion with a long messy black mane. His eyes had dark lines under them – as if he has not had a good night rest.

“Good morning, Tome,” I greeted my reflection with a smile. But then I shook my head in shame as I realized how pathetic it was to talk to ones’ reflection. I let out a heavy sigh and took a cold shower.

After freshen up a bit, I went back into my bedroom and looked out the window. The sun slowly rises over the horizon as the ponies in Ponyville were getting ready for a new day. Below my house was a bookstore – which where I worked and owned. It was my grandfather’s at first but before he died, he bestowed his bookshop - his livelihood to me to ensure it keeps on going.

It was not the greatest of bookshops, because it was an old and small but it has its sentimental value that gave this place some character. Even so, this bookshop was unable to make profits because it was hidden behind rows of street vendors. Consequently, this would obscure my shop from any potential customers. I tried asking the vendors to move somewhere else but it was all in vain. After so many attempts, I quit asking and carried on.

I looked back inside my room and noticed it was almost opening time. With that, I headed downstairs to prepare the shop for the day. I unlocked the front door and changed the sign to “Open”. I waited behind the counter for any customers but like everyday, the ponies did not notice my shop and for those who do, were not interested. As always, minutes turns to hours and I was accompanied by the ticking of a grandfather clock near the entrance.

The shop was quiet and felt empty. When I was a colt, the bookstore would always felt lively as my grandfather’s friends would come to buy books and shared many stories. Everyday was like a dream. This place would fill with laughter and cheers that ponies from all around Ponyville would come and visit. I even had my cutie mark at this very shop.

It was a slow day and the shop had a bit of a problem where ponies weren’t interested on buying books. But on that day, I saw an old gentlepony who was perusing for a book in an old shelf. I asked if he searching for something in particular in mind. He told me he was searching for a few books on ancient pony history. In just a snap, I knew where and what he was looking for and managed to sell him the books in a good price. After I told my grandfather that I successfully sold some of his books, I felt a tingling sensation on my flank. On that day, I discovered my cutie mark: A leather covered book with a golden ribbon bookmark.

I was snapped from my daydream as the grandfather clock rang. I looked and noticed it was almost closing time. It was about five o’clock in the evening and the orange glow of the setting sun washed into the shop. My heart ached slightly as I reminisced the old days. As I was about to lock the front door, I heard a female voice calling out. “Wait, don’t close the shop yet”.

I looked through the glass window and saw a purple unicorn, with a violet streak on her purple mane was panting in front of my door. She was gasping for air and tried to capture her breath. I opened the door slightly and spoke up. “Sorry miss, but we are closing,” I said politely.

“Give me a couple of minutes, please,” she pleaded, still catching her breath. Reluctantly, I invited her in.

“Only a couple of minutes,” I reminded her. She looked at me and smiled as she nodded in agreement. As she passed by, I looked at her cutie mark. It was a purple star surrounded by smaller white stars. I assumed she was a magic user and mentally prepared for books that she might request.

“Wow,” she spoke in amazement. “You have so many rare books,” she complimented. I felt a bit proud of her praise and stood higher.

“Of course,” I replied modestly. “We have the best books that a shop can offer,” I continued as I waved my hands to the rows of shelves inside. “Is there a book in particular you wanted to find?” I asked as I stood behind her.

“I’m searching for a book called ‘Mysterious Magical Mares of Manehattan’,” she answered as she browsed through the nearby shelf.

“Ah!” I exclaimed as I walked to a shelf near the entrance and grabbed the requested book. “Here it is,” I offered as I handed the book over.

“Thank you,” she replied, levitating the book. “How much for it?” She asked as she lifted a small bag of bits.

“It will be 25 bits, please,” I answered as I trotted back to the counter.

“Isn’t that a bit pricey?” she said questioningly.

“Well, there were only ten copies of the book you that wanted and there are only two copies available in Equestria. One of them is the one you are levitating right now,” I explained as I leaned over the counter, smiling. She looked hesitant for a while but gave in with a long sigh.

“Fine,” she grumbled, levitating 25 bits over the counter. I took the bits and inserted them into the register. I smiled and thanked her for her purchase. As she about to exit my store, she spun and smiled. “I’m Twilight by the way,” she said grinning.

I looked at her with a surprised and confused expression for a few seconds. “My name is Tome,” I replied, returning her smile.

“Well, see you later Tome,” she said as she waved at me.

“See you too,” I replied as I returned her gesture. With that, the door bell on top of my door rang, marking that a customer had left. I closed the shop with a cheery mood as I locked the door and re-organized the shelves while humming a tune.

The ringing of my alarm clock was a sign of a new day. The cheery mood from yesterday had already faded and I continued my daily routine. But today was different; it was a hot and sunny day. The heat was intense that the interior of my shop felt like it was on fire. As I was about to make an early close, until an orange earth pony with a cowboy hat entered the store.

“Oh boy,” she spoke up as she fanned herself with her hat. “Today was hotter than a fire in a sauna,” she continued, looking at the rows of shelves. After a few moments, she saw me standing in front of her with a confused expression.

“Howdy, partner,” she greeted as she gave me a strong hoofshake – which shook my whole body entirely. “I’m Applejack,” she introduced herself, smiling.

“I-I-I’m Tome,” I replied as my voice was shaking by her hoofshake. Then fortunately, she stopped and walked around my store. I had a glimpse on her cutie mark: she had apples on her flank. In my head, I assume she was a farmer or a gardener of some sort.

She was browsing through the old shelves, looking somewhat interested at the numbers of rare and unique tomes available. I was happy that the store had another potential customer and I was determined to make another sale today. “You had a lot of interesting books here, Mister Tome,” she pointed out as she was browsing through.

“Of course,” I replied. “All of these books were discovered and obtained by my grandfather when he was young. Then, he collected as many rare books as he could for him to open up a bookshop,” I explained proudly.

“Well, he sounds like a promising fella’,” she commented.

“He was,” I replied sadly. She noticed that I had a sad expression on my face and apologized if she had brought up sad memories. I told her it was alright and left her alone to let her browse in privacy while I waited behind the counter. Soon after, she spoke up.

“Hey, this is an Apple Family’s food recipe book,” she exclaimed in shock. She pulled out the book and set it down in front of me. “How did you get this?” she asked with a questioning look.

“Well,” I started nervously. “This book, according to my grandfather, that a friend of his named Granny Smith traded this book for another recipe book,” I explained honestly.

“Granny Smith is my grandma’,”she stated.

“Wait, you are one of the Apple’s?” I asked, feeling surprised at the turn of event.

“Yes,” she answered enthusiastically. Suddenly she reached over and gave me a friendly hug. “It good to see an old friend of the Apple family,” she continued, chuckling. I slowly escaped the hug and gave her a confused look. Then she told me that when her grandma’ and her family discovered Ponyville, my grandfather was one of her grandmother’s friends. He knew her grandmother when he heard about the famous ‘Zap apple’ jam.

“Wow,” I whispered in awe. Applejack chuckled at my reaction and waved a hoof at me – trying to get my attention. I looked at her inquisitively as she pulled a bag of bits from her saddlebag.

“How much for the book?” she asked, pointing at the recipe book.

“For a friend of the family, I’ll give it to you for free,” I answered, smiling.

“Wha-?” she gasped. “I can’t do that, at least I pay ya’ something,” she protested.

“No, no need to pay,” I insisted as I pushed the book closer to her. “It’s on me,” I continued. She looked a bit unwilling to take the book but I reassured her by giving her an encouraging smile. She took the book and tipped her hat in appreciation. She waved goodbye as she headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

I sat behind the counter for a while – accompanied by the ticking sound of the clock, thinking of what just happened. “Today was weird,” I thought to myself. “But today is slightly better,” I mused again, smiling. With that, I waited until it was time to close my shop and waited for the next day to arrive.

The next day came, and it was raining heavily. From the counter, I saw almost nopony were walking around through the shop’s window. Thinking that the shop might not have customers for the day, I decided to close the it early and headed up stairs. Just about I reached on top of the staircase, there was somepony knocking at my front door.

When I walked towards my door, I saw a white unicorn with a flowing purple mane. I immediately unlocked the door and invited her in. She was soaking wet and annoyed. “My hair,” she cried as she tried to dry herself. Not wanting her to soak my precious books, I quickly searched for a dry towel and handed it to her. “Thank you, dearie,” she said, smiling softly at me. I quickly looked away, blushing. As she was drying herself, I saw her cutie mark. It was a picture of three diamonds on it. I started to assume that she was some kind of an artist.

“So,” I spoke up. “Why are you doing outside during a heavy rain like this?” I asked, looking at her inquisitively.

“I was heading home from a fashion meet up when suddenly it started raining. I thought I could gallop fast enough to avoid getting myself wet but, it is clear that I was wrong,” she explained as she levitated the wet towel into a nearby basket. Then, she walked around the store, not looking at the books but looking at the shop itself. “I think you should really redecorate your shop, dearie. It’s a little stuffy and moody,” She commented earnestly.

I felt a little offended but quickly shook it off. “I would if only I can afford new furniture,” I replied as I followed her.

She quickly turned to face me, completely shocked. “My word, you don’t have any bits on you?” she asked worriedly.

“I do,” I assured her. “But not enough to pay for new furniture, that’s all,” I explained as I dusted some of the books.

“This is unacceptable,” she protested.

“What?” I asked, looking puzzled.

“You don’t need money if you have talent,” she lectured.

“Well, if you didn’t notice Miss...,” I stopped as I tried to remember her name.

“Oh, what a silly mare of me,” she exclaimed aloud. “The name’s Rarity,” she introduced herself with an elegant bow.

“My name is Tome,” I stammered, as I tried to match her gesture.

“My, what a gentlepony you are,” she commented, smiling.

I looked the other way to hide my blush and coughed into my hoof. “As you can see, Miss Rarity,” I continued. “I don’t have the talent to redecorate my furniture nor the bits to spend”.

“Of course,” she confidently replied. “That is why I will help you redecorate,” she offered as she took a better look.

“You don’t have to do that, it would be such a bother,” I declined as politely as I could.

“I know I don’t have to,” she said with an earnest smile. “But I want to,” she said with finality as she emphasized it with a stomp. Knowing that I cannot convince her to not do it, I finally gave in. She let out a little cheer of excitement and a small prance in delight. With that, she started to organize on what we had to do. As expected, I was doing all the heaving lifting stuff while she tended to the delicate works – such as sewing and repairing old fabric.

The work lasted for hours as both of us were focused on redecorating the bookstore. Finally, after hours of work, we were done. The bookstore looked a lot better. The curtains have been repaired and were adorned by beautiful and detailed design, the carpet were well repaired and had an added detailed stitching into it. The bookshop looked more stunning than before. The shelves and books looked a lot neater after the redecorating was done. I looked at Rarity with appreciation and thanked her.

“It was my pleasure, dearie,” she replied as she walked towards the entrance and I noticed that it has stop raining. “Well, it seems I have to go, adieu,” she said, bowing elegantly.

“Hope to see you soon,” I replied as I matched her gesture. I stood behind the counter, taking in the view of the redecorated shop. Even though it looked shiner and cleaner, it still felt empty. I shook my head and locked up the store. As I lay down on my bed, I was anticipating for what will happen tomorrow.

I was sitting behind the counter, reading a book when suddenly the entrance door burst open and a group of ponies marched in. I recognized some of the ponies. They were Twilight, Applejack and Rarity along with other ponies. I quickly grabbed their attention by greeting them. “Good morning, everypony,” I greeted, smiling.

“Good morning,” Twilight greeted with a smile.

“Mornin’,” Applejack greeted back.

“Good morning to you too, dearie,” Rarity chuckled.

“Um... hi,” a butter yellow pegasus with a long flowing pink mane squeaked.

“What’s up?” a light blue pegasus with a rainbow mane nonchalantly greeted back.

“Hello!” giggled a pink earth pony with a very fluffy pink mane popped in front of me. The surprise appearance of her made me jumped and –if impossible, made me cling onto the ceiling.

While I was up there, I had a few glimpse of the three new ponies’ cutie marks. The yellow pegasus had a butterfly for her cutie mark; thinking she was a animal caretaker, the light blue pegasus had a rainbow lightning flash striking from a cloud; probably she’s a racer or some sort, and finally the pink pony had balloons for a cutie mark; assuming she a party planner or fun related activities.

While I was still in thought, I did not realize that began to lose my grip. Before I could react, I was falling towards the ground in a neck-breaking speed. As I braced for impact, I felt that I was in a floating motion. When I opened my eyes, Twilight had save my life by capturing me with her magic. She slowly put me down onto my four hooves.

“Thank you,” I said as I looked at her with gratitude.

“Are... you okay?” the yellow pegasus squeaked.

“I’m fine,” I answered, smiling.

“That was amazing!” the pink pony exclaimed excitedly. “How did you get that spider power?” she asked as she stood too close for comfort.

“Stop it, Pinkie Pie,” the rainbow mane pegasus scolded.

I was speechless and a little bit overwhelmed by the situation until Twilight grabbed our attention. She coughed into her hooves and approached me. “Sorry if we interrupted you,” she apologized as she lent a hoof. I stood up and shook my head.

“Don’t you worry about it,” I replied as my hooves were still shaky. “But, Twilight,” I continued. “Who are they?” I asked as I pointed at the three new ponies.

“Oh, they are my friends,” she answered enthusiastically. “They are Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash,” she continued as she pointed the respective ponies.

“I see,” I said, looking at the new faces. “Well,” I continued in a professional manner. “What can I do for you today?” I asked to the group.

“We just wanted to look around a bit,” Applejack answered in behalf of the group.

“Well,” I spoke up. “If you need anything, I’ll be at the counter,” I explained as I pointed directly to the counter. All of them nodded, and off to their business. I stood behind the counter and looked the ponies browsing through the books. I smiled at the sight as I remembered back to the day this shop was this lively.

“Oh, mygosh!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed surprisingly. “You got the one of the rare books of the ‘Daring Do’ series,” she said in awe. She turned to look at me. “How much for this?” she quickly asked.

“20 bits,” I answered and was surprised how fast she paid. As if the money suddenly appeared in front of me. Then she hover in the air and quickly started to read the book. She made me chuckle.

While the others were busy looking around – except for Rainbow Dash who was totally immersed in the book, Fluttershy was having trouble on choosing a book. I trotted closer and asked if she needed help. She was pretty shy but she managed to tell me what kind of book she was searching for.

“Oh, a story book you say?” I asked her. Her respond was a quiet nod. “Let me see,” I mumbled. “Oh, here we go,” I said as I pulled a book with a picture of a flower on it. “This book tells a story about a little pony who was trusted into a world of dark creatures. The pony encountered many challenges and obstacles as she tried to return home but she slowly and surely became stronger by each challenge she went through,”I explained.

She slowly took the book and squeaked, “Thank you”. I smiled and returned to the counter. A few moments later, Applejack approached me and set a piece of pie in front of me. “Howdy partner,” she greeted. “I thought you want a taste of an Apple family special baked pie,” she suggested.

“Hello,” I greeted back. “Sure, I’ll give it a try,” I agreed and took a bite on the piece of pie. Suddenly I was bombarded with sweet and yet sour flavor. It was heavenly. Each bite was like a party in my mouth. I could not express my thoughts on it clearly except by mumbles of delight. Applejack chuckled and explained, “The apple pie you had was from an old recipe from the book you gave me. I tell ya’, I never baked such delicious apple pie in my life”.

While I was in a state of trance, Rarity approached us with a stunning looking jacket. She levitated towards me and smiled. “Here you go, dearie,” she offered. I shook myself from dreamland and looked at her quizzically.

“Why are you giving me this?” I asked, feeling reluctant to accept the gift.

“Why, it is because I wanted to. You were so kind to me when we met, and I wanted to give you a present as an appreciation,” she explained, smiling.

“No, no,” I refused. “Your help on my bookhop was appreciation enough,” I replied.

“Please, accept this,” she pleaded. “I really want you to have it,” she continued, levitating the jacket closer.

With a heavy heart, I accepted it. Not because I do not want it, but afraid to the thought that I imposed her to make the gift. Still, I felt glad that she did it because she was being generous. “Thank you,” I said, folding the jacket in greatest of care.

Without me realizing on what happened, Pinkie Pie suddenly entered the store with a big cake that was dangerously wobbling on her back. “It’s time to part-“she was cut of as she fell over – launching the cake into the air and caused the it to drop onto me. I was covered with cake and icing in every area. I was clenching my teeth and gave a steely gaze into the group. Everypony was stunned and the place was dead silent. A few moments later, I barked into laughter. I laughed like I never laughed before; all of the ponies joined in and all of us had a fantastic time. We all conversed and told many stories together.

When the party ended, everypony went home after cleaning, something changed. As I looked at the bookshop from the counter, it felt different. It felt livelier and more cheerful than before. It was like the old days where laughter would fill the place and ponies having a great time. While I was on the bed, listening to the ticking of the clock, I knew... I knew that tomorrow will be a better day. The next day arrived and with a smile, I greeted enthusiastically as the bell rang, “Welcome to Tome’s Bookshop”.

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